Parents Fret As Kids Return To School

Axios: Back To School: Omicron Edition 
Months after Delta threatened the fall back-to-school ritual, COVID-19 is again complicating kids' return to the classroom. While government officials worked to convince school administrators and parents over the last several days that kids could safely get back to in-person learning after the holidays, the reality on the ground amid the spread of Omicron is much more complicated. "I still believe very firmly and very passionately, not only as an educator but as a parent, that our students belong in the classroom and that we can do it safely," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. (Reed, 1/3)

The Washington Post: Despite Omicron Surge, Schools Reopen With In-Person Classes 
Even as coronavirus caseloads hit record levels, school districts across the country are reopening for in-person learning this week, mindful of the damage that remote education inflicted last year and determined to avoid a repeat. ... Some districts announced a return to online school due to a spike in cases, including large systems in Cleveland, Atlanta and Newark. But the vast majority of schools opened Monday or plan to reopen this week, determined to avoid the academic, logistical and social-emotional disruptions that came with remote learning. (Meckler and Strauss, 1/3)

The Boston Globe: As Cases Surge, Administrators And Officials Look To Keep Schools Open For In-Person Learning
As the pandemic’s intensity heightened Monday, with doctors and nurses pleading for the public not to visit emergency rooms for mild COVID symptoms and the state’s death toll approaching 20,000, schools found themselves battling to reopen safely, yet again. In contrast with last year, though, this year the state has banned districts from offering remote learning in most cases. Most districts continued as usual Monday after winter break, while at least 10 districts delayed class because of low staffing or to test teachers and students. School districts reported anecdotal increases in the number of staff with COVID, though not at unmanageable levels — for now, said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. But many districts were concerned about being able to stay open in the coming weeks. (Vázquez Toness and Martin, 1/3)

In other school news —

AP: Tennessee Appeals Order Blocking School Mask Mandate Limits 
Tennessee officials are appealing a judge’s order that blocked the state’s new severe limits on when public schools can require masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and its ban against local officials making decisions about quarantines in schools. The state filed its notice of appeal last week in U.S. District Court in Nashville. Judge Waverly Crenshaw blocked the education provisions of the sweeping new law last month while the court case proceeds, saying the law “offers no protection to students, let alone those that are disabled.” (1/4)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Promised 6 Million COVID Tests For Students. Half Arrived
Gov. Gavin Newsom promised that schools would receive at-home COVID-19 tests in time for students to safely return to campuses after winter break, as health officials warned of a surge in cases over the holidays. But as many school districts resumed classes on Monday, they did so without having received a single test from the state. Just half of the 6 million tests Newsom said the state would purchase for schools have been delivered, while an additional 1 million tests are en route and expected to be delivered within 24 hours, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Public Health said Monday. An additional shipment of 1.5 million tests was expected to arrive Monday to the state’s warehouse before being directed to counties, while the remaining 500,000 tests have been ordered and are expected to arrive later this week, the agency said. (Mays and Gutierrez, 1/3)

WUSF Public Media: Florida Teachers Could Get Help Buying PPE 
House and Senate proposals seek to add personal protective equipment to a list of items teachers can purchase with money from the state. Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, filed the Senate version (SB 1376) last week, after a similar measure (HB 919) was filed last month by Rep. Travaris McCurdy, D-Orlando. The measures would include items such as masks and shields, gloves and goggles as allowable expenditures under the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program. (1/3)

The Boston Globe: ‘Really Demoralizing And Operationally Very, Very Hard’: Child Care Providers Try To Stay Open In COVID Surge
The COVID surge descended with a boom Wednesday at the Ellis Early Learning center in the South End. On its first morning open since Christmas, five teachers tested positive for COVID, joining four others already home with infections. Several classrooms closed, leaving some families without child care. Ellis’s experience could foreshadow what other child care centers see when many reopen this week after winter break. Early education providers said they’re concerned that the rise in COVID cases in Massachusetts threatens their ability to keep classrooms open, imperiling parents’ ability to work. “It’s really demoralizing and operationally very, very hard,” said Lauren Cook, Ellis’s chief executive. “How do we keep these classrooms open and how do we keep our kids and our teachers safe? They don’t always complement each other.” (Martin and Woodward, 1/3)