EdNC published an excellent op-ed by Catherine Truitt, chancellor for Western Governors University NC and the Republican candidate for NC State Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Here is a selection from the piece:

We were not prepared for remote learning despite a decade of innovation initiatives and pilot projects spanning Democratic and Republican administrations, and general agreement within the education community that personalized learning enabled by technology is a good thing.

So why were we not prepared? The answer lies in our system itself. Although rays of light exist in several classrooms, schools, and counties, the system functions largely the same now as it did 100 years ago. Administrative efforts are focused on complying with reams of federal and state laws and regulations that seek to address a wide range of worthy concerns, but the basic system of education would be very recognizable to a student from the 1920s. In fact, I would argue that few institutions in this country have evolved less than our system of primary and secondary education.

It’s hard to argue with that!