For poor schools, building repairs zap COVID relief money JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The air-conditioning gave out as students returned from summer break last year to Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi, forcing them to learn in sweltering heat. By Thanksgiving, students were huddling under blankets because the heat wasn’t working. Along the way students dealt with broken showers in locker rooms, plumbing issues and a litany of other problems in the nearly 60-year-old school building. “There’s been... MSN

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Maine community colleges stop requiring COVID-19 vaccine SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine's community college system has ended a requirement that on-campus students received the COVID-19 vaccine. The Maine Community College System's board ended the requirement and change is effective immediately, the system said in a Wednesday statement. AP NEWS

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Maine Community College System president David Daigler said high vaccination rates in the state and improved outcomes for people who contract COVID-19 played a role in the decision. Better access to a broader range of preventative and treatment options for COVID-19 also played a role, he said.

COVID school closures cost children one-third of a year’s learning Nature - A sustained catch-up effort is needed to help students to recover lost skills and knowledge. Naddaf, Miryam nature

Children lost out on more than one-third of a school years’ worth of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis has found. Their mathematics skills were more affected than their reading abilities.