What Will It Take to Reopen Schools?

<p>Almost a year into the pandemic and the American education system remains severely disrupted. About half of children across the United States are not in school.</p><p>The Biden administration has set a clear goal for restarting in-person instruction: reopening K-8 schools within 100 days of his inauguration.</p><p>Is that ambitious target possible?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/dana-goldstein?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>Dana Goldstein</strong></a>, a national education correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p>For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. You can read the latest edition <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily-newsletter">here</a>.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>A slow vaccine rollout and local fights between districts and unions could make it harder for<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/biden-schools-reopen-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article"> President Biden to fulfill his promise</a> to reopen schools quickly.</li><li>In cities and suburbs where schools are closed, teachers’ unions are often saying: not yet. One powerful union leader is<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/schools-reopening-teachers-unions.html"> trying to change that</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily.</a> Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>