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  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Giordano Francesco (16, right), who risks dropping out of school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Giordano said he often fell asleep, grew bored and frustrated with the online classes he followed on his phone. He got into arguments with teachers because he often logged off to help his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease, eat or use the bathroom. His mother, who left school at ten and lost her job as a theater cleaner during the pandemic, asked him to finish the school year. He said he would, and then drop out.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between Se
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A view of Scampia from the Melissa Bassi high school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples onl
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_M2P...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_M2P...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_M2P...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48) is seen here teaching an Italian online class on the smartphone of his third grade student Antonia Sivero (13), in her room in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in s
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: Antonia Sivero (13), a third grade student, attends an online Italian class held by her teacher Francesco Uccello in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of c
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: Antonia Sivero (13), a third grade student, attends an online Italian class held by her teacher Francesco Uccello in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of c
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: Antonia Sivero (13), a third grade student, attends an online Italian class held by her teacher Francesco Uccello in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of c
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Giordano Francesco (16, right), who risks dropping out of school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Giordano said he often fell asleep, grew bored and frustrated with the online classes he followed on his phone. He got into arguments with teachers because he often logged off to help his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease, eat or use the bathroom. His mother, who left school at ten and lost her job as a theater cleaner during the pandemic, asked him to finish the school year. He said he would, and then drop out.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between Se
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Giordano Francesco (16), who risks dropping out of school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Giordano said he often fell asleep, grew bored and frustrated with the online classes he followed on his phone. He got into arguments with teachers because he often logged off to help his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease, eat or use the bathroom. His mother, who left school at ten and lost her job as a theater cleaner during the pandemic, asked him to finish the school year. He said he would, and then drop out.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Giordano Francesco (16), who risks dropping out of school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Giordano said he often fell asleep, grew bored and frustrated with the online classes he followed on his phone. He got into arguments with teachers because he often logged off to help his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease, eat or use the bathroom. His mother, who left school at ten and lost her job as a theater cleaner during the pandemic, asked him to finish the school year. He said he would, and then drop out.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Marika Iorio (15), posese for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021.  She intends to stay in school, graduate, and become a psychologist. But she was struggling to follow school online and failing her classes. “I am scared I might not make it,” she said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts i
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Teenagers are seen here on a scooter in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Teenagers are seen here on a scooter in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Matteo Cantalino (16), who risks dropping out of  school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Matteo said he was failing and got left back with online classes. He'd like to go back to school when they re-open, but he's not sure he will be able to. He'd like to finish his studies and go to college.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Matteo Cantalino (16), who risks dropping out of  school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Matteo said he was failing and got left back with online classes. He'd like to go back to school when they re-open, but he's not sure he will be able to. He'd like to finish his studies and go to college.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Matteo Cantalino (16), who risks dropping out of  school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Matteo said he was failing and got left back with online classes. He'd like to go back to school when they re-open, but he's not sure he will be able to. He'd like to finish his studies and go to college.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Matteo Cantalino (16), who risks dropping out of  school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Matteo said he was failing and got left back with online classes. He'd like to go back to school when they re-open, but he's not sure he will be able to. He'd like to finish his studies and go to college.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Matteo Cantalino (16), who risks dropping out of  school, poses for a portrait in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Matteo said he was failing and got left back with online classes. He'd like to go back to school when they re-open, but he's not sure he will be able to. He'd like to finish his studies and go to college.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Carmela Petillo (51), a math teacher at the "Melissa Bassi" high school, poses for a portrait in the high school  in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Betw
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Carmela Petillo (51), a math teacher at the "Melissa Bassi" high school, poses for a portrait in the high school  in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Betw
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Marta Compagnone (36), head of school dropouts at the "Melissa Bassi" high school, poses for a portrait in the high school  in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to schoo
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Marta Compagnone (36), head of school dropouts at the "Melissa Bassi" high school, poses for a portrait in the high school  in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to schoo
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Domenico Mazzella Di Bosco (57), principal of the "Melissa Bassi" high school, walks up the stairs of the school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Betwe
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: An empty classroom is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" high school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A view of the gym with a banner saynig "La Scuola Per Napoli" (The school for Naples), is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" high school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: (R-L) Angela Esposito (33) and her two sons Francesco Saturno (13) and Angelo (10) are seen here at home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, posese for a portrait at his home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, h
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, posese for a portrait at his home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, h
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade, is seen here at home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion t
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, spends time on his smartphone on his bed, where he also sits to rarely attend online school classes, at home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo D
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, spends time on his smartphone on his bed, where he also sits to rarely attend online school classes, at home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo D
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, spends time on his smartphone on his bed, where he also sits to rarely attend online school classes, at home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo D
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: (R-L) Francesca Nardi (16) and Rosa Trotto (17), two soon-to-be school dropouts, pose for a portrait in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesca Nardi lamented her online classes. She is failing, likely to get left back, and would likely drop out. “It’s better if I just work,” Ms. Nardi, 15, said. “And not waste another year.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: (R-L) Francesca Nardi (16) and Rosa Trotto (17), two soon-to-be school dropouts, pose for a portrait in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesca Nardi lamented her online classes. She is failing, likely to get left back, and would likely drop out. “It’s better if I just work,” Ms. Nardi, 15, said. “And not waste another year.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: (R-L) Francesca Nardi (16) and Rosa Trotto (17), two soon-to-be school dropouts, are seen here in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesca Nardi lamented her online classes. She is failing, likely to get left back, and would likely drop out. “It’s better if I just work,” Ms. Nardi, 15, said. “And not waste another year.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A mother and her two daughters walk in Ponticelli. a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A housing project with a mural by street artist Jorit is seen here in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for go
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A student walks in the hallway of the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, poses for a potrait at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high s
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, poses for a potrait at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high s
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, poses for a potrait at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high s
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Dora Leva (36), mother of third grade student Emanuela, is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021.  “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” Francesco Uccello, an Italian teacher at the school, said. “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.” <br />
Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, is seen here teaching an online class to his third grade students at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to sc
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Third grade students are seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, is seen here teaching an online class to his third grade students at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to sc
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, 1 13 years old third grade student, is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. Francesco Saturno spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A third grade student is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_M2P...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 15 APRIL 2021: Salvatore Sivero (41) and his daughter Concetta are seen here in the kitchen while his other daughter Antonia attends an online class in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 15th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210415_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A view of the "Sails" housing project in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples known across Italy as a tough place plagued for years by the Camorra mafia, is seen here in Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and wo
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: An interoir view of the  "Melissa Bassi" high school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples onl
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A view of the gym with a banner saynig "La Scuola Per Napoli" (The school for Naples), is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" high school in Scampia, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Teachers at the Melissa Bassi high school had made significant progress in getting local children into school through art projects, workshops and personal tutoring. The challenge is enormous as there is no phone reception in some of the neighborhood’s most neglected housing projects, children are often crammed with multiple family members into a few rooms, and are easily discouraged, teachers said.<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Saturno, a 13 years old third grade student, posese for a portrait at his home in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesco spent his mornings helping in his grandfather’s fruit shop, sleeping in or glued to his Playstation. He only twice logged on to his online class. His mother, Angela Esposito, 33, who herself dropped out of high school, worried that he might leave school and follow in the footsteps of his father, who earns tips of loose change for babysitting parked cars in Naples. “I am scared that if he doesn’t go to school he is going to get lost,” she said. “And getting lost in Naples is dangerous.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, h
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: (R-L) Francesca Nardi (16) and Rosa Trotto (17), two soon-to-be school dropouts, pose for a portrait in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Francesca Nardi lamented her online classes. She is failing, likely to get left back, and would likely drop out. “It’s better if I just work,” Ms. Nardi, 15, said. “And not waste another year.”<br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A teenager walks his dog by a housiing project in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A teenager is seen here by a housiing project in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: A housing project is seen here in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for good.
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: School chairs are piled up here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: School chairs are piled up here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: School desks are piled up here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice the European average and in the city’s outskirts it is even higher. Teachers there have struggled to keep students interested in school, and worry that months of closed classrooms would shut students out for
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, is seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers.<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school stu
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Third grade students are seen here glued at their smartphones during a class at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, t
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Third grade students are seen here at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. Over the past months, the school has organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to school.” Between September and January, high school students in Naples only physically went to school for 27 days, according to the humanitarian organization Save the Children, a national low. In Naples, the dropout rate is about 20 percent, twice
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 14 APRIL 2021: Francesco Uccello (48), an Italian teacher, is seen here teaching an online class to his third grade students at the "Melissa Bassi" middle school in Ponticelli, a district in the outskirts of  Naples, Italy, on April 14th 2021. “Here parents have a hard time considering school as something important in life,” he said, “The kids don’t have anyone telling them to wake up for class.”  Over the past months, the school has also organised workshop to get the local kids, who were most likely to not attend the online classes, come to school and build solid personal relationships with the teachers. <br />
<br />
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Italy had among the highest dropout rates in the European Union. But over the last year it has kept its schools at least in part closed about three times longer than France, and more than Spain or Germany and just about all other member states, severing a lifeline for some of the most challenged children and fueling fears of an education crisis.<br />
<br />
Experts argued that by at least partially closing its schools for 35 weeks, Italy, already lagging behind the rest of Europe in key educational indicators and hoping for a strong post-pandemic recovery, had threatened its long term prospects. The country with Europe’s oldest population has risked leaving behind its youth, which is its greatest and rarest resource.<br />
<br />
While it is too early for reliable statistics, teachers, principals, advocates and social workers say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of students falling out of the system. Even those who stayed in are clearly falling behind.<br />
<br />
The problem is especially acute around the southern city of Naples. Schools here have remained closed longer than the rest of the country, in part because the president of the wider Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, insisted they were a potential source of infection. At one point, he mocked the notion that children in his region were “crying to go to sc
    CIPG_20210414_NYT_Italy-Dropouts_A73...jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: The entrance of the Federico Caffè high school where aspiring teachers wait before the start of the pre-selection tests  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_06.jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Professor Ugo Rossi of the University of Turin gives a lesson of his Introduction to Urban Geography course to students of the Gran Sasso Science Institute attending their PhD in Urban Studies, in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_616...jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012:  The computer classroom of the "Federico Caffè" high school where the pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers will take place today in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th. On 17 and 18 December there will be the pre-selection tests for the competition of recruiting aspiring teachers.  321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_10.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: An aspiring teacher waits her turn in front of the Federico Caffè high school before the start of the pre-selection tests  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_09.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: Romina De Cesaris (center), 37, a history and philosophy teacher with a temporary contract since 2000, waits her turn in front of the Federico Caffè high school for the pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th. On 17 and 18 December there will be the pre-selection tests for the competition of recruiting aspiring teachers.  321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_08.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: Romina De Cesaris, 37, a history and philosophy teacher with a temporary contract since 2000, waits her turn in front of the Federico Caffè high school for the pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th. On 17 and 18 December there will be the pre-selection tests for the competition of recruiting aspiring teachers.  321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_07.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: The entrance of the Federico Caffè high school where aspiring teachers wait before the start of the pre-selection tests  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_05.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: Aspiring teachers walk towards the classrooms of the "Federico Caffè" highschool where the pre-selection tests will take place,  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_03.jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Architecture professor Aldo Benedetti looks at damaged buildings in the historical center of L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_626...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Photographs and messages are left on a fence where part of  the Casa dello Studente, a university dormitory, collapsed when an earthwake struck L'Aquila 4 years ago. in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_623...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: A reinforcement structure covers the facade of a damaged building in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_621...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: A reinforcement structure covers the facade of a damaged building in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_620...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: The partially restored prefecture in the off-limits red zone in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_620...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Professor Frank Calaprice of Princeton University gives a lesson on Neutrino Physics to students of the Gran Sasso Science Institute attending their PhD in Astroparticle Physics, in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_618...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Professor Frank Calaprice of Princeton University gives a lesson on Neutrino Physics to students of the Gran Sasso Science Institute attending their PhD in Astroparticle Physics, in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_618...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Professor Frank Calaprice of Princeton University gives a lesson on Neutrino Physics to students of the Gran Sasso Science Institute attending their PhD in Astroparticle Physics, in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_617...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Director of Gran Sasso Science Institute Eugenio Coccia, 57, is interviewed at the GSSI headquarters in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. Eugenio Coccia has been the Director of the INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory (2003-2009), Chair of the INFN Scientific Committee on Astroparticle Physics (2002-2003) and President of the Italian Society of General Relativity and Gravitational Physics (2000-2004). <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_611...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Director of Gran Sasso Science Institute Eugenio Coccia, 57, is interviewed at the GSSI headquarters in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. Eugenio Coccia has been the Director of the INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory (2003-2009), Chair of the INFN Scientific Committee on Astroparticle Physics (2002-2003) and President of the Italian Society of General Relativity and Gravitational Physics (2000-2004). <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_606...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Theoretical physicist Goran Senjanovic, 63, gives a physics lesson in the auditorium of the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_605...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Theoretical physicist Goran Senjanovic, 63, gives a physics lesson in the auditorium of the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_604...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Theoretical physicist Goran Senjanovic, 63, gives a physics lesson in the auditorium of the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_604...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Italian military patrols the access to Corso Vittorio Emanuele by an empty square in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_600...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: The empty square of Piazza Palazzo, home to the townhall in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_599...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Damaged buildings overlook the empty square of Piazza Duomo 4 years after a deadly earthquake struck the city in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_595...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Cranes used for reconstruction of the historic center are seen in the off-limits "red zone" of L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_594...jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012:  The school staff of the "Federico Caffè" high scool wait for the aspiring teachers to enter the computer classroom where the pre-selection tests will take place, in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th. On 17 and 18 December there will be the pre-selection tests for the competition of recruiting aspiring teachers.  321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_11.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: An Aspiring teacher walks towards the classrooms of the "Federico Caffè" highschool where the pre-selection tests will take place,  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_04.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012: Aspiring teachers walk towards the classrooms of the "Federico Caffè" highschool where the pre-selection tests will take place,  in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_02.jpg
  • Rome, Italy - 18 December, 2012:  A waiting room at the "Marcello Malpighi" high school where aspiring teacher wait their turn for the public pre-selection test in Rome, Italy, on 18 September, 2012. The public pre-selection tests for aspiring teachers, announced by the Italian Ministry of Education, took place on December 17th and 18th for the first time in 13 years. 321,210 candidates are competing for 11,542 available teaching jobs in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools all over Italy.
    Teachers_01.jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Photographs and messages are left on a fence where part of  the Casa dello Studente, a university dormitory, collapsed when an earthwake struck L'Aquila 4 years ago. in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.<br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_625...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Theoretical physicist Goran Senjanovic, 63, walks up the stairs of the Gran Sasso Science Institute towards his office in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_614...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Theoretical physicist Goran Senjanovic, 63, poses for a portrait after giving a physics lesson in the auditorium of the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_613...jpg
  • L'AQUILA, ITALY - 18 November 2013: Director of Gran Sasso Science Institute Eugenio Coccia, 57, is interviewed at the GSSI headquarters in L'Aquila, Italy, on November 13th, 2013. Eugenio Coccia has been the Director of the INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory (2003-2009), Chair of the INFN Scientific Committee on Astroparticle Physics (2002-2003) and President of the Italian Society of General Relativity and Gravitational Physics (2000-2004). <br />
<br />
The first accademic year of the Gran Sasso Science Institute was inaugurated last week in L'Aquila. The GSSI, which has selected 36 students this years, is an international PhD school and a center for advanced studies in physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences. Its purpose is to form high level human capital, integrating education and research in a lively interdisciplinary environment.<br />
<br />
The city of L'Aquila was struck by 6.3 Richter scale earthquake on April 6th, 2009. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died,making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
    CIPG_20131118_INYT_GranSasso__M3_610...jpg
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