COVID-19 Policy Update #136
COVID-19 Policy Update
TUESDAY 10/27
TOP THREE
Pandemic Pod Parents Consider Not Returning To Class: Tulsa Public School District is set to open in two weeks, but some parents may stick with their pods. "We’ve kind of been spoiled,” said mother of three Nicole Grafton. “Having 10-11 kids in a classroom, way shorter, hours, control over what they eat, control over what homework and work they are doing, it had kid of put the control back in our laps.”
Educators Wanted Vulnerable Students To Return For In-Person Learning, But a Racial Divide Spoiled Their Plans: Great article from The 74 on one school's planning, assumptions, and work to gain the trust of parents.
Childcare: The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Early Childhood Initiative has updated its tracking of how states are depleting their supplemental Child Care and Development Block Grant funds from the CARES Act.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Study Suggests Waning Antibody Immunity to COVID-19 Over Time: Imperial College London studied 365,000 individuals in England and found the number of people testing positive dropped by 26.5% across the study period, from almost 6% to 4.4%. That raises the prospect of decreasing population immunity. The lead study author said: "On the balance of evidence I would say, with what we know for other coronaviruses, it would look as if immunity declines away at the same rate as antibodies decline away, and that this is an indication of waning immunity at the population level.”
STATE
California: Via LA TImes: "How San Francisco became a COVID-19 success story as other cities stumbled." Experts credit San Francisco’s success to a long partnership between public health officers and universities, most notably during the AIDS crisis
Florida: The Florida Education Association asked an appeals court to reconsider a decision that backed Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in a battle about reopening schools. Part of the motion read: “Even though in-person school opened in almost all Florida counties by August 31, the irreparable harm is continuing because teachers and staff who were forced to report to schools are becoming infected with Covid-19, have become sick, and even died after returning to in-person school."
Illinois: Chicago Public Schools is asking for parent input as part of their reopening plan. More on the reopening plan and sample class schedules is here.
Kansas:
COVID community and incidence rates are so high in Kansas that only 1 county is in the school green zone.
Kansas City Public Schools said they may not be able to bring their students back on campus until January.
Maryland: Poll of MSEA members: 77% of don't believe that physically reopening schools can be done safely in the near future.
Texas: The Texas State Teachers Association has filed a grievance with the North East Independent School District concerning the reopening of campuses.
INTERNATIONAL
Germany: As the country faces another potential lockdown, schools try to remain open.
Hong Kong: John Tsang, who served as the former Finance Minister before founding the non-profit Esperanza, believes there will be a blend of traditional classroom teaching, online classes going forward. "Covid-19 won’t last forever, but online learning is here to stay."
Kenya: The country was to resume in-person lessons for all classes to avoid additional learning loss, but the ministry has been forced to put them on hold after rising infections over the past three weeks.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
When Work Goes Remote: Great analysis from economist Adam Oziemk who found some evidence that "remote work is already helping to send economic activity from the top 15 most expensive parts of the country to less expensive parts."
Startup Connecting Underserved Job Candidates With Employers: RiseKit raised $1.4 million in a funding round led by Stand Together Foundation, The Verte Opportunity Fund Zone and several angel investors.
The Rust Belt Boom That Wasn't: Via Reuters: "With the U.S. election just a week away, recently released government data and new analysis show just how little progress Trump made in changing the trajectory of the Rust Belt region that propelled his improbable rise to the White House."
RESOURCES
Protecting Student Data Privacy and Equity in the Pandemic: 24 education, healthcare, disability rights, civil liberties, and data protection organizations released ten principles for student data privacy and equity.
Parents Are The New School Zoom-Bombers: Via WSJ: "Now that moms and dads have gotten a new window into the classroom, many are having a hard time staying out of it. Some are asking questions during live video classes or texting teachers while class is in session. Others are sitting next to their kids and asking them questions or prodding them to speak up."
The Impossible Job of a Parent Navigating Zoom School: Via the Atlantic: A mother of five young kids is considering taking their education into her own hands.
ERS Resources: Just released two new resources:
Moving to the Next Phase of School Reopening: 3 Pivotal Questions for District Leader
A calculator tool that districts can adapt to help them optimize the number of students they can safely serve.
Strengthening State/Federal Coordination: Kathy Stack - "It's Time to Fix the Frayed Relationships Feds Have With States and Localities." Program implementation is as important as underlying policy. A new focus on intergovernmental collaboration could foster innovation and improve outcomes.
Carpool: Karaoke "This is my song"