TOP THREE
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Student Learning in Ohio: Analysis of Spring 2021 Ohio State Tests
"Pandemic-related declines in student achievement (from March 2020 to spring 2021) are roughly equivalent to students missing one half to one full year’s worth of learning in math (students in later grades had greater declines) and between one-third and one-half of a year’s worth of learning in English language arts (depending on the grade)"
"Districts with fully remote instruction experienced test scores declines up to three times greater than districts that had in-person instruction for the majority of the school year."
"In ELA, Black students saw their test scores decrease 2-3 times more than white students in most grades, while Hispanic students experienced declines that were typically twice as large as those of white students."
Health Officials Advise White House to Scale Back Booster Plan for Now: Via NYT
"Top federal health officials have told the White House to scale back a plan to offer coronavirus booster shots to the general public later this month, saying that regulators need more time to collect and review all the necessary data, according to people familiar with the discussion."
"Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, who heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned the White House on Thursday that their agencies may be able to determine in the coming weeks whether to recommend boosters only for recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — and possibly just some of them to start."
"Privately, Dr. Woodcock had argued that it was risky to set a firm date for a booster rollout before regulators had a chance to thoroughly review the data, some of which had yet to be submitted by the vaccine manufacturers, and decide whether shots were safe and necessary, according to several people familiar with the discussions. And since the White House announced the booster plan in mid-August, they said, new hurdles appeared."
"Dr. Marion Gruber, who directs the agency’s vaccines office, and her deputy, Dr. Philip Krause, have told people there was not nearly enough data to justify offering extra shots to the general population starting in just weeks."
Are COVID Boosters Needed? FDA Vaccine Advisers Wrestle With a Thorny Issue: Via Reuters
"The White House move usurped the normal process in which the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make these sort of science-based decisions, according to interviews with six current and former FDA scientists and CDC advisory panel members."
"The recommendation shouldn't precede the data, which is what happened here. And that's why people are so upset," said a source close to the FDA advisory panel who was not authorized to speak on the record."
"No matter how many booster doses you give, you cannot convert a disease-blocking vaccine into an infection-blocking vaccine," said Dr. Greg Poland, a former FDA vaccine advisory panel member and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.
FEDERAL
ED: EdWeek reports that the Department will expand data collection on COVID and schools.
"Topics such as instructional mode offered; enrollment counts of subgroups of students using various instructional modes; learning loss mitigation strategies; safe and healthy school mitigation strategies; special education services; use of technology; use of federal relief funds; and information on staffing."
Manchin Wants to Hit ‘Pause’ on Reconciliation Bill: His oped in WSJ:
"The nation faces an unprecedented array of challenges and will inevitably encounter additional crises in the future. Yet some in Congress have a strange belief there is an infinite supply of money to deal with any current or future crisis, and that spending trillions upon trillions will have no negative consequence for the future. I disagree."
"Instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs and additional stimulus funding, Congress should hit a strategic pause on the budget-reconciliation legislation. A pause is warranted because it will provide more clarity on the trajectory of the pandemic, and it will allow us to determine whether inflation is transitory or not."
"I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs."
Why this is important: To pass the bill through the Senate, Sen. Schumer will need Manchin's vote, which gives him enormous leverage in both shaping the details, size, and timing of the package.
It’s Still All About COVID: Amy Walter in theCook Political Report reflecting on a series of focus groups.
"My main takeaway was the prominence of COVID as their dominant concern. When asked about how they felt about the state of the country, almost all of them replied with a pessimistic comment."
"They are "overwhelmed" with the deluge of conflicting information they are getting about the virus from the news media, friends and Facebook."
"I'm disappointed," said a woman from Texas, "I thought we'd be in a better place with vaccines. I think we could be in a better spot than we are."
"And, they are upset about the polarization over and politicization of vaccines. Many described strained relationships with family members and friends over the issue."
"Until they feel like it's ok to stop worrying about COVID, it is going to be hard to get them to pay attention to the Democrats' plans on anything else."
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Vaccine Mandates: The American Medical Association: The time to mandate COVID-19 vaccination is now
Moderna: According to a new study published in JAMA, Moderna produces more than twice as many antibodies as Pfizer-BioNTech's
Teen Vaccines: Norway decided to offer only one dose of the COVID vaccine to children 12-15. They'll wait for further data to evaluate the safety of a second dose.
"One dose provides good protection against serious illness, and the protection will probably be better in young people at this age than for older age groups"
"We consider that the offer of one dose is what provides the clearest benefit for the individual youth when the benefit is weighed against possible disadvantages of the vaccine. The second dose will be considered when there is more knowledge from other countries that have come further in the vaccination of this age group."
STATE
DC: How a DC boys charter school kept students engaged during virtual learning.
Florida: Judge signs order giving Florida school boards power to issue mask mandates
Illinois: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot posted some tweets welcoming students back to school. I found this one particularly interesting in part for a couple of reasons including that nothing in state or CDC guidance recommends this kind of protective measure for teachers.
Massachusetts: Just a week before Boston students are set to begin the school year, less than a quarter of students have submitted consent forms to participate in weekly coronavirus testing.
Ohio: The CEOs of Ohio's six children’s hospitals issued a joint letter asking people to get vaccinated, wear a mask in school, and maintain social distancing.
INTERNATIONAL
UK: The Economist reports, "School Closures Have Caused Damage That Extra Lessons Cannot Fix"
"But the averages disguise wide variations. Pretty much every school, says Sammy Wright, a member of a government advisory panel on social mobility, will have 5-10% of children who have been “devastated” by the disruption."
Italy: May eventually make COVID vaccine shots compulsory for all.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Jobs Report: A disappointing and concerning jobs report.
August saw a gain of just 235,000 jobs, missing the consensus forecast of 720,000
July was revised up to over 1 million.
5.6 million people said they were "unable to work" because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic - an increase of roughly 400,000 compared to July.
Heather Long notes: "there’s a concerning decline in childcare employment and a drop in women’s participation in the labor force, especially among those aged 25 to 54. This suggests that, once again, the chaos surrounding childcare and school re-openings is forcing moms to stop working in order to care for children."
RESOURCES
PTA/CDC Foundation: Recording of their back to school event which included the CDC Director, Secretary of Ed, and others.
Forget ‘Learning Loss'; Focus on What We’ve Learned During the Pandemic: Argues Leigh Dela Victoria from the Fontana Unified School District.
"Since the pandemic shutdown, the term “learning loss” has dangerously flown off the tongues of too many educational decision-makers."
"But in working with educators in a large California school district, I believe the use of this term can result in harmful assumptions and implications for students. First, it suggests that skills and concepts have forever disappeared. Second, “learning loss” implies that students have not learned anything throughout the shutdown, therefore insinuating that learning only happens within the four walls of the classroom."
National Survey Finds 'Severe' And 'Desperate' School Bus Driver Shortage: Via NPR covering this survey.
Kids Head Back to School—and Bring Covid-19’s Mental-Health Scars With Them: Via the WSJ
"The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is building a free online cognitive behavioral therapy program, funded by a $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to address stress and anxiety children and teens are facing because of the pandemic."
Have a Great Labor Day Weekend: Make sure to get in some pool time.