ABCFT - YOUnionews - June 19, 2020
ABCFT Instructional Delivery Survey Results
ABCFT asked YOUnion members to give some guiding information about how they were feeling about instructional delivery models, technology, mental health, and safety in preparation for next school year. The data you have given will provide the ABCFT Negotiating Team and ABCFT Safely Opening Schools Task Force with guidelines on what working conditions and delivery systems are important and effective according to teachers, nurses, and SLPs.
Gallup Poll Shows Most Parents Support Return To In-Person Schooling
A Gallup poll released Thursday found that 56 percent of 1,200 parents surveyed “supported a return to full-time, in-person schooling, compared to part-time instruction (37%) or remote learning (7%) options,” Forbes (6/18, Porterfield) reports. The survey also found “37% said they would prefer a hybrid program, where students attend in-person classes on a part-time basis and make up the rest with distance learning.” According to Forbes, the “overwhelming support for at least some in-person instruction may indicate the strain placed on American households during the pandemic, as many parents work from home and are left without childcare as children needed help to complete schoolwork.”
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - NEGOTIATIONS UPDATEby Ruben Mancillas
Notes from Underground
The most relevant recent news regarding our budget comes at the state level. As the legislature negotiates with Governor Newsom regarding their respective budget priorities, one idea has been to hold off on current proposed cuts with the hope that federal stabilization dollars could arrive in the summer or even the fall to make up the deficit. While the message of no cuts to education has obvious appeal, my concern is that it is wishful thinking and only pushes the problem down the calendar a couple of months. I do hope that the Senate passes the HEROES act but it feels like a losing proposition to predict what the executive branch will do during this election season. We should have more accurate numbers once the state budget is finalized and the updated tax revenue is accounted for during the August revise.
Even though the school year “ended” last week I am aware that many of you have been hard at work on your respective task force committees. A number of us have a virtual meeting scheduled for 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 22 to present the district’s task force findings on how to safely reopen ABC schools. Thanks to all of you who have continued to give vital input via our surveys as well as your various committee responsibilities. One of the most asked questions I receive is “what exactly will the school year look like next year?” At this point, the honest answer has to be “We don’t know yet, there are still many details to work out and outside data to consider that can hopefully change for the better in the coming weeks.” ABCFT is committed to the health and safety of all of our members and our students and this priority has been consistently communicated throughout all of our committee work. I have also pushed the district to acknowledge the reality that as facts on the ground change our carefully made plans may need to change accordingly. What may work in August may need to look different at the end of the first quarter, trimester, or semester. It makes little sense to commit to an instructional delivery model(s) in June for all of next year if conditions allow for a less restrictive model in the coming months. Similarly, whatever model(s) we open with in August should not necessarily be the model(s) we close with in June.
Further thanks go to the many members who listened and wrote in to the school board meeting of June 16. My editorial comment is that it is frustrating to have a supposedly open, public meeting but have such a limited ability to participate over the course of a four hour event. Yes, you can submit comments ahead of time but when a high volume is received not all of them are even heard. The current model discourages democratic participation and my hope is that the district will work swiftly to provide a more inclusive method during upcoming study sessions and meetings. It is ironic that a district that prides itself on our ability to deliver instruction virtually isn’t currently able to hold a school board meeting in a manner that allows for appropriate public debate.
On a personal note, let me share that Ray and I sometimes joke about not cutting our hair during negotiations. Though we don’t have a great deal of hard data to back this up we seem to buy into the idea that our flowing locks may somehow intimidate the district and give us more of that ineffable “mojo” that is so valuable during a difficult bargaining session. So while it seemed clever in February to vow not to get a haircut until negotiations were completed I didn’t anticipate months of hair care not being deemed an essential service or a budget crisis that put our traditional negotiating calendar on hiatus. The result? I have moved steadily from Serpico to Jim Morrison on the cover of the L.A. Woman album. My family fears what may come next.
Lastly, let me wish a Happy Father’s Day to our members. It’s been a stressful year but a day to relax and reflect with the family is always appreciated. Ruben Sr. was an art teacher at Paramount High for over 30 years. I’ll be wishing he was here to help raise his teenage grandchildren during quarantine!
In Unity
ABCUSD SCHOOL BOARD MEETING REPORT BY RAY GAER
This past Tuesday the ABC School District School Board held an important budget meeting to discuss modifications to the district’s proposed budget reductions. Members of the ABCFT Executive Board listened in and had discussions about what was being said during the meeting. The most important outcome of the meeting was when trustee Chris Apodaca in a 4-3 vote moved to put an additional $850,000 from the district’s reserve toward ensuring that the budget cuts that threatened jobs directly would not be enacted. The dissenting votes were again from the Cerritos block of trustees comprised of Soo You, Ernie Nishii, and Sophia Tse.
ABCFT has begun a campaign to change the format of the ABC School board phone meetings in the future. The current process is not democratic because any public comments directed at items in the agenda or at the board members must be submitted prior to the start of the meeting. If you’ve ever attended a school board meeting you will see that there is a type of dialogue happening between the board members and the audience and often ABCFT Leadership will go to the podium to respond or give guiding input to board members during critical agenda items. This back and forth is a necessity for a peaceful employee/school board relations. For example, this last Tuesday Sophia Tse dropped the “STRIKE” word in one of her flippant comments which gave the impression that teachers were talking about a strike about furlough days. It is true a strike is always a legal tactic that can be used during critical breakdowns in the collective bargaining process, but ABCFT is currently not entertaining this option at this time. At a “normal” board meeting, ABCFT would of had the opportunity to squash such thoughtless talk to ensure that the community didn’t see ABCFT as the problem. Clearly board member Tse is not aware of the toxicity of her comments to ABC overall.
Here is a public comment that was submitted to the school board from one of our Tracy Infant Center teachers and union site rep. It is unfortunate that his statement was not read during the meeting due to time constraints but we wanted to print it here in its entirety for your information.
Vanessa Valenzuela: Dear Board Members, My name is Vanessa Valenzuela, I am one of the three teachers at Tracy Infant Center. I have been at the center for more than four years and I hope to continue working for this amazing program. At Tracy Infant Center we service the population in greater need, teen parents, foster children, homeless families, and low income working parents. We are essential for these children and the community. While their parents/guardians are going to school or work, they know their children are in a safe place with professionals that are going to take good care of them.
The program is licensed for four classrooms with a full capacity of 40 students. The rooms are divided by age or development. Infant 1 is for infants two to nine months. Infant 2, for infants 10 to 17 months. Toddler 1, for toddlers 18 to 26 months, and Toddler 2 for 27 to 36 months. Like I mentioned, these ages are approximated and may vary according to their development, every child is different, some reach their milestones faster others take longer. Over the years the program has been already reduced, due to budget cuts, to three classrooms and no more than 24 students. The adult to child ratio is different from infants to toddlers. Infants 2 to 17 months 3:1 ratio and Toddlers 18 to 36 months 4:1. This school year we had the Infant classroom with students two to twelve months, Infant/Toddler classroom 13 to 23 months, and the Toddler classroom 24 to 36 months.
As you can see we accommodate as much as we could to age-appropriate classrooms for their safety and development. The district proposal is to reduce the program to one classroom. Imagine how is that going to be? Having a mixed group of students 2 to 36 months together in one classroom, is that safe? Of course not, it is not even permitted by license. Like I previously mentioned, the ratios are different, their needs are different. Please make the right decision and keep our program as it is. There are other ways we can make this program even better. There are options out there, for example, Early Head Start, program fee-based, (combination with the existing program), and many more. We are one of the few districts that have and Infant Center. We should be proud, our community is. Thank you.
Member Voices - We Want to Hear from YOU
YOU are a vital part and voice of the YOUnion. ABCFT leadership wants to know what is on your mind. Do you still have unanswered questions? Still unsure about remote learning, contact language, salary, negotiations, evaluations or anything else related to our current working conditions, click this link here. All questions will be anonymous. For universal issues, we will address the answers here each week.
Week of June 16th:
SOS Task Force Members
- I am extremely concerned after seeing the list of SOS committee members. While most subgroups look fairly balanced, there is a severe lack of representation from south end schools in primary. In a time when we are seeking representation, the elevation of voices, and equity, this seems like a concerning oversight that needs to be rectified.
When ABCFT sent out the request for representation from all school areas for the Safely Open Schools Task Force we were especially concerned about the representation of Title 1 schools. The ABCFT Leadership believes that the composition of the SOS does have good representation from ABC Title 1 schools. We currently have representatives from Willow, from AHS, 2 from Aloha, 1 from Hawaiian, 3 from Niemes 2 from Palms, and 2 from Fedde. In addition, we paid extra attention to having representation of Title 1 schools on the District's Opening Schools Task Force with representatives from Willow, Niemes, Fedde, Aloha, and 3 from AHS. The representation of teachers from all of the sites listed is critical for the planning for next year and how all teachers, nurses, and students will be impacted.
- Testing for COVID-19
I would like to have a COVID19 test & antibody test before I go back to work. The children should too. Can the district make this possible? I don't feel safe going back into the classroom.
Testing at this point is an individual decision and we recommend that if you are exposed to COVID-19 or are exhibiting symptoms that you work with your health provider for testing options. At this time, the LA County Department of Health and the State Governor are not recommending or mandating testing for school employees or students. Any change in these current policies to include testing will be communicated to employees and parents immediately; however, at this point ABCFT does not foresee mandated testing for the start of school.
Job Security
- I am concerned about the job security of those of us who teach "hands on"/lab classes that are nearly impossible to teach remotely due to supplies and equipment restrictions for home teaching. Do you anticipate that our inability to execute certain aspects of our curriculum will be viewed as our rationale for our programs being expendable?
ABCFT does not foresee any changes in job descriptions that would cause the elimination of any permanent teaching positions. The important thing to remember is that whatever happens next year will only be for next year. The strength of Public Schools is the ability to offer face to face instruction for all members of our society. ABC may develop an online option over the course of the next year and ABCFT will be working with the school district and board members over the next couple of years to ensure that our community schools are ABC’s most critical infrastructure.
Retirement Incentive
- PLEASE offer retirement incentives! Offer those incentives YESTERDAY. Let employees know if there are upcoming furlough days so they know their retirement salary will be effected. Offer a golden handshake to those who do not want to be flexible in our new teaching environment which is COMPLETELY UNKNOWN. Older employees who worry about their health shouldn't make the rest of us stay home- they should retire ASAP! Online learning was not ideal for all students.
As noted in our previous communications, ABCFT is negotiating a retirement incentive with the district. The bargaining team has consistently proposed such incentives in the past and the district is receptive to the idea during this particular budget crisis. There should be a forthcoming announcement as to the details. Furlough days are a separate negotiation. The two concepts are linked when making a personal retirement decision but we will likely have the news regarding any "golden handshake" option before the furlough issue is fully resolved at the table.
Summer Obligation
- I have been asked to attend an IEP meeting in the middle of summer. Am I contractually obligated to participate?
And
What are the expectations for communication over the summer? If we don't receive pay for our time off and we are required to turn in our keys then we should not be expected to monitor our district email. How can the district and admin respect our time off and still reasonably contact staff over the summer?
Our contractual obligation is for 184 days. This year, teacher’s last day was June 11th. It’s up to you if you decide to check your work email but you are under no obligation to do so. ABCFT members are not obligated to attend any meetings during non-duty days. However, if you agree to attend a meeting during summer break then you should be compensated for your time.
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with the membership is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and wellbeing of ABCFT members. The purpose of this weekly report is to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental wellbeing. Together we make the YOUnion.
Alright, this is ridiculous but it will illustrate a point. This week, on the second to last day to renew my drivers license I went to the DMV. I’m sure you would agree that the DMV has a bad reputation as the poster child of bureaucracy gone bad and I dreaded the thought of standing endlessly in line with the fear that I would forget a piece of paperwork and have to come back another day. I am happy to report that my trip to the DMV was not only a success but it was also inspiring. Yep, I said it. I was inspired by the employees of the DMV. The real question is why was I inspired? If you go to the DMV they clearly have thought about the safety and working condition of their employees first but they also devoted effort to make sure their customers were not only safe but also that they were treated professionally. Our ABCT Leadership goal is to do the same for ABCFT members and the students we serve.
Over the past two weeks, members of ABCFT’s Safely Opening Schools (SOS) Task Force have been working with rank and file members to gather information, concerns, and solutions for next year. The guiding facilitators of SOS were recruited to become part of the District task force which includes principals and administrators. It has been invaluable to have these SOS members at the District task force to help guide conversations with ABCFT members at the forefront of their advocacy efforts. The District task force will be completed on Monday and the ABCFT SOS Task Force will complete its efforts by next Friday. I hope to be able to share their work with you next week.
I encourage you to look at the ABCFT Instructional Survey results at the top of the page. I hope that you are able to see your concerns and suggestions reflected in those results. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to share your thoughts with the negotiating team. ABCFT is releasing the results (minus the comments) to ABC district administrators and principals to help provide guidance and data for the development of school plans.
As of right now we are still in negotiations concerning the possibility of furlough days and the delivery model(s) for next school year. I’m guessing that we will have another month before those are more in focus as both sides continue to brainstorm and look at the developing situation. As soon as we have more concrete details from the negotiating table we will get those out to you.
Lastly, and most importantly, I hope that everyone takes a moment to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and how we can use this unique opportunity since the Civil War to reshape our future. Thank you to those who signed up to join the ABCFT Equity Committee. We will most likely not get the critical work of this committee going forward until August due to the other looming deadlines of getting the school district ready for next year. With that being said, I give you my personal word that ABCFT will hit equity reforms with all we have and that the work that will come from the Equity Committee will be groundbreaking for ABC teacher leadership.
I hope you are having a good break or if you are working you will be taking a break sometime in the near future. I miss seeing everyone on Thursdays but I know that absence will make the heart grow fonder. Take care and be safe out there! HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
American Federation of Teachers Passes Resolution Expanding Its Efforts to Combat Racism, Aligning Itself with the Movement for Black Lives
WASHINGTON—The AFT executive council has passed a groundbreaking resolution, Confronting Racism and in Support of Black Lives, that lays out 19 commitments to combat systematic racism and violence against Black people, including the separation of school safety from policing and police forces.
The resolution states that security personnel should be trained as peace officers and integrated within the school community, with a focus on nonviolent resolution of conflicts with a minimal use of force. The AFT will reconvene a unionwide conversation—including educators, students and parents—on how to transform school security to help achieve a safe and welcoming environment for students and staff, and not a militaristic police state that has criminalized Black and brown students.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
SCOTUS blocks Trump's move to scrap DACA program
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Trump administration’s decision to unwind deportation relief for nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), was carried out in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision therefore does not prevent the White House from trying again to properly end the program. “Today, the Supreme Court told hundreds of thousands of DACA beneficiaries that they can breathe,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “It’s a temporary reprieve, but it means thousands of educators, nurses, bus drivers, and grocery clerks who are on the frontlines in the coronavirus battle can stay in the United States.” The decision not only paves the way for immigrants to continue renewing their protected status, it also opens the program to some 66,000 undocumented young people who had been excluded from the program since the Trump administration began winding it down. Meanwhile, the Department of Education is to appeal against a ruling from a federal court judge that temporarily strikes down the agency's policy of excluding undocumented college students from receiving coronavirus relief grants. The judge's ruling applies only to students at California community colleges, but comes on the heels of a similar, temporary decision from a federal judge in Washington that applies to colleges and universities in that state.
Scores of Teachers, Students Relieved After DACA Decision
Chalkbeat (6/18) reports the Supreme Court “blocked the Trump administration from ending the Obama-era program that protects hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children from deportation on Thursday.” The Trump Administration still has the “authority to end the program if it follows the appropriate process, the Court said.” But for now, the decision “allows schools already scrambling to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic to avoid the additional challenge of seeing teachers or other staff suddenly lose their ability to work.”
“Higher education institutions, the American Federation of Teachers, immigration civil rights groups, and individuals are among the parties that challenged the rescission of DACA,” Education Week (6/18, Walsh) reports. AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement, “Today, the Supreme Court told hundreds of thousands of DACA beneficiaries that they can breathe.” Additionally, Francisco M. Negrón Jr., the general counsel of NSBA, “said his group was happy because the decision at least temporarily removes uncertainty for DACA recipients, which include many students and teachers.”
Education Dive (6/18) reports a ruling allowing the Administration to repeal the program “would have impacted thousands of educators, and many more students – some of whom are working on the frontlines as schools reopen.” According to the Migration Policy Institute, “as of 2016, approximately 228,000 children age 15 and younger were unauthorized immigrants potentially eligible for the DACA program provided they stayed in school.” The decision also comes amid a “heated debate” between the US Education Department and college groups over which students – namely, DACA students – are eligible for federal coronavirus aid.
Inside Higher Ed (6/19) reports an “estimated 454,000 undocumented immigrant college students comprise roughly 2 percent of the U.S. higher education system. About half – 216,000 – are eligible for the DACA program.” College students in the DACA program “who have been very vocal, and worried, about their uncertain status took to social media to heave a collective sigh of relief.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education (6/18, Mangan) reports Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, “released a statement welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision but pointing out that it still doesn’t provide permanent legal protection to Dreamers, as DACA-protected students are known.” Regardless, the DACA decision, in addition to the “equally surprising vote in support of LGBTQ rights, is likely to further energize college leaders who have been working to offer emotional and academic support to undocumented students, said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.”
Also providing coverage are EdSource (6/18), The Seventy Four (6/18, Kirsch), Chalkbeat Colorado (6/18), Hechinger Report (6/18), Inside Higher Ed (6/19), and Forbes (6/18, Whistle).
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
U.S. House Dems call for more federal aid to schools
Congressional Democrats have called for more federal aid for education as the nation's schools prepare to reopen this fall. Speaking during a hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on public education, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, said: "Unless the federal government provides immediate relief, it won't be a matter of whether education funding will be cut, but how deep the cuts will be." Federal aid is especially needed to support low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, Scott and others said. Vulnerable students are less likely to attend schools that have the resources to quickly set up high-quality online learning programs, said Scott, who represents Virginia's third congressional district. And they're less likely to have resources such as personal computers, access to high-speed internet service and at-home parental support. North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, the committee's ranking Republican, voiced strong opposition to the calls for more federal education funding, saying it would be "irresponsible" to provide more money without first assessing the effectiveness of funds Congress has already spent.
School choice is 'civil rights issue of the decade,' Trump says
President Donald Trump on Tuesday described school choice as the civil rights issue of the decade. As the nation protests over the treatment of black Americans by law enforcement, speaking in the Rose Garden on an executive order to encourage police reform amid national unrest over police brutality and racial injustice, the President touched on his administration's push for school choice. "Frankly, school choice is the civil rights statement of the year, of the decade and probably beyond because all children have to have access to quality education. A child’s ZIP code in America should never determine their future, and that’s what was happening," he said.
All eyes on Congress ahead of next stimulus package
Congressional leaders have indicated that they are likely to pass a stimulus bill in the next six weeks that includes help for school budgets. How much is included will affect the budgets of nearly every school in the country for years, and help determine whether they will be able to effectively respond to the dual educational and health crises. “The bottom line for us is, it’s going to take a massive amount of help,” said Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa, president of the National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest teachers union. Projections vary as to how much will be needed. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has projected that states will lose out on $765bn in tax revenue over three years, while the Learning Policy Institute estimates that schools will be short $230bn over the next two years. To address this, the NEA and dozens of other public education groups are calling for a total of $250bn in new federal aid for public schools and universities. Ms Eskelsen GarcÃa says the NEA is simply asking Congress to fill the budget holes. “This would not actually get us more money,” she said. “The school budget is this bleeding patient, and this would be the tourniquet.” Michael Petrilli, president of the Fordham Institute, a conservative education think tank, thinks this is a reasonable goal, and agrees that Congress needs to step in. “This downturn and this crisis was just of an order of magnitude that no state could have fully prepared for,” he said. “Most likely, states will have to slash their budgets and therefore slash services … and if that happens, it’s going to be bad for kids.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
California foster youth face even more challenges amid pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on foster youth across California, exacerbating the problems they faced even before the crisis upended everyone’s life. Some have found it challenging to transition to online classes. Others don’t have access to technology, and many have been unable to reconnect with their families. “A lot of foster youth are having trouble reaching out to biological parents or whoever they trust because the courts are down and social workers are hard to reach,” said Amal Amoora, a foster youth advocate and Humboldt State University student: “The whole concept of making sure that youth don’t have their educational and technological rights overlooked, either innocently or not, is not happening because of the pandemic.” One survey of social service agencies from the John Burton Advocates for Youth, a San Francisco-based nonprofit for homeless and foster youth, found that 74% served foster youth who stopped participating in high school or college classes because of the pandemic. Sixty-five percent of agencies said they served youth who needed technology support, such as a laptop, tutoring or the internet. Rochelle Trochtenberg, the state’s foster care ombudsperson in the California Department of Social Services, said getting electronic devices in the hands of young people so they can communicate is vital: “There has been a lot of information about decreases in child abuse reports during the stay-home order because teachers are one of the primary resources for child abuse reports. In a virtual environment, now more than ever, we need to make sure foster children are safe and technology helps.”
California schools chief 'applauds' renaming schools
Tony Thurmond, California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, has said that schools named for Confederate leaders or other racially charged figures exacerbate feelings of racial inequality. “I applaud those schools that have taken these conversations up,” he said, and those who have worked “to rename schools in ways that are more thoughtful and more sensitive.” Thurmond's comments, in response to a question at a media briefing, came after the Berkeley USD board unanimously approved a plan last week to rename Jefferson and Washington elementary schools. The current school names commemorate the first and third U.S. presidents, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, respectively, who both owned slaves. “We need reconciliation that racism has shaped so many factors that we are still dealing with today,” Thurm ond said. “There are conversations ahead for sure. I think we should enter into those hard conversations, to move to that reconciliation, to move to healing.”
----- DISTRICTS -----
Most Superintendents Are Unsure What Schools Will Look Like When They Reopen
The Washington Post (6/18, Strauss) reports most school district superintendents have not announced what schools will look like when they open for the 2020-21 academic year, which, in many places, starts in a few weeks. A new survey by AASA, the School Superintendents Association, found that “94 percent of K-12 superintendents nationwide indicated that they are not ready to announce when schools will reopen and exactly how they will do it.” Uncertainty about how serious the coronavirus will be when school starts in their communities and to-be-determined budget cuts explain “the holdup in making decisions.” With that said, districts are expected to implement protective measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, “and a ‘hybrid’ model of in-person and remote learning will become commonplace in many, if not most, districts.”
L.A. school board to consider phasing out school police
The Los Angeles Board of Education next week will consider phasing out the school police, essentially eliminating the department over the next four years, having come under intense pressure to do so by student advocacy groups and the leadership of the teacher union. Last week the leadership of United Teachers Los Angeles voted to support to the elimination of the 720-member school police department, which provides uniformed and armed protection for the nation’s second-largest school district. Activists, including students, have asserted that the police presence criminalizes students, especially Black students, and that students would be better served if the $70m budget for policing was shifted to other services, including mental health and counseling programs. Monica Garcia, the board’s longest serving member, put forward a resolution calling for the district to reduce the police funding by 50 % starting with the budget year that begins July 1, 2021. The following year the budget would drop to 50% of the current level and then to 10% the following year. The phase-out would allow time for district officials to develop alternative security plans. Two other resolutions on the district’s use of the police will also be discussed next week.
Fullerton board officially removes Plummer’s name from auditorium
The Fullerton Joint Union High School District board has voted to remove Louis E. Plummer’s name from the auditorium located on the Fullerton Union High School campus. The move comes after an online petition by Fullerton resident Jacqueline Logwood called for the name change, raising awareness about Plummer’s association with the Ku Klux Klan while he was superintendent of the school’s college and high school in the 1920s. The board also recognized Christopher Cocoltchos’ 1979 doctoral dissertation, “The Invisible Government and the Viable Community: The Ku Klux Klan in Orange County, California During the 1920s,” which named Plummer as a leader in the organization. The board acknowledged that a facility named after someone associated with the KKK goes against the board’s policies against discrimmination.
LA Super: School police should stop pepper-spraying students
Los Angeles school police should be banned from using pepper spray and carotid holds, LA USD Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday in the wake of calls to disband the district’s 470-member campus police force. Beutner's remarks at his weekly briefing came days after the board of United Teachers Los Angeles, the powerful teachers union, voted to call for defunding the school police department and using the $63m budget for counseling and other student services. “I will be recommending to the board to eliminate the use of pepper spray and the policy allowing carotid holds before students return to schools in August,” he said. The carotid holds, also known as a sleeper hold or a blood choke, have been banned by law enforcement agencies across the country since George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Few districts required teachers to deliver instruction this spring
Just one in three large school systems has been expecting all teachers to deliver instruction, according to an analysis of a statistically-representative sample of 477 school districts by researchers at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, which indicates that rural and small-town districts were far less likely than urban and suburban districts to communicate that expectation. Though the districts served more than 9 million students combined, less than half communicated an expectation that teachers would take attendance or check in with students regularly. Districts with the most affluent students were twice as likely as the districts with the highest concentrations of low-income students to require at least some teachers to provide live, real-time instruction.
Lack of Juneteenth lessons highlighted
A poll by the School Library Journal indicates that 90% of respondents who work in schools do not teach students about the history of Juneteenth Independence Day, also known as Emancipation Day. Though Juneteenth, which originated in Texas, is recognized as a state holiday or day of observance in all but three states, few classrooms are learning about it. As educators plan lessons for the next academic year or lead virtual summer enrichment classes, the School Library Journal says a variety of resources on the holiday are available through Juneteenth.com, as well as ReadWriteThink, Teaching Tolerance and Libguides.
----- FINANCE -----
Nothing off the table’ as SUSD looks to cut $10m-$12m
Selma USD is planning a series of budget workshops to delve deeper and get community input as its Board looks to cut $10m-12m from the upcoming school year’s budget. Superintendent Tanya Fisher said since the state has less money coming in from personal income taxes, corporate taxes and state taxes, school districts throughout California are receiving less funding from the state. SUSD Board President Jennifer Winter said any final decisions about the budget will be made June 30 “at the absolute last minute that we have to make them” to see if there are budget updates from the state.
----- LEGAL -----
Judges defend undocumented student aid
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Education Department's attempt to keep undocumented and certain other college students from receiving pandemic relief grants. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers imposed a preliminary injunction in California preventing the Department from restricting emergency grants only to college students who qualify for federal financial aid. The order only applies to schools in California but echoes similar rulings in other states, casting doubt on the future of a policy that higher education leaders have criticised. The ruling arrives just days after U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice took a similar approach in a case involving the state of Washington.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
School systems struggle with politics of reopening
Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, says that school district superintendents are currently in “a lose-lose situation,” as they grapple with the politics of reopening their campuses. ”You have parents that are demanding the schools to open. And then you have parents that are saying, we're not going to send our kids to school. You have teachers that are saying we're not going to go back to work. Districts that are saying, with these budget cuts, we're going to have to lay off teachers. It's just, this is unbelievable.” While a study published Tuesday found that children and teenagers are only half as likely to become infected as adults, they are not immune, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating reports of a rare but serious type of inflammation found in children that is associated with the co ronavirus. The concern isn’t just for students. Nearly a third of K-12 teachers may be at higher risk for severe illness because they are over 50. Education leaders say all these changes will require additional funding and many decisions are on hold until they know what’s coming. An analysis by AASA and the Association of School Business Officials found that the average U.S. school district may need to spend an additional $1.8m to reopen school buildings, given new expenses for health monitoring and cleaning, additional staffing, protective equipment and transportation.
Epidemiologists mull sending kids back to school
On sending children to school, camp or child care, 70% of more than 500 epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists surveyed would do so either right now, later this summer or in the fall. Many said they were assessing regional data, like the rate of infection transmission in their area, and the safety measures schools are taking. Experts are also considering their own situations, like their family’s health risks, their work demands and their children’s academic, social and emotional lives. Alicia Zagel of the Children’s Minnesota Research Institute, who would send her kids back to school this fall, laments: “This is a dreaded question. My kids desperately need their friends and a formal learning environment, but I don’t necessarily want to send them…”
Children 'half as likely' to get coronavirus, international study suggests
Children and teens are half as prone to infection with coronavirus as adults aged 20 and older, according to a study published Tuesday, which also suggests that kids do not usually develop clinical symptoms of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. “These results have implications for the likely effectiveness of school closures in mitigating SARS-CoV-2 transmission, in that these might be less effective than for other respiratory infections,” say the study's authors, who are based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Among people between the ages of 10 and 19 infected with the virus, just 21% show symptoms compared with 69% among people older than 70, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine, which is based on a survey of six nations; Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Helping students cope with trauma
Many more students than usual will return to school this fall having experienced trauma, whether from witnessing loved ones struggle with COVID-19, suffering from sudden food and housing insecurity, seeing the killings of George Floyd and others at the hands of police, or any other reason. Traumatized children are more likely than others to end up in conflict with peers and teachers, to be absent from school, and to encounter academic difficulty. Children subject to large-scale traumatic events, like natural weather disasters or political violence, may show similar symptoms, at least in the short term. Research on childhood trauma suggests two concrete actions for schools and districts. First, districts can screen for trauma when school restarts, either in person or online, in the fall. Then, in places where the events of this year have showed up as trauma, schools can implement programs that promote child coping skills and support teachers in their work helping mitigate students’ trauma symptoms. School-based screening instruments focus first on a child’s exposure to traumatic events, for instance, job loss or a death in the family. Next, the instrument seeks to uncover emotional or behavioral symptoms related to that exposure. Several screening tools are available, including one developed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. Some programs are designed to be used by students’ classroom teachers. ERASE-Stress, an Israeli program that has addressed children’s mental health in natural disasters and in regions with political violence, reduced children’s post-traumatic stress symptoms, improved their functioning, and gave students more hope.
Protecting public schools crucial for nation's future
Sally Nuamah, an assistant professor of urban politics at Northwestern University, Ryan Good, an assistant professor of urban studies at Eastern Mennonite University, Ariel Bierbaum, an assistant professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland, and Elaine Simon, co-director of the Urban Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, who all study school closures in the United States, demand that all responses to the “diverging pandemics” of racism, COVID-19 and school closures” position public schools as a necessary part of any and all discussions, plans and budgets regarding America's welfare state and “the democratic future of the nation.” The mental, social, physical, educational, political, and social well-being of the 50.8m students, their families, and our entire society depends on it, they add. The academic also assert that the closure of schools has underlined the many roles that schools play, particularly in the lives of our most disinvested Black and Brown communities. The current $13.5bn allocated under the CARES Act is not enough to help schools weather the coronavirus storm, they add.
----- TRANSPORTATION -----
Transportation could be hardest part of reopening schools
The huge expense of mandating fewer students on school buses to ensure that social distancing measures are met is likely to become one of the hardest parts of reopening schools from the coronavirus pandemic. While district leaders will need to purchase or rent more buses, make multiple runs, or stagger route times to align with a staggered school schedule, or more likely combinations of all three, personnel costs and the costs of additional vehicles are likely to hit already strained school budgets hard. The Missouri School Boards’ Association has suggested that districts tap volunteers to serve as social distancing monitors, while Scott Muri, superintendent of Ector County ISD in Odessa, Texas, is considering running school buses all day, like public transit buses, constantly picking up and dropping off students. Whatever the outcome, Curt Macysyn, the executive director of the National School Transportation Association, says: “The days of two-to-three children to a seat are not going to be acceptable in the current climate.”
----- SOCIAL & COMMUNITY -----
Almost half of high school grads have changed plans over coronavirus
Forty-nine per cent of the Class of 2020 have changed their plans as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a survey by Junior Achievement and the PMI Educational Foundation. Of those who made a shift, 36% said they will now work, 32% expect to delay their start date for college, and 16% changed the career path they wish to pursue. "While the findings aren’t necessarily surprising, it does highlight the need to help teens navigate the current climate," says Junior Achievement's Ed Grocholski.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
USC faces another lawsuit over unreturned student fees
A lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court alleges that USC is profiting from the coronavirus pandemic by refusing to refund unused portions of students' spring fees. The complaint - among about a half-dozen similar suits - alleges breach of contract for USC's stated refusal to reimburse pro-rated portions of students' payments after the university was forced to close its campus due to the public health crisis. The university issued a statement saying it was “disappointed by the lawsuit, but believe the evidence will show that USC took extraordinary steps to ensure continuity of the educational experience for its students.”
UC regents unanimously endorse restoring affirmative action
More than two decades after affirmative action was outlawed at public campuses, University of California regents on Monday unanimously supported the repeal of Proposition 209, the 1996 state initiative that banned preferential treatment by government bodies based on race, ethnicity or sex. UC Board Chairman John A. Pérez declared that a “colorblind” model for society denies the reality of racism, and said: “If we are going to be serious about creating a university that truly serves the public interest, we cannot be silent. We cannot be neutral. We must express ourselves in what we think [is] the best future for our university and our state.” The proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution, which was backed last week by the state Assembly, must still pass the state Senate before it can go on the November 3 statewide ballot.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Schools close as coronavirus reignites in Beijing
Beijing on Tuesday ordered its schools to close as China’s government moved to tackle a spike in coronavirus infections in the capital. Medical authorities confirmed another 27 infections from the virus, creating a total of 106 cases since last week, all traced to a food market in the city’s south. Early Wednesday, 31 more cases were reported, bringing the total to 137. Many school grades have restarted in the previous weeks, while others were just about to resume. Beijing had lowered its alert level for public health threats just 10 days earlier.
----- OTHER -----
Netflix boss makes huge donation to historically black colleges
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has donated $120m to the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College, the largest-ever individual gift to support scholarships at historically black colleges and universities. Unlike Ivy League universities with endowments in the tens of billions of dollars, the top historically black colleges and universities have endowments that are hundreds of millions of dollars. Spelman’s, for example, is around $390m.
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT started a working relationship with National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company. Throughout our partnership, NTA has been supportive of ABCFT activities by sponsorship and prizes for our various events. This organization specializes in providing insurance for educators across the nation. We have been provided both data and member testimonials about how pleased they have been with the NTA products and the opportunity to look at alternatives to the district insurance choice.
To All Members of the ABC Federation of Teachers,
National Teacher Associates (NTA) is committed in our efforts to helping educators through tough times. It’s what we do. After all…in our eyes you are the heart and soul of our communities.
Protecting you and your families has been our goal for over 45 years. Despite the current global pandemic, we are not about to slow down now. We know that many of you have had our programs for years and sometimes forget the intricacies of how they work. NTA wants to help facilitate any possible claims for now and in the future. Fortunately, all claims and reviews can be done by phone and on-line. I personally want to offer my services to guide you in the right direction with your NTA benefits.
We also apologize for not being able to finish the open enrollment for those of you who wanted to get our protection. We are still able to help by extending our enrollment window for the near future. Again, this can be done over the phone, email, or on-line.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
I also created a website that allows people to view programs, file claims, apply and schedule meetings. www.
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