“There’s nothing that compares to in-person learning,” Kaplan says, “but I'm putting the same amount of energy and love into every session I create, whether in-person or remote.” In a challenging year, Kaplan points to rewards: speaking to parents...

“My greatest challenge,” says Johnson, “has been making sure my school community was able to keep safe. I knew it was essential for classroom teachers and support staff to have easy access to first aid items because they had to remain contained...

“In our school,” Pardo says, “we do as many things as we can to engage students. Our goal is to create a safe space where students feel they belong and are validated.” Pardo has been working remotely since March and finds it extremely difficult...

To make the school year feel successful, educators are revising lesson plans, troubleshooting technology and investigating new strategies. Day by day, they’re figuring out what works for their students — and themselves. Read their stories.

The cafeteria is the only space big enough for physical education classes at PS 160 in Queens, where one teacher of both in-person and remote students has had to reimagine the activities she once did.

The cafeteria is the only space big enough for physical education classes at PS 160 in Queens, where one teacher of both in-person and remote students has had to reimagine the activities she once did.

Because singing and playing instruments carry a higher risk of coronavirus transmission, an in-person music teacher at PS 129 in Manhattan has had to reinvent how to teach musical concepts and skills.

A kindergarten teacher in Brooklyn says technology was the smallest part of her day before COVID-19, but now it's the biggest part, and she has been as willing to try and as adaptable as her students.

A pre-K teacher at PS/IS 127 in Queens who teaches remotely from both school and home, misses having students in the classroom, but she uses her creativity to keep them engaged and laughing.

Because singing and playing instruments carry a higher risk of coronavirus transmission, an in-person music teacher at PS 129 in Manhattan has had to reinvent how to teach musical concepts and skills.