Alexandra Hinkson-Dutrevil was teaching a history lesson to her fourth-grade class when a student suddenly burst into tears. Between sobs, he said that his young cousin had COVID-19 and was on a ventilator, and he was afraid his cousin was going to die. Hinkson-Dutrevil could have talked to the student…

It will surprise absolutely no one that I love being in schools. Since April 2021, I have visited more than 100 schools across the country, seeing how students and staff are overcoming the challenges created by the pandemic, and talking to them about what they need to recover and thrive…

Ukraine has always loomed large in my life. My grandfather fled near-certain death from the pogroms that massacred Jews in Ukraine early in the last century, and he was able to bring most of his and my grandmother’s family from western Ukraine to America. Many Jews who survived those pogroms…

If there is one place where you can see the herculean lift of real-time recovery from the effects of the pandemic, it’s in our nation’s public schools. Every day, teachers and school staff are working with students to overcome challenges, accelerate learning, and bounce back from disruption and anxiety. Educators…

One year ago today we witnessed firsthand an attack on our country: an insurrection by political extremists at the U.S. Capitol. I was in Washington D.C., blocks from the Capitol building, which I can see from my office. I watched on television along with the rest of the country as…

Several years ago, I participated in a book giveaway in McDowell County, W.Va., one of the poorest counties in the U.S. I offered a book to a boy who immediately clutched it to his chest, grinned and said, “I’m going straight home to put this in my library.” I asked…

That line, from the century-old labor union anthem “Solidarity Forever,” feels especially apt in this moment. Aren’t we all yearning to live in a “new world” without the anxiety, disruptions and sorrow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic? Isn’t it well past time to sweep discrimination and violence based on race…

Nicole Brun-Cottan’s work as a physical therapist in an intensive care unit is grueling. Her patients are critically ill, many with COVID-19, and she often works with them in their hospital beds because they can’t sit up on their own. At the end of each shift, physically and emotionally exhausted…

Students are settling into the third straight school year disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Since Aug. 1, I have been on the road visiting public schools in 30 communities in 14 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. I’ve sensed the trepidation students, parents and school staff feel; how could they…