Georgia Students Improve on Standardized Testing, According to New Data

Students across the state of Georgia improved their scores on standardized tests, as educators seek to improve learning loss caused by lockdowns and online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to new data from the Georgia Department of Education, scores remained the same or increased on 17 of 21 assessments, when compared to the results of the previous year.

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Awards $15 Million to Schools for Mental Health Initiative

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Wednesday awarded $15 million to schools throughout the state for a new mental health initiative.

The “Get Kids Ahead Initiative” will utilize the money to “provide direct mental healthcare, hire and support mental health navigators, provide mental health first aid and trauma-based care training, or provide family assistance programs.”

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Appomattox County Kills First Amendment Sanctuary Resolution

The Appomattox County Board of Supervisors declined to vote on a First Amendment Sanctuary resolution at a Monday night meeting. Multiple members of the board said that they share concerns over Governor Ralph Northam’s executive orders, but they said the board does not have the authority to enforce the resolution or to protect Appomattox County citizens from state-level enforcement of the executive orders. With no one willing to second Supervisor John Hinkle’s motion to vote on the resolution, the motion died.

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Data Shows Pandemic Contributing to Opioid Crisis, Local Health Experts Report ‘More Relapses’

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has contributed to rising drug-related deaths and the ever-worsening opioid crisis in the United States, according to health officials said local data.

Individuals battling opioid addiction have experienced increased stress due to isolation during the pandemic, according to health experts and data collected by the Wall Street Journal reported. Roughly 13% of American adults surveyed in June said they had started or increased drug use, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

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Commentary: Are the State-Led Pandemic Shutdowns a Trial Run for the Green New Deal?

At the height of the state-led COVID-19 pandemic economic shutdowns in April, 25.3 million Americans had lost their jobs as businesses shuttered up and families stayed behind closed doors, waiting for the worst of the virus to pass.

While working from home or being furloughed, millions of Americans stayed off the roads, driving much less and monthly fuel consumption down 47.1 percent in April, according to the Energy Information Agency.

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