WFIS News
Updates on our Legislative, Policy and Committee work
School openings across globe suggest ways to keep coronavirus at bay, despite outbreaks
As schools reopened, many embraced physical distancing for students to prevent viral spread. But although the strategy is effective, it is leaving more and more scientists, pediatricians, and parents deeply uncomfortable. They hunger for a compromise that protects communities from COVID-19 while supporting the mental health of young people.
Education Freedom Scholarships in Next Stimulus Bill?
President Trump is expected to ask Congress for a “one-time, emergency appropriation” for a grant proposal that would allow states to distribute funds to nonprofits that give scholarships to students to attend private schools.
ELAC Update from June 2020 Meeting
Chelle Downey Magee is the WFIS Representative on the Department of Children Youth & Faimilies, Early Learning Advisory Council. Chelle’s insightfulness and detailed review of extremely complex policy work has benefitted WFIS schools’ early learning programs immensely.
Florida and Texas report records for daily highs in new cases
“To be quite frank, I have not been thrilled with what I’m seeing in terms of folks not wearing masks at a high enough rate,” said Mayor Eric Johnson of Dallas…[who] said that “people need to get back to where we were a few weeks ago, where we were talking more about masks being absolutely essential to preventing the disease from spreading.”
Reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2
Masks and testing are necessary to combat asymptomatic spread in aerosols and droplets.
DeVos Demands Public Schools Share Pandemic Aid With Private Institutions
“The CARES Act is a special, pandemic-related appropriation to benefit all American students, teachers and families, …There is nothing in the act suggesting Congress intended to discriminate between children based on public or nonpublic school attendance, … The virus affects everyone.”
CDC full interim guidance for schools and camps to do before reopening
WFIS has summarized the CDC Guidance for reopening schools and included links to resource pages that may be useful to your leadership teams.
Schumacher directs state agencies to identify operating budget savings options
Michael Goldberg for the WA State Wire May 15, 2020 David Schumacher, Director of the Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM) sent a memo to state agency directors this week asking that they identify options for savings from their FY 2021 operating budget...
Governor Inslee prompts WA for ‘Starting our Careful Phase’
Governor Inslee emphasized “This is all so frustrating for all of us, so much so WE DO NOT WANT TO DO IT TWICE! So let’s be cautious and do it right.”
It’s time to accept that the point of school has changed
Many children, regardless of economic status or neurodiversity, are experiencing massive social regression in the absence of their peer and teacher connections, which is of more concern to many parents than academic regression…..The point of school, for our family right now, is to establish the new normal; to help kids develop independence; to provide social interaction, and, lastly, to learn some academics.