
Millard West High School teacher Mikala Hansen, with her dog Opie, teaches freshman biology on Zoom from her Omaha home. Some Nebraska school districts, such as Millard, provided laptops or iPads for almost every student.
Remote learning? How many students and teachers had done or even heard of remote learning in January 2020?
The pandemic upended K-12 education in Nebraska and elsewhere in 2020. Schools shut their doors. Teachers and students were forced to connect virtually. And when school did resume this fall, it looked far from normal.
It was a weird, hard, frustrating and demanding year for teachers, students, parents, administrators and school support staff. As calendars are flipped to 2021, here’s a look back at how it all unfolded. From the early rumblings about COVID-19 in February to news of vaccinations in December.
February
Dr. James Lawler of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security addresses a gathering of area school officials at the Omaha Public Schools’ headquarters on Feb. 27.
Lawler tells them that area school districts would need to cancel large gatherings and possibly close schools if the coronavirus began to spread in the community.
After the meeting, OPS Superintendent Cheryl Logan sends an email to school board members, saying the district’s schools could close within the next month because of the coronavirus.
March
Early in the month, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells school officials to start planning for how they would teach kids during a closure, such as providing lessons online. Area districts start updating their pandemic plans.
On March 7, the Fremont Public Schools become the first in Nebraska to announce that they would close because of COVID-19. The March 9 closure, one of the first in the nation — even before the Seattle Public Schools — was supposed to last only three days. But the schools would not open again for five months.
On March 12, OPS announces that classes will not resume after spring break. Other area districts already scheduled to be off for spring break close schools a day early. In the coming days and weeks, the school closures keep coming until every school in the state stops offering in-person lessons.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt
By March 20, most schools are already closed to students, and the few remaining are closed by the end of the day.
The closing of Nebraska school districts and private and parochial schools forces teachers to quickly pivot from traditional classroom learning to remote learning for about 366,000 schoolkids in 1,200 schools.
Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt calls the shift “herculean.”
“It’s about as remarkable as I could imagine,” he said.
Blomstedt recommends that schools not return to normal operations for the rest of the school year.
April
On April 1, Gov. Pete Ricketts directs schools statewide to operate without students in their buildings through May 31. He also cancels extracurricular activities, meaning no spring high school sports season.
Blomstedt advises district leaders to draw up contingency plans in case the coronavirus crisis lingers.

Papillion-La Vista South High School's stadium is lit up in April as part of the "Be the Light" campaign.
Empty stadiums glow like beacons in the darkness as school districts turn the lights on to celebrate the class of 2020. Districts and parents come up with socially distanced celebrations to celebrate seniors.
May
The OPS board approves the purchase of about 54,400 iPads for all OPS students in case remote learning must continue in the fall.
Graduation ceremonies for the class of 2020 are virtual events. One of the strangest school years in recent memory ends for students in the metro area.
Superintendents across the state try to prepare for the myriad ways the coronavirus could disrupt school in the fall, but they face a lot of unknowns.
June
Districts start preparing for the new school year by ordering masks and gallons of hand sanitizer. It’s a hint of what’s to come in the fall.
One by one, districts start releasing their plans for the fall. Some plan to bring all students back, while OPS announces that students will be divided into two groups that will attend school on different days.
July
Districts continue to announce more details about what school is supposed to look like in the fall. Members of the public pack school board meetings to cheer or jeer the plans.
School districts announce that they will offer fully remote learning options in the fall.
Omaha-area teachers gather at Memorial Park in support of a mask mandate.
August
Teachers again gather at Memorial Park to demand a mask mandate. After weighing the health risks, some teachers retire instead of returning to the classroom in the middle of a pandemic.
Parents, teachers and students tell the OPS board that they are nervous about in-person lessons. Days before school is scheduled to start, OPS officials reverse course and announce that students in the state’s largest school district will start the year remotely and that all fall athletics and activities are suspended.
Students in other area districts return to school for the first time since March.
September
After a month of school, little spread of COVID-19 is tied to reopened schools, but some medical professionals worry about possible asymptomatic spread going undetected.
Dozens of athletes and parents protest outside OPS headquarters to demand that officials let them play sports. Sports remain suspended for the rest of the fall season.
October
OPS elementary and middle school students head back to the classroom for in-person lessons for the first time since March. High school students return two weeks later.

Monday, Oct. 5, was the first day of in-person classes for OPS elementary and middle schools. A sign on the door at Springville Elementary School welcomes students back to the building.
COVID-19 kills the snow day. Several districts announce that their students will learn remotely on would-be snow days.
Enrollment in Nebraska public schools drops for the first time in 20 years. Enrollment in Catholic schools statewide drops by 1,400 students.
On Oct. 29, a custodian who worked at Grace Abbott Elementary School dies of complications from COVID-19, the first Millard Public Schools staff member to die of the disease.
November
Teachers in Nebraska say they feel overwhelmed and overworked, especially where they have been asked to simultaneously teach students learning remotely and those sitting in their classrooms.
The state teachers union petitions to mandate masks in Nebraska schools.
December
Teachers and school leaders say that while some Nebraska kids managed to keep pace academically from home the first semester, other remote learners fell so far behind that they are failing or at risk of it.
The first semester comes to a close. Teachers and students get a well-deserved winter break, but school won’t return to normal in January.
Some districts will go remote after winter break to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Masks, social distancing and hand-washing will continue in schools.
There is hope. Nebraska’s vaccination plan puts teachers in the second priority group. They likely will get the vaccine in the coming months.
World-Herald staff writer Joe Dejka contributed to this report.
Our best Omaha staff photos of 2020

A couple share a kiss as fireworks erupt over downtown on New Year's Eve in Omaha.

Clouds roll in just before sunset as a pedestrian walks on Farnam Street near S. 17th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday, January 7, 2020.

Two bald eagles share a perch under the moonlight at Chalco Hills Recreation Area in Omaha, Nebraska, on Thursday, January 9, 2020.

A buffalo statue catches snowflakes on its tongue Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in downtown Omaha.

Trudy, a dachshund puppy, motivates gym goers during a lunch workout on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, at The Bodysmith.

Dense fog envelops the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge on Monday, January 13, 2020.

Preston Love Jr. organizes an annual trip of 40 high school students on a history Black Votes Matter Tour to Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and Atlanta. Love, Jr., poses for a portrait in front of a LOVE mural near the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cornerstone Memorial at the intersection of N. 24th Street and Lake Street in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, January 10, 2020.

Irene Harris of Gretna sweeps underneath a flower and tree display prior to the 35th Annual Cathedral Flower Festival at the Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday, January 24, 2020. The show with a theme of "For Everything a Season" celebrates all occasions and honors florists.

Former Vice President Joe Biden one of the candidates for the next President of the United States speaks at The Grass Wagon in Council Bluffs on Wednesday.

Officials help passengers off a plane at Eppley Airfield onto waiting vehicles from Nebraska Medicine Center on Monday in Omaha. Several passengers from a cruise ship where a COVID outbreak took place, were brought to Nebraska for treatment.

Millard South's Maddie Krull, center, hypes up her teammates before they take on Lincoln Southwest during a Class A state tournament game on Thursday.

Hunter Sallis poses for a photo Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in downtown Omaha. Sallis is one of the top ranked high school basketball players in the country and holds offers from several elite college basketball programs.

A patient in an isolation pod with the coronavirus is taken from an ambulance to the Nebraska Medicine Biocontainment unit on Friday, March 06, 2020.

Hasting's Makenna Asher hugs Bailey Kissinger after winning their Class C2 State championship game on Saturday.

A Tabitha employee waves to a group of volunteers outside as they cheer supporting messages during a shift change on Thursday, March 19, 2020, at Tabitha Health Care Services in Lincoln.

A healthcare professional walks from their tent before conducting drive-thru testing at Bryan LifePointe Campus on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Katherine Bergstrom plays with Charlie the cat near a safety table in A Novel Idea Bookstore on Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Lincoln, Nebraska. All customers who enter the store must visit the safety table to use hand sanitizer or wear gloves.

Emily Struebing, a physician assistant, adjusts her face shield before meeting with patients at an appointment-only COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in Omaha on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

Leah Hanson, 9, and others visit their grandmother from outside the Douglas County Health Center in Omaha on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. With COVID restrictions in place, it was the only way the family could see each other.

An image of Jesus is reflected in a puddle during an Easter drive up service at King of Kings Church on Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Emma Hutchinson and her father, Ralph Hutchinson, stand for a photo in his Omaha home on Thursday, May 7, 2020. They were the first and second confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Nebraska. She spent weeks in the hospital and was put on a ventilator as she recovered.

Police and protesters clash during a rally near 72nd and Dodge in Omaha on Friday, May 29, 2020.

Kyra Parker flashes the peace sign while walking backwards in a cloud of tear gas during a protest at 72nd and Dodge Streets on Friday, May 29, 2020.

The Omaha police mounted patrol are silhouetted in tear gas as they approach protesters at 72nd and Dodge Streets on Friday, May 29, 2020.

Law enforcement officers stand on 13th Street Sunday night while trying to disperse a crowd after the 8PM curfew.

A protestor walks ahead of advancing law enforcement after the 8PM curfew in downtown Omaha on Sunday.

Marchers walk east down Dodge Street towards Memorial park during a rally on Sunday, June 07, 2020.

A woman holds a "History has its eyes on you" sign while marching up the hill at Memorial Park for a solidarity rally on Sunday in Omaha.

Terrell McKinney, Leo Louis II and J Shannon hold their fists in the air with the crowd during a solidarity rally on Sunday at Memorial Park in Omaha.

Protesters gather outside Cupcake Omaha in Omaha on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. They were calling on U.S. Senate candidate Chris Janicek, who owns the bakery, to step down from the race after a series of sexually inappropriate text messages he sent to members of his staff.

J.J. Greve of Omaha, does a flip as friend Ilan Perez watches on his family’s trampoline in Elkhorn on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. The Perez family has an above ground pool, skate ramp and trampoline in their yard. With coronavirus and social distancing measures in places, families are trying to find new ways to have summer fun at home.

More than a hundred people gather for a vigil to remember James Scurlock where he was shot. Tuesday marked one month since the shooting and killing of Scurlock, a 22-year-old black man, by Jake Gardner, a white bar owner, during a protest in downtown Omaha.

Aiden Tupper picks ripe tomatoes with his siblings Janey, Blythe and Ronan at their home on Friday, July 17, 2020.

Trey Kobza can't quite catch up to this double in left during the Nebraska Prospects baseball camp at Werner Park on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

Junub Char attempts a shot while friends defend at the Bryant Center in North Omaha on Monday, July 20, 2020.

More than a hundred people attend a demonstration by Omaha-metro educators demanding a mask mandate before returning to classrooms at Memorial Park in Omaha front yard on Monday, August 3, 2020.

Union Omaha's Elma N'For, left, celebrates a goal by Sebastián Contreras in the first half to tie the match against Forward Madison FC.

Leaves start to change color on trees as a jogger runs down the south side of the Dodge Street Pedestrian bridge, as viewed from Memorial Park on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

Elkhorn South's Katie Galligan (6) competes in the Elkhorn South vs. Papillion-La Vista South Metro Conference championship match at Papillion-La Vista South High School on Thursday, October 22, 2020.

The Elkhorn student section storms the field as Omaha Skutt Catholic players walk off the field after a game on Friday.

Millard North quarterback Jimmy Quaintance, left celebrates a touchdown with Charlie Quaintance, center, and Barrett Luce in the first quarter against Norfolk at Buell Stadium on Friday, October 23, 2020. Jimmy threw the pass to his brother Charlie.

President-elect Joe Biden supporter Isaiah Ross holds a Biden for President flag to celebrate Biden's election on the corner of 72nd and Dodge Streets in Omaha on Saturday, November 7, 2020.

Nebraska's Cam Taylor-Britt and Penn State's Jahan Dotson both go up for the ball in the end zone during their game on Saturday in Lincoln.

Iowa's Zach VanValkenburg catches a fumble from Nebraska's Adrian Martinez after he was hit by Iowa's Chauncey Golston.

The Dec. 8 explosion at 4810 S. 51st St. killed homeowner Theresa Toledo, 73, her daughter Angela Toledo, 45, and Angela's son Alexander Toledo, 28.

Omaha Fire Department investigators said Thursday that a natural gas leak at the home was ignited, causing an explosion. But fire officials have not yet determined why there was a gas release into the home.
emily.nitcher@owh.com, 402-444-1192, twitter.com/emily_nitcher