A year ago, teacher and instructional coach Susan Ferguson left her classroom as the coronavirus pandemic gained momentum in Southern California, not knowing when she or her students would return. In recent weeks, families across the region have rejoiced with the news some campuses will reopen as the state’s infection rates trend downward, celebrating what they hope is the beginning of the end to home-based distance learning, the challenges it posed and the problems it exposed. Ferguson, too, looks forward to returning to Thomas Jefferson High School in South Central Los Angeles. But she’s annoyed by comments from distance-learning critics who say the past 12 months have been a waste of time.“It’s definitely been a challenge, ” Ferguson said. “The idea that some people put forth that it’s been a complete failure, I would vehemently disagree with, as someone who has seen my own students learn. ”Now, with schools poised to reopen this spring and into the fall, Ferguson and other educators are looking to the lessons learned during this most unusual academic year and how to improve education for all students moving forward. One of the most significant bright spots in the past year, many educators and families say, is the intense focus school districts put on technology to try to make virtual learning accessible to all students. Across the state, districts purchased computing devices and mobile hotspots for students. While the devices haven’t always worked perfectly, and spotty wifi remains an issue for some, distance learning has provided students and teachers more opportunities to pick up 21st century skills. Corona-Norco Unified School District, for example, had long planned to get a Chromebook for each of its more than 53, 000 students.“Five years ago, what seemed so far-reaching, that it would take years to get devices in the hands of kids, we made it happen in less than a year, ” said Lisa Simon, Corona-Norco deputy superintendent of educational services. For educators who may have been slow to embrace technology in their classroom, many now see the benefits, such as being able to give and get feedback from students more easily. Access to technology is one thing, however, and managing a child’s education from home is another. When it became clear the 2020-21 school year would begin with students learning remotely, Nicole Klink created the Hemet San Jacinto Distance Learning Support Facebook group. Now more than 1, 300 members strong, the group shares tips on how to make virtual learning work for families, shares information about local school districts’ plans and serves as a place to vent a little.“Everyone’s trying to do the best that they can, but they don’t feel like they have enough support, ” said Klink, a Hemet mother of first- and ninth-graders and an instructional aide for San Jacinto Unified.