Coronavirus and the Schools

[Slim Cognito]

[Volkonski]

Teacher shortages — made worse by COVID-19 — shutter schools across U.S.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teacher-sh ... =139934650

Public schools have for years contended with a shortage of educators. But the pandemic has made the problem more acute, as the stress of teaching during the coronavirus has spurred many in the profession to resign or retire. Indeed, Americans have been quitting jobs in record numbers, and educators are no exception — 30,000 public school teachers gave notice in September alone, according to the Labor Department.

Some point to a lack of staff for the decision to close schools; others say overworked educators and students are sorely in need of some down time after a year of upheaval. Staffing shortages in Colorado schools had three public schools in Denver switching to remote-learning in recent days, while another three districts in the metro area canceled classes altogether on November 12 because they were unable to find enough substitute teachers.

"We are doing everything in our power to keep our schools open and to maximize in-person learning opportunities for our students. At the same time, we are facing a critical staffing shortage, like districts across the country, that impacts our ability to safely operate our schools," the Denver Public School District told CBS4.

Denver's George Washington High School switched to online learning on November 10 and may continue through November 19, according to a letter to parents. The school's principal cited faculty absences due to factors including COVID-19 isolation or quarantine. But since the pivot to remote learning stems from an inability to cover teacher absences and not an outbreak of COVID-19, after-school activities like athletic practices and theater performances can continue, she said.

Our older daughter, who teaches 2nd grade, came home very frustrated yesterday. Her students missed so much 1st grade instruction last year that they are not prepared to do 2nd grade work especially in math.

[RTH10260]

I wonder how many fresh teachers have missed getting their diplomas cause their own educational institutions had been on lockdown and not been able to complete the curriculum as required, including the final exams.

[LM K]

I wonder how many fresh teachers have missed getting their diplomas cause their own educational institutions had been on lockdown and not been able to complete the curriculum as required, including the final exams.

Their teaching degree requires practical classroom experiences with K-12 students. I doubt anyone graduated from a teaching program last spring.

[Foggy]

And yet 30,000 teachers quit in September.

[LM K]

Each state should take some of their federal covid recovery fund to award every K-12 teacher a $5000 bonus. The morale boost would be enormous.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... tudy-finds

The first known Covid-19 case was a vendor at the live-animal market in Wuhan, according to a scientist who has scrutinised public accounts of the earliest cases in China.

The chronology is at odds with a timeline laid out in an influential World Health Organization (WHO) report, which suggested an accountant with no apparent link to the Hunan market was the first known case.

The latest report adds weight to the theory that the virus originated from wildlife sold at the market, rather than as a leak from a Wuhan virology lab, and raises questions about how the apparent error was overlooked in the joint WHO-China inquiry.

The report, by Michael Worobey, the head of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, will reignite the debate about the origins of the pandemic, which remains unresolved and continues to fuel tensions between China and the US.

[Lani]

It's quite possible that the exact origin will never be known.

[AndyinPA]

It's quite possible that the exact origin will never be known.

I think that's probably true.

[zekeb]

It's quite possible that the exact origin will never be known.

But if Der ex-Fuhrer can prove that it came from Cheeena, it would prove that it wasn't his fault and he was a great president.

Okay okay. My butt is carrying the load here.

[Volkonski]

The Associated Press
@AP
·
1m
All schools in Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, will be shut down and move to online learning due to a record number of coronavirus infections fueled by the contagious omicron variant.

[AndyinPA]

About a dozen of the Pittsburgh Public Schools didn't go back today due to too many of the staff at those schools out for COVID or quarantine. There's going to be a lot of this in the coming month or two at least.

Some talking head physician today said it should peak in the Northeast and Florida in about two weeks, later in the rest of the country

[raison de arizona]

I don't know how wide spread this is, but it is wide spread enough to affect someone I know there.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/edu ... 509521001/

Faced with more than 30,000 unvaccinated older students, the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday pushed back the deadline for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to fall 2022.

The controversial move in the nation's second-largest district signals tension ahead for other districts that aim to enforce student vaccine requirements when the country remains bitterly divided over mandates.

"We have not come to this conclusion lightly," interim Los Angeles Superintendent Megan Reilly said before the vote. She'll soon be replaced by Alberto Carvalho, the outgoing superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools whose contract was approved by the board Tuesday.

[Volkonski]

U.S. schools delay openings as Omicron pushes pandemic to record highs

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicro ... ce=twitter

In New Jersey, which has seen some of the highest case rates of any state in recent weeks, most urban districts have implemented virtual classes to start the new year, including Newark, which has nearly 38,000 students.

Milwaukee's public school system announced on Sunday that its more than 70,000 students would switch to virtual learning on Tuesday due to a rise in COVID infections among staff members. Cleveland's schools have also gone remote, while Detroit canceled classes through Wednesday.

The school disruptions, which left many parents scrambling to find child care, have added to a broadening sense of chaos in the first few days of 2022. The number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last seven days to an average of 418,000 a day, according to a Reuters tally.



Some school systems are using testing to try to stave off further delays. In Washington, D.C., all staff and 51,000 public school students must upload a negative test result to the district's website before coming to class on Wednesday. Parents can pick up rapid tests at their school or use their own.

Looks like the schools here will open tomorrow. Our daughter has a teachers' workday today.

[neonzx]

Because, of course, "Florida" ...

https://www.winknews.com/2022/01/03/hea ... ral-judge/
TALLAHASSEE
Head Start COVID-19 vaccination mandate blocked by federal judge

A federal judge has blocked a Biden administration rule that would require staff members at Head Start preschool centers in Florida to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who is based in Monroe, La., issued a preliminary injunction Saturday that at least temporarily prevents the Head Start vaccination mandate in 24 states, including Florida.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody signed on to the lawsuit last month — one of a series of cases in which Florida has fought efforts by the Biden administration to require workers to be vaccinated.

Doughty concluded that the Biden administration exceeded its authority in the Head Start rule, which was issued Nov. 30. Under the rule, Head Start staff members, along with volunteers and contractors who have contact with children, would need to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 31. Also, the rule includes mask requirements for all people at Head Start centers ages 2 and older.

From wikipedia ...

Terry Alvin Doughty is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He was nominated by President Donald Trump.

Oh, I am so shocked...

[raison de arizona]

Just don't call it a shutdown.


This seems…unwise.

Y’all, @ChandlerUnified just sent a communication to parents stating asymptotic kids can come to school so long as they’re masked. Excuse me? So, they can’t require ALL kids to mask? They want kids who test positive on campus? This is bullshit!

[Volkonski]

ChicagoTeachersUnion
@CTULocal1
·
10h
The results of tonight's citywide electronic ballot are in. Starting tomorrow, all CTU members at CPS schools should be working remotely. The result of tonight's vote was 73 percent in favor of the remote-work-only job action.
ChicagoTeachersUnion
@CTULocal1
The action will end when one of the following conditions is met: The current surge in cases substantially subsides, or the mayor's team at CPS signs an agreement establishing conditions for return that are voted on and approved by the the CTU House of Delegates.

[AndyinPA]

They are going school by school in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Starting today, and probably for at least the rest of the week, my granddaughter is back to remote learning. The semester started out with a dozen schools closed on Monday. I think the schools just have to be flexible. But that's tough on families. My granddaughter turned 12 in August, so she's legally allowed to be home on her own, and she's mature enough. Not my grandson, who's eight. They are lucky because my daughter can still work from home most days. A lot of families are not so lucky.

[Volkonski]

USA TODAY
@USATODAY
·
20m
The Chicago Teachers Union voted to switch classes to remote learning due to the COVID-19 surge, city leaders reacted by canceling classes instead.
https://bit.ly/3HTo3dx

One of our daughter's student's mother has covid. The student was absent yesterday but our daughter is concerned thst he might return today.

[Volkonski]

Thousands of teachers, students absent as Omicron ravages Florida

https://www.politico.com/states/florida ... da-1403882

Schools in Florida are reporting droves of absences among teachers and students this week, a sign that the highly contagious Omicron variant is already wrecking the budding new semester.

With Covid-19 cases skyrocketing throughout the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis is pledging to keep schools open and in-person classes churning without any mask mandates or new restrictions. The DeSantis administration instead is messaging that asymptomatic people should resist being tested for the coronavirus as hundreds of students and teachers miss the first days of school in 2022.

“If you don’t have symptoms, you’re not a case,” state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Tuesday at an event in Naples.

In Miami Dade County, Florida’s largest school district, some 10 percent of instructional staff, 2,100 employees including counselors, missed the first day of school on Monday, according to school officials. It’s impossible to say whether every absence was tied to Covid-19, but for comparison, Miami Dade recorded 1,333 staff absences on the first day back from winter break in 2021.

[raison de arizona]

The DeSantis administration instead is messaging that asymptomatic people should resist being tested for the coronavirus as hundreds of students and teachers miss the first days of school in 2022.

“If you don’t have symptoms, you’re not a case,” state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Tuesday at an event in Naples.

Interesting strategy.

[RVInit]

Great. Now we can have asymptomatic people with any variant of Covid spreading it to kids so they can bring it home to their parents and grandparents. Good plan.

If I had school age children, and especially living in Florida, I would have changed over to home schooling back in 2020. Of course, I'm not criticizing anyone who is not homeschooling, I fully understand that homeschooling would not work for everyone.

[pipistrelle]

His medical license should be yanked.

[LM K]

I challenge DeSantis to sit in an at capacity 3rd grade classroom wearing a cloth mask only for 3 consecutive days next week.

I'd say he should go without a mask, but he could be infectious..