WFIS News
Updates on our Legislative, Policy and Committee work
Governor’s office, WEA disagree about their meeting over school reopening guidance
WEA President Larry Delaney said that the governor agreed not to change the coronavirus case metrics that school districts use to decide when to offer face-to-face instruction. But Tara Lee, communications director for Inslee, said in an email to KNKX Public Radio that the union mischaracterized the conversation and that the governor made no promises to the union about leaving the framework unchanged.
How Teachers’ Unions Are Influencing Decisions on School Reopenings
“We’ve been pretty clear about what is needed [to reopen schools safely], but what is needed has not been a priority. Now there’s blame [directed at] us that the powers that be didn’t prioritize what is needed.” Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said she’s been pushing for safeguards in schools, such as mask-wearing, proper ventilation, and testing, since the spring. And those safeguards have proven to work, at least when cases in the community are under control, she said: “Elementary schools in particular are not super-spreaders.”
In-person schooling during a pandemic: not for the faint of heart
Pat Russel, middle school principal at Mount Vernon Christian, jumped right into remote learning along with his students in March. Mount Vernon Christian School reopened fully with their traditional 8 period schedule from 8:25-3:15 for grades K-12 on September 1st. The journey for principal and students has been one-of-a-kind!
Commitment to safely preserve the community of our school
Three Rivers Christian School shares the story of their transformation back to in-person learning. “Our ultimate goal: to keep students learning and to safely preserve the community of our school…..all of this mitigation is meaningless without preparing our students and staff for the reality of living daily with masked faces and little physical contact”
UNICEF warns of a ‘lost generation’ and finds school closures are ineffective
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, said school closures were helping to create a “lost generation” of students while doing little to slow the spread of the virus.
Adaptive programing: students thrive with NOVA Enhanced Distance Learning
“When that joyful day arrives when we feel we can be on campus in person, we will bring all that we have learned about and from each other in this time of distance learning and many of the program adaptations and expansions along with us.”
Institute of Disease Modeling report reveals safe reopening of schools possible, depends on multiple factors
Research is revealing that following all safety protocol, students are safest in attending school. What is unclear is why WA State has only recieved 149,000 rapid antigen tests where as Texas and possibly others have access to enough rapid antigen test kits to use for every student, every week.
For better or worse, religiously-affiliated charter schools are on their way
by Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute Ever since the first charter schools emerged almost thirty years ago, the sector has shown a remarkable ability to address the concerns of its sharpest critics, especially progressives. Many on the left...
Families, daycares feel the strain of new COVID-19 health rules
s more families make the jump back to group daycare this fall in an attempt to restart lives and careers, many parents, pediatricians and care operators are finding that new, pandemic-driven rules offer a much-needed layer of safety but also seem incompatible with the germy reality of childhood.
‘Schools Need to Be Bolder’ About Reopening, Public Health Expert Says
“There’s no doubt in my mind that schools need to be bolder than they’re being. There is a large mental health cost to children. And we know this is going to very substantially widen the achievement gap between wealthier/white students and poorer/students of color. The effect is going to be felt for a very long time” stated Dr. Ashish K. Jha, past director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and now dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.