“School Never Stops”: Measures and Experience in Italian Schools during the COVID-19 Lockdown

With the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting lockdown, Italian schools have continued to provide education using distance learn-ing systems. In this emergency, the primary aim of the Ministry of Education was to guarantee each student’s right to education. The expression “School Never Stops” (“La Scuola non si ferma”) is a clear response to the country’s isolation and a demonstration of the school staff’s commitment. This paper describes Italy’s educa-tional response during the lockdown by illustrating the measures undertaken by the Ministry of Education and the initiatives by pri-vate and public organizations. The challenges of distance educa-tion during the pandemic emergency and future directions for the reopening of schools in September are also examined and dis-cussed.