One item that came up during Joe Biden’s first presidential news conference that didn’t receive much media attention is something that I think should be troubling to people who are worried about the future of  education in America. The president pointed, with what sounded like pride, to the fact that nearly half of our nations kindergarten through 8^th grade students are attending in-person classes for the first time since the start of the pandemic a year ago. That means that still more than half of our country’s elementary aged school students are still having to learn virtually, away from their classmates and teachers, in their home. That’s despite the fact that most experts believe that virtual  classes are far less effective than those conducted in person, that students who are forced to learn virtually are subject to issues that result from  isolation from others And that the educational losses that result from virtual learning will be difficult or impossible to recover from later.  That’s all the more reason that I will say again that we all owe a great debt of gratitude to school officials and teachers in our area who’ve done their best to navigate the difficulty of health mandates and the pandemic to keep students in the class room, learning together with others through out this school year. That’s the way I see it..