Perspectives: Students, Safety and Closing Schools This Fall

One of the most frustrating aspects of the pandemic has been watching school districts try to navigate the complexities of remote learning with so little guidance from Washington. The silence is equally deafening when it comes to figuring out when and how districts should reopen their campuses.

Yes, the federal government provided much-needed funding, which helped buy computers and broadband access for students and cover other pandemic-related costs. Far more money is needed. But just as essential, if not more so, were information and directives about how to proceed in...

The midday arrival of a school bus at Cyliss Castillo’s home on the remote edge of a mesa breaks up the long days of boredom and isolation for the high school senior.

The driver hands over food in white plastic bags, collects Castillo’s school assignments and offers some welcome conversation before setting out for another home.

The closing of classrooms and the switch to remote learning because of the coronavirus have left Castillo and other students in this school district on the sparsely populated fringe of the Navajo Nation in...