Raeline McVicker remembers the excitement four years ago when Gov. Tim Walz said Minnesota schools would close “temporarily” to slow the spread of COVID-19. It was March 15, 2020, and the state had 35 confirmed cases.
The shutdown seemed like a fun one-off, a few bonus days home to start the spring. School buildings were supposed to reopen on March 30.
“We were all like, ‘Yeah! We get an extra break,” said Rae, who as an eighth grader was in her first year at Red Wing High School. “We were so excited to have like a few extra days to be out of school — ‘Yay! We get to completely play hooky!’”
