FEATURED NEWS

April 16, 2020 | U.S. News
The coronavirus pandemic is intensifying language access issues in health care – problems that could be putting both patients and interpreters, as well as the broader public, at risk.

Roughly 25 million people in the U.S. speak no or limited English, and language access has been a long-simmering problem in medical offices, hospitals and the public health field at large. But in the age of COVID-19, with hospitals in some areas scrambling even to treat patients, sick people don't always have access to interpreters, and interpreters don't always have access to crucial protective gear like masks.

" In good times, effective language access is often not the top priority ," says Mara Youdelman, an attorney in Washington, D.C., who works on these issues. "So when you've compounded it with all of the stresses on the health care system right now, it just falls lower and lower down the list."

April 15, 2020 | The New York Times
For years, Claire McCarville dreamed of going to college in New York or Los Angeles, and was thrilled last month to get accepted to selective schools in both places. But earlier this month, she sent a $300 deposit to Arizona State University, a 15-minute drive from her home in Phoenix. “It made more sense,” she said, “in light of the virus.”

Across the country, students like Ms. McCarville are rethinking their choices in a world altered by the pandemic. And universities, concerned about the potential for shrinking enrollment and lost revenue, are making a wave of decisions in response that could profoundly alter the landscape of higher education for years to come.

Lucrative spring sports seasons have been canceled, room and board payments have been refunded, and students at some schools are demanding hefty tuition discounts for what they see as a lost spring term. Other revenue sources like study abroad programs and campus bookstores have dried up, and federal research funding is threatened.

April 16, 2020 | USA Today
A stimulus program set up to prevent small businesses from shuttering and their employees from going on unemployment officially ran dry Thursday morning, less than two weeks after launching. 

The fate of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was launched April 3 with $349 billion for loans to small businesses, is unclear as congressional leaders and the Trump administration remain at an impasse on a deal to inject billions more into the program .  

As the program's popularity became apparent this month, the administration and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked Congress for an additional $250 billion in emergency funds to bolster the program and prevent it from running dry. Though both parties support adding money to the program, Democrats and Republicans have been unable to find a compromise on how the funds should be allocated.

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

April 2, 2020 | JNCL Announcement

Now, more than ever, your voice matters in Washington, DC. Through your responses to action alerts and messages to Capitol Hill, and through your support for JNCL-NCLIS, the COVID-19 relief bills enacted in the past two weeks have included:

  • Small Business Administration (SBA) assistance - loans, disaster relief grants, payroll protection programs - for 501(c)3 organizations;
  • SBA programs expanded to include for-profit businesses with less than 500 employees, regardless of the SBA’s normal small business thresholds;
  • Access to the SBA relief for Independent Contractors and Sole Proprietorships;
  • Aid to our nation’s public schools to support the unprecedented, nationwide, and very rapid shift to online learning.

Our website now includes details on how you can access these benefits, and we will be continually updating this section of the site.
April 17, 2020
Time: 3pm ET

Join CAL this Friday at 3pm for our latest installment in the #LearningFromHome Series: “Kitchen Chemistry & Backyard Biology.” During this 60-minute interactive webinar, professional teacher-trainers, Annie Duguay, Marybelle Marrero-Colon, Maria Cieslak, and Dr. Kate Moran will share fun & engaging activities for integrating science and literacy in your home.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

APRIL 22, 2020
AT 5:00 PM ET

When planning a lesson for teaching remotely, how do you provide the right balance of content, practice/application, and checks for learning ? Lauren Rosen (University of Wisconsin) shares strategies and tips for effective pacing of a lesson by breaking it into small and manageable “chunks” of learning and building in concept checks for learning. During the webinar, experience some technologies that are simple and easy to use, and identify options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning


April 20th-May 1st

Are you looking for FREE professional development for World Language teachers? FLAVA is excited to partner with Vista Higher Learning for their Vista Virtual Conference. I n the meantime, you can view our On-Demand Professional Development Sessions , curated specifically for VHLVC. Featuring sessions from FLAVA, CABE, and more!

FEDERAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Notice ID: 36C10E20Q0125
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Office: VBA FIELD CONTRACTING
Location: Jackson, MS
Response Date: April 20th
JNCL-NCLIS Significant Contributors
JNCL-NCLIS is grateful for the support from our partners.
THURSDAY, April 16, 2020 ISSUE
Disclaimer: The articles and news sources included in NewsBrief are not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, maintained, authorized, or sponsored by JNCL-NCLIS. The views and opinions expressed in the articles in this NewsBrief are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company .