Safe Schools Protect Us All

06/18/2022

The People's CDC is excited to announce our Webinar -- A People's Response to the Covid Pandemic -- happening on Thursday, June 23rd from 5-6:30 pm EST. The webinar will be the first chance for you to hear directly from some of the folks behind the People's CDC, get a better understanding of who we are and the work we are doing, and find new ways to potentially get involved with the People's CDC! The registration link can be found below and is available to all so please register and send the link out to anyone who might be interested in attending!

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Jx6nsBW2Rri0BRKhpZataw

We look forward to seeing you there!

05/19/2022

Hello, old friends:

Nasal or oral coronavirus vaccines, more and better drugs, and a variant-proof vaccine could catalyze a clear way out

06/19/2021

These results are not surprising: 4 in 5 teachers frequently stressed, 1 in 4 likely to leave their job. We must show, with policy and practice, that we care about the social-emotional health of staff, students, and families. Safety and connection FIRST. Students and staff alike are hurt when 1/3 of students drop off, yet the expectation was and is, keep teaching the rest. So much for not leaving children behind. Much of pandemic instruction was defined by steam-rolling through curriculum and/or bringing children back to *indoor* school by any means necessary. Outdoor time was undervalued, even though it has tremendous social-emotional-physical benefits, and would have been the safest option vis a vis covid for having students under a school district's direct in-person care. When we direct staff to make academics the priority over social-emotional-physical health, well, of course staff will be stressed. They are being directed to do too much, and ignore the most fundamental of their commitments: the safety and health--in the broadest terms--of their students.

"In January 2021, 78% of teachers said they experienced frequent job-related stress, compared to 40% of employed adults, according to a survey of public school teachers from the Rand Corp. funded by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers

The pressures of teaching during the pandemic weighed so heavily on educators that one in four teachers said they were likely to leave their jobs by the end of the 2020-21 school year, according to the same study."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teachers-had-most-stressful-job-during-pandemic/?ftag=CNM-00-10aac3a&fbclid=IwAR1qRsq_kJrC-LbclB4bqtbCy_rT89EYV-L33DG1ld9TuZUgfB4nh_KfMuo

06/07/2021

Educator and activist Ilyasah Shabazz breaks down the necessary reforms.

02/11/2021

"The strain of the virus, known as the B.1.1.7 variant, seems to be between 40 and 70 percent more contagious than other variants, based on various scientific estimates. It has been confirmed in 34 U.S. states."

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/02/10/news/more-contagious-uk-coronavirus-variant-confirmed-in-maine/?fbclid=IwAR3acC_o2g3TVWZIoZqGrm99qytp1ghEnNKRv_GU8oNtXiJpw4oLPH2DYZM

A more contagious strain of the coronavirus that originated in the United Kingdom was detected in Maine, the state’s health department announced Wednesday.

02/08/2021

"Adriane Wagner, the school nurse, said she felt compelled to protest because she 'cares about student health.'

Many Welsh students have asthma, Wagner said, and cold classrooms equipped with fans would be especially tough for them.

'Having a fan blowing is not going to work for them,' Wagner said.

The district’s history of papering over environmental problems — including lead paint, asbestos and a disastrous $50 million construction project at Benjamin Franklin High — makes teachers wary of the district’s safety promises, they said.

With a large stock of aging buildings, the district simply doesn’t have the money or time to upgrade all schools to the standards common in better-resourced private and suburban schools, officials have said. Some Philadelphia school buildings have no mechanical ventilation; the plan there is to open windows and use fans to help circulate air."

https://www.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-district-reopen-teachers-union-pft-20210208.html?fbclid=IwAR2JlOKtPxa3QaJfv58NcMo3hNXTr4y7GuKMmlshpakinOLEXoVhyCUZeTg

“As of right now, we are still in ongoing discussions with the parties and are focused on getting kids back into schools as soon as possible,” said Lauren Cox, a city spokesperson.

02/07/2021

"*By one estimate, a $23 billion gap — equivalent to $2,226 per student — exists in funding for predominantly white school districts versus predominantly nonwhite ones.
*Parents who have firsthand experience of their school's financial struggles may have reason to be skeptical that expensive safety measures like new ventilation systems will be in place.
*Black and Latino children are also more likely to have experienced punitive discipline at schools, which further contributes to a reluctance among parents to send them back."

https://www.axios.com/racial-divide-reopening-schools-coronavirus-a8c98eb3-bb4b-4d5f-a9c1-c2b5297782c2.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2vBxKpqK_XvazBgW2KXl7x7QUbIGRTaikXWckGfqOZYMtGjv25qpG5vpY

Black and Latino parents aren't convinced that classrooms are safe.

02/07/2021

"Postpandemic schooling needs to take a less-is-more approach. The adult anxiety around 'learning loss' is completely tied to the 'quantity over quality' approach to curriculum and standards that plagues our education system. One of the best moves we made as a school community this year was to change our schedule so that students only take three long classes at a time and alternate between 'deeper learning' modules. This has supported students in managing their work, in focusing on core concepts, and in creating multiple opportunities for fresh starts for students who are overwhelmed or struggling. Students don’t want to go back to a six-period day, and neither do I. We need to re-evaluate our approach to standards, deeply consider what is essential vs. what is extraneous, and encourage schools to build schedules, structures, and curriculum units that support deeper learning, rather than superficial coverage."

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-students-respond-to-adults-fixation-on-learning-loss/2021/02?fbclid=IwAR3Yh8kkXW14m-JzIZnIv76tssQpUVVMBstemQHWPb50cxdjc63PXtb6BhQ

A Boston educator shares three guidelines for responding to "learning loss" she developed based on conversations with her students.

02/06/2021

"Saying no cases were found when systematic testing is not happening, particularly when community spread is high, is not a foundation on which to base a widespread return to in-person instruction... Right now, several epidemiologists have been calling for a national lockdown with real financial supports to allow people to stay safe at home, because of these new COVID-19 strains, which spread easily and rapidly... Because it is the working class families of LA who suffer the most, our elected county and state officials have made the decision to let this disease run rampant."

https://www.utla.net/news/safe-reopening-separating-politics-science?fbclid=IwAR2o07dLH1cgFTLW1m70wufJG4dKQMVlQ7ppO936oeYFRGbO_z2TJpL1Zmo

Click to view an excerpt from UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz’s weekly Facebook Live update on February 5, 2021.

02/05/2021

Independent verification of ventilation quality--something we hear way too little mention of in this airborne pandemic. "The union says there are still many unanswered safety concerns, including questions over the use of fans for ventilation, and the lack of vaccines for teachers... Jordan [teacher union president] has invoked the union's previously agreed upon ability to call in a third-party expert to decide whether or not buildings are safe enough to return."

https://6abc.com/education/union-tells-philly-teachers-not-to-go-into-buildings-monday/10316617/?fbclid=IwAR06Nh3EpOF0oCuhOBTZb-s8fXZq3PsMxEnYm49QsYdGAAWhYg-14XPZkkY

The union representing teachers in the School District of Philadelphia is telling members not to go into the buildings on Monday over COVID-19 safety concerns.

02/03/2021

Lots of implications for in-person school from this research based on 27,000+ covid positive households and their 50,000+ contacts: "Given the same exposure time, children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age were more likely to infect others than were adults aged 60 years or older (1·58, 1·28–1·95)... Symptomatic cases were more likely to infect others before symptom onset than after (1·42, 1·30–1·55)."

Within households, children and adolescents were less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection but were more infectious than older individuals. Presymptomatic cases were more infectious and individuals with asymptomatic infection less infectious than symptomatic cases. These findings have implications fo...

02/03/2021

These researchers looked at the effectiveness of more than 6,000+ ways of reducing covid spread in almost 80 countries, and then confirmed their findings by looking at 40,000+ interventions in 225+ countries. What did they find? Banning small gatherings and closing schools were the two most effective ways of slowing covid, among thousands... Sure sounds like a more comprehensive and data driven way to make policy decisions about SAVING LIVES than opinion pieces from mainstream newspapers, and studies based on 13 children in Norway:

"the largest impacts on Rt [rate of spread] are shown by small gathering cancellations (83%, ΔRt between −0.22 and –0.35), the closure of educational institutions (73%, and estimates for ΔRt ranging from −0.15 to −0.21) and border restrictions (56%, ΔRt between −0.057 and –0.23)."

Analysing over 50,000 government interventions in more than 200 countries, Haug et al. find that combinations of softer measures, such as risk communication or those increasing healthcare capacity, can be almost as effective as disruptive lockdowns.