Monday, August 10, 2009

Feds Prepare for H1N1 in Schools

Updated guidance for schools on dealing with the H1N1 virus was released on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Director Thomas Frieden stated that "closure of schools is rarely indicated," as "there are measures we can take to protect the students, to protect the staff and allow learning to continue."

The CDC's guidance notes:

The decision to dismiss students should be made locally and should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption and safety risks to children sometimes associated with school dismissal. Based on the experience and knowledge gained in jurisdictions that had large outbreaks in spring 2009, the potential benefits of preemptively dismissing students from school are often outweighed by negative consequences, including students being left home alone, health workers missing shifts when they must stay home with their children, students missing meals, and interruption of students’ education.

Specific responses to the flu are presented for "conditions with similar severity as in spring 2009" and for "conditions of increased severity compared with spring 2009" in the guidance.

• CDC Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12) Responses to Influenza during the 2009-2010 School Year
• The Washington Post: New Swine Flu Guidelines Suggest Schools Stay Open by Spencer S. Hsu
• The New York Times: Swine Flu Should Not Close Most Schools, Federal Officials Say by Denise Grady
• Ed.gov press release: Updated Federal Guidelines for 2009 H1N1 Flu in Schools Offer Many Options

Indiana Virtual School

A press release from the Indiana Department of Public Instruction last week announced that Hoosier Academies has been selected to run a pilot virtual charter school in the state for the 2009-2010 school year. The organization has run public hybrid charter schools in Indianapolis and Muncie for a year. Interestingly, both of their existing charters scored substantially below state averages on Indiana's ISTEP state competency exam in their first year. The state average passing the tests for 2008-2009 was 73.7%, while the Muncie Hoosier Academy had a passing rate of just 54.3% with the Indianapolis school a bit better at 63.7%.

The Hoosier Academies web site provides the following description of a hybrid charter:

In a hybrid school, students enjoy and benefit from traditional, face-to-face instruction with a state-certified teacher for more than 50% of their overall weekly instruction. The remainder of the weekly instruction is facilitated off-site with a Learning Coach. The unique blend of traditional brick-and-mortar schooling and online learning of a hybrid school provides students the opportunity to learn without limits.

The virtual school pilot program was "authorized by the Indiana General Assembly during the 2009 Special Session."

California Textbook Hold

California has put purchases of new textbooks for K-12 on hold until 2013. Seema Mehta tells in Budget cuts put new textbook purchases on hold that reduced state spending for textbooks and changes in state rules will allow school systems to use remaining textbook funds for other purposes, including teacher salaries. "The state Board of Education won't approve new books for kindergarten through eighth grade until January 2016 at the earliest, and districts have postponed approvals of new high school books as well."

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