An Update on My Health | Diane Ravitch's blog

An Update on My Health | Diane Ravitch's blog

An Update on My Health

A month ago, I wrote to tell you that I was going to the hospital for open-heart surgery. I lined up guest bloggers who filled in for me in my absence, and I thank them all for keeping the conversation going.

I checked into the hospital in NYC on April 7. Surgery was early the next morning. I had an ascending aortic aneurysm and a leaky heart valve that had to be replaced. The surgeon explained that he would cut upon my breast bone to gain access to my heart.

Needless to say, I have no recollection of the surgery or its aftermath. I was sedated for five days. One member of my family was allowed to visit each day. When I was finally allowed to regain consciousness, I had no voice (due to intubation), a bad cough, and could not walk. I spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, two days in regular care, then moved to the Rehabilitation Unit, where I am relearning how to walk.

I’m going home on April 7 and bringing a walker with me until I have fully regained the use of my legs and can CONTINUE READING: An Update on My Health | Diane Ravitch's blog

Los Angeles Schools Embrace Microsoft’s “Daily Pass” QR Health Portal – Wrench in the Gears

Los Angeles Schools Embrace Microsoft’s “Daily Pass” QR Health Portal – Wrench in the Gears

Los Angeles Schools Embrace Microsoft’s “Daily Pass” QR Health Portal

This past week many people on social media have been expressing concern about a video promoting the Los Angeles Unified School District’s adoption of a health-screening data portal that was developed by Microsoft in partnership with Anthem Health, the country’s largest membership health system. Anthem is affiliated with Blue Cross Blue Shield in fourteen states. The Daily Pass portal feeds data to Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities, both with extensive ties to pay for success finance, as well as to UCLA where Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock the world’s largest asset manager, obtained his MBA.

In this 90-minute conversation with Kevin Jenkins of Urban Global Health Alliance I went into detail regarding concerns I have around weakened student data privacy protections, pay for success provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, planned expansion of tele-health and tele-therapy services through Medicaid, community school wrap around services, and the potential for social welfare systems to be weaponized against low income families with school-age children. In order to scale outcomes-based contracting deals tied to education data, social-emotional data, and healthcare data, social impact investors need for students to be assigned a digital identity that will aggregate data for predictive analytics and assessment of investor “success metrics.” I believe that is the end game for medical status passports like Daily Pass. You can access the slides CONTINUE READING: Los Angeles Schools Embrace Microsoft’s “Daily Pass” QR Health Portal – Wrench in the Gears

Tonight: How can we bridge the digital and health divide for students of color during the pandemic? | Cloaking Inequity

Tonight: How can we bridge the digital and health divide for students of color during the pandemic? | Cloaking Inequity

TONIGHT: HOW CAN WE BRIDGE THE DIGITAL AND HEALTH DIVIDE FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR DURING THE PANDEMIC?

Expert panelists from the National Medical Association and the NAACP will share their ideas in a free webinar taking place Thursday, Oct. 29.

The discussion will be moderated by the University of Kentucky College of Education’s Dr. Gregory Vincent, executive director of the college’s Education and Civil Rights Initiative in collaboration with the NAACP. The initiative is based in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, where Vincent is a professor.

Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of the panelists and engage in this discussion.

Coronavirus Impact on Students and Education Systems
6:30 to 8 p.m. (ET) Thursday, Oct. 29

> Register in advance at https://uky.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1k4xZBYtQlCWLlQzVBmRIQ

Featured speakers:
Dr. Greg Vincent: UK Education and Civil Rights Initiative Executive Director
Leon W. Russell: NAACP Chairman of the Board
Yumeka Rushing: NAACP Chief Strategy Officer
Adora Obi Nweze: NAACP Education Committee Chair
Dr. Cedric M. Bright: Physician, National Medical Association

Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discussion with others.

Check out and follow my YouTube channel here.

Twitter: @ProfessorJVH

Click here for Vitae.

Tonight: How can we bridge the digital and health divide for students of color during the pandemic? | Cloaking Inequity

glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

"Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

“…Legal experts and government transparency advocates say schools, as a whole, have a long track record of abusing privacy laws to keep information secret and force the public to enter costly lawsuits to gain access to records. Justin Silverman, who leads the New England First Amendment Coalition, said several states also had cited HIPAA as a reason for withholding coronavirus case counts at nursing homes, although many later reversed course and released that information.

“Although there’s a fine balance between the public’s right to know and personal privacy, many health experts said clear and consistent disclosure of even basic case numbers is essential for sound decision-making. 

“Dr. Nathaniel Beers, who serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, suggested school districts should have a tiered communication approach: providing the most detailed information to people with direct exposure; a more generic notification with health screening guidance for others in the school; and basic information on case counts and response for the general community. ‘For schools to be open, you need staff to feel like safety is first. You need students, [teachers and staff] and parents to feel safety is first. You need the broader community to feel like the school is taking care of business and not putting everyone else in harm’s way,’ said Beers, who also is president of the HSC Health Care System in Washington, D.C. ‘That’s where the broader communication is really critical.’ 

“Standing guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that HIPAA does not apply to elementary and secondary schools. 

“In particular, the agency notes they are ‘not a HIPAA covered entity,’ which CONTINUE READING: glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

Five reasons the Supreme Court matters for educators and public schools - Education Votes

Five reasons the Supreme Court matters for educators and public schools - Education Votes

Five reasons the Supreme Court matters for educators and public schools

By Amanda Meanas

Instead of waiting until the American people have had their say and the next president is inaugurated, President Donald Trump and the GOP-led Senate are determined to rush through Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Those efforts led to a COVID-19 “super spreader” event at the White House. More than 20 people, including the president, tested positive soon after the event.

Voters should decide who fills Justice Ginsburg’s seat. But Senate Republicans are attempting to rush through President Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, even though they have dragged their feet and failed to pass coronavirus relief legislation that would help so many Americans and public school systems across the country.

“Judge Amy Coney Barrett has sided with the powerful and well-connected throughout her career. … She has sided with the powerful against workers, allowed racially segregated workplaces, ruled in favor of Trump policies harming immigrants, and against those seeking to protect women from sexual assault,” said former science teacher and NEA President Becky Pringle.

The Supreme Court is a critical institution in our federal government for protecting the rights of those who might otherwise not have a voice in our institutions. That means the next justice absolutely must not be beholden to partisan or corporate interests.

Here are five reasons the Supreme Court and the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett matter for educators:

1. Judge Barrett wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act

In her short three years as a federal judge, Barrett’s record was alarming, and she has promised to continue to side with corporations over working people. While Americans continue to struggle through the global coronavirus pandemic, access to healthcare is at the forefront of conversation.If Barrett is confirmed, she is poised to strike down the Affordable Care Act, throwing millions off their insurance and ending protections for those with preexisting conditions. In fact, for the 7 million Americans who have battled COVID-19, those side effects could now be considered preexisting conditions.

2. The Supreme Court will vote on workers’ rights to join and form unions<

Educators could face increased difficulty in holding their employers accountable for illegal discrimination and unfair employment practices if Barrett is confirmed. During her time in the lower court, Judge Barrett limited workers’ tools to fight against racial discrimination in the workplace, wrote in favor of age discrimination when applying to jobs, and worked to set dangerous precedent that would hurt gig workers. The Court already weakened the rights of educators to collectively bargain in 2018, and the nomination of Barrett means unions will face CONTINUE READING: Five reasons the Supreme Court matters for educators and public schools - Education Votes

A Note to My Leaf-Burning Neighbors | Live Long and Prosper

A Note to My Leaf-Burning Neighbors | Live Long and Prosper

A Note to My Leaf-Burning Neighbors

AUTUMN

Ah…who doesn’t love the nostalgic scent of burning leaves in the fall?

Answer: Anyone with lungs!

It’s Autumn in Indiana and my woodsy neighborhood is filled with fallen leaves. Many of my neighbors are recycling them by mulching them into their lawns or gardens or hiring crews to pick them up. Some others, are piling them up and setting them ablaze, and by doing so filling the air with poisonous toxins and choking ash.

IT’S JUST ONE LITTLE FIRE

What damage can one little fire cause?

It’s not just one little fire…it’s several since we live in an addition with dozens of houses and hundreds of leaf-dropping trees. The point is that “multiple fires in one geographic area can cause concentrations of air pollutants that exceed federal air quality standards” – at least until the current EPA decides that the right of citizens to breathe is just not a priority.

And, about those lungs…

Besides being an irritant, leaf smoke contains many hazardous chemicals, including carbon monoxide and benzo(a)pyrene. Carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin in the bloodstream and thus reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and lungs. So carbon monoxide can be very dangerous for young CONTINUE READING: A Note to My Leaf-Burning Neighbors | Live Long and Prosper