When the U.S. public school system reopens in January 2021 after last year's holiday break, only 32 percent of children will be in school full-time, five days a week - most of them from upper-middle-income school districts serving mostly white families.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said: "We owe it to our students - especially those in underserved communities and students with disabilities -- for keeping all of our schools open safely and meeting the social, emotional, mental health and academic needs of all students." One of his first communications as a new member of the Biden administration.

"Addressing the devastating effects of COVID-19 will take years, including the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequities in our education system," he said, recognizing the huge disparities in access to education in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, as we enter 2022, 51 million children in nearly every country are back in the classroom and learning for themselves - and given the different state responses to the risks posed by COVID-19 and the country's bifurcated education system, there are incredible victories for schools to be had in the midst of it all. Different levels of resources.

The path to full reopening is, of course, thanks in large part to two major changes in the education landscape: an unprecedented influx of federal aid to the K-12 system and the availability of vaccines for teachers and students.

"Last Christmas, our children were at risk without the COVID-19 vaccine," President Joe Biden said earlier this month. "This Christmas, we are providing safe and effective vaccines to children ages 5 and older, and 20 million children are now vaccinated, and the number is growing. Last year, most of our schools were closed over Christmas. Now, 99 percent of our schools are open."

But several other major shifts have taken place in the past year - shifts that many believe set the stage for seismic reforms in what is required of public schools, how they are supported, and how they serve students and their families....