Private schools made up with PPP funding

Private schools made up with PPP funding

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This is the Coronavirus Schools Briefing, a guide to the seismic changes in American education that are taking place during the pandemic. Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox.

This spring, when the federal government paid out billions of dollars in emergency pandemics, the traditional K-12 public schools in Los Angeles received an average of about $ 716,000.

Meanwhile, Sierra Canyon School, a private school in the San Fernando Valley where LeBron James’ son excels as a basketball player, received $ 3.14 million – part of a forgivable pandemic loan at the founding of the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

New York’s public schools averaged $ 386,000 in federal aid. But Poly Prep Country Day School, a private school in Brooklyn with more than $ 114 million in the bank, received a $ 5.83 million PPP loan. Public schools in Washington, DC, averaged $ 189,000 in federal funding. But a $ 5.22 million PPP loan went to Sidwell Friends School, the Washington alma mater of Sasha and Malia Obama.

As the federal government releases a second round of PPP loans this week, watchdog groups are following the money. The $ 659 billion program, which is intended to help struggling mother-and-pop businesses and non-profit businesses cover their salaries with loans backed by the Small Business Administration, has been concerned about complaints from the start that the rich and allied intended recipients have supplanted.

A recipient database – launched in full by the Treasury Department in December after The Times and other major news outlets filed a federal case – highlighted the concerns.

In education, the differences were particularly striking. Public schools are not eligible for PPP loans because they have a separate pot under the CARES Act. But private and business schools can apply for the loans. Many did so, sometimes to their embarrassment when the applications became public.

The Latin School of Chicago, which announced a $ 58.5 million donation in a recent tax filing, applied for a loan and returned the money to a story through the school’s student newspaper, The Forum. So does the elite Brentwood school in LA, according to The Los Angeles Times noted that his students include two of the children of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin.

However, many private private schools still kept the money they applied for, citing economic uncertainty and rules that limited their ability to utilize their donations to cover their payroll. After a first round of OPS funding was quickly exhausted, the Small Business Administration issued revised guidelines for the program making it clear that employers with other financing options should not apply. Rules have meanwhile been tightened even further.

But Accountable.US – a non-partisan watchdog organization that has collected the above statistics on schools in LA, New York and Washington – says it still has to deal with loopholes that hide equity issues, make the program vulnerable to potential fraudsters and continue to to make the well connected work. cash in loans. And minority-oriented borrowers are raising similar concerns. This battle is far from over.

Following the eruptions last fall, the city-state of Singapore had, on average, less than one locally transferable case each day. Since the pandemic began, our colleague Sui-Lee Wee reports, her three major universities have not reported any cases of community transfer.

From our seat here in the United States, it sounds almost like a fantasy. But the three factors that contribute to its success – technology, constraints and compliance – can be a useful reference point for educators and officials around the world.

The National University of Singapore has invested in extensive testing resources and searched through dormitories in dormitories for traces of the coronavirus. This is in line with many US campuses.

But the university also uses technology to enforce social distance measures, specifically by clearing crowds in high-traffic areas. The university president regularly scans an online dashboard to see how busy the cafeteria is. If the real-time map shows that a dining area is overcrowded, he will send administrators advice to avoid it and use other options.

The Singapore government has taken an aggressive pandemic response: it punishes those who have violated the restrictions, in some cases by deporting foreign nationals and revoking the work permit.

At universities, severe restrictions on campus have led to the expulsion of some students from dormitories to accommodate visitors. More than 800 students signed a petition last October to lift the restrictions.

“The consequences are severe, so people are scared,” said Fuck Theng Fong, a 24-year-old law student.

Most students in Singapore do not live on campus. And Singapore does not have fraternity and sororities.

Olyvia Lim, a senior at Nanyang Technological University, said reports of U.S. university students holding a pandemic party surprised her friends.

“We all said, ‘Why would they dare to do such a thing?’ ‘, Lim said. ‘It’s a little hard to believe because we’re the same age, but I think it’s culture. It’s all about freedom, but when the government says ‘Wear a mask’, we all do. ‘

  • After the University of Alabama won the college football championship Monday night, thousands took to the streets to celebrate it, in a potential super-distributor event.

  • Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte joined a growing list of schools that are delaying the start of personal learning. And a community college in California, Chaffey College, canceled classes for the spring term.

  • Many colleges in Rhode Island plans to open soon, despite rising business.

  • Art in the midst of chaos: Three students Dartmouth College shared their artistic creations with Emma Ginsberg, a reporter for the student paper. Jazz, baking and acting continue to flourish.

  • Read well: Our colleague Billy Witz has thoroughly researched the often absurd inequalities of university sports. “It’s hard to disrupt the hypocrisy from the heartbreakingness in the mega – business of university sports, where the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates the inherent conflict through a financial model plucking billions on the backs of unpaid players.”

  • About 250 public schools in New York City offers full-time, five days a week tuition to all their students, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

  • After delays, Utah vaccinated teachers on Tuesday.

  • Arkansas will expand the distribution of vaccines to teachers and workers in childcare and higher education.

  • Boston plans to bring back more public school students for personal learning from February. Last week, Gov. Charlie Baker announced plans to begin pool tests for students and staff in Massachusetts.

  • An Opinion from Chicago: Stacy Moore, Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-Chicago, did not grind words. “If the leaders of our school district and teachers’ union continue on this path, no one will win,” Moore, a former teacher, wrote. “It’s time for both parties to act like adults and come to the table to compromise.”

  • A worthy watch: An educator for public schools in Baltimore posted a powerful video with testimonials from students. “It’s so hard to keep busy with your computer,” said one student. “It’s like a curse.” Alec MacGillis, a reporter for ProPublica, posted on Twitter that it was “the first collection of first-hand student credentials I have seen from anywhere in the country.”

Our colleague Christina Caron has written a handy layout for everything you need to know about Covid tests for children. She spoke with five doctors and two of the largest providers of urgent care in the United States to analyze questions: Are there less invasive tests? If so, where? Is it accurate? And how should parents prepare a young child for the swab?

There is a lot of information in the piece. But in general, Christina recommends going to a pediatrician to calm nerves. “Doctors and nurses who test children regularly will most likely know what to do if your child is nervous or scared,” she wrote.

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