In the spring of 2020 when schools across the United States were forced to close due to the novel coronavirus, teachers were celebrated for their swift pivot to remote schooling and their heroic efforts to aid the families and students most adversely affected by the crisis. Here are some of the amazing things—big and small—that American teachers have done to help their students during the pandemic.
(Morning Brew, Unsplash) 
(Gabriel Benois, Unsplash)
NYC Art Teacher Inspires Students To Get Creative At Home: High school art teacher Larry Minetti inspired his students to recreate iconic artworks at home with whatever they had lying around—clothes, bottles, boxes, dishes, themselves, etc. Read more about Minetti’s creative assignments on Chalkbeat, and check out Instagram’s #gettymuseumchallenge and #isolationart for more quarantine art inspiration.
D.C. Teacher Starts a Non-Profit to Take Students Fishing: Middle school teacher Carmen Garner used his stimulus check to launch Inner City Anglers with the goal of helping kids from neglected neighborhoods get outside and learn to fish—a life skill that is useful and recreational. Learn more about Garner’s efforts at the Washington Post and on the nonprofit’s website and Instagram @innercityanglersinc.
Nashville Music Teacher Helps Students Give Virtual Music Performances: Zachary Ebin, Director of the Suzuki Program at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, started organizing virtual concerts for his isolated elderly parents, and they were such a hit, he got his students at the Blair School involved. Now young musicians from age 5 to 21 have performed free virtual concerts for audiences all over Nashville, as well the greater United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.
New Jersey Math Teachers Shares Daily Math Problems and Jokes with Students and Community: Math teacher Callie Campbell posts daily math jokes and problems in the windows of her Westfield home, giving her high school students (and her community) 24 hours to solve the problems (and laugh at the jokes) before posting the answers and a new challenge.
Arkansas Middle School Teacher Uses the Hero’s Journey to Connect With Students: Teacher and writer Laura Hanby Hudgens recognized how the archetypical Hero’s Journey could help her middle school students cope with the pandemic. The Hero’s Journey is a narrative pattern featured in many beloved classic stories, including The Hobbit, The Harry Potter series, The Wizard of Oz, and A Wrinkle in Time. As Hudgens wrote in the Washington Post, “why do children stuck at home for weeks on end specifically need to read a story about a Hero’s Journey? Because it isn’t primarily about a journey. It’s really about bravery, fear, struggle and, ultimately, triumph.”
Brooklyn Teachers Deliver Donated Meals to Essential Workers: High school teachers Michele Levin and Stephanie Schragger raised $26,000 to deliver 2,000 donated meals to Brooklyn healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic in hospitals and nursing homes. With meals provided by local restaurants and the help of additional volunteers, Levin and Schragger were able to feed essential workers while teaching full-time—and helping their own kids with virtual learning.
Read how other New York City educators have helped their communities and their students.
Connecticut Elementary School Teacher Cares for Newborn While Family Recovers From COVID-19: ESL teacher Luciana Lira got a call on March 31st from a student’s mother, Zully, who was in the hospital with COVID-19 and about to have an emergency C-section. Baby Neysel was delivered 5 weeks early, and the severely ill Zully was ventilated and remained in a coma for more than three weeks. When the rest of Neysel’s family also tested positive for COVID-19, Lira cared for the premature newborn until his family was well enough to welcome him home. Read about this incredible story here and here and help support Neysel’s family through their GoFundMe.
South Dakota Math Teacher Helps Student From Front Porch: When math teacher Chris Waba found out that a student needed extra help, he walked his whiteboard over to her front porch to help her work through the problem. This simple yet meaningful gesture went viral, but Waba isn’t the only teacher who has made (safe, socially distanced) house calls to give their students an educational or mental health boost.
Teachers Around the Country Offer Messages of Support and Love From a Distance: In Minnesota, two fifth grade teachers wrote encouraging messages in chalk in their students’ driveways. In Massachusetts, 75 elementary school teachers organized a car parade to remind their students that they were loved and missed. A Texas teacher surprised her students with one-on-one socially distanced visits. And in New York, a visit from a teacher helped one anxious 9-year-old face his coronavirus fears and leave his apartment for the first time in months.
Kansas Teacher Creates National Database Tracking Pandemic-Related School Updates: When theater teacher Alisha Morris became overwhelmed with the amount of information on COVID-19 issues and school reopenings, she started tracking the data in an online spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has transformed into a database citing hundreds COVID-19 positive cases connected to U.S. schools and extracurriculars like athletic practices and graduation ceremonies. Morris is now working with volunteers to transform the spreadsheet into a more formal tracking system.
Want to hear from more inspiring teachers? Check out TeacherStories.org for podcast episodes about the kindness and dedication of teachers during the pandemic. And read The Atlantic’s On Teaching series for more insights and stories from veteran teachers.