Jersey Jazzman: January, 2021 Update on NJ COVID School Opening Plans: Still Racially Biased, Still Inadequately Funded For Many

Jersey Jazzman: January, 2021 Update on NJ COVID School Opening Plans: Still Racially Biased, Still Inadequately Funded For Many

January, 2021 Update on NJ COVID School Opening Plans: Still Racially Biased, Still Inadequately Funded For Many

The estimable Colleen O'Dea from NJ Spotlight News continues to do New Jersey a service by updating the data on school instructional models during the pandemic. I've been collecting her updates, including the latest one from late in January, and matching it to enrollment and funding data from the NJDOE.

I did my first report on this for the New Jersey Policy Perspective back in October, and have updated my findings here several times since (here and here). Let me be clear: these are not reports about how many students and families are electing to participate in remote, hybrid, or in-person learning. Rather, I'm showing what the options are for students in their school districts. 

A school district, for example, may offer hybrid learning (a combination of limited classroom time and virtual learning at home) to its students; however, those students may choose to stay home full-time. But a student in a "remote" district won't have that option: they never get to decide whether they want to come to school at least part-time.

There are four categories of instructional models in the data

• In-person, where all instruction takes place in school (again, NJ law says students could still elect to learn from home).
• Remote, where there is no in-person learning available.
• Hybrid, where there is a mix of in-person and remote learning for the district's students.
• Combination (combo), where different schools within the district have different models.

The reports I've been doing, based on O'Dea's data, have been getting a fair bit of attention CONTINUE READING: Jersey Jazzman: January, 2021 Update on NJ COVID School Opening Plans: Still Racially Biased, Still Inadequately Funded For Many

A few thoughts on School Funding and Pandemic Relief – School Finance 101

A few thoughts on School Funding and Pandemic Relief – School Finance 101

A few thoughts on School Funding and Pandemic Relief

I keep getting asked the same questions regarding my thoughts on the current stimulus proposals for schools. So here’s a quick attempt at summarizing my thoughts.

The pandemic has had at least three different types of effects on school funding.

First, the pandemic has highlighted the need for a short term infusion of resources to make existing schools safer and healthier for existing staff and students, increasing expenses for things such as cleaning supplies, PPE and technology expansion for increased remote access. While these things can add up, they are still probably the smallest among these financial issues facing schools and states in this moment. Still, they must be addressed, both for short term purposes and so that we learn better how to handle similar situations in the future.

The second issue is the fact that the pandemic has created significant shortfalls in state budgets which have yet to be resolved by an appropriately structured federal stimulus package. When state budgets take a hit like this, and income and sales tax revenues dip, there’s usually a large sharp dip for 1 to 3 years, followed by a long slow recovery. We learned a lot from the last great recession. This one is, and will be different in some ways. State budgets and by extension general aid to local school districts will need significant general support for ongoing expenses for the CONTINUE READING: A few thoughts on School Funding and Pandemic Relief – School Finance 101

A Teacher in California: The Madness of Test Obsession | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Teacher in California: The Madness of Test Obsession | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Teacher in California: The Madness of Test Obsession

A teacher in California, who must remain anonymous to protect her job, wrote this post. CAASP testing is the Common Core test produced by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

“We are 100% virtual, and teachers just had to sign an affidavit regarding CAASPP testing. I cannot believe they are STILL going forward with this. They expect that kids will 1) be in a quiet place with no distractions, 2) have their cameras on at all times, 3) not be using any other materials except pencil/paper, 4) that kids will have earbuds/headphones so they can hear the audio portion, 5) that kids won’t talk about the test content with ANYBODY.

And then, teachers are 1) supposed to simultaneously monitor 20+ students’ cameras and computer screens, 2) write down every time a student looks away or commits some other infraction, 3) keep every kid from unmuting their microphones (impossible).

I have students who stagger their time on chromebooks because of limited Wi-Fi, students who are self-conscious and terrified to have their cameras on, students who have multiple siblings all trying to do virtual meetings at once, CONTINUE READING: A Teacher in California: The Madness of Test Obsession | Diane Ravitch's blog

Teachers on Dilemmas of Remote and Hybrid Instruction | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teachers on Dilemmas of Remote and Hybrid Instruction | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teachers on Dilemmas of Remote and Hybrid Instruction

After I wrote a post on the dilemmas of hybrid teaching a few days ago, I heard from two teachers for whom I have the highest respect. In my judgment, their comments are worthwhile for readers of this blog.

Steve Davis teaches in the San Francisco Bay area. I met Steve 15 years ago when I observed his lessons for a study I was doing at the time. We have remained in touch all of these years through email and his comments on posts to this blog. He gave me permission to use his comment.

I have been teaching remotely for 100 days.

When we go back to the classroom it will likely be in the hybrid model (with responsibility for teaching both in-person and remote simultaneously). We already know which students have opted to continue to learn remotely and which students will return for in-person instruction.

The majority of students will still be remote.

You can’t just teach to the 5-10 students in front of you. It’s unrealistic to expect remote students to just follow along with the broadcast of in-person instruction. You need to closely monitor the remote students and frequently check for understanding, which mostly happens through text (many/most remote students are loath to have their cameras on or speak). That leads me to believe that the best practice may be to continue teaching the whole class (in person and remote) through video conferencing and other digital platforms. I will be in the room, and some students will be in the room, but we will still interact in the digital CONTINUE READING: Teachers on Dilemmas of Remote and Hybrid Instruction | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

EdAction in Congress February 7, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress February 7, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress February 7, 2021

Americans support Biden’s COVID-19 package by big margins

Stressing the need to act quickly, congressional Democrats laid the groundwork for passing President Biden’s COVID-19 package with a simple majority vote via the budget reconciliation process. Early Friday morning, after a chaotic process called “vote-a-rama,” the Senate voted 51-50 to advance the budget bill that will serve as the legislative vehicle—Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. Now, lawmakers will turn to translating Biden’s COVID-19 package into law. Democrats are rushing to complete the process by early to mid-March, when unemployment benefits again expire.

Ten Republican senators have offered a counterproposal that would provide less than one-third the $1.9 trillion Biden seeks to help heal our nation. Republicans reduced the cost by cutting $150 billion from school aid, eliminating support for hard-hit state and local governments, scaling back and shortening the duration of unemployment benefits, and reducing stimulus payments to individual Americans from $1,400 to $1,000.

More than two-thirds of Americans support Biden’s COVID-19 package, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University. Democrats back it 97-3 percent and Independents 68-25 percent while Republicans oppose it 47-37 percent; 16 percent had no opinion. Nearly 80 percent of Americans favor $1,400 stimulus payments.

NEA’s top priorities for COVID-19 relief include dedicated education funding, state and local aid, and closing the homework gap via the E-Rate program. We support President Biden’s proposal for $130 billion to help public K-12 school buildings reopen safely, $35 billion to help public colleges and universities do the same, and $350 billion in state and local aid to avoid further layoffs of educators and other essential public servants.

Another big issue is the lack of paid sick leave—many education support professionals are among the 60 percent of U.S. workers who do not have access to paid sick leave through their employers. NEA is urging Congress to renew and strengthen the requirement that employers provide paid sick leave and expand family and medical leave during the pandemic—make it available to eligible employees whether school buildings are open or closed, and require all employers to provide it. TAKE ACTION

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Cardona gets bipartisan support at confirmation hearing

The cordial Feb. 3 confirmation hearing for Dr. Miguel Cardona, President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Education, was a stark contrast to the hotly contested nomination of Betsy DeVos four years ago. Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee from both sides of the aisle expressed support for Cardona. “I will encourage all of my colleagues on my side to support you as well and to move expeditiously to have you sworn in as the next secretary of education,” said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top-ranking Republican on the HELP Committee.

Cardona stressed that “we must be able to reduce spread and contain the virus” to reopen schools safely. “If we really want to recover, we need to invest now,” he said, noting that President Biden’s COVID-19 package would make possible to hire more teachers, school counselors, expand summer programming, and extend school days. NEA supports Cardona for Secretary of Education. The HELP Committee will vote Thursday, Feb. 11 to advance his nomination to the full Senate. TAKE ACTION

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NEA PAC Council pushes for accountability for members of Congress who voted to overturn election results

The National Education Association PAC Council, representing the broad array of educators and other professionals who make up our union including leaders from all 50 states and NEA caucuses, passed a resolution pledging that NEA will work to hold accountable the members of Congress who voted to continue the undermining of our democracy, promoting false and divisive conspiracy theories, as they tried to overturn the November 2020 election. The resolution, which specifically halts PAC contributions to the members of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the election, was passed unanimously by the PAC Council.

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Cheers and Jeers

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) reintroduced the REUNITE Act (H.R. 530) to reunite families separated at or near ports of entry to the United States.
 

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) reintroduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 529) to prohibit immigration enforcement—including arrests, interviews, searches, and surveillance—at schools, hospitals, clinics, places of worship, courthouses, and other sensitive locations.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) highlighted the importance of nutrition assistance programs at Agriculture Secretary-designate Tom Vilsack’s confirmation hearing.

Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the SALT Deductibility Act (H.R. 613) to repeal the cap on the SALT deduction that threatens states’ and localities’ ability to fund schools and other essential public services.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Reps. Alma Adams (D-NC), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) reintroduced a resolution to cancel up to $50,000 of federal student loan debt per student.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said in a televised interview with Joe Scarborough, “To me it’s not about trying to pit teachers against children and parents. It’s [about] how do we make sure schools are safe? That teachers feel safe, that everybody feels safe, that parents know their children are safe.”

219 Democrats and 11 Republicans voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of her appointment to the House Education and Labor Committee as NEA urged them to do.

199 Republicans voted to allow Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to stay on the House Education and Labor Committee.

 

EdAction in Congress February 7, 2021 - Education Votes

Jeff Bryant: Voucher Programs and Charter Schools - LA Progressive

Voucher Programs and Charter Schools - LA Progressive

Voucher Programs and Charter Schools

Betsy DeVos Is Gone, But Her Education Agenda Is Rolling Out Across the Country

Supporters of public education and school teachers were relieved to see Betsy DeVos leave her job as head of the Department of Education, knowing full well the education policies she and former President Trump supported would go nowhere in a President Biden administration. But they should remain incensed over how her efforts to privatize public schools are being rolled out in state legislatures across the country.

In states as politically diverse as Washington, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, and New Hampshire, state legislators are introducing bills to increase the number of charter schools and create new school voucher programs or greatly expand current ones.

According to the Educational Freedom Institute (EFI), a think tank that advocates for vouchers, charter schools, and other forms of “school choice,” there are at least 14 states actively considering legislation to pour greater sums of taxpayer dollars intended for public education into privately operated schools. Many of the bills have been introduced since the November 2020 CONTINUE READING: Voucher Programs and Charter Schools - LA Progressive

The week in coveducation: Stitt outlines #oklaed goals

The week in coveducation: Stitt outlines #oklaed goals

The week in coveducation: Stitt outlines #oklaed goals

Monday, Feb. 1, marked the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, where Gov. Kevin Stitt used his State of the State address to touch on his goals for the Oklahoma education landscape.

Also this week — a superintendent at a Fairfax county school district has been suspended by the school’s board owing to new sanctions by federal and state education authorities.

Catch up on the week’s Oklahoma education news with this collection of headlines from reporters around the state.

Stitt pushes for changes to student transfer policy, funding formula

Stitt’s State of the State address referenced two of his #oklaed goals: changing the state’s school funding formula and creating a stronger and statewide open transfer policy for students between Oklahoma’s more than 500 school districts.

The Frontier’s Ben Felder reported that while schools are currently funded based off of the highest enrollment count for one of the past three years, Stitt wants the enrollment CONTINUE READING: The week in coveducation: Stitt outlines #oklaed goals

Republicans look to "Q" UP Democrats on school reopenings | TheHill

Republicans look to pummel Democrats on school reopenings | TheHill

Republicans look to pummel Democrats on school reopenings

Republicans are pummeling Democrats on school reopenings, believing it will be a potent wedge issue in the midterm elections and offer the GOP a path back to winning suburban voters.

Explosive battles are playing out in Democratic-led cities and states over how quickly public schools should reopen and Republicans are picking at divisions between elected officials and teachers unions.

The GOP’s House and Senate campaign arms are tracking union donations to Democratic members and accusing them of putting special interests ahead of student education.

In a floor speech this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) railed against what he described as Democratic “goalpoast-moving,” pointing to districts that refuse to return to in-person learning until all teachers have been vaccinated. 

GOP members of the House and Senate have introduced resolutions to restrict government funds for public schools that have not reopened.

“There could not be a more potent issue out there right now and it fits a perfect need for the Republican Party,” said a GOP Senate aide. “A lot of CONTINUE READING: Republicans look to pummel Democrats on school reopenings | TheHill

Open Letter to Dr. Hite Regarding School District Facility Issues + Parents United Response to the SDP Reopening Plan – Parents United for Public Education

Open Letter to Dr. Hite Regarding School District Facility Issues – Parents United for Public Education

Open Letter to Dr. Hite Regarding School District Facility Issues

Dr. William Hite
Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

2/20/2020

Dr. Hite:

We, Parents United for Public Education, are deeply concerned with multiple aspects of the facility issues notification process, clean up procedures, and lack of parental involvement in the district’s latest school closures. There is a continued lack of transparency around how hazards are identified, and the procedures for and outcomes of the testing that deems that threats have been cleared. We have spoken with parents in the affected schools about the information given to them by the facility managers and they have expressed similar concerns.

As members in the Philly Healthy Schools Initiative coalition, we are attempting to work with your staff to develop effective information sharing, communication, transparency, and stakeholder involvement. We are aware that there is a great deal of poor communication and miscommunication between the district staff and the school communities. There are also noted inconsistencies between the individual environmental inspectors who are tasked with identifying “imminent hazards.”

In addition, there is a general lack of forethought and planning for how to answer logical questions and provide information regarding the health and welfare of individuals in the school communities impacted by these closures or remediation work. As we have seen over and over again in person and in reporting on these issues, the front line district officials are not adequately able to inform parents and teachers about the level of exposure or any potential medical follow up CONTINUE READING: Open Letter to Dr. Hite Regarding School District Facility Issues – Parents United for Public Education

Parents United Response to the SDP Reopening Plan

We, like so many, are spending a lot of our time thinking about reopening schools safely. We are still trying to process last week’s Board of Education meeting in which over a hundred parents, students, and staff spoke about the need for a consciously safe return to education, only to be met with what appeared to be a coordinated plan to dismiss their concerns and delay Board action. There are clearly significant questions about the district’s ability to provide an adequate education and minimize COVID-19 exposure risk.

Parents and students have reason to be leery of the district’s reopening plan; the district’s trust problem with its stakeholders is not new. The School District of Philadelphia has a history of decision-making that ignores the input of families and educators while putting students and educators at risk. It is not hyperbole to say that people have died and will die due to the conditions in our schools.

In 2011, due to draconian cuts in state funding, our district shuttered libraries and after school programs and eliminated thousands of essential positions including school nurses. We were told then to make do with less. We were told that high CONTINUE READING: Parents United Response to the SDP Reopening Plan

VIDEO: Sacramento City Unified Air Cleaner Controversy – CBS Sacramento

Sacramento City Unified Air Cleaner Controversy – CBS Sacramento

Sacramento City Unified Air Cleaner Controversy

The Sacramento City Teachers Association claims hundreds of air purifiers have been removed from classrooms for testing after the district spent millions on the machines.

Sacramento City Unified Air Cleaner Controversy – CBS Sacramento

Educators: Beware “The City Fund” and Its Many Tentacles of Privatization | Diane Ravitch's blog

Educators: Beware “The City Fund” and Its Many Tentacles of Privatization | Diane Ravitch's blog

Educators: Beware “The City Fund” and Its Many Tentacles of Privatization

This article was co-authored by a group of educators who oppose privatization. They have identified the primary driver of privatization in their different communities: The City Fund, subsidized primarily by corporate “reformers” Reed Hastings and John Arnold. The City Fund is led by experienced privatizers who have tried their hand in places like Tennessee and New Orleans, where the PR was great but the results were not. It opened its operations with $200 million in hand from its funders. Lots of money, no members, and a charge to go out into the nation and find cities where they could disrupt the local school board elections by underwriting advocates of privatization. They are undermining public schools and democracy at the same time. They should hang their heads in shame. They won’t.

The authors of the following are: Dr. Tracee Miller was an elected member of the St. Louis Board of Education. Dr. Keith Benson is president of the Camden Education Association. Christina Smith is Secretary of Indianapolis Public Schools Community Coalition. Dawn Chanet Collins, East Baton Rouge Parish School System Board Member and Candidate for Metro-Council 6. Bobby Blount is a San Antonio Northside ISD Trustee. Don Macleay is a member of Oakland Public Schools Action 2020.

They wrote the following article:

Education Privatization: Eerie Similarities in Stories from 15 Major US Cities CONTINUE READING: Educators: Beware “The City Fund” and Its Many Tentacles of Privatization | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Matters: Why is DCPS misleading families about testing during a pandemic.

Education Matters: Why is DCPS misleading families about testing during a pandemic.

Why is DCPS misleading families about testing during a pandemic.

As testing season fast approaches, not even a pandemic and the threat of getting sick is deterring DCPS. Instead of striving to keep people safe, they have referred back to cajoling families to send their children into schools, which sadly seems to be the only tool in their tool kit.

The district has sent out a letter to the DHR families that isn't quite honest.

  It is so ironic, the state talks about parental choice, except when it comes to testing, then the district would have you believe it is mandatory, which isn't quite true.

First if it is a district test, I would encourage DHR families to skip it unless the district develops a way to do it remotely. As for B&M students, maybe take a family day when they are given. We have to push back against CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Why is DCPS misleading families about testing during a pandemic.

Is It Safe to Resume In-Person Instruction? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Is It Safe to Resume In-Person Instruction? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Is It Safe to Resume In-Person Instruction?

It is easy to be confused about whether it’s safe to resume in-person instruction. Schools in Europe, which were quick to reopen a few months ago, are closed now due to a resurgence of COVID-19. Experts, including the new head of the CDC, say it’s safe to reopen, even if teachers have not been vaccinated.

Steven Singer does not agree. From the onset of the pandemic, he has worried about reopening too soon. Now he wants to know why Dr. Rochelle Walensky says it is not safe to go to a Super Bowl party, but safe to reopen schools without vaccinating teachers. He says Dr. Walensky is engaged in magical thinking. He asks: Why are schools safer than Super Bowl parties?

Mercedes Schneider deconstructs a report by the Journal of the American Medical Association that has been widely misunderstood as a blanket endorsement of full-time in-person instruction. She pulls the study apart to show its caveats. She is teaching in-person classes. She is prepared. She concludes:

Potential impact of variants aside, the JAMA article CONTINUE READING: Is It Safe to Resume In-Person Instruction? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Chicago Teachers At Odds With District Over School Reopening | 89.3 KPCC

Chicago Teachers At Odds With District Over School Reopening | 89.3 KPCC

Chicago Teachers At Odds With District Over School Reopening

The city of Chicago and its teachers are fast approaching a showdown.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools have been planning to reopen for some in-person classes next week. But the Chicago Teachers Union is concerned about the logistics of returning to school while the pandemic is still raging.

In a letter to staff and families Friday evening, Lightfoot and school district CEO Janice Jackson said that if certain pre-K teachers and other staff don't report to classrooms on Monday, they "will be deemed absent without leave," and would have their access to online teaching tools revoked.

If the district makes good on that promise, it could lead to the second teachers' strike in the city in less than two years. The union has said it would strike if the district locks out teachers from working from home.

"We love your children," the union wrote in a letter to parents earlier this week. "We desperately want to be back in classrooms with them, but we are not willing to CONTINUE READING: Chicago Teachers At Odds With District Over School Reopening | 89.3 KPCC

About That JAMA Article on COVID Transmission and Reopening Schools | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

About That JAMA Article on COVID Transmission and Reopening Schools | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

About That JAMA Article on COVID Transmission and Reopening Schools

On January 26, 2021, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published this “viewpoint” regarding COVID-19 and in-poerson school attendance, entitled, “Data and Policy to Guide Opening Schools Safely to Limit the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.”

It seems that in the press, the conclusion of this study has been reduced to the convenient byte, “there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.” Thus, it seems that many are quick to say, “There you have it. Science says COVID-19 is not a problem at schools, so reopen school, period.”

Not so fast.

The JAMA article, which includes links to a number of studies of COVID-19 spread in school compared to community, both in the US and in other countries, also includes the following information about COVID-19 spread:

While these data are encouraging overall, large outbreaks have occurred with apparent transmission in schools. In Israel, within 2 weeks of schools reopening in mid-May 2020, a large high school outbreak occurred when 2 students with epidemiologically unrelated infections attended classes while mildly symptomatic.Testing of more than 99% of at-risk students (n = 1164 eligible; 1161 tested) and staff (152 eligible; 151 tested) identified 153 and 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, respectively (attack rates of 13.2% and 16.6%). Contributing factors to this outbreak included crowded classrooms with insufficient physical distancing (eg, student density in classrooms exceeded recommended values), exemption from face mask use, and continuous air conditioning that recycled interior air in closed rooms during a heat wave.

And: CONTINUE READING:  About That JAMA Article on COVID Transmission and Reopening Schools | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog