It’s Teacher Appreciation Week – Let’s Salute our Educators! Vol. 55, No. 30 • May 7 - 13, 2020
Coronavirus Testing Site Opens in Ward 7
New Facility Co-sponsored by HU, Bank of America
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
5 Howard University Faculty Practice Plan (HUFPP) hosts the first day of COVID-19 testing at the Benning Road Center in Northeast. Bank of America awarded a $1M grant to the HUFPP to improve access to COVID-19 testing east of the river. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
Remote Learning a Challenge for Special-Needs Children By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Adelle Purdham wants her daughter to learn in the same classroom as everyone else, a desire that didn’t begin with the coronavirus pandemic. Purdham’s daughter Elyse has Down syndrome, and she’s accustomed to an educational plan that provides her with direct learning that often requires an instructor speaking directly to her using clear language and short sentences. Elyse can function in a general education classroom and complete a modified version of the work her classmates do. “The key is to break down activities into small steps and build on what your child can already do,” Purdham said. “You have to personalize what you are teaching. For example, If your child likes minions, then draw minions for counting. Provide an example first, every time you try something new.” In the wake of widespread school closings, districts are wrestling with how to comply with federal special education laws in a digital learning environment, while parents of special needs students are concerned about the potential effects of them
LEARNING Page 38
For at least the next three months, District residents living east of the Anacostia River, regardless of whether they show coronavirus symptoms or suffer from an underlying condition, will have one more place on their side of town that they can count on for testing, courtesy of Howard University [HU] and Bank of America. The collaboration, which has been in the works since D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) declared a public health state of emergency in March, has resulted in the launch of a testing site at Unity Health Care on Benning Road in Northeast.
“We have an opportunity to expand testing to east of the river where the African-American community has been inversely impacted in terms of the number of deaths,” Dr. Hugh E. Mighty, dean of the HU College of Medicine, said in reference to a $1 million grant Bank of America awarded to the Howard University Faculty Practice Plan. The grant funds the operation of the testing center and purchase of personal protective equipment, testing supplies and other relevant materials. Testing will take place twice a week with 50 slots available to members of the community on each day.
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Teacher Appreciation Week Returns Amid Season of Unchartered Waters and Pathways Prevailing Mood Overwhelmingly Reflective, Far Less Celebratory By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Teachers across the U.S. continue to spend this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, not in the classroom as has been the norm but in their homes seated at their computers – virtually engaging hundreds of thousands of sequestered students – collectively unable to escape the maelstrom caused by an unprecedented health pandemic. At a time when teachers have rightly garnered recognition for the copious amounts of behind-the-scenes planning and classroom management many have mustered to form
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5 Chef James Wiggins of Roosevelt Senior High School in Northwest. (Courtesy photo)
Celebrating 55 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area