COVID-19 Policy Update #167
COVID-19 Policy Update
WEDNESDAY 12/15
TOP THREE
COVID-19’s Painful—and Essential—Lessons for America’s Schools: Great piece from Former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
"Challenges now facing U.S. schools represent an indisputable priority and a timely opportunity. As the nation contemplates its post-pandemic future, our schools and students represent common ground and a shared focus. It is vital that Americans come together at the local, state and national levels to reform and rebuild the education system, to address the lessons of Covid-19 and to set a stronger foundation for the future—the children’s and ours.
"Existing gaps in educational achievement caused by poverty or racial inequities likely have widened during the pandemic due in part to lack of technology access."
"Going forward, even after every school reopens, students will need broadband access to complete homework, apply for college and jobs, and even maintain friendships."
"How the pandemic has further affected student performance is something that should concern every parent, teacher and policy maker. We need to know as much as we can, as quickly as we can. Teachers and schools need clear and ongoing data on students’ progress and needs. Policy makers need accurate information to set priorities for use of limited resources."
"Covid-19 wiped out millions of blue-collar and hourly services jobs, and that trend is unlikely to reverse. Automation, artificial intelligence, globalization and other forces will continue to reshape the economy. It is imperative that teachers and schools prepare students for the world they will face."
How Two Schools Are Enabling Even More Personalized Learning From A Distance: Piece by Phyllis Lockett:
"Students steeped in personalized learning are agile, digitally fluent and in command of their own learning—the very skills that are proving essential to succeed today."
"It seems paradoxical, but from a distance, many teachers are forming even closer connections with students and their families, which has strengthened their ability to engage them through personalized learning practices and effectively address their academic and social-emotional needs."
"The bedrock of personalized learning is understanding students’ academic and social-emotional strengths, interests and family backgrounds—all which make up their learner profiles."
"But schools also are leveraging edtech products to give students more control over their learning. Both schools use the Summit Learning platform, which enables students to stick closely to their learning goals, and helps teachers in remote settings understand how students are progressing toward those goals."
Teachers Leaving the Profession:
27% of teachers are considering quitting because of COVID. Read the whole report here.
And this WSJ article: Teacher Shortage Compounds Covid Crisis in Schools
FEDERAL
Economic Relief Package:
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Axios that the $748 billion bipartisan relief proposal will be used as the framework in the Senate for a final package that Congress hopes to pass by the end of the week.
Leadership met this evening and are reconvening right around the time I hit send on this email. There's still a sense of optimism but we've been here before.
Tax Foundation has an analysis of State and Local Aid Under the Bipartisan State and Local Support and Small Business Protection Act of 2020
HHS: The "Tell Me More" digital video campaign kicks off with Dr. Fauci reassuring that with science and public health tools the pandemic will end, while additional videos dive into details of the science of the virus and vaccine development.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Moderna's Vaccine: The FDA review confirmed Moderna's 94% efficacy rate in preventing COVID infections for people with two doses. The FDA review showed Moderna's vaccine worked "equally well in white, Black and Hispanic volunteers, men and women, healthy participants and those with preexisting health conditions that put them at heightened risk. Moderna's vaccine doesn't need to be kept as cold as the Pfizer vaccine, making it far easier to distribute. Data here. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meets on Dec. 17 to determine their recommendation for EUA.
Answers to Your Questions About the New Covid Vaccines: Great piece from the NYT.
Vaccine Hesitancy: New KFF research:
"About a quarter (27%) of the public remains vaccine hesitant, saying they probably or definitely would not get a COVID-19 vaccine even if it were available for free and deemed safe by scientists. Vaccine hesitancy is highest among Republicans (42%), those ages 30-49 (36%), and rural residents (35%). Importantly, 35% of Black adults (a group that has borne a disproportionate burden of the pandemic) say they definitely or probably would not get vaccinated, as do one third of those who say they have been deemed essential workers (33%) and three in ten (29%) of those who work in a health care delivery setting."
Teachers Should Be Prioritized: Statement from UNICEF
Rapid At-Home Test Approved: FDA approved Ellume's home antigen test which will be sold for $30 or less. It hopes to produce 3 million tests by January and to deliver 20 million tests by the first half of next year.
Is My Cough COVID-19?: This is incredible: "Imagine that even if you have no symptoms of COVID-19, the sound of your forced cough transmitted to your smartphone or smart speaker, processed by an algorithm, could provide a 98·5% accurate diagnosis. That's what a study involving more than 4000 people suggested might be possible."
COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guide: USDR has identified 8 key areas of work for vaccine providers along with the corresponding tech tools.
39 Voices of the US COVID Pandemic COVID information: Incredible set of resources from USDR on where people find COVID information, why they need it, and what they do with it. The key finding here is that Americans don't read government websites—information percolates from the scientists, to governments and media, through a layer of intermediaries we call the "translators" who are trusted sources of information for specific communities. Equipping the "translators" with accurate and actionable talking points will be the key to changing public behavior en masse. Executive Summary / Starter Kit / Deck / Policy Memo
STATE
Colorado: Gov. Polis released the "Roadmap to In-Person Learning” report which was informed by the “Back-to-School Working Group." Recommendations are broken out to address:
Increasing trust and transparency
Preventing and protecting students, families, educators, and staff
Increasing access to testing and vaccines
INTERNATIONAL
EU: Europe wanted to keep schools open this winter, but the coronavirus surges have disrupted those plans.
The latest country to change course is Germany, where most schools will move to distance learning Wednesday as part of tougher new lockdown rules. Widening outbreaks have also triggered the closure of schools in the Netherlands and in Asia, where the South Korean capital, Seoul, opted for similar measures this week.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
WorkRise: Announced $2.1 million in grants for researching economic mobility, including:
How Does Federal and State Wage and Employment Policy Shape Racial Disparities in Earnings and Economic Mobility?
Schedule Control at IKEA: How Does Worker Schedule Control Impact Employee Economic Security and Mobility?
Creating Paths for STARs: Increasing Mobility Opportunities for Workers without BA Degrees
Impacts of Extending Child Care Subsidies for Education and Training
The Effects of Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility for Short Occupational Training Programs: Results from the Experimental Sites Initiative. Main findings:
Offering Pell Grants for short occupational programs to low-income students with a bachelor’s degree increased program enrollment and completion by about 20 percentage points.
Offering Pell Grants for very short-term occupational training programs increased program enrollment and completion by about 10 percentage points.
More than half of students offered experimental Pell Grants used them, receiving an average grant amount of $1,800.
Hiring for Skills, Not Degrees: The Business Roundtable announced a new initiative to recognize skills, rather than only college degrees, in the hiring process.
RESOURCES
COVID Tracking in Schools, Now Spotty, Key to Reopening Classes: Via Bloomberg Government. I stand by my quote:
“It’s just ludicrous that we don’t have that” broader data gathering, said John Bailey, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who worked on education and labor policy at the White House during the Bush administration. “That information is what’s going to tell us whether or not schools are super spreaders.”
Johns Hopkins University Learning Modules: The seven-module series is designed to help U.S. school and district officials develop and assess plans for in-person K-12 instruction.
Parents Need Data About Their Kids in a Form They Can Understand: Via Cindi Williams:
"This year has the potential to be a turning point. A public education system designed to be parent-proof has been turned on its head."
"And assessment vendors need to prove that the results of their exams are valuable to parents and teachers, to overcome considerable pushback in a year when states are announcing plans to pause accountability requirements."
Mental Health: Via Vox: Anxiety and depression are following a remarkably similar curve to Covid-19 cases
More Support for Tutoring: Robert Slavin - An Open Letter to President-Elect Biden — a Tutoring Marshall Plan to Heal Our Students
Devastating Impact on Children: And the vaccine won't fix everything. Via NBC.
No Vaccine, No School? Should schools require a coronavirus vaccine?
ScaryMommy: "Reopening Schools Is About Politics, Not Our Kids’ Safety"
The 14 Most Memorable Pieces of Education Journalism from 2020: Good list.
The Path Back From Conspiracy: Brilliant piece from Yuval Levin.
Tap Into Your Superpowers: Just like this young man.