Chicago teachers struggle at a crossroads
The drive to reopen Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the third largest school district in the country, has become a pitched battle between educators and the state apparatus, the latter backed up by the corporate media and the unions. The fight by Chicago educators to prevent the reopening of schools is the focal point of the class struggle in the United States, with every other major district in the country looking to Chicago to set a precedent.
In this context, it is of the utmost importance for teachers and other educators to organize independently of the unions and join the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, as well as attend this Saturday’s national meeting of the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, which will bring together the network of committees that have formed across the country, as well as committee members in the UK and Germany.
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More states seek federal waivers from standardized tests as Biden s Education Department extends deadline for requests
Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post
Jan. 29, 2021
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WASHINGTON - The Biden administration is giving states extra time to seek a waiver from annual standardized tests mandated by federal law as New York and Michigan announced they don t want to subject students to the exams this year during the covid-19 pandemic. In light of the ongoing pandemic, we have determined that the Spring 2021 state assessments cannot be safely, equitably and fairly administered to students in schools across the state, New York Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said in a statement announcing the state s intention to seek a waiver.
CDC director says schools should be first to reopen Print this article
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that schools are at a low risk of spreading the coronavirus.
“Accumulating data suggests school settings do not result in rapid spread of COVID-19 when mitigation measures are followed,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said during a press briefing. The mitigation measures include wearing masks, staying 6 feet apart, and proper ventilation.
She also noted that the CDC recommends that K-12 schools should be the last to close after all other mitigation measures have been employed.
January 29, 2021 - 8:36 AM
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has been retained by the family of a Florida high school student who was body-slammed by a school resource officer and appeared to lose consciousness after her head hit the concrete in videos taken by other students.
Crump tweeted Thursday that he and Orlando attorney Natalie Jackson are representing the 16-year-old Black student at Liberty High School in Kissimmee, south of Orlando.
Crump has previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake.
âIt is unconscionable what happened to this young girl at the hands of someone whose primary duty is to serve and protect our children, Crump said in a statement. âStudents, especially minorities, have a difficult enough time feeling safe in our schools. Do we really need to add school resource officer to the list of fears they deal with on a daily basis?
Hingham reports 105 new COVID-19 cases
Wicked Local
Hingham reported 105 new COVID-19 cases over the past week, a slight decrease from the week before as statewide case numbers continue to drop.
On Thursday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported Hingham has now seen 1,347 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, up from 1,242 last week. The town s daily incident rate for the past 14 days is now 63.7 cases per 100,000 residents, slightly down from 64.0 last week. The town s two-week positivity rate increased to 4.76% from 4.50% last week.
Hingham remained in the state s yellow zone for a second week. Norwell and Milton are the only nearby towns to also be in the yellow, while all other towns on the South Shore are still designated red.