With the first COVID-19 vaccines now authorized for adolescents, ages 12 and up, a big question looms: will students be required to get vaccinated before returning to their classrooms in the fall? In the United States, school vaccination requirements are established by states rather than the federal government. The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows states to make regulations protecting public health. Every state currently requires K-12 students to be vaccinated against some diseases,…
Deborah Rosenthal has learned a thing or two about online learning. She starts her virtual kindergarten class on Zoom every morning with a song — today, it’s the Spanish version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Her students clap along. There’s a greeting from the class mascot (a dragon), yoga, meditation and then some practice with letter sounds. Rosenthal teaches Spanish immersion in a public school in San Francisco’s Mission District. Most of…
A sweeping review of national test data suggests pandemic impact on student learning may not be as bad as we feared. According to this study, the pandemic-driven jump to online learning has had little impact on children’s reading growth and has only somewhat slowed gains in math. That positive news comes from the testing nonprofit NWEA and covers nearly 4.4 million U.S. students in grades three through eight. But the report also includes a worrying…
Not all of the most selective colleges have given out their acceptance letters yet. The Ivy League will announce Tuesday evening, but the trends are already clear. The pandemic has not hurt the college admissions; it’s helped them. It has sent them new applicants, new minority and first-generation applicants, and new attention. The results are starting to come in — and they suggest that the most selective private and public institutions are going to have…
Looking for COVID-safe spring activities for your children? Below are some sure-fire, family-friendly staycation ideas to keep your kids busy, sparing you some much-needed time to get work done. 1. Play online board games. Boardgamearena.com works in your browser and on most game consoles (no download necessary), and it offers 175 modern board games. Tabletopia is another online arena for virtual board gaming and contains more than 800 board games. Pogo is another option for…
For as long as anyone can remember, taking attendance and rewarding kids for showing up has been a time-honored school ritual. Like so many other aspects of education, that simple measure — “here” or “absent” — is not so simple anymore. States are having to update their attendance policies to cover the realities of virtual learning, and where school is being held in-person, strict coronavirus health protocols mean students must now stay home at the…
As we look forward to a foreseeable future of mostly online learning, teachers are finding themselves walking a tightrope of keeping students motivated while not letting their own morale down. Student motivation is a major concern regardless of which study model is adopted by each school: online, blended, hybrid, or a myriad variation. In the current pandemic scenario where teachers must deal with alternative learning modes, student motivation is especially important. Here are 5 strategies…
For the kids in our lives, the last nine months have been many things. Scary, because an invisible illness was suddenly spreading across the globe. Confusing, because even the adults in their lives didn’t have many answers. Maybe even fun, at least when the possibility of school closing felt like a snow day. But for many, that novelty has given way to frustration, sadness, and even depression and anxiety. Just like adults, kids are wondering:…
Despite the popular Atlantic article that claims early COVID-19 data seems to show schools can safely reopen, many worrisome questions still remain. The article flatly denies that schools are superspreaders in spite of new reports from the CDC noting that 90% of Americans live in counties falling into the two highest risk categories for reopening schools. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics is showing a rapid rise in pediatric COVID-19 cases over the last six…
Many teachers, parents, and students are wondering how COVID-19 will change schools in 2021. In order to safely reopen school buildings, administrators have had to work closely with state and federal organizations like the CDC to find ways to protect everyone entering the school as much as possible. While many agree it is not yet safe to reopen schools, some may not have a choice but to open due to local laws, policy, and legislation.…
