麻豆影视

With the end of the pandemic seemingly in sight, more and more schools are transitioning toward full-time in-person learning. Now, only 1 in 20 students nationwide are attending remote-only schools.

That鈥檚 a pretty good look for President Joe Biden, who has pushed for the majority of schools to reopen by his first 100 days in office. That benchmark comes Friday, April 30, and according to a , nearly two-thirds of students are attending schools that offer daily in-person instruction.

Still, even where schools have opened their doors to students, that doesn鈥檛 mean all families have chosen to return their kids. As The 74鈥檚 Linda Jacobson reports, critics of the president wonder whether he could be doing more for the students who have opted to continue with remote learning. 鈥�There are still a lot of kids sitting at home right now,鈥� they note.

But though students nationwide continue to attend virtual school, the future of online learning appears to be in question. Some school systems plan to continue with remote instruction for the balance of this school year, ditching reopening entirely. At the same time, others plan to drop online school entirely next fall, as parent interest seems to have waned.

Here鈥檚 what you need to know about the state of play on school reopenings across the nation, powered by .

1 97% of youngster have access to in-person learning

While rates of virtual schooling dropped across all grade levels last week, the share of elementary schoolers still fully online has reached a notable low 鈥� approaching zero. Seventy-two percent of youngsters go to schools with daily in-person instruction, and another 25 percent attend schools with hybrid models. Put together, a full 97 percent of K-5 students have access to some in-person learning.

Rates of virtual learning also fell for middle and high schoolers, though the overall share remains slightly higher. Eight percent of 6-12 graders attend schools that operate fully remote. Sixty-two percent of middle school students and 58 percent of high school students attend schools offering full-time in-person learning.

Across all grade levels, 65 percent of students attend schools that offer daily, in-person learning, 29 percent of students go to schools using a hybrid model and only 6 percent attend schools that remain fully online.

2 A teacher in the White House

As schools have pushed to open their doors, the First Lady has become something of an ambassador to in-person learning, visiting reopened classrooms across the country.

鈥淭eachers want to be back. We want to be back. Last week I said to my students, 鈥楬ey guys, how you doing?鈥欌�� the First Lady, who has maintained her job teaching at Northern Virginia Community College, told students during a visit at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut, in March. 鈥淎nd they said, 鈥楧r. B, we鈥檙e doing OK, but we can鈥檛 wait to be back to the classroom鈥�.鈥� 鈥�And I think that鈥檚 how we all feel. But we just know that we have to get back safely.鈥�

Here are some of the highlights, captured in 15 images, of Dr. Biden鈥檚 nationwide school tour.

3 The districts that never reopened

While the vast majority of school systems have returned students to classrooms in some way, shape or form, there have been some holdouts.

In California, , and have all announced plans to stay virtual through the remainder of this spring. Michigan districts such as , and have decided the same. In , students with special needs have the option to attend school in person, but classrooms remain closed to the general population.

4 States and districts plan 2021-22 virtual offerings

Though COVID-19 vaccinations have progressed at a swift rate in the United States, the pandemic rages on abroad, with . That means that there are no guarantees about a return to normalcy next fall, and many school systems are preparing to maintain virtual offerings for families who prefer to keep their kids at home.

, and will each have virtual academies next year that families can opt into. The Las Vegas model will require a sign-off from students鈥� principals and an adult at home for elementary students.

Other districts 鈥� including ; ; and 鈥� are opening virtual learning for next fall, but not to their youngest students. Age cutoffs range from third to sixth grade.

In response to widespread demand for remote offerings, some states are rolling out statewide virtual academies for the 2021-22 school year. , and have each launched such schemes.

But in many locales, such as Washington, D.C., internet for remote learning remains a key concern.

5 Other districts abandon remote school next year

At the same time as some districts are planning out their remote academies for the fall, other school systems have decided to forgo virtual learning altogether for the 2021-22 school year.

, and each announced that they do not plan to offer online instruction next year, citing state regulations and low interest.

In Gwinnett County, Georgia鈥檚 largest school district, . And in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy stipulated during a coronavirus update in late March that , even for parents who prefer that option.

6 An early start to next school year

According to school calendars, many districts are planning to bump up the start of next school year by anywhere from a handful of days to multiple weeks. More than 40 percent of districts are shifting their start date by over five days due to the COVID-19 disruptions of the prior year.

7 Do 4-day weeks amount to 鈥榟ygiene theater?鈥�

Amid fears of COVID-19 safety, many school districts have adopted four-days-a-week schedules that pause live instruction for a full day to allow for disinfecting of school buildings, researchers at the Center for Reinventing Public Education have found.

But with recent clarification from the CDC that ventilation and masking 鈥� not wiping down surfaces 鈥� are the most effective ways to mitigate virus spread in schools, The 74 contributors Robin Lake and Georgia Heyward make the case that schools should avoid such schedules.

Closing school one day a week for cleaning is nothing more than 鈥渉ygiene theater,鈥� they argue 鈥� and robs students of valuable learning time.

Many districts were exploring four-day schedules even before the pandemic, amid over the pros and cons. An update from early last year shows that had at least one school on a four-day schedule. According to Lake and Heyward鈥檚 current sample, which finds that over a quarter of in-person schools and nearly two-thirds of hybrid schools now close one day a week for cleaning, COVID-19 seems to only have accelerated uptake of the abbreviated school week.

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