COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: When will COVID-19 peak in MA?; Life in the aftermath; Tracking potential treatments; Getting America working again; Taking virtual learning to new heights & more!

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders. We hope you are staying safe, and we welcome your thoughts; you can always reach out to us via email:  pioneer@pioneerinstitute.org.

Our Top Picks for COVID-19 Pandemic News:

Jim Stergios, Executive Director: This data visualization tool from The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a health research center at the University of Washington, shares state-by-state projections about peak hospital resource use and potential deaths. Massachusetts’ peak seems to be around April 15th, New York’s a bit earlier, and California’s quite a bit later than the nationwide average.

Also from Jim: Here’s an interesting look at life in Beijing and what life is like when the quarantine comes to an end (or at least a temporary halt). And, Schulmerich Bells, a Pennsylvania small business, is challenging, via a class-action lawsuit, the state’s ability to order “non-essential” businesses to close.

William Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences, shares some great resources:

Rebekah Paxton, Research Assistant, passes along a story from Omaha, Nebraska that includes a chilling statement from the police chief when asked about an order conflicting with the First Amendment right to assemble.  Rebekah notes, “While everyone is giving something up right now and for good reason, rhetoric around foregoing First Amendment rights could be a slippery slope.”

Our Picks for Public & Private Sector Best Practices:

Robert Kaplan, Senior Fellow and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, shares his Wall Street Journal op-ed with economist Mickey Levy on how to balance public health with getting America working again.

Barbara Anthony, Senior Fellow in Healthcare: Do you have personal protective equipment to donate or sell to support Massachusetts’ COVID-19 response efforts? The state is soliciting all kinds of equipment – click here and complete the form.

Jamie Gass, Education Policy Director, shares what one nation-leading state and school are doing to expand digital learning during COVID-19.

Questions for Our Public & Private Sector Leaders:

A reader asked: “When will the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance have benefits for self-employed?”

Poll Results: Yesterday, we asked readers, “Are you happy with how K-12 public schools have handled remote learning during COVID-19?”
Results: 57% No; 29% Yes; 14% Not enough information

Do YOU have interesting questions and/or articles to share with us? Please email us, or message us through our social media channels below!

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts:

Pandemic, Lost Instructional Time Reveal Massachusetts’ Digital Learning Weaknesses

A report released today by Pioneer Institute says that the shutdown of Massachusetts schools due to the COVID-19 virus and the shift to online education have exposed the uneven nature of digital learning in the Commonwealth, and calls for state officials to develop programs to create more consistency.

Pioneer Institute Study Calls for Streamlining State Sales Tax Revenue Collection

At a time when state tax revenues are plummeting, a plan to modernize sales tax collection could get money into state coffers more quickly, according to a new policy brief published by Pioneer Institute.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Hubwonk: Elections & COVID-19; Update: Mapping COVID Testing; School Reopening; Protecting Civil Liberties, & more!

/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

Hubwonk Ep. 9: Elections in Epidemics: Keeping Voters Safe & Elections Fair during COVID-19

/
Join Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer’s Mary Connaughton as they talk with MIT Professor Charles Stewart on how states in general, and Massachusetts in particular, are adapting their voting process to keep elections safe, transparent, and fair during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Update: “Mapping COVID-19” Tool Now Shows Testing Data

/
Now, in addition to maps and tables regarding the number of cases and case rates across the state, “Mapping COVID-19” also includes information regarding the testing efforts in the Commonwealth.

MA Commissioner Jeff Riley on Remote Learning, Voc-Techs, & Reforming Boston’s Schools

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard open with commentary on the George Floyd tragedy and K-12 education’s role in addressing racial injustice. Then, they are joined by Jeffrey Riley, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, to talk about the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19.

Easthampton High Scores A National Educational Victory During The COVID-19 Pandemic

/
This spring, Massachusetts’ Easthampton High School was crowned national champion in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” contest. The competition brings together about 1,200 students from across the country to answer civics questions based on America’s Founding Documents including the U.S. Constitution; The Federalist Papers; and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Experts Find K-12 Online Education Can Be Appropriate for Most Special Needs Students

School closures due to COVID-19 have separated more than seven million K-12 special needs students from support they receive in the classroom, but online learning can be appropriate for most of those students if teachers and parents work as a team to provide each one with what he or she needs, according to a new report published by Pioneer Institute and ASU Prep Digital.

Pioneer Institute Looks Ahead to the Protection of Civil Liberties

Challenges to Americans’ civil liberties have increased in recent years.  History teaches us that during national emergencies governments are even more likely to overstep and violate constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. To address this concern, Pioneer Institute has created “Respect My Rights,” a web-based hotline to which citizens can submit complaints and descriptions of violations they have experienced.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Antibodies & immunity; Talking about WHO; Telecommuting Survey Results; Mapping COVID – Update; & more!

/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.