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John Bailey is off this week; this roundup of COVID research and policy news was compiled by Joshua Parrish of the Collaborative for Student Success. 

This Week鈥檚 Top Story

• Education Week explains a third, lesser-known fund of federal dollars being used to help schools recover from the pandemic in an explainer posted this week. Governor鈥檚 Emergency Education Relief Funds represent about $7 billion in resources available for education and to be directed by state governors. 
• After federal officials recently found examples of , more communities and educators are asking questions about their use. Education Week notes that there are no national efforts to track the specific spending and use of these funds, with which governors enjoy large latitude in directing to a wide range of education expenses. 
• In most states, the Governor鈥檚 Emergency Relief Funds dollars appear to have been used largely to address schools鈥� immediate needs 鈥� technology and internet access, mental health services and professionals and teacher stipends for classroom supplies. 

The Big Three 鈥� August 19, 2022

• The Biden administration announced roughly $300 million in federal grant funding for states and districts seeking to strengthen their mental health services and supports. 
• Two grant programs, each comprised of about $150 million, will support states in recruiting mental health professionals to school-based programs while also expanding lists of qualified providers for school services. 
• In the announcement, the White House also spotlighted millions in mental health funding available for schools through the Department of Health and Human Services and the administration鈥檚 expanded funding of 鈥渃ommunity schools鈥� that aim to bring together critical health and wellness services in local school campuses.

Despite Urgency, New National Tutoring Effort Could Take 6 Months to Ramp Up 

• Some education experts are seeing 鈥渓ost opportunities鈥� after the Biden administration announced a national effort to recruit 250,000 tutors and mentors nationwide as students enter a third pandemic summer. 
• Others, however, note that the platform of the White House and AmeriCorps 鈥� the federal program that has recruited volunteers for decades for a wide array of community services 鈥� could be a game changer in terms of helping states and districts overcome sharp staffing shortages that have persisted throughout the pandemic. 
• And though some states have already begun to successfully use large-scale tutoring initiatives as key parts of their recovery plans, some worry that rapid deployment of an army of tutors could stumble without clear systems of support, a foundation in evidence-based materials, and intentional alignment of instructional and assessment systems. 

• Experienced, well-equipped principals will be key to ensuring schools successfully navigate the coming years as historic amounts of federal funding expire and education leaders face deepening worries around and staff shortages, say experts in a new published in the Journal of Educational Administration. 
• According to the study, principals who have led their first school for five or more years are able to attract and retain teachers more successfully 鈥� a scarce achievement as the average principal stays in a school for an average of four years. 
• Experts recommend district leaders invest in high-quality professional development for principals, disseminate experienced principals across all districts and develop standards for state licensing and principal PD programs to help ensure a strong pipeline of school leaders in the years ahead.

City & State Updates

HAWAII: in 10% of classrooms

INDIANA: after spring tutoring program 

ARIZONA: program benefits 100K Arizona kids

MICHIGAN: special education guidance

OKLAHOMA: in online math tutoring program

PENNSYLVANIA: in grants for early childhood education

NEW YORK: on restarting school accountability system

CALIFORNIA: , urging chronically absent students to return

COLORADO: on students heading to college

Viewpoints

• Katherine J. Wu in The Atlantic
• 鈥淎mericans have been given the all clear to dispense with most of the pandemic-centric behaviors that have defined the past two-plus years鈥攑art and parcel of the narrative the Biden administration is building around the 鈥榯riumphant return to normalcy,鈥� says Joshua Salomon, a health-policy researcher at Stanford.鈥�
• 鈥淭he main COVID guardrail left is a request for people to stay up to date on their vaccines, which most in the U.S. are not; most kids under 5 who have opted for the Pfizer vaccine won鈥檛 even have had enough time to finish their three-dose primary series by the time the school year starts.鈥�

• Jay Matthews in The Washington Post
• 鈥淢any think the disastrous educational effects of the pandemic mean we should let up on our kids, at least for a while鈥�. Could that be the wrong approach?鈥�
• 鈥淭he College Board has compiled data indicating that students should be given more of a challenge, rather than less. Results suggest that students who were required to commit early in an AP course to the difficult final exam did better than those allowed to decide later whether they would take the big test.鈥�
• 鈥淚 have interviewed hundreds of students who said their worries about taking the difficult AP exams made them work harder in the classes than they would have done otherwise.鈥�

On a Lighter Note 鈥� 

When Both of Your Parents Are News Anchors: .

When both of your parents are news anchors

— Jeannette Reyes (@msnewslady)

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