Faced with an ongoing teacher shortage during the coronavirus pandemic, officials in Connecticut announced plans late last year to allow college students to teach in public school classrooms, offering aspiring educators hands-on experience while alleviating the staffing crunch for administrators.

"The Reparations Won curriculum tells the stories of the survivors, what they went through and how they came out of it. Students become more engaged when they hear actual real life stories of people that are in their communities and have gone through things like this."

Approximately 24,000 school-aged children and their families will have greater access to mental health care through a new University of Missouri initiative funded by local taxes.

The full return to classrooms should also bring together educators, administrators, families and communities to bring about a renaissance in instruction and student support, she said.