Pandemic School Closures Reveal Deep Inequities and Learning Risk; Company Responds with Free Parent Resources in English and Spanish
CABIN JOHN, Maryland, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Responding to the growing impact of widespread learning disruption caused by school closures, Learning Without Tears, a leading early childhood education company, today announced the availability of free resources for families facing the hurdles of closed schools, and the sudden rush to distance learning. These resources include structured “learning packets” organized by subject and grade level, which will be updated with new material monthly. Additionally, the Company’s multiple leading and breakthrough learning solutions for preK-5 students are also available at no cost to families. In order to serve the greatest number of families possible, free materials and family resources are available in both English and Spanish.
“In just a few weeks, the education system learned painful lessons,” explained Terry Nealon, Learning Without Tears’ CEO. “The students that already struggled or were at-risk before the shutdown, face the greatest threat of suffering insurmountable learning gaps. Many parents are unsure how to help their students succeed in an online environment. While a number of professional resources have emerged to help teachers teach in a digital environment, there are very few resources that help students learn or empower parents to support that learning.”
Learning Without Tears has made the entirety of its digital learning portfolio available to families without charge. New learning packs give parents access to structured and sequenced curriculum, providing the basic building blocks of education. The free digital learning products include the award-winning Keyboarding Without Tears, handwriting instruction, and early learning skills development. Additionally, Learning Without Tears is creating video tutorials to help parents and caregivers understand a host of areas that may be new to them, such as the basics of early childhood education, key success factors of online learning, helpful instruction tips, etc. The Company’s world-class professional learning workshops, webinars, and support videos have moved online and are open to both parents and teachers.
“It’s a painful reality that too many students are being left behind as the nation moves to distance learning. During a child’s elementary years, any gap in learning can result in setbacks that impact that student for the rest of his/her life,” Mr. Nealon continued. “It is imperative that during this historic period of school closures, online learning succeeds in creating a sense of normalcy and a continuity of learning for the 55 million students currently out of school. By creating structured learning packets, and making our digital materials available for free, Learning Without Tears is currently assisting more than 35,000 families in ensuring successful remote learning for their students.”
Learning Without Tears is also working with its school partners to support their efforts to deliver digital education.
“As parents tell us what help they need, and as long as this school closure crisis continues, Learning Without Tears will create new resources to support families and help ensure the success of remote learning,” Mr. Nealon concluded.
About Learning Without Tears
Learning Without Tears is an early education company offering a proven and unique approach to teaching and learning, from crucial readiness skills in Pre-K to foundational writing and typing skills, including handwriting, keyboarding and cursive. The elementary school-level programs benefit all learners with multisensory, developmentally appropriate, proven practices, and are used by millions of students around the world.
SOURCE Learning Without Tears
Felipe Rivera’s new book Entrevistando un Gigante, a riveting account that narrates a giant’s uncanny perspectives of the world he partakes
NEW YORK, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Published by Page Publishing, Felipe Rivera’s new book Entrevistando un Gigante will surely enthrall readers with thought-provoking scenes only an extraordinary giant can inspire to others beneath and on level with him.
The book Entrevistando un Gigante was created by Felipe Rivera. Felipe said this about his book: “All his life Felipe Rivera loved to help motivate people to achieve their dreams. He liked to work hard in natural disaster emergencies, which he participated in several hurricanes in Puerto Rico. He also has a movement called ‘Share Your Food May 19 Centellita’ from which a proclamation was granted in the City of Kissimmee, Florida, to help the most vulnerable in order to eradicate famine worldwide. In his second marriage he married Mrs. Militza Rosario, having the last of the children. Felipe Alexandre Rivera had three other children in his first marriage: Felipe, María, and Lissie. He has been a father and a friend to them. His wife Militza has had to deal with him in his condition since he underwent a brain tumor in July 2017, and his wife has compiled many of his writings of which he was very impressed with the book titled Entrevistando un Gigante. I hope this book sheds light on what you think a giant is in your world.”
Consumers who wish to understand the mysteries of life and learn from the wisdom it generously offers can purchase Entrevistando un Gigante in any bookstore, or online at Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or inquiries, you can contact Page Publishing, through the following number: 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1156448/Page_Publishing_Felipe_Rivera.jpg
SOURCE Page Publishing
Ana Santos’s New Book Amigos Por Siempre, A Captivating Tale Of Unwavering Friendship In Times Of Overwhelming Challenges And Differences
New York, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The book Amigos Por Siempre was created by Ana Santos. Ana is an author from Santiago City, Dominican Republic. She has a deep interest in literature, which inspired her to write.
Ana Santos said this about her book: “Amigos Por Siempre makes us understand how unconditional fortitude toward others unites a group of individuals of different species who, at first, were hostile to the main character of the story (Bold) and teaches us that you can create an atmosphere of harmony, respect, and great love.”
Published by Page Publishing, Ana Santos’s new book Amigos Por Siempre will instill to readers the lesson of compassion amid dissent and the importance of never giving up in hoping for harmony to triumph over conflict.
Consumers who wish to be heartened by touching scenes that reflect faith and recourse can purchase Amigos Por Siempre in any bookstore, or online at Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or inquiries, you can contact Page Publishing, through the following number: 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1156447/Ana_Santos.jpg
SOURCE Page Publishing
GLA Renews Calls For Cuba To Release Lawyer And Independent Journalist Mr. Roberto Quiñones
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, April 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — On April 16, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael G. Kozak, called for the government of Cuba to free the journalist and poet Roberto Quiñones, serving a one-year sentence since September 11, 2019. Despite months of international pressure and multiple appeals, Mr. Quiñones is still in prison one month after qualifying for parole in mid-March. His wife, Ana Rosa Castro Bertrán, was unable to see him when she visited on April 15, but she dropped off medical supplies.
According to his wife, Mr. Quiñones, who is immunosuppressed and suffering from a gastric ailment, has become “extremely thin,” and she is extremely concerned that she will not be able to visit him for the indefinite future: “the prison is closing tomorrow until further notice, which reflects how the virus has gotten worse throughout Cuba.”
Mr. Quiñones was imprisoned on charges of “resistance” and “disobedience.” These alleged acts occurred in April 2019, when he was detained and beaten without cause for covering a politically-charged trial of homeschooling parents in Guantánamo.
“These cruel tactics are part of a long-standing war of attrition waged by the Communist Party against dissidents and other liberty advocates. Party apparatchiks want to break Quiñones, but he will stand firm. They will fail,” said Jason Poblete. “We will continue to highlight these abuses, help secure Quiñones’s freedom, and, eventually, hold Quiñones’s abusers to account.”
Quiñones Matter Summary
Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces, like many freethinkers, has suffered several decades of the Cuban regime’s persecution. In the past, he has been blocked from traveling abroad and has undergone multiple unlawful searches-and-seizures and detentions.
On April 22, 2019, Mr. Quiñones was arrested at the Guantánamo courthouse and beaten for five days. He had been covering the trial of Pastors Rigal and Expósito for homeschooling, for CubaNet. Radio Martí has a recording of Mr. Quiñones speaking about the beating he received here, and ADN Cuba shows photo evidence of his attack in a profile of the case here.
In June 2019, GLA agreed to work on Mr. Quiñones’s behalf. On August 1, he was cited for refusing to pay a fine for his alleged misbehavior. This was the day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his concern for Mr. Quiñones in a phone interview.
Mr. Quiñones appealed his first sentence from house arrest. This appeal was rejected and he was imprisoned on September 11. On April 1, 2020, One Free Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists featured Mr. Quiñones as one of several journalists worldwide who was unjustly imprisoned.
In support of Mr. Quiñones and his long-suffering family, and since there is no legal reason to have detained him to begin with, GLA demands the Cuban regime release Mr. Quiñones immediately. The GLA shall redouble its efforts to defend him and also hold to account those involved in the unlawful imprisonment of Mr. Quiñones.
The Global Liberty Alliance is committed to defending fundamental rights and the rule of law, including the fundamental right to freedom of speech. You can find more information about the work that GLA is doing on our blog, our Facebook page, or our Twitter account.
CONTACT: Veronica Mayer
(703) 566-3037
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1156938/Global_Liberty_Alliance.jpg
SOURCE Global Liberty Alliance
Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Forms COVID-19 Compassionate Release Task Force
WOODBRIDGE, New Jersey, April 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — In response to the unprecedented number of illnesses and deaths unfolding in federal, state and county jails across the country as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenbaum, Rowe Smith & Davis LLP has announced the formation of a “COVID-19 Compassionate Release Task Force,” to be coordinated by Christopher D. Adams, Chair of the firm’s Criminal Defense & Regulatory Compliance Practice Group.
The task force will assist non-violent offenders who are currently incarcerated and have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 with requests for bail, compassionate release, medical furloughs, and early parole.
“The U.S. Attorney General, various governors and courts have identified prisoners as one of the most susceptible populations to be impacted,” notes Mr. Adams, who is already handling release applications in New Jersey. “We stand ready to advocate on behalf of these individuals, because a prison sentence should not be a death sentence,” Adams adds.
The density of prison environments, lack of access to adequate healthcare, and other considerations place prisoners at particularly high risk for contracting and spreading the COVID-19 virus.
On March 22, New Jersey became the first state to temporarily suspend and commute county jail sentences in response to the pandemic under an order issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court with the support of the New Jersey Attorney General, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey and the ACLU.
In a follow-up measure, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 124 on April 10, creating a process for the New Jersey Department of Corrections to grant temporary reprieve to certain at-risk inmates during the COVID-19 crisis. With that action, New Jersey joined the federal government and other states in releasing certain state prison inmates in order to curtail the spread of the virus.
Individuals seeking assistance with securing bail, compassionate release, medical furloughs, or early parole for any inmate serving a sentence who may qualify for release should contact the following members of the COVID-19 Compassionate Release Task Force for assistance.
Christopher D. Adams [email protected] | 732.476.2692
Robert J. Flanagan III [email protected] | 732.476.3204
Abdus-Sami M. Jameel [email protected] | 732.476.2494
Media Contacts:
Diana Parker [email protected] | 732.476.2464
Erin Faltin [email protected] | 732.476.3278
Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP is one of New Jersey’s leading business law firms. Learn more about our practice at www.greenbaumlaw.com.
SOURCE Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP
Slower Clearance of Coronavirus Infection May Explain Why Men Fare Worse Than Women
BRONX, New York, April 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine may have solved a mystery surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic: Why men infected by the virus generally show more severe symptoms and are more likely than women to die from COVID-19. In collaboration with the Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Mumbai, India, the scientists showed for the first time that men clear the virus from their bodies slower than women and found a possible explanation: a potential male-only “reservoir” for coronavirus.
Their study was uploaded today to MedRxiv, a website created by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to make research quickly available to the scientific community before undergoing the usual peer review process. It has become widely used to share information quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 studies worldwide have consistently shown a higher incidence and greater severity of the disease in men compared with women,” says Aditi Shastri, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Einstein, a clinical oncologist at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, and lead author of the Montefiore-Einstein study. “Our collaborative study found that men have more difficulty clearing coronavirus following infection, which could explain their more serious problems with COVID-19 disease.”
The viral-clearance analysis involved 68 people (48 men and 20 women) with symptoms of COVID-19 who were examined at India’s Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, in Mumbai. After undergoing initial nasal swab tests indicating active infection, individuals were re-tested with serial swabs until the tests turned negative, indicating the time taken to clear the coronavirus. The women cleared the virus significantly earlier than men: a median of four days for women vs. six days for men.
Next, three Mumbai families were identified in which men and women had tested positive for coronavirus infection on swab testing. Again, the women in all three families cleared the coronavirus earlier than male members of the same family.
Why do men have trouble shaking off their infections? Seeking a molecular explanation, the researchers focused on how coronavirus infection occurs. To infect cells, coronaviruses must first latch onto well-known proteins, called ACE2 receptors, that sprout like tiny antennae from the surfaces of cells. Cell types expressing copious levels of ACE2 on their surfaces would theoretically be most susceptible to infection.
The researchers consulted three independent databases with information on ACE2 expression in different tissues. They saw that the testes, along with the lungs and kidneys, were among the areas of the body with the highest ACE2 expression. By contrast, ACE2 could not be detected in tissue of the ovaries, the female equivalent of the testes.
Dr. Shastri stresses that the novel coronavirus’ ability to infect and multiply in testicular tissue needs to be confirmed, but says it wouldn’t surprise her. A recent study from China compared the levels and ratios of sex hormones in male COVID-19 patients vs. healthy men of the same age. The results indicated that the COVID-19 patients had experienced impaired testicular function—evidence that the testes may be significantly affected when men develop COVID-19. Such a COVID-19 complication could have important medical and public health implications, she notes, and deserves to be investigated by clinical trials.
The study’s Montefiore-Einstein senior authors are Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., professor of medicine and of developmental & molecular biology at Einstein and director of hematologic malignancies at Montefiore; and Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and of medicine and the Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research at Einstein, and associate chair for translational research in oncology at Montefiore.
The study’s other senior author is Jayanthi Shastri, M.D., a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist. As director of Kasturba Hospital’s molecular diagnostic laboratory, Dr. Jayanthi Shastri led Mumbai’s effort to serially monitor and analyze coronavirus infection in individuals and their family members.
About Montefiore Health System
Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 11 hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2019-20 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 158 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,800 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2019, Einstein received more than $178 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.
SOURCE Montefiore Health System; Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Reyna Rizo’s New Book Tú Y Yo Podemos Ganar Las Batallas, An Insightful Account Filled With Encouraging Insights For Women Of God
NEW ORLEANS, April 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The book Tú y Yo Podemos Ganar las Batallas was created by Reyna Rizo. Reyna is an author who hails from Nicaragua. She is a mother and wife who currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Reyna Rizo said this about her book: “Tú y Yo Podemos Ganar las Batallas is a book written by a woman for women, which can have a spiritual impact on the life of all that courageous and hard-working woman who dares to believe in God.
Her goal is to leave a mark on the hearts of princesses who have endured various tests throughout their lives. The Holy Spirit has given revelation and inspiration to his servant, Reyna Rizo, daughter of God, wife, and mother, hoping that the reading of this book will help them understand the wonderful identity that God has given to women and can develop as a wife, daughter, and mother to be the living example to her family, her church and her community.”
Published by Page Publishing, Reyna Rizo’s new book Tú y Yo Podemos Ganar las Batallas imparts to all women powerful messages of identity and staying resilient and faithful in God amid the tests of life.
Consumers who wish to find comfort, grace, and wisdom in times of great toil can purchase Tú y Yo Podemos Ganar las Batallas in any bookstore, or online at Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or inquiries, you can contact Page Publishing, through the following number: 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1141431/Reyna_Rizo.jpg
SOURCE Page Publishing
Mario Ignacio Zunzunegui’s New Book “Just the Way It Was” Is An Evoking Memoir Filled With Heartwarming Moments That Define A Purposeful Life
NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia, April 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Mario Ignacio Zunzunegui has completed his new book “Just the Way It Was”: a touching narrative that details the author’s journey through bliss and pain that ultimately gave meaning in his life.
Author Zunzunegui treasures noteworthy insights that are the offspring of a lifetime of well-founded circumstances: “This book is a simple and humble gift, a present, a legacy of past life and love.
“It is a tale of many joys, laughs, and even laughter, as well as tears that sometimes came to be shed.
“It is a small present without any monetary or significant value of any commercial interest.
“Nevertheless, it is very exclusive because only the author can make this gift because within the gift, there are many experiences and anecdotes of a lifetime that only he is aware of.
“It is a gift that may one day be useful to dad or mom when their son or daughter asks you to tell a story.
Well, finally in decades to come, this dusty and forgotten old gift might have served for something useful.”
Published by Page Publishing, Mario Ignacio Zunzunegui’s profound tale graces readers with realizations on human thoughts and emotions that paint a panorama of life’s quaintness.
Readers who wish to experience this engrossing work can purchase “Just the Way It Was” at bookstores everywhere or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1155875/Mario_Ignacio_Zunzunegui.jpg
SOURCE Page Publishing