Top Three
Biden Administration Launches Effort to Improve School Air Quality:
$500 million grant announcement (and RFI) which aims to "lower energy costs, improve air quality, and prioritize schools most in need, enabling schools to focus more resources on student learning."
Efficient and Healthy Schools Campaign announced first eight awards:
Adams 12 Five Star Schools, CO
Boulder Valley School District, CO
Charleston County School District, SC
Columbia Public Schools, MO
Davis School District, UT
Greenville County Schools, SC
Mariposa County Unified School District, CA
Newark Board of Education, NJ
More via K12 Dive
COVID Patients May Be At Higher Risk for Blood Clots For Up to 6 Months: Study and Editorial and good article in the Guardian.
"A team led by Umea University researchers analyzed data from national registries in Sweden to follow 1,057,174 people diagnosed as having COVID-19 and 4,076,342 matched, uninfected controls from Feb 1, 2020, to May 25, 2021."
"In the 6 months after diagnosis, 1,761 participants had a first deep vein thrombosis, 3,267 had a first pulmonary embolism, and 7,927 had major bleeding for the first time. IRRs for a first deep vein thrombosis were 5.59 in the first week after diagnosis and 7.44 in the second week, while IRRs for a first pulmonary embolism were 36.17 in the first week and 46.40 in the second."
Teachers Train in Mental Health as Students Face Post-pandemic Struggles: Via the AP.
"Luna-Herrera, who teaches in a high poverty area of the Mojave Desert, is among a small but growing number of California teachers to take a course called Youth Mental Health First Aid. It teaches adults how to spot warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy."
“I have never seen kids be so mean to each other in my life,” said Terrin Musbach, who trains teachers in mental health awareness and other social-emotional programs at the Del Norte Unified School District, a high-poverty district in rural Northern California. “There’s more school violence, there’s more vaping, there’s more substance abuse, there’s more sexual activity, there’s more suicide ideation, there’s more of every single behavior that we would be worried about in kids.”
"In some states, including West Virginia, Missouri, Texas and Georgia, there is only one school psychologist for over 4,000 students, the report says. Similarly, few states meet the goal of one counselor per 250 students."
"Taya was a bright, precocious student who had started struggling with mental health issues at about 11, according to her father, Harry Bruell... She got straight As, was co-leader of her high school writing club and in her spare time taught senior citizens to use computers. For a literature class, Taya was assigned to keep a journal. In it, she drew a disturbing portrait that showed self-harm and wrote about how much she hated her body and was hearing voices she wanted to silence. Her teacher read the assignment and wrote: “Taya, very thorough journal. I loved reading the entries. A+”
"Three months later in February 2016, Taya killed herself. After her death, Taya’s parents discovered the journal in her room and brought it to the school, where they learned Taya’s teacher had not informed the school counselor or administrators of what she had seen. They don’t blame the teacher but will always wonder what if she had not ignored the signs of danger."
Federal
KBJ: The U.S. Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Policymakers Are Catching Covid:
At least a half-dozen senior officials, including members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet and lawmakers, have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days.
Days after the Gridiron dinner: Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Joaquin Castro tested positive.
Also testing positive:
"Ms. Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the presidency after Vice President Kamala Harris, was the highest-ranking in a string of positive coronavirus tests among top officials in Washington, underscoring that the pandemic is not over, even as restrictions loosen."
Title 42: Five Democratic and six Republican senators introduced a bill that would prevent the Biden administration from lifting Title 42 without a detailed plan in place to stop an expected surge of migrants at the border.
The administration's plans to end the Trump-era COVID-19 immigration ban by May 23 were immediately met with scathing criticism from lawmakers in both parties. They fear the announcement will trigger a mass migration event.
Administration's Vaccine Mandate Upheld by Appeals Court: Reports the AP:
“President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court,” the AP reports.
“In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed a lower court and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the mandate.”
Covid-19 Research
CDC Early Childhood Guidance: Emily Oster with a very good long piece that helps break down the confusing messaging and guidance coming out of the CDC.
Which Comorbidities Increase the Risk of a COVID-19 Breakthrough Infection? New study that examined 14 million medical records found that pregnant women who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are still more than twice as likely to get infected as other vaccinated people. Pregnancy is the highest of the comorbidity factors.
Full FDA Approval of Pfizer’s Vaccine Did Not Dramatically Increase Acceptance: Some studies suggested that a third of people who had not been vaccinated said they would get vaccinated if the FDA gave full approval. But new data found that even after full approval, the number of people who got first doses of the vaccine was 16% lower than predicted.
Novavax Seeks EU Nod for COVID-19 Vaccine in Kids: For 12 and 17 year olds.
Protection by a Fourth Dose of Pfizer Against Omicron in Israel: Study
"The number of cases of severe Covid-19 per 100,000 person-days (unadjusted rate) was 1.5 in the aggregated four-dose groups, 3.9 in the three-dose group, and 4.2 in the internal control group."
"Protection against severe illness did not wane during the 6 weeks after receipt of the fourth dose."
"Rates of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe Covid-19 were lower after a fourth dose of BNT162b2 vaccine than after only three doses. Protection against confirmed infection appeared short-lived, whereas protection against severe illness did not wane during the study period."
WHO Suspends U.N. Supply of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin Vaccine: Decision is to allow the manufacturer to upgrade facilities and address deficiencies found in an inspection.
New Covid Wave?: Axios reports that COVID cases are rising again in half the states.
State
Arizona: The Arizona Department of Administration awarded Allovue a contract to develop and implement a Statewide School Financial Transparency Portal.
California: Plan to end Berkeley's K-5 distance learning option gets pushback from parents.
Kentucky: How a lack of affordable child care options created a labor crisis for mothers.
International
China: Shanghai residents in lockdown criticize China’s ‘zero Covid’ strategy.
"There was also outrage over Shanghai's policy requiring all Covid-positive patients to be isolated in facilities -- even young children and babies. One mother told CNN she had been separated from her infected 2-year-old daughter on March 29, and was not allowed to enter the isolation ward to stay with her daughter until a week later."
“The crisis in Shanghai is shaping up to be more than just a public health challenge. It is also a political test of the zero tolerance approach at large, on which the Communist Party has staked its legitimacy."
Drones are allegedly broadcasting messages including, "Residents of Jiuting. During the pandemic, we request that you strictly abide by COVID-19 restrictions and related guidelines. Control your soul's desire for freedom. Do not open the window or sing. This increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission."
Ben Thompson interviews Dan Wang: "I think it might be quite a bit worse than what it seems than the outside. Now, Shanghai started to lock down about a month ago when it started posting a few cases, and at the time very few of us had been terribly concerned. What was surprising about this wave is that the bad news just kept piling on and on, such that we saw just a steady increase of new restrictions. At one point we woke up and figured out that all the schools had now been closed. Steadily the grocery delivery and eCommerce delivery platforms like Hema for groceries and JD.com for e-commerce had been slightly breaking down. So to have this series of steady escalation has been very surprising indeed."
Economic Recovery
Employees Are Returning to the Office, Just to Sit on Zoom Calls: Via Bloomberg.
The Rise of the Triple Peak Day: Study out of Microsoft.
Derek Thompson: "Traditionally, the researchers said, white-collar workers—or “knowledge workers,” in the modern parlance—have had two productivity peaks in their workday: just before lunch and just after lunch. But since the pandemic, a third and smaller bump of work has emerged in the late evening. Microsoft’s researchers refer to this phenomenon as the “triple peak day.”
"Microsoft has also found that the pandemic has simply led to more overall work. According to company research, the average workday has expanded by 13 percent—about an hour—since March 2020, and average after-hours work has increased by twice as much."
“People have 250% more meetings every day than they did before the pandemic,” says Mary Czerwinski, the research manager of the Human Understanding and Empathy group at Microsoft. “That means everything else—like coding and email and writing—is being pushed later.” Workday creep and meeting creep aren’t two separate trends; they’re the same trend."
Resources
An Analysis of Local School Districts’ Ambitious Post-Covid Tutoring Plans: Great analysis by FutureEd including this state-by-state table.
Why So Many COVID Predictions Were Wrong: Via The Atlantic.
CCSSO Highlights Use of Federal Funds for High-Quality Materials: The High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network (IMPD) supports 12 member states in their efforts of encouraging their districts to adopt high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and professional development that is grounded in using those materials effectively. New resource designed to assist states in identifying ways to use federal funds to support teaching and learning.
After the Pandemic Disrupted Their High School Educations, Students Are Arriving at College Unprepared: Via Hechinger
"Now, after two years of cobbled-together pandemic learning, many college students not only are less prepared than they should be, they’ve forgotten how to be students."
"Hernandez’s math professor, Uri Treisman, is nationally known for his techniques and philosophies for teaching calculus. He said the fall 2021 semester of first-year calculus was the most difficult he’s had in his 50-year career."
"His students were making basic errors in algebra and trigonometry from the beginning. Despite Treisman doing all he could to help them succeed, about 25 percent of his students failed in the fall — compared to 5 percent in an ordinary year."
"In a typical year, about 2 to 4 percent of Kristin Patterson’s genetics students at UT Austin are unable to pass her course. Last fall, about 20 percent of students failed."
Skipping: One of the many mini traditions at Augusta National Golf Club during practice days is players skipping balls from the front of the 16th tee box across the pond there to the green. Video here.
Ball Control: Professional soccer player Indi Cowie showing off some great ball control skills.