Howard school board considering teacher layoffs, class-size increases to save money amid contract discussions

During work sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, the Howard County Board of Education grappled with possibly increasing class sizes and laying off teachers to create room in the fiscal 2021 operating budget.

Meanwhile, the board has also been in a fight with the teachers’ union during the last two weeks over attempts to further negotiate their 2020-21 contract...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-teachers-budget-06102020-20200611-qkcqfpld7rhuzn4si3tz2a6veq-story.html#nws=true

NIST Video on Cloth Face Masks: Cover smart. Do your part. Slow the spread.

https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/my-stay-home-lab-shows-how-face-coverings-can-slow-spread-disease

Richard Carranza deputy poised for top job in Georgia after bogus NYC test score claims

Chancellor Richard Carranza’s second-in-command is poised to get a top job in Georgia after claiming bogus achievements in NYC, critics say.

Cheryl Watson-Harris, Carranza’s first deputy chancellor, has been named the finalist to become superintendent of DeKalb County schools’ 99,000 students, which includes suburban Atlanta.

Her cover letter in recently applying to Sarasota, Fla., Watson Harris boasted:

“Under the leadership of my team the city has seen record gains in proficiency rates in both ELA and math.”

Fred Smith, a former DOE test analyst, said the gains were neither record-breaking nor impressive.

“It’s an overstatement,” Smith told The Post. “For her not to know this is a spurious achievement on her part, to claim credit for that, it’s ridiculous.”..

https://nypost.com/2020/06/06/richard-carranza-deputy-makes-bogus-claims-in-georgia-job-bid/

Maryland announced a series of new decisions about reopening today. I’ve been asked what I think of the decisions. While I agree with the public health messages communicated yesterday, I don’t agree with a number of the decisions.

Tom Inglesby
@T_Inglesby

Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
@JHSPH_CHS, working to protect people from epidemics & disasters. Inf diseases, pub health, research, policy

Read his comments at this link:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1271088918570688512.html

Gov. Cooper issues health guidelines for North Carolina schools, says it won’t be a ‘reckless decision’

...To promote social distancing, schools would be required to mark out spaces showing 6 feet of separation.

Some health guidance is recommended but not required including:

▪ Wearing cloth face coverings.

▪ Keeping students 6 feet apart in class. If that’s not feasible, schools are urged to have students all face the same direction.

▪ Keep students 6 feet apart on school buses. This could cause districts to have to run additional buses or take longer driving students to and from campus.

The DHHS guidance calls for school districts to develop three plans: reopen with minimal social distancing, reopen with moderate social distance or keep schools closed using only remote instruction...

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/rebuild/article243368171.html

MCPS and Montgomery County Funded Saturday School FINALLY Free for Students

MCPS pays for the principal of this private school out of MCPS Operating Budget funds, provides the program a wing of a public school for free and additional funding.  Montgomery County also provides additional funding to this private school.  But until now, students had to pay tuition to attend this MCPS and Montgomery County funded program.  Finally this County funded private school is opening up to provide a free public education for all. 

SUMMER SCHOOL BASICS

This online program offers core academic support – in Math, Reading, and Language Arts – from certified teachers.

The materials and tutoring are aligned with the curriculum of MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools).

PROGRAM COST
FREE

GRADES
K-12

DATE
July 7 through August 18, 2020

TIMES
9:00 to 11:00 am
Tues., Wed., and Thursday

Closing Ceremonies August 19th

https://www.saturdayschool.org/2020/06/04/summer-programs-online-july-and-august-2020/

Fauci: ‘We are living through a historic experience’

...B&W: Do you expect students to return to school in the fall? 

AF: It depends on where you live in the country. Unlike some nations where everything is one dimensional, we live in a geographically vast country with a very large population. We have different situations in big cities than we do in intermediate cities and different situations in western and mountain cities.  If you are in a region where there is still a considerable amount of virus activity, officials will either suspend physical presence in schools or, more likely, there will be some modification to schooling structure, namely a schedule modification. You may have part of the class in the morning and part of the class in the afternoon. You might have to stretch out the hours, come in on a Saturday or do more virtual learning— not completely virtual but some virtual learning— so you don’t have the typical situation of a crowded class. However, if things lighten up and the number of infections are low, something as simple as kids wearing masks when they are crowded together may work as a solution...

https://theblackandwhite.net/67789/spotlight/fauci-we-are-living-through-a-historic-experience/

Updated Maryland Recovery Plan for Education

2020 Maryland MSDE Recovery... by Parents' Coalition of Montg... on Scribd

VA State leaders explained a three-part schools reopening plan

...State leaders explained a three-part schools reopening plan that matches the phases Northam has put in place to reopen the economy. While the plan offers guidance, school systems and private schools have flexibility to tailor their own plans, which then must be submitted for approval...

...Phase 2 of the education reopening plan allows for in-person teaching for prekindergarten through third-grade students, students with disabilities and students who are not fluent in English. Strict social distancing protocols must be enforced; on school buses, just one child may be assigned to each seat, Northam said.

School assemblies and other large gatherings are limited to 50 people; school clubs and extracurricular activities may be reinstated as long as students follow social distancing guidelines. Student-athletes are permitted to resume practices, so long as they keep 10 feet away from one another and disinfect shared equipment, such as helmets and uniforms, between uses...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/northern-virginia-to-ease-coronavirus-restrictions-friday/2020/06/09/95033ee4-aa58-11ea-a9d9-a81c1a491c52_story.html

Nearly Half of Coronavirus Spread May Be Traced to People Without Any Symptoms

One of the more insidious features of the new coronavirus behind COVID-19 is its ability to settle into unsuspecting hosts who never show signs of being sick but are able to spread the virus to others.

In a study published June 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at the Scripps Research Translational Institute reviewed data from 16 different groups of COVID-19 patients from around the world to get a better idea of how many cases of coronavirus can likely be traced to people who spread the virus without ever knowing they were infected. Their conclusion: at minimum, 30%, and more likely 40% to 45%...

...Another concern, says Topol, is that the virus may be damaging the bodies of asymptomatic in other, silent ways. Among the 331 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship who tested positive but did not have symptoms, 76 people had CT scans of their lungs and nearly half showed signs of lung tissue damage typical of coronavirus infection. “People who are getting infection without symptoms are actually doing a lot of damage to their bodies and they don’t know it,” says Topol. Another small study in South Korea that studied 10 asymptomatic people from a group of 139 COVID-19 patients supports these findings...

https://time.com/5848949/covid-19-asymptomatic-spread/?fbclid=IwAR27xceRb1SUjZ5OFzptfDcevPWRJulNt87_8NmafNPdjpG5d-3u7zMbPIo

Fauci Warns That the Coronavirus Pandemic Is Far From Over

...Covid-19 is the disease that Dr. Fauci always said would be his “worst nightmare” — a new, highly contagious respiratory infection that causes a significant amount of illness and death.

“In a period of four months, it has devastated the whole world,” Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday during a conference held by BIO, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. “And it isn’t over yet.”..

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/health/fauci-vaccines-coronavirus.html?auth=login-facebook

Teachers Unions Call for Police Reform But Refuse to Look in the Mirror

...As signatories on this letter, the NEA and AFT are going to have to do some serious self-reflection, lest they quickly and rightly be called out as hypocrites. The seventh demand in the letter calls for “a national public database to compile the names of officers who have had their licenses revoked due to misconduct.” We need this exact same kind of database for teachers...

...The AFT and NEA cannot, in good conscience, call for a national database of police officers who have lost their licenses due to misconduct and continue to oppose the very same kind of national database for its own members. They are right to call for the police to clean up its house but it is high time they clean up their own as well...

https://projectforeverfree.org/teachers-unions-call-for-police-reform-but-refuse-to-look-in-the-mirror/

NEW MONTGOMERY COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP ALLOWS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO TAKE FREE SUMMER COURSE

A new Montgomery College scholarship will allow eligible 2020 Montgomery County Public Schools High School Graduates to take a summer course for free.

The Raptor Ready Scholarship will provide tuition and fees for one course during the second summer session, beginning July 11. The student will also receive coverage for technology or educational supplies. Supplies can only be purchased at a Montgomery College bookstore. The coverage cannot exceed $530.

1. In order to apply, students must meet certain requirements. These include:
2. The individual must graduate from a MCPS High School in the spring of 2020.
3. The individual must be a Montgomery County resident...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/new-montgomery-college-scholarship-allows-high-school-graduates-to-take-free-summer-course/?fbclid=IwAR3StcHVV8LZzuSF_pqhFwGRhNvsPbsJYdPoUdDlRv8E5FX0QZMJkkYL_4E

Spike in coronavirus in Israel’s capital spreads nationwide

118 cases in one day * more than 13,000 teachers, students in isolation

https://www.jpost.com/health-science/10-more-schools-shutdown-thousands-of-students-and-teachers-in-isolation-630259

Mom Hasn’t Seen Son With Autism Since March Because Of COVID-19 Lockdown

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/06/02/mom-hasnt-seen-son-autism-lockdown/28398/

U.S. senators urge probe of TikTok on children's privacy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four U.S. senators, including a China hawk, urged the Federal Trade Commission on Friday to investigate allegations that the popular video app TikTok violated a consent decree protecting children’s privacy.

In their letter, lawmakers noted a report by the Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and others saying that Chinese-owned TikTok had failed to take down videos made by children under age 13 as it agreed under a 2019 consent agreement with the FTC...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tiktok-privacy-usa-children/u-s-senators-urge-probe-of-tiktok-on-childrens-privacy-idUSKBN2352YD?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWTJRd1lqazNNMlJoWmprNSIsInQiOiJhYnN1VnIyZCtDRk56VUYxZHlUYjhKMVV4UjE1cCtiSnc2WHhkdnJwT0ptVUNMc2JLeFNvSFZVbFwvU3MrdStOWERkRTRQUGtUeDBzWW9ITk03ZkdxNWFcL251OWNnOXZWZ3I1MVFDclFETzZwTFdxV1F2c2NyRjBqUVVDZEM5ZFhLIn0%3D&fbclid=IwAR3gQ0llehWNebpawRRU52j0rS_CxlhjZkS_aaVnGaLuPwxEhVE8qWRSAdM

Two weeks after Israel fully reopened schools, a COVID-19 outbreak sweeping through classrooms..

After Reopening Schools, Israel Orders Them To Shut If COVID-19 Cases Are Discovered

...Schools first began to reopen in early May, with classes staggered in smaller groups or "capsules" of students to prevent a wide outbreak. By May 17, limitations on class size were lifted.

The most significant outbreak appeared last week in the Gymnasia Rehavia, a historic middle and high school in Jerusalem. There, 116 students and 14 teachers were infected, according to the Ministry of Education, and the school closed. Built in 1928, its graduates include prominent novelists, politicians and Netanyahu's late brother.

Health officials said they're investigating how the virus spread there. A teacher told NPR a seventh-grader was first discovered to be carrying the virus and the entire grade was ordered to quarantine at home. Then a ninth-grader tested positive, and the school was shut down.

"It was a mistake to go back to school in this format," the teacher said... 

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/03/868507524/israel-orders-schools-to-close-when-covid-19-cases-are-discovered

Teachers union files grievance over special ed documentation mandates

MCPS says new reporting is required by state, federal law


Full story at Bethesda Beat, here. By reporter Caitlynn Peetz.


The local teachers union has filed a class action labor grievance against Montgomery County Public Schools for implementing new reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic that it says hinders their work with special education students.


When the coronavirus pandemic closed school buildings across the state and moved teaching to online platforms, MCPS began requiring additional paperwork to document compliance with students’ individualized education plans.

School district officials responded to the grievance by saying the new documentation is required by the state and federal governments. But representatives of the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) disagree and say the extra work adds to an already overburdened caseload for special educators.

Baltimore County School Board Members Say Divided Board Not Doing Enough For Poor Students

The COVID-19 pandemic is making clear the divide between the rich and the poor students in Baltimore County schools, according to members of the school board.

Closing that divide may be made more difficult because the board itself is divided and distracted.

School board member Cheryl Pasteur said the board has not been focused on those children most at risk, especially now while they are distance learning.

Pasteur asked, “What do we think is happening to those children while they are out of school?”

Earlier this month, the board did agree to form an equity committee. Board member Moalie Jose said the idea was first brought up more than one year ago, but at the time was dismissed.

“So what does it say about us as a board? Where is our direction?” Jose asked...

https://www.wypr.org/post/baltimore-county-school-board-members-say-divided-board-not-doing-enough-poor-students#:~:text=Baltimore%20County%20School%20Board%20Members%20Say%20Divided,Doing%20Enough%20For%20Poor%20Students&text=Board%20member%20Moalie%20Jose%20said,at%20the%20time%20was%20dismissed.

Board of Education Election Results as of June 3, 2020 at 11 AM

Last Updated 06/03/2020 11:00:43 AM