OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

OCDE NEWSROOM

Foundation surprises local third-graders: ‘Everybody’s getting a bike!’

For the fifth straight year, the nonprofit Bikes for Kids Foundation paid a visit to a Tustin Unified elementary school and stunned local third-graders with a pretty big reveal. “Everybody is getting a bike!”, co-founder and CEO Bill Pollakov declared, sparking the kinds of cheers and smiles that have been a little harder to come by in 2020. This time the surprise arrived on the campus of Helen Estock Elementary School, where an outdoor and socially distanced assembly for the entire third-grade class was held on Dec. 11. Initially, five students were told they were getting new bikes following an essay contest and a random drawing. But it didn’t stop there.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/foundation-surprises-tustin-third-graders-everybodys-getting-a-bike/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Bingo! Esperanza students find fun way for classmates to support businesses

Esperanza High students have been all over the communities surrounding the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district campus helping restaurants that have always been there when the school needed something. Members of the Associated Student Body, tasked with supporting, encouraging and entertaining students throughout the year, recently hosted a bingo game that had students and staff ordering snacks and meals from 24 different local businesses. Each order got them a stamp on their game card and a bingo earned them Esperanza stickers and T-shirts.

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/21/bingo-esperanza-students-find-fun-way-for-classmates-to-support-businesses/

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES

LAUSD’s Grab & Go Food Centers to run on modified schedule next two weeks

The Los Angeles Unified School District will continue to feed students, families and individuals seeking food assistance during winter break, but its Grab & Go Food Centers will operate on a modified schedule for the next two weeks. Instead of the usual Monday through Friday operation, the food centers will run Monday through Wednesday this week and next. Those who come on Wednesdays will receive five days’ worth of meals per person in their household to get them through the rest of the week until the following Monday. Regular operations will resume Jan. 4.

https://www.dailynews.com/2020/12/21/lausds-grab-go-food-centers-to-run-on-modified-schedule-next-two-weeks/

USA TODAY

Biden poised to pick Connecticut schools chief Miguel Cardona as Education secretary, reports say

President-elect Joe Biden is poised to nominate Miguel Cardona, the education commissioner of Connecticut, as secretary of the Department of Education, multiple media outlets reported, choosing a major proponent of reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Cardona, 45, would lead Biden's goal to reopen all public schools in the first 100 days of his administration if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His pick would also add another Latino to Biden's increasingly diverse Cabinet.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/22/miguel-cardona-joe-bidens-pick-education-secretary-reports/4003219001/

Experts say this is what children need to survive the pandemic

USA TODAY spoke with experts in child development on how remote school, reduced socialization and increased screen time is impacting kids.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2020/12/22/pandemic-parenting-how-covid-school-screens-stress-impacts-kids/6470288002/

FRESNO BEE

Did COVID-19 help Fresno-area high school graduation rates? Here are the numbers

Fresno, Clovis, and Central Unified all outperformed the state graduation rate for the Class of 2020, which was 84.3%, according to data from the California Department of Education.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article247956610.html

EDSOURCE

Congress approves billions more in Covid relief for schools and colleges

After poring over a nearly 5,600-page document that went into print only hours earlier, Congress on Monday night approved a $900 billion pandemic relief bill. While the total is half as big as the bill that lawmakers passed in March, for school districts and colleges, there will be a lot more money.

https://edsource.org/2020/congress-on-verge-of-passing-billions-more-in-covid-relief-for-schools-and-colleges/645557

DAILY BREEZE

LAUSD superintendent stresses role state, local officials must play to bring coronavirus cases down

With the area’s coronavirus case rate at 15 times the level that the state deems as safe for schools to reopen, it will be awhile before students and staff can return to campus for in-person learning, Los Angeles Unified schools Superintendent Austin Beutner made clear on Monday, Dec. 21.

https://www.dailybreeze.com/2020/12/21/lausd-superintendent-stresses-role-state-local-officials-must-play-to-bring-coronavirus-cases-down/

NPR

Biden To Pick Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona As Education Secretary

President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Miguel Cardona, the head of Connecticut's public schools, to be his secretary of education, a source familiar with the decision tells NPR's Juana Summers. The source was not authorized to speak publicly because the decision has not been announced.

https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/22/949114642/biden-to-pick-connecticut-schools-chief-miguel-cardona-as-education-secreta

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