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Spread of Delta variant marks ‘most dangerous’ time in pandemic for kids, may force schools to re-up safety measures, experts say
The highly contagious Delta COVID variant quickly spreading through the U.S. may force schools to double down on mitigation measures in order to reopen safely later this summer and into the fall, health experts say. It’s “one of the most dangerous time periods [in the pandemic] for people who aren’t vaccinated,” said Taylor Nelson, a...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | July 7, 2021
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Gender gap in vaccination narrower among youth than adults, early numbers show
As young people continue to line up for coronavirus shots, the gender breakdown appears, well, surprisingly even. Compared to a persistent gap between adult men and women in vaccination rates, with women rolling up their sleeves considerably more than men nationwide, early data indicate that the split has been far less pronounced among youth. In...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | June 17, 2021
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‘Doomed’ by 8th grade: Underserved students thrive in college, but disparities in access start early & persist insidiously, new report reveals
When it comes to understanding which students make it not just to, but through college, substantial past education research has identified steep differences along lines of race, gender and class. A recently released report, however, provides an alternate narrative. The study, which links middle and high school achievement to postsecondary outcomes in five New England...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 21, 2021
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Reticent families in NYC, LA could prove true test for school reopenings, even as Gallup poll reveals overwhelming parent support nationwide
Seventy-nine percent of parents support in-person learning for schools in their communities, according to a Gallup poll from mid-March. But as Los Angeles Unified School District prepares to welcome students back to classrooms in April, and as New York City gives families another chance to enroll their children for in-person learning through April 7, parental decisions may prove the true...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 6, 2021
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Many rural remote learners are receiving little to no live teaching, federal survey reveals
More students than previously understood may be attending school virtually, survey data released in March by the U.S. Department of Education reveal. And many students — particularly remote learners from rural schools — are getting little to no live instructional time with teachers. While the survey finds that over three-quarters of elementary and middle schoolers attend schools that offer...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 1, 2021
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As U.K. variant spurs lockdowns abroad and takes hold in U.S., schools should be prepared to ‘pivot quickly,’ experts say
As a more contagious strain of COVID-19 sweeps across the United States, infectious disease experts say schools should brace for a challenging spring. First identified in Britain, the variant has been doubling its total U.S. cases every 10 days and has already become the dominant strain in Florida, according to reports. Dr. Michael Osterholm, director...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | March 22, 2021
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What do predictions of ‘herd immunity’ mean for schools?
After nearly a year of disastrous COVID news, it emerged in mid-February like a light at the end of the tunnel. Infections began dramatically falling and “herd immunity,” some experts began to say, could spell the end of the pandemic in the not-so-distant future. At some point this year — estimates range from mid-summer to...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | March 4, 2021
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A pre-COVID education study with big implications for remote learning during the pandemic: When parents take over, children give up easier
* One lace loops to make the trunk. A squirrel runs around the tree, jumps into a hole at the bottom, and comes out the other side. Pull it though and… huzzah! * Teaching a child to tie their shoes isn’t always easy. If you’ve embarked on this painstaking task, watching as little fingers fumble...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | March 1, 2021
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Segregation by income increasing in classrooms, new study finds, may reflect influence of wealthy parents
It’s a foundational premise of the American dream: that through hard work and diligent study, young people can use education to access opportunities that were denied to their parents. However, mounting evidence suggests that segregation — not just by race, but also by income — within the school system may stymie those meritocratic aspirations. Income-based...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | February 2, 2021
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How an AI app that detects COVID carriers by their cough could help reopen schools
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, school districts and public health experts have sought to solve a key missing link for safe in-person learning: how to identify asymptomatic COVID-19 cases among students and staff. Asymptomatic carriers might come into school buildings and transmit the virus unknowingly, officials worry. In Los Angeles, the district superintendent...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | January 21, 2021