Thank you for your thoughtful responses to last week’s Friday@Five. At EdNC, we will continue to listen, learn, and reflect on our role in this work.
This week, our CEO and Editor-in-Chief Mebane Rash shared how we are thinking about EdNC’s role in racial equity in education, from the intrapersonal to the organizational, from our community to systems change. “We need, want, and wish for our work on equity to speak for itself. But we live in a system that perpetuates structural racism. So it is time to rededicate ourselves to doing “’the work,’” Mebane shared.
I encourage you to read the full article, and I especially encourage you to either fill in the survey in the article or email me directly to share what you think EdNC’s role should be in this moment. We want to hear from you.
Need to know: COVID-19
- As of noon on Friday, June 12, there were 41,249 confirmed cases in all 100 counties. See cases by county here.
- Positive tests as a percentage of total tests have increased from 5% a month ago (May 12) to 10% now.
- Hospitalizations are steadily increasing, hitting a new high yesterday at 812 people hospitalized. Additionally, only 13% of ICU beds are available.
- 1.5 million people filed for unemployment nationwide last week. From March 15 to June 11, 1,036,594 North Carolinians have filed unemployment insurance claims. The state has paid 691,729 claimants.
For more, view all of EdNC’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Policy challenge: Schools reopening
On Thursday, the Department of Public Instruction released a 116-page guide for school districts reopening. The document draws on guidance issued by DHHS earlier in the week.
As my colleague Alex reported, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson said, “Our goal is to provide a roadmap that supports reopening schools to make this enormous task less difficult for our districts, schools and communities.”
DHHS’ guidance, StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12), asks schools to plan for three scenarios: A) minimal social distancing, B) moderate social distancing, and C) remote learning only.
Read more about the guidance in Alex’s piece here.
FAFSA update
The priority deadline for completing the FAFSA is June 30. College Advising Corps is partnering with CFNC and NCSEAA to offer live FAFSA questions and answer sessions during the month of June.
Click here for details about how to join a live Zoom session to learn more about the FAFSA and ask specific questions. Click here for a guide on how to fill out the FAFSA, and click here to visit the FAFSAFrenzyNC website.
And click here to see a map of the FAFSA completion rate for each North Carolina local education agency as of June 5.
What we're reading
What will school look like in the fall? State Board approves new guidance
The State Board of Education released a 116-page document with operational guidance for schools reopening in the fall. ... Read the rest-
How Covid-19 is changing the world’s children
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Latino North Carolinians infected with COVID-19 ‘simply by going to work’
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DeVos Formally Limits Emergency Aid
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Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students
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Some school districts are cutting ties with police. What’s next?
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How the Protests Have Changed the Pandemic
