Nassau County voters approve 1 mill property tax for schools
Nassau County voters approved a 1 mill increase in property taxes to raise money to attract and retain high-quality teachers and staff, and enhance art, athletics, safety and security for students. The county expects it would raise $13.7 million each year.
Ex-St. Johns County schools assistant coach accused of having sex with then-students
A former assistant coach who was employed by the St. Johns County School Board is facing two counts of sexual battery after two women -- who were then students -- came forward with allegations, according to an arrest report from the county Sheriff’s Office.
Man who killed Ahmaud Arbery gets life sentence for hate crime
Travis McMichael, the white man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery after chasing the 25-year-old Black man in a Georgia neighborhood, has been sentenced to life in prison for committing a federal hate crime. McMichael had already been sentenced to life without parole earlier this year for the 2020 murder.
news.yahoo.comBomb threats target multiple U.S. schools for second consecutive day
For the second day in a row, several historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S. received bomb threats and were forced to cancel classes or tell students to shelter in place. CBS News chief Justice and Homeland Security correspondent Jeff Pegues reports from Washington. Then A. Zachary Faison, Jr., the president and CEO of Edward Waters University, one of the schools that received a threat, joins CBS News' Jericka Duncan and Tanya Rivero to discuss the situation.
news.yahoo.comUganda's schools reopen, ending world's longest lockdown
The reopening caused traffic congestion in some areas of the capital, Kampala, and students can be seen carrying their mattresses in the streets, a back-to-boarding school phenomenon not witnessed here for nearly two years. Uganda’s schools have been fully or partially shut for more than 83 weeks, the world's longest disruption, according to figures from the U.N. cultural agency.
news.yahoo.comDCPS students to still have virtual learning option despite nixing of Duval HomeRoom
An email sent to parents of Duval County Public Schools virtual students in elementary grades announcing a new, virtual learning option for the 2021-22 school year came only a few hours after the district announced Duval HomeRoom will not be offered in the fall.
More CPS students sign up for in-person learning but still no high school return date set; district sets pre-Labor Day opening for next fall
Similarly sized schools with more than 67% opting in would default to the two-day model. Schools with more than 1,000 students and fewer than 67% opting in could use the two- or four- day model, depending on space limitations. If more than 67% of students at large schools opted in, they could use the two-day model if space permitted but would have to use the one-day model if space was limited.
chicagotribune.comGroups call for overhaul of Florida school voucher program, changes in Baker Act use
There’s a push in Florida to overhaul the system that gives students scholarships to attend private schools. The groups all say the use of school vouchers diverts badly-needed funds from public schools. “What we are fighting for is to keep public schools money in the public schools,” said Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP. But supporters of school vouchers argue they give parents other options besides public schools particularly when they’re low-performing. Several organizations want state lawmakers to prioritize public school funding and scale back the money going to private schools through vouchers.
Huge crowd gathers in Naperville for rally demanding full return to in-person classes: ‘All we’re asking for is an option’
“We’ve got to get our schools reopened,” Vallas said. “We’ve got to allow parents the option of continuing to have their children learn remote. But there’s no reason with what we pay on schools in this country ... schools have been closed for close to 12 months. How are we spending our money?”
chicagotribune.comLos Angeles schools and teacher's union reach tentative deal to start reopening in April
Los Angeles schools and teacher's union reach tentative deal to start reopening in April The deal between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the teacher's union was announced as the district was facing growing pressure from parents to reopen soon. Carter Evans spoke to an LAUSD mom who filed a class-action lawsuit against the district and the teacher's union claiming students were losing 17 to 19.5 hours of instruction time every week.
cbsnews.comU.N. uses empty desks of "Pandemic Classroom" in call on nations to end "very worrying" COVID school closures
In the Rose Garden of the U.N. campus in Manhattan, the "Pandemic Classroom" exhibit was unveiled on Tuesday evening to highlight what U.N. children's education agency UNICEF calls the "COVID-19 education crisis." "With every day that goes by, these children will fall further behind and the most vulnerable will pay the heaviest price." School desks are setup as part of a UNICEF 'Pandemic Classroom,' each seat representing one million children living in countries where schools have been entirely closed for almost a year, outside the UN Headquarters in New York on March 2, 2021. "We are increasingly seeing some very worrying evidence of the implication of protection-related concerns of schools being closed. The U.N.'s education and cultural agency, UNESCO, which contributed to the UNICEF report, says 888 million children worldwide continue to face disruptions to their education because of full and partial school closures.
cbsnews.comDeal reached to get California children back in classrooms
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The majority of California's 6.1 million public school students could be back in the classroom by April under new legislation announced Monday by Gov. Most students in the nation's most populous state have been learning from home for the past year during the pandemic. Instead, the state would set aside $2 billion to pay districts that get select groups of students into classrooms by the end of the month. Crucially, the legislation does not require districts to have an agreement with teachers' unions on a plan for in-person instruction. Districts that fail to have children back in classrooms before May 15 won’t get any money.
CPS opens its schools Monday to the most students since last March. Is it ready? Some principals say schools lack staff to resume in-person classes safely.
“One of the major problems, however, is that schools cannot implement the proper mitigation strategies if they don’t have the staff to implement them. Most schools don’t even have the staff to implement a decent instructional program,” he continued. “For example, tens of thousands of students are going to return to so-called in-person learning, only to sit in the classroom to look at the screen so they can learn from a teacher who is teaching from home, and the CEO and the mayor are not mentioning that extremely important fact when they talk to the public about reopening, which puts principals in a horrendous situation with parents when their children’s experience in so-called in-person learning doesn’t match the expectations.”
chicagotribune.comDCPS hosting more meetings on renaming some public schools
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools is hosting another in series of community meetings over renaming Robert E. Lee High School, Stonewall Jackson and Joseph Finegan Elementary School, and Jefferson Davis Middle School. At least one organized group, Save The School Names, plans to attend the meeting and advocate for keeping Robert E. Lee the name of the high school. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Save The School Names would protest outside. The district is following a step-by-step process, as follows:The first step which is on-going, schools considering a name change are holding community meetings to gather feedback. The advisory committee creates a list of possible names for the school community to vote on.
Expert on expanding COVID-19 vaccine access and reopening schools
Expert on expanding COVID-19 vaccine access and reopening schools The Biden administration is promising enough coronavirus vaccine doses will be available for all Americans by the end of July. CBSN's Tanya Rivero spoke with John Moore, professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, about how realistic these expectations are and steps schools can take to reopen safely.
cbsnews.comCDC expected to recommend phased reopening for schools
CDC expected to recommend phased reopening for schools The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to roll out guidelines today for reopening schools for grades K-12. According to a draft internal summary obtained by CBS News, the agency is considering recommending schools reopen in phases based on rates of community transmission. Nancy Cordes reports.
cbsnews.comReturn to in-person schooling affected by strength of local teachers unions
Return to in-person schooling affected by strength of local teachers unions Chicago public schools temporarily halted a return to in-person learning when the teachers union threatened to strike. As districts nationwide are faced with the decision of when to return to schools, Meg Oliver reports on how the strength of the union can affect your child's learning.
cbsnews.comWare County schools closing due to rising COVID cases
Due to a rise in COVID-19 cases among staff members, bus drivers and students, Ware County schools announced Tuesday that elementary and middle school students would not return to school for the rest of the week, starting the holiday break three days early. High school students will attend a half-day on Wednesday to take finals, then be out for the rest of the year. All Ware County school employees will report to work on Wednesday to perform a deep cleaning before being dismissed at 1 pm. Both Ware County middle schools went virtual last month due to staff members’ exposure to COVID. All Ware County schools are scheduled to reopen on Jan. 4.
Flu vaccines offered at schools through DOH partnership
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval schools is teaming up with the Department of Health (DOH) to set up in-school flu immunization clinics at schools beginning Nov. 30, according to Duval County Public Schools. Each weekday, between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18, DOH medical professionals will set up a clinic at different schools for a set number of hours. Participation is not mandatory, and only children who have a signed consent form from their parent will be eligible for a flu vaccine. For parents and guardians, who are un-insured and in need of a flu vaccination, please fluvaxjax.com and select “Get a Vaccine” and then “Click Here” to get a no-cost flu vaccine voucher through the #FluVaxJax program. More information is available on this Flu Vaccine Fact Sheet for children from the Duval County Medical Society.
8 schools, VA clinic among thousands of Clay Electric customers without power for hours
8 schools, VA clinic among thousands of Clay Electric customers without power for hoursPublished: September 25, 2020, 5:10 pmAn issue with Clay Electric knocked out power for almost 23,000 customers just before 5 a.m. -- nearly 10% of the utility’s customers.
Face masks required: Not in all U.S. schools, but it’s happening in Spain
MADRID – Masks will be mandatory for all students in Spain, ages 6 or older, when returning to schools in September because of increased coronavirus cases, the government announced Thursday. Previously, masks were only required for students above age 12 by some Spanish regions. Students will receive a daily body temperature check, must wash hands at least five times per day and classrooms will need frequent ventilation, the government said. That allows localized quarantines if there’s a positive test, rather than closing entire schools. Parents and teachers have expressed concern, with new waves of outbreaks since the country emerged from a strict lockdown.
A nationwide look: What’s happening at schools across the country?
Meanwhile, the largest district in the state that’s currently offering face-to-face instruction has now quarantined more than 1,150 students because of possible coronavirus exposure. According to numbers released Wednesday, around 70 students and staff members in the Cherokee County district have tested positive for COVID-19. Washington stateSeattle schools to start with remote teachingThe Seattle school board has voted unanimously to begin the academic year with remote teaching only. The Seattle Times reported the state’s largest school district approved the plan Wednesday. The remote learning plan passed with a wide-ranging amendment from school board members that directs the superintendent to explore creating outdoor classes.
Duval County School Board moving forward with plans to rename local schools
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Duval County School Board will meet today to establish a procedure to move forward with the renaming of local schools. The board is already in the process of renaming 6 local schools named after Confederate generals. A crowd-funding campaign is expected to offset the costs of the name changes. The board said funds from the campaign would go to purchasing new signs, paint, team uniforms, and more. RELATED: $1M needed to rename Confederate-named schools in JacksonvilleThe school board will hold a workshop, committee meeting, and policy handbook review during todays meeting.
Facing uncertain fall, schools make flexible reopening plans
A sign alongside a playground at Hanna Woods Elementary School in the Parkway School District in suburban St. Louis indicates that the playground is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Saturday, July 18, 2020. Parkway has formulated a flexible plan to reopen schools when the fall semester begins Aug. 24. Just how bad the virus is at the time will determine if schools open completely, if they mix online and in-person classes, or if they are forced to go strictly virtual. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Gov. DeSantis says having kids go back to school is right move
Ron DeSantis showed optimism, saying its a good idea and the children will be better off in school. The main thing is, Whats in it for the kids? DeSantis said. What harm is going to be done by continuing to keep them out of school? We know there are huge, huge costs for not providing in person school for our students, he said. There is significant cost not affording the opportunity for kids not having an in person education, DeSantis said.
Local control central to Florida’s plan to reopen schools
Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran released the state’s recommendations for school districts to open in the fall, and it has largely been received positively by education groups. Ingram said the key takeaway from the plan is that districts will be able to decide what works best in their area. FEA criticized the plan for its high emphasis on the economic need to return to school, saying that student health should be the top priority. And with the state seeing ten straight days with 1,000 new cases, a fall reopening is far from guaranteed. In the event schools must return to distance learning, the state plan recommends districts use some of the federal funding to ensure all students have access to adequate technology and internet connectivity.
Which learning option is best for your child?
Parents have many options when it comes to what type of learning environment is best for their child. Public School: Public school is a free option for educating your child, as public schools are funded with tax money. Public schools accept everyone, so children who attend public school may learn with children from diverse racial and economic backgrounds. Private School: At a private school, parents have to pay tuition for their child's education. Online Public School: Online public schooling offers students the ability to work online with a teacher in a home-school setting.