COVID-19 Policy Update #274
COVID-19 Policy Update
FRIDAY 6/11
TOP THREE
Teen Suicides: CDC says suicide attempts among adolescent girls surged by more than 50% during pandemic.
Chronic Absenteeism in Connecticut: New data links remote learning to chronic absenteeism at key transitions;
30% of 9th graders missed at least a tenth of last school year.
"For Black/ African American students across all learning modes, chronic absenteeism rates were highest for in-person 11th graders and lowest for in-person 6th graders. In contrast, for Hispanic/Latino students, rates were highest for 9th grade remote students and lowest for 6th grade in-person students."
Catchup Needed on Routine Vaccinations: Children behind on their shots for preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough could pose a "serious public health threat" during the return to in-person schooling this fall.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Dosage Stretching: New paper which shows that fractional doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have neutralizing antibody levels (as measured in the early phase I and phase II trials) that look to be on par with those of many approved vaccines. Here's a good recorded webinar on the paper.
STATE
California: LAUSD, Teachers Union reach tentative agreement to fully reopen classrooms in Fall.
Protocols include increased testing, daily symptom screening, cleaning and paid leave for those required to quarantine.
High-risk staff can request reasonable accommodations in the online program.
LAUSD must make every effort to avoid combo classes. Those required to teach a combo class will receive a $1,200 stipend for the extra work.
Masks will remain on for students and staff
Maryland: MCPS to keep indoor mask requirements in fall; most other restrictions will be lifted
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Long Shadows: The Black-White Gap in Multigenerational Poverty: Important new report from Brookings/AEI.
More than half a century since the civil rights victories of the 1960s, racial gaps in poverty and opportunity remain a cause for national shame.
Three-generation poverty occurs among one in 100 Whites but describes the experience of one in five Black adults. Black adults in their 30s are over 16 times more likely than Whites are to have had both a parent and grandparent in poverty (defined as the bottom fifth of the income distribution).
Blacks are 41% more likely to be in third-generation poverty than Whites are to be poor.
More here.
Work from Home & Productivity: Study from U. of Chicago which analyzed the productivity of 10,000 workers before and after the pandemic.
Conclusions: Work From Home led to 2 more hours of work per day, more meetings, less focus time, and less productivity.
"Time spent on coordination activities and meetings increased, but uninterrupted work hours shrank considerably"
"Employees with children living at home increased hours worked more than those without children at home, and suffered a bigger decline in productivity than those without children"
Hybrid Learning, Online Credentials: Will survive edtech 'hype cycle,' edX CEO says
How Walmart Wants to 'Win the Kitchen' With Technology: Interesting article:
"Walmart is spending to expand fulfillment center capacity and enhancing technology in distribution centers. Tech that makes palleting easier and more efficient, for example, will support getting product from distribution centers to stores more quickly, and augmented reality technology available soon through the new Me@Walmart app will help store associates identify product ready to go out to the floor more quickly."
"We're really excited about not just winning the porch, but winning the inside of that kitchen," Biggs said.
The Cost of Cloud, a Trillion Dollar Paradox: Interesting article from Andreessen Horowitz
"This shift is driven by an incredibly powerful value proposition — infrastructure available immediately, at exactly the scale needed by the business — driving efficiencies both in operations and economics. The cloud also helps cultivate innovation as company resources are freed up to focus on new products and growth."
RESOURCES
Restarting With Equity: A NCEE conversation with Linda Darling-Hammond
To Offer Remote Learning in the Fall or Not? Schools Are Split: Via EdWeek
“Learning Loss” Is Problematic, But So Are Some of the Solutions It’s Generating: Via Christensen:
"What are the more effective data-driven approaches for assessing what students need? In their new book, Street Data, Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan propose that school systems need to rebalance “satellite data” (testing results that capture a high-level snapshot of student achievement but don’t explain what caused the results or what to do about it) with “map data” (more real-time, formative, and diagnostic assessment) and most importantly, “street data” (rich, ground-level information about students’ experiences, prioritizing perspectives from the margins)."
What Endemic Covid-19 Will Mean for Schools: Via Opportunity Labs
Darnella Frazier: Received an honorary Pulitzer
It's the Weekend: Perhaps you're boating. Or perhaps you're this Golden Retriever who allows a woodchuck to ride on his back while swimming across a lake. More here.