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'''<h4>Hello Students, read the below article then on your own webpage on www.goodtoknow.com, write a short constructed response using "R-A-C-E-A-C-E" as instructed in class.</h4>'''
 
'''<h4>Hello Students, read the below article then on your own webpage on www.goodtoknow.com, write a short constructed response using "R-A-C-E-A-C-E" as instructed in class.</h4>'''
 
      
 
      
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       '''What are two reasons why the Eastern Tiger Salamanders are reappearing in Maryland?'''
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       '''What are the two opposing view in the article?'''
 
       '''Use two details from the passage to support your response.'''
 
       '''Use two details from the passage to support your response.'''
  
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'''<h4>Eastern Tiger Salamanders, Once Nearly Gone from Maryland, Make a Comeback</h4>'''
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'''<h4>De Blasio says NYC school buildings will close for the rest of the year, but Cuomo says not so fast</h4>'''
  
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<br><br>New York City school buildings will not reopen this academic year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday, a decision that would add the nation’s largest school system to the long list of districts where in-person instruction has been canceled to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
  
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<br><br>Hours later, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the mayor had been premature in saying the city’s more than 1 million public school students would continue to learn remotely at least through June 26, the scheduled end of the school year. Such a move needs to be coordinated across the metro area and possibly even with New Jersey and Connecticut, according to the governor, who has a longstanding public feud with the mayor.
  
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<br><br>One rarely seen, colorful salamander species with clownish fixed smiles is prompting a lot of smiles among biologists in Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
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<br><br>It’s likely the mayor’s decision will ultimately stick, as public health officials and the governor himself have warned against rushing back to normal before it is safe to do so. If school buildings stay closed, about a third of the 2019-20 academic year will have been spent at home, an unprecedented undertaking that could have long-term consequences on the academic achievement and social-emotional well being of children.
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<br><br>In the 1990s, as development, pollution and evolving land uses intruded on breeding sites, Eastern tiger salamanders — the largest land-dwelling salamanders in North America — almost became extinct in the state. These amphibians are making a significant comeback.
 
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<br><br>“Salamanders are one of the first species many of us encounter as kids,” noted Scott McDaniel, director of the Susquehannock Wildlife Society in Darlington. “Their seemingly smiling faces and bright colors excite the imagination as you flip a rock over or roll a log to find such a unique treasure hiding underneath.”
 
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<br><br>“Fluffy or feathered things get more attention than scaly, slimy things,” said DNR biologist Beth Schlimm, who works with numerous reptiles and amphibians. “I’m partial to the scaly, slimy things.”
 
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<br><br>Salamanders are scaleless, but some secrete a toxic, sticky substance from glands in their tails to ward off predators.
 
  
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<br><br>Like other amphibians, tiger salamanders are important to the ecosystem because they are predators to smaller organisms and prey for larger creatures.
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<br><br>“Keeping the New York City public schools closed is a way to contribute to finally beating back the coronavirus,” de Blasio said. “Lord knows, having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of this school year is painful. But I can also tell you, it’s the right thing to do.”
  
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<br><br>“Since they partially breathe through their skin and require wetlands to breed, lay eggs and develop in their larval stages, they are indicators of a healthy habitat,” McDaniel said.
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<br><br>While the city aims to open schools in September, de Blasio acknowledged that the timeline was “very initial and preliminary” and depends on the course of the pandemic. The education department is working on various contingencies, the mayor added.
  
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<br><br>“Tiger salamanders are also very picky about which breeding pools they like,” said Emilio Concari, who volunteers with DNR population surveys.
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<br><br>“Next school year will have to be the greatest academic school year New York City will ever have because everyone is going to be playing catch up,” de Blasio said. “We’re going to have to find a way to make up lost ground.”
  
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<br><br>Schlimm recently explored one of several seasonal wetland areas on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where extensive vegetation management over the past decade helped restore natural breeding habitats of these salamanders.
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<br><br>The city hoped the announcement would give clarity and help schools and families plan for the next several months. But the effort seemed to backfire when, hours later, Cuomo referred to the closure as de Blasio’s “opinion.” Under an executive order, Cuomo has closed schools across New York until April 29, and up until that time, districts do not have to meet the legal requirement to provide 180 days of instruction. Schools that want to be closed beyond that must get special permission from the state, according to his executive order.  
  
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<br><br>“Female tiger salamanders need fishless freshwater ponds that have a lot of sunlight for their eggs,” Schlimm said. Egg masses attach to upright vegetation, so water depth is critical. “Too shallow, they dry out; too deep, and sun won’t get to the egg masses.”
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<br><br>“There has been no decision. That’s the mayor’s opinion. I value it,” Cuomo said. “But the decision will be coordinated.”  
  
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<br><br>Carefully making her way through knee-high water, Schlimm checked sites where their egg masses flourish. Egg mass counts are the most efficient method to answer the question: “How are Eastern tiger salamander populations doing in Maryland?”
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<br><br>New York City has emerged as a disease hotspot, with roughly 94,410 COVID-19 cases, and nearly 6,400 succumbing to the illness, as of Saturday afternoon. The governor has said New York needs a massive testing system in place before going back to normal, and that system is only getting underway now.
  
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<br><br>“A really rough population estimate would be 1,000 to 2,000 individual tiger salamanders,” said DNR biologist Scott A. Smith. They are concentrated in Caroline and Kent counties.
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<br><br>Meanwhile, the city is working on a “comprehensive” plan for the remainder of this school year, including a “full plan” for the 75,000 high school seniors expected to graduate this year, a parent helpline through 311, and “creative” new online programming.
  
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<br><br>Tiger salamanders can grow to 14 inches long. They are called “mole salamanders” because they dig underground burrows in loose, sandy soil, where they spend most of their lives. That means they are hard to see in the wild. They come out at night for feeding and during late winter and early spring’s breeding season.
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<br><br>De Blasio acknowledged the trauma the school closures have inflicted on students, many of whom are losing relatives and members of their school communities.
  
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<br><br>“What stands out the most to me is how they swim through their Delmarva bay wetlands. They use their large rudderlike tail to power through the water much in the same way that an alligator swims,” McDaniel said.
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<br><br>“Look at what they’ve had to witness and experience, and think about those kids who are grieving right now,” he said, adding that the city will focus on mental health for families and educators.
  
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<br><br>Reflecting on the environmental information being learned by studying Maryland’s tiger salamanders, Schlimm said, “It’s a good lesson on being willing to preserve things that we don’t get to see every day … another reason to protect habitats.”
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<br><br>The transition to remote learning continues to be a massive challenge for families and educators. While many students with computer access and internet connections have been logging on for virtual classes since March 23, tens of thousands still lack the resources to get online, despite the city’s best efforts to get devices into the hands of those in need. Others are working with printed packets that schools have mailed home.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>De Blasio said 66,000 devices have been distributed to date, and that every child who needs one will have a device by the end of April. The city estimates it will provide another 240,000 devices to families.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>City schools began taking attendance last week, and de Blasio has previously said that the numbers were discouraging. But the city has yet to publicly disclose the figures, making it difficult to gauge how many students may be left behind.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>While the decision to keep buildings shuttered was “painful” to make, bringing students back a few weeks would not have made a significant difference in terms of academics, the mayor said, noting that several individual schools would likely need to be shuttered regardless because of coronavirus cases.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>In-person graduation ceremonies are likely out of the question this year. Already, the state has eased up on testing typically required to earn a diploma.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>“We do not want to see these seniors robbed of their future,” de Blasio said. “That’s going to be a primary objective. To all the seniors out there, we are going to help you. We are going to communicate with you and we are going to find out what you need.”
 +
 
 +
<br><br>Though unsurprising and understandable, Saturday’s decision was a “really painful moment,” said Suzy Ort, an assistant principal at Park East High School in East Harlem.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>“I feel so bad for the students and the families, particularly the seniors — the loss of graduation and the senior memories and last moments,” Ort said.
 +
 
 +
<br><br>Her team is focused on finding ways to keep seniors engaged through the rest of the year, and hoping the education department will allow for a pass-fail grading system to take some pressure off, “because I think we’re dealing with an unprecedented situation that is all about trauma and people are really, really, really suffering.”
 +
 
 +
<br><br>Looking forward, she’s concerned about the 130 incoming ninth graders they admitted for next school year, who won’t be able to participate in an in-person orientation or visit the school before the fall.

Revision as of 00:13, 14 April 2020

Hello Students, read the below article then on your own webpage on www.goodtoknow.com, write a short constructed response using "R-A-C-E-A-C-E" as instructed in class.

 
      What are the two opposing view in the article?
      Use two details from the passage to support your response.

De Blasio says NYC school buildings will close for the rest of the year, but Cuomo says not so fast



New York City school buildings will not reopen this academic year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday, a decision that would add the nation’s largest school system to the long list of districts where in-person instruction has been canceled to curb the coronavirus pandemic.



Hours later, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the mayor had been premature in saying the city’s more than 1 million public school students would continue to learn remotely at least through June 26, the scheduled end of the school year. Such a move needs to be coordinated across the metro area and possibly even with New Jersey and Connecticut, according to the governor, who has a longstanding public feud with the mayor.



It’s likely the mayor’s decision will ultimately stick, as public health officials and the governor himself have warned against rushing back to normal before it is safe to do so. If school buildings stay closed, about a third of the 2019-20 academic year will have been spent at home, an unprecedented undertaking that could have long-term consequences on the academic achievement and social-emotional well being of children.



“Keeping the New York City public schools closed is a way to contribute to finally beating back the coronavirus,” de Blasio said. “Lord knows, having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of this school year is painful. But I can also tell you, it’s the right thing to do.”



While the city aims to open schools in September, de Blasio acknowledged that the timeline was “very initial and preliminary” and depends on the course of the pandemic. The education department is working on various contingencies, the mayor added.



“Next school year will have to be the greatest academic school year New York City will ever have because everyone is going to be playing catch up,” de Blasio said. “We’re going to have to find a way to make up lost ground.”



The city hoped the announcement would give clarity and help schools and families plan for the next several months. But the effort seemed to backfire when, hours later, Cuomo referred to the closure as de Blasio’s “opinion.” Under an executive order, Cuomo has closed schools across New York until April 29, and up until that time, districts do not have to meet the legal requirement to provide 180 days of instruction. Schools that want to be closed beyond that must get special permission from the state, according to his executive order.



“There has been no decision. That’s the mayor’s opinion. I value it,” Cuomo said. “But the decision will be coordinated.”



New York City has emerged as a disease hotspot, with roughly 94,410 COVID-19 cases, and nearly 6,400 succumbing to the illness, as of Saturday afternoon. The governor has said New York needs a massive testing system in place before going back to normal, and that system is only getting underway now.



Meanwhile, the city is working on a “comprehensive” plan for the remainder of this school year, including a “full plan” for the 75,000 high school seniors expected to graduate this year, a parent helpline through 311, and “creative” new online programming.



De Blasio acknowledged the trauma the school closures have inflicted on students, many of whom are losing relatives and members of their school communities.



“Look at what they’ve had to witness and experience, and think about those kids who are grieving right now,” he said, adding that the city will focus on mental health for families and educators.



The transition to remote learning continues to be a massive challenge for families and educators. While many students with computer access and internet connections have been logging on for virtual classes since March 23, tens of thousands still lack the resources to get online, despite the city’s best efforts to get devices into the hands of those in need. Others are working with printed packets that schools have mailed home.



De Blasio said 66,000 devices have been distributed to date, and that every child who needs one will have a device by the end of April. The city estimates it will provide another 240,000 devices to families.



City schools began taking attendance last week, and de Blasio has previously said that the numbers were discouraging. But the city has yet to publicly disclose the figures, making it difficult to gauge how many students may be left behind.



While the decision to keep buildings shuttered was “painful” to make, bringing students back a few weeks would not have made a significant difference in terms of academics, the mayor said, noting that several individual schools would likely need to be shuttered regardless because of coronavirus cases.



In-person graduation ceremonies are likely out of the question this year. Already, the state has eased up on testing typically required to earn a diploma.



“We do not want to see these seniors robbed of their future,” de Blasio said. “That’s going to be a primary objective. To all the seniors out there, we are going to help you. We are going to communicate with you and we are going to find out what you need.”



Though unsurprising and understandable, Saturday’s decision was a “really painful moment,” said Suzy Ort, an assistant principal at Park East High School in East Harlem.



“I feel so bad for the students and the families, particularly the seniors — the loss of graduation and the senior memories and last moments,” Ort said.



Her team is focused on finding ways to keep seniors engaged through the rest of the year, and hoping the education department will allow for a pass-fail grading system to take some pressure off, “because I think we’re dealing with an unprecedented situation that is all about trauma and people are really, really, really suffering.”



Looking forward, she’s concerned about the 130 incoming ninth graders they admitted for next school year, who won’t be able to participate in an in-person orientation or visit the school before the fall.