Top Three
It’s Madness to Quarantine Schoolchildren: Argues Leslie Bienen and Eric Happel in the WSJ
"Thirty states have set aside the CDC’s guidelines, according to our research, and the agency itself has published studies suggesting that such measures are unnecessary. Yet the CDC has dragged its feet in considering a less-restrictive alternative known as “test to stay.”
"Oregon’s experience illustrates another major problem with quarantines: their disparate racial and socioeconomic impact. The decision of whom to quarantine when a student turns up positive falls to school principals and local health officials (at the county level in Oregon’s case)... The Portland dashboard indicates that schools serving lower-income students account for a disproportionate share of students quarantined, after adjusting for the number of Covid-19 positive students."
Moderna Says Its Vaccine Provides "Robust" Response Among 6-11 Yr Olds: Interim data shows that the "vaccine generated antibodies in children in that age group that were up to 1½ times as high as what has been seen in adults."
Burbio School Tracker: Updated including a remarkable graph of disruptions by state.
Federal
White House: Executive Order on White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
HHS: Announced $70 million in ARP funding to bring more at-home tests onto the market. NIH’s new Independent Test Assessment Program (ITAP) will establish an accelerated pathway to support FDA evaluation of tests with potential for large-scale manufacturing.
USDA: To provide $1.15 billion for rural broadband expansion
Reconciliation:
Politico's cheat sheet on 12 big topics under consideration with the legislation.
Sen. Manchin may be OK with wealth tax. AP explains how it might work. And the NYT covers some of the questions:
The proposal raises conceptual questions about what counts as income. When Americans buy assets — shares of stock, a piece of real estate, a business — that become more valuable over time, they owe tax only on the appreciation when they sell the asset. ... The rationale is that just because something has increased in value doesn’t mean the owner has the cash on hand to pay taxes. Moreover, for those with complex holdings, like interests in multiple privately held companies, it could be onerous to calculate the change in valuations every year, with ambiguous results."
COVID-19 Research
Updated Toolkit: COVID-19 Booster Dose Messaging and Outreach Tools: From the Public Health Communications Collaborative.
Muddled Messaging on Boosters: Via Axios:
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Surgeon General Vivek Murphy on Friday said people should stick with the same brand of vaccine they got the first time, if it's available as their booster, Reuters reports.
But on the Sunday shows, both Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said it's safe to mix and match brands, depending on the patient.
An Expert's Advice to Parents on Preparing Younger Kids for the Vaccine: Via CNN
Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI): The Rockefeller Foundation announced a $150 million investment to prevent future pandemics.
What Previous Covid-19 Waves Tell Us About the Virus Now: Via NYT which looked at five times that the U.S. case curve hit a peak, and the lessons and insights experts have gleaned from each wave. Follow the link for some great animated maps.
Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report.
6.3 million total child COVID-19 cases reported representing 16.5% of all cases.
Children made up between 11.7%-22.4% of total cumulated state tests and between 5.3%-13.6% of children tested were tested positive.
Among states reporting, children ranged from 1.6%-4.3% of their total cumulated hospitalizations, and 0.1%-2.0% of all their child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization.
In states reporting, 0.00%-0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.
State
California: "For months, California private schools have been waiting for 'emergency' Covid aid. Most impacted are urban Catholic schools serving low income children."
"On Nov. 12, exactly six months after schools were notified they were approved for funding, WestEd, a San Francisco-based research and consulting firm that the department designated as the project manager, will launch what could be a three- to four-month process to determine each school’s needs and match the vendors to serve them."
Colorado: Less than 1% of students using Colorado's free COVID testing program in schools.
Maryland:
OpEd: "Montgomery County’s vaccination rate is high enough for the county to fully reopen"
"Even in Montgomery County Public Schools’ mostly unvaccinated student population, surveillance testing has revealed infinitesimally low positivity with just 18 positive cases from 28,290 tests."
Baltimore school-issued laptops monitored for safety and mental health reasons, officials say
Massachusetts: NBC asks, "Should Mass. Lift the School Mask Mandate? Here's What Boston Doctors Think"
New Mexico: Albuquerque releases spending plan for ARP funds.
Ohio: The state released new guidance: "mask to stay and test to play."
"Unmasked and unvaccinated K-12 students and staff members can remain in class after in-school exposure to the virus if they wear a mask for 14 days under new state guidance."
International
Germany: "Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds." Nothing to do with COVID, I just thought it was interesting.
"Playgrounds, a growing number of educators, manufacturers and town planners argue, must stop striving for absolute safety and instead create challenging microcosms that teach children to navigate difficult situations even if the consequence is the odd broken bone."
Venezuela: Reopened schools.
Economic Recovery
Serving All Students: A Study of Learner Mindsets: Via Accenture
"The survey of 6,500+ post-secondary learners included current and prospective students age 16 and up, seeking either an academic degree or professional certification from any type of post-secondary education provider."
"Analysis of survey results revealed six distinct segments of learners, clustered based on learning mindsets, goals and emotions rather than demographic factors or type of institution."
Fall Enrollment Drops Bring Fresh Worries for Community Colleges: Inside Higher Ed, "Enrollment rates at community colleges continue to plummet across the country as administrators seek solutions to stanch the outward flow of students."
"Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore... lost 1,254 students -- 14% of the student body -- in fall 2020 compared to the previous year. They predicted a smaller decline of about 2% this quarter, but the drop was much deeper. The student head count plummeted by about 20% this fall, to 6,065 students from 7,664 in fall 2020 Over the course of the pandemic, the college has lost about a third of its student body."
How Neighborhood Amenities Foster Trust and Connection in American Communities: New survey and report from AEI.
Opportunity Funds: Qualified opportunity funds (QOFs) tracked by Novogradac surpassed $20 billion in funds raised through the end of September, a 15.8% jump since the end of June.
Here's Why 20% of Americans Have Changed Careers Since the Pandemic Began: Survey conducted for the Motley Fools
Over a third of millennials plan to look for a new job post-pandemic, the largest percentage of any generation.
Two-thirds of those who changed careers since March 2020 did so as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Work-life balance, pay, work culture, and concerns about opportunities for career growth were other top reasons for changing careers during the pandemic.
58% of those who changed careers since March 2020 took a pay cut to do so.
61% received an industry-recognized credential as part of their career change and 68% learned a new skill without the support of their employer.
Why Aren't People Working: Via Moody's Analytics
4 million were sick with Covid symptoms or caring for someone who was.
5 million were caring for kids not in school or daycare.
3 million more say they are worried about Covid
Resources
NSBA: Is walking back its letter asking for the DOJ to intervene with school board disruptions.
‘Squid Game’ School Board Coverage Isn’t Helping: Via Alexander Russo.
Learning Pods’ Lessons For Schools About Supporting Effective Teacher-Student Relationships: CRPE in The 74
"Fifty-eight percent of surveyed teachers reported they were better able to support their students’ social and emotional well-being in pods than they had been in traditional classrooms."
"Pod teachers said they had more control over their schedule and lessons, which allowed them to address students’ needs on the fly. When teachers could be more responsive, they said their students trusted them more, which improved relationships throughout the pod, leading to a more positive learning environment."
Dads on Duty: After a violent week of fighting at a Louisiana high school, parents knew something had to change. So, a group of dads decided to show up not just for their kids - but for the whole student body.