ABCFT - YOUnionews - November 13, 2020
KEEPING YOU INFORMED-Membership Updates by Tanya Golden
ABCFT Upcoming Elections
ABCFT membership will have an opportunity to run and elect delegates for the biennial CFT virtual convention in March as well as officers of the ABCFT Executive Board. The two elections will be held using the same secure online voting format as in the past. Soon, members will receive a postcard in the mail to their home address informing them of the nominations and elections timeline.
Donors Choose
Many teachers seeking ways to enhance learning experiences for students turn to platforms like Donors Choose where people from across the world donate money to support classrooms. ABCFT sends a BIG thank you to teachers who take the extra steps and time to get these resources to their students. Once again, ABC teachers go above and beyond to find innovative ways to enhance the learning experience for students.
Recently, elementary principals discussed the district protocols that should be followed when accepting donations.
If using the school or district name to solicit donations teachers should first share the details about the items being requested and with their site administrator.
Parents should not be solicited for these donations since it can be viewed as a class or grade level fundraiser which may cause inequities at the site.
If a teacher uses their school or district name to solicit donations then the monies or items donated become school property.
To protect the privacy of students please do not post student pictures or names.
What documentation is needed after donation(s) is secured?
ABCUSD gift form needs to be completed at the site level.
The district is notified and posts the donation in the School Board agenda.
Cash donations will be deposited into the site budget and the teacher purchases the item(s) will be reimbursed by the imprest account after submitting receipts.
These steps may seem burdensome but the intent is to follow school board policy and have transparency and accountability with donations. Be sure to speak to your site administrator or site representative if you need additional information.
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Human Resources Dr. Notes
As the district prepares to open for hybrid, Human Resources is asking teachers to complete a confidential employee in person information request which needs to be completed by Wednesday, November 18th. The intent of the form is to help HR identify the number of employees they will need to accommodate who have a doctor’s note regarding preexisting conditions for themselves or living with or as a caretaker for
someone who has an underlying health condition. If you are uncertain which underlying health conditions may apply talk to your health professional or see the inserted screen shot for guidance. The reopening information can also be found in the District’s plan to safely reopen schools on the district website here.
It is important if you think you may need an accommodation for a health condition that may prevent you from working in-person to complete the district form by November 18th. Once you secure your documentation from your health professional send it to Andrea Delgadillo via email at Andrea.delgadillo@abcusd.us or mail to ABCUSD 16700 Norwalk Blvd. Cerritos, CA 90703 attention Andrea Delgadillo in Human Resources.
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
After the Polls Close, What's Next?
The 2020 election season and its eventual outcome will draw the curiosity of historians and the public for years to come, and the emotional toll it is taking on our country could not be more profound. Considering whichever outcome is eventually reached, students will need guidance and support to help them understand the election results, what happens next in the electoral process, and how we can work to unite as a country after a tumultuous election season. Share My Lesson is working with partners to create and curate timely content for our community to discuss the complexities and delicate nature of the evolving situation.
In this collection, you will find breaking news lessons as new developments arise and explore ways to help students engage in civil discourse, ideas for student civic engagement, discussing controversial issues in the classroom and learning more about the foundations of democracy and government. Find resources like:
NOVEMBER 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.
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.
A “Culture of Cleanliness and Safety” in ABC. It sounds like the title of a hospital protocol manual but it is our new reality. As a district we need a good tag line, a catchy phrase, a motto of our beliefs. I have a proposal on a possible direction we can take as an educational institution. First, why would you develop a culture of cleanliness and safety and second, how would you start this change. There is no doubt that ABCUSD has stellar teachers, service oriented staffs and overall is populated by hard working adults that have student achievement as a primary focus. Academic achievement is our strength.
The threat of the COVID-19 virus this year is a tragedy beyond comprehension and there isn’t a single individual who hasn’t fundamentally changed almost every aspect of their social life. Humans are social creatures as a species so COVID has shaken us to our genetic cores. Don’t believe me, just look at the smile on your face when you finally get to see your friends on Zoom or Meet, even better, seeing them in person. Being social is magical and none of use will ever take it for granted again. COVID has been bad but their is a silver lining. As crisis expert Judy Smith has been quoted, “there’s always and opportunity with crisis. Just as it forces and individual to look inside him/herself, it forces a company to reexamine its policies and practices.” I think there is a golden nugget of wisdom for ABC in that quote.
How do you change such a complicated system as a school district? You’re all teachers and nurses so I’m speaking to the choir, as you know already, you break it down to the most fundamental parts. As a one time general education teacher and a special education teacher in practice, I know that my ninth graders needed me to create building blocks of understanding. To check for understanding I would need to see these building blocks put into practice. So, the back to the big question, how do we create a culture of cleanliness and safety to ABC so that it makes sense to all stakeholders. What is the most basic practice other than a mask that can be used to prevent COVID from spreading? You guessed it, washing your hands.
Think back over the years on how cleanliness was stressed when you were growing up and in school. Most elementary schools still practice excellent hygiene practices (some even still have sinks!) but as kids get older in our current environment the education system relaxes these hygiene habits. Just last year around January as I started to become aware of COVID, I remember visiting an ABC high school where I learned that students didn’t have access to soap in any of the bathrooms in addition to not having paper towels to dry their hands. When I inquired about this they stated that “students couldn’t be trusted with paper towels since they stuck them down the toilet”, therefore the decision was made to restrict access to paper towels for the entire student population. This was unacceptable, so I advocated at the district level with Josie Cox and within a couple of weeks these basic hygiene supplies were made available for students in all our high schools. This is basic math, right? Dirty hands for students equals virus transmission runs rampant and infects more students, staff, and eventually ABC families.
Here’s my ask. For every 1% we lose in our attendance rate each year, we lose close to two million dollars as a district which impacts, supplies, salaries, health benefits and a long list of other negative outcomes. If we had permanent hand sanitizer dispensers in every classroom in ABC and we were able to keep at least 1% of our students from getting sick, the dispensers and the soap inside would be paid for and the extra money could be allocated somewhere else. On top of the savings, fewer students will have learning loss from being absent, teachers will get sick less, and overall our schools would benefit academically. How many times have you had to keep track of who missed assignments or contemplated reviewing a unit because a virus ran through your class and too many kids were absent. Lastly, if fewer teachers are out sick then perhaps our health insurance premiums would stabilize since our unit usage rates would go down and if you didn’t have to burn your sick days they would be available for a time in your career when you might really need them like in the case of a hospitalization or a preventive procedure. What are your thoughts?
I know that having permanent hand sanitizer stations is not the end all answer for World Peace and happiness but it is a building block for a larger discussion about cleanliness and safety in ABC. As a district, we should use this unique opportunity as a starting point for a conversation on what really matters. We all got into education to better our society and to help educate and shape the minds of tomorrows leaders. Let’s take this calling to a new level and start with modeling health, cleanliness and safety as a District. Food for thought.
Have a great weekend!
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
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
California’s districts prepare to reopen for students
Berkeley middle schools and high schools will be able to open their doors to students, faculty and staff November 9 if they create and post site-specific plans adhering to city criteria to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Lisa Hernandez, Berkeley health officer, is permitting schools to open; middle schools and high schools in the city must test all staff and volunteers at least once a month and quickly test and isolate any symptomatic staff and students, she said. They must also quarantine individuals who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and follow state requirements on social distancing. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are also welcoming students back on Monday. Additionally, the waiver applications of four Sonoma County private schools seeking to reopen classrooms have received approval from county health officials, and have been forwarded onto the state for final approval. Because Sonoma County remains in the most restrictive tier on the state’s COVID-19 classification system, area schools are prevented from returning to in-person learning beyond small cohorts of high-needs students without a waiver.
Los Angeles Times The Daily Californian The Press-Democrat
----- TEACHERS -----
Educator morale declining, survey warns
The EdWeek Research Center’s latest monthly survey about the impact of the coronavirus on schools indicates that teacher morale is falling and that school districts are reporting fewer job applicants. Some 84% of teachers and administrators say teacher morale is lower now than it was prior to the pandemic, while half of principals and district leaders say they’re receiving fewer job applications right now than they did last year at this time. In addition, compared with their peers who are only providing remote instruction, the survey revealed that educators whose schools are offering a combination of in-person and online learning are roughly twice as likely to be offering six or more hours daily of live, synchronous instruction on days students are not on campus.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Biden’s education transition team gets California leader
The president of California’s state Board of Education is heading up the education transition team for President-elect Joe Biden, where she is expected to emphasize support for teachers and traditional public schools. Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of education emeritus at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and the founding president of the Palo Alto-based Learning Policy Institute, recently helped Gov. Gavin Newsom set new spending priorities for education, which then were sharply curtailed amid the coronavirus emergency. “You can’t get accountability just by measuring and punishing,” Darling-Hammond said in January, in praise of Gov. Newsom’s budget priorities. “You have to get accountability and productivity by investing in people’s capacity to do the job.”
How Joe Biden might direct K-12 spending without relying on Congress
Education Week looks at how President-elect Joe Biden might steer education spending without the aid of Congress, where major initiatives have been difficult to pass in recent times. One potential pathway is to push for increased education aid in the next COVID-19 relief package, expanding on what was set aside in the CARES Act. Another is to “weave” funding into existing competitive grant programs, according to Sarah Abernathy, deputy executive director of the umbrella advocacy group Committee for Education Funding, although she adds that the administration wouldn’t be able to make wholesale changes to the state purposes of those programs.
Joe Biden’s election as President heralds big shift in education policy
President-elect Joe Biden, whose election was called on Saturday morning by the Associated Press after a close contest and days of vote-counting in multiple states, is planning to pursue an ambitious agenda for K-12 election that will depend on both cooperation from Congress, and his administration’s ability to address the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic on students and schools. During the campaign Mr Biden, whose wife Jill is a college professor and former public school teacher, outlined an education policy platform that has a number of possible implications for K-12 schools, including increased teacher pay, stricter Title IX rules, more Title I funding, additional coronavirus response and more. In the immediate term, Biden campaign policy director Stef Feldman said he will work with leaders in Congress to pass an emergency package for schools, explaining: "That's money for things like ventilation and other health measures, but also money for things like hiring additional teachers so we can keep class sizes small." He also supports a bill passed by House Democrats to provide $58bn for public schools, plus hundreds of billions for state governments facing budget shortfalls. It's not clear that those changes will actually affect reopening decisions made by local officials; however, some public school groups say a different policy, and style of messaging, from the Trump administration will be welcome. "The best thing that could come from the Biden administration would be a significant shift in tone,” said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. "Under a Biden administration, a more tempered message would hopefully have a spillover effect." The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association also welcomed the news. "Together, we w ill strengthen our public schools by investing in neighborhood community schools, dismantling the institutional racism denying access and opportunity for too many students, and building our economy back better so it works for all Americans," NEA President Becky Pringle said in a Saturday statement.
Education Week Education Dive Chalkbeat EdSource Education Dive Education Week
What might be Betsy Devos’ legacy at the Department Of Education?
With the Trump administration set to make way for president-elect Joe Biden over the next couple of months, although legal challenges to the election result are pending, Chalkbeat examines Betsy DeVos’ legacy at the Department of Education. Since Vice President Mike Pence’s tiebreaking vote in 2017 to appoint her as education secretary, she has argued for a more limited role for the federal government, overseen a re-write of the procedures for handling sexual harassment in K-12 schools, and reversed policies on how schools should protect transgender students, as well as on school discipline, and how schools use race in admissions and enrollment decisions to integrate their schools. “Most of her action, and most of the action of her department, has been in trying to reduce the effect of the Department of Education,” said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. But, he noted, “The legacy of an administration that’s largely devoted to undoing a legacy can be undone very quickly itself.” Recently, as the federal government reacted to the coronavirus pandemic, her department interpreted the CARES Act in a way that would have effectively shifted hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools to private schools. Three federal judges ultimately ruled that her approach violated the clear dictates of the law, and DeVos eventually dropped the legal fight.
----- STATE NEWS -----
SBOE president removes herself from reckoning for US Education Sec
Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of the California State Board of Education, has committed to staying in the state, ending speculation that she might put herself forward as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. Ms Darling-Hammond, who is thought to be heading up the education transition team for President-elect Joe Biden, said: “My commitment to Gov. Newsom and the California agenda that we are pursuing through the State Board of Education are paramount to me.” She said she had told Gov. Gavin Newsom of her intention to stay in California. The professor of education emeritus at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education added that, were she to become secretary, “it would undermine our ability to reach the goals we are committed to achieving in California. I am determined to follow through on that commitment.”
More changes proposed for California’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum
The California Department of Education is recommending dozens of wording changes and additional lesson plans about Pacific Islander, Japanese and Korean Americans and other ethnic groups to its proposed model ethnic studies curriculum. The latest changes, released Friday, will go before the Instructional Quality Commission, which will amend the draft curriculum at its meeting November 18-19. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said that the new lesson plans and resources, covering more ethnic groups, "reflect California's diversity" while maintaining a commitment to focus on four ethnic and racial groups. Those are Latino Americans, Black Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans that traditionally have been covered in college ethnic studies courses. Ethnic studies presents "an honest, more diverse accounting" of Americans whose stories, Thurmond said, have been "marginalized and understudied" in traditional history courses. "We know that in this moment of racial reckoning in our state and in our nation, ethnic studies is needed now more than ever in our classrooms," he said.
----- DISTRICTS -----
LA schools could face a hard shutdown if the COVID-19 surge worsens
Campuses at public and private schools in Los Angeles County could once again be forced to shut down completely for in-person instruction if the current COVID-19 spike continues to worsen, health officials warned school leaders. Officials in the county’s 80 public school districts, which serve more than 1.43m students, had hoped to open campuses for general instruction by January, if not sooner. However, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that even in the best-case scenario, it would be extremely unlikely that campuses could reopen to all students for at least six weeks, based on state health guidelines. L.A. County’s health data place it firmly in the state’s purple tier, which means that community transmission of the coronavirus is widespread. Campuses cannot reopen for all students until a county has entered and remained in the red tier for two weeks. "I nee d to ask that every school be prepared for virtual learning, distance learning, in January," Ferrer said in a call. "I hope we never get to the point where our healthcare system is so compromised and so threatened that we have to look backwards in time to severe restrictions and additional closures, but I don’t want to rule it out."
First LA County school campuses reopen to students
Elementary schools in Las Virgenes USD welcomed their first groups of students back to campuses yesterday, after the district received waivers from Los Angeles County to reopen schools for kindergarten to 2nd grade students. Students in the district have been divided up into morning and afternoon cohorts, reducing class sizes to roughly 12 students, with a 90 minute break between each group, giving the school time to clean and sanitize. Students get a temperature check when they arrive on campus and their parents have to fill out a health screening before arrival. While on campus, students stay with their cohort and do not interact with others. As of Monday, the county public health department had granted waivers to 74 elementary schools, a tiny fraction of the 2,200 public schools in LA County. The vast majority have gone to private schools.
Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Daily News CBS Los Angele
California’s districts prepare to reopen for students
Berkeley middle schools and high schools will be able to open their doors to students, faculty and staff November 9 if they create and post site-specific plans adhering to city criteria to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Lisa Hernandez, Berkeley health officer, is permitting schools to open; middle schools and high schools in the city must test all staff and volunteers at least once a month and quickly test and isolate any symptomatic staff and students, she said. They must also quarantine individuals who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and follow state requirements on social distancing. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are also welcoming students back on Monday. Additionally, the waiver applications of four Sonoma County private schools seeking to reopen classrooms have received approval from county health officials, and have been forwarded onto the state for final approval. Because Sonoma County remains in the most restrictive tier on the state’s COVID-19 classification system, area schools are prevented from returning to in-person learning beyond small cohorts of high-needs students without a waiver.
Los Angeles Times The Daily Californian The Press-Democrat
Ventura County's smallest school districts face issues reopening
With 20 public school districts of varying sizes in Ventura County, the path to school reopening differs based on size, geography, enrollment and a host of other factors, and some of the smaller ones lack the finances of manpower to reopen. Deborah Cuevas, Briggs School District superintendent, said that, in the district office, there are only a few people so if one were to test positive for COVID-19, the others would have to quarantine depending on the circumstances. Additionally, the bus drivers double as custodians in Briggs, which presents a problem in a time when school districts are having to maintain a strict cleaning schedule.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Taft becomes first LAUSD school to begin athletics conditioning
Taft High School has become the first Los Angeles USD school to begin athletic conditioning. The school’s new football head coach, Aron Gideon, whose leadership has shined during unprecedented times, had nearly half a dozen players report for the first day of conditioning. The players had to meet requirements for being allowed back on campus, including a negative test for COVID-19 within the last three days. They also needed to have received a physical exam and completed paperwork.
School districts seek to alleviate learning loss among students with disabilities
Millions of students with disabilities across the country likely suffered learning loss and skill regression during the school closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are concerns that there is not enough funding to ensure they make up for lost time. Texas has introduced a plan, the Supplementary Special Education Services program, that offers one-time grants of up to $1,500 for families to use for therapy, tutoring, and other services. It is designed to supplement, not replace, the services and resources outlined in a student’s Individualized Education Program, the legally binding plans designed to meet the educational needs of children with learning and physical disabilities. The rollout of the Texas plan has been met with criticism from disability rights groups for its limited scope and focus on so-called low-incidence disabilities that would provide support for students who are deaf, blind or have significant cognitive impairment. “I’m not clear that there’s any reason to believe that students with low-incidence disabilities need services more than any other students in special education,” said Dustin Rynders, the supervising attorney of the education team at Disability Rights Texas. The supplemental support offered to families in Texas and other states is a concession or temporary fix that could help ward off legal a ction while states make decisions on compensatory services, said John Eisenberg, the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. “We know, no matter what, there are going to be kids who just cannot make progress online, even with the best of online instruction,” Eisenberg said. “It makes sense to get more services in the hands of kids who might have fallen further behind so that you might avoid” due process hearings.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Educator morale declining, survey warns
The EdWeek Research Center’s latest monthly survey about the impact of the coronavirus on schools indicates that teacher morale is falling and that school districts are reporting fewer job applicants. Some 84% of teachers and administrators say teacher morale is lower now than it was prior to the pandemic, while half of principals and district leaders say they’re receiving fewer job applications right now than they did last year at this time. In addition, compared with their peers who are only providing remote instruction, the survey revealed that educators whose schools are offering a combination of in-person and online learning are roughly twice as likely to be offering six or more hours daily of live, synchronous instruction on days students are not on campus.
No demonstrable Covid-19 wave of teacher retirements
An Education Week analysis shows that the predicted wave of teachers resigning or retiring en masse, due to concerns about contracting COVID-19 if they return to the classroom, failed to materialize. Surveys earlier in the year showed that one in five teachers said they were unlikely to return to in-person instruction in the fall, and that the same percentage said they were more likely to quit at the end of last school year than they were before the pandemic. Data from half the state educator retirement plans in the country revealed wide variations from place to place this year compared to last. Experts say these findings aren’t necessarily surprising. Workers are overall less likely to quit their jobs or retire during a recession, and teachers are generally no exception, said Richard Ingersoll, a professor of education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He also said that the percentage of public school teachers aged 50 and over has consistently ticked down over the past decade, meaning the bulk of educators are in an age group that’s less vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus. “You’re a fifth-year teacher and you’re less than age 30, do you really want to quit? Probably not—you’re probably afraid to,” he noted.
-----HOMESCHOOLING - CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Home schooling boom could continue post-COVID
Concerns over exposure to the coronavirus has driven an unprecedented number of parents to home school their children this academic year. Home schooling in response to the pandemic is driving enrollment declines in schools and districts across the country, according to a majority of principals and superintendents surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center. Fifty-eight percent in a mid-October survey listed home schooling as being a major contributor to enrollment declines caused by COVID-19—more than any other single reason, such as losing students to charter schools, private schools, or “pandemic pods” in which families band together to hire instructors who teach their children at home. Christopher Lubienski, a professor of education policy at Indiana University, said the pandemic could give a long-lasting boost to the movement. While he believes many families that opted to home school this year will eventually return to public school, he thinks the United States will see a permanent increase in the number of home schoolers even after the pandemic ends. That’s “partly because people who haven’t really thought about it before suddenly saw themselves forced into [home schooling], and then realizing that it’s something they can see themselves doing,” he said.
----- TRANSPORTATION -----
Propane school bus numbers increasing rapidly
The Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) has asserted that more than 20,000 propane buses are now in operation at schools nationwide, up from around 15,000 in 2018. Since 2012, there has been a 960% growth in the number of propane school buses on the road in the U.S. The buses transport more than 1.23 million students in 48 states. Fourteen states now have more than 500 propane buses within their borders.
----- OTHER -----
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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