17 FEBRUARY 2021 - DES MOINES, IOWA: A fourth grade student sits by himself at Walnut Street School in downtown Des Moines. Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) opened to in person education this week after teaching most of the 2020-2021 school year either remotely or with a hybrid/remote learning model. Elementary school classrooms, which used to sit 2-4 students at a table, have gone to individual desks, placed 6 feet apart, in classrooms. Students are required to wear masks for most class activities. The district has ended its hybrid model. The Governor of Iowa has aggressively pushed schools to return to in person education, going so far as to threaten to withhold funds from districts that don't return to in person classes. DMPS, the largest school district in Iowa, has resisted the Governor's push because Polk County, IA, has been a Coronavirus/COVID-19 hotspot with positivity rates well above 10 percent. The district was recently able to vaccinate many teachers and positivity rates have fallen to 9 percent, making it safer to reopen schools.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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