Top Three
COVID Drove a Wedge Between Parents and Schools, and Texas Must Pull Them Back Together: OpEd by former Secretary Margaret Spellings.
"In August, Texas 2036 polled Texas voters on numerous issues and found they shared an overwhelming concern about the state’s future. Such concern was particularly pronounced among parents: 54% of mothers with school-age children thought schools didn’t handle the pandemic well, and nearly twice as many parents described online learning as a “disappointment” or “failure” (50%) than a success (26%)."
"If left unaddressed, growing frustrations will continue to drive headlines, elections and school board meetings. And perhaps more important, these forces threaten to distract us from what should be our single-minded purpose: student achievement. Given that more than 60% of Texas fourth graders cannot read or perform math at grade level, it’s time to get back to basics. It’s time to empower those who know the students best: parents."
"In a post-pandemic Texas, parents need a transparent accountability system with an honest depiction of how their child’s school is performing. At the same time, they also support systems that quickly force improvements or find more appropriate options to meet their child’s needs"
FDA to Sidestep Advisers on Boosters-for-All Approval: Roll Call reports that the agency confirms that a decision on booster eligibility is expected to be made without the input of its panel of outside experts.
"The agency has previously convened the VRBPAC for extensive discussions regarding the use of boosters for COVID-19 vaccines and, after review of the request, we have concluded that it does not raise questions that would benefit from additional discussion by the members of the committee,” said FDA spokeswoman Abby Capobianco. “While the FDA cannot predict how long its evaluation of the data and information will take, the agency will review the request as expeditiously as possible.”
Related: Moderna filed for Emergency Use Authorization of COVID-19 Booster with the FDA
Use of Educational Technology for Instruction in Public Schools: 2019–20: New report from IES. This is all pre-pandemic so current numbers will be much higher, but this will serve as some good baseline data:
45% of schools reported having a computer for each student
15% of schools let all students take computers home, another 15% let students take computers home on a short-term basis.
64% of schools said that internet connections in teaching and learning areas of the school were very reliable.
52% reported having problems to a small extent with internet connections or speed when large numbers of students were online.
Half of schools said that their teachers used technology for classroom work that would not be possible without it to a moderate (37%) or large extent (10%).
35% of schools said that technology helped students to learn at their own pace.
Federal
IES: Gathering Speed with SEERNet, Prize Competitions, and More.
Reconciliation: Sen. Manchin signaled he’s would be ok with moving ahead on the budget reconciliation package this year, Politico reports.
Upcoming Deadlines: Helpful reminder from Punchbowl
16 days until a government shutdown.
28 days until the Treasury Department says the debt limit needs to be lifted.
“About” 3 days until President Joe Biden said he would make news about the next chair of the Federal Reserve.
45 days until 2022.
356 days until Election Day 2022.
COVID-19 Research
10% of 5-11 Yr Olds Vaccinated: The White House says that about 10% of children aged 5 to 11 will have received at least their first COVID-19 vaccine shot within the two weeks since it became available.
How to Cover the Next Wave of School Vaccination Policies: Via Alexander Russo.
Ad Campaign Features Testimonials From Young ‘Long Haulers’ to Motivate Vaccine-holdouts: Washington Post on Resolve to Save Lives' campaign (Press Release)
How Vaccines Reduce Long COVID: Via Katelyn Jetelina.
Why Two Emergency Physicians’ Kids Took Part in the Pfizer Vaccine Trials: Via Stat.
State
Colorado: Advocates call for $150 million to improve Colorado youth mental health.
Michigan:
As of Nov. 12, the Michigan Association of School Administrators had an unofficial tally of 21 school districts that have closed at least one building since September due to staff shortages.
Several West Michigan school districts have decided to extend Thanksgiving break due to illnesses and staffing shortages.
Minnesota: South Washington County Schools, "The combination of COVID spread and lack of staff means parents and students should be ready for a possible shift to distance learning, with classrooms potentially going remote for up to 10 calendar days."
Ohio: According to a Cincinnati Public Schools survey, 66% of parents who responded do not support a vaccine mandate for students.
Oklahoma: Launches Oklahoma Math Tutoring Corps.
Oregon: Reynolds Middle School is canceling in-person learning for approximately three weeks beginning Thursday and instead will hold classes remotely in order to develop “safety protocols” and “social-emotional supports” to address student fights and inappropriate behavior.
Washington: The Seattle Public School Board will vote on a resolution to urge the Washington State Board of Health (BOH) to begin reviewing the COVID-19 vaccine for inclusion on the list of required immunizations for students prior to attending school.
International
Canada: Moderna asks Health Canada to approve COVID-19 vaccine for 6-11 year olds.
Japan: Looks to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children age 5-11 in February.
Mexico: Will start vaccinating 15 to 17 yr olds.
UK: Experts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that children aged 12 to 17 should defer getting the vaccine for three months if they have previously been infected. That is expected to help to reduce even further the "very, very small" risk of heart inflammation after vaccination.
Resources
Were Federal COVID Relief Funds for Schools Enough?: NBER paper
"The analysis suggests that many low-poverty districts and some moderate-poverty districts could face funding shortfalls, though most would be modest and state and local governments are mostly in a good fiscal position to help address these."
"We estimate that many high-poverty and some moderate poverty districts will have moderate to substantial windfalls."
"This implies that ESSER funding is more than enough to address the “COVID costs” assumed in our scenarios, but that does not necessarily mean it is too much, or even enough, to fully address the needs of students, many of whom were struggling before the pandemic."
A COVID Strategy Backfires at Schools: Via Axios, "School districts and universities have spent as much as $100 million on this technology — often for electronic air cleaning systems that have misleading, company-funded studies that boast 99.99% efficacy, said Marwa Zaatari, mechanical engineer and a board member of the U.S. Green Building Council."
Aspen Global Leadership Network: Announced that Dar Vanderbeck has been named the next Vice President.
100,000 Americans Died of Drug Overdoses in 12 months During the Pandemic: Via the Washington Post on new CDC data.
Learning Pod Teachers Say They Don’t Want to Return to Traditional Classrooms: CRPE over at The 74
"According to a majority of the thirty-five pod instructors we interviewed, teaching in pods was emotionally fulfilling and intellectually satisfying."
"States should explore policies that allow teachers to operate with a similar level of independence as they had in pods after the pandemic passes. Charter teaching policies could allow teachers to operate one-room schoolhouses or microschools."
"Education savings accounts could allow families of all incomes to pay for educational services a la carte, giving a top high school English teacher the option of operating in private practice in the same way a medical specialist could."
Families Are Using New Child Tax Credit for K-12 School Costs, Census Shows: Bruno Manno over at EdNext, "40% of low-income recipients say they spent the money on tuition, books, tutoring, or other education-related expenses."
More via Chalkbeat.
Amanda Gorman: Reads her poem about mourning and learning to love harder after the last year of mourning and isolation.
I thought I’d awaken to a world in mourning.
Heavy clouds crowding, a society storming.
But there’s something different on this golden morning.
Something magical in the sunlight, wide and warming.
I see a dad with a stroller taking a jog.
Across the street, a bright-eyed girl chases her dog.
A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries.
She grins as her young neighbor brings her groceries.
While we might feel small, separate, and all alone,
Our people have never been more closely tethered.
The question isn’t if we can weather this unknown,
But how we will weather this unknown together.
So on this meaningful morn, we mourn and we mend.
Like light, we can’t be broken, even when we bend.
As one, we will defeat both despair and disease.
We stand with healthcare heroes and all employees;
With families, libraries, waiters, schools, artists;
Businesses, restaurants, and hospitals hit hardest.
We ignite not in the light, but in lack thereof,
For it is in loss that we truly learn to love.
In this chaos, we will discover clarity.
In suffering, we must find solidarity.
For it’s our grief that gives us our gratitude,
Shows us how to find hope, if we ever lose it.
So ensure that this ache wasn’t endured in vain:
Do not ignore the pain. Give it purpose. Use it.
Read children’s books, dance alone to DJ music.
Know that this distance will make our hearts grow fonder.
From these waves of woes our world will emerge stronger.
We’ll observe how the burdens braved by humankind
Are also the moments that make us humans kind;
Let each morning find us courageous, brought closer;
Heeding the light before the fight is over.
When this ends, we’ll smile sweetly, finally seeing
In testing times, we became the best of beings.