/ Julie Pierce gestures to her second grade students during a Zoom call. Pierce has spent the entire school year teaching remotely, but Hickman Mills has tentative plans to bring students back in March. Ed. Note: This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Last week, as she has every week this school year, Kansas City-area teacher Julie Pierce greeted her second graders on Zoom before taking them on a virtual trip to the Arctic for a fast-paced reading lesson. “Adaptations are things that help them survive,” Pierce explained. “Remember, we wrote, ‘Puffins have thick feathers to help them keep warm.’ So you’re going to be looking for your animal’s adaptations, OK?”