ABCFT - YOUnionews - October 9, 2020
MEMBER VOICES - Instructional Delivery Survey
Final day to respond is Monday, October 12th
YOU are a vital part and voice of the YOUnion. Thank you to the nearly 500 members for taking the Instructional Delivery Survey. If you haven’t already, please take the time to provide ABCFT leaders with your informed opinion about your experiences during remote learning and preferences for reopening schools. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. We know ABCFT members have endured much upheaval and have adapted with professionalism and concern to our evolving situation. Your answers are anonymous.
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - ELECTION 2020
ABCFT Endorsed Candidates for ABC School Board:
Make your plan to vote.
By now, most registered voters have received their ballots. You have multiple safe, secure, and reliable options for returning your ballot:
Mail – No stamp is required to return your ballot through the US Postal Service. Make sure your ballot is postmarked by November 3, 2020.
Dropbox – Many counties will offer secure drop boxes to return your ballot. Make sure your ballot is deposited by 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020
In-person – You can return your ballot to a polling place, vote center, or your county elections office by 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020. Many counties will have early voting locations available before Election Day. Voting locations will offer voter registration, replacement ballots, accessible voting machines, and language assistance.
You can also take action to ensure a smooth voting experience
Double-check the address on your registration. To make sure you get your ballot, you can confirm your address at VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov
Sign up for ballot tracking alerts. You can sign up to receive updates on your vote-by-mail ballot via text (SMS), email, or voice call through the state’s official “Where’s My Ballot?” tracking tool at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov
Encourage all of your friends and family members age 18 and over to use their voice to vote this November. To participate in this election, you must be registered by October 19th.
One or more early voting locations will be available in all counties for at least four days beginning the Saturday before the November 3rd election. In-person voting locations will be offer voter registration, replacement ballots, accessible coting machines, and language assistance for those in need.
Click below to learn more about
California’s Election and Voters Guide
Register to vote
Learn how to vote
Check your voter status
Official Voter Information Guide
The CFT Educators Choice Voters Guide
MEMBER BENEFITS - WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. ABCFT will be offering Wellness Wednesdays. Wednesdays 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 making connections even though we are not in the presence of others. Participants asked to reflect on where they are giving their energy and is it positive. Meditation included the web of life which helps cultivate feelings of safety, compassion, and connectedness. The session ended with a quote from Socrates, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - ABCFT ACTIVISTS AT WORK
Fifteen ABCFT members serve on CFT state level standing committees to work on their areas of expertise to advocate and help shape the direction of CFT policies and procedures manual and create resolutions which are debated at the CFT convention and if approved will move their work forward by CFT. These committees also support the CFT legislative team by providing guidance and feedback in their specific knowledge areas. Thank you to these ABCFT activists for using their collective voices at the state level to support the needs of our local members and shaping education policy. Below are a few reports from the committee members.
Adult Education by Diane Jhun
All Adult Education Committee members shared how low enrollment and struggling students are effecting their programs. A member is on OTAN Advisory Committee and shared an equity report within K12 Adult Education. The members unanimously passed a resolution against charters in adult education. The committee is working to collect student success stories and photos showing students in action.
Early Childhood Education by Reema Sulieman
Every local committee member was able to share and reflect on the effects of COVID 19 on their program. Members talked about technology challenges, lack of communication, enrollment, funding, resources, health and safety issues, and recommendations by the CDE and the department of health. Chairperson, Betty Harris shared with us some updates for the NAEYC conference. Members were encouraged to stay in touch and to reach out to request for an emergency meeting at the time of need.
PreK-12 Educational Issues by Connie Nam
Covid 19 took front and center in our work. We discussed the present issues facing schools, such as internet availability, equipment, inconsistencies in the hours for students, and the types of software necessary. We are working on proposals for CFT as well as our legislative agenda. We also want to limit principals’ control over LCAP spending.
Special Education Services by Stefani Palutzke
Special Education teachers, school psychologists and speech and language therapists from San Francisco to San Diego discussed the impacts COVID-19 has had on how services are provided and how assessments are being handled. Members shared their struggles with inconsistencies on the handling of these issues as a state. The committee is working to draft a letter to the newly appointed director of Special Education in CA, Heather Calomese.
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES - AFT Webinars
Upcoming Webinars:
Parent Advocacy for Equitable Policy and Practice, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. EDT
In this webinar series, we'll hear from a panel of parent leaders who are using creative approaches to achieve more equitable and culturally responsive family, school and community
engagement—both at the systems level and in their respective communities.
Developing Problem-Solving Strategies with Bar Models: November & December
This virtual course is targeted to educators in grades 1-6 (teachers, paraprofessionals and others). Participants will examine research-based strategies and approaches to assist their own instruction in helping students meet mathematics standards. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how use of the bar model can be strategically applied to solve complex, real-world math problems. For additional information and to register, email aftpdinquiries@aft.org. Dates: Nov. 4, 11, 18 and Dec. 2, 9, 16
OCTOBER ACADEMIC SERVICES UPDATE
This month’s academic service update is vital for all teachers. We hope that you will take a moment to look at this monthly report which discusses changes in academic services. This document provides the union with a means of giving the District feedback on the many programs or changes they are proposing at any one time. Without your feedback or questions on these changes, it is harder for ABCFT to slow down and modify the district’s neverending roll out of new projects. Please submit your comments and questions to the appropriate ABCFT liaison.
Resources on ShareMyLesson.com for ALL CURRICULUM AREAS
https://sharemylesson.com/
For Elementary curricular issues please email Kelley at Kelley.Forsythe@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
For Secondary curricular issues please email Rich at Richard.Saldana@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
For Special Education issues please email Stefani at stefani.palutzke@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
Click Here For This Month’s Full Report
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.
ABC not opening until January is a good thing and I’m glad to finally hear an announcement from the Superintendent at the latest school board meeting. I am relieved. COVID-19 is on the rise and we are seeing districts across California delay their in-person opening. For now, we plan and prepare for the possibility of opening in January. All educators and parents know that in-person instruction cannot be beat when you are talking about instructional delivery and the mental health of our students. I wholeheartedly agree that we need to get our student in our classrooms as soon as possible but the health of our students and ABC employees are not worth the gamble.
This additional time gives ABCFT a chance to push for even greater safety measures for any in-person assessments that will need to be completed throughout the semester/trimester for special education students. ABCFT is pushing for alternatives for these evaluations.
The Virtual Academy Digital Certifications Process for Participation and Weekly Engagement is more work and I felt like when I was watching the Wednesday PD and not having the ability to ask questions made my anxiety increase. Since Wednesday, I have spoken with Dr. Mayfield in Academic Services and she informed me that they are creating a questions and answers documents to address those who left questions and that there will be more follow up PD to address all of these questions in an organized manner complete with open sessions for individual teachers questions along the way. So for those of you who had many questions, I’m right there with you and we should be more clarity in the coming weeks.
Lastly, I want to recognize the hard working nurses of ABC who just sponsored a very successful flu vaccine clinic held at Burbank Elementary this week. Our nurses and student nurses administered 304 doses to the community. Go nurses! Here are a few pictures of their efforts. Excellent work Nurses! Remember everyone, COVID is a plus one which means you can get influenza and COVID at the same time. If you’ve not got your flu shot now is the time to make arrangements so your body is prepared.
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
Click the picture to follow the link.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Over Half Of American Parents At Least Somewhat Concerned About Their Child Getting COVID-19 In School, Survey Reveals
The Hill (10/8, Axelrod) reports “over half of American parents say they are at least somewhat concerned about their child contracting COVID-19 at school or in childcare facilities, according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday.” Specifically, 45 percent “of parents surveyed said they are ‘very worried’ about their child contracting the coronavirus at either site, and another 27 percent said they were ‘somewhat worried.’” Meanwhile, 13 “percent of parents said they are ‘not too worried,’ and 9 percent said they are ‘not at all worried.’”
CBS News (10/8, Capatides) reports many parents say the “decision forced by the coronavirus between virtual and in-person learning was the most impossible choice they’ve ever had to make as parents.” Those who “ultimately decided to keep their kids home, opting for the virtual route, pointed to the obvious: safety.” But some parents don’t have the option to stay home because they are essential workers. Regardless of their choice, “parents on both sides of the decision told CBS News that they often doubted it.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
U.S. schools reopening without virus spikes
Early data indicates that reopened U.S. schools have so far avoided spikes in COVID-19 cases. Over 700 primary, middle and high schools that have at least partially reopened, according to data collected by Brown University, with just 0.07% of students and 0.14% of staff having confirmed coronavirus infections in the first half of September. "There is starting to be some reassuring data that when you put in place the right measures - and have control of community spread ... you can open schools safely," says Dr. Nathaniel Beers, co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics' school opening guidelines. While a global study too, by Switzerland's Insights for Education of 191 countries, found that reopening schools is not linked to an increase in COVID-19 rates, tougher days may be ahead. Attendance in the U.S. so far has been mostly voluntary and reopenings concentrated in suburbs and smaller cities. Medical experts have highlighted additional challenges for big cities, including space constraints, older buildings with painted-shut windows, inadequate air circulation, little outdoor space, and limited funding for contact-tracing efforts.
Democrats update 'HEROES Act' relief proposal
House Democrats' newly-released new relief bill provides $175bn to help K-12 schools tackle the coronavirus crisis, roughly triple the amount they earmarked in their last emergency aid proposal. The proposal, an updated version of the HEROES Act that Democrats passed in May, beefs up the education funding pitched in the spring and cuts direct relief to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments from over $900bn in the original HEROES bill to approximately half that amount in the revised version. The $175bn in the bill's education stabilization fund would support schools' efforts to make up for lost instructional time, school cleaning, education technology and internet access, mental health services, and other pandemic-related costs, and could also fund other activities authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act and other federal laws. The proposal also features $12bn to help connect students to the internet and close the "homework gap," $5bn to address school infrastructure needs, $4bn for governors to spend on K-12 and higher education, and $57bn in child care grants. It would also provide $32m to help cover coronavirus-related costs of administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The bill would not require schools to offer in-person instruction in order to tap the relief money and also doesn't include an expansion of school choice.
Majority of students now learning exclusively online
The majority of America’s public school students are learning exclusively online, according to a new national poll by the National Parents Union. Fifty-eight per cent of students overall are learning entirely online, while another 18% are receiving a combination of remote and in-person instruction, and less than a quarter are learning fully in-person. The survey found a sharp racial divide, however; while 75% of black parents and 68% of Hispanic parents said their child was learning fully online, that was true for only 48% of white parents. The majority of parents gave their child’s school’s back-to-school plan an A or B. Two-thirds said schools are providing an appropriate amount of instruction, and 70% said the quality of instruction is excellent or good. A quarter of parents said their child is not receiving enough teacher-led instruction, with a similar share of parents saying the quality of that instruction is fair or poor. Parents whose children are learning fully or partially online were especially likely to want more instructional time. Regarding state testing next spring, 47% are for keeping them, while 43% want to skip them for a year.
President pauses talks over COVID aid package
President Donald Trump has brought a halt to ongoing bipartisan coronavirus relief talks before the November 3rd elections, a potentially major setback for schools and educators who had been looking to Washington, D.C. for additional aid. The president added that, after the elections, he would restart talks to pass a relief bill focused on "hardworking Americans and Small Business." The CARES Act, which he signed into law in late March, provided more than $13bn in aid to K-12 schools, but educators and others have said much more is necessary. Since May, however, numerous coronavirus relief bills from Democrats and Republicans, all of which have provided aid to K-12 schools while differing on key details, have stalled on Capitol Hill.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Special ed funding should be more accountable
Special education funding should be more transparent, more flexible and more integrated with other streams of school funding, according to a report from education consulting firm WestEd. The report is the first of a two-part study on how California can improve its funding for students with special needs without increasing money from local, state or federal sources. Currently, most special education services are funded through regional bodies called SELPAs, or special education local plan areas, as a way for districts to share costs and organize how schools deliver services. Because of the way SELPAs operate, special education funding is often opaque and varies greatly across the state. To add more accountability and transparency, the Local Control Funding Formula and special education funding should be more closely aligned, according to the report. Co-authors Sara Doutre and Jason Willis cite the example of a student who’s an English learner and also has a learning disability who might receive language services through a school’s general fund, but learning disability services through special education. They say it makes more sense, and costs less, to combine those services and hire a bilingual learning specialist. The second part of the WestEd study will be published in January.
California's struggle to end affirmative action ban
Katie Orr examines how some California lawmakers are hoping to overturn the state's ban on affirmative action in public education, hiring and contracting. Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, introduced Proposition 16 this past legislative session, a constitutional amendment to overturn Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot measure that banned affirmative action in the state. “California's regressive ban on equal opportunity programs, such as affirmative action, denies women and people of color a level playing field in the workplace and in education," she says. While recent polls show it struggling, with just about one-third of voters saying they support the measure, Janelle Scott, a professor in UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education, says one of the reasons Proposition 16 is struggling is because Californians have gotten used to living with an affirmative action ban for so long. Regardless, with the presidential election, a pandemic and 11 other statewide measures on the ballot, getting voters' attention could be difficult.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Berkeley to review transgender, gender-nonconforming inclusivity policy
A policy regarding transgender and gender-nonconforming students is set to be reviewed Thursday by Berkeley USD’s policy committee. The policy’s main focuses are the “safety and happiness” of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. If passed, the policy would allow students to participate in interscholastic sports teams and physical education classes in a manner that corresponds with their gender identity, according to the text of the proposed policy. It also states that transgender and gender-nonconforming students should be given access to the locker rooms and restrooms that align with their gender identity.
Cuomo Orders Closure Of Some NYC Schools Over Resurgent Coronavirus Cases
The AP (10/5) reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday “ordered schools in certain New York City neighborhoods closed within a day in an attempt to halt flare-ups of the coronavirus.” The AP says the closures come a day after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) “asked the state for permission to reinstate restrictions schools and businesses in nine ZIP codes in Brooklyn and Queens where the virus was spreading more quickly than in other parts of the city.” Reuters (10/5, Allen, Caspani) reports the neighborhoods “have all seen coronavirus test positivity above 3% for seven days in a row.”
The New York Times (10/5, Nierenberg, Pasick) reports the “nine restricted areas, home to about half a million people, all have large populations of Orthodox Jews, who have been reluctant to adhere to guidelines on mask wearing and social distancing.” The “good news,” according to the Times, is that the closings were not prompted by any specific outbreaks in schools. De Blasio said, “We have seen very little coronavirus activity in our schools.” Citing city data, the Wall Street Journal (10/5, West, Subscription Publication) reports the closures affect 108 public and 212 nonpublic schools.
Chalkbeat New York (10/5) reports the “schools in Far Rockaway, Southern Brooklyn, and Central Queens will close by end-of-day Monday. Also affected are about 100 pre-K sites and child care centers providing subsidized programs.” De Blasio said the schools will remain closed for at least two weeks, “but Cuomo did not confirm that timeline, saying reopening criteria must still be established.” Approximately 82,000 students are affected, but that figure does “not include students enrolled in private schools, or in pre-K or child care centers that are subsidized by the city but independently run.”
The New York Post (10/5, Hogan) reports leaders from the Archdiocese of New York and Brooklyn criticized the closures, saying, “Our Catholic schools in these ZIP codes largely serve children of blue collar essential workers. These parents depend on us to safely educate and care for their kids while they are caring for New Yorkers.” They insisted, “Our Catholic schools opened for full-time, in-person learning weeks before the New York City public schools and have had no significant COVID-19 outbreaks to date.”
Newport-Mesa Unified cancels middle and high schools reopening plans
Thousands of middle and high school students poised to return to Newport-Mesa USD campuses Monday under a hybrid learning plan will have to stay put, after district officials admitted Thursday they were not prepared for the move. Board members yesterday voted 5-1 to delay reopening schools until no later than December 17. The special meeting was called one day after officials learned school principals had not yet figured out how to bring back large groups of students in a way that would accommodate the small, distanced cohorts required by state school reopening guidelines. Principals Jake Haley and Josh Hill, of Costa Mesa and Corona del Mar high schools, respectively, explained they would build consensus in the coming weeks, working with teachers, staff and district officials to ensure a smooth transition whenever students did return. A delay will also give the district time to negotiate with the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers and the California School Employee Association over working conditions in the hybrid plan.
Los Angeles Times Orange County Register
Boston Schools Delay Phased-In Reopening As City’s Coronavirus Positivity Rate Rises
The AP (10/7, Pratt) reports Boston Mayor Marty Walsh delayed the return of students to Boston Public Schools Wednesday because the city’s coronavirus positivity rate exceeded 4% as of Oct. 3. Preschoolers and kindergartners will now report to school Oct. 22, instead of Oct. 15, Walsh said, “although he added that the date is dependent on how the virus data develops between now and then.” The Hill (10/7, Axelrod) reports that under the new plan, “students in grades 4-8 will move to a hybrid model starting the week of Nov. 5, and those in grades 9-12 will do the same the week of Nov. 16.” The Boston Teachers Union “lauded Walsh’s decision and said discussions are ongoing over how best to handle the delay.”
----- CLASSROOM -----
Virtual Field Trips Grow In Popularity Amid Pandemic
The Wall Street Journal (10/8, Goldman, Subscription Publication) reports that the COVID-19 pandemic has put in-person school field trips on hold, so many schools throughout the US have traded yellow buses for the virtual field trip. The Journal discusses virtual trips to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Saint Louis Zoo and the options that students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools grapple with challenges of teaching reading remotely
The nation’s elementary school educators are facing a daunting new challenge: how to teach hundreds of thousands of young children to read, without being able to interact with them in person, using instead digital tools and videoconferencing platforms in sweeping new ways that are mostly untested. “We’re in totally uncharted space,” said Kyle Snow, a senior research associate for RMC Research Corporation and formerly a senior scholar at the National Association for the Education of Young Children. “Figuring out how to consistently reach kids with substantive instruction targeted at foundational skills is the critical challenge. But even if you assume that we had figured out how to do that—which we had not—we now have to dramatically shift what we’re doing because of the pandemic.” The best case, according to experts in early literacy and educational technology consulted by Education Week, is that schools use the coming year to change how they teach reading, using technology to actively help teachers provide a strong foundation in phonics and other foundational skills. Digital tools such as the learn-to-read app Homer, can give students the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and build vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency while developing a lifelong love of reading.
----- FINANCE -----
Academics examine COVID-19's impact on school budgets
Michael Griffith, a senior researcher and policy analyst at the Learning Policy Institute, and William Berry, a doctoral student in education policy at George Washington University, explore how COVID-19 has affected school budgets so far and why more aid is needed immediately to avoid educational crises as early as next semester. Federal action has helped so far, they begin, states have still had to tap reserves or take other steps to balance the books, including postponing some payments to districts until the next fiscal year. For example, California will be delaying $11bn (13.5%) in public education spending in the 2020-21 school year until the 2021-22 school year. The Learning Policy Institute estimates that the pandemic’s financial costs to public school at up to $246 billion, which includes both the increased costs of dealing with COVID-19 and the loss of state revenue. Any federal rescue package, the academics assert, must now focus on targeting funding to districts serving students from low-income families, students of color, students with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, and other historically underserved students, and also ensuring that public schools can retain their teachers and other educational staff.
The complexities of the CARES act for K-12 schools
While the education community welcomed the billions of dollars in education aid brought by the nearly $2tn Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), Gail Emery explores how school leaders, few of whom were used to working outside of the traditional school environment, have struggled amid the pandemic with the challenges of facilitating remote work for hundreds or thousands of professional staff and remote learning for exponentially larger numbers of students. Elleka Yost, government affairs and communications manager for the Association of School Business Officers International (ASBO), describes how much of the $13.3bn Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) cash was withheld for months because of legal disputes. It was not until August, she notes, after a Washington state judge blocked the Education Department's effort to provide ESSER aid to private schools based on the total number of students rather than the number of students from low-income families, that funds started flowing. David Lewis, ASBO executive director, describes how school business leaders “didn’t wait” for the CARES Act funds to trickle in however and immediately started running various scenarios for superintendents and school boards to consider. School districts’ new expenditures, coupled with funding shortfalls due to declining tax revenues, mean the CARES Act funds aren’t however enough to meet districts’ needs, he laments. On the topic of securing and using CARES Act funds for IT initiatives, Yost asserts that school leaders must now become familiar with EDGAR regulations, the Department of Education’s administrative rules for using grant dollars, as well as 2 CFR 200 – Title 2, Part 200 of the Code of Federal Regulations. "Keep records of every purchase and timesheet to demonstrate how you used the funds in the best interest of students," she adds, as such documentation helps to protect districts against liability lawsuits related to cybersecurity and privacy concerns.
----- SOCIAL & COMMUNITY -----
How to spot kids threatened by gun violence
With school districts around the country operating remotely to avoid spreading COVID-19, teachers and administrators are confronting a full range of complications caused by virtual learning, including ensuring the safety of students. When COVID struck Philadelphia, it complicated all the city’s struggles. The School District of Philadelphia teaches more than 200,000 students, and officials say that gun violence has touched almost all of them. “They know someone in the family or someone in the community who has been shot or killed,” said Jayme Banks, the district’s director of Trauma-Informed School Practices. As they prepared to resume classes, administrators realized that they had to contend with the murders and nonfatal shootings that had surged in its wake. During the summer, Banks and the district’s mental health staff began preparing to provide remote support for children emotionally wounded by the violence on the street. The district named its plan “Healing Together.” One of its central components was to train teachers how to spot children who might be dealing with a crisis. Teachers and social workers are also visiting the neighborhoods where students live, bringing help to those who have shown signs they may need it.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Some ‘test-free’ colleges drop the SAT and ACT entirely
Caltech is in the vanguard of a small but growing movement to eliminate the ACT and SAT from admission decisions. Caltech has announced a two-year moratorium on using the tests, enabling the school to assess whether the scores are worthwhile or even necessary. Others too are experimenting with this approach, including the University of California at Berkeley and some other UC campuses, and also the California State University System. The educational disruptions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have fueled the development.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
U.S. scores poorly in global child wellness report
The United States ranks near the bottom of dozens of advanced nations in terms of the well-being of its children, according to a new report from UNICEF. The report, which takes into account data on the mental and physical health of children as well as their skills as measured by international exams, placed the U.S. 36th out of 38 advanced nations. The table was topped by the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Mental well-being includes both life satisfaction as well as suicide rates, physical health includes rates of overweight and obesity as well as child mortality, and skills focuses both on proficiency in reading and mathematics as well as social skills.
----- OTHER -----
Addressing privacy concerns in COVID-19 contact tracing
As plans to reopen schools have ramped up across the country, many districts are turning to contact tracing to identify and alert those who may have been exposed to students and staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19. However, such efforts have raised concerns about student privacy and data protection. While many school districts have been collaborating with their local health departments, others are citing privacy concerns and refusing to release any information for fear of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws. Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, said that though he supports contact tracing, protecting students’ privacy throughout the process can be tricky in smaller schools with class sizes of five or six. “You would have to be very careful that you don't unintentionally out the person just because of numbers that are there,” he explained. “I think you just have to be very careful about what it looks like.” Nevertheless Paige Kowalski, executive vice president at Data Quality Campaign, said it is important not to overplay privacy concerns, noting that schools already contact parents in the case of illnesses, without identifying the student who started it. “I think where this has gotten a little bit different is that COVID has been a little bit politicized, and the data around COVID has been a little bit politicized out there,” she said. “And so these cases are being treated and perceived differently than if we were talking about lice or stomach flu or any other thing that may be going around the community that you want to inform and let people make reasonable protections.”
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
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