Circles of family and friends in education are submerged in the academic, safety, and security efforts of continuing a school year like no other in recent history. Teachers, administrators, support staff, and families are thinking about the physical layout of classrooms, hand-washing, masks, temperature-taking, and closing learning gaps. Essential school shopping now includes custom-made masks with sports teams, popular movie characters, or cartoon logos. The big things compete for attention: most importantly, the wellbeing of all students, adults, and families in the everyday operation of school. Big things also include technical support required for transitioning instruction and assessment to online platforms like Google Classroom, as well as somehow creating and delivering learning support materials to each child's home. Once things become operational, however, the issues linked to the "mere engagement" of students looms large. Without considering issues associated with student agency and student engagement, all the work to prepare may be in vain. Engagement has not yet moved to the front burner. Given the reality of the current environment, it can be helpful to take the experiences of last spring, both weak and strong, and share lessons learned. This brief invites readers to share in reflections about connections between online learning, student agency, and student engagement.