COVID-19 Policy Update #219
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 3/15
I decamped from DC to Colorado for a few days, hence the later than usual update. Daylight savings time also had us spring ahead and lose an hour of sleep. So tonight's update pairs well with an Espresso Martini (if you want to kick it up a notch, substitute Amaurla for the Kahlúa).
TOP THREE
CDC Is Considering Adopting the 3ft Standard: Dr. Fauci mentioned it yesterday and several education groups told me the CDC has reached out to them for information and feedback.
CNN: Jake Tapper has a special on schools, children, and COVID. Some segments
Student diaries.
'My son is an emotional mess now': Parents sue to get kids back in school"
Interview with Education Secretary Cardona
Interview with NEA President Becky Pringle
How the Pandemic is Reshaping Education: Via Washington Post:
“There may be an opportunity to reimagine what schools will look like,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told The Washington Post. “It’s always important we continue to think about how to evolve schooling so the kids get the most out of it.”
"Colorado’s second-largest school system, Jeffco Public Schools, recently announced a full-time remote learning program across grade levels."
"Remote learning is a supplement, not a substitute, for in-school instruction,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, emphasizing that classroom learning is best for most students and that remote school can mean intense isolation."
"We’ve got a big opportunity to do it much better, to really come up with practices that are actually going to catch kids up. If that sticks, it’s revolutionary,” said Dan Weisberg, chief executive of TNTP, a nonprofit group that focuses on effective teaching."
"A year into the pandemic, counselors and others in mental health report an increasing number of students who are depressed or anxious. Hoover says that 75 percent of students who get mental health services get them at school."
FEDERAL
ED: Press release on efforts taken to reopen schools.
"Will convene a virtual National Safe School Reopening Summit this month"
"Launching the "Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse"
"The Department welcomes lessons learned and best practices from the field for consideration for the Clearinghouse, including those with an educational equity focus. Submissions should be sent via email to: Bestpracticesclearinghouse@ed.gov."
Next COVID Package: Will focus on "infrastructure"
Look for this to be very expansive and include policies outside of traditional infrastructure projects.
Will include additional investments for broadband. House/Senate Democrats have already introduced a $94 billion marker bill.
This is likely the bill that includes funding for job training.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Annual Booster Shots: Pfizer CEO said people will likely have to get regular coronavirus vaccine boosters, perhaps annually, for at least the next decade.
White House Vaccine Confidence Initiative: Is set to unveil a wide-reaching, billion-dollar campaign aimed at convincing every American to get vaccinated. More via Politico.
"The federal government also worked with the Ad Council and another outside group, the COVID Collaborative, on the “It’s Up to You” presidential PSA for months ahead of its release, Covid Collaborative co-founder John Bridgeland said, including shooting much of the footage on Inauguration Day. The project was so secret that those involved had to sign nondisclosure agreements, he added."
"According to another internal HHS briefing document dated Dec. 29, 2020, the CDC’s campaign, titled, “Vaccinate with Confidence” aims to “share clear, complete, and accurate messages about COVID-19 vaccines,” “promote confidence among healthcare personnel in their decision to get vaccinated” and “engage communities in a sustainable, equitable and inclusive way.”
The Data Visualizations Behind COVID-19 Skepticism: Fascinating analysis from MIT:
Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey: Research looked at the presence of antibodies for COVID-19 in people across Texas.
"Preliminary results from thousands of blood samples and patient surveys say between 14 and 24% of Texans have COVID antibodies due to past infection."
"About 30% of children ages 5 to 19 sampled in the study had antibodies."
AstraZeneca: Germany, France, Spain and Italy have joined other countries in pausing use of vaccine due to concerns about a limited number of blood clots.
STATE
California:
Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group supports school reopening.
San Diego Unified plans 4-Day Class Schedule when schools reopen April 12
Distance learning changed California education. What’s here to stay?
Providing connectivity to all students
More communication channels for students and family
Modernized academic schedules
More equitable grading styles and expectations
Teaching with technology
Florida: Broward school district conducting cybersecurity investigation into what caused online learning disruption.
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, and the Boston Teachers Union are supporting emergency legislation filed by state lawmakers that would require the state's education commissioner to give school districts more time to prepare for the return of elementary school students to full-time, in-person lessons.
Ohio: Via WSJ: "How One School District Bridged the Divide and Reopened Classrooms". Good piece.
Pennsylvania:
How private and parochial schools largely kept students in school full-time
Pittsburg schools will stay remote for the remainder of the year.
"At last night's Board meeting, the Board voted unanimously to not move forward with the timeline for in-person hybrid learning after the spring break and to remain in full distance learning through the end of this school year. After listening to feedback during multiple webinars last week, reviewing survey data, and hearing the public comment during the meeting, it was ultimately decided the logistics of the hybrid model present too many barriers, disruptions, and inequities, and it would be better for our scholars to remain in their current distance learning schedule."
Virginia: OpEd from Senator Siobhan S. Dunnavant: It's time for Virginia to open its schools
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Accelerating Recovery through Credentials: Rapid Response Toolkit: New resource from the Education Strategy Group (ESG)
17 Reasons to Let the Economic Optimism Begin: Via NYT. Good piece. Includes:
Emerging innovations can combine in unexpected ways
The pandemic has taught us how to work remotely
Crises spur innovation
GDP Forecasts: Goldman Sachs raised their GDP growth expectations to 8% for 2021
COVID-19 Rewrote the Rules of Shopping. What Is Next?: Via WSJ. This surprised me: "Target said it costs on average 40% less to ship orders that it fulfills from its stores, compared with the expense of shipping from its warehouses."
Deploying the American Rescue Plan: Good ideas from Bruce Katz and Collins Higgins.
LEARNING PODS
Why Learning Pods Might Outlast the Pandemic: Long piece over at The New Yorker.
RESOURCES
Burbio School Opening Tracker: Percent of K12 students attending:
"virtual-only" schools = 20.8% (from 23.7% last week)
"traditional" in-person/every day" schools = 49.1% (from 46.9%)
"hybrid" schools = 30.1% (from 29.4%)
Academic Performance and Disciplinary Consequences of School District Internet Access Spending: New study.
"Increased internet-access spending by Texas public schools improved academic performance but also led to more disciplinary problems among students, a study of 9,000 schools conducted by a research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University and the University of Notre Dame shows."
"The authors find that a one-standard-deviation increase in school district internet access spending (SDIAS) (an average increase of $.6 million) is associated with an improvement in eight academic performance indicators, with effect sizes ranging from 2% to 5% of a standard deviation, amounting to a $.8 million to $1.8 million increase in cumulative income for the current students of a school district.
Schumer and a Teachers' Union Boss Secure Billions for Private Schools: NYT with some background on the $2.75 billion for private schools that made it into the ARP.
Why Some Schools Are Investing in Cell Towers: Via NBC:
"The Dallas school system has recently gotten into the cell tower business."
"The district has been renting at a steep price. It’s been buying mobile internet hotspots for 40,000 students this school year as a short-term measure to keep them connected while taking classes at home. Each one cost about $25 a month."
"The solution they decided on was to take the district's wholesale internet service — it has had a fiber-optic network for a decade — and broadcast it for free to the neighborhoods most in need."
"Dallas is starting with cell towers at five sites, each at a cost of about $500,000."
America's Unequal Return to Classrooms: Via Axios
How the Pandemic Has Impacted Teen Mental Health: Mott Poll Report
Bedtime: This time lapse video of when 2 year old twins are put to bed is incredible