In one US school district, virtual school is not a virtual vacation

A classroom sits empty ahead of the statewide school closures in Ohio, US. Broward students are counted as present after logging in to an online portal, a single entry point to the district's suite of educational applications. Teachers also count students who are participating online and measure their engagement. — Reuters

Many US schools have stopped taking attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic forced classes online, but one South Florida district has remained committed to the scholastic task, saying it is a way to keep students safe and productive while learning at home.

Broward County, outside Miami, has used daily attendance as a tool to quickly find students who were unable to participate in online classes because their households lacked laptops or Internet access. Checking attendance has also helped officials identify those children in families particularly hard hit by the pandemic, whether through illness or financial setbacks.