COVID-19 Policy Update #214
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 3/8
In honor of International Women's Day, tonight's update pairs well with Boxt - a female-founded, run, and venture-backed start-up that is redefining boxed wine. It was launched by Sarah Puil who is familiar to some of us from her previous roles at Strategic Education and Apollo Education Group. Each bamboo box contains the equivalent of four bottles of wine. I poured a glass of #5 tonight and sat down to write the update.
TOP THREE
Tutoring: NBER paper on impact of Saga Education's tutoring. Findings:
"Relatively low cost ($3,500 to $4,300 per participant per year tutoring."
"Saga tutors neither had formal teacher training nor were licensed Illinois teachers."
"Our first randomized controlled trial of Saga’s tutoring model with 2,633 9th and 10th grade students in Chicago public schools found participation increased math test scores by 0.16 standard deviations (SDs) and increased grades in math and non-math courses."
"We replicated these results in a separate RCT with 2,710 students and found even larger math test score impacts—0.37 SD—and similar grade impacts."
Students who received Saga tutoring learned as much as an extra two and a half years of math in one academic year.
"We also present suggestive findings consistent with, although certainly not definitive proof for, better ‘personalization’ of instruction as a relevant mechanism"
"Survey data show no detectable effects on whether youth report feeling close to or supported by adults in school or out of school, or on grit, conscientiousness, or locus of control."
More from U. of Chicago Urban Labs and the 74
COVID Relief Package: Passed the Senate on Saturday and is headed to the House for a final vote with the President expected to sign it this week. More detailed summaries coming soon but here are some toplines:
$130 billion for K12 education.
States and schools must reserve 25% of the stabilization fund for learning recovery
A 2.5% set aside for technology was taken out of the final bill.
$7 billion for the FCC's E-rate program to close the Homework Gap.
$39 billion for early-childhood programs.
$350 billion for state/local stabilization
$86 billion to bail out nearly 200 different union pension plans on the verge of collapse.
$1,400 checks for individuals making less than $75,000. Married couples who file taxes jointly can receive two $1,400 checks if their combined income is below $150,000. Payments would phase out at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples.
$300 extended unemployment benefits through September 6. The first $10,200 would not be taxable for those making under $150,000.
$8.75 billion to federal, state, local, territorial and tribal public-health agencies for distributing, administering and tracking vaccinations.
Child Tax Credit: Parents would receive $3,000 a year (up from $2,000) for every child ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 a year for every child under 6. Makes the credit fully refundable
Expands the child and dependent care tax credit which allows families to deduct up to 50% of their costs (up from 20 to 35%)
Science and Society Are Failing Children in the COVID Era: Via Scientific American
"Children 5-14 are almost 10 times more likely to die by suicide, than die from COVID-19"
"School closures are a prominent example where following the science is not in itself an answer. These are hard decisions based on ethical and moral considerations for elected officials to make, in ways that acknowledge the evidence on the harms, the requirement for safeguarding and the emerging evidence on COVID-19. Understanding the evidence on the potential trade-offs for children is a critical component of such policies and decisions. It is time science and society elevated this central responsibility."
COVID-19 RESEARCH
IHME: Weekly update.
Their model projects 576,000 cumulative deaths on July 1, 2021. This represents 65,000 additional deaths from March 1 to July 1.
By July 1, 2021, they project that 99,300 lives will be saved by further projected vaccine rollout.
Vaccine Hesitancy: Via Washington Post: Russian Disinformation Campaign Aims to Undermine Confidence in Pfizer, Other Covid-19 Vaccines
CDC Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People: Released today. Fully vaccinated people can:
Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic
STATE
California:
San Francisco schools to reopen starting April 12 under deal reached with teachers union
‘Not worth the risk’: Some families do not want to return to school anytime soon.
Colorado: School District 51 sent out a survey. Of the 424 families that responded, 356 families — representing 594 students — said they want an online option for next school year.
Michigan: Detroit schools reopen but face a teacher shortage.
New York: High schools will reopen on March 22.
North Dakota: Superintendent of Public Instruction Baesler reported that 27-28% of students who had tested at grade level in 2019 for reading, writing and math fell below grade level in 2020.
The state is considering several potential responses: extending school calendars, increasing access to summer school, providing high-impact tutoring during the school day and out of school tutoring.
Ohio: Bexley City Schools requiring students to double mask for in-person learning.
Pennsylvania: How Catholic schools stayed open:
"Across the country, “We don’t have much evidence of student-to-student spread except during sporting events,” said Kathy Mears, interim president of the National Catholic Educational Association. “The kids for the most part are wearing masks and observing the distancing.” Even with athletics, “it didn’t ever seem to get out of hand because they did a lot of testing [for the virus]. If someone was sick, they didn’t get into the game.”
"Nationally, about 85 percent of Catholic schools are open on any given day,"
Oregon: Oregonian Editorial: "Teachers must share urgency to reopen schools"
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: "It's been a mixed bag, but most Canadian schools have kept students in class."
UK:
Schools reopened today. "The U.K. government has distributed nearly 57 million rapid “lateral flow” test kits to schools across the country, but there are concerns about the accuracy of the tests, which may result in pupils being forced to self-isolate unnecessarily."
England's school catch-up scheme 'chaotic and confusing', say headteachers
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Tracking Job Losses for Mothers of School-Age Children During a Health Crisis: Via the Census
How Remote Work Is Reshaping America’s Urban Geography: Via WSJ
RESOURCES
ABC News/Ipsos Poll: Results.
Percent saying schools are reopening:
Too quickly 33%
Too slowly 34%
At about the right pace 33%
Most Democrats say schools are opening too quickly (56%), with 4% saying too slowly and 40% at about the right pace.
Independents are divided between too quickly (27%), too slowly (37%) and at about the right pace (36%).
Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (64%) think schools are not opening fast enough, while only 14% say too quickly and 23% say at about the right pace.
The Lost Year: What the Pandemic Cost Teenagers: Long piece from ProPublica
‘An Essential Service’: Inside Biden’s Struggle to Meet His School Reopening Promises: Via Washington Post.
"The administration also tussled with teachers unions over its vaccine recommendations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that although teachers should be prioritized for vaccination, they can still go back to school if they’re not. That upset some teachers and their unions, and White House officials twisted themselves into knots to avoid saying whether they agreed with the CDC recommendation. In the end, they backed the CDC."
"In the end, the guidelines may have slowed down school openings more than sped them up. The document recommended that communities with high levels of virus transmission operate school remotely or on a part-time schedule — known as hybrid — with reduced numbers of students in the building at any given time. Under the CDC’s rubric, that included the vast majority of the country."
"Allen, the Harvard professor, said the changing explanations confused many. “The administration so far has not done a good job on messaging around schools,” he said. “Schools are confused, parents are confused, and this country still doesn’t have a clear plan on how to get kids back.”
As Many Parents Fret Over Remote Learning, Some Find Their Kids Are Thriving: Via NPR.
3 Million Kids Missing from School Because of COVID-19: OpEd from Shaquille O’Neal (basketball all-star and also star of Kazaam) and Rey Saldaña (CEO of Communities In Schools). Good piece.
Powerful Women, Powerful Performances: Ash Ruder sings an original song about her dad's struggle with addiction. They're saying Alyssa Wray is the next Beyonce.