ABCFT - YOUnionews - March 19, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
Realistic expectations. That’s my mantra for the coming weeks. With all that is being asked of us, and with the awareness that unforeseen circumstances will likely place even more pressure on us, let’s please remember the importance of realistic expectations. We will reopen. We will do it safely and effectively with the resources available. We will maintain high professional standards just as we have this entire school year. But it will not be business as usual and we need to give ourselves and our students the breathing room to successfully adjust to our new simultaneous hybrid model.
Clear communication will be crucial as we move forward as well. We need to let our principals and supervisors know what is working as well as what is not. And we need to be vocal with our partners about what problems we can predict and what support we need to address these issues. Families need to have a clear understanding of just what to expect from the simultaneous hybrid model and those expectations need to be...wait for it...realistic.
Next week we will have two days set aside for training and transition to in-person instruction. Thursday, March 25 will have up to half of the day set aside for a virtual staff meeting/training and an in-person walk through of the site to review the latest health and safety procedures. Friday, March 26 is for members to prepare their classrooms and plan their lessons. Both Thursday and Friday are days of asynchronous instruction, similar to our Wednesday model, where we will only be meeting with our students for gap attendance from 9:45-10:00 a.m.
The week of Monday, March 29 through Thursday, April 1 we will remain in our current virtual only hybrid model. Members do not need to be in-person at their sites during this week before spring break. For those sites and programs that reopen on April 12, we will have nine remaining weeks of in-person instruction in this school year. For those sites and programs that return on April 26, they will have seven weeks of in-person instruction until the last day for students on June 9.
The ABCUSD school board voted 6-1 late on the night of Tuesday, March 16 to approve our MOU and reopen the district to in-person instruction after spring break. It has been over a year since in-person instruction was suspended due to this pandemic and the toll has been immense for our students and their families as well as our own families. The sense of disruption and loss will likely linger for some time and while the opportunity for reopening will be welcomed by many I am hesitant to call it a return to normalcy quite yet. But I am hopeful for the future and confident of what our members can achieve when we maintain clear communication and...you knew this was coming...realistic expectations as we move forward together.
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - SCHOOL BOARD MEETING UPDATE
The ABCUSD school board voted 6-1 late on the night of Tuesday, March 16 to approve our MOU and reopen the district to in-person instruction after spring break. ABCFT has publicly and privately thanked those board members who voted to approved this MOU last Tuesday night. Without their support we would not have any financial incentives to return to our classrooms but still be required to reopen. Although we are disappointed that board member Dr. Eugenio did not vote in favor of the MOU, ABCFT will continue to work with him to improve his understanding of the school district and the employees who serve the community.
Here are some of the highlights of this meeting. Click the header for the link.
ABCFT Board Report (Ray Gaer) You can find the transcript of this report here.
Reopening School Safety Plan - presentation about opening
ABC Nurses Explain to the board the need for more health support at our school sites.
Here is the transcript of what Kathy Bales said at the meeting and some additional information that teachers can use to learn more about the extended demands on ABC nurses
Board discussion and vote for reopening. (It is very hard to hear this discussion)
ABCFT thanks the school board for their vote and a few choice comments for Dr. Eugenio.
MEMBER BENEFITS - WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. ABCFT will be offering Wellness 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 on memory, specifically improving our working memories. With the practice of mindfulness your brain learns how to being in the now which can help improve memory. Stress, anxiety, and frustration overtax our memories yet mindfulness can be help reduce these aggravations as well as support our memories. Participants practice meditation by tapping into their memory and unlocking the memories they hold. Participants practice sun salutation, and relaxation yoga movements.
The session closes with a quote from Albert Einstein,
“I never commit to memory anything that can easily be looked up in a book.”
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES
Share My Lesson Virtual Conference March 23-25, 2021
Welcome to Share My Lesson's 2021 Virtual Conference! This is our ninth annual virtual conference; we’ve been running virtual conference events in our PJs, yoga pants, and work mullets (business attire on the top and PJs on the bottom) long before it was cool. We've worked hard with our Share My Lesson partners and presenters to make this year even better than the last, with even more ways to access the free, high-quality professional development that educators come to expect when they visit Share My Lesson.
Last year, our virtual conference came at just the right time as nearly 70,000 preK-12 teachers, school staff and parents joined us looking for support on how best to navigate online learning as the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns around the world. This year, we have a remarkable lineup of webinars to support your upcoming needs, including how best to reopen schools safely, support social and emotional recovery and learning recovery, strengthen a foundation of anti-bias education, increase civic engagement and incorporate trauma-sensitive practices.
March 23-25, 2021 1:00-9:00 PM Eastern Time
Topics Include:
MARCH 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.
For Nurse issues please contact Theresa at Theresa.Petersen@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 member wrote to me this morning asking if there was a single person in ABC who actually knew when secondary students would return? I understand this line of questioning because it seems nobody truly knows the answer which is true. It sure looks like nobody is taking into account the logistical reality of how to bring back students with cohorts, prepare classrooms, install safety equipment, set up plexiglass barriers, child care, doctors note exemptions and list goes on and on.
To address the above question, we have to look at the details of who makes the decisions on schools opening, spoiler alert but the answer is going to be that it’s the changes in the virus status that makes the changes but I’ll get to that in a second. Locally, the superintendent of a school district can make a recommendation to a school board as to which grades, following county protocols, and when to be open for in-person schooling. The school board has the ability to tell district administrators if they agree with the recommendations and if they want to modify the recommendations. So this is why on Monday prior to the school board meeting the district was telling principals that we were going to open TK-8 and special education students TK-12. However, the following day after the school board meeting, we heard this time had been changed so that the entire school district would return to in-person instruction on April 12 but by now you are hearing that even the Wednesday change has been changed. What this means is that the community who elected our current school board trustees put enough voter pressure on trustees that they felt compelled to modify the recommendations (Except for Eugenio who voted against reopening schools when he voted against approving the ABCFT MOU because he stated that teachers and nurses didn’t deserve the extra pay...I digress). Even with the local school board making decisions on who to bring back and which group will return for in-person instruction, it all comes down to COVID-19 and the adjusted rates of infection per county population. As long as our county health and the CDC continue to adjust their guidelines we will continue to have this fluid situation.
Today, there is a buzz about the CDC now recommending three feet for social distancing in classrooms instead of the six feet guideline they have had as a recommendation for the past twelve months. We are hearing that some California districts where their county health departments have already changed their distance guidelines to fit the new CDC guideline are already starting to rearrange their classrooms to meet the new three foot CDC guideline. It is incredible how fluid this situation continues to be twelve months after it began. This entire situation goes back to my earlier remarks about a teacher wondering if there was a single person who actually knew when secondary schools would be opening. To that, the only thing that I feel confident in saying is that it will by after Spring Break.
On another topic, let me just say that this week’s YOUnion chat was heated as tensions were peaking prior to the school board meeting to approve the MOU for in-person instruction. At some point in the conversation I interjected into a member’s comments with what I felt were charged words. My apologies for my harsh comments, my words were not intendent to be disrespectful. However, here’s the value of those charged discussions in that they gave me the talking points and the energy I needed to deliver what I think were crucial points in my ABCFT board report (you can find that here). My board report is yet another example of how members can guide the direction of the YOUnion. ABCFT is like a living and breathing organism that has wants and needs. Our collective communication systems act like a nervous system that allows us to operate as a unified body. As the president of the organization it is my responsibility and duty to try my best to understand the needs and desires of the members so that I can reflect that outwards to the administration, school board, and the community. My hope is that you hear your words in my voice.
I hope all of you are able to find a moment this weekend to take a deep breath and to shed some of the tension you have been feeling. So much of this situation is out of our control and we may not be okay with that situation but it is a dynamic that we have to live with to survive and thrive. Have a good weekend.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
Totally worth the laugh - Click the picture for the YOUtube link
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
CFT Leaders Decry Hate, Stand In Solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities
SACRAMENTO, CA - CFT President Jeff Freitas and CFT Vice President Arlene Inouye released the following statement in response to the ongoing violence and racism against Asian Americans, including the killings of eight people this week, six of whom were Asian women, in Northern Georgia:
Jeff Freitas said:
“Today we come together as one to grieve for the Asian women who were killed in their workplace, targeted for their identity. We condemn the murders in Georgia and the spate of racist violence that is escalating throughout our country, and state, against Asian Americans. We denounce the framing of this tragedy that amplifies a racist, sexist, and dehumanizing narrative about Asian women.
“A year ago the now ex-president of the United States called COVID-19 the ‘Kung Flu’ and the ‘China Virus,’ setting off a year of brutal attacks against members of the AAPI community. While violence against Asians in the United States has a long history, the number and intensity of attacks have spiked with 3,800 incidents in all 50 states reported to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center last year.
“As educators and classified professionals we have an obligation to use our voice to take a stand against the escalation of racist violence against our communities. We commit ourselves to fighting hate through education and to working with AAPI advocates in our state and local communities to address the crisis.
“We urge all CFT local unions and our communities to use APALA’s Resource Guide on Anti-Asian Violence, to learn more about how we can do this important work.
“In February, CFT Vice Presidents Kent Wong of UC-AFT and Arlene Inouye of UTLA joined the 14-member AFT task force for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at an inaugural meeting to discuss raising the visibility of urgent issues impacting AAPI members and their communities—issues like the rise of anti-Asian racism, including vicious attempts to blame Chinese Americans for the coronavirus pandemic. We are committed to doing the work to stop AAPI hate, starting with ensuring that students across the country are taught an expansive curriculum that includes the history of xenophobia and hate crimes against the AAPI community as well as celebrating AAPI culture and history.
“Today, CFT continues to stand by our educators and classified professionals who have brought anti-racist curriculum into our classroom and we pledge to continue this work and support our AAPI students, teachers, faculty, and school employees by fostering safe places to learn and work.”
Arlene Inouye said:
“It’s so important that the horrific murder and ongoing violence on Asian and Pacific Islanders are seen in the context of a history of white supremacy, misogyny, and U.S. imperialism. Asian and Pacific women have been dealing with anti-Asian laws and systems, dehumanization, assaults, harassment, and the ‘model minority myth’ all our lives. This is the time for all of us to unite and abolish these systems and structures of oppression that impact upon not only AAPI’s but all people of color in this country.”
The California Federation of Teachers represents 120,000 teachers, faculty, and school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education. It is the statewide affiliate of the AFT. More information at www.cft.org.
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
AFT Leaders Condemn Attacks Targeting Asian Americans in Georgia
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus and Boston Teachers Union President and Chair of the AFT Asian American and Pacific Islander Task Force Jessica Tang issued the following statement in response to the recent killings of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in Northern Georgia:
Weingarten said:
“Each and every one of us deserves to feel safe—in our own homes, our own communities, our own houses of worship and our own workplaces, regardless of our color or creed. But hatred directed at our Asian American friends, family and neighbors is at an all-time high, due in part to the misinformation and lies spread by the Trump administration since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Xenophobia exists. It’s something that far too many nonwhite people experience in America every day, and it is an ugly stain on our humanity. As the people who educate children, care for patients and help keep our communities safe, we must continue to teach tolerance and acceptance, and take a stand against the injustices that continue affecting the lives of so many people we love. We must fight hate through education.
“May the memories of those lives lost in Georgia yesterday be a blessing.”
DeJesus said:
“We must come together as one and condemn the racist violence that continues invading our country. We must set an example for future generations that this is not who we really are, that we can move forward from the last four years of divisiveness that has spread through this country like wildfire. It is up to us to change the hundreds of years of systemic racism that has marginalized so many communities.”
Tang said:
“As an Asian American woman who has long advocated against both gun violence and racism, I am particularly heartbroken and angered by the events that occurred last night in Atlanta. The violence, hate and prejudice directed against Asian Americans must stop. Racially motivated violence in all its forms must stop. Everyone, regardless of their appearance or perceived differences, deserves to live in peace and without fear. #StopAsianHate”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Excellent article that is good food for thought -ABCFT
How the pandemic is reshaping education
The coronavirus pandemic upended almost every aspect of school at once, necessitating changes in instruction, attendance, testing, funding, the role of technology. It also pointed anew to inequities of race, disability and income, and how these issues should be addressed. “There are a lot of positives that will happen because we’ve been forced into this uncomfortable situation,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, the school superintendents association. “The reality is that this is going to change education forever.” The Washington Post takes a deep dive into how school systems have changed; from the use of remote learning as a way of meeting diverse needs and to expand access to less-common courses, to the refurbishment of the nation’s older school buildings with new HVAC systems, and the possibility of new state funding formulas based on enrollment rather than attendance.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
States' ESSER funding amounts revealed ahead of school reopening summit next week
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced that the virtual National Safe School Reopening Summit will take place on March 24. The program will feature three panels, made up of health experts, education leaders, educators and students. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona comments: "We are holding this Summit with the goal of sharing best practices and connecting leaders, educators, and students from across this country who are navigating this challenge together and finding creative solutions to support our students and bring them back to in-person learning." Separately, the U.S. Department of Education has announced the amount of ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that each State, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia will receive. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the Department will begin to make these funds available to state educational agencies this month. The full amounts are detailed on the Department's website, but Florida will receive $7,038,246,438. The announcement coincides with the Department of Health and Human Services' announcement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide $10bn to states to support COVID-19 screening testing for K-12 teachers, staff and students in schools.
The Hill Chalkbeat Ed.gov Ed.gov Politico US News and World Report Wall Street Journal
Fauci says CDC likely to shorten schools' distancing guidance
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday that he believes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will update its social distancing guidance for schools and reduce recommendations from six feet to three feet. Speaking to NBC's "Today" show, he said: "You know, I think that likely will happen." He detailed a recent study in Massachusetts which compared 251 school districts with different distancing requirements and found little difference in case rates among students and staff members so long as everyone wore masks. Three feet is the minimum distance endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization.
Biden Administration Announces $10 Billion School Coronavirus Testing Plan
NBC News (3/17, Pettypiece) reports the Biden Administration announced Wednesday it is “directing $10 billion from the recently passed stimulus package toward increased Covid-19 testing in schools.” The funding will be distributed directly to states in April. The funding is allocated proportionally, meaning “large states such as California and Texas will receive more than $800 million each, the administration said.” The move comes alongside President Joe Biden’s directing states earlier this month to “prioritize teachers for vaccinations.”
USA Today (3/17, Richards, Alltucker) reports Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement Wednesday, “The extraordinary steps the department is taking to get these resources to states quickly will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom and stay there, and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students – especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”
The Wall Street Journal (3/17, Abbott, Subscription Publication) reports the CDC has pushed for schools to safely reopen as soon as possible. Multiple studies suggest that the spread of COVID-19 in schools is minimized with mitigation measures in place and safety measures like masking are followed.
Politico (3/17, Lim) reports that the “CDC and state and local health departments will provide technical assistance to schools to help set up and implement the new screening programs in schools.” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has “urged every school district to implement a testing plan, describing them as ‘an early warning system’ that can help ensure schools can remain open. ‘With this investment, help truly is on the way to aid school systems in implementing a testing system that will help keep students, educators and staff safe inside school buildings,’”
Axios (3/17, Fernandez) adds that “several school districts across the U.S. have been investing in their own surveillance testing protocols to ease worried parents and teachers.”
According to the New York Times (3/17, Stolberg), how far the Administration’s “moves will go toward reopening schools and reviving the economy is unclear,” as “experts say the United States does not have nearly enough rapid tests to conduct the kind of routine screening the administration envisions to allow students and teachers to safely return to the classroom.” “This isn’t going to move the needle,” said Michael Mina, an immunologist and epidemiologist at Harvard, who argued that onerous Food and Drug Administration regulations were preventing new types of rapid antigen tests from being approved, worsening the coronavirus crisis.
Also reporting are USA Today (3/17, Richards, Alltucker), Bloomberg (3/17, Wingrove), Reuters (3/17, Roy), CNBC (3/17, Feuer), CNN (3/17, Diamond), The Hill (3/17, Weixel), NPR (3/17, Wamsley), and the Washington Times (3/17).
CDC considering loosening social distancing recommendations
Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Wednesday told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that the agency is considering lessening its social distancing recommendations in schools. The CDC currently recommends seating or desks in schools to be "at least six feet apart when feasible," while the World Health Organization suggests at least 1 meter, or 3.28 feet, is adequate distance in schools.
Vaccines unlikely to be mandatory for teachers
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona indicated Wednesday that vaccines will likely not be mandatory for teachers in order to reopen schools. “I think we've seen examples where schools can open safely and be effective. But we know that prioritizing vaccinations will only assist with that,” Cardona told Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News. “Neither the president nor the vice president believe that it is a requirement,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said back in February, when asked if vaccinations of teachers were necessary for schools to reopen.
Department of Education pushes ahead with school reopenings
Following President Joe Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan into law, the U.S. Department of Education published additional details on its plans to support schools in safely returning to in-person instruction. A number of steps are in place to help schools implement these safe reopening measures and address the academic, social, and emotional needs of students, beginning with a virtual National Safe School Reopening Summit this month, for stakeholders to share best practices, discuss successful mitigation and reopening strategies, and learn from students, educators, and other experts. Additionally, a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse will highlight lessons learned and best practices that can help schools and districts identify opportunities to best utilize American Rescue Plan funds to create safe and healthy environments, provide support to students, and address the we llbeing and development of teachers, faculty and staff. The Clearinghouse’s webinar series will begin on March 31st. The Department will also release Volume 2 of the K-12 COVID-19 Handbook for districts, schools, and educators in early April. It will outline research-based strategies to address the impact of COVID-19 on students, educators, and staff, especially for historically underserved students and communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.
----- STATE NEWS -----
State could allow districts to pick own standardized tests this year
On Tuesday, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to seek a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education that would allow California school districts to use locally selected tests rather than the Smarter Balanced statewide assessments, which are required by state and federal education law.The vote for local assessments comes amid a massive statewide effort to bring more students back to school for in-person instruction. Nearly 9,000 schools in California have or plan to soon bring back students to campus beginning with grades TK-2 and students with high needs, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday. But even in districts where all schools have reopened or plan to reopen soon, some families are sticking with distance learning, creating a patchwork of plans and learning models that districts must accommodate as they prepare for standardized testing. Rachael Maves, deputy superintendent of public instruction for the Instruction and Measurement Branch of the State Department of Education said the waiver request "is the best option during truly imperfect times."
California approves ethnic studies curriculum for K-12 schools
California high school students soon will be able to learn about the contributions and oppression of people of color in America under a new ethnic studies curriculum approved Thursday by the state Board of Education. The course guidelines are the nation’s first statewide ethnic studies curriculum for public school students. The new curriculum embraces an approach to ethnic studies that focuses on the four core groups but evolved to accommodate a breadth of experiences, including lessons on the histories, struggles and contributions of Asian, Black, Latino and Native Americans. The final vote came four years, four drafts and 100,000 public comments after state law mandated that educators create a model studies ethnic studies curriculum. “In a state with the most diverse student body of anywhere in the nation, our students must see themselves reflected in their school, their curriculum, and the knowledge they learn,” Luis Alejo, author of that legislation when he was in the Assembly, said at the meeting Thursday. “This first-in-the-nation model curriculum will show other states what is possible.”
KTLA Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle
Counseling services added to address student mental health
As students begin returning to the classroom as the pandemic eases, schools are preparing for a spate of serious mental health conditions that, for some students, may take years to overcome. In the year that campuses were closed due to Covid-19, students experienced waves of loneliness, fear, upheaval and grief. Some lost loved ones, others saw their parents lose their jobs and their families sink into poverty. Nearly all experienced a degree of depression from being apart from their friends and missing important milestones like proms and graduations. Amy Cranston, executive director of the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for California, said there’s plenty schools can do to help students understand and process their emotions once they return to campus. But it won’t be easy. “Everyone thinks we’re going back to ‘normal,’ but the problem is that there is no ‘normal.’ No one is sure what to expect,” Cranston said. “I think it’s going to be a tough road for everyone - parents and teachers, too.” Some districts are already taking steps to address student mental health needs; ABC USD in Cerritos in Los Angeles County, has already stationed social workers at its 33 schools, with an additional 19 college interns available to help, as well as counselors, nurses and school psychologists. Elsewhere, Manteca USD has expanded its contract with Valley Community Counseling Services to provide therapists at each of the district’s 29 campuses.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Chicago Public Schools Aims For April 19 Reopening Date
The Chicago Tribune (3/16, Leone) reports, “Chicago Public Schools has announced a target date to resume in-person classes for high school students, who marked one year of remote learning this week: April 19, the start of fourth quarter.” However, Chicago Teachers Union officials “stressed there is no deal yet for high school teachers to return to in-person learning.”
The AP (3/16) reports the announcement came “as negotiations with the teachers union over COVID-19 precautions continued. It would be the first time high school students in the nation’s third-largest school district have the option to be back in classrooms” in a year, but the union, “which fought the district’s safety plans for younger students and nearly went on strike, said no deal had been reached.” Chalkbeat (3/16) also reports.
All San Diego County schools cleared to reopen
All public and private schools in San Diego County received the green light to reopen for instruction from today, now that the county’s COVID case rate has finally stayed low enough to reach the state’s less-restrictive red tier. The announcement by county officials, along with a decision from a county judge on Monday, cleared the way for an expanded reopening at some North County districts that have for weeks been asking the state to reopen their middle and high schools. At least three of those districts, Poway, Carlsbad and San Dieguito Union High, this week started offering at least one day a week of in-person instruction to their middle and high school students. Other districts in South County, where COVID rates had been disproportionately high, are choosing to wait months longer to reopen, even with news of the red tier and even as teachers are expected to be fully vaccinated in a few weeks.
Many LAUSD parents don’t plan to send kids back to campus
About half of all Los Angeles USD students will not be returning to campus, based on early, partial results of a parent survey, with more wariness expressed in communities hit hard by COVID-19 and among families with older students whose return options include no escape from online learning. To date, about 10% of parents have submitted the surveys, which ask families to select between remaining in full remote learning or returning to campus for about half the time starting in about mid-April or later. Overall, 51% of those responding chose the in-person hybrid option. Among grade levels, 62% favored a return at the elementary level, 44% at middle school and 33% at high school. The district on Monday also released a snapshot by community, indicating that harder-hit areas were more reluctant to send children back. “What we are seeing so far reinforces the disproportionate impact the v irus has had on many of the communities we serve,” Superintendent Austin Beutner said. He also announced that, health conditions permitting, the district’s schools will be able to hold some form of in-person graduation ceremony this year.
Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Daily News
Oakland reaches tentative deal with union for in-person learning
Oakland USD schools will begin reopening before the end of March, after leaders from the teachers' union and the school district reached a deal Sunday after weeks of negotiations. The tentative agreement also preserves the option for students to remain in distance learning. The district announced the tentative agreement late Sunday night just before midnight in a press release. The union is expected vote on the agreement this week and, if approved, would then go before the district school board for its vote. The first phase of the agreement has in-person classes resuming March 30th for pre-kindergarten through grade 2 and priority students, with the second phase resuming April 19th for grades 3-5 and at least one secondary grade to be determined later.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Remote learning impacts students’ well-being
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that parents whose children were learning in a remote or partly remote setting were more likely to report that their children spent diminishing time outside, in physical activity, or interacting with friends, than parents whose children attended school in person. They were also more likely to say their children’s mental or emotional health was worse. The study, conducted in October and early November of last year when a second surge in infection rates prompted many districts to reduce in-person learning or back away from it altogether, indicates that 43% of parents in remote learning reported losing time from their own jobs, compared to 31% of those in full-time, in-person learning. They were also twice as likely to report child-care challenges as those receiving in-person instruction. Deborah Temkin, vice president of youth and education research for Child Trends, a nonprofit research group, comments: “One of my fears is that we’re going to be so focused on recuperating those learning losses, we’re going to forget that students lost others things, like their ability to be social with their friends and get physical education.”
----- SPORTS -----
California cancels sideline cheerleading
The California Department of Public Health released on Thursday additional information about its youth sports guidelines, stating that cheerleaders, drill teams, marching bands and other similar school groups can’t attend sporting events at this time. The CDPH’s document, which was titled “Youth Sports Q&A,” stated that only “immediate household members” for the athletes can attend sporting events. “Sideline cheer, band, drumline or other supporting groups are not allowed to attend sporting events at this time,” the CDPH said. The department’s sports guidelines list cheerleading outdoors as allowable in the red tier, which Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have all entered in recent weeks. Cheerleading indoors has to wait for the yellow tier. “I think the people making these rules have no idea what cheerleaders do,” said Yrungaray, whose daughter, Anna, cheers for Riverside’s Poly High School. “Saying cheerleading is allowed but sideline cheering is not is basically a death sentence.”
The Daily Bulletin Los Angeles Daily News
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Review champions safety measures alongside reopening schools
State and local leaders should prioritize in-person learning for students and make adjustments based on community risk factors, according to a new report which examines the collective findings of more than 130 separate studies. Supported by the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Reinventing Public Education and other organizations, it is hoped that the report will be used as a reference for school administrators as they determine best strategies for reopening schools. Several factors support the responsible reopening of schools, according to a raft of school administrators, researchers, physicians and scientists, including low COVID-19 transmission rates in children, the benefits of mitigation efforts and the negative consequences of learning loss and social isolation.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Ransomware operators targeting schools, FBI warns
The FBI has warned of a surge in attacks against schools in which ransomware operators are stealing data to pile on the pressure for payment. In a joint FBI and DHS-CISA alert this week, law enforcement warned of increased attacks leveraging PYSA ransomware, also known as Mespinoza, often via phishing emails and the compromise of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) credentials. "The unidentified cyber actors have specifically targeted higher education, K-12 schools, and seminaries," the alert reads. "These actors use PYSA to exfiltrate data from victims prior to encrypting victim's systems to use as leverage in eliciting ransom payments."
Getting kids online 'a huge burden for schools'
Long before the pandemic struck, schools across the United States were working to address the challenges presented by the digital divide, which disproportionately affects Black, Latino and Native American students and those in low-income households. Last year's prompt pivot to distance learning dramatically raised the stakes however and created a huge burden for school leaders. Common Sense, a nonprofit that advocates for internet access, estimates that of the 15m schoolchildren who lacked sufficient internet when the pandemic hit, just 5m at most have been connected so far. In Chicago, philanthropy paid for nearly half the $50m, four-year Chicago Connected program, which pays for kids’ home internet if they qualify for reduced-price lunches. Chicago Public Schools, the country’s third-largest district, is on the hook for $25m. About one-fifth of the city's 242,000 students who are eligible have gotten internet. In Philadelphia, a $17m program to connect as many as 35,000 students that relies on philanthropists and federal stimulus funds will run through summer 2022, while Baltimore City Schools is paying for Comcast home internet or a T-Mobile hot spot for low-income students through September. The $1.9tn stimulus package signed by President Joe Biden last week contains $7bn for distance learning and advocates hope the cash will be groundbreaking for schools' gargantuan efforts to connect students.
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Students who got partial loan relief to see full discharge
Thousands of students defrauded by for-profit schools will have their federal loans fully erased, the Biden administration announced Thursday, reversing a Trump administration policy that had given them only partial relief. The change could lead to $1bn in loans being canceled for 72,000 borrowers, all of whom attended for-profit schools. “Borrowers deserve a simplified and fair path to relief when they have been harmed by their institution’s misconduct,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “A close review of these claims and the associated evidence showed these borrowers have been harmed and we will grant them a fresh start from their debt.” Eligible borrowers will be notified in the coming weeks, according to the department. All of the approved claimants subject to the new policy attended for-profit colleges. The new policy only applies to claims that have been approved to date, not any that are still under review or those have been rejected. A senior department official told reporters Thursday the agency is reviewing the best approach for those claims going forward.
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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
leann.blaisdell@ntarep.com
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