Before the massive rush to remote learning, most teachers used digital resources as supplements rather than primary materials, a RAND study shows.

The top technology official for Virginia's Fairfax County schools resigned after the district struggled to handle some major technical glitches in its e-learning platforms.

Northshore School District teachers, parents, and students practiced remote learning in advance of the district's closure for two weeks.

Schools and tech companies in the U.S. and abroad have experience deploying virtual learning should a coronavirus emergency arise.

Schools and tech companies in the U.S. and abroad have experience deploying virtual learning should a coronavirus emergency arise.

EDUCATION Secretary John Swinney does not expect schools to reopen overnight as he stressed they would only do so when it was safe for public health.

SCOTLAND’S universities must play their part in adapting to the “new normal” amid warnings that institutions could be forced to merge in return for government support.

Schools in Wales could be allowed to reopen their doors next month in a phased approach, the first minister has said.

THE SCOTTISH Government “does not consider it likely” that schools will fully re-open “in the foreseeable future” - while working from home is “likely to persist as part of the new normal”.

FIVE new nursery extensions being built at schools across Edinburgh have been thrown into doubt after the company building the facilities entered administration.

The UK looks likely to operate under slightly different lockdown rules next week after announcements by the leaders of the Welsh and Scottish Governments suggested deviation between nations.

The Government has defended missing its key 100,000 target for coronavirus tests for the sixth day in a row, highlighting “daily fluctuations” in availability.

BORIS Johnson has said Britain needs the "same spirit of national endeavour" to defeat the coronavirus as Second World War veterans demonstrated to topple Adolf Hitler.

THE SCOTTISH Government is reviewing its Covid-19 testing strategy after the Deputy First Minster has been left “frustrated” by reports home care workers have been told to travel to the other side of Scotland for tests.

SCOTLAND’S Economy Secretary has penned a letter to the UK Government venting her frustration at being given “insufficient time” to consider workplace safety proposals.

PEOPLE who are not positive for Covid-19 could be told to isolate from their families before test results are issued as a precaution, Scotland’s national clinical director has warned.

MSPs have penned a letter to the head of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) - highlighting “deep unease” by teachers at plans to overhaul exams amid the lockdown.

AN SNP MP has been accused of capitalising on the virus crisis to undermine Nicola Sturgeon and boost their own profile following a series of remarks made in an online party meeting.

As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, teachers are put in the hard spot of educating students about prevention without scaring them.

Students are understandably anxious about COVID-19. Teachers must address those fears in age-appropriate and educational ways, writes 4th grade teacher Ivy Higgins.

The EdWeek Research Center is conducting twice-monthly surveys of teachers and district leaders across the country to help the K-12 system navigate these unprecedented times.

Track how educators and district leaders are responding to challenges related to COVID-19 through recurring surveys from The EdWeek Research Center.

Dougherty County, a largely black school district in an region heavily affected by coronavirus, is no longer subject to desegregation orders first imposed in 1963.

Neil Cooper

THIS year, more than ever, we need to see a love story played out on stage. We need to see Covid-19 killed off as convincingly as Snow White’s wicked step ma. We need lines such as: “He’s two metres behind you!” Or the Uglies throwing scorchers at each other like: “Did you get that face mask in Poundstretchers?” “Whit? A’m no’ wearing a face mask, ya cheeky madam.”

OKAY, the tale that follows is not exactly up there with the yarns spun by those Florentines fleeing the plague in The Decameron, but bear with me. It is hard to be a Ustinov-standard raconteur when that big wide world you took for granted has shrunk to the size of an egg.

"Folks in some foundations are quietly expressing frustration that they've been cautioned to stay in their lane and only fund things aligned with their pre-COVID strategy," says Stacey Childress.

This week, our resident cartoonist turned his pen on the Coronavirus outbreak, bullying claims surrounding the home secretary and Scotland making in to the world list of top beaches.

Coronavirus-related harassment and other mistreatment of students based on racial or ethnic stereotypes is "never justified," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kenneth L. Marcus told schools in a letter.

The momentum to raise teacher salaries in several states has ground to a halt amid fears of coronavirus’ massive economic blow.

The pandemic has boosted appreciation for public schools; the next step is greater funding, argues education historian and activist Diane Ravitch.

Coronavirus has shut down schools across the country, forcing millions of students to learn at home. In this video, families from Seattle to Maine describe how they are adjusting to this new reality.

How can parents make sure their kids are still learning, carve out time for their own work, discover their inner teacher, and stay sane? Ed Week turned to the foremost experts for their pro tips: Home schooling parents.

In two-parent households, who's taking on the biggest role as schoolwork supervisor? It appears that the answer depends on who you ask.

AMID the terrible personal losses and hardships provoked by the coronavirus crisis, and its huge impact on the global economy and the lives and welfare of even those not directly touched by the disease, there are some small consolations.

THE fact that Scotland’s testing figures have fallen well behind the strategy outlined by the First Minister on April 3 of “proportionately” matching those of the UK government is a cause for concern, and the reasons for it certainly merit examination, but it would be hasty to regard it as an indictment of overall policy.

New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education says all private school students are entitled to "equitable services" under federal coronavirus emergency relief. Let's explore what that means.

IT was impossible to escape a heart-sinking feeling this week when reading reports that a senior UK Government source believed people were “addicted” to the furlough scheme.

Approximately 27% of children with rotavirus in the hospital acquire it while hospitalized for another condition. Pediatric rotavirus vaccination greatly decreased the number of children hospitalized with rotavirus from 2007 to 2008.

Routine community-based rotavirus infant vaccination protects hospitalized children from acquiring rotavirus. Thus, community-based vaccination efforts should be encouraged as a strategy to decrease hospital-acquired rotavirus. (Read the full article)

Human rhinovirus infections are common in children. Although historically associated with upper respiratory tract illness, rhinoviruses are increasingly recognized for their role in the exacerbation of asthma. Their role in bronchiolitis and severe lung disease in premature infants is unclear.

The authors of this study prospectively explore the role of rhinoviruses in premature infants using molecular techniques and identify these agents as the most frequent cause of hospitalization in this population. (Read the full article)

In the prerotavirus vaccine era, diarrhea-associated hospitalization and outpatient rates among American Indian and Alaska Native children were higher than those among the general US population. Routine rotavirus vaccination has dramatically decreased rotavirus diarrhea burden in the general US population.

Decreases in diarrhea-associated hospitalization and outpatient rates among American Indian and Alaska Native children in postvaccine years were observed in all Indian Health Service regions, with declines greater in each subsequent year after vaccine introduction. (Read the full article)

Rotavirus vaccine efficacy is lower in low-income settings with the highest child mortality due to diarrhea. In recently published clinical trials of rotavirus vaccines in Africa, waning of efficacy was also noted among children aged ≥1 year.

These data offer the first evidence of the duration of protection of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine against severe rotavirus disease after routine use of the vaccine in a developing country setting. (Read the full article)

Clinical trials have demonstrated that prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are highly effective in preventing HPV infection, but the impact of vaccination on HPV prevalence rates in real-world, community settings is uncertain.

This study provides evidence of a substantial decrease in the prevalence of vaccine-type HPV among young women and evidence of herd protection in a community only 4 years after the quadrivalent HPV vaccine was licensed. (Read the full article)

Rotavirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis among children worldwide. Vaccines targeting rotavirus have been demonstrated to be highly efficacious against severe disease in clinical trials and postlicensure studies. Vaccine impact on mild gastroenteritis has not been well studied.

We used a novel surveillance platform consisting of telephone triage data to capture mild gastroenteritis not detected in other surveillance systems. Since rotavirus vaccine licensure, gastroenteritis-related call proportions have declined, and peak gastroenteritis-related calls are correlated with community norovirus circulation. (Read the full article)

Concerns persist about sexual disinhibition after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of preteenage girls. Self-reported surveys have indicated few anticipated behavior changes after HPV vaccination. Little is known about sexual activity–related clinical outcomes after HPV vaccination.

Utilizing managed care organization electronic data, we evaluated the incidence of adverse outcomes of sexual activity among vaccinated preteenage girls and found little difference between those who received HPV vaccine and those who did not. (Read the full article)

Fever without an apparent source is common in children. Currently in the United States, serious bacterial infection is uncommonly the cause. Most cases are assumed to be viral, but the specific viral causes have not been delineated. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed.

By using polymerase chain reaction, we detected pathogenic viruses frequently in children with fever without an apparent source. Adenovirus, human herpesvirus-6, enterovirus, and parechovirus were predominant. Testing of blood had high yield. Better recognition of viral etiologies may help reduce unnecessary antibiotic use. (Read the full article)

In Mexico, substantial declines in childhood diarrhea deaths have been documented since the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in 2007. However, there is concern of lower vaccine effectiveness in less developed regions of Mexico with higher diarrhea-related mortality.

We documented significant and comparable declines across all 3 regions of Mexico with different levels of development, indicating equitable vaccine distribution to children with varying risk of mortality and reaffirming the beneficial effects of rotavirus vaccination against fatal diarrheal disease. (Read the full article)

A low-level risk of intussusception after rotavirus vaccines, ~1 to 2 cases per 100 000 vaccinees, exists in some settings. In the United States, a risk of 1 in 65 000 was excluded, but lower risk could exist.

A persistent clustering of intussusception events 3 to 6 days after dose 1 indicates the possibility of a low-level risk of intussusception of ~0.8 cases per 100 000 vaccinees. The documented benefits of rotavirus vaccine far outweigh this low-level risk of intussusception. (Read the full article)

Monovalent rotavirus vaccine was introduced for infants in the United States in 2008. Previous US evaluations have not specifically assessed the performance of this vaccine under routine use.

Using the same methodology and covering the same time period, high effectiveness (~90%) was demonstrated for the monovalent and the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine series against rotavirus disease resulting in emergency department/inpatient care, in children up to 2 years of age. (Read the full article)