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Globalization brings benefits such as economic growth and exposure to new products and people. Yet it also brings risks, as shown most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we introduce a special section on how American k-12 schooling is responding to that pandemic. While media coverage has arguably overstated the dangers of COVID-19, this introduction and the three papers in this special section offer more empirical takes, which together suggest more pragmatism than partisanship in public responses. In the introduction, we compare U.S. and international schooling responses to the pandemic, in part using a survey of informants in 21 nation-states. Generally, the U.S. is taking a more cautious approach than most other developed countries regarding school reopening. Second, in a short white paper, Angela Watson of Johns Hopkins University offers a summary of the extant knowledge of learning pods in the U.S., a fascinating innovation flourishing during the pandemic. Third, in "Reopening America's Schools: A Descriptive Look at How States and Large School Districts are Navigating Fall 2020," David Marshall of Auburn University and Martha Bradley-Dorsey of the University of Arkansas discuss how the 50 U.S. states and 120 largest school districts are reopening, largely online. Finally, in "We're All Teachers Now: Remote Learning During COVID-19," Dick Carpenter and Joshua Dunn of the University of Colorado/Colorado Springs report results from a national survey of parents, including comparisons of public, charter, and private schools.

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School Choice and the forming of citizens for responsible freedom are two of the most hotly debated topics in educational policy. International comparison offers perspective on the effects of alternative policies. This book profiles historically and currently two countries which give strong support to parental choice (The Netherlands and Belgium) and two others that maintain a strong State role in controlling education (Germany and Austria). Charles L. Glenn draws upon Dutch, French, and German sources to contrast how the Dutch and Belgians came over the 19th and 20th centuries to entrust education to civil-society institutions with strong parental choice, while Germany and Austria maintained a predominant State role in education. Glenn illuminates the implications of these policies and the dangers that can arise when the State uses popular schooling to shape popular beliefs and loyalties. This is essential reading for policy specialists concerned with balancing school autonomy and government oversight, and with debates over parental choice of schools.