Los Angeles Times: Kindergartners struggle to learn online. But this mother-daughter duo keeps them glued. “A year ago, mother and daughter taught in classrooms one room apart at Bushnell Way Elementary School in Highland Park — Mrs. Carter with 4-year-olds, Ms. Tai in a mixed group of children ages 4 and 5. Many of the felt puppets and linking cubes they shared there are the same ones Karen Carter used when her daughter was a student in her classroom. Out of respect for her mother’s long tenure, Tai Carter goes by Ms. Tai at school. Now, the pair teach their pint-size students from home, keeping L.A.’s youngest learners engaged online even as kindergarten enrollment has plummeted and online attendance has slumped.”
education
ProPublica: Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.
ProPublica: Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.. “No other precaution short of closing schools — a drastic measure that can set children back academically and developmentally, and deprive them of free meals and health care — is likely to be as effective as a mask mandate, experts say. Allowing staff and students to forgo them contradicts guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on reopenings.”
When Schools Closed, Americans Turned to Their Usual Backup Plan: Mothers (New York Times)
New York Times: When Schools Closed, Americans Turned to Their Usual Backup Plan: Mothers. “Today, even though most mothers are employed and fathers have increased the hours they spend on housework and child care, women still spend about an hour more a day on each. Moreover, when unexpected demands pop up — like a child who is home sick or a work meeting that conflicts with child care duties — mothers prioritize the home front, research shows. As a result, men’s careers aren’t slowed by family caregiving needs nearly as much as women’s are.”
San Francisco Chronicle: The third wave is here, but we still need to reopen our schools
San Francisco Chronicle: The third wave is here, but we still need to reopen our schools. “Our children need to be back in school. They are experiencing significant, potentially long-term and unnecessary adverse impacts from state rules that have failed to prioritize schools, further exacerbated by slow-moving county health departments and superintendents that, in turn, failed to display an appropriate sense of urgency in reopening schools when we enjoyed our lowest levels of COVID prevalence in September and October.”
CBS News: School districts saw unprecedented drop in enrollment during pandemic
CBS News: School districts saw unprecedented drop in enrollment during pandemic. “As school started this fall during the pandemic, some of the largest school districts saw an unprecedented decrease in student enrollment. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on how districts mobilized to get kids in school this fall.”
Chalkbeat Tennessee: Tennessee is supposed to track COVID-19 cases in schools, but privacy concerns and limited reporting make that tough
Chalkbeat Tennessee: Tennessee is supposed to track COVID-19 cases in schools, but privacy concerns and limited reporting make that tough. “Tennessee’s online database that is supposed to inform students and parents about the prevalence of COVID-19 cases on school campuses gives an incomplete picture because of privacy concerns and limited reporting by districts. A Chalkbeat analysis of COVID-19 data in the state’s schools dashboard shows between 880 and 3,540 student coronavirus cases weren’t included in the district level totals from Oct. 19 to Nov. 15. Similarly, at least 685 and as many as 2,740 teacher cases also were excluded on the district level.”
ITALY: Online museum launches featuring life of St. John Bosco (Mission Newswire)
Mission Newswire: ITALY: Online museum launches featuring life of St. John Bosco. “Casa Don Bosco Museum, located in Turin, Italy, remains open online in compliance with the rules imposed to counter COVID-19. Visitors from all over the world can visit the virtual museum through the website. The museum provides an exhibition of the origins of the Salesian founder St. John (Don) Bosco’s educational and spiritual life.”
Seattle Times: Washington state officials are considering loosening guidelines to reopen schools
Seattle Times: Washington state officials are considering loosening guidelines to reopen schools. “Washington state health officials are considering changing the disease metrics that guide school district reopening decisions during the pandemic. If adopted, up to half the state’s 300 school districts would meet the benchmark to start educating their youngest learners in person at least part time.”
Washington Post: Once again, a deal between D.C. and the teachers union collapses
Washington Post: Once again, a deal between D.C. and the teachers union collapses. “It has become a familiar pattern in the District. The city and Washington Teachers’ Union near an agreement on how schools should reopen. Both sides indicate that a finalized deal could be imminent. And then, at the 11th hour, it falls apart.”
Valley News Live: North Dakota to roll out free rapid testing for K-12 school staff in pilot project to slow COVID-19 spread
Valley News Live: North Dakota to roll out free rapid testing for K-12 school staff in pilot project to slow COVID-19 spread. “The North Dakota Department of Health, with support from local public health and the North Dakota National Guard, will roll out free rapid testing for K-12 teachers, staff, and administrators this week as part of a pilot project to identify asymptomatic COVID-19 cases so they can quickly isolate and prevent further spread of the virus.”
Vox: Why restaurants are open and schools are closed
Vox: Why restaurants are open and schools are closed. “While there remains some debate, schools don’t appear to be major sources of viral spread in this pandemic. Restaurants, bars, and gyms, however — places where adults congregate, often in close quarters and often without masks — do seem to contribute to outbreaks. Indeed, many European countries that have locked down to mitigate their second waves have allowed schools to remain open while such businesses close. ‘It seems very clear to me that schools ought to be our priority,’ Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research organization at the University of Washington, told Vox. So why aren’t more places in the US closing the bars and keeping the schools open?”
New York Times: New York City to Close Public Schools Again as Virus Cases Rise
New York Times: New York City to Close Public Schools Again as Virus Cases Rise. “The shutdown was prompted by the city’s reaching a 3 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average, the most conservative threshold of any big school district in the country. Schools in the nation’s largest system, with 1.1 million students and 1,800 schools, have been open for in-person instruction for just under eight weeks.”
MassLive: CDC director Robert Redfield said they do not recommend closing schools days after reports of CDC removing guidance pushing for reopenings
MassLive: CDC director Robert Redfield said they do not recommend closing schools days after reports of CDC removing guidance pushing for reopenings. “After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed guidelines from its website that promoted in-person learning for schools, CDC Director Robert Redfield said they do not recommend closing schools during the COVID pandemic. Redfield’s announcement on Thursday said that schools can operate with ‘face to face learning’ and can do it ‘safely and they can do it responsibly.'”
Cardinal & Pine: What’s It Like Being Back in a Classroom With COVID Booming? Scary, NC Parents Say.
Cardinal & Pine: What’s It Like Being Back in a Classroom With COVID Booming? Scary, NC Parents Say.. “COVID-19 cases in NC might still be on the rise, but thousands of elementary school students across the state have been gradually returning to the classroom over the past month. For parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and students in counties that opted for the hybrid ‘Plan B’ model, the transition back to in-person learning has brought both anxiety and excitement.”
University of Texas at Austin: New Tool Helps Parents and Educators Estimate COVID-19 Infection Numbers at Their School
University of Texas at Austin: New Tool Helps Parents and Educators Estimate COVID-19 Infection Numbers at Their School. “USTIN, Texas — With COVID-19 cases hitting new highs across the country, a new online tool can help families and school leaders estimate how many infected people are likely to show up at a school on a given day anywhere in the United States. The free, interactive dashboard was produced by The University of Texas at Austin COVID-19 Modeling Consortium.”