Students and educators: Tell us about your year learning or teaching behind a mask

Candace Washington poses in front of children playing at the playground at Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Chicago in May. (Youngrae Kim for Chalkbeat)

During the coronavirus pandemic, masks became as familiar a sight in schools as lunchboxes and backpacks. And while the CDC recently advised vaccinated Americans that they can stop wearing masks indoors, the agency has recommended that masks be worn in school until at least the end of this school year — and possibly beyond.

As the 2020-2021 school year draws to a close, Chalkbeat wants to look back on how face coverings changed the nature of schooling. And we need your help. Please fill out the survey below to tell us whether your experience as a teacher or students was markedly changed by wearing a mask as a teacher or student, how you adapted, and how you will potentially face entering another school year in a mask. 

We would love to hear from students and teachers whose experiences were strongly affected by wearing a mask, such as English language learners, students with disabilities and their teachers, young readers, or early literacy coaches.

We’ll use these responses to inform our reporting and tell stories that reflect on this challenging year.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

The Latest

The lawsuit claims that district policies supporting undocumented students violate state law.

The two proposals favored by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance would dilute the power of the elected school board.

North Star’s Washington Park High School teacher Scott Kern reflected on how artificial intelligence is influencing what happens inside his Newark classroom.

Credit-recovery programs give students the chance to earn credits they need for the next grade or graduation. But do these second chances to pass give the system permission to fail?

Roughly 90% of high schoolers who weren’t on track to graduate by the end of 9th grade stayed off track in 10th grade, according to a November district analysis.

A survey of 1,361 Chicago adults, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, found lower awareness of the elected school board among younger people and those who identify as Black and Latino.