Wednesday, February 17, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Wednesday, February 17, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH #openonlywhensafe

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

Edgenuity's software wasn't meant for a pandemic. That didn't stop some school districts. - https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/edgenuity-s-software-wasn-t-meant-pandemic-didn-t-stop-n1258054 by NBCNews on @NBCNews

Freedom Day – NYC – February 3, 1964 | JD2718 - https://wp.me/pOjh-250 on @wordpressdotcom

Mayor says Philadelphia teachers should not be disciplined if they don’t show up https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/16/22286260/mayor-says-philadelphia-teachers-should-not-be-disciplined-if-they-dont-show-up via @ChalkbeatPHL

Education Research Report: Internet access spending in public schools increases test scores, but also disciplinary problems - http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/

Indiana: Expanding Vouchers Hurts Public Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-txB via @dianeravitch

Fauci: 'Non-workable' to vaccinate teachers before schools open https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/17/fauci-vaccinate-teachers-school-reopening-469315

Newsom: California school reopening talks 'stubborn' with 'more work to do' https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/02/16/newsom-california-school-reopening-talks-stubborn-with-more-work-to-do-1363843

As Coronavirus Cases Drop, Elementary Schools in Los Angeles County Are Set to Return to In-Person Learning https://www.theroot.com/as-coronavirus-cases-drop-elementary-schools-in-los-an-1846282551

L.A. elementary schools can finally reopen, but it will be complicated, uneven http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/y0IiV6Q3FEQ/la-elementary-schools-can-reopen-but-its-complicated

L.A. school board cuts its police force and diverts funds for Black student achievement http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/foa_hhgmWJE/lausd-diverting-school-police-funds-support-black-students

Biden Says He Wants Most K-8 Schools Open 5 Days A Week By His First 100 Days https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/968547917/biden-says-he-wants-most-k-8-schools-open-5-days-a-week-by-his-first-100-days

New York schools can’t force students to get COVID test for in-person classes: state officials https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-nyc-schools-covid-test-requirement-20210216-gxk3nzklfrge5bpb4rndln6rh4-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

Will Covid Vaccines for Teachers Help Oregon Reopen Schools? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/schools-reopening-west-coast.html

LA School District Eliminates One-Third of Its Police Officers https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/los-angeles-school-police.html

Philadelphia school reopening delayed again — this time until March 1 https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/17/22287334/philadelphia-school-reopening-delayed-again-this-time-until-march-1

A new poll has found that most teachers are comfortable returning in person, but only under certain conditions. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aft-safety-poll_n_602c1b22c5b62767c0aa7fa3?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 via @HuffPostPol

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are pushing for teachers to have “priority” access to COVID-19 vaccinations as a national debate over the safest way to reopen schools intensifies. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-harris-teachers-priority-vaccines_n_602d1afbc5b67c32961a734b?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 via @HuffPostPol

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Being Skeptical of Technology | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10772 on @NEPCtweet

Letters: Randi Weingarten Replies to Riley on Unions https://www.wsj.com/articles/randi-weingarten-replies-to-riley-on-unions-11613506671?reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter via @WSJ

Analysis | The Trailer: "Reopen" didn't move votes in 2020. What about now? https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/16/trailer-reopen-didnt-move-votes-2020-what-about-now/?tid=ss_tw

New CDC guidance ends up deepening debate over reopening schools https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/539093-new-cdc-guidance-ends-up-deepening-debate-over-reopening-schools#.YC1hHyqhgmA.twitter

Biden focuses on K-8 in recasting benchmark on opening schools - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/16/biden-school-reopenings-town-hall-469221

Indiana: Three Former State Chiefs Join to Denounce Voucher Expansion Plan | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-txH via @dianeravitch

John Thompson: Immigrant Children in Oklahoma Tell Their stories | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-txq via @dianeravitch

New York state revising COVID-19 school testing protocol after NYC pushback https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-state-revising-covid-19-guidance-city-pushback-20210217-npkgzul24bhu5afyye36ocmyoe-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

Grade Changing Investigation: City Schools Alerts 90,000 Students That Records Subpoenaed | WBFF - https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/grade-changing-investigation-city-schools-alerts-90000-students-that-records-subpoenaed#new_tab on http://twitter.com/foxbaltimore

Minn. schools fast-track plans for permanent online learning options - StarTribune.com - https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-schools-fast-track-plans-for-permanent-online-learning-options/600023702/#new_tab on @StarTribune

COVID school closures may slightly stunt U.S. economic growth: Fed paper | Reuters - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-education/covid-school-closures-may-slightly-stunt-u-s-economic-growth-fed-paper-idUSKBN2AG2BG#new_tab via @Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris talks about schools reopening, vaccine distribution, more - https://www.today.com/video/vice-president-kamala-harris-talks-about-schools-reopening-vaccine-distribution-more-101141061615#new_tab by TodayShow on @TodayShow

MN Legislature: Reintroduced Page amendment seeks to guarantee children an equal right to quality education – Twin Cities - https://wp.me/p79gJ9-g2vn on @pioneerpress

Voucher-Style Proposal Raises School Choice Debate In Iowa https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2021-02-16/voucher-style-proposal-raises-school-choice-debate-in-iowa

Fairfax County Schools Classroom Monitors Watch Students While Teachers Instruct Virtually – NBC4 Washington - https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/coronavirus/fairfax-county-schools-classroom-monitors-watch-students-while-teachers-instruct-virtually/2575934/#new_tab via @nbcwashington

Lawmakers propose 6 weeks of summer school to help NC students make up for learning lost during pandemic :: WRAL.com - https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/lawmakers-propose-6-weeks-of-summer-school-to-help-nc-students-make-up-for-learning-lost-during-pandemic/19530011/#new_tab on @wral

Pandemic Adds Twist To Legislature's Perennial School Voucher Debate | Georgia Public Broadcasting - https://www.gpb.org/node/566666

Bill would redirect student funds toward school of choice - https://apnews.com/article/bills-education-legislation-coronavirus-pandemic-maryland-05bf4f65d6855077084fbe04322e673d#new_tab on @ap

'Breaking point.' Families fleeing Sacramento-area public schools as campuses stay closed - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/breaking-point-families-fleeing-sacramento-area-public-schools-as-campuses-stay-closed/ar-BB1dJmCJ#new_tab

Failing grades. Rising depression. Bay Area children are suffering from shuttered schools - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/After-nearly-a-year-of-Zoom-school-Bay-Area-15955421.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

Many JCPS elementary schools are resegregating. Here's why - https://www.courier-journal.com/in-depth/news/education/2021/02/10/why-louisvilles-once-diverse-elementary-classrooms-are-disappearing/6069040002/#new_tab

Big Education Ape: How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation - Vox - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-school-funding-can-help-repair.html

Big Education Ape: Mary Jane Patterson, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/mary-jane-patterson-black-educator-hall.html

NANCY BAILEY: President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark

by Mike Simpson / now

President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark I watched President Biden’s CNN Townhall. I like President Biden and feel that he is sincere and wants to do a good job. He is well-focused on helping the country move forward. His kindness shines through. But his school plans for Covid-19 are worrisome. As expected, C

When Schools Punish Sick Kids for Poor Attendance - The Atlantic

by Mike Simpson / now

Are We Finally Done Encouraging Sick Kids to Come to School? Staying home to avoid catching and spreading the coronavirus during the pandemic, for all the fear and anxiety it has caused, has come with one unexpected benefit for my family: My kids haven’t been sick once, not even with the common cold. My husband and I noticed this with a sense of relief after months of virtual schooling. We’re ex

I’m a Teacher, and I’m Losing My Patience, Too | Eclectablog

by Mike Simpson / now

I’m a Teacher, and I’m Losing My Patience, Too In spite of most of the US public being supportive of public education, our schools, and our children’s teachers, a small but vocal minority has been growing increasingly rambunctious about reopening schools. Recently, Dr. Ben Linas, a physician in Brookline, MA, added his apparently cranky voice to this debate, penning a piece for Vox titled, “I’m

Teacher Tom: Without Emotions Rational Thought is Impossible

by Mike Simpson / now

Without Emotions Rational Thought is Impossible There is more reason in your body than in your best wisdom. ~Friedrich Nietzsche The stereotypical argument used to exclude women from business, science, politics, the military, or indeed just about any category of public life is that they are "too emotional." Emotions, the theory goes, renders them incapable of making rational decisions. Most of u

CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Secret Teacher Plot?

by Mike Simpson / now

What Is The Secret Teacher Plot? It's its own genre now. Generally runs something like this: I think teachers are mighty swell and I respect the hard work they do, but as you can see from these studies that I have carefully cherry-picked selected, the science says that school buildings should be fully open right now, and teachers and their unions have no damn excuse not to get the hell back in t

What Is at Stake when ALEC, the State Policy Network, The Buckeye Institute and EdChoice Lobby for Vouchers? | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / now

What Is at Stake when ALEC, the State Policy Network, The Buckeye Institute and EdChoice Lobby for Vouchers? As we begin 2021, there has been troubling coverage about new voucher programs popping up in state legislatures. This is despite that Betsy DeVos is gone and that President Joseph Biden is a strong supporter of the institution of public schools. And in states like Indiana, and Ohio, where

NYC Educator: Geniuses in Albany Strike Again

by Mike Simpson / now

Geniuses in Albany Strike Again It looks like the folks in Albany, the ones who control education, have too much time on their hands. After all, there's a pandemic, a national crisis, and people are running around arguing about whether and how to open school buildings. In fact, people are hysterical over how the schools should be opened, and it's open season on teacher unions, even by media figu

If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog #openonlywhensafe

by Mike Simpson / now

If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order I read in the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) latest guidance for schools that it believes schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen in the pandemic. I read about how important schools

75% Of Delaware Legislators Write Letter To Secretary Bunting Urging Delaware To Request Waiver From US DOE For Smarter Balanced Assessment | Exceptional Delaware

by Mike Simpson / now

75% Of Delaware Legislators Write Letter To Secretary Bunting Urging Delaware To Request Waiver From US DOE For Smarter Balanced Assessment On February 5th, led by Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams and State Rep. William Bush, 46 out of the 62 Delaware state legislators wrote Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting requesting Delaware seeks a waiver from the United States Department of

2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

by Mike Simpson / now

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces California High School Students for the 2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced two outstanding high school students to represent California in the 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Jamaal Willis of Bars

Jersey Jazzman: The Fiscal Impact Of Charter Schools on School Districts: Thoughts on My New Report

by Mike Simpson / now

The Fiscal Impact Of Charter Schools on School Districts: Thoughts on My New Report If you follow me on Twitter, you probably noticed a few comments about a new report I have out with the Fordham Institute: Robbers or Victims? Charter Schools and District Finances . I'm putting my thoughts here so you know they are mine and mine alone. Hopefully, I can shed light on what the report finds and wha

Education Matters: Testing in Florida is nothing but a scam

by Mike Simpson / now

Testing in Florida is nothing but a scam There has been some concern about what will happen to teachers if too many kids opt-out, will they not get their growth scores and be eligible for raises? Some have mentioned their schools may lose funding too. I don’t believe we should worry about these things. Everyone knows that high-stakes testing is bad for public education; everyone but the voters,

Educational Mansplaining | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / now

Educational Mansplaining As an American male, I’m an experienced mansplainer . My former teacher colleagues (mostly female) would surely be able to give you an example or two of my tendency to “help them understand” something that they probably understood as well or better than I did. I remember once, at a meeting discussing psychometric testing of a student, I started explaining percentiles to

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Tuesday, February 16, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH #openonlywhensafe

by Mike Simpson / 20h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES The Influence of a Perfect Teacher - The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/well/family/teacher-reading-influence.html?smid=tw-share School Finance 101: Fixing

Big Education Ape

How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation - Vox

How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation

America’s schools spend less money on Black students. Closing the gap is key to equality

The walls at the high school Leanne Nunes attended in the Bronx were painted a color she likes to call “penitentiary beige.”

The cafeteria, located in the basement, had no windows. About half of her classrooms didn’t have windows, either. “It felt kind of jail-like,” Nunes, now a first-year student at Howard University, told Vox. “It felt like the building itself was trying to keep you in.”

And the lack of resources went beyond the physical space. Laptops for students were often old or broken. Students struggled to get access to the classes they wanted. For example, the school could only afford to offer art or music in a single year, not both. “You’d have to pick,” Nunes said, “and by ‘you’d have to pick,’ I mean the school made the decision for you.”

Looking back, she said, “there were a lot of opportunities where I think young people could have been learning or engaging with content better, but they didn’t really have the chance to.”

What Nunes experienced isn’t out of the ordinary — it’s the norm around the country. While affluent school districts can afford to offer students everything from the latest technology to a range of advanced classes, schools in lower-income areas often struggle to provide the basic necessities. That gap has become a chasm during the Covid-19 pandemic, when something like a cafeteria with no windows becomes a very real health hazard.

And because of the legacy of housing discrimination, especially against Black Americans, the poorest schools in the country disproportionately serve Black students and other students of color. “Since genocide and enslavement built the country, there have been intentional systems put in place to bar, particularly, Black children from quality public schools,” Khalilah Harris, acting vice president for K-12 education policy at the Center for American Progress, told Vox.

Nationwide, majority-nonwhite districts get $23 billion less in funding every year than CONTINUE READING: How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation - Vox

Mary Jane Patterson, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

MARY JANE PATTERSON, BLACK EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME

E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Phillys7thWard.org, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer.

But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month…February is just the Blackest.

Today, our featured Black Educator is Mary Jane Patterson.

Mary Jane Patterson was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. She was born in 1840 in North Carolina. While it is uncertain if her father obtained his freedom or was an escapee, he relocated the family to Oberlin, OH, a town with a growing free Black population.

Patterson excelled as a student. Fulfilling her father’s dream of attending college, Patterson graduated from Oberlin College with the highest honors. She is widely considered only the second Black women to graduate from an established four-year college in the United States with a bachelor’s degree. She joined her older brother and her younger sisters joined her as graduates of the college. Each of them became teachers. Mary would become an eduactivist – ensuring that other Black folks had the educational CONTINUE READING: Mary Jane Patterson, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

NANCY BAILEY: President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark

President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark

President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark

I watched President Biden’s CNN Townhall. I like President Biden and feel that he is sincere and wants to do a good job. He is well-focused on helping the country move forward. His kindness shines through. But his school plans for Covid-19 are worrisome.

As expected, Covid-19 dominated the Townhall conversation. A whole segment could have been on schools and Covid-19. Unfortunately, the school issue wasn’t well-addressed with only two questions.

Opening Schools in 100 Days

I wish the President had never said that schools should open in 100 days. It reminds me of when politicians from both parties said that with No Child Left Behind, all third graders would read proficiently by 2014. In 2021, students still have reading problems. Covid-19 is different from reading, of course, but making predictions about Covid-19 seems like a gamble.

It’s also not like all schools have been closed. Some schools have in-person learning or a hybrid approach. Schools may open then close due to Covid-19 cases. Teachers have been safely teaching remotely since the beginning of the pandemic.

If he had to pick a time, perhaps it should be Fall, as noted by Dr. Leana Wen, M.D. CONTINUE READING: President Biden’s Ideas About Schools and Covid-19 Miss the Mark

When Schools Punish Sick Kids for Poor Attendance - The Atlantic

Are We Finally Done Encouraging Sick Kids to Come to School?

Staying home to avoid catching and spreading the coronavirus during the pandemic, for all the fear and anxiety it has caused, has come with one unexpected benefit for my family: My kids haven’t been sick once, not even with the common cold. My husband and I noticed this with a sense of relief after months of virtual schooling. We’re extremely fortunate that none of us have caught the coronavirus, but on top of that, our days and weeks hadn’t been upended by multiple colds or the flu over the past year. No missed work. No hospital bills. No sleepless nights.

During my oldest daughter’s kindergarten and first-grade years, I sent her to school several times with a runny nose or a slight cough, just like the parents of many of her classmates did. She was permitted to attend school as long as she was fever-free without the use of any medicine for 24 hours. But she has asthma, and it got progressively worse each grade, landing her in the hospital nearly every time she came down with “just a cold,” causing her to miss up to five days of school at a time, four times a year. Even if her asthma wasn’t flaring up during an infection, I had to monitor her closely for signs of an impending attack and administer several medications at precise times throughout the day. I didn’t want to sacrifice my child’s well-being to meet attendance expectations. So I started keeping her home, which meant playing catch-up with her assignments later.

Schools place a premium on attendance because it is associated with academic performance. Studies have shown that chronic absenteeism in middle school and high school hinders academic achievement and outcomes later in life, such as graduation rates and job opportunities. Less is known about the effects of frequent absences on elementary students, but a 2015 report out of the University of Wisconsin at Madison evaluated the impacts of first-grade absences on third- CONTINUE READING: When Schools Punish Sick Kids for Poor Attendance - The Atlantic

I’m a Teacher, and I’m Losing My Patience, Too | Eclectablog

I’m a Teacher, and I’m Losing My Patience, Too

In spite of most of the US public being supportive of public education, our schools, and our children’s teachers, a small but vocal minority has been growing increasingly rambunctious about reopening schools. Recently, Dr. Ben Linas, a physician in Brookline, MA, added his apparently cranky voice to this debate, penning a piece for Vox titled, “I’m an epidemiologist and a father. Here’s why I’m losing patience with our teachers’ unions”.

According to Linas, “we have accumulated a massive amount of data about how to keep schools open safely,” and he points to evidence from Scotland, Singapore, and France to suggest that schools can be reopened, even without teachers receiving vaccines–a step he doesn’t believe is necessary to safely open up schools again. He goes on to say that while masks are a good idea, social distancing isn’t really a big deal…

One sticking point, for example, has been the union’s early and continued insistence that desks remain at least 6 feet apart at all times. This requirement mathematically determines whether there is enough space for learners in the building. Distancing is absolutely critical to Covid-19 mitigation, but there is no magical threshold that makes 6 feet the “safe” distance and 5 feet “dangerous.”

Curiously, Dr. Linas doesn’t include any “data” from Sweden. And there may be a reason… CONTINUE READING: I’m a Teacher, and I’m Losing My Patience, Too | Eclectablog

Teacher Tom: Without Emotions Rational Thought is Impossible

Without Emotions Rational Thought is Impossible

There is more reason in your body than in your best wisdom. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

The stereotypical argument used to exclude women from business, science, politics, the military, or indeed just about any category of public life is that they are "too emotional." Emotions, the theory goes, renders them incapable of making rational decisions. Most of us, of course, instinctively recognize this as a baseless patriarchal assertion, one that is disproven every day as we find women succeeding in every area of society.

Chihuly glass

As a preschool teacher, I've learned that emotions have no gender. Every child cries. Every child has tantrums. Every child experiences fear, frustration, envy, joy, disappointment, and melancholy, and gender has nothing to do with how and how often. As children grow older, however, society tends to be more accepting of girls' expressions of a fuller range of emotions, but there is still a lot of pressure to hide bad CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Without Emotions Rational Thought is Impossible

CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Secret Teacher Plot?

What Is The Secret Teacher Plot?

It's its own genre now. Generally runs something like this:

I think teachers are mighty swell and I respect the hard work they do, but as you can see from these studies that I have carefully ~~cherry-picked~~ selected, the science says that school buildings should be fully open right now, and teachers and their unions have no damn excuse not to get the hell back in their and do their frickin' job, for which I respect them very much (though I may have to stop respecting them soon if they don't get the hell back in there).

You can find the latest widely shared example over at Vox:

And if educators and their unions don’t embrace the established science, they risk continuing to widen gaps in educational attainment — and losing the support of their many long-time allies, like me.

Sigh.

There are many, many twists and turns to the debate about red-opening buildings (schools, I want to be clear, have not ceased operation). CDC advice has varied over time, and continues to include guidance like the hilarious advice in the new guidelines that districts should recruit and train a whole bunch of substitutes to cover the many staff absences they're about to have, and that sounds reasonable, unless you've been around the education system in the last ten years in which case you know that the CDC might as well suggest that the new army of subs be trained to ride unicorns that CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: What Is The Secret Teacher Plot?

What Is at Stake when ALEC, the State Policy Network, The Buckeye Institute and EdChoice Lobby for Vouchers? | janresseger

What Is at Stake when ALEC, the State Policy Network, The Buckeye Institute and EdChoice Lobby for Vouchers?

As we begin 2021, there has been troubling coverage about new voucher programs popping up in state legislatures. This is despite that Betsy DeVos is gone and that President Joseph Biden is a strong supporter of the institution of public schools. And in states like Indiana, and Ohio, where privatized school vouchers have been in place for decades, we can also watch pressure for their expansion.

Earlier this week, Bill Phillis, Ohio’s longest and best informed proponent of public schools and the executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, sent around a troubling article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette describing a bill being considered by the Indiana House Education Committee for the radical expansion of an already enormous publicly funded private school tuition voucher program in Indiana, Ohio’s neighbor:

“The proposed bill expands the $172 million a year voucher program to allow a family of four earning as much as $145,000 a year to qualify for vouchers. Median household income in Indiana is about $60,000 a year. The bill also eliminates income limits on the size of the voucher awards. Currently, a family of four earning up to $48,000 a year is limited to a voucher worth 90% of per-student state funding for the school corporation in which the family resides. At $60,000 a year in household income, the voucher drops to 70%. Four-person families earning up to $96,000 a year qualify for 50% of per-student funding. But HB 1005 CONTINUE READING: What Is at Stake when ALEC, the State Policy Network, The Buckeye Institute and EdChoice Lobby for Vouchers? | janresseger

NYC Educator: Geniuses in Albany Strike Again

Geniuses in Albany Strike Again

It looks like the folks in Albany, the ones who control education, have too much time on their hands. After all, there's a pandemic, a national crisis, and people are running around arguing about whether and how to open school buildings. In fact, people are hysterical over how the schools should be opened, and it's open season on teacher unions, even by media figures who generally appear not to be insane.

Albany missed the memo.

This is evident because one or more of the Albany geniuses has decided that willingness be tested for Covid cannot be a prerequisite for attending schools in person. For better or worse, NYC is frequently trotted out as an example of best practices as far as school openings. If Albany gets its way, that's finished. Once we allow people in who are exempt from testing, there will be no way to guarantee safety for anyone in school buildings.

In fact, the only way we've been able to open systems in the limited fashion we do is because we test, test more, and trace cases. If we have people who can't be tested, we will never know whether or not they have COVID. Despite all the nonsense trotted out by gung ho NY Times reporters, children can and do transmit the virus. European schools are closing for that very reason, but I guess they don't get that kind of story up in Albany.

I'm not sure what it is that makes them make decisions like these. Maybe it's something in the water. Maybe it's waking up every morning to the smell of fresh cement. It's hard to CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Geniuses in Albany Strike Again

If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog #openonlywhensafe

If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order

I read in the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) latest guidance for schools that it believes schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen in the pandemic.

I read about how important schools are, how school attendance is critical for students’ well being, and how schools are important because schools feed many children.

I read about how vaccinating teachers is a priority, but not vaccinating should not prevent schools from opening, but that schools need to have a ready supply of substitute teachers because teachers will be exposed to COVID.

I read about how according to the latest research, school infection rates are lower than that of the surrounding community, but I did not read just how every adult who works at a school is supposed to dodge COVID exposure just from being an adult who must, to some degree (and to varying degrees), be among other adults who could expose the teacher to COVID. I also did not read about the impact of more contagious variants upon school-site COVID spread.

I read about how schools are supposed to set aside resources to promote social distancing, and cleaning/disinfecting, and for necessary supplies like masks and additional personnel, and adequate ventilation, but I know that public education is an underfunded necessity, a make-do overstretching of what is already overstretched, and that it is beyond the CDC to CONTINUE READING: If Schools are That Important, Vaccinate All School Personnel in Short Order | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

75% Of Delaware Legislators Write Letter To Secretary Bunting Urging Delaware To Request Waiver From US DOE For Smarter Balanced Assessment | Exceptional Delaware

75% Of Delaware Legislators Write Letter To Secretary Bunting Urging Delaware To Request Waiver From US DOE For Smarter Balanced Assessment

On February 5th, led by Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams and State Rep. William Bush, 46 out of the 62 Delaware state legislators wrote Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting requesting Delaware seeks a waiver from the United States Department of Education in implementing the state assessment in Delaware for the 2020-2021 school year. The test was waived last year due to the Covid pandemic. I highly salute all of these legislators on BOTH sides of the aisle for doing this!!! When it comes to education, our legislators need to put away partisan politics and do what is right for kids and this is an awesome way to do it. Of course, Bunting needs to acquiesce to their request and that has yet to be determined. And then the United States Department of Education needs to grant those waivers. Still a lot to happen here with a small window of opportunity for the Smarter Balanced Assessment to go away CONTINUE READING: 75% Of Delaware Legislators Write Letter To Secretary Bunting Urging Delaware To Request Waiver From US DOE For Smarter Balanced Assessment | Exceptional Delaware

Wednesday, February 17, 2021