CER Daily Media Clips

Your Daily News Clips for February, 19 2021

CER Daily Media Clips for February 19, 2021

Jeanne Allen: Latest On The School Reopening Saga

Feb 19, 2021 | Forbes | federal policy | National

The media finally appear to be losing patience at the Administration’s waffling on the issue of school reopening. Joe Biden made school reopening and his ability to get it done quickly and safely a signature campaign promise.

Divides in parent opinion complicate school reopening push

Feb 19, 2021 | Associated Press | other education issues | National

The reticence of large numbers of parents who are skeptical of schools’ ability to keep their children safe complicates reopening plans for districts that also are weighing other factors including resistance of teachers unions and the logistics involved in keeping up social distancing.

Opinion: Follow the Science, Not the Teachers Unions

Feb 19, 2021 | Wall Street Journal | federal policy | National

Follow the science. That was Joe Biden’s promise to the American people—until Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers disagreed.

Tim Scott: Why I’m voting against Biden’s nominee for Education secretary

Feb 19, 2021 | The Post & Courier | elected officials | National

Ideally, Cardona would be setting the education agenda for the Biden administration. But the reality is, Biden will be dictating his agenda to Cardona. Unfortunately, it is not his Connecticut policies that he will be championing as Biden’s education chief, it is the president’s union-focused progressive policies. And because of that, I voted against his confirmation.

A College Program for Disadvantaged Teens Could Shake Up Elite Admissions

Feb 19, 2021 | New York Times | higher education | National

An education program is immersing underprivileged students in Ivy League classes, and the students’ success has raised questions about how elite university gatekeepers determine college prospects.

Opinion: Chicago schools wouldn’t have reopened without mayoral control.

Feb 19, 2021 | Washington Post | other education issues | National

Steep challenges lie ahead for schools as they try to make up for the lost learning time of the pandemic. That’s more reason than ever for cities with mayoral control to retain it and show other cities the way.

Editorial: Which way schools? America needs a straight answer

Feb 19, 2021 | Los Angeles Times | federal policy | National

The Biden administration set an ambitious and clear goal for vaccine distribution, stuck to it, made it reality and then set the goal higher. If only the same thing were happening with the president’s vow on reopening schools during the pandemic.

Opinion: Our students fell way behind this year. It’s time to start talking summer school.

Feb 19, 2021 | Washington Post | accountability | National

Absent other interventions, the Covid Generation might be held back for the rest of their lives by this year-long interruption in their learning, resulting in lower educational attainment and reduced earnings for decades.

East Bay school board members caught on hot mic slamming parents: ‘They want their babysitters back’

Feb 19, 2021 | KCBS Radio | school boards | Towns, States, West, California

A hot mic gaffe at an East Bay school board meeting Wednesday has landed board members in hot water, specifically for pointed and sometimes explicit comments about parents calling for schools to reopen.

House Votes to Require Civics Class in Middle School

Feb 19, 2021 | WIBC | civics education | States, Midwest, Indiana

Today’s Indiana fourth-graders would have to take a civics course in middle school, under a bill overwhelmingly approved by the Indiana House.

APS students, parents react to remote learning for rest of school year

Feb 19, 2021 | KRQE | school districts | Towns, States, West, New Mexico

Parents and students are reacting Thursday to Albuquerque Public Schools’ decision to stay virtual, saying they feel like no one is listening to them. Many students who looked forward to returning in-person and even getting back to team sports say last night’s decision did not have their best interests at heart.

Some Philly parents are getting worried their kids are ‘never going to be in school’

Feb 19, 2021 | Philadelphia Inquirer | school districts | Towns, States, Northeast, Pennsylvania

While parents, educators, union officials, and advocates have been organized, vocal, and clear on their position that schools aren’t ready to reopen, those on the other side say their voices are being drowned out.

Colorado Education Association survey: nearly 40% of members considering leaving teaching

Feb 19, 2021 | The Denver Channel | teacher unions | States, West, Colorado

The top reasons given included: an unrealistic workload, potentially unsafe working conditions during the pandemic and low pay, according to the CEA, the state's largest union of educators.

LAUSD parents plan Zoom blackout to protest school closures as other school districts open

Feb 19, 2021 | KABC | parent power | Towns, States, West, California

“The parent have started to question the union's motives here and say you know what regardless of what you are trying to do the ultimate outcome is you are hurting our kids. You're even hurting the teachers who want to come back,” he said.

With More N.H. Students Absent During Pandemic, Some Schools Turn to Child Protection Services

Feb 19, 2021 | New Hampshire Public Radio | accountability | States, Northeast, New Hampshire

Demetrios Tsaros has a tough job: investigating reports of potential child neglect or abuse in Manchester for the state’s Division of Children Youth and Families, or DCYF. These days, he’s getting lots of reports from schools worried about educational neglect: Kids aren’t logging onto their remote classes, and their parents are also falling off the map.

D.C. schools announces spending plan for academic intervention

Feb 19, 2021 | Washington Post | accountability | States, South, District of Columbia

The D.C. public school system plans to give additional in-person and virtual instruction during the summer and fall to students who have fallen behind the most during the pandemic, targeting more than a third of the student population, according to Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee.

CCS teachers say it’s time to stop charter and private school transportation

Feb 19, 2021 | WSYX | teachers unions | Towns, States, Midwest, Ohio

While Columbus City Schools struggles to find ways to bring its middle and high school students back to the classroom, its teachers say it’s time to stop bussing for charter and private schools kids.

Duluth Edison Charter Schools Offer New Educational Option

Feb 19, 2021 | FOX21 KQDS | charter schools | Towns, States, Midwest, Minnesota

In the fall, there will be another option for students in grades 6 through 8 where they can be onsite 1 day a week and participate from home 4 days a week with programming specifically designed for those students and driven by their interests.

Chartiers Valley School Board eyes charter school application

Feb 19, 2021 | Post Gazette | charter schools | Towns, States, Northeast, Pennsylvania

The Chartiers Valley School Board is set to vote Tuesday on an application for a new charter school that Superintendent Johanna Vanatta said falls short of state criteria.

Editorial: Rushing charter schools will not help anyone

Feb 19, 2021 | News & Sentinel | charter schools | States, South, West Virginia

A more robust charter school system must therefore give ALL parents a choice. It must not deepen the divide between the haves and have nots. It must not rob traditional public schools of resources, nor fail to adopt innovations that prove successful in charter schools for students still in traditional schools.

‘Make It Even Better,’ Teachers Hope To Improve On Remote Learning Successes

Feb 19, 2021 | WBZ 4 Boston | remote learning | Towns, States, Northeast, Massachusetts

But the leaders in this community are determined to focus on the ‘ups’ and look at this time as a chance to innovate.

Will pandemic pave way for school choice in Missouri?

Feb 19, 2021 | News Triibune | school choice | States, Midwest, Missouri

Opposition remains steadfast, but both sides of the debate agree COVID-19's impact on education shook up the dynamic and exposed issues in Missouri's public education system.“I am tired of wiping tears from my babies' faces as they struggle to learn in this environment,” Lindi Williford, who has three daughters in the Wentzville School District, said at a Senate committee hearing late last month. “It's not working for my family. We have to have more options.”

Bozeman School Board approves online charter school application

Feb 19, 2021 | Bozeman Chronicle | charter schools | Towns, States, West, Montana

The Bozeman School District is moving forward with an application to create an online charter school in an effort to respond to what it said is a growing need for a flexible learning option.

Editorial: Dangerous bill to divert tax money for private school scholarships is laid over

Feb 19, 2021 | Tulsa World | school choice | States, South, Oklahoma

Once again, the reverse Robin Hood brigade in the Legislature — the ones who take from the poor and give to the rich — have cooked up a scheme to fund private school scholarships for wealthy families using money that should be going to public schools.

Sununu: Schools must offer at least two days in person, starting March 8

Feb 19, 2021 | Sentinel Source | state policy | States, Northeast, New Hampshire

New Hampshire public schools must offer at least two days per week of in-person learning starting March 8, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday.

‘We’re very concerned’: Schools seeing higher absences due to COVID-19 this year

Feb 19, 2021 | WFTV | accountability | Towns, States, South, Florida

Florida law defines “habitual truant” as a student who has 15 or more unexcused absences within 90 calendar days with or without the knowledge or consent of the student’s parent or guardian, and who is subject to compulsory school attendance. In Osceola County it recorded 896 students as truant during the 2018-2019 school year, compared to 2,423 the first part of this year.

NM lawmakers push for school choice, funding for homeschooling

Feb 19, 2021 | KRQE | school choice | States, West, New Mexico

With more and more families leaving traditional public schools in recent years, a handful of Republican lawmakers are pushing to get more money for home-schooled kids and private schools. They said it’s very timely, now that many parents are pulling their kids from public schools where no in-person learning is being offered.

Lansing schools target March 22 for return to in-person learning options

Feb 19, 2021 | Lansing State Journal | school districts | Towns, States, Midwest, Michigan

The school district hopes to start offering hybrid learning options for students next month. Under the plan presented at a Board of Education meeting Thursday, students who opt for the hybrid option would continue with remote learning in the morning and come for in-person learning in the afternoons on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

California lawmakers, governor at odds on school reopening

Feb 19, 2021 | Associated Press News | elected officials | States, West, California

After weeks of tense negotiations, California’s legislative leaders agreed Thursday on a $6.5 billion proposal aimed at getting students back in classrooms this spring following months of closures because of the pandemic.

WV House passes bill that would give parents public money for home-, private-schooling; bill now hea

Feb 19, 2021 | Charleston Gazette-Mail | school choice | States, South, West Virginia

The West Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday passed a nonpublic school vouchers bill that would provide a currently estimated $4,600 per-student per-year to every family for every child they remove from public schools to home- or private-school them.

Viewpoint: Three bills would do harm to public schools, Indiana’s economy

Feb 19, 2021 | Courier & Press | school choice | States, Midwest, Indiana

Advertised as bills for efficient use of state education funds and promoted as holding public schools to account, the three bills’ selective funding mechanisms help only 10 percent of Indiana’s K-12 students.

To view this email in your browser, CLICK HERE.