On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced a new $8 million grant competition aimed at increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce and preparing teachers to meet the needs of our most underserved students. Named for Augustus F. Hawkins, the first Black politician elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from west of the Mississippi River, the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) program supports comprehensive, high-quality teacher preparation programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

This year marks the first time the Hawkins Program has received funding since its creation in 2008. In the 2022 omnibus, Congress appropriated $8 million for the grants, under Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

“At a time when we need to do more to support our teachers and the educator profession, Hawkins Centers of Excellence will help increase the number of well-prepared and qualified teachers, including teachers of color, in our workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “We know that teachers of color benefit not only students of color, but all students. When students of color can see their backgrounds and experiences reflected in their teachers, we see higher levels of student achievement and engagement in school, and more students aspiring to be teachers themselves one day.”

The Hawkins Program will focus on key aspects of a high-quality teacher preparation pipeline, including evidence-based, comprehensive teacher preparation programs that provide extensive clinical experience. Grants will fund applicants that propose to incorporate evidence-driven practices into their teacher preparation programs. Studies have shown that teachers who enter the profession through comprehensive pathways are 2 to 3 times more likely to remain in the profession compared to teachers who enter through less comprehensive pathways.

HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs prepare a disproportionate share of teachers of color. These colleges are uniquely positioned to recruit, prepare, and place teachers who will provide culturally and linguistically relevant teaching in underserved and hard-to-staff schools.

Today’s teacher workforce does not reflect the demographics of the nation’s public school students. More than 50% of public school students are students of color, yet in 2017-18, the most recent year for which data were available, only 21% of teachers were teachers of color. And while English learners are the fastest growing public school student demographic, comprising more than 10% of America’s enrollment, most states face a shortage of bilingual and multilingual teachers prepared and qualified to teach this population and foreign languages. These roles are critical for ensuring Americans can compete in the increasingly globalized economy, equal access to education opportunity for English Learners, and the creation of a strong economy in which all Americans can thrive. As a result, the Notice Inviting Applications includes competitive priorities for applicants that propose projects designed to increase the number of well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds, as well as bilingual and multilingual teachers with full certification.

The Hawkins Program grant program builds on the USDE’s efforts to strengthen and diversify the teacher pipeline, especially as states and districts work to meet their staffing needs.

An official notice inviting applications will be published in the coming days in the Federal Register.

An unofficial notice is available to view here.

On Thursday, August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new federal guidelines regarding spread of COVID-19. Those new guidelines relax protocols previously in place and shift much of the decision-making to individuals and local officials.

The new CDC guidelines call on students and staff members to wear “well-fitting” masks at school if they live in communities where COVID-19 community transmission levels are high. Similarly, the CDC no longer recommends routine testing in K-12 schools unless COVID-19 community transmission levels are high in the area.

In addition, the CDC has asked school administrators to ensure that masking polices accommodate students with disabilities or those who are immunocompromised saying, “Students with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions or disabilities that increase risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 should not be placed into separate classrooms or otherwise segregated from other students.”

Similar to routine testing, the CDC is no longer advising students or staff members who are exposed to the virus to quarantine. Instead, the agency’s new advice is that people who were exposed wear face coverings for 10 days and get tested.

Students and staff members who experience symptoms like a cough, fever or sore throat should head home and get tested immediately, the CDC said. For people who are at risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19, the agency recommends consulting their doctor.

Those who test positive should isolate at home for at least five days. Afterward, isolation depends on whether they continue to exhibit symptoms or test positive for the virus.

Students and staff members sick with the virus don’t have to get a negative test result to end isolation, but it could shorten the number of days they should wear a mask after getting sick.

Generally, the CDC recommends students and staff continue wearing a mask for 10 days after symptoms began to show.

Source: NPR

On August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it is streamlining its COVID-19 guidance to help people better understand their risk, how to protect themselves and others, what actions to take if exposed to COVID-19, and what actions to take if they are sick or test positive for the virus. COVID-19 continues to circulate globally, however, with so many tools available to us for reducing COVID-19 severity, there is significantly less risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death compared to earlier in the pandemic.

“We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools—like vaccination, boosters, and treatments—to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,” said Greta Massetti, PhD, MPH, MMWR author. “We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation.  This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.”

In support of this update CDC is:

• Continuing to promote the importance of being up to date with vaccination to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Protection provided by the current vaccine against symptomatic infection and transmission is less than that against severe disease and diminishes over time, especially against the currently circulating variants. For this reason, it is important to stay up to date, especially as new vaccines become available.
• Updating its guidance for people who are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccines on what to do if exposed to someone with COVID-19.  This is consistent with the existing guidance for people who are up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.
• Recommending that instead of quarantining if you were exposed to COVID-19, you wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested on day 5.
• Reiterating that regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate from others when you have COVID-19.
  • You should also isolate if you are sick and suspect that you have COVID-19 but do not yet have test results.
    • If your results are positive, follow CDC’s full isolation recommendations.
    • If your results are negative, you can end your isolation.
• Recommending that if you test positive for COVID-19, you stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home.  You are likely most infectious during these first 5 days. Wear a high-quality mask when you must be around others at home and in public.
  • If after 5 days you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and your symptoms are improving, or you never had symptoms, you may end isolation after day 5.
  • Regardless of when you end isolation, avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 until at least day 11.
  • You should wear a high-quality mask through day 10.
• Recommending that if you had moderate illness (if you experienced shortness of breath or had difficulty breathing) or severe illness (you were hospitalized) due to COVID-19 or you have a weakened immune system, you need to isolate through day 10.
• Recommending that if you had  severe illness or have a weakened immune system, consult your doctor before ending isolation. Ending isolation without a viral test may not be an option for you. If you are unsure if your symptoms are moderate or severe or if you have a weakened immune system, talk to a healthcare provider for further guidance.
• Clarifying that after you have ended isolation, if your COVID-19 symptoms worsen, restart your isolation at day 0. Talk to a healthcare provider if you have questions about your symptoms or when to end isolation.
• Recommending screening testing of asymptomatic people without known exposures will no longer be recommended in most community settings.
• Emphasizing that physical distance is just one component of how to protect yourself and others.  It is important to consider the risk in a particular setting, including local COVID-19 Community Levels and the important role of ventilation, when assessing the need to maintain physical distance.

Actions to take will continue to be informed by the COVID-19 Community Levels, launched in February. CDC will continue to focus efforts on preventing severe illness and post-COVID conditions, while ensuring everyone have the information and tools, they need to lower their risk.

The agency is no longer recommending “test-to-stay” policies for schools, when unvaccinated children exposed to someone with COVID-19 could stay in school as long as they tested negative instead of having to quarantine.

Sarah Lee, a school health expert at the CDC, said the agency removed the “test-to-stay” guideline because the agency no longer recommended quarantine broadly. But she said on a press call that schools could still consider using widespread testing during outbreaks or during periods of high COVID-19 prevalence for events like sport tournaments and proms or for after school breaks.

This updated guidance is intended to apply to community settings. In the coming weeks CDC will work to align stand-alone guidance documents, such as those for healthcare settings, congregate settings at higher risk of transmission, and travel, with today’s update.