A sign on the door of Lowell Elementary School asks students, staff and visitors to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday in Chicago. Classes at all of Chicago public schools have been canceled Wednesday by the school district after the teacher's union voted to return to virtual learning. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Some corporations are opening up their doors to providing more support for child care. Evgeniia Siiankovskaia/Getty Images hide caption
Waukee School District teacher Liz Wagner, seen here in her home in Urbandale, Iowa, said last year she was on the front line of the COVID war. "Now I'm on the front line of the culture war, and I don't want to be there." Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption
A Hollywood, Calif., classroom sits empty in August 2020. At least 3,229 schools around the U.S. announced they were canceling in-person learning as of Monday evening. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images hide caption
An empty classroom during the pandemic in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images hide caption
Many teachers thought 2021 was going to be a better school year than 2020, but a lot have found it to be harder as students are struggling to catch up after a year of remote and hybrid learning. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images hide caption
Grimsley High School teacher Sierra Hannipole checks in with a student at the Greensboro, N.C., school's learning hub. According to new federal data, 6 in 10 schools around the U.S., including Grimsley, have given extra training to teachers to support students socially and emotionally this school year. Cornell Watson for NPR hide caption
Students walk on the campus of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles in March 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Sophomore Dreshon Robinson stands outside his high school cafeteria, where the learning hub takes place. He wants to go to college and be an audio engineer. Cornell Watson for NPR hide caption
Students walk to their classrooms at a public middle school in Los Angeles, California, September 10, 2021. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Second-graders hold their heads as they talk about "thoughts" and how they compare with "feelings" and resulting "actions," at Paw Paw Elementary School earlier this month, in Paw Paw, Mich. Martha Irvine/AP hide caption
A nurse tests a student for COVID-19 at Brandeis Elementary School in Louisville, Ky. Jon Cherry/Getty Images hide caption
When students at Stanford University return to campus in January, they'll be barred from holding parties or other big gatherings for two weeks. Ben Margot/AP file photo hide caption
Cornell University announced the closing of its Ithaca, N.Y., campus due to a rise in cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. sach1tb/Flickr hide caption
Area teachers in Sioux Falls, S.D., scramble to grab $1 bills on the ice rink at a Sioux Falls Stampede hockey game on Saturday, in this screenshot from a video posted by Argus Leader reporter Annie Todd that went viral this weekend. Annie Todd/Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Yalonda Chandler homeschools her children, Madison and Matthew. She co-founded Black Homeschoolers of Birmingham, in Alabama, and has seen the organization grow since the pandemic began. Kyra Miles/WBHM hide caption
Music educator Monica Levin teaches via video conference at Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center in Prince George's County, Maryland. Jennifer Samson hide caption
The Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge from parents in Maine who want to use a state tuition program to send their children to religious schools. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Texas state Rep. Matt Krause launched a statewide inquiry into school library titles dealing with topics like race, gender and sexuality. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
Flowers sit a sign outside Oxford High School a day after a deadly shooting at the school on Dec. 1 in Oxford, Mich. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
The Supreme Court's conservative majority has been shrinking the Constitution's wall of separation between church and state, particularly in cases dealing with religious schools. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
