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“Whether you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the conversations taking place in the book, they are conversations that are happening in our communities and should not be ignored.”
“We know this has been a really hard year and a half. We are going to put resources behind education to prop the kids back up, give them time to maneuver through these changes and then get back on track with their education.”
“For America, broadband holds great power. It will either be the great equalizer for society, or it will be the great divider.”
“You have to respect what’s happening with COVID, and make sure not only the students are safe but the family and friends that would come on to campus.”
“We also believe that in this moment, we must ensure coherent opportunities for all students to actively participate in a lifetime of civic engagement and social justice activism.”
Students with medical and religious exemptions will be accommodated.
The deal will also require the state to study access and reliability of high-speed internet service statewide, including in historically underserved rural areas.
“We want to get past this and the only way to get past this is to get folks, you know, vaccinated.”
The announcement comes as the university is still under a “yellow alert” issued in mid-March following an uptick in COVID prevalence.
She said the proposed $3.6 billion would dramatically increase currently allocated funds for wraparound services. And she believes those are more sorely needed because of the pandemic.
“I think what has really sparked the imagination and the spirit is really seeing the possibility and the power of being a healthcare professional.”
A study by Penn State researchers found that songbirds nesting near the sound of natural gas compressors had fewer hatched eggs.
“We know that in particular young children are at risk of neurological and behavioral health consequences associated with developing bodies and that is something that lasts forever.”
University of Pittsburgh researchers slated to conduct 3-year study.
The academy began to allow more discretion in punishing honor code violations after the 1976 scandal.
“Over time, we can get what we think is a pretty good trend estimate for what’s going on.”
While COVID-19 has greatly affected the economy, it was already in flux before the pandemic hit.
Under this latest plan, educators and staff will not be moved into Phase 1a, which would make them eligible for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Following the administration’s appearance on their official call, a group of IC community members opposed to the cuts gathered for a separate Zoom gathering where they continued discussing their concerns.
Currently, about 30 percent of Pennsylvania’s K-12 schools, which serve half the total student population, are learning entirely remotely.
“We said at the beginning that we will put these shots into arms as quickly as we get the doses, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“For generations, our teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, students, and school staff have been sent into buildings where they can get brain damage because of chipped paint, or cancer because of asbestos.”
“If you change the six-foot rule and it was only three feet with distancing, or four feet, we could bring back more in-person learning, because of the physical space.”
The funds would allow schools to upgrade things like HVAC and ventilation systems. It would also offer funds to help expand access to reliable, high-speed broadband, in districts that can’t afford it.
“We are opposed to a one-shot federal fund replacing needed state dollars for schools.”
The proposal would increase the state’s personal income tax from 3.07% to 4.49% in the next fiscal year.
“But, there’s been a lot of loss in confidence around him, around the Board of Education, around the integrity and judgement of both the board and the superintendent himself.”
PCCY’s report found that the two-thirds of Pennsylvania school districts where enrollment has shrunk over the last thirty years receive far more funding per pupil from the state than the others that have grown.
“We were told two weeks ago it was done, ready to go. I don’t know what the hold up is.”
“I kept seeing these questions over and over: How do I run for school board? How do I help candidates run for school board?””
“As the ash borer population increases and the tree health declines, they become a safety hazard.”
Hand admitted she stole around $24,000 by depositing checks payable to the school district into bank accounts she controlled.
“Our studies add to growing evidence that vaping should not be considered a safe alternative to tobacco smoking.”
A change at the state level is blocking funding for a type of one-on-one therapy when conducted at clinics rather than in the home.
While adults can make a distinction that changes in tradition are for the greater good, kids don’t have that level of cognitive awareness.
Over one-fifth of the state’s 500 school districts haven’t had a single teacher of color in at least seven years.
Child care centers in Pennsylvania are facing a dark winter. With coronavirus cases surging, and government relief aid far reduced from the early days of the pandemic, providers are struggling as they navigate how to stay afloat financially while keeping the children they serve and their staffs safe.
“Hopefully we will get to a place where the numbers go down and we can find a way to offer these opportunities for our student athletes and community.”
While public schools in urban and suburban counties have lost students, schools in more rural counties have largely tread water.
“We must remain steadfast in our decisions to ensure the safety of our athletes is our focus.”
“We didn’t have big parties, etc. But we did have too many gatherings of too many people in ways that were not necessarily safe given the COVID situation.”
The suspension of in-person classes and extracurricular activities begins Wednesday, Nov. 17 and will last through the end of the semester.
“Those faculty of color took a chance coming to an institution that did not have a great pedigree in terms of diversity,” Soyinka-Airewele said.
Thirty people tested positive for COVID-19 in a single day in Tompkins County. That is a significant increase.
“We want to make sure, as our students are leaving and departing our system and campuses, they’re not carrying the virus home.”
The new “pause” period runs through Nov. 15.
State officials determined that the January Regents Exams could not be safely, equitably and fairly administered across the State given where the pandemic currently stands.
Students who wish to leave must test negative before returning home.
Rachel Murat is a Social Studies teacher at Maine-Endwell.
Next month, all SUNY campuses must test any student who comes on campus for COVID-19.
The school originally moved online this month.
“We can no longer operate at the same size that we once were when we were a much larger university, so our expectation is that we will align those costs and revenues.”
So far, 55 students have been suspended or banned from campus because of COVID violations.
The district will need to test around 20 percent of those coming into the schools—including teachers, students and staff—each week.
Health officials are now reporting up to 35 new cases per day. That is up from about 10 per day in April.
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras also announced Barbara Jean Morris resigned.
The Ithaca City School District began in-person classes this week.
“In coordination with this new cluster initiative, I am going to continue to ask people to stay home for these 14 days as well,” Garnar said.
“You want to make sure cases still aren’t growing, even if they’re underneath the 100 threshold over a two week period.”
Syracuse University officials said late Tuesday that the number of students who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last day has risen to 45. Most are associated with a off-campus parties that occurred last week.
“There’s no clear issue arising from off-campus activity,” SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. “It’s not as if there’s one big gathering or two big gatherings. But clearly the activity is coming from off-campus.”
Cuomo said he’s taking the steps because he does not want the hot spots to spread to the rest of the state.
Pennsylvania school-choice advocates are pushing hard for a measure that would send federal coronavirus relief money directly to families to put towards private school tuition, tutoring, or other educational expenses.
Advocates say the ruling is a win for students and families, allowing them to better hold school districts accountable for discriminatory bullying that happens under their watch.
“When you provide a sample for a test, it is a snapshot in time. It’s a false situation to assume it protects you going forward.”
“All kids will be getting screened with their temperature check and they will fill out a five- or six-part questionnaire.”
The new standards — which are still subject to regulatory review and approval by the state legislature — were advanced by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education last week.
NEW YORK NOW – The state’s largest teachers union filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Division of Budget over more than $5 billion in state spending that’s expected to be withheld from school districts as the state grapples with an unprecedented budget crisis.
Catherine Huang, a Cornell senior, said some of the work of educating students is being done by students on social media.
“Instead of a frivolous lawsuit, NYSUT should turn its attention to Washington and work with us to get the assistance New York’s children deserve.”
“We want to keep students here and operating. If there has to be some mitigation efforts taken, we will keep students here as much as we can. But, we all have to remain vigilant.”
“We just have to make sure that these early indications of some isolated misbehaviors don’t become larger.”
“I think that technology has really helped us. It’s an inexpensive technology. It’s a student-friendly and a faculty-friendly technology.”
“You would you think that the teenagers don’t want to be like Mom and Dad, but they will mimic your behavior. And if you’re using the phone behind the wheel, the teen drivers will too.”
It’s the latest stress the industry has faced since COVID-19 turned the child care sector upside down in March.
“We committed to do everything we could to mitigate this situation, and today, that means ending residential housing for this semester.”
Student gatherings are now restricted to no more than 10 people.
Masks are strongly recommended at all other times, including in the classroom, but they are not mandatory once the student is sitting down at a socially distanced desk.
Hartwick College has reported only two positive student COVID-19 cases so far.
“So you wanted a party. OK, now you have to go to remote learning, which means you basically stay in the dorm. It’s a function of discipline and compliance.”
The three organizations suspended include the Theta Chi and Zeta Beta Xi fraternities and the Sigma Delta Tau sorority.
“That constitutional right doesn’t go on hold because there are financial constraints, because the state is having financial difficulties. This is a constitutional right.”
“I got boxes I’m staring at every day. My kids are staring at it. They’re like, ‘When are we gonna find a place to go?’”
“Any student that is ticketed will be…suspended immediately because this is serious. So we are moving very aggressively with those cases, with those parties on or off campus.”
“We’re saying here are some examples of where those resources are needed, and they’re needed now.”
Colleges in New York will be required to return to remote learning for at least two weeks if either 100 cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed, or 5% of that institution’s population tests positive, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
“I will be a catastrophe. Many school districts depend just about totally on state aid to get their programs running.”
“We want children to be in situations where they’re safe and supervised by trusted adults.”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announced she was stepping down from her position to look after her family. Working families across the country are figuring out how to provide care for their children with remote and hybrid schooling this year.
“We’ve administered over 13,000 saliva tests just in the last eight days alone,” Haynie said.
Amy Molloy with the association said mental health and social-emotional learning should be top priorities for schools as they reopen.
Eventhough the new law essentially allows universal mail-in balloting, the Governor says New Yorkers might still be confused about how to actually request the absentee voting forms.
“Make no mistake, there was not a single student who gathered on the Quad [Wednesday] night who did not know and understand that it was wrong to do so.”
Resident Advisors cite positive dialogue with Cornell officials.
The president of the city’s United Federation of Teachers called for testing every student and staff member before the start of school, set for Sept. 10.
Earlier this month the college stepped back it’s initial plans and announced that students in states on the New York travel advisory list could not return to campus this fall.
“If the pandemic was over today, and our economy was back to where it was pre-pandemic, we would probably be in a pretty good place. I think the concern really comes in when we look at the future.”
“It’s, it’s awful. And it’s not for a lack of the teachers doing an amazing job. And it’s not for a lack of everyone trying their hardest and their best.”
“Teachers are always paying for things out of the goodness of their hearts, and they’re not paid that much, but this one is so expensive we’ve got to get federal help.”
“Before this whole thing, I thought I would’ve thrown my life in front of kids to save them. Now it’s like asking us to go in and risk our lives.”
Mandatory masks, strict discipline and rigorous testing have helped the academies, including West Point and Annapolis, welcome students back to campus. Can other schools learn from their example?
The school district plans must include procedures and protocols for instruction, health screenings, and social distancing measures.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo formally gave schools the green light to reopen on Friday, saying the coronavirus infection rate was low enough in New York for students to return to class in the coming weeks.
“If parents are going to have to go to work and the kids are at home, that’s just an absolute nightmare.”
“And the really cool thing is when you fill out a survey on your smartphone, it geolocates you. We’re able to go back to that exact same spot and we’ll do the water quality testing.”
“Districts must have a plan in place for testing related to symptomatic or exposed individuals, whether in school or through the local health department.”
“We’d really encourage you to stay at your permanent residence until your state is lifted from the New York State advisory. We’re not going to dictate what you do but that’s our strong encouragement.”
“We have no idea what impact such a large influx of students during this time will have on the collective health of our community.”
“I don’t care what any bureaucrat says,” said Cuomo. “If they don’t have a good plan for reopening, no kids are going to come and no teaches are going to come.”
“Please, if you’re in central New York, some of you have kids that have moved away, some have parents that have moved away, call them and ask them to call their senator and say ‘this is needed everywhere.'”
Coronavirus testing, online instruction, and the ability to turn on a dime are central to reopening plans
“If you have the virus under control, reopen. If you don’t have the virus under control, then you can’t reopen,”
“I appreciate the work that the Congress has done to date with the CARES Act proposals. But this current debate must create resources that support state education and educational equity.”
Classroom capacity ranges from about 19-21 students. But with social distancing, the capacity can drop to around 16 or 17 students.
“Our school board members, really their heart is in opening up the school, but they know it’s going to cost a lot of extra money this year.”
“And across the country we prioritize bars and restaurants over young people. How dare we do that.”
“Now more than ever, school districts need more funding in order to make this work in this environment.”
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the Special Olympics athletes and competitions.
The city aims to provide relief for working parents who either can’t afford to stay home or can’t find child care for the days that students aren’t in school.
“This whole process we’ve had an array of choices and they’ve all been bad.”
“If we give the schools the dollars they need to make sure the kids are safe and the teachers are safe and the employees are safe, we can sort of have our cake and eat it too.”
The Walden Project is an example of an outdoor independent learning program that is a possible alternative for immunocompromised students or others who can’t or don’t want to return to a traditional classroom setting during the coronavirus pandemic.
“By testing a pool, if the pool is negative, everyone is clear. If the pool is positive, we break out the samples, we run them individually, so it’s like an individual test.”
Windsor Superintendent Jason Andrews said part of the challenge school districts have faced in crafting their plans is due to the sometimes conflicting guidelines they have received from national health and education officials.
“There are some strings. They have to use it for health and education, but we don’t say one size fits all.”
Regions will be allowed to reopen schools if, by the first week of August, the infection rate remains below 5% using a 14-day average.
“We find the data is suggesting children should be wearing masks any time they are outside of their family’s home and can’t maintain a distance of 6 or more feet.”
“The federal government’s demands that schools reopen without concern for health, safety and equity are simply out of touch.”
New York will decide if schools will reopen this fall in the first week of August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday, and tasked districts across the state with coming up with plans in the event that they’re allowed to resume in-person learning.
For students, it’s a disorienting change during an already difficult time.
“We’re kind of stuck in a position where we kind of feel helpless. We feel like we should be doing something.”
“Scheduling bathroom breaks for little kids seems kind of crazy, but it’s just something we have to do to keep them safe.”
Students will be required to undergo regular screening and testing for COVID-19.
“We are more than happy to provide childcare. It’s complicated. It’s not easy. But it’s our mission.”
“We are preparing to open schools, we have plans to open schools, but (edit) I’ll be honest with you. It’s two months away. Anything can happen in two months.”
The Y, and New York City’s Department of Education, have been caring for tens of thousands of children during the pandemic. Neither has had reports of coronavirus clusters or outbreaks.
$20 million will be available to help reopen and expand capacity for child care providers, and $45 million will be available to help pay for the cost of a newly opened classroom.
“The ideal situation would be to see this kind of turnout, without having to go through the expense of the postage and printing of absentee ballots.”
Stakeholders are being asked to share what they’ve experienced during the pandemic shutdowns and how can the state improve and take proper precautions in the fall.
“There’s just not enough availability for every kid that wants to be in day care to be in day care in most states today.”
“We need to be critical, even for things we can see with our own eyes. We need to relearn not to trust everything
“It really is the best situation, I guess, that we can have. It’s a tough one. It’s really not what we want, but we’ll make the best of it.”
“The word is uncertainty. We don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s very tough for our school districts to budget.”
Most of western Pa. moves to green phase of coronavirus reopening plan next week.
“It would just be a disaster. It’s, it would just be awful in every area.”
Binghamton University’s president said that students will return to campus this fall as well, but more details are forthcoming.
Scientifically, there’s no clear consensus yet on the effectiveness of school closures in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“The families claim “online learning is wholly inadequate to meet the needs of nonverbal and partially verbal children with autism who rely upon…in-person instruction.”
The normal start date for fall classes would have been August 24.
“Going out there and saying ‘support your local economy’ is going to make you look bad if at the same time you are saying ‘put your kids in danger.’”
“The challenge has been that school districts don’t have a list of all qualified voters within a school district, so identifying those individuals has been challenging.”
“The folks that are incarcerated in the prisons in our region are potentially a huge source of contagion.”
“I am hoping they come up with a vaccine. I will be first in line, because I want to get everybody out of the house.”
An educator and entrepreneur believes he’s found an untapped resource to help more struggling students succeed in reading. The secret? Families.
One high school in New York has found a way to have safe and memorable graduation: hold it at a drive-in movie theater.
The Steelton-Highspire School District says it’s reaching between 73 and 79 percent of its high-schoolers with online instruction.
“We’re going to have the schools closed for the rest of the year. We’re going to continue the distance learning programs.”
Students who failed Regents tests during the school year normally would have the opportunity to take them again in August.
In a regular summer, up to a thousand kids from across Tompkins County participate.
Even after the closure is over, specialists say many students with special needs still won’t be in the classroom.
“They have a constitutional obligation to fulfill the needs of students, and they have not done that.”
These days, Maegen Wagner is serving as her daughter’s therapist, aide, and teacher — while balancing her own responsibilities as an educator in a nearby school district.
Around the country, losses of educators are mounting. It’s unknown whether working in schools when they were open might have exposed staff to more danger than an average workplace.
“The state is giving us the choice: ‘you decide.’ So it’s a really uncomfortable position to be in.”
The New York State School Boards Association says schools are bracing for teacher lay offs over the next year.
“This was not an easy decision but closing schools until the end of the academic year is in the best interest of our students, school employees and families.”
Binghamton University student Dino Nicolari decided to stay at his off-campus apartment. “I really have trouble working at home.”
“We are putting the safety of children, families and educators first […]”
“I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to hug her is, because of this virus”
Oneonta plans to hold its ceremony in August, Binghamton hasn’t set a date.
“When we don’t provide children with accurate information, they will still seek it out, and the worry is they’ll seek it out from sources that are not accurate and more fearful.”
“I think it was good for them. They got all excited when their friends hopped on. Like, oh so and so is here and so and so is on! So, I think it helped them feel a little connected.”
“This is one of the most difficult decisions the Officers of the NYSPHSAA have ever had to make.”
“This confirmed case was not unexpected: With more frequent testing and the rise of this virus, we knew sooner or later that a case would appear within our campus community.”
