COVID-19 Policy Update #257
COVID-19 Policy Update
TUESDAY 5/18
TOP THREE
Ohio’s Vaccine Lottery Is Working: Via NBC:
“State health officials said Monday that more than 25,400 Covid-19 vaccine shots were administered Friday, two days after the program was announced, making it the highest vaccination day in three weeks.”
“Maybe more telling were the people who got vaccinated. Vaccinations for residents ages 30 to 74 spiked by 6 percent after weeks of steady decline.”
"We were really encouraged by those numbers. We have really struggled with that age range [30-74] in the state of Ohio," said Melissa Wervey Arnold, CEO of the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "I think it's wonderful that it gave people a second thought."
"Ohioans ages 12 to 17 who have had at least one shot can enter to win one of five four-year, full-ride scholarships to state colleges or universities or possibly private institution"
Parents' Willingness and Attitudes Concerning the COVID-19 Vaccine: A new cross-sectional study. "Parental willingness for their children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was low."
36.3% of parents were willing to have their children receive the COVID-19 vaccine
59.9% were willing to receive it themselves.
83.9% were willing to have their children vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine if the mortality rates associated with COVID-19 in children increased following a mutation.
Poll of Black Parents: From EdChoice/Morning Consult. Fielded 4/16 to 5/7. Brief / Crosstabs (which has a ton of other data on assessment, purpose of schooling, SEL, and more)
Black parents are less likely than both White and Hispanic parents to either vaccinate themselves or their children.]
Over two-fifths of Black parents say they are currently participating in or looking to form/join a learning pod – an increase of five points since March. Hispanic parents remain more interested in both pods and tutoring than both Black and White parents
Eight out of 10 Black Parents support education savings accounts when given a description. The description also boosts support to 80% among Hispanic parents.
FEDERAL
Funding for Homework Gap/Digital Divide: Useful chart from Education Superhighway
Treasury: Will begin sending monthly payments worth up to $300 per child to millions of Americans beginning July 15.
Some 39 million households, which include almost 90 percent of the nation’s children, are set to receive the payments.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Teen Vaccine Rates:
600,000 teens ages 12 to 15 received the vaccine last week
NYC reported 20,000 teens received it last week.
723 Epidemiologists on When and How the U.S. Can Fully Return to Normal: Via NYT
86% believe schools can fully reopen in the fall.
STATE
Alabama: The Department of Education is offering online summer resources for parents and kids
California: OpEd: "Tutoring, when driven by equity, can help students catch up post pandemic"
Indiana: South Bend wants teachers to work longer hours next school year. Teachers are pushing back.
"In discussion with the South Bend teachers union, NEA-South Bend, school officials have proposed adding 40 minutes to teachers’ days, Mondays through Thursdays, beginning this fall."
"South Bend administrators say this time can be used to provide professional development and collaboration among school staff without taking away from students’ learning time"
Kansas: Schools ramp up efforts to get students — and their parents — vaccinated.
"They felt really comfortable coming to the school but didn't feel comfortable, maybe going to a hospital organization or some place that they just don't know," Anderson said. "Schools are the center of the community."
Michigan: ‘I don’t want the flame to go away’: Why more Detroit parents are pushing for in-person learning.
"Data from the first semester in the district show the overall percentage of students who failed at least one course was 56%, up from 36% during the 2019-20 school year. That’s despite flexibility in grading Vitti announced earlier this year."
"In the first quarter of this school year, 32% of face-to-face students failed at least one course, compared with 60% of virtual students."
"The failure rate for the second quarter rose to 46% for in person students, and 57% for virtual students."
Tennessee: Announced 21 School Districts that won grants for Innovative High School Models.
"In total, $30 million in grant funding was awarded through a competitive application process, with individual grant awards from $750,000 to $2 million, to establish strategic partnerships that accelerate and increase student attainment of high-quality, in-demand postsecondary credentials."
Texas: Gov. Abbott says no public schools or government entities will be allowed to require masks
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
AdvancingCities: JP Morgan announced a $500 million, five-year initiative to help drive inclusive growth and create greater economic opportunity in cities across the globe.
"Communities can apply for up to $5 million to support innovative, sustainable solutions that drive wealth creation and economic success of Black and Latina women."
Exploring Portable Worker Training: Opportunities, Challenges, and International Models: Via the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative which explores separating training from specific jobs, so that workers can accumulate the benefits of training as they work across multiple jobs or switch jobs frequently.
Pandemic Hit Less-Educated Workers Hardest: Via WSJ
"Among adults with less than a high-school diploma, 45% reported doing at least OK financially, down from 54% in 2019. Among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the percentage rose to 89% from 88%, the Fed said in its annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which polls more than 11,000 individuals."
Youth Employment: New poll from America's Promise of 3,530 individuals ages 16-24:
40% reported experiencing a sense of financial strain, with high levels of difficulty surviving financially, paying their bills, and affording basic healthcare costs.
67.8% indicated that COVID-19 and the related economic recession have had some effect or a large effect on their work life (e.g., getting the job that they desire or achieving their career goals).
Latinx youth reported 24% more barriers to finding a job or achieving their career goals compared to white youth, Black youth reported 20% more barriers, and Asian youth reported 19% more.
How Much Have Childcare Challenges Slowed the US Jobs Market Recovery?: New paper from Jason Furman, Melissa Kearney, and Wilson Powell.
"This analysis demonstrates that despite the widespread challenges that parents across the country have faced from ongoing school and daycare closures, excess employment declines among parents of young children are not a driver of continuing low employment levels."
"School closings and ongoing childcare challenges have been a tremendous source of stress for parents during the pandemic. They are also likely to have lasting, negative impacts on the learning and social development of children"
RESOURCES
Broadband Mapping Across the U.S: Via Next Century Cities which includes a snapshot of federal broadband data in each state or territory, background on state data collection initiatives, and local insights that help illustrate why persistent data inaccuracies put unserved and underserved populations at a disadvantage and keeps them locked out of funding opportunities.
How Our Near-Peer Mentoring Model Is Addressing Pandemic Isolation: Via EdSurge
Long Working Hours Are a Killer: WHO study shows
Getting Ed Tech Wrong Would Be a Bitter Pandemic Legacy: Via Rick Hess
"Tech isn’t a replacement for the human face of schooling; at its best, it augments and supplements it. The goal is to give teachers more time and energy to get to know their students, to put a hand on a shoulder, to ask the right question, to engage a disengaged learner."
"The true potential of ed-tech lies in its ability to do the routine stuff more effectively and efficiently so that educators can devote more time to the human stuff. But rather than seeking ways to use tech more humanely, schools appear headed in the opposite direction right now—relying on tech in ways that threaten to suffocate the human core of the schoolhouse."
Powerful: Willie Spence sings “Glory” by Common & John Legend. Wait for the judges' comments at the end.