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A month ago, my colleagues and I on the @seattletimes education team began covering the biggest story of our lives. We produced the earliest on-the-ground reporting in the country about how #coronavirus impacts youth and public schools.
Let's take a look back.
#waedu
Let's take a look back.
#waedu
It all started with a cautious superintendent in the Northshore School District.
In late February, @RyanBlethen and I covered the shutdown of Bothell High School, likely the first closure of a public school in America due to concerns about coronavirus. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/bothell-high-school-closed-thursday-in-an-abundance-of-caution-over-coronavirus-fears-after-staffer-traveled-internationally/
In late February, @RyanBlethen and I covered the shutdown of Bothell High School, likely the first closure of a public school in America due to concerns about coronavirus. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/bothell-high-school-closed-thursday-in-an-abundance-of-caution-over-coronavirus-fears-after-staffer-traveled-internationally/
I was just moving into a new apartment when King County recorded the first U.S. COVID-19 death on Leap Day. Things escalated quickly from there. More than 100 schools closed for days at a time in the weeks that followed. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/an-abundance-of-caution-as-more-coronavirus-cases-emerge-schools-in-washington-state-are-closing-cleaning-and-waiting/
Northshore stepped up its response. The district shut down for a day to provide online training foreducat ors & announced soon after it would close for two whole weeks.
The first questions about access to education in this new climate began to emerge https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/online-learning-and-equity-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus/
The first questions about access to education in this new climate began to emerge https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/online-learning-and-equity-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus/
Soon, the closures in other places proved so frequent that trying to cover them all was futile. So @LaurenFlannery3, @hillman_anne and I created a tracker sourced from the hundreds of emails we received and daily updates from @waOSPI. https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/is-my-school-closed-today-heres-a-list-of-coronavirus-related-k-12-and-college-closures-in-washington-state/
Recognizing how scary all this news must be, @HannahFurfaro then wrote about how to talk to kids about the virus, and answered parents' burning questions.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-the-novel-coronavirus/ https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/what-if-school-closes-answers-to-common-questions-about-the-coronavirus-and-schools/
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-the-novel-coronavirus/ https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/what-if-school-closes-answers-to-common-questions-about-the-coronavirus-and-schools/
Some kids were already taking proactive measures, like Avi Schiffmann, a Mercer Island teen who created a central database to track COVID cases around the world https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/qa-avi-schiffmann-the-washington-state-teen-behind-a-coronavirus-website-with-millions-of-views/
Just 1 week after the first death, we were querying districts about whether they'd follow Northshore's lead. Many of its neighbors said no, including Seattle, b/c equity
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/as-schools-around-the-region-make-tough-calls-on-coronavirus-seattle-public-schools-announce-they-will-remain-open/ (our editor @Joy_Resmovits picked this 1 up cuz we were drowning in stories)
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/as-schools-around-the-region-make-tough-calls-on-coronavirus-seattle-public-schools-announce-they-will-remain-open/ (our editor @Joy_Resmovits picked this 1 up cuz we were drowning in stories)
On March 9, everyone in the country had their eyes on Northshore, which began its first day of remote learning. I got some dispatches from parents and students from that day, showing the wide variation in experiences with the model https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/how-northshore-parents-handled-the-first-day-of-online-learning/
Then, March 11. What. A. Day.
In the morning, @GovInslee told districts to prepare contingency plans during a press conference. Then, @SeaPubSchools announced it would close for 2 weeks. Likely the largest school system in the country to do so at the time.
In the morning, @GovInslee told districts to prepare contingency plans during a press conference. Then, @SeaPubSchools announced it would close for 2 weeks. Likely the largest school system in the country to do so at the time.
Other large districts dropped announcements shortly after. Staff absences were becoming unsustainable. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/inside-the-day-seattle-public-schools-decided-to-close-because-of-the-coronavirus/
Two days later, we all broke a site page view record with the Governor's order to close all schools in King County and then the state. https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/inslee-orders-all-private-public-k-12-schools-in-king-pierce-snohomish-counties-to-close-through-april-24/
With so many districts closed, @nealtmorton began asking the hard questions about what would happen to the tens of thousands of hourly workers who keep our schools running. https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/questions-swirl-for-bus-drivers-substitutes-and-other-hourly-workers-as-coronavirus-closes-schools/
. @hillman_anne talked to childcare providers, who provide an essential service to workers on the frontline of the pandemic.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/social-distancing-is-impossible-in-a-preschool-child-care-during-coronavirus/
Then she compiled educational resources for parents: https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/so-now-youre-a-teacher-educational-resources-to-use-during-the-coronavirus-school-closures/
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/social-distancing-is-impossible-in-a-preschool-child-care-during-coronavirus/
Then she compiled educational resources for parents: https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/so-now-youre-a-teacher-educational-resources-to-use-during-the-coronavirus-school-closures/
Since mid-March, when the state finally declared instruction was mandatory for all districts during the closures, we've been tracking the uneven patchwork of efforts and equity concerns with remote learning.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/washington-education-officials-school-must-continue-even-during-coronavirus-closures/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/confusion-uncertainty-on-first-day-of-state-mandated-remote-learning-for-washington-school-districts/
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/washington-education-officials-school-must-continue-even-during-coronavirus-closures/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/confusion-uncertainty-on-first-day-of-state-mandated-remote-learning-for-washington-school-districts/
And, most importantly, we've chronicled the experience for youth, talking with kids of all ages, with an emphasis on teens and those about to become the first in their families to attend college.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/in-their-own-words-washington-teens-share-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-has-changed-their-lives/ https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/high-school-seniors-cope-with-the-loss-and-confusion-over-next-steps-during-coronavirus/
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/in-their-own-words-washington-teens-share-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-has-changed-their-lives/ https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/high-school-seniors-cope-with-the-loss-and-confusion-over-next-steps-during-coronavirus/
That's not even all the stories. To see everything we've published, hop over to the education section.
And then subscribe.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education/
And then subscribe.
https://www.seattletimes.com/education/
It's been a wild ride so far. Thank you to all the kids, teachers and parents for sharing their stories and processing history with us in the digital and physical paper of this paper. We're here for you, and we'll always be listening.
Digital and print pages* 
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