COVID-19 surveillance in the Flemish school system: development of systematic data collection within the Public Health School System and descriptive analysis of cases reported between October 2020 and June 2021

Background The age specific distribution of SARS-CoV-2 cases in schools is not well described. The numbers recorded reflect the intensity of community transmission while being shaped by biases from age-dependent testing regimes and effective age-specific interventions. A case-surveillance system was introduced within the Flemish school and health-prevention network during the 2020-2021 school year. We present epidemiological data of in-school reported cases in pre-, primary and secondary schools based on the surveillance system, in conjunction with test data and community cases from October 2020 to June 2021. Methods We describe the development of the surveillance system and provide the number of reported cases and standardized rates per grade over time. We calculate absolute and relative differences between incidence cases by grade of primary (grades 1-6) and secondary-school (grades 7-12) and compare these to grades 7-8, relating them to non-pharmaceutical infection prevention interventions. Cumulative population incidences (IP) stratified by age, province and social-economic status (SES) of the school population are presented with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results A total of 59,996 COVID-19 cases were reported in the school surveillance system, with the highest population adjusted IP in grade 11-12 of 7.39% (95%CI 7.24-7.53) and ranging from 2.23–6.25% from pre-school through grade 10. Age-specific reduction in in-person teaching and introduction of masks, are temporally associated with decreases in incident cases by grades. Lower pupil SES is associated with increased cumulative cases (excess 2,739/100,000 pupils compared to highest SES tertile). Community testing volumes varied more for children compared to adults, with overall higher child test-positivity. Holidays influence capturing of cases by the system, however efficiency increased to above 75% after further automation and integration in existing structures. Conclusion Integration of case surveillance within an electronic school health system is feasible, provides data to follow up the epidemic evolution in schoolchildren and should be part of public health surveillance and pandemic preparedness. The relationship towards community transmission needs careful evaluation because of age-different testing regimens. In the Flemish region, case incidence within schools follows an age gradient that is mitigated through grade specific interventions, while differences by SES remain.

Belarusian education in General District Latvia (1941–1945)

The article deals with the Belarusian school system in Latvia under German occupation. Belarusians were one of the most numerous minorities in that country, both in the inter-war period and during World War Two. In German-occupied Latvia, Belarusian nationality was declared by more than 50,000 people. For political reasons, the occupation authorities allowed Belarusian schools to operate in areas with significant Belarusian population. As a result, thirty-five primary schools, two middle schools, and one secondary agricultural school, employing about a hundred teachers in total, were opened. These schools were attended by a few thousand pupils, the majority of which were children of petty and landless peasants. The Belarusian school system struggled because of numerous material issues.

Criticalities and Advantages of the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research

In recent years, artficial intelligence, through the rapid development of machine learning and deep learning, has started to be used in different sectors, even in academic research. The objective of this study is a reflection on the possible errors that can occur when the analysis of human behavior and the development of academic research rely on artificial intelligence. To understand what errors artificial intelligence can make more easily, three cases have been analyzed: the use of the IMPACT system for the evaluation of school system in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in Washington, the face detection system, and the “writing” of the first scientific text by artificial intelligence. In particular, this work takes into consideration the systematic errors due to the polarization of data with which the machine learning models are trained, the absence of feedback and the problem of minorities who cannot be represented through the use of big data.

Intervention Services for a Child With Multiple Disabilities

This chapter will focus on providing intervention services for an eight-year-old African-American female, Dawn, with multiple disabilities. Dawn has been diagnosed with Down syndrome, a comorbid diagnosis of an intellectual disability, and exhibits behavior problems at home and school. In this scenario, she has been evaluated within the school system to determine eligibility for services, and the speech-language pathologist needs to develop intervention goals and select therapy strategies to provide appropriate services. While both parents are involved in the child's care, the family does not have permanent housing and moves frequently. Information from actual cases has been incorporated into this chapter.

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Training

Since 2012, the concept of “special training needs” in Italian ministerial legislation has been connected to the concept of inclusion. In the Italian school system, students with disabilities are fully integrated in standard school activities. They can take advantage of the presence of a teacher who is a supportive figure for the whole class, who has received training in inclusion and the management of teaching strategies for dealing with disabilities. In order to train teachers who will fit that profile, a specialization course is organized by Italian universities to train teachers at every level of instruction. The chapter is contextualized to the last course of academic year 2016-2017, which took place at the University of Macerata, addressed to preschool and primary teachers. Exploratory research using a qualitative approach was run to highlight, on one hand, student teachers' preconceptions and expectations about the effectiveness of technologies for inclusion; and, on the other hand, their opinions about the activities proposed during the technology course.

Finally at school: the return to classes of vulnerable pupils. Results of the FocuScuola Inclusion research 20.20

The research FocuScuola 20.20 – promoted by the Centre for Studies and Research on Disability and Marginality of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – aims at specifically understanding the state of the art of the inclusive processes at the return to school after the first lockdown period. This research is in line with the aims of national and international surveys that have analysed the challenges to which the school system has been called in this period of health and social emergency. The collected data show a picture that seems to confirm the critics linked to an ideological and reductive scenario. This view is although characterized by some positive elements in terms of reception and attention to students with greater vulnerability, but it is substantially distant from the realisation of educational pathways that assume educational differentiation as an authentic perspective and concrete working method. Quando tutto è ricominciato: il ritorno a scuola degli alunni più fragili. Esiti della ricerca FocuScuola Inclusione 20.20. La ricerca FocuScuola 20.20 – promossa dal Centro Studi e Ricerche sulla Disabilità e la Marginalità dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – ha inteso comprendere in modo specifico lo stato dell’arte dei processi inclusivi al rientro a scuola dopo il primo periodo di lockdown. Lo studio è in linea con le finalità di indagini nazionali e internazionali che hanno analizzato le sfide a cui il sistema scolastico è stato chiamato in questo periodo di emergenza sanitaria e sociale. I dati raccolti evidenziano un quadro che, seppur caratterizzato da alcuni elementi positivi sul piano dell’accoglienza e dell’attenzione verso gli alunni con maggiore vulnerabilità, sembra confermare le criticità legate ad una visione per molti aspetti ideologica e riduttiva, sostanzialmente lontana dalla realizzazione di percorsi educativi che assumano la differenziazione didattica come autentica prospettiva e concreta modalità di lavoro.