The purpose of this study was to analyze the discursive or sensationalize features and ideologies of online news headlines about school status in the COVID-19 pandemic. This study revealed that online news headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic frequently employed sensationalizing techniques to capture attention. These methods significantly shape how readers perceive news and its underlying issues. Furthermore, this undertaking employed qualitative research using the critical discourse analysis approach. The corpora in this endeavor were taken from five famous news portals in the Philippines, namely, ABS-CBN, CNN Philippines, GMA, Interaksyon, and Rappler, particularly those headlines published in the years 2020-2022. The study revealed that media journalists utilized sensationalizing devices in the discourse of headlines, such as evaluative language, intensification and quantification, references to elite people, references to agents, and references to emotion. The study also unveiled the underlying ideologies that were manifested, which consist of government lack of efficiency, multifaceted challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, politicizing the pandemic, and commitment to quality education. Based on the findings, it is advised that media journalists strive for more balanced and accurate headlines, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to avoid overusing sensationalizing techniques that may distort the reality of the situation. Moreover, it is essential to prompt media consumers to critically assess headlines and pursue the complete story before forming opinions. Educational programs on media literacy could aid readers in recognizing and understanding the impact of sensationalized headlines.