This report describes how rural districts navigated school closures due to the COVID- 19 pandemic in Spring 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 out of 49 districts in New York and Ohio that were part of the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN). The majority of interviews took place when schools were 3-5 weeks into shutdown. We found that NCRERN partner districts focused their early pandemic response on (1) meeting students' basic needs, (2) facilitating access to learning, (3) educating students, and (4) building community.