COVID-19 Policy Update #183
COVID-19 Policy Update
THURSDAY 1/21
TOP THREE
Reopening EO: The President issued Executive Order Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers
ED and HHS are instructed to provide "evidence-based guidance to assist States and elementary and secondary schools in deciding whether and how to reopen, and how to remain open, for in-person learning; and in safely conducting in-person learning, including by implementing mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation, and testing."
Develop a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse
Provide technical assistance to schools and institutions of higher education so that they can ensure high-quality learning during the pandemic;
Direct the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to deliver a report as soon as practicable on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on students
Coordinate with IES to facilitate the collection of data necessary to fully understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and educators, including data on the status of in-person learning.
HHS is to facilitate the collection of data needed to inform the safe reopening and continued operation of elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, and Head Start programs, and ensure that such data are readily available.
Provide guidance and technical support to ensure that contact tracing is available to facilitate the reopening and safe operation of elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, Head Start programs, and institutions of higher education;
Provide guidance needed for child care providers and Head Start programs for safely reopening and operating, including procedures for mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation, and testing.
"The Federal Communications Commission is encouraged, consistent with applicable law, to increase connectivity options for students lacking reliable home broadband, so that they can continue to learn if their schools are operating remotely."
Biden Pushes To Reopen Schools Within 100 Days: Via CNN
"Union heads describe having a close working relationship with the Biden team but argue that the 100-day goal is a big challenge."
"Randi Weingarten says the goal may need to be reassessed depending on how the coronavirus is spreading over the next few months. Experts have warned that more transmissible variants, including the one first seen in the UK, could send cases surging again.
"On a call with reporters Wednesday, Carole Johnson, Biden's Covid testing coordinator, acknowledged that the reopening timeline may need to be extended."
Rural Students Face Different Challenges: Good piece from The 74
FEDERAL
White House: The Biden Administration released "National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness". Important highlights:
Efforts for “real-time” federal data collection for schools, a public dashboard on cases, testing and vaccination, and hospital admissions.
More guidance on masks, testing, and contact tracing.
Orders ED and HHS to "provide schools and local communities with resources to safely reopen schools."
The Administration will release a handbook that helps schools and local leaders implement the precautions and strategies necessary for safe reopening. It will also work with states and local school districts to support screening testing in schools, including working with states to ensure an adequate supply of test kits.
Launch a public vaccination campaign.
Use the Defense Production Act to make masks, tests, PPE, etc.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Anniversary of First Confirmed Case: One year ago, COVID-19 was detected in the United States.
CDC report. How it was covered in the news.
Good CNBC story on what we got right and what we got wrong
Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine: Protects against U.K. variant too according to a new study.
Pfizer and Moderna Vaccine Comparison: From ASTHO
Children Transmission: A new epidemiological study from the University of Florida found that while children are less susceptible to COVID-19, they can be nearly 60% more likely than adults over 60 to infect exposed family members.
"UF and Chinese investigators, including researchers at the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, used a statistical transmission model to analyze data from more than 27,000 households in Wuhan, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak."
South Carolina Study: Found that only about 1% of the students and staff in Charleston County Public Schools tested positive for COVID-19 between the start of in-person school on Sept. 8 and winter break, which began Dec. 18.
"Allison Eckard, an infectious disease pediatrician at MUSC Children’s Health who is working with the school district on pandemic prevention measures, was shocked.“I really was just not in favor of this initially. And now I am a believer. Kids need to be in school, and it’s safe.”
What New COVID Variants Mean For Schools: Via Nature
STATE
Arkansas: Benton schools launch an online screening form to better detect cases
DC: Is set to begin vaccinating teachers this week.
Florida: Broward County reported that 59,000 of the district’s 204,000 students have failed to make adequate academic progress, most are Black or Latino.
Idaho: Teachers begin receiving the vaccine
Maryland: Baltimore City Council members ask schools chief to reconsider reopening plan
Nevada: The state's largest private school reopens after getting a state waiver.
"In the first 19 weeks of school under hybrid education, Faith Lutheran reported an average of 2.1 COVID-19 cases per week out of a combined total of 2,100 students and employees. Contact tracing indicated that none of the infections was believed to have occurred at the school."
New Hampshire: NEA-NH is asking Gov. Sununu to explain why ski patrol staff are being prioritized for the vaccine ahead of educators.
Ohio:
Cleveland joined 96 percent of school districts statewide signing on to Gov. DeWine’s goal of bringing students back to classrooms quickly. That plan calls for starting teacher vaccinations Feb. 1 and giving all families the ability to send kids to school by March 1, even if only part-time.
Dayton teachers unions back vaccine, but say it's not a cure-all
West Virginia: More than 18,000 teachers have received first dose of vaccine
Wisconsin: Via NYT: The Board Voted to Keep Schools Closed. Parents Revolted.
INTERNATIONAL
Portugal: Will close schools due to a surge of cases.
UK: Research by the Sutton Trust suggests that remote learning is widening the attainment gap between rich and poor.
In better off families in England 40% of children study five hours a day, against 26% in poorer homes.
86% of private schools are using online live lessons, compared to 50% in state schools, a gap which has widened since the first lockdown.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Black Workers: CEOs are driving an initiative to hire, train 1 million Black workers over next 10 years
Opioid Crisis: The CDC says more than 81,000 people died of opioid use over the last 12 months. 10 western states reported a 98% increase in opioid deaths.
LEARNING PODS
Lee's Learning Loft: In Florida
"Shannon Lee, now a former Hillsborough County School teacher said she couldn't risk her family's health by going back into a huge public school."
"Now, she owns and operates Lee's Learning Loft, where she supervises virtual learning for fewer than 10 children."
"She says learning pods, run by a certified teacher, are a good option for families who aren't comfortable with brick and mortar, may struggle with technology, or just want a smaller school group setting."
"The reality of it is in some schools and some classrooms, the teachers are just not able to give their students their child that individualized attention that they need," Lee said."
High Schools in Escondido: Will continue online learning but with learning pods:
"Since the fall, however, the high schools have invited back some students to participate in small groups known as “learning pods.” These students continue to engage in virtual learning, but do it in a classroom on campus, with the support of a teacher who may or may not be one of their assigned teachers. This arrangement allows students to return to campus while remaining in small, self-contained cohorts."
RESOURCES
13,000 School Districts, 13,000 Approaches to Teaching During Covid: The NYT looks at seven representative districts.
Credit Recovery Isn't Enough: New CRPE report on how to manage a surge of failing course grades
A National Tutoring System? Not So Fast: Says Lisa Snell
Eight Recommendations for the Biden Administration: Checker Finn opines at EdNext, including:
"Put the two most obvious conditions on those billions of additional school dollars. Insist that schools getting them actually reopen fast, especially for the hardest-hit kids. And insist that all schools, including charter and private, get their fair share of these funds."
"And the Covid-19 recovery period is a terrific opportunity to investigate a range of interventions. Schneider recently rekindled the idea of a “DARPA for education“ and has invited path-breaking research initiatives as a way to juice that idea."
NGA Announces Task Forces To Lead Pandemic Response, Recovery: Press Release
Pandemic and Disaster Response: Governor Ned Lamont (Connecticut) and Governor Bill Lee (Tennessee). Issues include Federal Emergency Management administration (FEMA), National Guard, cybersecurity, health care, and COVID-19 (e.g. testing, vaccines, supply chain and personal protective equipment).
Economic Recovery and Revitalization: Governor Henry McMaster (South Carolina) and Governor Andy Beshear (Kentucky). Issues include infrastructure, state stabilization, energy, environment, land management and taxes.
Community Renewal: Governor Albert Bryan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Governor Mike Parson (Missouri). Issues include workforce, nutrition, education, criminal justice, agriculture and broadband.
How Can States Leverage Broadband Emergency Funds? Via ExcelinEd
Teacher Unions Keep Moving the Goalposts: Argues Mike Antonucci
Celebrating America: Loved that last evening's celebration started with Bruce Springsteen performing “Land of Hopes and Dreams." I've always been drawn to the lyrics painting the picture of "saints and sinners" and "winners and losers" on a shared journey toward a better tomorrow. It's an American anthem. But it's also worth listening to Rainmaker from his most recent album (audio / lyrics) that offers a perspective of our current period. That at times of despair, "sometimes folks need to believe in something so bad" that they'll turn to anyone, including the most salacious, to comfort their pain. It's a diagnosis, not a remedy which is why Amanda Gorman's charge was so poignant, "For there is always light if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it."