Principal Perspectives on School Staffing Struggles: Finding from the 2022 Learn Together Survey. American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-14

In this report, a nationally representative sample of kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) public school principals were asked about their experiences with covering classrooms and hiring staff. In the spring of the 2021-2022 school year, which coincided with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) omicron variant surge, most principals struggled to keep classrooms consistently staffed and many reported that hiring had become more challenging since the previous school year. Principals indicated that a lack of substitute teachers -- not an increase in open teaching positions -- was the main reason for classroom coverage shortages. In addition to day-to-day coverage issues, most principals reported that teacher vacancies were on the rise. Most of these principals believed that vacancies had grown more difficult to fill than in the prior school year, largely because of declining applicant counts. Principals' preferences when hiring teachers lend further insight into potential drivers of hiring challenges. A large majority of principals expressed strong preferences for like-minded teachers whose mindsets aligned with the vision and culture of the schools. Few principals prioritized the diversity of the educator workforce at their schools.

Getting Students to (and Through) Advanced Math: Where Course Offerings and Content Are Not Adding Up. American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-10

This report uses Spring 2022 data from nationally representative surveys of principals and math teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) to explore students' opportunities to prepare for and take advanced math. The authors found that small high schools, high schools in rural areas, and high schools that predominantly serve students from historically marginalized communities tend to offer fewer advanced math courses (e.g., precalculus, Advanced Placement math courses) and that uneven access to advanced math begins in middle school. K-12 teachers who work in schools that predominately serve students living in poverty are more likely to report skipping standards-aligned content and replacing the skipped content with concepts from previous grade levels. Also, more than half of K-12 math teachers said they need additional support for delivering high-quality math instruction, especially teachers who work in schools that serve predominantly high-poverty students. In the wake of the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students living in poverty and students of color, these results highlight a critical need for resources to support teachers and to increase student access to advanced courses. [For technical information about the surveys and analysis in this report, see "Learn Together Surveys. 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results. Research Report. RR-A827-9" (ED626092).]

Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Services in the AHISA Network.

We investigated perceived impacts of COVID-19 on the delivery of adolescent HIV treatment and prevention services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by administering a survey to members of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) from February to April 2021. We organized COVID-19 impacts, as perceived by AHISA teams, under three themes: service interruptions, service adjustments, and perceived individual-level health impacts. AHISA teams commonly reported interruptions to prevention programs, diagnostic testing, and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Common service adjustments included decentralization of ART refills, expanded multi-month ART distribution, and digital technology use. Perceived individual-level impacts included social isolation, loss to follow-up, food insecurity, poverty, and increases in adolescent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The need for collaboration among stakeholders were commonly cited as lessons learned by AHISA teams. Survey findings highlight the need for implementation science research to evaluate the effects of pandemic-related HIV service adaptations in SSA.

Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Research in the AHISA Network.

Members of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) network conduct research aiming to close gaps between what is known to be impactful across the HIV prevention and treatment cascade, and services delivered to optimize outcomes for adolescents/young adults (AYA) in high HIV-prevalence settings. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges which threaten to exacerbate care and access disparities. We report results of a survey among AHISA teams with active AYA HIV research programs in African countries to determine how the pandemic has impacted their efforts. Results highlighted the detrimental impact of the pandemic on research efforts and the expanded need for implementation research to help provide evidence-based, context-specific pandemic recovery support. Key lessons learned included the viability of remote service delivery strategies and other innovations, the need for adaptive systems that respond to evolving contextual needs, and the need for organized documentation plans, within empathic and flexible environments.

Telemedicine to Timor-Leste: implementing an international cardiac telehealth service during population dislocation, floods and COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The East Timor Hearts Fund has provided cardiac services in Timor-Leste since 2010, conducting three clinics yearly. AIM: To develop collaborative telehealth services between Australia and Timor-Leste in the context of international border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Scoping discussions identified major challenges (structural, patient related and medical system related). At two pilot clinics, patient history, investigation and management were collated. Clinic metrics were compared with an index face-to-face clinic in February 2019. Post-clinic discussions identified areas of success and shortfall in the conduct of the telehealth clinics. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients were reviewed at the online telehealth clinics held onsite at Timorese medical facilities. Compared with an index 2019 clinic, there were markedly lower numbers of new referrals (2 vs 190 patients; 8.7% vs 59.4%). Patients seen at the online clinic were predominantly female (17/23; 73.9%) and Dili based (18/23; 78.3%), with a mean age of 25.9 ± 7.2 years. The majority (12/23; 52.2%) had isolated rheumatic mitral valve disease. Investigations including electrocardiography, pathology, echocardiography and 6-min walk tests were conducted in select patients. Medication advice was provided for 10 (43.5%) patients. Eleven (47.8%) patients were deemed to require urgent intervention. Post-clinic discussions indicated general satisfaction with telehealth clinics, although frustration at the current inability to provide interventional services was highlighted. CONCLUSION: Our pilot telehealth clinics indicate that capacity-building telemedicine can be rapidly implemented in an emergency setting internationally. Clinic design benefits from careful identification and resolution of challenges to optimise flow. Cardiac patients in Timor-Leste have a significant burden of disease amenable to intervention.

Licensed professional counselor's experiences of integrating contemplative practices in play therapy

This study comprehensively explores contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, yoga, dance, music, and the arts into licensed professional counselors' (LPCs) play therapy sessions. The study's research question is: How do licensed professional counselors (LPCs) describe their experiences of integrating contemplative practices as a resource into their play therapy sessions? The study's purpose is to describe how LPCs employ contemplative practices in their play therapy sessions to cultivate self-awareness, self-regulation and build family resiliency. The research literature gap indicates there is not enough information on LPCs' experiences or how LPCs become competent in integrating contemplative practices into their play therapy sessions. The research also lacks information on the types of training LPCs need or receive to integrate contemplative practices in their play therapy session. The methodology for this research study is the inductive qualitative research approach. The study aimed to capture the unencumbered, detailed, and unique experiences of the research study's participants. The target population for the study was LPCs who integrated contemplative practices into their play therapy sessions. Saturation for the study was met with ten participants. An inductive analysis of the raw data generated from the LPCs' interviews was analyzed and elucidated in a systematic and vigorous manner. The data analysis for this research study resulted in the emergence of three themes: the participants' experiencing changes and challenges while integrating contemplative practices during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the participants' experiencing positive client outcomes with integrating contemplative practices, and hindrance of belief and religiosity. In addition, a subtheme that addressed the participants' experiencing networking and training during COVID-19 emerged from the data under Theme 1. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

A first look at perceived stress in southeastern university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Shelter-in-place and social distancing reduce the risk of infection spread, but evidence is appearing to support an unintentional spread of negative mental health effects. The aim of this study was to assess perceived stress in a sample of undergraduate students reflecting upon Spring 2020. Participants and methods: Undergraduate students (N = 312, 75% female, 88% white) completed an online survey assessing demographic information and stress assessed via Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale. Results: Student respondents averaged PSS scores of 21.31(7.54) with 82% of students classified as having moderate or high perceived stress. Females reported higher perceived stress scores compared to males (Z = 4.89, p < 0.01). Conclusions: With concerns about enrollment and financial viability of universities, funneling limited funds to student mental health services could be a utilization of universities' limited funds during Fall 2020.

SARS-CoV-2 in infant urine and fecal samples after in utero COVID-19 exposure.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic that has and will continue to affect many pregnant women. Knowledge regarding the risk of vertical transmission is limited. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal swabs typically have been used to confirm the diagnosis among infants, but whether the virus can be detected in other biological specimens, and therefore potentially transmitted in other ways, is unknown. Positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR has been reported from feces and urine from adult patients. We hypothesize that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in infant urine and fecal samples after prenatal COVID-19 exposure is low. METHODS: We examined the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using RT-PCR in urine and fecal samples among 42 infants born to SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers during different stages of pregnancy. RESULTS: A urine sample was collected from 39 of 42 infants and fecal samples from all 42 infants shortly after birth. Although the majority of the women had the symptomatic disease (85.6%), we were unable to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus from any infant urine or fecal samples. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in infant urine or feces after maternal infection during pregnancy, providing further evidence for low rates of perinatal transmission. IMPACT: SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in the urine or feces of infants of mothers with COVID-19 during various time points in pregnancy. This study provides further evidence for low rates of perinatal transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Results help to provide guidance on perinatal care practices for infants exposed to COVID-19 in utero.

Maternal, Infant, and Breast Milk Antibody Response Following COVID-19 Infection in Early Versus Late Gestation.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)] infection at varying time points during the pregnancy can influence antibody levels after delivery. We aimed to examine SARS-CoV-2 IgG, IgM and IgA receptor binding domain of the spike protein and nucleocapsid protein (N-protein) reactive antibody concentrations in maternal blood, infant blood and breastmilk at birth and 6 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection in early versus late gestation. METHODS: Mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy were enrolled between July 2020 and May 2021. Maternal blood, infant blood and breast milk samples were collected at delivery and 6 weeks postpartum. Samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 spike and N-protein reactive IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies. Antibody concentrations were compared at the 2 time points and based on trimester of infection ("early" 1st/2nd vs. "late" 3rd). RESULTS: Dyads from 20 early and 11 late trimester infections were analyzed. For the entire cohort, there were no significant differences in antibody levels at delivery versus 6 weeks with the exception of breast milk levels which declined over time. Early gestation infections were associated with higher levels of breastmilk IgA to spike protein ( P = 0.04). Infant IgG levels to spike protein were higher at 6 weeks after late infections ( P = 0.04). There were strong correlations between maternal and infant IgG levels at delivery ( P < 0.01), and between breastmilk and infant IgG levels. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection in early versus late gestation leads to a persistent antibody response in maternal blood, infant blood and breast milk over the first 6 weeks after delivery.

The Well-Being of Secondary School Principals One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data Note: Insights from the American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-6

This Data Note describes findings from a nationally representative sample of secondary school principals about their well-being and job-related stressors one year into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding principals' views on these topics at a national level can help education leaders and policymakers identify ways to support principal wellness, reduce job-related stress, and improve job satisfaction, performance, and retention. The authors use nationally representative survey data of "secondary principals," defined as principals who serve in schools that include any grade from 6th grade to 12th grade, from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys (LTS) to examine the state of principal well-being. The 2021 LTS was administered in March and April 2021 to 1,686 secondary principals, one year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Data Note highlights principals' responses to the open-ended survey, discusses key findings, and concludes with implications and policy recommendations.

Changes in College and Career Readiness Supports during the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data Note: Insights from the American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-5

High schools play a crucial role in helping students plan for and transition to postsecondary education and career pathways. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, supporting all students in their transition to life after high school remains important for postsecondary success. In this Data Note, the authors compare nationally representative survey response data from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys (LTS) to examine differences in how high school teachers and principals provided supports to students for successful postsecondary transitions before and during the first year of the pandemic. Drawing on responses from 2,126 9th- to 12th-grade teachers and 702 high school principals to the 2021 LTS and responses from 2,279 9th- to 12th-grade teachers and 640 high school principals to the 2020 LTS, the authors compare educators' responses across various school-level characteristics, including student free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, enrollment of nonwhite students, and school locale. The authors found equity gaps in which groups of students reportedly received sufficient supports for postsecondary transitions and recommend strategies for improving students' equitable access to and engagement with such supports.

One Year into the Pandemic, What Secondary Math Teachers Said about Challenges to Standards-Aligned Instruction and Skipping Content. Data Note: Insights from the American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-8

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic upended math instruction--but not equitably. Although little is known about the quality of math instruction in different school settings during the 2020-2021 school year, evidence from national survey data collected throughout the pandemic suggests that students' "opportunity to learn" (OTL)--defined here as time on instruction and content coverage--differed dramatically depending on whether students were learning in person or through an alternative mode of instruction. This Date Note presents findings from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys to highlight the challenges to standards-aligned instruction that secondary (grades 6 to 12) math teachers might have perceived one year into the pandemic, how frequently they skipped standards-aligned math content, and their reasons for doing so. These findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that students in fully remote and hybrid school settings had fewer opportunities to engage with grade-level math than students learning in person. Specifically, secondary math teachers who provided remote or hybrid instruction reported skipping standards-aligned content more frequently and were less likely to report being able to devote as much time as they would have liked to math instruction compared with their in-person counterparts. These findings are particularly significant for students who attended schools that were less likely to offer in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.

Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys. Research Report. RR-A1108-4

Principal and teacher well-being is a matter of immediate concern for principals and teachers themselves and for the students they teach. Stress on the job can negatively affect educators' physical health, and poor teacher wellness and mental health are linked with lower-quality student learning environments and with poorer academic and nonacademic student outcomes. Furthermore, previous research suggests that principals and teachers of color are more likely than their White peers to experience poor well-being and are more likely to leave their jobs. Understanding the relationships among teacher and principal well-being, perceived working conditions, and teachers' and principals' intentions to leave their current position is critical for pandemic recovery and for the long-term health of the principal and teacher workforce. In this report, researchers present selected findings from the 2022 State of the American Teacher (SoT) and State of the American Principal (SoP) surveys. These findings are related to teacher and principal well-being, working conditions, and intentions to leave their jobs. The authors focus specifically on the well-being and working conditions of educators of color. [For technical information about the surveys and analysis in this report, see "State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results" (ED621137).]

State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results. Research Report. RR-A1108-3

This technical report provides information about the sample, content, and administration of the 2022 State of the American Teacher (SoT) and State of the American Principal (SoP) surveys. The SoT survey was completed by 2,360 American Teacher Panel members, and the SoP survey was completed by 1,540 American School Leader Panel members. The American Life Panel (ALP) companion survey was administered to 500 ALP members in January and February 2022. The report also describes the teacher interview protocols and qualitative methods used for interviews with SoT respondents. The SoT and SoP surveys addressed teachers' and principals' well-being (e.g., job-related stress, depression, burnout), school climate (e.g., physical safety, teacher/principal voice, staff diversity, equity, and inclusion), teachers' and principals' working conditions this school year (e.g., instructional mode, hours worked, coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] mitigation policies, beliefs about the teaching of race, racism, and bias), and teachers' and principals' careers as educators (e.g., preparation, retention, decisions to exit). Teachers were also asked about policies that they believed would be effective for recruiting, hiring, and retaining educators of color. Principals were also asked a series of questions related to their preparation to address political topics in their schools.

Pods in Action: Neighborhood North. A Museum of Play

Neighborhood North, a play-oriented community museum in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, had just opened when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and schools closed. The museum's mission is to increase educational equity in the community. Neighborhood North leaders immediately saw a need to support students at risk of falling behind in school with academic learning and social and emotional development and support families by providing childcare. Administrators collaborated with the local school district and a local faith-based organization that provided summer and out-of-school-time programming to organize two learning pods for children in grades K-5. Although this approach enabled rapid and low-cost start up in a crisis and benefitted to students, limited support and training for staff created challenges and may have limited the academic impact. This brief describes Neighborhood North's experience and the importance of community-based organizations (CBOs) in crisis response.

Use of Personalized Learning Platforms in One Pandemic-Era Microschool: A Case Study

The proliferation of settings in which personalized learning platforms have been used during the pandemic offers rich opportunities for describing those use cases and understanding how such platforms might affect students' academic, social, and emotional outcomes. There is relatively little known about which use cases provide the best outcomes for students. In this report, the authors discuss one example of how personalized learning platforms were used in the first year of implementation in an innovative learning environment: the Southern Nevada Urban Micro Academy (SNUMA). The SNUMA use case interested the researchers because leaders set ambitious goals for students whose learning was assessed as being below grade level. These goals encouraged extensive use of personalized learning platforms--usage that, to the best of the authors' knowledge, exceeded developer recommendations. The platform metrics examined suggest that most students made substantial progress and were assessed as performing at grade level by the end of the school year. However, these results also raise many questions. It is unknown, for example, if these gains will be validated by standardized assessments or if they were achieved at the expense of students' social and emotional well-being.

Between the Facts and a Hard Place: Trust Judgments and Affective Responses in Information-Seeking Processes During Early COVID-19.

This study examined the formation of trust judgments of information sources about COVID-19 and the role played by emotions in this information seeking process. Twenty-seven in-depth interviews with Americans revealed that both trust and affective responses were present in information seeking of health messages, thus discovering the applicability of Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model's propositions during pandemics. Using qualitative methods to assess RISP variables in a new context (COVID-19), the study proposes modifications to the existing model. It also extends the socio-psychological traditions on which the RISP model was based, by finding that when evaluating information sources during pandemics, under conditions of high issue relevance, individuals' peripheral evaluation of messages might precede systematic evaluation and might be used as a selection criteria for further elaboration. Finally, the assessments of source credibility as a peripheral cue in this study expand current theoretical understandings by including compassion as a possible new dimension.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A telephonic survey in patients with systemic lupus erythematosusxs

Background: Vaccine against COVID-19 is an effective preventive measure;however, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients were excluded from the vaccine trials, which leads to questions regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, giving rise to vaccine hesitancy. We aim to study the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among SLE patients and study the factors affecting it. Method(s): The study is a cross-sectional telephone-based survey done on SLE patients. The questionnaire included a series of 15 questions pertaining to their baseline characteristics, COVID-19 infection and vaccination details, and their perceptions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Nonvaccinated individuals were defined as 'willing' and 'hesitant' based on their intent to get vaccinated. Result(s): Among 418 (93% women) participants, about 8% had contracted COVID-19 infection in the past. Nearly half had been vaccinated against COVID-19, and 83% had experienced one or more side effects which were largely mild. Out of the 215 nonvaccinated participants, 84% were 'willing' and 16% were 'hesitant.' Among the reasons for hesitancy, hasty vaccine production, fear of SLE flares, general vaccine refusal and limited transport facilities were significant. On the whole, 65.1% had a positive attitude toward the vaccine. Conclusion(s): Despite a low-hesitancy rate, the number of SLE patients with a negative attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine is reasonably high, with more than half of the patients yet to be vaccinated. This highlights that the mistrust and negative perceptions of the vaccine still persists. The role of health-care providers in vaccine acceptance in SLE patients is crucial. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.