Top Three
More Than 40% of Parents of Young Kids Say They Will Not Get Their Child a Covid-19 Vaccine: Via the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.
"Republican and Republican-leaning parents are three times as likely as their Democratic counterparts to say they will “definitely not” be vaccinating their young child for COVID-19 (64% vs. 21%)."
In their words:
“I think it’s still too new and I’m worried about any long term side effects” – Black, Democratic-leaning independent mother in South Carolina
“Has not been around long enough for adequate research” – White, independent father in Wisconsin
“I want more kids to get vaccinated to see if there are any side effects that the study groups missed” – Hispanic, independent father in Maryland
“I don’t really trust the FDA. The Pfizer vaccine efficacy is so low, it makes me wonder about everything.” – White, Democratic mother in Maine
Families With Young Children Led Exodus from Major Cities During COVID: New research from EIG.
"From July 2020 to July 2021, the number of children under five years of age in large urban counties—those intersecting with an urban area of at least 250,000 people—fell by 238,000, a one-year drop of 3.7%."
"Including the early months of the pandemic in 2020, this figure grows even larger. Between 2019 and July 2021, large urban counties saw their under-five population fall by 358,000 children, a decline of 5.4%."
"Between 2020 and 2021, Manhattan saw a whopping 9.5% decline in the number of children under five. San Francisco lost 7.6%, and has lost over 10% since 2019.”
"Despite New York City extending its public preschool program to three year-olds during the pandemic which padded overall numbers, its existing pre-K program for four-year olds saw an enrollment decline of roughly 13,000 students. Chicago’s public preschools saw an initial enrollment decline of over 30 percent in 2020, a decline that has only partially ebbed—in the 2021-22 school year, enrollment still remained 12 percent below 2019 levels."
"The population data suggests that the shoe has yet to drop for K-12 school districts."
Pandemic Enrollment Fallout: School District Enrollment Changes Across COVID-19 Response: Via Nat Malkus at AEI.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused the largest enrollment declines in the history of American public schools.”
"Enrollment rebounds fell along partisan lines. In 2021–22, most districts that voted for Donald Trump rebounded, while enrollment continued to fall in districts that voted for Joe Biden."
"Districts that spent more of 2020–21 remote face the largest enrollment declines and are more likely to see substantial revenue declines associated with them."
Federal
Chips + Salsa Science: The Senate passed the $280 billion CHIPS+ Act with a vote of 64-33. Bill text and a high level summary here. Among the items:
$81 billion for NSF including $20 billion for a new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.
$52 billion to boost domestic chips manufacturing.
$13 billion for STEM education and workforce. The Scaling Innovations in PreK-12 STEM Education remains in the bill.
$10 billion for 20 regional technology hubs.
$1 billion for distressed communities.
President Biden: "President Joe Biden has tested negative for Covid after a five-day isolation and will discontinue his isolation on Wednesday."
White House Summit on the Future of Covid-19 Vaccines:
Politico: "The meeting was attended by academic, industry and government representatives, but officials from the FDA and the CDC, who play key roles in the regulation and distribution of vaccines, did not appear on panels."
Stat: "Vaccines delivered as a skin patch — really a collection of microscopic needles “as long as a piece of paper is thick” — could provide immunity that’s stronger than any traditional vaccine injected into a muscle using a syringe. Vaccines delivered as a nasal mist, other experts argued, could stop Covid transmission altogether, effectively bringing the pandemic to an end."
"One official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that a funding request to Congress, worth as much as $12 billion, is in the works."
Covid-19 Research
COVID Boosters Could Be Fast-Tracked: Via NPR:
"The Biden administration may scrap plans to let more younger adults get second COVID-19 boosters this summer. Instead, officials are trying to speed up availability of the next generation of boosters in the fall, NPR has learned."
"The new strategy is aimed at trying to balance protecting people this summer with keeping people safe next winter, when the country will probably get hit by yet another surge."
COVID Vaccine Doesn't Raise Risk of Myopericarditis in Kids Aged 5 to 11: CIDRAP on a new study. "In conclusion, we found the risk of myopericarditis following Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination to be approximately 5 in 1,000,000 vaccinees aged 5 to 11 years, significantly lower compared with immunized adolescents."
Effectiveness Associated With Vaccination After COVID-19 Recovery in Preventing Reinfection: Study: "These findings suggest that risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection after recovery from COVID-19 was relatively high among individuals who remained unvaccinated. Vaccination after recovery from COVID-19 was associated with reducing risk of reinfection by approximately half."
Additional Studies Suggesting That The Coronavirus Came From Wuhan Market:
Washington Post: "The coronavirus pandemic began in separate viral spillovers — at least two but perhaps as many as two dozen — from live animals sold and butchered in late 2019 at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, according to two papers published Tuesday in the journal Science."
“All this evidence tells us the same thing: It points right to this particular market in the middle of Wuhan,” said Kristian Andersen a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research and coauthor of one of the studies. “I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself until we dove into this very carefully and looked at it much closer.”
"In one study, which incorporated data collected by Chinese scientists, University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey and his colleagues used mapping tools to estimate the locations of more than 150 of the earliest reported Covid cases from December 2019."
"The second paper published Tuesday in Science reports that genetic evidence and computer modeling suggest the virus spilled into the human population not just once, but on multiple occasions in late 2019."
State
California: Deep divisions, further delay for California’s math guidelines.
Florida: Addressing teacher shortages:
"The Florida Education Association reports more than 9,000 vacancies: 4,300 teaching jobs and 5,200 non-teaching, essential jobs.”
"The Florida Department of Education announced that military veterans and their spouses could receive five-year vouchers to allow them to teach in the classroom without a teacher’s degree. The move is tied to $8.6 million the state announced would be used to expand career and workforce training opportunities for military veterans and their spouses."
Michigan: New EdWorking Paper: "Detroit Families’ Experiences with COVID-19 and School Attendance."
"We found that 70% of students were chronically absent, with 40% of parents reporting that computer problems contributed to absenteeism" for the 2020-21 school year. 54% of students missed 20% or more enrolled school days.
Oklahoma: Districts struggle to find teachers.
Economic Recovery
Fed Raises Interest Rates by 0.75 Percentage Point: Via WSJ: "The rate increase won unanimous backing from the 12-member rate-setting committee."
2022 Deloitte Back-to-School Survey: Via Deloitte:
"33% of families report their household financial situation has worsened since last year (vs. 22% in 2021), and 57% are concerned about inflation’s impact on the cost of school products."
“37% of parents plan to spend more than last year, which will result in an 8% annual increase, amounting to $661 per child versus $612 in 2021."
"8% are homeschooling their children vs 4% in 2021."
"36% of parents have spent money on products/services to address their child's mental health"
Resources
What Teachers Say Is the Biggest Barrier to Learning Recovery: Via EdWeek
"Dealing with student behavioral and mental health issues has been many teachers’ biggest barrier to addressing unfinished learning, according to a Khan Academy survey published July 26."
"84% of teachers believe mastery learning can help address learning loss from the pandemic."
76% of science teachers have been able to identify student learning gaps in science.
97% of math teachers have been able to identify student learning gaps in math.
Districts Continue to Struggle with Staffing, Political Polarization, and Unfinished Instruction: Via RAND
75% of district leaders foresee a teach and principal shortage next year.
The typical district has increased substitute teachers' daily pay 6% above prepandemic levels, after adjusting for inflation.
51% of districts report combining classes and 45% report eliminating teacher planning periods. 21% plan to covert from in-person to remote learning.
More than three-quarters of districts have increased their number of teaching and nonteaching staff above prepandemic levels.
Roughly half of district leaders see a fiscal cliff looming after COVID-19 federal aid expires, and they are trying to prepare for it.
It's Not How Many Times You Get Knocked Down That Count: It's how many times you get back up...and if you do so with style.