How D.C. and its teachers, with shifting plans and demands, failed to reopen schools
Perry Stein and Laura Meckler, The Washington Post
Jan. 2, 2021
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Chancellor Lewis Ferebee, left, and Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, right, tour Shepherd Elementary School in the District of Columbia on Nov. 10, 2020.Washington Post photo by Marvin Joseph
WASHINGTON - Online classes in the District of Columbia in spring had been a disaster. Thousands of students didn't have computers or reliable WiFi. Many were falling behind. So as spring gave way to summer, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, was determined to open schools again.
By mid-July, she had a plan. But it depended on cooperation of the teachers, and their union responded with protests.