Monday, March 22, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Monday, March 22, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

As students with disabilities return to school, districts are unprepared to meet their needs, report says https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/22/school-districts-unprepared-to-meet-need-of-returning-students-with-disabilities/?tid=ss_tw

NYC schools won't see budget cuts for enrollment drops this year: De Blasio - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-nyc-school-enrollment-funding-levels-20210322-eoya4zfnifhivfnxe2rfcuan3q-story.html via @nydailynews

NYC gave thousands of students iPads. For English learners, those devices have not been up to the task. - Chalkbeat New York - https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/19/22337070/ipads-nyc-doe-english-learners on chalkbeat

Student Loan Forgiveness Program Made Decisions in 12 Minutes, Documents Say - The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/business/student-loan-forgiveness-betsy-devos.html on @nytimes

“Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=116368 on @Larryferlazzo

“Let Them Sing!” School Sports Okayed, Singers Still Gagged! https://www.laprogressive.com/let-them-sing/

U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Assistance for Students and Institutions Through HEERF Grant Program and Expanded SNAP Benefits | U.S. Department of Education - https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-additional-assistance-students-and-institutions-through-heerf-grant-program-and-expanded-snap-benefits

CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to be closer | News | pressrepublican.com - https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/cdc-changes-school-guidance-allowing-desks-to-be-closer/article_03c3ce65-8251-5460-8d68-5e60bbdeed5e.html on @pressrepublican

Department of Education Announces Action to Streamline Borrower Defense Relief Process | U.S. Department of Education - https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-action-streamline-borrower-defense-relief-process

High school football player dies after collapse during game - https://apnews.com/article/high-school-football-football-sacramento-de2732c815a6bbf54f0016924f7d1ebb on @ap

Parents, teachers react to new CDC guidance allowing 3 feet between students https://www.kcra.com/article/parents-teachers-react-cdc-3-feet-students/35890387

Oakland teachers union approves school reopening agreement - https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Oakland-teachers-union-approves-school-16042353.php on @sfchronicle

Rural California schools have been open for months. It's taken a learning curve http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/LMULlkM-yes/covid-19-lessons-reopened-rural-schools-california

NYC’s purchase of school buses should supercharge transition to electric fleet: advocates https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-electric-school-bus-expansion-20210322-fyuw72vfibb7ngybjfzjbnlaz4-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

PROOF POINTS: Paper beats pixels on most picture books, research finds https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-paper-beats-pixels-on-most-picture-books-research-finds/

Colleges are withholding transcripts and degrees from millions over unpaid bills https://hechingerreport.org/colleges-are-withholding-transcripts-and-degrees-from-millions-over-unpaid-bills/

SFUSD faces lawsuit over controversial renaming of 44 schools - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/SFUSD-faces-lawsuit-over-controversial-renaming-16036702.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

U.S. Public School System Tiptoes Back to Life | Education News | US News - https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-03-19/us-public-school-system-tiptoes-back-to-life#new_tab on @USNews

Mayor Breed calls for S.F. school board member to resign over racist tweets directed at Asian Americans - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Mayor-Breed-calls-for-S-F-school-board-member-to-16040970.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

Yang lays blame on teachers union for sluggish pace of school reopenings https://politi.co/3lxC4TT

Teachers OK LAUSD reopening deal with strict protocols in place - ABC7 Los Angeles - https://abc7.com/education/teachers-approve-deal-to-reopen-lausd-schools/10439523/#new_tab via @abc7

In poor districts, pandemic overwhelms school counselors - https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-connecticut-bridgeport-distance-learning-coronavirus-pandemic-d93d22b868530332ba876b0023b185c8#new_tab on @ap

Covid 'may leave 12 million children unable to read' | Global development | The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/22/un-covid-impact-education-inequality-half-children-cannot-read-by-age-10#new_tab on @guardian

Less than 30% of students ready to return to LAUSD campuses, survey shows http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/cRB1txd_Ye4/less-than-30-of-students-ready-to-return-to-lausd-campuses-survey-shows

Assembly committee considers bill to allow 'microschools' | Local Education | madison.com - https://madison.com/ct/news/local/education/local_schools/assembly-committee-considers-bill-to-allow-microschools/article_3dbf5054-192f-56f7-907a-6e435334ea26.html#new_tab on @CapTimes

N.J. school district suspends vice principal after COVID outbreak that sickened 8 staffers - nj.com - https://www.nj.com/education/2021/03/nj-school-district-suspends-vice-principal-after-covid-outbreak-that-sickened-8-staffers.html#new_tab on @njdotcom

Sacramento City Unified, Teachers Union Reach Agreement To Bring Back Students Starting April 8 https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/03/20/sacramento-city-unified-teachers-union-reach-agreement-to-bring-back-students-starting-april-8/#new_tab

Zoom paid $0 in federal income taxes on 4,000 percent profit increase during pandemic: report http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/s10jdp2KA5Y/

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Whatever Happened to Monitorial Schools? | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10817 on @NEPCtweet

Educators call on Congress to pass Voter Protection Bills https://educationvotes.nea.org/?p=48992#.YFjPLTHbifE.twitter via @EdVotes

McKee says he'll veto charter school moratorium if it passes - https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/19/mckee-says-hell-veto-charter-school-moratorium-if-passes/4768856001/#new_tab via @projo

Big Education Ape: Laurie’s Last Stand? – Tennessee Education Report - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/lauries-last-stand-tennessee-education.html

Big Education Ape: Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle: In Finland, Education is a Basic Civil Right | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/pasi-sahlberg-and-william-doyle-in.html

Big Education Ape: Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate. - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/biden-promised-to-end-federal-funding.html

Big Education Ape: NEPC: Another Useless Report from NCTQ | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/nepc-another-useless-report-from-nctq.html

Big Education Ape: Russ on Reading: Reading Aloud for Better Human Understanding: Asian-American Picture Books - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/russ-on-reading-reading-aloud-for.html

Big Education Ape: Teachers' Unions Uncertain on C.D.C.'s New 3-Feet Limit - The New York Times - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/teachers-unions-uncertain-on-cdcs-new-3.html

Big Education Ape: Teacher Tom: Embodied Learning - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/teacher-tom-embodied-learning.html

Big Education Ape: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Begins to Rectify Injustice in Department’s College Loan Program | janresseger - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/education-secretary-miguel-cardona.html

High School Classes Continue. High School Buildings Open. | JD2718

by Mike Simpson / 32min

High School Classes Continue. High School Buildings Open. Tomorrow is the day. High schools finally ….. Reopen? Bullshit. High schools have been open since September. Even then, the bulk of our teaching was via zoom and other remote platforms. Tomorrow, the bulk of our teaching will be via zoom and other remote platforms. In fact today more students will be fully remote than back in September. B

Why I'm Opting My Son Out Of Standardized Testing (And You Can, Too) | The Jose Vilson

by Mike Simpson / 32min

WHY I’M OPTING MY SON OUT OF STANDARDIZED TESTING (AND YOU CAN, TOO) Recently, my son revealed the difficulty in observing his ninth birthday . Usually joyous occasions, this past birthday was mired in nervousness over the perpetual, coordinated assaults on American ideals of democracy. Just as he was finishing online class, government representatives over 200 miles away openly opined on electio

New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools Could be Dangerous - Institute for New Economic Thinking #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

by Mike Simpson / 32min

Institute for New Economic Thinking New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools Could be Dangerous School re-opening push based on outdated science is poorly timed in face of coronavirus resurgence T he scale of disaster visited on the world by the COVID-19 pandemic defies any easy summary. But it is safe to say that the question of keeping schools open is among the most fateful decisions facing public

A simple proposal. Give public school teachers an extra year of retirement service credit for the pandemic year. – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 32min

A SIMPLE PROPOSAL. GIVE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS AN EXTRA YEAR OF RETIREMENT SERVICE CREDIT FOR THE PANDEMIC YEAR I’ve been out of the classroom for nearly a decade. But as I speak to my colleagues who have taught this year it is mind boggling. That is true whether they taught remotely, in-person or hybrid. I have a simple proposal. It doesn’t begin to demonstrate what should be our profound thank

YESTERDAY

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Spring Is Here, Apparently Edition (3/21)

by Mike Simpson / 16h

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Spring Is Here, Apparently Edition (3/21) Spring Is Here, Apparently Edition It's nice enough, but I've lived in NW PA too long to be fooled. We'll just see where this leads us. In the meantime, here's your reading for the week. Also, your reminder that you can get a daily dose of edubloggery by checking out (or subscribing to) NPE's Blog of Blogs Why Black Parents Aren't J

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Sunday, March 21, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

by Mike Simpson / 16h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES $325,000 Settlement for Teacher Over Trump References Removed From Yearbook - The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/21

Big Education Ape

Laurie’s Last Stand? – Tennessee Education Report

LAURIE’S LAST STAND?

Laurie Cardoza-Moore, an anti-Muslim activist and participant in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol will be considered for an appointment on the state Textbook Commission at a hearing in the House Education Instruction Committee on Wednesday, March 24th, at 11:00 AM.

Moore was appointed to the Textbook Commission by House Speaker Cameron Sexton. While most such appointments are approved with little debate or discussion, Moore is expected to generate at least some opposition.

In fact, Moore’s anxiety over losing out on the opportunity to shape Tennessee’s textbook choices was reflected in a column she wrote for the Tennessean:

I pray for a day, when parents in the Volunteer State can send their children to school with the knowledge that they are receiving a wholesome, accurate and unbiased American education.

She’s also a fan of encouraging her followers to “take back” America’s schools, as demonstrated in this letter about Dominion voting machines.

Apparently, taking back the schools has become a great source of profit for Moore. Just look at 2017, when:

. . . she paid herself $130,000. Then, she paid her husband’s business $67,000. There was a business “office expense” for occupancy at just over $49,000. She runs PJTN from her home, so that means she’s paying her CONTINUE READING: Laurie’s Last Stand? – Tennessee Education Report

Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle: In Finland, Education is a Basic Civil Right | Diane Ravitch's blog

Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle: In Finland, Education is a Basic Civil Right

In this post, Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle respond to a recent article that pitted civil rights groups against advocates for the Finnish model of education. They found the dichotomy puzzling. They wrote this article for this blog.

They write:

Two decades ago, Finland made big news in international education circles. Against all odds it became a top-performer in OECD’s first PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study that compared 15-year-olds’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematical and scientific literacies. Since about 2010 education experts and pundits in the United States have debated whether there is anything at all that American school systems could learn from that small Nordic nation’s school system. Ten years on and these debates still go on.

In their March 15, 2021 essay “Finland Meets Civil Rights”, Professor Jal Mehta and co-author Krista Galleberg make good points, including “we can draw on CONTINUE READING: Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle: In Finland, Education is a Basic Civil Right | Diane Ravitch's blog

Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate. - The Washington Post

Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate

President Biden said while running for the White House that he would bar for-profit charter schools from receiving federal funding, and the 2020 Democratic platform explained why:

Charter schools were originally intended to be publicly funded schools with increased flexibility in program design and operations. Democrats believe that education is a public good and should not be saddled with a private profit motive, which is why we will ban for-profit private charter businesses from receiving federal funding.

Now a new report, titled “Chartered For Profit: The Hidden World of Charter Schools Operated for Financial Gain,” details how many for-profit management companies (referred to as EMOs) evade state laws banning for-profit charters.

They set up nonprofit schools and then direct the schools’ business operations to related corporations. For example, it says, one of the largest EMOs, National Heritage Academies, “locks schools in with a ‘sweeps contract’ where virtually all revenue is passed to the for-profit management corporation, NHA, that runs the school.”

“In other cases, the EMO recommends their own related companies for services that include leasing, personnel services, and curriculum,” it says

The report was produced by the Network for Public Education, an education advocacy group that opposes charter schools. It was written by Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education and a former award-winning New York principal, and Darcie Cimarusti, the network’s communications director.

The authors wrote that despite “strict regulations against the disbursement of funds from the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) to charter schools operated by for-profit entities,” they identified more than 440 charter schools operated for profit that received grants totaling approximately $158 million between 2006 and 2017.

They also found that fewer disadvantaged students, proportionally, attend charters run for profit than CONTINUE READING: Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate. - The Washington Post

NEPC: Another Useless Report from NCTQ | Diane Ravitch's blog

NEPC: Another Useless Report from NCTQ

The National Education Policy Center frequently engages independent scholars to review think tank reports, which are often advocacy reports.

In this report, the NEPC scholars review the latest report from the National Center on Teacher Quality, which was formed about 20 years ago to take down teachers’ colleges. See this post.

NEPC Review: 2020 Teacher Prep Review: Clinical Practice and Classroom Management (October 2020)

Reviewers: Jamy Stillman and Katherine Schultz March 16, 2021

NCTQ’s 2020 Teacher Prep Review focuses on two areas of teacher preparation: clinical practice and classroom management. The report uses an approach that is now familiar to readers of NCTQ publications: asserting a set of preferred practices and then applying those criteria to teacher education programs. Although NCTQ reports have been critiqued for their limited use of research and highly questionable research methodology, this report employs the same approaches as earlier NCTQ reports. Rather than analyzing the characteristics of successful programs preparing teachers for a wide range of contexts, the report is based exclusively on adherence to or compliance with NCTQ internal standards that are neither widely accepted nor evidence-based. Thus, the report’s value is diminished and is unlikely to transform teacher preparation

NEPC: Another Useless Report from NCTQ | Diane Ravitch's blog

Russ on Reading: Reading Aloud for Better Human Understanding: Asian-American Picture Books

Reading Aloud for Better Human Understanding: Asian-American Picture Books

Prejudice and hate crimes against Asian-Americans are not new in the United States, unfortunately, but the recent increase in bias related crimes against this segment of the American population reminds us that anti-bias efforts remain critical. The need to address the issues head on is made doubly important when political leaders are among the principal spreaders of this unreasoned hatred. One way to combat prejudice is through knowledge and understanding and one good way to spread knowledge and understanding is through a good book. Here are some great picture books that will help young readers learn about their Asian-American classmates and neighbors.

Long one of my favorite read alouds for children in grades 2-5, Angel Child, Dragon Child, by Michelle Maria Serat, with pictures by Vo-Dinh Mai, tells the story of Ut, recently arrived in the United States from Vietnam. Ut is teased by her new classmates for her different language and different clothes. School is a sad, dispiriting experience and home is a place where she misses her mother who has not made the journey with the family. Ut eventually makes an unlikely friend at school, a boy who was her chief tormentor, and the school community eventually unites around Ut and her family. Wonderful soft pencil and watercolor CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: Reading Aloud for Better Human Understanding: Asian-American Picture Books

Teachers' Unions Uncertain on C.D.C.'s New 3-Feet Limit - The New York Times

Parents and school leaders celebrate new C.D.C. guidance lowering distance between students to 3 feet. Teachers aren’t on board yet.

Proponents of fully reopening schools got a major boost on Friday when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that elementary school students and some middle and high school students could be spaced three feet apart in classrooms.

The previous guidance of keeping most students six feet apart had in many school districts become a big obstacle to welcoming students back for full-time instruction because it severely limited capacity. Many experts now say a growing body of research shows that six feet is not much more protective than three, as long as other safety measures are in place, like mask wearing.

Public health experts, parents and school officials cheered the new recommendation. Teachers’ unions, which have used the six-foot guidance to oppose bringing children back for normal schedules, did not.

EDUCATION BRIEFING: The pandemic is upending education. Get the latest news and tips.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest educators’ union, said in a statement that she would “reserve judgment” on the new guidelines pending further review of research on how the virus behaves in schools, especially those in cities or that are under-resourced. Becky Pringle, president of the largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association, raised similar concerns.

Nevertheless, the new guidance seemed to be having an immediate impact in some places. New York City, the nation’s largest school district, announced on Friday that it would give families another chance to select in-person instruction for their children. The city said that elementary schools, prekindergarten programs and CONTINUE READING: Teachers' Unions Uncertain on C.D.C.'s New 3-Feet Limit - The New York Times

Teacher Tom: Embodied Learning

Embodied Learning

I wasn't exposed to the works of William Shakespeare until I was 17-years-old. I can't even remember what play we had to read. It was probably one of the best known ones like Hamlet or A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I barely understood a word. I blamed the material, of course. It couldn't be me: I was a good reader, something I'd been told since first grade when I was placed in "Reading Group 1" by my teacher Mrs. McCutcheon. This archaic crap might have been a best seller back in the 16th century, but today, in the modern world of 1979, it had clearly lost its relevance. Forcing us to endure it was an example of academic hazing or something.

I wasn't the only one who struggled, so our teacher had the idea of reading parts aloud to us so we could "hear the poetry." Aside from making it feel a bit like we'd been transported back to kindergarten, she was right, it did help. Shakespeare's meaning was more clear and I began to make some of my first approaches toward something like CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Embodied Learning

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Begins to Rectify Injustice in Department’s College Loan Program | janresseger

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Begins to Rectify Injustice in Department’s College Loan Program

Last Thursday, March 18, 2021, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona rescinded a policy devised by his predecessor, Betsy DeVos, for processing complaints by students who claimed to have been defrauded by unscrupulous for-profit colleges and trade schools. DeVos’s policy denied debt relief for thousands of students whose complaints were not carefully or fairly considered.

The U.S. Department of Education manages an enormous higher education loan program which has been criticized by borrowers and members of Congress alike—all concerned that under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, student borrowers were left unprotected after for-profit colleges and trade schools induced them to take out big loans for shoddy education programs. Because these institutions are highly dependent on federal student loans to cover their operating expenses, they too frequently prey on students and military veterans with fraudulent advertising about the nature and quality of the programs to which they lure students. A federal rule called “the borrower defense to repayment” is supposed to protect students by cancelling their student loans when the students can prove the schools’ promises were fraudulent.

The Washington Post‘s Danielle Douglas-Gabriel explains the significance of Cardona’s action last week: “About 72,000 people will have their federal loans canceled after Education CONTINUE READING: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Begins to Rectify Injustice in Department’s College Loan Program | janresseger

High School Classes Continue. High School Buildings Open. | JD2718

High School Classes Continue. High School Buildings Open.

Tomorrow is the day. High schools finally …..

Reopen? Bullshit.

High schools have been open since September. Even then, the bulk of our teaching was via zoom and other remote platforms. Tomorrow, the bulk of our teaching will be via zoom and other remote platforms.

In fact today more students will be fully remote than back in September.

Because they chose to be remote.

Something ridiculously high in high schools – what, 70%? More?

In fact high schools are reporting additional families switched to remote instruction since the de Blasio/Porter announcement.

So what’s happening?

Tomorrow all high school buildings are opening, and some minimal version of “blended learning” will engage 10-20% of high school students. Over 90% of classes will remain on-line.

All buildings will open. With 15% of students. With less than 10% of classes. de Blasio will be talking about buildings, not students or classes.

Tomorrow de Blasio is making a great show out of opening the buildings. That’s all. It is a show. Instruction will continue for most students and most teachers on CONTINUE READING: High School Classes Continue. High School Buildings Open. | JD2718

Why I'm Opting My Son Out Of Standardized Testing (And You Can, Too) | The Jose Vilson

WHY I’M OPTING MY SON OUT OF STANDARDIZED TESTING (AND YOU CAN, TOO)

Recently, my son revealed the difficulty in observing his ninth birthday. Usually joyous occasions, this past birthday was mired in nervousness over the perpetual, coordinated assaults on American ideals of democracy. Just as he was finishing online class, government representatives over 200 miles away openly opined on election malfeasance on the US Senate and House floors to the delight of former President Trump’s glee. A few minutes later, the news reports would show the waves of insurrectionists cruise into this usually impenetrable building like knives through unrefrigerated butter. His stubborn parents shook off the nonsense to center him, even as, in the back of our minds, we worried whether the insurrection at the Capitol was the first of a continuous set of actions between that moment and the inauguration of President Biden.

He’s sitting there, smile in tow, brimming at another year around the sun even as he observes the world we’ve brought him into. What, to this nine-year-old, is a learning loss?

He’s learned a lot this year. He learned how to create his own school schedule, how to advocate for himself and his learning, how to flip between several different computer programs, how to use Zoom and Google Meet depending on the Department of Education’s policies, and how to work independently while his parents navigated their own set of works. He learned how to put on his own mask, wash his hands for 20 seconds, and stay physically distant from strangers who he senses do otherwise. He’s got a larger vocabulary and can read our expressions well. He’s got a way with puns and jokes beyond what I had at his age. His CONTINUE READING: Why I'm Opting My Son Out Of Standardized Testing (And You Can, Too) | The Jose Vilson

New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools Could be Dangerous - Institute for New Economic Thinking #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

Institute for New Economic Thinking

New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools Could be Dangerous

School re-opening push based on outdated science is poorly timed in face of coronavirus resurgence

The scale of disaster visited on the world by the COVID-19 pandemic defies any easy summary. But it is safe to say that the question of keeping schools open is among the most fateful decisions facing public authorities. As the pandemic stretches into its second year, it is now becoming among the most contentious.

In the U.S., after some hesitation, the Biden administration seems to be encouraging rapid opening of schools, despite high levels of community transmission in many places, before robust mitigations are completely in place. Many Republican governors and officials also demand the step, including former President Trump in his recent CPAC address. Languishing under lockdowns and zoom or hybrid classes, many exhausted parents, anxious employers, and bored students seem receptive, though polls show widespread reservations about whether premature reopening might trigger new waves of infections. In recent days, more and more states have moved to mandate full in-person classroom instruction within a few weeks.

Accompanying these decisions are organized efforts to recycle earlier studies of school safety [1] designed to reassure skeptics that reopening schools to full-time instruction is really safe, even as new variants of COVID-19 spread that are more contagious and possibly more dangerous than earlier forms. Even the Center for Disease Control is joining this rush to CONTINUE READING: Institute for New Economic Thinking

A simple proposal. Give public school teachers an extra year of retirement service credit for the pandemic year. – Fred Klonsky

A SIMPLE PROPOSAL. GIVE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS AN EXTRA YEAR OF RETIREMENT SERVICE CREDIT FOR THE PANDEMIC YEAR

I’ve been out of the classroom for nearly a decade.

But as I speak to my colleagues who have taught this year it is mind boggling.

That is true whether they taught remotely, in-person or hybrid.

I have a simple proposal. It doesn’t begin to demonstrate what should be our profound thanks.

The Illinois legislature can act to give every public school teacher an extra year of creditable service.

Now some Republican state representative has introduced a bill that offers that up, CONTINUE READING: A simple proposal. Give public school teachers an extra year of retirement service credit for the pandemic year. – Fred Klonsky

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Monday, March 22, 2021