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Thousands of students and teachers across the country are quarantining just days into the new school year, highlighting the challenges of resuming in-person instruction during a pandemic. While many schools aren’t scheduled to reopen until later this month or September, those that have are offering a preview of the chaos that awaits districts this fall, particularly in hot spots in the South and Midwest where the virus is spreading uncontrollably. (Hellmann, 8/20)

In this post, five school administrators from across the country reflect on their experiences leading schools and districts during the COVID-19 outbreak. They describe successes and challenges of emergency distance learning, how they have practiced self-care and the lessons that will carry them into the new school year. MindShift interviewed these educators between early June and late July. As of early August, all of their districts were planning to begin the 2020-2021 school year with distance learning. Quotes have been edited for length and clarity. (Newhouse, 8/21)

As the lone nurse for her school district in central Washington State, Janna Benzel will monitor 1,800 students for coronavirus symptoms when classrooms open this month, on top of her normal responsibilities like managing allergies, distributing medications and writing hundreds of immunization plans. “I’ll have to go to these schools and assess every sniffle and sneeze that could potentially be a positive case,” she said. “I just don’t know if I can do it alone.” (Levin, 8/20)

Florida's teachers have a message for Gov. Ron DeSantis: We're not going back to the classrooms in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic until it's safe for everybody. For a second day in a row, lawyers for the Florida Education Association clashed with the governor's lawyers Thursday over plans to resume in-person teaching by the end of the month. (Siemaszko, 8/20)

Kaiser Health News: DeSantis Says COVID Is A Lower Risk For School-Aged Kids Than Flu 

Even as his state is a hotbed for COVID-19, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been pushing schools to reopen so parents have the choice of sending children back to the classroom or keeping them home to learn virtually. The Republican governor has said children without any underlying health conditions would benefit from in-person learning and the stimulation and companionship of being among other young people. He has also made clear that he thinks these benefits far outweigh what he considers to be minimal risks. (Galewitz, 8/21)

The Elko County School Board in Nevada has decided to follow the lead of the state’s largest school district in Las Vegas and begin the new school year with only distance learning to help guard against the spread of the coronavirus.The board voted unanimously to push back the beginning of the school year until Sept. 8. (8/20)

DeKalb County School District Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris’ announcement on Aug. 10 that 80 district employees and students tested positive for COVID-19 since July 1 was an admission many metro Atlanta school systems have been reluctant to make. Before that, the state’s third-largest school district had announced publicly just one instance where an employee had tested positive for the virus. This was despite statements declaring all confirmed coronavirus exposures and related school site closures would be reported to the public. (Walker and Tagami, 8/20)

Jonathan Halabi, a math teacher who creates the course schedules for his Bronx high school, faces a daunting puzzle: Trying to match changing numbers of students to teachers and rooms while obeying class size limits required by the new coronavirus. His high-achieving public school, the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, has about 400 students, and so far 25% have asked to attend virtually. He expects that percentage to grow, a trend citywide. And it is still unclear how many of the 26 teachers will come to campus, he said: Several have gotten medical accommodations to work from home, and more may do so. (Brody, 8/20)

Dozens of California elementary schools have been approved to reopen with in-person instruction under special waivers approved by health officials in counties that were placed on a state monitoring list because of high numbers of coronavirus infections. State health authorities haven’t said how many have been approved statewide. But data from San Diego and Orange counties on Thursday showed together they have had 50 schools approved, all of them private and mostly religious, along with two small public school districts. (Taxin, 8/21)

Despite disturbing numbers of young people dying of COVID-19, Los Angeles County’s chief medical officer said Thursday that new coronavirus cases may soon drop enough to allow officials to apply for waivers to reopen elementary schools. During an online news conference, Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser noted that waivers can be sought to reopen schools when cases are below 200 for every 100,000 people for two weeks. (Dolan and Blume, 8/20)