Parkland. Santa Fe. Teacher walkouts and teacher strikes. 2018 was a year of unspeakable tragedy and passionate political action in the pre-K-12 education world. But it was also a time of learning, healing and student activism that attempted to address and learn from, those events. Throughout it all, Education Week’s staff and freelance photojournalists, as well as talented photographers from wire services and contributing newspapers, visually documented what proved to be an incredibly memorable year. These are some of those moments, as selected by Education Week’s photo editors.
Students walk through a dark hallway during a class change in January at Jaime Coira School in Ciales, Puerto Rico. Months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, the school still had no power and only one generator. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
Crumbling Classrooms and Power Outages: Inside Puerto Rico’s Storm-Damaged Schools
Adrieliz Ramirez Ares, an 8th grader at Gullermina Rosado De Ayala elementary and middle school in Loiza, Puerto Rico, holds her brother, Adrien Bayron, 2, at their home. The Puerto Rican government’s efforts to rebuild and remake its educational system will take years. But so will a complex and in some ways more fraught battle for the U.S. territory’s children and educators: helping them cope with trauma and meeting their emotional needs. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
Puerto Rico Schools Seek Emotional Healing for Students, Teachers
Clifford and Kim Xantus with their children Louis and Sophie in their home in Newtown, Pa. Kim Xantus is a member of a diversity council created after a series of hate incidents in the Council Rock, Pa., school district. —Daryl Peveto for Education Week
Swastikas on bathroom stalls. Chants of ‘Build the wall.’ Notes that say ‘Go back to Mexico.’ Education Week found hundreds of reports of hate and bias in schools.
Mohammed Choudhury, chief innovation officer for the San Antonio Independent School District, clowns around with children during lunch at a school in San Antonio, Texas. Choudhury was recognized as a Leader To Learn From by Education Week for his work in expanding school choice. — Lisa Krantz for Education Week
Giving Families an ‘Equal Shot’ at Finding the Right School
Kindergartner Ava Josephine Mikel and teacher Priscilla Joseph dance to Haitian music during a game of “freeze dance” at Toussaint L’Ouverture Academy, a Haitian Creole dual-language program at Mattahunt Elementary School in Boston. More dual-language programs are cropping up in districts around the country. —Gretchen Ertl for Education Week
Dual-Language Learning: 6 Key Insights for Schools
Julie Latessa sings to students in a summer learning program in Providence, R.I. The program is part of coordinated efforts between the city and school district to boost students’ academic performance and overall well-being. —Gretchen Ertl for Education Week
In Some Cities, Closing Achievement Gaps Is Not for Schools to Fix Alone
Lead teacher Melanie McLaughlin gets a hug from her student, Daleyza Gaona, 4, as Caidyn Smith, 4, works with “slime” in their classroom at Early Childhood Development Center Reed, a Head Start program in Tulsa, Okla. The center used statistical modeling to reduce the number of “no show” students from 38 in 2016 to 11 in 2017. —Brandi Simons for Education Week
How Data Helped Head Start Centers Tackle a ‘No Show’ Problem
Third-grade students, from left to right, Peyton C., Landen H., Jeremiah W., and Sophie M., participate in a social studies lesson focused on the history and symbolism of the American flag at Freedom Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colo. The school district is focused on teaching students to do history rather than passively receive it. –Nathan W. Armes for Education Week
How History Class Divides Us
Hannah Cantrell, a senior in the Media Production class, operates one of the cameras during a live television broadcast in the BCTV Studio at Burnsville High School in Burnsville, Minn. The school has enlisted local businesses to help students find a career field that excites them, whether it leads to a four-year degree or not. —Ackerman + Gruber for Education Week
What’s Your Passion? High School Enlists Businesses to Help Students Decide
Teacher Michelle Andrews says she was assaulted by a student in 2015. She ended up pressing charges, was fired, and then settled with the school board for nearly $200,000. —Daryl Peveto for Education Week
When Students Assault Teachers, Effects Can Be Lasting
Algebra Nation study expert Darnell Boursiquot high fives Polo Park Middle School students as he makes his way through a hallway at the Wellington, Fla., school. —Josh Ritchie for Education Week
How an Online Tutor Became a ‘Math Celebrity’
Lakeshore High School football players take the field for a football game in September at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Mich. –Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP
Kathy Durham, a West Wendover High School civics teacher, talks with students about crafting legislation around gun control during a U.S. Government class for seniors in West Wendover, Nev. —Kim Raff for Education Week
Post-Parkland, the Second Amendment Gets a Closer Look in Class
Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus, killing 17 people. —Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage
Parents wait for news after a reports of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The shooting occurred on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14. –Joel Auerbach/AP
The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage
An early morning fog rises where 17 memorial crosses were placed in memory of the deceased students and faculty from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. –Gerald Herbert/AP
The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage
Protesters rally against gun violence on the steps of the old Florida Capitol in Tallahassee on Feb. 21, the one week anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. —Mark Wallheiser/AP
The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage
Carrying crosses emblazoned with photos and names of the city’s victims of gun violence, high school senior D’Angelo McDade, front right, leads a march in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood during a nationwide student walkout to protest gun violence, on March 14, the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting. —Martha Irvine/AP
Student Walkout Taps Well of Anger, Mourning Over Gun Violence
With the U.S. Capitol behind the stage, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez is seen on a video screen as she stands silently at the podium at the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington. The silence marked the amount of time that ticked by during the massacre. –Cliff Owen/AP
‘March for Our Lives’ Draws Massive Crowds Pushing for Tighter Gun Restrictions
Student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother, Susan Davidson, following a shooting at Santa Fe High School on May 18 in Santa Fe, Texas. Ten people — 8 students and 2 teachers –were killed. —Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
Another American School Is Devastated by Gun Violence
A mourner wearing a Texas t-shirt holds a lighted candle during a vigil held in the wake of a deadly school shooting at Santa Fe High School. —Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
A Deadly School Year: 35 People Killed in School Shootings
Brian Hall, an armed community safety officer dedicated to the elementary schools in the Prince William County school system, monitors hallways at Ashland Elementary School in Manassas, Va. —T.J. Kirkpatrick for Education Week
What Principals Can Do to Keep Schools Safe Amid Shooting Fears
A stone schoolhouse from the 1800s sits above the Memorial to Fallen Educators at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan. The monument to school employees who’ve died on the job was rededicated as a national memorial in June. — Julie Denesha for Education Week
For Educators Who Died on the Job, Small Town Offers Big Commemoration
Teachers from across Kentucky gather inside the state Capitol in Frankfort to rally for increased funding for education. The demonstrations was inspired by West Virginia teachers, whose nine-day walkout after many years without raises led to a 5 percent pay hike. –Bryan Woolston/AP
Costly Pension Plans Are Fanning the Flames of Teacher Unrest
After her children have gone to bed, Sara Doolittle takes advantage of quiet time to work on a research paper in her home office. Doolittle, who works full time as an English teacher at Norman High School in Norman, Okla., is also a graduate student, and a research assistant at the University of Oklahoma. Doolittle says she took a major pay cut when her family moved to the state from Colorado. —Swikar Patel/Education Week
Fed Up With Low Pay, Oklahoma Teachers Prepare to Walk Out
During the sixth day of school walkouts, teachers crowd the lobby of the Arizona Senate as Arizona lawmakers debate a budget negotiated by majority Republicans and GOP Gov. Doug Ducey in May at the Capitol in Phoenix. The budget gave teachers big raises but fell short of their demands for better school funding. –Matt York/AP
The Teachers Are Winning. What Does It Mean for the Profession?
Democrat Jahana Hayes, candidate in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District and a former National Teacher of the Year, celebrates her win at an election night rally in November in Waterbury, Conn. —H. John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP
In Historic Win, Nationally Recognized Teacher Jahana Hayes Elected to U.S. House
The burned remains of the Paradise Elementary school smolder in Paradise, Calif. Blocks and blocks of homes and businesses in the Northern California town were destroyed by a deadly wildfire. –Rich Pedroncelli/AP
As They Fled Fire, Teachers Feared They Would Die in Cars With Their Students
“I got more comfortable with people disagreeing. … I started to realize that everyone is compelled by what they think is best for everyone. They’re not good or evil.” Bintou Sonko, a senior at Overland Park High School, near Denver, reflects on the civic discussions in her social studies classes this year. —Nathan W. Armes for Education Week