COVID-19, Public Education, and the Road to Recovery and Reinvention

What has the COVID-19 pandemic taught us about US public education—and how can we better prepare for future learning disruptions?

This comprehensive volume presents cutting-edge research on the pandemic’s lasting impact on students, families, and educators in the United States. Unlike existing texts that focus narrowly on early school closures, this book offers a longitudinal, system-wide analysis spanning the full arc of the pandemic from 2020-2025. Drawing on rigorous longitudinal case studies, mixed-methods, and quasi-experimental methods, it offers a nuanced look at the evidence on short and medium-term effects across the education system, before analysing the effectiveness of the response from federal, state, and local leaders. By weaving together empirical evidence, case studies, and practitioner insights, it serves as a definitive record of how public education navigated its most disruptive period in modern history and a vital resource for building educational resilience in the future.

Designed with educational researchers, state and district policymakers, and educators in mind, this book is essential reading for researchers interested in crises education, educational policy, and public education.