Objective: Characterize college student COVID-19 behaviors and attitudes during the early pandemic. Participants: Students on two university campuses in Wisconsin. Methods: Surveys administered in September and November 2020. Results: Few students (3-19%) participated in most in-person activities during the semester, with eating at restaurants as…

Despite a decline from the previous year, rates of chronic absenteeism for Wisconsin's students -- defined as missing more than one in ten school days for any reason -- remained at historically high levels in 2023 for children of every race, grade level, and socioeconomic status. District leaders point to many causes, including lasting impacts of…

This paper explores the politicization of school reopenings in two swing states against the backdrop of rising COVID cases, public health warnings, and the hyper-partisan weaponization of "choice" rhetoric by parents to send children back into school. Rhetoric surrounding parental choice partnered with economic considerations placed…

Using responses to training evaluations, this study analyzed variables and outcomes of virtual training provided by a Midwestern behavioral health training partnership (BHTP) from March 2020 through October 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions forced training to be moved from in-person to a virtual training environment. Data included…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the remote work experiences of Millennial-Aged People of Color (MAPOC) in academic advisor roles in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic, what influenced their experiences, and how they view the sustainability of remote work. Using two semi-structured interview protocols with seven participants and a…

In 2020, COVID-19 began to affect adolescents' mental health, particularly cisgender girls and transgender/gender diverse (TGD) adolescents, who previously experienced a greater risk for depression and anxiety disorders than their peers. The present study investigated the moderating effect of gender on internalizing symptoms among three community…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, institutional parameters shifted unexpectedly, which influenced how writing instructors took up and taught their courses. This article reflects on an instructor's experience teaching a corequisite support course during the pandemic, utilizing the concept of liminality, as basic writing scholarship draws on various…

Because states typically fund districts based on student counts, districts reporting shrinking enrollment worry about shrinking dollars as well. The seemingly obvious quick fix is for states to hold districts financially harmless for some or all of their enrollment loss. But states have many factors to weigh when deciding whether or how to go down…

The Forum is pleased to present the "Forum Guide to Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond." The purpose of this resource is to review how local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) changed their approaches to collecting and using student data during the pandemic and how they are working…

This article describes five elementary statistics projects involving the COVID-19 data made available to the public in csv files by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first project examined data available at the beginning of the COVID surge in New York City in spring, 2020, and used the correlation coefficient to estimate the…

The past few years have seen a rise in interest in local elected offices, specifically in school board seats. These seats hold unequivocal power over what school districts can do in terms of advancing equity and excellence in education. We explore one facet of what became a playbook of anti-equity efforts in school districts during the COVID-19…

As anti-Black ideologies continue to prevail in Asian American communities, this autoethnography explores how two Southeast Asian American (SEAA) scholar-activists and community organizers contended with anti-Blackness, racism, and social justice research in their cross-racial and cross-ethnic solidarity community-organizing and educational…

During the 2020-21 school year, Wisconsin districts applied to the Department of Public Instruction for waivers to respond to the evolving public health pandemic. This analysis, which focuses on districts utilizing Hours of Instruction and Length of School Day flexibilities, was designed to take stock of what was learned during this unusual year…

The COVID-19 pandemic altered how our communities communicate and interact with one another. To keep students and communities safe, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) transitioned from in-person classes and community events to closing their campuses and offering academic courses online. Community programming and events were canceled or…

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an unprecedented period of both crisis and innovation in higher education. The shift to an online learning environment was particularly problematic for courses in which students learn disciplinary practices. Scientific practice requires hands-on training and collaborative engagement with instructors and peers,…