An Analytical Tool for Constructing and Evaluating Testing Strategic for COVID-19

Background This paper describes the utilization of a mathematical modeling tool for evaluating alternative testing cadences for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that are applicable to any well-contained congregate setting. These settings include long-term care facilities, and public-school systems. Results Variables analyzed include population sizes, contagion factor, and unique testing objectives that congregate settings might have (e.g., differing susceptibilities, or varying underlying health conditions). The tool helps evaluate cost vs benefit for a range of testing cadences (e.g., daily, every 2 days, every 3 days, every week, every 2 weeks every 3 weeks and every 4 weeks) based on use of a commercially available antigen testing kit that costs $5 per test. Conclusions Critical parameters derived as output of the model include total persons tested, average number in quarantine, average percent positives in quarantine, total testing cost, total infections allowed, cases averted, and cost per case averted. These parameters allow public health officials, site managers and/or on-site healthcare workers to optimize testing plans to align with available resources and support fact-based decision making. We also discuss how this tool can work with vaccine roll-out both in the United States and elsewhere.

A AÇÃO DIRETA DE INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE Nº 4.439 EM FACE DAS TEORIAS DA CONSTITUIÇÃO DE HANS KELSEN E CARL SCHMITT

No século XX, os pensadores Hans Kelsen e Carl Schmitt travaram um embate sobre a quem incumbiria a guarda da Constituição. Para aquele, a tarefa seria de um órgão técnico, qual seja, uma corte constitucional, capaz de uma análise de compatibilidade entre normas de hierarquia superior com as de hierarquia inferior. Para Schmitt, por outro lado, ao chefe de Estado caberia tal responsabilidade, por ser detentor da vontade política e, assim, mostrar-se afim aos anseios populares; sendo a Constituição uma decisão política, o representante do povo teria legitimidade para protegê-la, de acordo com a vontade pública. Discute-se, neste estudo, a qual teoria o Supremo Tribunal Federal se aproximou, quando do julgamento da Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade nº 4.439, em que se decidiu pela compatibilidade do ensino religioso de natureza confessional e matrícula facultativa, na rede pública de ensino, com a Constituição Federal de 1988, isto é, se a argumentação desenvolvida pela Corte Maior se reveste de caráter técnico, como pretendia Kelsen, ou se consideram os pensamentos do povo brasileiro, como defendido por Schmitt. Conclui-se que, pela análise de votos dos Ministros do Pretório Excelso, a argumentação técnica restou vencida por uma argumentação jurídica e de ordem política, em consonância com a vontade popular, distanciando a atuação do STF da guarda da Carta Política tal como pretendida por Hans Kelsen. A metodologia empregada é a revisão bibliográfica, sob o método dedutivo. THE DIRECT UNCONSTITUTIONALITY ACTION 4.439 UNDER HANS KELSEN’S AND CARL SCHMITT’S CONSTITUTIONAL THEORIES PERSPECTIVE ABSTRACT In the 20th century, Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt raised an issue about who was responsible for The Guardian of the Constitution. For Kelsen, a technical body would be held responsible, wherever, a constitutional court, qualified to a compatibility analysis between superior hierarchy and inferior hierarchy. For Schmitt, on the other hand, the Head of State would bear such responsibility, for being the holder of the political will, and thus depicting popular aspirations; being the Constitution a political decision, the representative of the people would have the legitimacy to protect it, in accordance with the will of the people. In this study, it is discussed which theory the Supreme Court approached, in the judgment of Direct Unconstitutionality Action 4.439, in which, it was decided in favor of the compatibility of the confessional natural theology nature and the elective enrollment in public school systems, with the Federal Constitution of 1988, that is, if the arguments developed by the Major Court holds a technical character, as Kelsen intended, or if they consider the thoughts of Brazilian people, as defended by Schmitt. It is concluded that, by the analysis of the votes of the Ministers of Praetorium Excelso, the technical argument was defeated by a legal and political argument, in agreement with the popular will, intervening the performance of the STF from the custody of the Political Charter as intended by Hans Kelsen. The methodology used was the literature review, under the deductive method. Keywords: Direct Unconstitutionality Action. Hans Kelsen. Carl Schmitt. Theory of Constitution. Secularism.

The Squandered Brilliance of Our Disposable Youth

This chapter addresses the education inequities in the United States, and distinguishes between “public schools” and “charter schools.” Though the chapter recognizes that this is itself controversial, and charter schools have taken to referring themselves as public schools, for the sake of clarity it is important to be able to distinguish between the two. While the charter schools' efforts have been primarily directed at Black and Brown communities thus far, the chapter unveils the school privatizers' ultimate targets, which are set much more broadly than that. It examines the impact of school privatization on public school systems and the harms caused by school privatization in communities of color. The chapter then takes a look at Corporate America and Wall Street, and analyses how they can always profit from new markets and expandable markets. Ultimately, it reveals how the ultra-wealthy maintain education inequities to ensure that there will be millions of poorly educated, low-skill individuals who are essentially forced to accept the low wages to survive.

Identification of struggling readers or at risk of reading difficulties with one-minute fluency measures

Background To identify readers who are struggling or at risk of reading difficulties, reference standards in oral reading fluency (ORF) are used to conduct an assessment that is based on a widely reported method known as curriculum-based measurement (CBM), which itself is based on 1-min fluency measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ ORF (with a 1-min fluency measure) to characterize their fluency and to determine references of appropriate development in reading at the 50th percentile. Method For this study, a database of readings made available by the Learning Studies Research Laboratory was used. This database consisted of 365 readings by elementary-school students from the third to fifth grades in two cities in the interior of the state of São Paulo from two different public school systems that use the same teaching methodology. The data consisted of digital audio recordings of the passage “The Umbrella” (text suitable for schooling levels) of the Protocol for Assessment of Reading Comprehension procedure. For this procedure, three steps were performed: step 1—listening to the 365 readings and assessing the scores for the number of words read correctly per minute; step 2—the calculation of the mean and percentiles for each grade; and step 3—the adaptation of the reference table to indicate students eligible to receive reading fluency intervention. Results Third-year students who correctly read 86 or more words per minute, fourth-year students who correctly read 104 or more words per minute, and fifth-year students who correctly read 117 or more words per minute were considered students who had made adequate progress in reading. Conclusion It was possible to classify students based on the 1-min fluency measures, with reference intervals of words read correctly per minute per school year (for the third, fourth, and fifth years) for those who were making adequate progress in reading and reference intervals for those who were considered readers who were struggling or at risk of reading difficulties.

International Education and the Internationalization of Public Schooling in Canada: Approaches and Conceptualizations

While there is now an extensive literature related to the internationalization of post-secondary education in Canada, developments within K-12 public schooling have received much less attention. This article explores recent developments in international education in Canadian public school systems, with specific attention to developments in Manitoba. In doing so it argues that these developments incorporate three distinct policy interests – trade, immigration and education – resulting in strong federal influences on provincial education policies and practices. The article examines two major international education initiatives: the recruitment of international students; and, the establishment of affiliate school agreements overseas. It argues that these recent developments reflect a particular notion of “the internationalization of public schooling” where a historical notion of “international education” as a learning-focused concept has been supplanted by an economic and market-driven notion that has trade and immigration considerations as its primary interests.

Inferior Education or Killing Grandma: The Dilemma Facing the Public School Systems in the United States

Due to COVID-19, school districts in the fall of 2020 had to decide whether to conduct all classes in person or offer some or all of these classes virtually. Many school districts would decide on a program and then change their decision based on the COVID-19 situation in their area. These changes caused education and personal issues for the students, teachers, parents, and others who worked in their school system. This paper explores how the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a well-regarded, multi-criteria decision analysis approach, can be used to analyze this situation by developing two prototype versions of the AHP and illustrating these versions of the AHP with a detailed example. The team approach for analyzing this issue is also described. Additionally, the current situation of this problem in the United States and elsewhere is discussed. Finally, Professor Bodin is making software that he has developed available (at no cost) for carrying out many of the computations for the AHP versions described in this paper.

How to Create Sustainable Nonviolence Curriculum in Public Schools in Sweden

Author argues the urgent need for nonviolence training and the contemporary challenges of implementing such plans. Furthermore, chapter briefly discusses the eruptions of violence and experienced in Europe, along with innovative ways to educate all stakeholders. In addition, the chapter includes a case study of a Swedish school, with research of contemporary nonviolence training and curriculum. The chapter will benefit a variety of entities and organizations, such as educators in public school systems and governmental organizations. Findings suggest a growing concern amongst educators, students and parents due to escalating threats and acts of violence in school settings. Moreover, findings indicate partial integration of sustainable nonviolence curriculum into some Swedish schools. Author proposes to integrate and implement nonviolence training into the Swedish public school system as nationally mandated integrated subjects. Further research suggests additional research conducted to measure qualitative and quantitative results nonviolence curriculum and training.

Technology Integration in the Early Elementary Classroom

This chapter highlights technology integration, particularly its growing popularity in early elementary circles in the United States. Issues and solutions are explored regarding how early elementary (PK-3) teachers can integrate technology into the classroom setting. Topics focus on professional development (PD) in the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and substitution augmentation modification redefinition (SAMR) frameworks. Proper technology integration discussions include content areas like mathematics, literacy, and social-emotional learning. Further research is needed to fully understand effective technology integration in early elementary settings, especially in public school systems in the U.S.

Dynamization of the Recesses of Children of 3, 4, and 5 Years

One of the most serious public health problems worldwide is the tendency of the population to be overweight and obese, which has significantly increased in recent decades. The school and educational administrations cannot ignore this situation, and the reality of most public-school systems is that there is insufficient time spent practicing structured physical activity. One of the ways to improve the levels of physical activity in schoolchildren is, without a doubt, to promote physical activity for students during the school day: active commuting to school, active breaks, physical education sessions and during school recess. In this chapter, educational centers and those responsible for promoting healthy physical activity are presented with the necessary considerations, based on a justified theoretical framework, to take into account when implementing a school recess plan, as part of a health and wellness project, paying special attention to early childhood classes.

An Analytical Study of the Provision of Mental Health Services for Students With Disabilities in Public School Settings

Students with disabilities often do not receive supportive services if they have coexisting mental health disorders. Students classified with emotional or behavioral disorders for an individualized education plan may be supported by a functional behavior assessment and, in some cases, a behavior intervention plan, but mental health is not included as a related service. Without appropriate mental health services, students face poorer outcomes. Results from a survey of special education teachers and behavior support specialists along with a secondary analysis of existing data revealed that respondents did not receive any mental health training that would allow them to support students with mental health needs. Moreover, funding, legal issues, and policies were emerging themes that likely contributed to the lack of appropriate mental health support in public school systems.