‘Back To School’ Will Be Far From Back To Normal: Educators, Health Experts Raise Concerns
The Trump administration is pressuring localities to restart school to help get the country back to normal. But public health officials urge a more cautious approach, and local officials are looking for answers.
AP:
Virus Spread, Not Politics Should Guide Schools, Doctors Say
As the Trump administration pushes full steam ahead to force schools to resume in-person education, public health experts warn that a one-size-fits-all reopening could drive infection and death rates even higher. They’re urging a more cautious approach, which many local governments and school districts are already pursuing. But U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos doubled down on President Donald Trump’s insistence that kids can safely return to the classroom. (Tanner, 7/12)
The New York Times:
How To Reopen Schools: What Science And Other Countries Teach Us
As school districts across the United States consider whether and how to restart in-person classes, their challenge is complicated by a pair of fundamental uncertainties: No nation has tried to send children back to school with the virus raging at levels like America’s, and the scientific research about transmission in classrooms is limited. (Belluck, Mandavilli and Carey, 7/11)
AP:
3 School Teachers In Winkelman Get COVID-19, One Later Dies
Three school teachers in the small eastern Arizona community of Winkelman tested positive for the coronavirus last month and one of them died, according to a Phoenix television station. ABC15 reported Sunday that Kimberley Byrd shared a classroom with two other teachers at Leonor Hambly K-8. (7/12)
Politico:
California Teachers Fight Back Against Pressure To Reopen Schools
The California Teachers Association, one of the largest and most powerful unions in the country ... is insisting on prolonging distance learning instead of forcing its army of more than 300,000 educators back into schools. “We hope we don’t have to go there, but if it comes to it, we do retain the right to refuse to work under unsafe conditions,” said David Fisher, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association. (Mays, 7/11)
Boston Globe:
As September Looms, The Gap Between 3 Feet And 6 Feet Is Feeling Hard To Bridge For Schools
When Governor Charlie Baker released guidelines for reopening schools, one measure seemed to come out of left field: In an effort to get as many students as possible back into their classrooms this fall, he would allow schools to practice only 3 feet of social distancing instead of the standard 6 feet, sparking a passionate debate across the state. (Vaznis, 7/12)
AP:
Mobile COVID-19 Testing Site Placed Outside Suburban School
Health officials have put a mobile COVID-19 testing station outside a suburban Chicago high school as the area sees an increase in cases among younger residents, a trend that has happened elsewhere in the country. (7/12)
In other education news —
Reuters:
Dozens Of U.S. Universities Support Challenge To Trump's Order On Foreign Students: Court Document
About 60 U.S. universities on Sunday filed a brief supporting a lawsuit by two others, seeking to block a Trump administration rule barring foreign students from remaining in the country if educational institutions don’t hold in-person classes this fall. (7/13)
