It was Covid-19 on Monday that made its presence felt across the country’s school systems after a relatively routine fall semester.

New York City, the country’s largest school district, appeared to be operating as scheduled this week, as did the vast majority of US public schools. Due to labor and testing shortages as well as the proliferation of the Omicron type, there has been an increase in the number of educational interruptions.

Schools in Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Newark were among those announcing that they would allow students to work from home for periods ranging from a few days to weeks.

We would want to hear from you, dear parents.

Because of the holiday, you may be scrambling to get child care for your children. Open, but you are not confident it is safe for your child? We would like to know how your district and family are dealing with the uncertainty of whether or not schools will reopen in the wake of the Omicron surge.

Coronavirus tests are in short supply in many schools, and administrators have noted an increase in the number of teachers and other personnel who are absent because they are unwell, caring for sick family members, or are afraid of the conditions at their workplaces.

To a large extent, the building shutdown was concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest regions where Democratic policymakers and powerful teachers’ unions have taken a more cautious approach to operating schools throughout the pandemic.

In the wake of the recent strike by teachers, legislators, and labor unions, everyone now wants schools to stay open. Nonetheless, there are concerns that Omicron could force the closure of many more districts.

Her daughter Shadia is an elementary school student in Westlake, Ohio; Lenora Rinicella works as an English teacher in Cleveland. As of Wednesday, Shadia will return to school, but her mother’s school has decided to use online learning. The New York Times’ Andrew Dolph
Covid-19 outbreaks and staffing shortages have prompted large city school systems in Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Newark to postpone reopening after the holiday break, switch to remote instruction, or both.

Due to an ever-shifting environment, school administrators had to make some of the announcements quickly.

“An influx of reported positive Covid-19 cases among district staff” prompted Milwaukee Public Schools to temporarily switch to remote instruction on Tuesday, the system announced Sunday night. As of Jan. 10, the system hopes to restart in-person training.

A 27,000-student school system in Madison, Wisconsin, delayed the start of classes until Thursday and stated they would be held online until Jan. 10.

As a result of the city’s “record high” test positivity rate of 36%, the Detroit education system has announced that no classes will be held Monday through Wednesday. Additional details will be released later in the week. Teachers and students will be tested this week, and laptop computers will be given to kids as an indication that more remote learning is on the way.

Following Eric S. Gordon’s announcement last week, Ohio’s Cleveland public schools, home to 35,000 children, were to be closed this week. Lorain and a number of other districts in northern Ohio were also experimenting with online learning.

Claiming “very high Covid-19 positivity rates over the winter break within our serving ZIP codes,” East St. Louis, Ill., superintendent Arthur Culver announced on Friday that courses would begin remotely on Tuesday. The district was scheduled to remain inaccessible until the 14th.

For the next two weeks, the 35,000 students in Newark’s public schools will get their instruction remotely, before returning to traditional classrooms on January 18, as they announced last week. In addition to Irvington, Cranford, South Orange-Maplewood, and Paterson (before January 10), this is the largest New Jersey school district to implement remote instruction (until Jan. 18).

Eight schools in Columbus, Ohio, and 12 in Pittsburgh were forced to close because of a lack of staff this week, despite the fact that they were open for in-person instruction.

Protesters from the Chicago Teachers Union took to the streets in August to criticize Covid’s safety practices. It was expected that the union would hold a vote this week on whether or not to allow its members to work from home without district clearance. According to AP, Chicago Tribune photographer Jose Osorio captured this image.