Is Your School Facing Shortages Because of the Pandemic?

As schools return to in-person learning, many are experiencing shortages, which means they don’t have enough of something. In a recent New York Times article, the writer Giulia Heyward describes some of them:

In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker is activating the National Guard to help with the shortage in bus drivers. In North Carolina, legislators are hoping to ease a cafeteria worker shortage by giving districts federal funding to cover signing bonuses for new hires. And some Missouri districts are wiping away some of the requirements to become a substitute teacher to attract more applicants.

Do any of these problems sound familiar to you? Since coming back to school this fall have you noticed that there aren’t enough substitute teachers, school supplies, bus drivers or other resources?

In “How School Cafeterias Deal With Shortages,” Madeleine Ngo writes about how a lack of resources is affecting school lunches:

If you want to learn more about school lunch shortages, read a longer version of this article. Then, answer the questions below:

• How did you feel reading the article? Were you surprised by the food shortages that schools are facing? Why or why not?

• Have you noticed a lack of supplies or staff at your school? Has there not been a bus driver available to pick you up? Have you missed your usual choices at the cafeteria? Tell us about your experience.

• How do you think school shortages are affecting students in your school or others around the country? Many students rely on school lunches as their main, and sometimes only, daily source of food. How might shortages more severely affect students in this situation?

• The article reports on several ways schools are trying to fix the food shortage. Which do you think is best and why? Do you have any other ideas for how schools or the community could handle the problem?

• What questions do you have about the shortages in your own school or those around the country?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.