蜜桃影视

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

A recent review of school guidance and communications from the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention argues that the federal agency failed often in its goal of providing timely, actionable information to states and districts around COVID-19 safety protocols.

Many have debated the substance of the CDC鈥檚 recommendations to schools throughout the pandemic. But a review suggests that over two years, the agency fell short at a more straightforward task: to communicate clearly and accurately with schools:

— Andrew Ujifusa (@AndrewUjifusa)

As , research on the effectiveness of masking, appropriate distancing, and school building ventilation were shared without evidence or with mistakes that were never corrected. 鈥淭hey had a really hard job. This has never happened before in anybody鈥檚 lifetime,鈥� said Doug Harris, a Tulane University researcher who has studied schools through the pandemic. Still, he said, 鈥淭he quality of research coming out was disheartening.鈥�

Looking beyond safety research and guidance, here are eight other updates from across the country about how states and school systems are confronting the challenges posed by COVID-19 and its variants 鈥� and working to preserve student progress amid the pandemic:

1 TEXAS 鈥� 4-Day School Week Picks Up Steam in Rural Texas Districts

Amid rising teacher burnout and declining student attendance and enrollment, some . Paul Thompson, an associate professor of economics at Oregon State University, has conducted research surrounding the impacts of four-day school weeks on students. 鈥淎 common reason districts – both rural and urban – seek this model is because it can save money and effectively recruit and retain students and staff,鈥� Thompson said. In turn, advocates opposed to a four-day school week have said it could result in less quality instructional time for students.

4-day school week picks up steam in rural Texas districts

But, according to the data "for younger students, the four-day model can mean a significant loss in instructional time for students." via

— Christine M. T. Pitts, PhD (@cmtpitts)

2CALIFORNIA 鈥� State Public School Enrollment Spirals, Dropping by 110,000 Students this Year

Enrollment declines that began before the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing in the Golden State, with officials recently announcing a fifth consecutive year of shrinking enrollment. State education officials say the pandemic exacerbated the trend, with . 鈥淥ne of the questions that we just have to come back to is, just where are those kids?鈥� said Heather J. Hough, executive director of the Policy Analysis for California Education. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have satisfying data to answer that question.鈥�

3UTAH 鈥� State Invests $8 Million into Free Early Learning Program for Children

The state of Utah is kicking off an with a local nonprofit called Waterford Upstart, a program meant to expand access to pre-k and kindergarten opportunities to rural families. 鈥淥ur state leaders recognize we must do something to help our children stay on track, and that help must come early,鈥� said Kim Fischer, the national spokesperson and senior vice president of communication for Waterford.org. 鈥淲aterford Upstart is a great solution because it gets families involved and it can be done in conjunction with traditional education.鈥� Among the resources provided to families by the Waterford Upstart program are access to technology and internet, personalized learning software, and coaching. 

4SOUTH CAROLINA 鈥� Proposal Would Pay State College Students Majoring in Education if They Become Teachers

More and more teachers are leaving the classroom and fewer people are setting their sights on teaching as a career, prompting South Carolina lawmakers to counter the trend with a proposal via a yearly stipend. Palmetto State Teachers Association Director of Government Affairs Patrick Kelly expressed to members, 鈥淭he retention part, you guys are working on through other avenues – unencumbered time, other issues – but we鈥檝e got to get them into the pipeline. If we don鈥檛, there鈥檚 nobody to retain.鈥� The Commission on Higher Education would be responsible for defining which majors and students would be eligible for the stipend.

Today I鈥檓 at the Wardlaw College of Education covering the new proposal which would pay education majors to become teachers. The proposal would add education to the list of majors who receive extra funding through the South Carolina LIFE Scholarship.

— Ian (@ianbasha)

5MICHIGAN 鈥� Detroit School District Plans to Scale Back COVID Testing Next Year

Detroit Public Schools will soon move to small-batch COVID testing instead of universal screening as emergency public health guidelines are scaled back across the state. Citing a sharp increase in school districts dropping mask mandates and testing requirements, .

6ALABAMA 鈥� Lawmakers Passed Teacher, Substitute Pay Raises, Certification Updates 鈥� What鈥檚 Next?

Alabama lawmakers recently as the state legislature adjourned. The expanded state budget includes significant raises for most public school teachers, while a series of legislation would expand resources for classroom supplies, open new routes to licensure for teacher candidates, and set controversial rules on classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation.

7INDIANA 鈥� State Board OKs Measures to Ease Special Ed Teacher Shortage

State education officials in the state as schools face sharp staffing shortages and growing populations of students with disabilities. 鈥淭hrough a new license option, approval of additional transition to teaching programs and financial assistance to support training for our current and future special education teachers, we鈥檙e committed to supporting our local schools as we seek to grow the pipeline of educators in this high-demand field,鈥� said Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner. Officials say that the number of special educators in Indiana has declined 4% since 2014, while the number of students receiving special education services grew by 12%.

After violating federal special education law for years, Indiana will end the use of emergency permits for special ed teachers next school year, via @dylanpmccoy

— Eric Weddle (@ericweddle)

8NATIONAL 鈥� With Millions of Kids on the Line, Can Schools Make Tutoring Work?

Amid a historic surge in tutoring services due to pandemic disruption to learning and overflowing school coffers, experts are increasingly concerned that schools may struggle to deliver the high-quality, targeted type of tutoring interventions that have proven to be effective. Catherine Gewertz of Education Week cites the inclusion of tutoring as a key recovery strategy and investment across more than 70% of surveyed school districts, as well as a $100 million philanthropic initiative, as representing a wave of programs whose quality schools may find difficult to ensure. 鈥淏ecause so many are launching big programs so quickly, their impact might be disappointing, sparking a backlash,鈥� says one tutoring researcher,

This update on pandemic recovery in education collects and shares news updates from the district, state, and national levels as all stakeholders continue to work on developing safe, innovative plans to resume schooling and address learning loss. It鈥檚 an offshoot of the Collaborative for Student Success鈥� QuickSheet newsletter, which you can . 

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.