COVID-19 Policy Update #137
COVID-19 Policy Update
WEDNESDAY 10/28
TOP THREE
Five Post-Pandemic Predictions for Online and Blended Learning: From ASU Prep Digital's Julie Young:
The switch to tech-supported learning is permanent.
Many students will stay online.
Innovation and model experimentation will increase.
Alternative school ideas – ‘unschool,’ micro-schools, learning pods, homeschooling, ‘outschool’ – will continue to increase.
Notions about how and when students progress will continue to change.
The Pandemic Is Phishing Innovation In The Classroom: OpEd from Poway Unified School District superintendent Marian Kim Phelps:
Poway Unified is also on track to becoming a 1:1 device district for all 36,000 students.
"In many ways, this pandemic has forced those of us in education to fast forward our efforts to bring learning into the 21st century. While so many other industries and occupations have incorporated technology successfully into their work, education, as a whole, has been relatively slow to adapt."
"Another teacher had her students go through an “escape room” by solving math problems together."
"Instead of the typical, “getting to know you” conversations, elementary students are using Flipgrid to record videos about themselves and their passions, so their teachers and classmates can get to know each other better.
"But even when we return in person, my hope is that the positive results of the pandemic on education will continue: providing students with more personalized learning, choice and flexibility, as well as teaching and learning in a whole new way, with creativity, patience and problem solving that will extend far beyond the classroom and beyond the status quo."
Linking Social-Emotional Learning to Long-Term Success: Article in Education Next describing a recent study conducted in Chicago: "Compared to test-score value-added, social-emotional value-added is far more predictive of the behaviors that support student success, such as having fewer absences and being on-track to graduate. And it is more predictive of positive longer-run outcomes as well, such as graduating from high school and enrolling in a four-year college."
FEDERAL
ED: IES and REL released the Continuous Improvement in Education: A Toolkit for Schools and Districts which includes a customizable workbook, reproducible templates, and short informational videos.
Biden: Released more details on his plan for safely reopening schools. Included is a call for $4 billion to close the homework gap. And a proposed COVID-19 Educational Equity Gap Challenge Grant to encourage states to develop plans that adopt evidence-based policy recommendations.
Election: Several resources from our partners:
Brownstein's Federal Pre-Election Town Hall: Zoom Password: P7W@BciR Discussion of what faces the new Congress, prospects for additional rounds of stimulus, ending the filibuster, and more. Does not dive into education but provides a good macro perspective.
2020 in 20 Minutes: Republican Bruce Mehlman and Democrat David Thomas break down the campaigns, prospects for COVID relief, tech policy, and outcome predictions.
Brownstein's Election Night 2020: What to Expect provides a useful overview of the key events between election day and the inauguration.
What Does the 2020 Election Mean for Education: Good panel lined up for this event on Nov 4:
Jason D. Delisle, Resident Fellow, AEI
Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President for the Social Policy and Politics Program, Third Way
Donna Harris-Aikens, Senior Director, Education Policy and Practice, National Education Association
Frederick M. Hess, Director, Education Policy Studies, AEI
Nat Malkus, Deputy Director, Education Policy Studies, AEI
Roberto J. Rodríguez, President and CEO, Teach Plus
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Meet the Youngest Participants in Covid-19 Vaccine Trials: Great piece:
I think that it could really benefit the world, and I think it could also help scientists know more about the coronavirus,” said a 12-year-old who recently received his first injection.
Bianca De La Cruz, 33, a paraprofessional for the New York City Department of Education, works with elementary school students and has a 13-year-old daughter. She said she feels Pfizer is using children as “guinea pigs.”
New South Wales Study of Children: New report provides the latest data from an ongoing study by researchers from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and the University of Sydney, in collaboration with NSW Health and the NSW Department of Education. Key findings include:
"The findings of the report are consistent with other studies that have found children, especially primary school age and younger, appear less likely than adults to transmit COVID-19 to others".
Only 33 secondary cases of COVID-19 were detected across the educational settings – an overall transmission rate of 0.9%
Most of the 33 secondary cases occurred in just five high schools (26 students and 1 staff member), where the transmission rate was 1.1% overall
Three primary schools recorded four secondary cases (two students and one staff member), representing a transmission rate of 0.4%
There were three secondary cases in two ECEC services (all in adults), a transmission rate of 0.7%
Independent Vaccine Review: Washington, Oregon and Nevada will join California to independently review any coronavirus vaccine before distributing it to the public.
Study on Mask Mandates: A Vanderbilt study compared Tennessee hospitals based patients that came from counties with mask mandates and those that didn't. In hospitals where at least 75% of patients are subject to a local mask requirement, COVID hospitalizations are at about the same level as they were July 1. In hospitals where fewer than 25% of patients are subject to a local mask mandate, however, hospitalizations are more than 200% higher than their July 1 levels.
Michigan Survey: Conducted for the Michigan Health and Hospital Association: 91% say masks, other measures are important to help fight COVID-19. Some 37% of voters said they would “definitely” or “probably” get the vaccine as soon as one is available, while 35% said they would wait to see how it works. Another 25% said they would “probably” or “definitely” not get the vaccine.
STATE
2021 State Legislative Calendar: Useful chart from FiscalNote.
Arizona: AZDHS revised coronavirus guidelines for schools. They now recommend school districts transition from hybrid to virtual learning if all three benchmarks move to substantial for two weeks.
New York:
EdTrust poll found 44% of parents of color whose children are learning at home full-time said they’re not considering a return to in-person learning this school year, while just 10% of white parents felt the same way. Half of low-income respondents had ruled out in-person schooling this school year, compared to 28% of those with household incomes greater than $50,000.
NYC plans to deploy wifi in homeless shelters to help students learn.
Texas: Woodlands elementary keeps student-run Comet Coffee business going during pandemic. Sounds like a latte work.
Virginia: Northern Virginia school officials are attempting to return students to classrooms.
INTERNATIONAL
Europe: Is clearly experiencing another wave of the virus.
German hospitalizations have doubled in the last 10 days. Germany’s federal and state governments agreed to shut down parts of the economy and toughen restrictions in an effort to stem a record rise in coronavirus infection rates. Schools will remain open.
Dutch hospitals "have reached their limits" and they're sending patients to Germany.
French President Macron announced a four week nationwide lockdown but schools will remain open.
Italy is experiencing protests in response to new restrictions.
South Korea: Lower income students are hit harder by COVID restrictions.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Smarter Government for Social Impact: A New Mindset for Better Outcomes: New report from Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation with Jim Shelton. A few highlights:
"The current public funding system must be redesigned to incentivize, measure, and reward solutions and innovation over compliance. Government needs new financing mechanisms that deploy resources toward outcomes as well as new assessment and data collection methods to measure whether policies are achieving results and improving lives in communities."
"An outcomes-focused government may need to accept a spectrum of data and evidence from early- to late-stage knowledge as well as a range of methodologies to measure results."
"Outcomes-focused funding should comprise a larger portion of government spending on social services."
"Government, philanthropy, and the private sector should also work together to foster a market of providers and governments willing to embrace outcomes-focused pilots prior to implementing a pipeline."
Markle Foundation: Investing in workers policy agenda. Major proposals include:
Create an Opportunity Account, a new funding system that provides generous financial support to workers to pay for effective education and training: That funding can be used not only cover tuition costs but also for supportive services and emergency cash aid to ensure worker success.
Expand career coaching to provide workers with the support to navigate the job market, training options, and pathways to economic security.
Incentivize employers to hire and train for quality jobs: This proposal includes support for employers and unions to promote inclusive hiring practices that remove barriers for people of color and those without formal education, improve job quality, and provide meaningful funding for employer-provided training.
Increase virtual learning opportunities and effective online training: More people are demanding online training, and investments are needed to make online learning as effective as possible. Developing new programs and helping existing program transition to virtual formats is essential especially for people with lower levels of formal education that have not traditionally benefited.
When a Pandemic Upends Labor Markets, Will a New Workforce ISA Fund Work?: Via EdSurge which explores ISAs though a new workforce training program organized by UC San Diego Extension and the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP). One note - the story misses that the Newsom Administration is actually cracking down on ISAs and trying to steer providers toward offering more traditional loan products. The situation Lambda experienced with regulators is a good illustration (more here and here).
The Challenge Facing Single Moms: Via NPR: There are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the U.S., raising 22.4 million children. 80% of those single parents are moms. "Women have lost more jobs than men during the recession, and others are quitting their jobs in frustration from the demands of child care. However, quitting is just not an option for most single parents."
Northwest Arkansas Economic Recovery Strategy: New plan from Heartland Forward organized around seven actions:
Become the Heartland's leading small region for talent
Be the Heartland's best small place for arts, culture and recreation
Grow the economy and jobs around big company anchors
Bolster the region's small businesses and startup ecosystem
Make inclusion and diversity a regional priority
Put health at the center of the agenda
Rebrand and market the region
LEARNING PODS
Georgia: Decatur schools are taking applications for a learning pod program.
Canada: Learning pods are sprouting up around the Greater Toronto Area as parents look to supplement the education they are receiving in virtual schools.
School Choice Week: Has created a Google Sheet of community centers, libraries, childcare facilities, and other organizations offering students assistance with remote learning.
Rochester: The city is reopening libraries to serve as learning pods. They're open to all public, private and charter school students as long as they live in the City of Rochester.
RESOURCES
2020-21 Fall Reopening Plans and Summer Responses to COVID-19 Closures: CRPE database tracks over 100 districts that range in size and geography, and serve nearly 10 million students. Also a great collection of promising practices.
Air Purifiers, Fans, and Filters: A COVID-19 explainer for schools from EdWeek.
Ed Tech:
Course Hero acquires Tel Aviv-based online math provider Symbolab
Saga Education, a nonprofit that provides consistent, personalized, in-school-day math tutoring and mentoring, announced the acquisition of Woot Math.
Edlyft raised $1.4 million in seed funding from YC, Kleiner Perkins, Village Global, Kapor Capital, Backstage Capital, and January Ventures.
This Why We Need STEM: To code a robot to cut a pumpkin.