Items

• 2025-02-03

  Siblings Reunited

  Entering the year 2020, my family was one where everyone was just starting to find their own. Myself & my four siblings (which includes my two sisters & two brothers) were all incredibly busy, leading lives that involved school, activities & sports & clubs, & jobs. I was in my second semester of community college & working full time in retail & both my sisters were doing the same. My brothers, one in high school & the other in middle school, were overwhelmed by school & sports that saw every one of their days fully booked. Half of us lived with my dad, the other half with my mom. We were busy & separated; any time spent together was savored but rare. On the occasional Saturday night when we were all under one roof & not busy, we would hang out for hours, watching movies, giving each other much needed life updates, & just talking. The five of us had been a unit as kids- we were each others’ best friends, playing together & laughing together. As we grew into teenagers & our lives began to move in different, hectic directions, it seemed to linger over all our heads if we would ever feel like that unit again. In the first days of March in 2020, my siblings & I started to compare our emails from our schools & jobs about the new virus that was causing massive shut downs across the globe. Then my brothers’ schools decided to close for two weeks. Mine & my sisters’ colleges moved all classes online, our jobs closed for an undetermined amount of time. As a family, we decided that my siblings & I would be staying at my father’s house; my mother, who worked at a hospital, was terrified of bringing the virus home to us, as she was heavily exposed. For the first time in many years, the five of us kids were living under one roof; we were siblings reunited. As the “two week” school closures & brief workplace closings became indefinite closures, we all realized that we were going to be together in an odd state of limbo for quite some time. Although we were all collectively anxious, confused, & worried about our world & our loved ones, we leaned into our time together- we had a lot of it. We did our daily schoolwork together, went on long walks around the neighborhood, watched lots of movies & called our mom every night to check in on her. We played lots of cards & darts, & video games. While the world seemed so scary & unsafe & unsure, we had our home, our safety, our health, & each other- we had lots of blessings. It was not an easy time, but it was an important time. For two months, we spent every day together- no school or work or activities to draw us apart. We had all the time in the world together, & we were again that unit we once were as kids. In May, my sisters & I were able to go back to work. Some of us went back to our mom’s while the others stayed with our dad. We slowly went back into the world. Those two months that my siblings & I lived together during the beginning of the covid pandemic changed our relationships completely. Our relationships grew into something they hadn’t been before; relationships based on trust & dependence on one another. Relationships that were made strong by guiding each other through adversity. Those two months gave us all time together we would never have had otherwise. Although the covid lockdowns were a challenging & frightening time for us all, they were special, because we were together again. I am so grateful for how the lockdowns changed my relationships with my siblings & I; we are closer now than we ever were because of what we went through. What those two months taught me is that no matter how uncertain life is, family is what will keep you grounded & safe.
• 
  2020-03-13

  Illinois Closes ALL Schools

  It was the day the governor of IL announced school closures due to COVID-19
• 2021-01-25

  Covid-19 Research and Thoughts

  I did a bit of research about the current statistics about Covid 19 in California. So far there have been about 3.9M cases of Covid-19, and 37,118 deaths so far. As of the 24th of January there have been 21,680 reported cases of it. I have a few final thoughts about living through this pandemic. It has been insane, schools have been closed, major events have been cancelled, everyone has to wear some sort of face mask to prevent spreading the disease to others. It affected everyone socially quite a bit, you couldn't see your friends as often as you used to be able to, and you couldn't go out and do anything with others because of shops closing down or being temporarily out of service.
• 
  2020-11-29

  Close Yukon schools

  A petition to close Yukon schools to help stop the growing number of COVID-19 cases.
• 2020-12-08

  How Covid-19 Changed my 2020 Plans

  5,4,3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEARSSS!! Everything seemed in place to make 2020 my best year since my New Year's resolutions could finally come true as the time was just right and my mindset was determined. For a few months, things are going awesome. Word was spreading that a virus was attacking China “ nothing to worry about they'll fix things” “ it's probably just like the flu” what words that we threw around when bam march comes around school cancels. The two weeks the school said that we were going to be put quickly turned into 5,6,7,8, A whole year?? Nothing less it was a big letdown as the rest of the year seemed to be ruined. After a few days of reflecting I got myself together and decided that a virus wasn't going stop me from achieving my goals, “where there's a will there's a way” said my mother and she was right!! The determination got back into my head and I found safe ways to do the things on my resolutions list while taking precautions and thinking of others. My message is that don't stop working towards your goals where there motivation and determination nothing is impossible.
• 
  2020-03-24

  Virginia School teacher hugs student goodbye before school closures – Henrico County, Virginia

  Sara Black, a teacher at Glen Lea Elementary School is shown hugging students before they board a school bus. Due to school closures for at least 14 days, it is assumed that she is saying goodbye as they are unsure when they will see each other in person again.
• 
  2020-05-29

  Santa Barbara City College Desolate Dining Area

  Due to schools moving to online only education, there is no longer a need for dining services at schools. This is Santa Barbara City College's outdoor dining area, which has been stripped as maintenance activities have been cut back. Even though non students often come to the school to take walks and enjoy the scenery, the entire school is empty and devoid of people.
• 
  2020-06-01

  2020

  When my school was shut down on March 13, I knew that COVID-19 had impacted and spread toward the city. I immediately went into a state of panic and stress, hoping that my family and friends would be able to pull through. After talking about what to do with my parents, I did my best to stay calm and follow the safety guidelines. The state announced that people would quarantine themselves at home for the next couple months. My parents started to worry about food and other resources but we did our best to reassure that we had enough necessities. After reading the guidelines, we always wore masks and brought gloves and hand sanitizer to not only protect ourselves- but from others. During these three months of quarantine, I have been keeping up with the news about COVID-19 and continue to keep my family and others safe.
• 
  2020-05-31

  whack

  so the first few days were enjoyable because being at home and all day allowed for much more free time. however upon finding out people were not staying home and the amount of cases in the US jumped to #1 in the world 🤩 made me sad. this meme basically explains the disappointment i hold for americans not being able to quarantine.
• 
  2020-03-13

  Unfortunate Timing

  So before this whole global pandemic struck, my friend, I shall refer to him as Johnny. Johnny had a crush on this girl we'll refer to her as Emily, this is all happening during our junior year as of 2020. Anyways so Johnny and Emily worked on a particular project together most if not every school calls it the year book. So Johnny has a dilemma, he wants to ask Emily out, but he wants to keep things "professional" in the work place. And so being the great friend I was, I said to him, "Ask her out, what's the worse that could happen?" For about two weeks he holds off, talks to her, texts her, you know the usual. So the day he was going to ask her out was the day that the schools were shutting down for the pandemic. We were having shawarma, and Johnny was going to ask her out after our group meal. Unfortunately we get this email saying that schools are on lock down along with small businesses and other entertainment/activities. Unfortunately he didn't ever ask her out because of the lock down and barely even messages his crush. Honestly if the virus didn't hit Johnny might now be in a happy relationship, but unfortunately he isn't. I really feel for him, he mustered up all his courage to ask his crush out and the virus was like nope. Poor guy
• 2020-05-24

  Trying to Survive Covid-19

  [Curatorial Note]: Discussion of finding out that school would close for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Bring your kid to work day

  Teachers in Fairfield are required to clean out their classrooms with school closure for the remainder of the year. Daycare's are closed and many teachers are forced to bring their children with them to pack up their classroom. This U.S. History classroom is normally full of vibrant students. The distance requirements in the district mandate that educators pre-schedule pack-up times so a limited number of teachers are on campus at a time. Canyon Bell (Pictured) is helping mommy clean. The campus is empty.
• 
  03/17/2020

  San Ramon Valley Unified School District Emails to Community Follow School Closure Announcement

  This resource is the collection of emails sent from SRVUSD to their community following the school closure announcement. The emails span the time frame 03/17/2020 to 05/01/2020.
• 
  01/31/2020

  San Ramon Valley Unified School District Coronavirus News, Pre-School Closure

  This is a collection of emails sent to the community from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District prior to the announcement of school closures on March 13, 2020. The emails span January 31, 2020 to March 12, 2020.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and the Blind Distance Learning Plan

  A plan put out by the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and the Blind that details how distance learning will be implemented for students in the first month of school closures. It highlights ways in which the schools will work to continue to fulfill Individual Education Plans (IEPs) through distance learning and ways in which teachers and school staff will communicate with students to fulfill their needs during the closures.
• 
  2020-03-13

  Memorandum Closing Alaska Schools

  A memorandum to the staff and families of Alaska Public Schools closing schools until March 30, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It outlines the expectations of the Department of Education & Early Development for remote schooling and school responsibilities, as well as offering an overview of the Department’s commitments to staff and families during the closures.
• 
  2020-03-21

  Letter from Boston Mayor

  Photo of a letter from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, advising residents on ways to prevent the spread of the virus. Also provides information on how to receive regular updates. #HIST5241
• 
  2020-03-26

  Defined Learning Blog Post: PBL Tips for Parents

  This blog post gives parents/teachers tips for implementing project based learning at home during COVID-19 school closures
• 
  2020-03-27

  PJ Kennedy School Weekly Plan (for week of March 23-27, 2020) for remote/online learning for Students in grades K0-5 (Version 2)

  This shared document outlines all of the online work for students in grades K0-5 at the PJ Kennedy school in Boston, MA during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures.  It includes detailed guidelines for specific assignments and resources that students should be using, and is broken down by grade level. *Living Document (GoogleDoc) for the School Community, including teachers, staff, parents, and students
• 
  2020-03-27

  WGBH Webinars to Help Your Students Email (Version 2)

  This email from WGBH Education provides links to webinars and other resources for teachers who are transitioning their classes and students to remote/online learning because of COVID-19 related school closures.
• 
  2020-03-27

  PJ Kennedy School Remote Working Expectations (Version 2)

  This shared document outlines expectations for teachers, paraprofessionals, and other school staff at the PJ Kennedy School in Boston, MA during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures. It includes detailed guidelines for work hours, communication with students and families, and guidelines for working with particular student populations.
• 
  March 27, 2020

  Facing History and Ourselves Email with teacher resources for remote/online learning (Version 2)

  This email provides links to resources for teachers as they transition their classes and students to remote/online learning, from the Facing History and Ourselves team.
• 
  2020-03-26

  Free lunch for students while schools remain closed

  Free lunch contains a turkey sandwich with cheese on a white bread roll, cucumbers, red grapes, fat free milk, carrots, ranch dressing, mayo, and simply Chex strawberry yogurt. The food isn't the most nutritious, but it helps out students who may face food scarcity, and it returns some normalcy for youth accustomed to eating these meals every week day.
• 
  2020-03-26

  Children pick up free lunch during school closure

  Youth under 18 pick up free breakfast and lunch at Scales Technology Academy in Tempe, AZ.
• 
  2020-03-25

  Parking lot of a local High School

  A local high school on a Wednesday morning. Schools in the county have been closed for the remainder of the year leaving students stuck at home for months.
• 
  2020-03-19

  Leon County Schools (Florida) 3/19/2020 briefing

  responding to queries about what will happen academically to students in this school system