Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Campus Conundrum: Colleges Weigh If Or When They Can Return To Normal
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Limbo: College Students Are Angry And Anxious As They Await News About The Fall
One after another, colleges and universities in recent weeks have announced plans for operating a fall term in the shadow of a disease that has killed more than 120,000 Americans. Social distancing, masks, housing limits, virus screening and combinations of in-person and online teaching will be the new normal on these campuses. But some schools are holding out, struggling to piece together a plan to bring students back safely. Princeton and Yale universities have warned they won’t set plans until early July. Georgetown President John DeGioia sent students a 28-paragraph advisory on June 9. It assured them that the university was immersed in the details of how to reopen during the extraordinary public health crisis. Skeptics, however, found it lacking in hard information. (Anderson and Lumpkin, 6/27)
The New York Times: ‘We Could Be Feeling This For The Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns
The community around the University of California, Davis, used to have a population of 70,000 and a thriving economy. Rentals were tight. Downtown was jammed. Hotels were booked months in advance for commencement. Students swarmed to the town’s bar crawl, sampling the trio of signature cocktails known on campus as “the Davis Trinity.” Then came the coronavirus. When the campus closed in March, an estimated 20,000 students and faculty left town. ... Efforts to stem the pandemic have squeezed local economies across the nation, but the threat is starting to look existential in college towns. (Hubler, 6/28)
The Washington Post: Sweet Briar College Is Tiny And Isolated, A Good Fit For A Pandemic
At the entrance to the sweeping Sweet Briar College campus, where meadows full of wildflowers bloom, trails wind through old-growth forests, and the Blue Ridge Mountains shape the horizon line, the sign said: “Welcome home.” Sweet Briar, the private college in rural Virginia, will reopen to students in August. It’s marketing itself as a safe haven in the midst of a pandemic — and officials even hope that pitch might help shore up its future. (Svrluga, 6/28)
The New York Times: Pandemic Parenting Was Already Relentless. Then Came Summer.
American parents spend more time and money on their children than ever — and that was before the pandemic. Now, with remote school ending for the summer and a far-from-normal fall expected, parenting is becoming only more demanding. ... Three-quarters of parents of children under 12, and 64 percent of parents of teenagers, said it was more important to do parent-led educational activities with their children this summer than in previous summers, found a new survey by Morning Consult for The New York Times. (Cain Miller, 6/26)
Boston Globe: Newton South Student Creates Virtual Tutoring Program To Help Families During Pandemic
To help parents and their school-age kids deal with education during the pandemic, Arshia Verma, a rising sophomore at Newton South High School, founded Project Community Giving, made up of high school students who provide virtual, one-on-one tutoring services and free classes to children up to eighth grade. When schools closed in March to fight the spread of COVID-19, students, teachers and families in Newton had to quickly adjust to online learning. Many parents, especially of young children, grew overwhelmed and frustrated having to assist their children’s learning on top of their daily responsibilities. (Pivatelli, 6/26)
Dallas Morning News: Dallas School Trustees Clash Over Giving Coronavirus ‘Heroes’ Raises
Support staff hailed as “heroes” for working the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in Dallas schools will receive a 2% raise and a one-time stipend next academic year, after a last-ditch effort to boost their pay even more failed. Trustees argued over racial equity vs. fiscal responsibility well into Thursday night as they debated how much of a raise to give DISD’s hourly workers. They approved the district’s $1.7 billion operating budget for 2020-21. (Ayala, 6/26)
In other news —
AP: Experts See No Proof Of Child-Abuse Surge Amid Pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the United States in mid-March, forcing schools to close and many children to be locked down in households buffeted by job losses and other forms of stress, many child-welfare experts warned of a likely surge of child abuse. Fifteen weeks later, the worries persist. Yet some experts on the front lines, including pediatricians who helped sound the alarm, say they have seen no evidence of a marked increase. (Crary, 6/28)
