CarolKing
Always in search of the perfect vaporizer
The CDC’s new guidance includes resources for elementary and secondary schools and decision-making tools for parents and caregivers. Many of the recommendations sound familiar, such as social distancing, cloth face coverings, proper cleaning and personal hygiene, and “cohorting,” in which a group of students sticks together throughout the day to minimize exposure. Schools are instructed to be prepared for COVID-19 cases and exposure, and have systems such as contact tracing in place for when that happens.
Though the guidance itself focuses on how to keep students and staff members safe and mitigate transmission risks, other language from the CDC and federal officials strongly encourages schools to reopen.
What Is This?
Deputy Education Secretary Mitchell Zais, a member of the coronavirus task force, called teachers essential workers and said schools will be “stronger and more student focused than ever before.” The Trump administration is working with Congress to make sure schools have what they need to safely open, he said Friday in a conference call with reporters.
“If schools still refuse to reopen, the president has said that parents should receive the money that would be used for their child’s education to find a school that is willing to educate their child full time whether that’s a public charter school, a private school or a faith-based school,” Zais said.
With statements like that and the latest CDC guidance stressing that extended school closure is “harmful to children” and can lead to severe learning loss, local districts such as CPS are caught in between federal pressure to reopen and teachers union calls to stay remote.
In recent days, CPS joined a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of coronavirus relief bill funding they say would be harmful to public school districts. CPS estimates it would lose about $10 million of the $205 million it expects from the first federal pandemic relief package.
Though CPS did not directly address any concerns about parents withdrawing children, CEO Janice Jackson on Friday said the district is taking the new CDC guidance into consideration.
“The current plan that CPS has in place does follow the CDC guidelines and we are looking at the new guidelines and will update our plans accordingly,” Jackson said. “But I want parents and students to know that any plan that we put in place will be guided by the science and that we will not make a decision to have students return to school if we don’t believe it’s safe.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on Friday criticized the CDC statement and guidance, saying the agency could better help parents and educators by providing clear, easy-to-navigate protocols rather than “endless checklists that send people searching for answers.”
“The CDC may have changed its tone to accommodate President (Donald) Trump’s whims, but the details of its guidance remain the same: Schools cannot reopen safely and equitably until we have effectively contained the virus spread and have a robust testing system, a plan for a future surge, and appropriate safety protocols in place,” Weingarten said in a statement.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey had similar words, pointing out that while district-run schools start in September, some Chicago charter operators are planning to reopen in a matter of weeks.
“Our Black and Latinx neighborhoods contain a disproportionate number of front-line workers at greater risk of COVID-19, from bus drivers and nursing assistants to grocery store clerks and janitors,” Sharkey said. “Insisting that these families send their students into classrooms that intensify the risk of virus transmission as the pandemic spikes is not just risky. It’s morally reprehensible.”
Sharkey assessed that the president had “successfully bullied the CDC to revise its ‘guidelines’ and risk the lives of students, their families and their educators by forcing in-person learning this fall.”
CDC guide lines were put out in May. Now it’s been revised and everything is a lot worse now. Something stinks! I work for the local school district in my area and we will be getting the info from the local health dept whether we should open. They are responsible for contact tracing when and if we come down with the virus.
I sat in on a Zoom school board meeting last night. They are leaning towards online come September. Our covid rates are going up. The district used the money they received last fall from the cares act to provide daycare for essential workers, cost was $100,000.00. Comcast offered a 9.99 price for online for low income families. School also helped pay for that. We are also continuing to feed children of low income families breakfast and lunch through the summer.
Though the guidance itself focuses on how to keep students and staff members safe and mitigate transmission risks, other language from the CDC and federal officials strongly encourages schools to reopen.
What Is This?
Deputy Education Secretary Mitchell Zais, a member of the coronavirus task force, called teachers essential workers and said schools will be “stronger and more student focused than ever before.” The Trump administration is working with Congress to make sure schools have what they need to safely open, he said Friday in a conference call with reporters.
“If schools still refuse to reopen, the president has said that parents should receive the money that would be used for their child’s education to find a school that is willing to educate their child full time whether that’s a public charter school, a private school or a faith-based school,” Zais said.
With statements like that and the latest CDC guidance stressing that extended school closure is “harmful to children” and can lead to severe learning loss, local districts such as CPS are caught in between federal pressure to reopen and teachers union calls to stay remote.
In recent days, CPS joined a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of coronavirus relief bill funding they say would be harmful to public school districts. CPS estimates it would lose about $10 million of the $205 million it expects from the first federal pandemic relief package.
Though CPS did not directly address any concerns about parents withdrawing children, CEO Janice Jackson on Friday said the district is taking the new CDC guidance into consideration.
“The current plan that CPS has in place does follow the CDC guidelines and we are looking at the new guidelines and will update our plans accordingly,” Jackson said. “But I want parents and students to know that any plan that we put in place will be guided by the science and that we will not make a decision to have students return to school if we don’t believe it’s safe.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on Friday criticized the CDC statement and guidance, saying the agency could better help parents and educators by providing clear, easy-to-navigate protocols rather than “endless checklists that send people searching for answers.”
“The CDC may have changed its tone to accommodate President (Donald) Trump’s whims, but the details of its guidance remain the same: Schools cannot reopen safely and equitably until we have effectively contained the virus spread and have a robust testing system, a plan for a future surge, and appropriate safety protocols in place,” Weingarten said in a statement.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey had similar words, pointing out that while district-run schools start in September, some Chicago charter operators are planning to reopen in a matter of weeks.
“Our Black and Latinx neighborhoods contain a disproportionate number of front-line workers at greater risk of COVID-19, from bus drivers and nursing assistants to grocery store clerks and janitors,” Sharkey said. “Insisting that these families send their students into classrooms that intensify the risk of virus transmission as the pandemic spikes is not just risky. It’s morally reprehensible.”
Sharkey assessed that the president had “successfully bullied the CDC to revise its ‘guidelines’ and risk the lives of students, their families and their educators by forcing in-person learning this fall.”
CDC guide lines were put out in May. Now it’s been revised and everything is a lot worse now. Something stinks! I work for the local school district in my area and we will be getting the info from the local health dept whether we should open. They are responsible for contact tracing when and if we come down with the virus.
I sat in on a Zoom school board meeting last night. They are leaning towards online come September. Our covid rates are going up. The district used the money they received last fall from the cares act to provide daycare for essential workers, cost was $100,000.00. Comcast offered a 9.99 price for online for low income families. School also helped pay for that. We are also continuing to feed children of low income families breakfast and lunch through the summer.
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