Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 9-18-20

Local State
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Theta Omega, Inc. Celebrates National HBCU Week
Gamma Theta Omega, In- corporated, is committed to the preservation and contin- ued financial support of one of the nations’ most valuable re- sources – Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Under the current Interna- tional President, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, one of the Sorority’s national targets is HBCU FOR LIFE – A Call to Action. The Sorority has des- ignated the week of September 20th- 26th, 2020 to highlight on social media the impor- tance of HBCUs in their lives.
Additionally, Chapter mem- bers will participate in various virtual activities.
A special virtual program entitled, “HBCU: Soar to Suc- cess”, will be hosted by the Chapter on Saturday, Septem- ber 26, 2020 from 11 a. m. to 12 noon. The community is in- vited to join us, however, space is limited. RSVPs are re- quested (ebdan20th@veri- zon.net).
After registering, a link to sign on will be provided.
Mrs. Elaine H. Bryant, President and Mrs. Dorine Noman, Chairman.
COVID-19 Cases Among Florida Children Jumped 26% In A Month
Since many Florida public schools opened their doors about a month ago, the number of children under 18 who have contracted Covid-19 statewide has jumped 26%, state data show.
Gov. Ron DeSantis con- tinues to push for in-person in- struction across the Sunshine State. Even though his admin- istration has released county- level data that indicates the 26% jump, it has not released school-level Covid-19 data for all K-12 public schools, which CNN began asking the state De- partment of Health for on Au- gust 31. On September 2 -- nearly two weeks ago -- state of- ficials said by email the data would be released in the coming days and weeks.
But still, the state hasn't provided this key information.
To deal with this informa- tion gap, some school districts have created their own Covid- 19 data dashboards or released coronavirus case numbers on social media pages or their web- sites. While useful in those ju- risdictions, the overall result is a patchwork of data that varies in completeness and timeliness by district at a time when stu- dents, parents, teachers and ad- ministrators are making tough decisions about whether to opt for virtual or in-person learn- ing.
It's a problem that reverber- ates across the US as the White House and federal agencies come down hard in favor of re- opening schools but often fail to give reliable information to those on the front lines.
On campus, 'people were breaking the rules'
Florida began reopening schools August 10. On that day, 42,761 children under 18 statewide were infected with the coronavirus, the state De- partment of Health reported.
That week, nine of 12 school districts opening their doors were in counties with positivity rates above 5%, the uppermost threshold recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for schools to offer in-person learning. CNN con- firmed the list of districts that planned to open as provided by an attorney for the Florida Ed- ucation Association and con- firmed positivity rates with the Florida Department of Health.
One month later, 53,717 Florida children have tested positive for Covid-19, with a positivity rate of 14.3%, statewide data show.
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