COVID-19 Policy Update #270
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 6/7
We'll keep it simple tonight with a gin and tonic pairing. But to elevate things a bit, we'll recommend Inverroche Gin Amber from South Africa. It combines the floral botanicals of Africa with spices and berries from India and Europe giving it an amazing flavor and color. Really unique.
TOP THREE
Rand Study: "Divergent and Inequitable Teaching and Learning Pathways During (and Perhaps Beyond) the Pandemic"
Reported instructional time and curriculum coverage were significantly lower in schools that were fully remote.
Although teachers in the highest-poverty schools and those with most students of color reported more student access to free tutoring, they were less likely to report access to reading specialists and one-on-one student-teacher meetings.
One-third of teachers who have taught fully remotely for the majority of the school year either indicated a preference to do some remote teaching in the future or otherwise had no preference.
One-third of schools reported plans to offer remote instruction to any student who wants it after the pandemic has passed. Schools that have been remote in 2020–2021 were more likely to be planning for remote options in future school years.
Dominate Variant in the UK: The delta covid-19 variant (B.1.617.2), which was first detected in India, has overtaken the alpha variant, better known as the UK or Kent variant (B.1.1.7), to make it the most dominant strain circulating in the UK, Public Health England has said.
"Public Health England confirmed that its data showed an increase in outbreaks and clusters involving variants at primary and secondary schools in recent weeks, though it has not published these data in detail. In the most recent four week period there were 97 confirmed covid-19 outbreaks in primary and secondary schools that were linked to at least one variant of concern, equates to around one outbreak at every 250 schools, it said."
Parent Survey: A new YouGov survey (Press release here) commissioned by 50CAN, the Afterschool Alliance, and the Charles Koch Institute.
52% said they want this summer to be a time of free play and discovery for their kids.
Imagine you had the following menu of options for your child this summer. Which 3 activities would you choose if money were no object?
COVID-19 RESEARCH
300.3 Million: Doses of COVID vaccine administered according to the CDC.
Teen Vaccinations: Via CNN: A lag in Covid-19 vaccinations among adolescents could delay US return to normalcy
State Strategies For Engaging And Leveraging Primary Care Providers As COVID-19 Vaccinators: Great resource from NGA
COVID-19 Vaccine-Reluctant in U.S. Likely to Stay That Way: Via Gallup: "Among those not planning to be vaccinated, 78% say they are unlikely to reconsider their plans, including 51% who say they are "not likely at all" to change their mind and get vaccinated."
‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation: Via NYT
"First, and perhaps most important, is when conditions in society make people feel a greater need for what social scientists call ingrouping — a belief that their social identity is a source of strength and superiority, and that other groups can be blamed for their problems."
"The second driver of the misinformation era is the emergence of high-profile political figures who encourage their followers to indulge their desire for identity-affirming misinformation."
"Then there is the third factor — a shift to social media, which is a powerful outlet for composers of disinformation, a pervasive vector for misinformation itself and a multiplier of the other risk factors."
"When we encounter opposing views in the age and context of social media, it’s not like reading them in a newspaper while sitting alone. It’s like hearing them from the opposing team while sitting with our fellow fans in a football stadium”
Masks in Schools: Via The 74: "27 States Abandon Universal Masking in School, Representing 51% of U.S. Students"
Masks Worked: Polling from Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index shows that respondents who reported never wearing masks were twice as likely to test positive for COVID as those who said they wore masks all the time.
STATE
California: Schools move ahead with fall distance learning plans despite limitations
Indiana: State seeks $620K after audit finds students not online.
"The Indiana Department of Education asked state auditors to review the enrollment at the South Bend Community School Corporation’s Rise Up Academy following a complaint that students were not receiving an adequate education, according to a State Board of Accounts report."
Minnesota: Heat causes 15 Minneapolis public schools to move to distance learning.
New Mexico: When Albuquerque Public Schools offered free online classes this summer, some 5,600 students signed up, outstripping the supply and forcing APS to close enrollment on Friday.
"The district estimates that about 43% of students – a total of 16,810 students – failed at least one course in the Fall 2020 semester."
New York: The Editorial Board: Buffalo Public Schools will do students no favors by continuing remote option.
Texas: Katy ISD families discuss virtual school options amid uncertain state funding.
INTERNATIONAL
Pakistan: Partially reopens schools as lowest COVID-19 cases reported since March.
Taiwan: Schools will remain closed for rest of semester
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
States Rebound from Bleak Budget Forecasts: Via The AP
“It’s definitely safe to say that states are in a much better fiscal situation than they anticipated,” said Erica MacKellar, a fiscal analyst with the NCSL."
"Spending plans for the budget year that begins July 1 are up 10% or more in states spanning from Florida and Maryland to Colorado, Utah and Washington."
"A recent Pew report found that after an initial sharp plunge in tax revenue, 29 states recovered to take in as much or more during the peak pandemic period of March 2020 through February 2021 than they did during the same 12 months before the pandemic began."
"Lawmakers in Maryland used words like “stunning” and “unique” to describe how federal aid helped reshape their budget situation. The state’s record $52.4 billion budget for its new fiscal year provides bonuses to state workers, boosts payments to the poor, builds parks and playgrounds in every county, and still sets aside about $2 billion for savings."
Impact in Place: Via NY Federal Reserve: Emerging Sources of Community Investment Capital and Strategies to Direct it at Scale
RESOURCES
Evidenced-Based Spending: New resources from Watershed: a simple financial template states can provide to districts to create spending plans that include essential academic investments and a simple taxonomy for data states can collect to understand how the funds were used across a set of likely interventions.
Virtual Academies: Policy recommendations from the Hunt Institute.
2021 AT&T Aspire Accelerator Class: This year's ed-tech startups are focused on innovative online solutions to help students succeed in the new era of learning. Some examples include:
Beereaders - digital platform promotes literacy skills among K-12 Spanish-speaking students in a fun and engaging reading environment.
Floop - Founded by teachers, Floop is the feedback literacy company that empowers learners with the lifelong skills of seeking, giving and using feedback to learn. Its mobile-friendly web app helps teachers give feedback four times faster and teaches students to engage with feedback.
Thimble.io - A monthly subscription program that teaches kids robotics and coding skills.
TasselTurn - A nonprofit that supports high school students in foster care and guides them through post-secondary opportunities at colleges based on lived experiences, personal interests and needs.
Sales of K-12 Instructional Materials Soaring: Data released last week by the Association of American Publishers show that sales of educational instructional materials in March more than doubled, year over year.
"Overall educational revenues for instructional materials climbed by $111.7 million, while revenues for pre-K-12 resources reached $61.4 million in March — an 82% jump over a year ago."
MasterClass: How MasterClass became the style-master of MOOCs.
"Founder David Rogier reports that the number of users on his six-year-old startup spiked by as much as 1,000% last year."
"After MasterClass launched in 2015, Rogier’s emphasis on empathy—a “deep understanding of the problems and realities of the people,” as explained in IDEO’s tenets of human-centered design—also played a role in convincing celebrities to sign up with the unknown platform. “Instead of thinking about what I need or want, let me try to be in their shoes and think about what they need and want,” Rogier explained"
"Today, MasterClass gives each instructor total control and final approval over their classes. The company also recruits award-winning filmmakers to produce each MasterClass. Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Bill Guttentag directed James Patterson’s 2015 module, the first one MasterClass filmed."
A University CIO's Lessons: Over at CIO:
Pandemic accelerates digital transformation
Negotiating a budget with the CEO
Pentesting pains, and how to scare the CFO
Real-time monitoring helps fix security
Striving for digital inclusivity
Research from Europe Points to Online Tutoring as a Potent Weapon Against Learning Loss: Via The 74
"Preliminary discoveries from the National Online Tutoring Pilot, launched last June by four existing tutoring organizations in partnership with a consortium of British charities, indicate that online tutoring was a successful means of reaching over 1,000 disadvantaged students, and that participants were overwhelmingly likely to say they enjoyed the experience."
"Even more striking, a study of the Italian Tutoring Online Program (TOP) found that it delivered sizable benefits to pupils in terms of academic performance, life aspirations, and even psychological health. In cases where participants were randomly assigned to receive twice the amount of tutoring than other participants, their academic gains measured against similar students almost doubled."
Remembering Dick Robinson: Scholastic's chairman and CEO unexpectedly passed away over the weekend. USA Today captures some of the tributes and reflections. He was a passionate champion of literacy and was a great partner to many of us. He not only published Harry Potter but also launched one of the first personalized learning platforms, Read180, that had actual evidence of effectiveness. He was also an investor in the incredible Balthazar that was a short walk from Scholastic's headquarters. I only had a few interactions with him over the years, but I always walked away challenged. He'll be missed.
It's Not The Same Thing!: I've watched this a dozen times over the last few days and can't stop laughing. (Make sure to have your sound on)