Taiwan Business TOPICS
An influx of families fleeing the pandemic has created a supply crunch at international schools.
Taiwan has stood out as one of the few countries able to keep schools open during the coronavirus pandemic. Some families in the West with ties to Taiwan and the means to relocate have returned here because of the safer, more normal conditions. Foreign professionals have also been increasingly interested in moving to the island, as seen by the record number of Employment Gold Cards issued in 2020.
The influx of overseas Taiwanese and expat professionals is heightening demand for international education, in some cases exceeding available spots. To be sure, schools like the Taipei American School (TAS) and Taipei European School (TES) have long had waiting lists. But others that usually have room for qualified students are seeing a record number of applications.
SUSAN JOHNS Tue, 01/19/2021 - 7:30am
Westport Island selectmen Monday night agreed to sign a letter supporting an effort to expand broadband access in town. About 195 homes do not have access, Ralph Jacobs of the broadband and cable TV committee said.
He said the committee is pursuing a ConnectME Authority grant with Spectrum. Still to determine are how much to seek and how much the town and Spectrum might each need to kick in toward a project, Jacobs said in response to board questions. He said the committee has not discarded the idea of a town-owned fiber system instead, “but it’s definitely a heavier lift, both in terms of cost and responsibility for operating it.”
SUSAN JOHNS
SVRSU students return to school in September. File photo
With one possible exception, none of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 schools’ COVID-19 cases this fall resulted from exposure at school, Superintendent of Schools Howie Tuttle told the board of directors Dec. 10.
Recapping COVID-19 incidents the district has faced since it resumed offering fully in-person learning Sept. 2, Tuttle said the case count did not include any positive results for remote learners, since exposure would not have been an issue. He said when an in-person learner or staff member tests positive, “we have to follow a protocol from Maine (Center for Disease Control) and, depending on the close contacts and where did people go, we have quarantined the close contacts,” which many times has been a class, Tuttle said.