[aggregation-styles] Visalia Times Delta Visalia Unified School Board President John Crabtree questioned the benefit of face masks to combat COVID-19 on Tuesday, claiming they don't prevent "hundreds of thousands" of annual deaths from tuberculosis. “There are hundreds of thousands of people who die from tuberculosis every year, and yet we...
As Fresno Considers Historic Name Changes, So Does SF
[aggregation-styles] The San Francisco Chronicle Subscription An effort to rename dozens of schools in San Francisco inched forward Tuesday with an update to the school board on the process, which could lead to a vote early next year. Members of an appointed task force told school board members that they...
What We Know So Far About School Reopenings in California
As more California public schools get set to reopen their campuses to students and teachers with a rhythm unseen in previous months, the pool of schools that have reopened so far have largely avoided triggering coronavirus outbreaks. Most of the school districts in the state that have physically reopened have implemented...
On Pandemic ‘Learning Loss,’ Schools Look Forward, Not Back
NEWARK, N.J. — A complete picture has yet to emerge of how much learning was lost by students during the pandemic. That’s all right with educators like Superintendent Craig Broeren, whose top concern is figuring out where each student stands now. Wisconsin Rapids, his small school district in central Wisconsin,...
Behind the ‘Wild West’ of School Reopenings
By Ricardo Cano and Ana B. Ibarra An academic year in which public education will intersect with public health has created back-to-school shopping lists unlike any other for California’s schools as they attempt to transition toward in-person instruction once they have the state’s blessing. Bakersfield’s Panama-Buena Vista Union School District...
Dozens of California Elementary Schools Allowed to Reopen
Dozens of California elementary schools have been approved to reopen with in-person instruction under special waivers approved by health officials in counties that were placed on a state monitoring list because of high numbers of coronavirus infections. State health authorities haven't said how many have been approved statewide. But data...
When Is It Safe to Open Schools? States Have Varying Answers
As schools across the U.S. decide whether to reopen this fall, many are left wondering how to know if it's safe. Public health experts say virus rates in the community should be low, but there's little agreement on a specific threshold or even a measurement. The federal government has largely...
Walters: School Reformers Win Major Skirmish
The huge Los Angeles Unified School District is ground zero in California’s perpetual political war over educating millions of children on the short end of the state’s chronic “achievement gap.” LA Unified, the nation’s second largest school system, has nearly 10% of the state’s 6 million public school students, the...
California Issues Guidelines for School Reopening Waivers
LOS ANGELES — California health officials released guidelines Monday for elementary schools to seek waivers that would allow them to offer classroom instruction but recommended that local health officials not even consider that option in counties with the highest rates of coronavirus infection. The state Department of Public Health released...
Parents Struggle as Schools Reopen Amid Coronavirus Surge
DALLAS, Ga. — Putting your child on the bus for the first day of school is always a leap of faith for a parent. Now, on top of the usual worries about youngsters adjusting to new teachers and classmates, there’s COVID-19. Rachel Adamus was feeling those emotions at sunrise Monday...