ABCFT - YOUnionews - September 25, 2020
MORE SPOTLIGHT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT
By ABCFT Child Development VP Patty Alcantar and Child Development leaders
State Preschool: Jessica Sandoval, Preschool Teacher
On September 11, 2020, State Preschool teachers hosted a “Grab and Go” event for their preschool students. Each student was given a bag full of materials to help support their virtual learning. A huge thank you to ABCFT and Lakeshore Learning for their generous donations that helped make this event possible. During this event Preschool also honored hero and fireman, Jose Perez by initiating a Wear your Mask Campaign. The preschool teachers were honored to be joined by the wife and youngest son of Mr. Jose Perez.
Head Start: Patty Alcantar, Head Start Teacher
On August 26th the Head Start program kicked off “Distance Virtual Learning” with live teacher instruction meetings. Head Start student’s learning is supported by live virtual meetings, asynchronous activities that promote school readiness, and individualized learning goals that are established on a weekly basis by a teaching partnership approach with parents and teaching staff.
In the new era of virtual teaching and learning, Head Start teachers have demonstrated great resiliency as they manage the endless challenges with technology, navigating a new way of teaching, and explore best teaching practices for distance learning. This challenging time has unified staff and has promoted a strong partnership among teaching teams and a great sense of collaboration among teachers and teacher assistants to best support students and their families.
Tracy Infant Center:
Tracy Infant Center teachers are currently working on long term planning and preparing learning materials for asynchronous learning at home while they await enrollment for their classes so they can begin teaching.
Child Care: Renee Navarro EDP Teacher
Union representatives from EDP were part of the Child Development Task Force that worked on s reopening plans for hybrid, virtual, and in-Person Childcare models. At the August 4th Board meeting the in-Person Child Care Program was approved. Full Fee and Free Childcare was planned for eight sites across the district. During the planning phase, many changes and challenges were experienced due to the COVID 19 Health & Safety Guidelines.
The in-person Child Care program opened two Full Fee sites on September 9th, with the other sites scheduled to open on September 30th for the Free Childcare Programs. Unfortunately, the Childcare program was suspended while we wait for a state waiver that allows childcare programs to operate during school hours. Currently, our teachers are working at school sites and ELAC to support virtual learning needs and assessments.
A huge thank you to the principals, nurses, custodians, and nutrition services workers at the 8 sites that worked with EDP to ensure a safe environment for students and staff. To all the E.D.P./Childcare staff, what a resilient group you are; you have continued to handle the frustration, uncertainties, and challenges with the care and intent of doing what is best for our children and families. Continue to find “the sunshine”.
CENSUS 2020
Time is running out to take part in the 2020 Census. Wednesday, September 30th is the last day to be counted. Why should you be bothered to be counted anyway?
Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year. These federal monies keep our communities supported by affecting housing for the elderly, Headstart, grants that support teachers and special education, and many more
The results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
Click here to learn more about the 2020 CENSUS
MEMBER BENEFITS - WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. ABCFT will be offering Wellness Wednesdays. Each Wednesday from 3:00 to 3:30 pm members will have an opportunity to virtually participate in Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga. These weekly sessions will give members a chance to practice self-care.
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, you can also access mindfulness resources for all ABCFT members. For Kaiser members, you have free access to the app Calm and myStrength which offers personalized self-care programs based on the cognitive behavioral therapy model.
Please be kind to yourself and find time in your busy schedule to take care of yourself.
This week, Donna focuses on improving your breathing and releasing tension by using body scan meditation, mindful awareness with kindness and curiosity, Hocus Pocus Focus focusing your energy followed by a mountain yoga pose. Closing activity was recognizing the treasure you possess within and loving yourself.
TOSA TIDBITS
Google Meet Update
Thank you all for continuing to share your feedback regarding Google Meet for video conferencing. Enhancements to Google Meet are slowly being deployed and you will begin to see them hit your Meet sessions soon.
The Meeting Host can now ‘Block Joining’ after removal from Meet as well as ‘Block Joining’ by denying a request to join twice. Denying a request from outside the organization once will ‘Block Joining’. The host will not be interrupted with a request to join/knock once blocked.
Tile View - Meet users can now adjust the number of tiles visible in a Meet window (up to 49).
1) Click 2) Select 3) Choose view
Meet Moderator Controls are getting better. These three features are available when you see the blue shield at the bottom of your Meet window! (Blue shield signifies you are the host)
Chat Lock - Turn chat on/off for all participants
Present Lock - Turn off Share Screen Option for Meet attendees
Quick Access - Turn off to not allow anyone to join Meeting. Forces a join request/knock from anyone asking to join.
*more improvements to come*
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Go Guardian Tips:
Viewing Students in GoGuardian:
Students must sign into their Chromebook with their District Google Account. This will automatically sign them into the Chrome Browser.
For Mac or PC, students must sign into the Chrome browser Profile with their District
Google Account.
Troubleshooting: Students Not Visible
Verify that they are signed into the Chromebook or the Chrome Browser: first_last@myabcusd.org
Students should have 2 GoGuardian Extensions. Verify they are installed
Contact TA or IT for assistance.
Student Not Found * Student Offline * No Active Task
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Savvas EasyBridge Now in Google App Tray
We are excited to announce that Savvas EasyBridge is now available in the Google App Tray under the myabcusd.org domain. This also means students have access to Savvas from their Google App Tray if teachers are not synced to Google Classroom. Please keep in mind that the Google App Tray is not available on iPads. If your students are using iPads, please continue to log into Savvas using the designated link that has been provided prior to this email. **These instructions will also work for your students.**
Directions for accessing the Savvas on the Google App Tray:
1) Be signed into your myabcusd.org email account
2) Go to your App Tray at the upper right hand side
3) Scroll all the way down to the bottom to find Savvas
EasyBridge
4) Select your myabcusd.org email address
5) This will take you into Savvas EasyBridge.
TEACHER LEADERS PROGRAM by Tanya Golden
The ABCFT Teacher Leaders Program for 2020-21 has begun with eight teachers representing Speech and Language, early childhood, elementary, and secondary schools participating. Earlier this week, during the virtual orientation meeting the expectations and responsibilities the Teacher Leaders will be assuming, were shared. The primary task for the TL’s will be their action research project. Each TL will select an education-related policy issue to research and ultimately make a recommendation for action. The project includes a research report and presentation. The TL’s will be meeting twice a month during the school year to learn the inner workings of ABCFT, CFT, and our national affiliate, AFT, how to advocate for teachers and students, brush up on research and speaking skills and hear from guest speakers that are in education or policymakers who help shape education policies. The TL’s will be working diligently all year but will be rewarded with the experiences of stepping outside of their comfort zone to grow both personally and professionally. Admiration and accolades to these Teacher Leaders for rising up to this challenging yet necessary work during these unprecedented times. Yes, We Can Do It!!
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. This weekly report aims to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Together we make the YOUnion.
Like you, I am totally exhausted, suffering from long nights working, Zoom/Meet burnout, endless conversations with equally exhausted colleagues, frantic about the state of the nation, worried about returning in person, fearful that I’m not taking care of myself enough and living for the weekends so I can have a few extra hours of family time or “me” time. I say this so you can pardon my rambling thoughts here. What happens when we get used to this pace, and the chaos doesn’t phase us because it becomes the norm?
Membership Coordinator Tanya Golden and I were putting together a draft of a survey that will go out to all teachers on October 5 and I realized just how much our situation has changed since we delivered our last survey in May. It seems so long ago but just look how much we’ve learned and changed. Teachers and nurses may be tired, but YOU’VE GOT THIS.
Something remarkable happened in the Union Chat this past week when we started talking about the prospect of putting out a new survey to the membership. Our small group of 75+ became a melting pot of ideas and constructive thoughts about how we can tackle something together. Stop in to chat next week for a sneak peek of the survey. During the chat, we discussed how other districts are having AM/PM shifts of students and just how many hours a day it would take. When we all realized that meant 9 hour instructional days, we unanimously agreed that was a NON-STARTER. There are so many crazy ideas coming from districts across the country and in California. The one thing they all have in common is that they are carried on the backs of teachers....you know what….that just isn’t gonna fly. Enough is enough. Teachers are killing themselves to make virtual learning work for them and their students. We don’t need another mandate right now.
I would of written a School Board Report for the meeting that happened this week, but because we already have so much content, I decided to save it for next week. However, the most important thing to come out of this weeks’ meeting was that all the answers and reforms for the district’s ills cannot be carried on the backs of teachers by adding yet another training. The ABCFT leadership agrees that the issues of sexual harassment, social justice, and equity are critical issues for our students and all employees at ABC. However, these are community issues. It was refreshing to hear members of the community and board members say that any reforms that happen in ABC must include the equal participation of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and board members. We cannot make lasting changes in our schools for our students without equal participation with the community members. It was a step in the right direction, and next week I will have a report that will have time stamps so you can fast forward to the most interesting parts of the meeting.
I know this week I’m all over the place with topics, but that was the norm for this week, but I do want to send out gratitude for some of the groups I met with this week. Thank you to the ever-hopeful Child Development teachers for their tireless efforts to make their programs better for students. Thank you nurses for letting me see the world from the eyes of a health worker. Our nurses are just amazing people, and they are working in at our school sites with their supervisors to help make our schools safe for students’ return. Thank you upper-grade SDC teachers for your positive attitude despite the fact that you are teaching three grade levels in one class. That just isn’t right and ABCFT will work to make your lives and more importantly, the lives of your students better. Thank you ABCFT YOUnion Chat regulars for your invaluable support for teachers and each other. Thank you past and present ABCFT Teacher Leaders jumping into a whole new world of union activism. Your enthusiasm and energy is contagious ( a good contagious). Last but not least, thank you ABCFT Executive Board members for your tireless efforts and for bringing clarity to a chaotic situation. Your input and guidance are invaluable.
Finally, just so you are aware, ABCFT members who are part of the CFT State Committees will be virtually meeting this Saturday, where they will share and gather education-related ideas from around the state. We hope to have some news from the CFT quarterly State Council about the attendance and accountability paperwork and how discussions will modify the amount of paperwork currently being thrust on teachers. The California Federation of Teachers, along with the California Teachers Association and other educational associations, met with California’s Superintendent of Education Tony Thurman and the CA Department of Education (CDE) to express their outrage about this additional paperwork. I hope to hear that there will be a change in this policy or some compromise that doesn’t fall on teachers’ backs. We are a community right? Then let’s act like a community and all carry the ball forward together.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Urge Governor Newsom to sign the Student Borrower Bill of Rights
Please take a moment to urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 376, the Student Borrower Bill of Rights. This critical piece of legislation will bring much-needed reforms to the student loan market and regulate the private-sector companies that service both federal and private student loans for California borrowers.
Urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 376
The need for increased protection is clear: Not only are too many students in the state of California struggling under the burden of student debt, but their loans are managed – and too often mismanaged – by companies that conduct business in harmful and potentially deceptive ways.
As millions of Californians struggle under the combined weight of student loan debt and the economic shocks caused by COVID-19, time is running out for the Governor to sign the Student Borrower Bill of Rights.
Please contact Governor Newsom today, and urge him to sign AB 376.
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
Press Release
Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Life and Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
For Release:
Friday, September 18, 2020
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the news of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
“Justice Ginsburg is an icon. She leaves behind a legacy as a brilliant, hardworking jurist and a trailblazing feminist; her loss is incalculable. Long before she became notorious, she broke barriers most never even dreamed to approach. Her unfailing sense of justice reminded us of its awesome power, and her unbending sense of duty reminded us to remain committed to protecting our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law. But it was her personal courage and resilience, especially in the face of illness, that reminded us just how much strength one single person can have.
“The best way to honor Justice Ginsburg is to cherish the justice she pursued and to honor her final wish to wait until the next president is inaugurated before considering her replacement.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
National Dashboard Tracks COVID-19 Cases In Schools Across 47 State
NPR (9/23, Kamenetz, Wood) reports the COVID-19 School Response Dashboard “was created with the help of several national education organizations” to let K-12 schools “voluntarily – and anonymously – report their confirmed and suspected coronavirus cases, along with the safety strategies they’re using.” The dashboard currently shows an “average of 230 cases per 100,000 students, and 490 per 100,000 staff members, in the first two weeks of September. The responses come from public, private and charter schools in 47 states, serving roughly 200,000 students both in person and online, as of Tuesday, Sept. 22.” Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University who is spearheading the effort, “hopes that the number of schools participating will grow significantly, from hundreds to thousands of schools, and that the data will give insights into trends over time.”
Indiana Dashboard Shows Nearly 1,900 COVID-19 Cases In Schools
Chalkbeat Indiana (9/23, Washington) reports Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said Wednesday the state’s dashboard tracking coronavirus in schools, which will go public next week, shows that “in one mid-September week, Indiana recorded nearly 1,900 cases of COVID-19 in schools.” The dashboard “reflects data from about 2,000 schools, or more than 70% of the state’s schools. Officials expect more districts will provide their numbers by the time the dashboard goes live.” The dashboard will display “new and total school COVID-19 positive cases among students, teachers, and staff. If a school has fewer than five cases among students, the state will suppress the information to protect confidentiality.”
----- TEACHER PROTESTS -----
Newport-Mesa employees protest school reopening plan
Hundreds of Newport-Mesa USD employees and parents rallied Sunday in a motorcade to protest the planned resumption of in-person learning for transitional kindergarten through second-grade classes on September 29. About 200 vehicles drove in a caravan Sunday from the teachers union’s office to Costa Mesa High School, convening in a demonstration with speakers who described an inadequacy of safeguards and a hasty effort to roll out a hybridized learning model comprising both online and in-person instruction. “We understand that schools need to reopen, but safety needs to be paramount,” said NMUSD maintenance technician and union steward Gary Logan, who attended Sunday’s protest. “What would be more damaging to students would be to bring them back and then have to send them home again because we’re not ready.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Low coronavirus outbreaks in schools, national data shows
Early evidence suggests that reopening schools may not be as risky as many feared. Researchers at Brown University on Wednesday released their first set of data from a new National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard, which was specifically created to track coronavirus cases, and the numbers indicate low levels of infection among students and teachers. “Everyone had a fear there would be explosive outbreaks of transmission in the schools. In colleges, there have been. We have to say that, to date, we have not seen those in the younger kids, and that is a really important observation,” says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University who helped create the tracker, adds however: “I don’t think that these numbers say all places should open schools with no restrictions or anything that comes close to that. Ultimately, school districts are going to have different attitudes toward risk.” Zeph Capo, president of the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers, whose jurisdiction too saw low rates of infection, suggests that this is partly because parents in communities most impacted by coronavirus are less willing to send their children back to school. He also predicts that the numbers will rise as more students return to buildings and if the pandemic worsens this winter.
GAO finds fault with federal push to reopen schools
The Government Accountability Office has reported that the Trump administration has offered conflicting messages regarding the reopening of the nation’s schools. In its latest report, the government watchdog found that, while Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has stressed that plans on how to reopen school buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic were "state and local decisions," she has also, with President Donald Trump, suggested that schools' federal funding may be at risk if they don't allow students to return for in-person learning. The study also found that guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about how schools should minimize the spread of the virus has been unclear and, at times, contradictory. Its findings echo concerns school administrators have voiced for months as they struggle to interpret layers of local, state, and federal directives amid changing information about the virus and how it spreads. Between the completion of the GAO report last week, and its publication on Tuesday, the CDC released a color-coded chart detailing the risk of spreading the virus in schools. The chart, which relies on a few key health metrics, does not instruct schools when to close, but it says it can be a tool to help guide decisions about opening, closing and returning to remote learning.
House bill to avoid government shutdown includes school nutrition funding
The House of Representatives has passed a short-term spending bill that will keep the government funded through December 11, after Democrats reached an agreement with the White House over farm aid and food assistance. The bipartisan agreement between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to smooth the bill’s passage in the Republican-controlled Senate, and avert a partial shutdown when the government’s funding expires next Thursday. Pelosi said the proposal would include $8bn for nutrition assistance for schoolchildren and families. It renews Pandemic EBT, a program that provides food benefits while schools are closed set to expire at the end of September, for a full year. It also adds increased accountability for farm aid money to prevent it from going to large oil companies.
Wall Street Journal CNBC USA Today
Trump attaches ‘education fund’ requirements to TikTok deal
President Donald Trump has signed a last minute business proposal for TikTok, Walmart and Oracle, that would allow the social networking app to continue to operate in the U.S. One of his conditions for approving the deal was a $5bn commitment from the companies to create an education initiative that teaches children America's "real history." Oracle said it and the other TikTok investors would create an educational initiative “to develop and deliver an AI-driven online video curriculum to teach children from inner cities to the suburbs,” adding that the courses would range from “basic reading and math to science, history and computer engineering.” A U.S.-based version of TikTok, the President said, would employ 25,000 people and likely be headquartered in Texas.
Los Angeles Times USA Today New York Magazine
Schools Begin School Remotely, Yet Failure To Get “Lost” Students To Attend Class Still Persists
The New York Times (9/22, Goodnough) reports that “attendance data from last spring, while limited, suggests that the problem loomed large in many districts after school buildings closed in mid-March.” In one survey of 5,659 educators “around the country, 34 percent of respondents said that no more than one in four students were attending their remote classes, and a majority said fewer than half their students were attending.” Early data “from the new school year suggests that the problem persists.” By the end of the first week “of school in Detroit – where learning is mostly being conducted virtually – 78 percent of students had shown up to class, compared with 90 percent by that point last year.” Data on “why students disappear from virtual school is hard to come by, but there are some obvious explanations.” Many “lack a computer or stable internet; others have to work or care for younger children; some families were evicted and had to move.”
Districts Nationwide Report Declines In Kindergarten Enrollment
TIME (9/22, Reilly) reports the new school year is “proving especially challenging for children as young as 4 or 5 years old to sit in front of computer screens for hours each day, learning how to navigate websites and how to mute and unmute their microphones during virtual lessons.” This may explain “why kindergarten enrollment has declined in many districts across the country this year.” While there are “no national kindergarten enrollment numbers available for this school year yet,” several districts that have reported “sharp declines of kindergarteners are not seeing the same enrollment drops in other grades.”
Chalkbeat (9/22) reports school districts across the country are seeing double-digit declines in kindergarten enrollment. The trend “seems to cut across income lines, with declines in schools that serve mostly students from low-income families as well as wealthier ones.” Notably, when the Education Week Research Center “surveyed some 400 school district administrators and principals in late August, more than half reported seeing a decline in kindergarten enrollment – and the pattern was similar for high-poverty and more affluent school districts.” Some experts worry the enrollment declines “mean more young students will go without the academic and other benefits of kindergarten – and that could deepen existing educational inequities.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
California Dept. of Education launches anti-racism plan
The California Department of Education has announced new anti-racism lessons and teacher training for school districts, just days after President Donald Trump decried the notion of teaching slavery as a founding tenet of the U.S. and called for a more “patriotic education." The new Education to End Hate initiative is designed to help California’s more than 6 million K-12 students and teachers to “confront the hate, bigotry and racism rising in communities across the state and nation,” the department said. The initiative will include a virtual classroom series on how schools can combat discrimination and provide districts up to $200,000 to support teacher training regarding anti-racism and bias. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond pointed to the police killing of George Floyd in May, bullying of Asian American students amid the coronavirus and a spike in anti-immigrant rhetoric and antisemitism since the 2016 election as reasons for the project. “At times, it just is so heartbreaking. Sometimes I’m not sure what to do,” he said. “But in those moments, I’m reminded education continues to be one of our most powerful tools to countering hate.”
----- DISTRICTS -----
Sweetwater schools to stay closed until 2021
The Sweetwater Union High School District announced Monday that it will not reopen for in-person learning until at least January 2021. The district said the decision was made due to a lack of decline in San Diego County’s case rate. Sweetwater and other districts in these hard-hit areas enroll large numbers of students from low-income families and students of color, the populations most likely to contract the coronavirus due to socioeconomic and health disparities. While Sweetwater will remain closed and provide distance learning, the district will hold in-person assessments for students with disabilities, said Sweetwater acting Superintendent Moises Aguirre.
San Diego Union-Tribune NBC San Diego Fox 5 San Diego
Novato teachers reject hybrid teaching plan
The 408-member Novato Federation of Teachers has rejected a hybrid plan to return to in-person classroom instruction, with 55% voting against Novato USD’s proposals. “Teachers cannot be in two places at once,” said union president Mariah Fisher. “Teaching 15 in the classroom and 15 at home, with the expectation that all students will receive the same level of education, is too much.” Other concerns about the proposal, Ms Fisher said, involve the duties of monitoring virus safety items such as masks and social distancing while also teaching, the dangers of excess mixing of student “cohorts” or pods at the middle and high school levels, and cohort sizes of up to 100 students at higher grades. Novoto Superintendent Kris Cosca said the teachers’ decision “will not dictate how and when we can return our students to campus when it is determined we can do so safely,” adding he plans to write to the local community “with updates regarding timelines for our board of trustees to make informed decisions about returning children to campus.”
San Diego USD enrollment drops amid pandemic
San Diego USD announced late Friday that student enrollment numbers have dropped below projections made before the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close. As of Wednesday about 100,348 students were enrolled in schools within the district - 2,474 students, or 2.4%, less than what was expected, according to the school district. The largest group of students not enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year is kindergarteners, who make up about 1,680 of unenrolled students. The school district is conducting outreach to families who have not enrolled their children in school, with a special focus on students in kindergarten grades, according to the district. “Those early grade-levels are critical times in the life of a student,” said Superintendent Cindy Marten in a statement. “They set a child up for success in later grades, not just academically, but socially and emotionally as well.”
----- CLASSROOM -----
Spanish-language resources reassure parents concerned about distance learning
A number of education organizations in California are developing new guides for Spanish-speaking parents to help them meet the challenges of distance learning. A recent survey by Latino Decisions, a political opinion research group, and Abriendo Puertas, an early childhood foundation, shows that 65% of Latino caretakers report having a difficult time “helping their children because they are too unfamiliar with the class material.” The national survey, conducted in both English and Spanish between June 12 and June 19, includes responses from 1,195 Latino parents and grandparents. “Reaching out to Spanish-speaking learners feels like a continuation of our work, but it’s also borne of this time,” said Katherine Stecher, Spanish content manager of Khan Academy, a nonprofit that provides free learning aids for K-12 through early college. “People are in need of more resources.” Kahn expanded its offerings in May with Sigamos Aprendiendo to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking parents. The free website provides a survival guide that teaches how to keep children motivated while distance learning, learning schedules children can follow at home and lesson plans for children in grades 3 to 8.
How COVID is shifting school comms strategies for English learners
Delayed openings in many districts mean students and their families may have completed only a few days or weeks of the new school year. Already, parent, teacher and administrator frustration is understandably widespread due to the unpredictability of the pandemic and the forced change to traditional education. The interruption of classroom instruction has been particularly difficult for specific student populations, such as English Language Learners (ELLs). Nothing replaces the relationship of face-to-face interactions with parents, but when in-person gatherings were suspended, school leaders knew increasing communication with ELL families was crucial. By the end of the 2019-20 school year, about 2,000 of 22,000 English Language Learners in Texas' Austin ISD had stopped attendinglass and/or the family had not responded to communication efforts. ELL students in Austin speak more than 100 different languages. Spanish is the most common language, alongside Arabic, Vietnamese, Swahili, Burmese, Dari and Pashto. Recognizing they were missing a portion of students, Austin ISD leveraged existing partnerships with local radio and television stations they knew their families viewed as entertainment. Those organizations shared district messages in their native language. Relying on previously established community relationships with the city and county health department and faith-based organizations have enabled the district to reach families in ways most convenient to them.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Teacher pay still lags professional peers
The disparity between teachers’ salaries and those of other industries remains high. In 2019, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute, teachers made 19.2% less than their nonteaching peers who had similar experience and education. For female teachers, the wage penalty is 13.2%, while male teachers make 30.2% less than college graduates in other professions.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
California sees steep drop in reports of child abuse since school campuses closed
From April through August, reports of suspected child abuse statewide dropped 28% compared to reports during those same months in 2019, according to data from the California Department of Social Services. With most schools in California using distance learning, teachers are only seeing students online, where it’s much more difficult to determine if a child has been physically, emotionally or sexually abused, or is suffering from severe neglect. Children are also less likely to confide in teachers virtually, especially if the child has no privacy at home, advocates said. To help counties respond to an uptick in COVID-related child welfare issues, the California Department of Social Services has issued guidance for local agencies about funding, grants and other issues. It has also partnered with 211, a helpline that refers callers to programs and benefits, to include information for families in need, such as school lunch programs and family resource centers.
Experts urge caution on temperature check tech
Body temperature checks have emerged in recent months as one of the more advanced and passive coronavirus mitigation techniques, with tripods mounting infrared cameras an increasingly common sight at the entrances to buildings. However, experts have cast doubt on their efficacy, warning that they do little to detect people infected with the coronavirus, and that they could make people less safe by giving the false impression that COVID-19 is not present. "In the context of schools, fever screening is a particularly bad idea," said Katelyn Gostic, an epidemiologist at the University of Chicago, who studies the use of symptom screening systems for catching infectious diseases. "Fever screening only works if you have a fever. And we know that a lot of infections in children and young people seem to be asymptomatic or mild enough that you might not have a fever for several days, even though you're contagious, or you might never develop a fever at all," she added.
----- SPORTS -----
Pac-12 delays decision on fall football
The Pac-12 university presidents and chancellors met Friday to be presented options for staging a fall football season, but delayed any decision until at least later this week. State and local authorities in California and Oregon signaled they would be willing to ease COVID-19-related restrictions that have made it nearly impossible for six Pac-12 teams to prepare for a football season. There is still work to be done with health officials, but things are moving quickly enough that the Pac-12 is hopeful it could start a season that allows its teams to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The four playoff teams are scheduled to be selected December 20.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Fewer students attending California community colleges
California’s community college system is experiencing a systemwide decline of student enrollment this fall, with some campuses reporting double-digit losses. While enrollments have been largely flat in recent years, with variations among the colleges, the situation appears to be different this year, with the picture complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, job losses, the transition to mostly online classes and historic wildfires. “This is an issue that we’re paying very close attention to, that we’re very concerned about, particularly as it relates to any loss of enrollment for our most vulnerable student populations,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “We did begin the (fall) semester with a brief decline in enrollment. We’re beginning to see that gap close. We’ll have more data come November but right now we ’re probably looking at around a 5% to 7% decrease in enrollment so far.”
----- OTHER -----
Education researchers 'shut out of schools'
The work of education researchers has been significantly limited by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Academics often study the very pieces of the "puzzle" that are missing at present; in-person teacher-student interactions, reliable attendance data and scores on big end-of-year state assessments. Douglas Harris, director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University, comments: "Ongoing long-term studies are now kind of in shambles.” Laura Hamilton, a behavioral scientist who directs the Rand Corporation’s Center for Social and Emotional Learning Research, laments: “The idea of even engaging with external researchers, and just putting one more thing on their plates to worry about, is really challenging.” Mark Schneider, director of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, said many schools that are open have instituted blanket bans on non-school employees. “Research, even though it’s important, is not viewed by most as essential. So researchers can’t get waivers to allow them to work in school buildings. I mean, do you blame anybody for limiting access to schools and kids?”
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
