Texas Standard For October 16, 2020

As Coronavirus cases tick upwards again in Texas, some schools are returning to laptops and tablets. But others are going the opposite direction. Our conversations with the superintendents of two Texas school districts where back to school is the rule, despite concerns about an uptick in coronavirus cases. We’ll hear the rationale. And: You’ve heard of the great recession. Now the spotlight turns to what Texas researchers are calling the economic “shesession” of 2020. Also: The week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardOctober 16, 2020 9:30 am

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Friday, October 16, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. We’ll have full posts for each story, including audio, a little later today.

Roundtable on School Districts Cancelling Remote Learning

Coronavirus outbreaks are causing some schools to go back to remote learning, but many others are going the other way by suspending or cancelling remote learning altogether, and telling students to come back to school. Two superintendents whose districts are making such a move talk to the Standard. They are Dallas Grimes, the superintendent of Roosevelt ISD, just outside Lubbock and Marty Crawford, superintendent of Tyler ISD.

Prairie View March

Students at Prairie View A&M University are taking the opportunity this week to shine a light on voter suppression in their community northwest of Houston. Reporter Lucio Vasquez joined them as they marched to the polls.

The 2020 Shecession

A new report on the COVID-19 crisis by the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin and YWCA USA points to what most women know: this pandemic impacts working moms more than anyone else. The report called “America’s Recovery from the 2020 ‘Shecession’: Building a Female Future of Childcare and Work” details how the coronavirus pandemic is erasing half a century of women’s gains in the workforce. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, one of the researchers on this project, talks to the Standard.

 Trump Support in Big Country

In 2016, a region with the largest voter turnouts for President Donald Trump in the state – and the nation – was in the Big Country, where the trees give way to the desert. KACU’s Heather Claborn looks at how voters in and around Abilene are feeling in 2020.

David Bowles 13th Street

Virtual Learning Struggles

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on school systems in our nation. Many families have struggled to cope with online learning–especially those with kids who have special needs. Kaysie Ellingson of Texas Tech Public Media spoke with two Lubbock families about their very different experiences.

Typewriter Rodeo

The Week in Politics with The Texas Tribune

All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.

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