September 21 School Opening and Unanswered Questions: Requiring Vaccinations, Remote Instruction, Teacher Accommodations, Summer School and “Catching Up” | Ed In The Apple

September 21 School Opening and Unanswered Questions: Requiring Vaccinations, Remote Instruction, Teacher Accommodations, Summer School and “Catching Up” | Ed In The Apple

September 21 School Opening and Unanswered Questions: Requiring Vaccinations, Remote Instruction, Teacher Accommodations, Summer School and “Catching Up”

As the COVID positive rates continue to spiral downwards and the vaccination numbers increase the State is moving towards a full school opening. Broadway can reopen on September 14th, large sports venues allowing larger and larger crowds and school districts are planning full reopening: with a host of issues to be resolved.

Will school districts retain a remote instruction option?

In NYC, for a subset of medically fragile children: maybe. It is highly unlikely that individual schools will operate in-person and remote; it is too complicated and there are other options. For example, children seeking remote option can be clustered in a district-wide remote school. The Department and the Union will partner in an in-person school initiative.

Can COVID vaccinations be required for students?

The NYS Department of Health currently requires vaccinations for school enrollment. See details here. 

Across the nation many states have vaccination requirements, and, in some states there is virulent opposition by anti-vaxxer parents. Some states have religious and medical exemptions. The decision would be made at the state level and it is highly unlikely for this September; a year or so down the road when vaccinations for children are available the state may develop policies..

 Can COVID vaccinations be required for CONTINUE READING: September 21 School Opening and Unanswered Questions: Requiring Vaccinations, Remote Instruction, Teacher Accommodations, Summer School and “Catching Up” | Ed In The Apple

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Private School Says No Vaccine For Staff

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Private School Says No Vaccine For Staff

FL: Private School Says No Vaccine For Staff

Centner Academy (Miami's premiere private school for the leaders of tomorrow) has informed parents by letter that the staff and teachers are not to get vaccinated for Covid-19. 

The letter indicates that "we ask any employee who has not yet taken the experimental COVID-19 injection, to wait until the end of the school year." That sounds almost mild, until a few sentences later we arrive at "It is our policy, to the extent possible, not to employ anyone who has taken the experimental COVID-19 injection until further information is known."

You will have recognized the anti-covid-vax talking point that the vaccines are experimental. The school throws in some additional debunked talking points about the vaccine.

For example, tens of thousands of women all over the world have been reporting adverse reproductive issues from being in close proximity with those who have received one of COVID-19 injections e.g., irregular menses, bleeding, miscarriages, post menopausal hemorrhaging, and amenorrhea.

Well, no. That is not a thing that's been happening. But staff that are vaccinated will have to stay CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Private School Says No Vaccine For Staff

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the announcement that the Biden administration will challenge every state to prioritize vaccinating educators and school staff, and will authorize the use of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership program to help achieve the goal of vaccinating all teachers and school-related personnel by the end of March 2021:

“What a tremendous relief to have a president who is meeting this moment of crisis. Vaccinations are a key ingredient to reopening schools safely, and this is the administration taking the steps to ramp up vaccinations for educators, which is great news for everyone who wants in-school learning. For almost a year, America’s educators have been working tirelessly to meet the needs of students and their families, in ways that are heroic but unsustainable. Parents are frustrated and educators are exhausted. But now, we have a science-based road map of mitigation, testing and vaccinations to get school buildings reopened safely and equitably; a true partner within the education community; and legislators to get this done.

“Yes, it requires resources, but it also requires leadership. Today, this White House reminded us that they see us, they respect our efforts, and they truly understand that, in order to make school reopening a reality, we need the testing and vaccination infrastructure to do it. For far too long, the rhetoric of prioritizing educators went unmatched with policy, action or effort. The Biden administration has stepped up, and our students, educators, school staff and communities will be better and safer for it.

“Getting our school buildings reopened safely doesn’t happen with wishful thinking. It happens through trust, collaboration, transparency and serious policy. By following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and with the help of this federal commitment to prioritize teacher vaccinations, we’re confident that within the next weeks and months, we’ll be able to be back in classrooms, enabling the academic, social and emotional learning that we know happens best in person. We look forward to bringing our public schools back to life as places where children can thrive.”

# # # #

The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

More teachers plan to quit as Covid stress overwhelms educators - CNBC

More teachers plan to quit as Covid stress overwhelms educators

More teachers plan to quit as Covid stress overwhelms educators

KEY POINTS

• After nearly a year of struggling to meet the demands of teaching during the coronavirus crisis, many educators say they are ready to switch careers or retire.
• But in order for schools to fully reopen, the U.S. needs more teachers, not fewer.

The challenges of teaching in-person or online have stretched educators to their limits.

After nearly a full year of either putting themselves at risk in a classroom or struggling to reach students remotely, many now say they may change careers or simply quit.

“Teachers have been feeling the brunt of how drastically this pandemic has changed our world,” said Colin Sharkey, executive director of the Association of American Educators, a national professional association.

“The demands that are put on them are off the charts.”

At a time when many state and local governments are struggling to recruit and retain educators, a nationwide poll of public education professionals found a growing number are ready to leave their jobs. CONTINUE READING: More teachers plan to quit as Covid stress overwhelms educators

NYC Public School Parents: Why Biden should focus on vaccinating all school staff ASAP instead of making students take pointless stressful tests

NYC Public School Parents: Why Biden should focus on vaccinating all school staff ASAP instead of making students take pointless stressful tests

Why Biden should focus on vaccinating all school staff ASAP instead of making students take pointless stressful tests

On Monday, Ian Rosenblum, appointed as Deputy Asst. Sec. of the US Dept. of Education announce
d that states would NOT be given a waiver from administering standardized exams this year – though ten states had already requested them, including New York. 

His letter is here; articles in Chalkbeat  and in Diane Ravitch’s blog here.  Rosenblum’s letter does say that the tests could be shortened, given over the summer (!) or even next fall. 

It is somewhat surprising and quite depressing that a relatively junior staffer would make this announcement before Biden’s choice for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has even taken office – and in the midst of a pandemic no less.  Check out the video here where Biden promised at an AFT forum last year that he would eliminate all federally-mandated standardized testing.   Makes you wonder who is really running the show! at the Dept of Education.

Or perhaps not.  Ian Rosenblum, who signed the official letter, came to the US Department of Education from running the NY branch of the pro-testing outfit Education Trust, now headed by our former and highly controversial pro-testing NY State Education Commissioner John B. King.   

Before that, Rosenblum was the top education advisor to the formerly pro-testing Gov. Cuomo, until Cuomo decided that this was not a popular political stance i, given vocal parent protests against the lengthy and highly flawed Common Core-aligned exams, leading to a 20% opt out rate. 

Interestingly, Ed Trust spearheaded a letter just a few weeks ago, urging the US Dept of Education to reject state requests for waivers.  The letter was signed onto by many inside-the-Beltway groups that have received a minimum of $200M in Gates funding over the last ten years or so:

National Urban League [$18M since 2011]
National Action Network [not listed]
UnidosUS [$11.5M since 2011]
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) [not listed on Gates Foundation site but cited on LULAC site as “partner” and cited here and here]
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) [$3.9M since 2011]
National Center for Learning Disabilities [$5M since 2014]
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) [not listed]
National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools [$1.9M since 2019]
The Education Trust [$49.1M since 2012]
Education Reform Now [$1M since 2016]
Alliance for Excellent Education [$22.8M since 2010]
Data Quality Campaign [$26 M since 2009]
Teach Plus [$23M since 2012]
Educators for Excellence [$12.4M since 2011]
Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) [not listed]
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools [$21.5M since 2009]
National PTA [$5M since 2009]
KIPP [$18.4M since 2019]
Collaborative for Student Success [not listed but funded by Gates according to its website]

The push back from teachers and parents to the waiver rejection letter has been immediate and intense, saying how unfair it is to make students take these tests at this time.  Said one New Jersey teacher & mom: "Parents don't want this. Educators don't want this & scientifically impossible that these tests will yield reliable, valid, usable data. Who is being served by this?" 

If states have to give these exams remotely, watch out for the unreliable and highly biased surveillance spyware schools will ask to install on your children’s devices.  Best advice is to refuse and opt out of these exams altogether.

Even our DOE Chancellor this morning said the following:

https://twitter.com/reemadamin/status/1364977654097657861?s=20

Instead of mandating standardized testing, the Biden administration should focus on getting CONTINUE READING: NYC Public School Parents: Why Biden should focus on vaccinating all school staff ASAP instead of making students take pointless stressful tests