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In addition to academics, schools are where many students are fed two meals a day, where they receive mental health services to counter the often daily trauma of their lives, where they have safe places to stay and play after school and where their families get connected to vital resources in their community.

Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed schools in Wisconsin and across the country, many of the district’s staff and even volunteers are trying to maintain that lifeline under what most would have considered unimaginable circumstances just a few weeks ago.

“Milwaukee Public Schools and the people who work there are really trying to … function as a social safety net for students and families because there aren’t enough,” said Amy Mizialko, president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association.