🎒 Axios PM: Shrinking school

Plus: SBF goes silent | Monday, May 08, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Brennan Center for Justice   Axios PM By Mike Allen · May 08, 2023 😎 Almost done with Monday! Today's PM — edited by Erica Pandey — is 596 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     1 big thing: School days (and weeks) shrink Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios   School districts are experimenting with shorter weeks and later start times. Why it matters: The pandemic exposed a mental health crisis among kids and teens. More districts are trying to alleviate burnout by changing the traditional schedule. ⚡ What's happening: Districts that are starting classes later in the morning say the change gives kids and teens more time to sleep and boosts their well-being, AP reports. The trend may expand, with some big cities — including Denver and Philadelphia — looking into the shift. Weeks are shrinking, too: Nationally, 850 school districts — representing thousands of individual schools — have dropped the fifth day of instruction, up from 650 districts in 2019, Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Supporters of the four-day school week say it gives students and teachers more time with family — and can even reduce rates of bullying. 💡 Between the lines: Shorter days and weeks are solving another mounting problem — teacher shortages. Around 10% of teaching positions were unfilled in the majority of school districts at the start of this school year. 🥊 Reality check: Some districts are accounting for later starts and four-day weeks by adding hours elsewhere. But these switches often mean less net time in class. That correlates with progressively lower test scores and academic achievement, studies have found. Go deeper.     2. 📚 Sneak peek: SBF goes silent Cover: Wiley   At the end of 2022, the people closest to Sam Bankman-Fried were turning themselves in fast. But in a phone conversation with Axios Crypto co-author Brady Dale, the then-30-year-old founder was defiant. Why it matters: The Justice Department case looks daunting for SBF — 13 counts, including recent charges of bribing foreign officials in China. SBF, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, is set to go on trial in October. His attorneys have told the court they may ask for a delay. He's gone quiet since his verbose era between FTX's bankruptcy and his arrest. "I'm pretty confident that they have extremely little data to go on right now," SBF said in a Dec. 30 interview featured in Brady's upcoming book, "SBF: How The FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto's Very Bad Good Guy." "I'm just gonna tell the truth and see what happens," SBF told Brady. "[M]y biggest concern is that the incredibly toxic media environment will mean that there's no way for me to have a fair trial." Share this story ... Preorder the book.     A message from Brennan Center for Justice President Biden must fully ban racial profiling     No one should be targeted for investigation or suspicion using race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or ethnicity. Our security and values are best served when federal agencies make decisions based on facts, not bias. Learn more.     3. Catch me up Data: OECD, Moody's Investor Service. Chart: Axios Visuals 💼 More Americans are getting too old to work, which could lead to long-term labor shortages. Go deeper. 🦠 Some pandemic-era changes that providers and patients have gotten used to will disappear Thursday as the COVID public health emergency ends. That means fewer free tests and treatments. Go deeper. 🕯️The victims of the Allen, Texas, mall shooting include a security guard, an engineer from India and two elementary school students. Go deeper.     4. ⚾ 1 baseball thing: Games get shorter Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   With the pitch clock cutting nearly 30 minutes off the average MLB game this season, the NFL is the only Big Four sports league with average regular-season games lasting over three hours, Axios' Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy report. Average game times: 🏈 NFL: 3:02 ⚾️ MLB: 2:38 🏒 NHL: 2:29 🏀 NBA: 2:16 🔭 What to watch: The NFL is inching closer to that sub-three-hour mark. This past season's average game time (3:02) was the shortest since 1993 (3:00), thanks in part to more rushing attempts and better-scoring defenses — two trends that led to fewer clock stoppages. Share this story.     A message from Brennan Center for Justice President Biden must fully ban racial profiling     No one should be targeted for investigation or suspicion using race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or ethnicity. Our security and values are best served when federal agencies make decisions based on facts, not bias. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: