ABCFT - YOUnionews - April 16, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team will be meeting with the district in the coming weeks to discuss the calendar for the 2021-2022 school year. A survey will be sent out at the beginning of next week to gather input regarding your ideas for next year’s starting and ending dates. ABCFT is committed to keeping our members informed throughout this process.
For those of you who have returned to in-person instruction I hope the reopening has gone smoothly thus far. I encourage you to communicate with your administrators and supervisors about just what supports and resources you need to be successful in this simultaneous hybrid environment. Let me also restate the importance of reasonable expectations as well. Our members are understandably focused on continuing to provide a quality education for our students and that should remain our emphasis.
Lastly, April 12 was the first day back for in-person at my school. It was exciting to finally see some of our students again after thirteen long months. April 12 is also my mother’s birthday and, as many of you know, she taught primary grades for many years in this district at multiple sites. Pattie Mancillas was quite the optimist, often with a smile on her face, looking for the bright side of things. Her son, alas, acquired slightly more of a realist perspective. One of Mom’s habits was to count everything down, listing how many months, weeks, and days were left until a specific event or desired goal. So I will try and channel her positive frame of mind when I crunch the numbers for our remaining eight weeks of school. Or should I say 40 days? What about a clarification that Wednesdays remain asynchronous so that is really 32 days of simultaneous hybrid instruction? Ah, but that last instructional week in June isn’t a full five days. And what about Memorial Day?!? The moral of the story, my ABCFT brothers and sisters, is that there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. We can do this!
In Unity,
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 breath. Controlling breath helps control your mind. Participants practice meditation by breathing to count and practice core strengthening yoga movements.
The session closes with a quote by an unknown author,
“Breath is the finest gift of nature be grateful for this wonderful gift.”
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
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.
This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions and situations. Seeing the students in our schools again was refreshing and it erased that memory of the quiet classrooms when the only sound you would hear was the clanging of the chain against the tether ball pole. Hearing the chatter of students and seeing students in classrooms again is a testament to the resilience of teachers and students. I do my daily supervision at Nixon Elementary and that has given me an opportunity to talk with teachers about their experiences throughout the week and from my conversations it seems like they are all on the same stressful rollercoaster.
On Tuesday, we had our weekly YOUnion Chat but because of an unknown change on Zoom’s end we were only able to accommodate 100 participants. This issue was fixed today and we apologize to those of you who were not able to jump into the Tuesday chat. We are aware that many teachers were looking forward to jumping on the YOUnion Chat this week to debrief, get updates, and hear about how things were going at other schools. Now that this situation has been fixed there should be no problems with joining the YOUnion Chat so I hope that we will see you there next week.
I’m going to end this weeks report on a positive note but there are some situations that are we are working on that are problematic. For example, the district tells everyone that there are no problems with the bandwidth yet we get repeated emails and texts about the choppy bandwidth and technology issues. Or there are rumblings at the district office about kids possibly going to school for four days a week. Or we hear that teachers are finding barriers that are making it difficult for teachers satisfy the requirements to gain their stipends. Or how sites are continuing to deal with solo students. Or how our union brother and sisters, AFSCME and CSEA are still negotiating reopening after they have been at sites all year long and already got schools ready for in-person students and teachers. Or hearing about school board members wanting more and more changes. When will we be given time to do what we have already started and not add more? When will the changes end? It’s hard to build trust in a system that is constantly changing. UGH
We are all ready to put this year behind us and we all need to find a way to get there symbolically and literally. I think I’m going to print out an actual paper calendar for the remaining eight weeks so I can cross each day we get closer to the end of this ridiculous school year. At the end of every day I’ve been doing my best to recall some of the funny conversations I’ve been having with the Nixon kindergartners. They are full of potential and wonder and they are a reminder of why I chose this profession. Five year olds are living in the moment and when asked about their day they thoughtfully reflect on their days. They seem to always see the silver lining about being back in school. Find the silver lining in your day.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT swings behind CDC guidance on school reopenings
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten has endorsed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent revision of social distancing in schools after initially saying it didn't take into account the unique challenges facing the country's urban schools. "There remain some within-school tough logistical issues to work out, and some real concerns around ventilation, but today's letter made a compelling case," she wrote to local leaders after the CDC provided answers to a series of questions she posed about the revised guidance. "Personally, their response has eased my concerns with the physical distancing guidance change." Last month, the CDC reduced its social distancing guidelines in certain school settings from 6 feet to 3 feet as long as masks are universally used; at the time, Ms Weingarten expressed concerns that the guidance failed to take into account urban school districts, where school facilities tend to be older, with poorer quality heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Now, she says CDC officials have convinced her otherwise and assured her that they're following up directly with specific districts that have particularly old and failing facilities.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
First Black transgender woman elected to a U.S. school board
Alana Banks is said to be the first Black transgender woman to be elected to a school board in the United States. Banks, a graduate of Eisenhower High School, where she was active in student government, the Superintendent's Youth Advisory Council, and served on a committee to study the then-new uniform requirements in the high schools and make changes to the dress code in response to student requests, now serves on the Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board of Education in Macon, Illinois. Local mom Dana Thomas, who began her own campaign for the school board until she dropped out of the race, comments: "Yes, she is trans and this is huge but she really is brilliant and an asset to any board."
----- FINANCE -----
How districts might spend their federal stimulus dollars
School districts are just beginning to receive estimates for the federal funds they can expect from the most recent $130 billion stimulus package approved by Congress and signed last month by President Joe Biden, on top of $13.5 billion last March and $57 billion last December. Priorities are likely to include funding new staff and paying existing teachers more to help make up for lost instructional time, by extending the school year and introducing tutoring programs; providing enrichment and emotional support for students by expanding mental health resources, like on-site counselors, and crafting summer activity programs, like field trips and interactive camp experiences; building newer, safer facilities and infrastructure; and improving special education services.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
White House discretionary funding request includes billions for education
Shalanda D. Young, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has written to Senate Committee Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to outline President Joe Biden’s request for fiscal year 2022 discretionary funding. The request includes discretionary funding proposals only, while the President’s forthcoming Budget will include major, complementary mandatory investments and tax reforms. It proposes a $36.5bn investment in Title I grants, a $20bn increase from the 2021 enacted level, to provide historically under-resourced schools with the funding needed to deliver a high-quality education to all of their students. It also includes $7.4bn for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, an increase of $1.5bn over the 2021 enacted level, to expand access to quality, affordable child care; an $11.9bn investment in Head Start, a $1.2bn increase, which would ensure more children start kindergarten ready to learn on day one; $15.5bn, a $2.6bn increase, for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants that would support four special education and related services for more than 7.5m Pre-K through 12 students; $1bn, in addition to the resources in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to increase the number of counselors, nurses, and mental health professionals in schools; $430m for Full Service Community Schools; and funding to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $400.
Biden faces backlash over standardized tests
The Biden administration is facing growing backlash from state education chiefs, Republican senators, teachers unions and others who say that its insistence that schools give standardized tests to students this year is unfair, and that it is being inconsistent in how it awards testing flexibility to states. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says it is necessary for schools to see where students are academically after the chaos of the pandemic school year, and that the test scores will show where to target billions of dollars Congress recently approved for pandemic relief to K-12 schools. However, Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice has criticized the U.S. Education Department for its “indefensible” logic in rejecting the state’s request for a testing waiver while granting one to the Washington, D.C., school system, the only waiver that has been given. Elsewhere, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, whose state was also denied a waiver, said testing this year “isn’t going to show any data that is going to be meaningful for learning moving forward.” Bob Schaeffer, acting executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit known as FairTest that works to end the misuse of standardized tests, said he doesn’t see consistency in the department’s responses to states. The Chicago Teachers Union said it was “disappointed” by the administration’s approach. “Although the Illinois State Board of Ed is making some changes to how testing affects state school ratings, and some districts will be holding testing in the fall, for the most part annual testing is going ahead as normal,” it said. “This is not what we should be doing as a school system in a pandemic.”
Education Department rules on state test waivers
The U.S. Department of Education has written to states across the country informing them of its decisions on whether to grant them waivers from student testing requirements this school year. In a series of response letters to states that had sought flexibility from the assessment requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act Tuesday, the agency rejected a request from New York state to cancel assessments. And it turned down proposals from Michigan and Montana to substitute local tests for state ones. It has, however, accepted a request from Oregon to reduce the number of statewide tests it will give this year. The Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE_ approved request includes testing students in grades 3-8 and 11 in one or two subjects, a change from Oregon’s original proposal to waive all standardized tests. “ODE has demonstrated that this request will advance student academic achievement because, based on the specific circumstances in Oregon resulting from the pandemic, it maximizes the ability to obtain high-quality data regarding student learning that Oregon’s statewide assessments provide,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs Ian Rosenblum wrote to ODE Director Colt Gill. California and New Jersey have also been given flexibility as to how tests are administered.
Montana Free Press Metro News Click on Detroit Education Week OPB Times Union
Education Dept. urged to help schools defend against cyber threats
U.S. Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) have written to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, asking him to prioritize protecting K-12 institutions from cyberattacks, which have shot up in the past year as classes moved increasingly online during the COVID-19 pandemic. A report released last month by the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center found that K-12 institutions in the United States recorded a “record-breaking” number of cyberattacks in 2020, while the Government Accountability Office put out a report last year concluding that the rising number of cyberattacks was putting students at risk. School districts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Baltimore County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, were among notable ones that were hit by cyberattacks. “As the U.S. continues to battle the ongoing pandemic, the Department of Education will play a critical role in supporting American families as they navigate the challenges of distance learning and prepare to reenter the classroom safely,” Matsui and Langevin wrote, adding: “To help ensure schools are keeping pace with the demands of the modern classroom, we urge you to issue guidance that will allow K-12 schools to make needed investments in increased cybersecurity measures,” they noted. They specifically urged Cardona to issue guidance clarifying that recent funds included in COVID-19 relief packages for K-12 institutions can also be used to shore up cybersecurity.
CDC: schools don’t need daily disinfection to prevent COVID spread
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer recommending daily disinfection of schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and says that cleaning chemicals such as ammonia and bleach need be used only within 24 hours after an infected person has been there. Earlier this year, the CDC posted documents meant to de-emphasize disinfection on such a regular schedule, but Monday’s guidance more clearly erased the daily recommendation. The updated guidance applies to homes, schools, and other settings that are not hospitals or health-care facilities.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Newsom doubles down on call to reopen schools in the fall
Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on schools to reopen for full-time in-person instruction in the fall, though it remains unclear whether the state will require it. “We must prepare now for full in-person instruction come this next school year. That’s foundational, and that’s principal,” Newsom said during a tour of Santa Rosa’s Sheppard Elementary School. He said is is working with the Legislature to formalize what districts will be required to do in the fall, since the trailer bill that accompanied the 2020-21 budget included a provision for distance learning. The trailer bill, which details budget and policy changes accompanying the budget, allows distance learning as an alternative to in-person instruction and will sunset at the end of the current school year. Newsom also urged districts to consider extending the school year and use the influx of one-time state and federal money to “extend learning opportunities, extend the school day, extend the school year.”
EdSource The Desert Sun Bakersfield.com San Francisco Chronicle
California: local assessments possible if standardized tests aren't viable
California education officials have been told verbally that the state may not need to submit a waiver application to the U.S. Department of Education, thus opening the door for more flexibility this spring when it comes to standardized testing. In lieu of a blanket waiver, the U.S. Department of Education this year said that states could apply for other ways to potentially ease the burden of testing this school year. On April 2, State Board of Education President Linda Darling Hammond and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond sent a letter to Ian Rosenblum, the deputy assistant secretary handling this matter, asking for written confirmation of conversations that California would not need a general waiver for it to proceed with its academic testing plan. Ultimately, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona would have to approve the decision. Also on Friday, State Board of Education officials briefed state legislative aides and others in the education community about the likelihood of districts being able to use alternative assessments this year.
California scraps color-coded COVID tier system
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials said Tuesday they expect all schools and higher education institutions to open for full-time in-person instruction in the fall, following the announcement that California intends to retire its “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” color-coded tier system on June 15th. Since August 2020, the tier system has guided when schools can or can’t reopen for in-person instruction, requiring them to be out of the most restrictive “purple” tier for at least two weeks in order to bring students back into the classroom. “I want kids back in school safely for in-person instruction,” Newsom said. “On June 15th, we anticipate there will be no barrier to getting all of our kids safely back, not just K-12, community colleges, including institutions of higher learning.” California Teachers Association spokeswoman Claudia Briggs did not directly comment on the plan to drop the tier system. However, in a statement, she cautioned not to loosen safety measures already in place when returning to school and to continue to closely monitor community infection rates.
EdSource KTLA Los Angeles Times
----- DISTRICTS -----
East Whittier school district, teachers agree on 3-foot limit for student desks
All East Whittier City School District families who want their children to come back for in-person instruction and a four-day week, can now do so as a result of an agreement between the district and teachers association allowing for a minimum of 3-foot distance between student desks. Previously, 6 feet between desks was required and so the rooms weren’t big enough to accommodate all students, Superintendent Marc Patterson said. Without the memorandum of understanding, a hybrid schedule would have been used where students attend school two days a week. In order to get approval from the East Whittier Teachers Association, which had safety concerns, the desks between students and teachers will continue to be a minimum of 6-feet distance from each other. In addition, any teacher may request an air purifier with no accommodation needed, all outdoor physical distancing shall remain at a minimum of 6 feet. And teachers will no longer be required to be stream lessons from classrooms to students at home.
Many students still opting to learn remotely, survey says
Large numbers of students are not returning to the classroom, according to a survey released today by the Biden administration. Almost half (46%) of public schools offered five days a week of in-person to all students in February but just 34% of students were learning full-time in the classroom. The gap was most pronounced among older K-12 students, with just 29% of eighth graders getting five days a week of learning at school. Overall, more than a third of students in the South and Midwest were learning entirely at school, compared with less than a quarter in the West and Northeast. White students continued to be far more likely to be back in the classroom, with 52% of white fourth graders receiving full-time, in-person instruction. By contrast, less than a third of Black and Hispanic fourth graders were back at school full time, along with just 15% of Asian students. The findings are based on a survey of 3,500 public schools across 37 states that serve fourth graders and 3,500 schools that serve eighth graders.
LAUSD could extend next school year by two weeks
Los Angeles USD officials will consider a plan to extend the next school year by adding one week at the start in August and another week in January after winter break to address learning loss and trauma suffered by students during the yearlong pandemic-forced school closures. Superintendent Austin Beutner said that in a survey a majority of families expressed interest in extending the school year. Each of the additional weeks would be “split between time for teachers and school staff to plan and participate in additional training and time for students to process the trauma and anxiety they’ve experienced the past year and work on learning fundamentals.” The superintendent also spent the morning visiting with staff at four schools that are set to welcome students back on Tuesday. It’s been 404 days since LAUSD shuttered its campuses last March, he said. “Here we are with the day that I’m pretty excited about, because tomorrow, the biggest step in the path to recovery happens, which is we welcome students back to school classrooms,” he addressed teachers who were assembled at Madison Elementary School in South Gate. Seventy-two elementary schools and early education centers will reopen this week, with the remaining elementary schools and early education facilities set to welcome students back next week. Middle and high schools will reopen the week of April 26th.
Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times
San Francisco schools welcome back students
On Monday, San Francisco USD reopened some of its public schools after more than a year, making it one of the last major school systems in the country to bring students back for in-person instruction. “This is amazing,” said Mayor London Breed as she watched students file into Bret Harte Elementary School. “It took a lot of work and, honestly, it took a lot of people putting aside the drama and their differences and doing what’s in the best interest of the children,” she added. Yesterday, pre-K through second grade returned to classrooms at 11 early education schools, 22 elementary schools and three county schools. Next week will see older students in grades three through five. The remaining elementary schools will open in waves, returning about 22,000 students to in person learning.
CBS SF Bay Area San Francisco Chronicle
Most school staff have now had at least one vaccine dose, CDC says
Almost 80% of teachers, school staff and child care workers had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, according to the latest estimates and survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 2 million teachers, school staff and child care workers were vaccinated through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program in March, while between 5 and 6 million more have been vaccinated through state programs. Almost one in five (19%) of the entire U.S. population has now been fully vaccinated, the CDC data indicates, with the country averaging over 3 million shots administered per day. Separately, the American Federation of Teachers released a survey Tuesday indicating that over 80% of association members had been vaccinated or had made a vaccine appointment.
Education Week NBC News New York Times
LAUSD, UTLA reach deal to provide special services
Los Angeles USD and the United Teachers Los Angeles union have come to a tentative agreement to provide special education services and other “special services” to students during hybrid learning. The deal, which will be voted on this week by affected UTLA members, pertains to services performed by special education providers, resource specialists, school nurses, psychiatric social workers, attendance and secondary counselors, librarians and arts and physical education teachers who travel between campuses. Employees will be provided personal protective equipment such as face shields, clear face masks, medical-grade masks, gloves or gowns, depending on their job duties. They may also request plexiglass when conducting student assessments, and nurses can request N95 masks.
LA teachers to receive child care stipend for young kids
Los Angeles USD teachers and other employees with young children will receive a $500 monthly child care stipend as they return to classrooms after a year of campus closures. Full-time employees of the second largest school district in the country will receive the monthly subsidy if they have children 5 years old and younger, the district announced Monday. School employees, including custodians and bus drivers, will get a subsidy for each eligible child through the end of the semester and if they work over the summer. The program will focus on in-home day care centers through Carina Care, which connects providers with state-funded clients. "It’s been a very long year since COVID-19 led to the closure of schools, and many of our employees have had to juggle their responsibilities at work with the need to take care of their own families, including young children,” LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a statement Monday. “We have done all we can to take care of our employees, from Hero Pay and extended medical benefits to Covid tests and vaccinations. The support for childcare is another step we’re taking to help our employees so they can keep doing all they can to serve the needs of students and their families.”
L.A.’s youngest students return to school
For the first time in more than a year, dozens of Los Angeles USD campuses reopened their doors to students Tuesday. Sixty-one elementary schools and 11 education centers welcomed kindergartners and first graders; grades two and three return today, with fourth- and fifth-graders to follow tomorrow. Superintendent Austin Beutner on a tour of school campuses, said parents’ “greatest concern, despite the practices and protocols, is that someone leaves the household and brings back COVID to a multi-generational household — and another member of the family become sick.”
CBS Los Angeles Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times
----- CLASSROOM -----
Students with disabilities falling behind
New research indicates that students with disabilities particularly are struggling with remote learning. According to a survey conducted in the fall by research firm RAND Corp., while 51% of in-person teachers reported their special education students completed nearly all of their assignments, only 29% of remote teachers and 32% of hybrid teachers said the same. Also, while teachers of students with disabilities in remote classes were as likely or even more likely than colleagues teaching in-person or hybrid classes to report that they were providing students with weekly small-group and one-on-one instruction, they were "far more likely" to say that their students weren’t completing assignments.
How states are helping students confront COVID-19
State education leaders across the nation are debating the most effective ways to maximize learning time for students after a prolonged year of classroom closures, with many considering extended summer programming, intensive tutoring programs, and other interventions. The 74 looks at some of the ways officials are helping students confront the challenges posed by the pandemic: from Colorado, where two state proposals to help track and address mental health concerns are being considered by lawmakers, to Connecticut, where a task force has been launched, to work on a framework for enhancing student learning and opportunities this spring and summer.
How The COVID-19 Pandemic Permanently Changed Education In America
A year later, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed education in America, Politico (4/15, Bombardieri) reports. Notably, it highlighted how schools offer “intellectual development and enrichment” for children and serve as “linchpins of a child care ecosystem that allows parents – especially mothers – to participate in the workforce.” School districts have started establishing “permanent virtual options” for students who are thriving. It is also clear that “in a post-pandemic America, every student needs their own device and a reliable internet connection.” Hundreds of colleges have “admitted a freshman class without requiring SAT or ACT scores, potentially opening admissions to the most selective colleges to more low-income students.” In addition to everything, the pandemic showed the public education system has “significantly weakened” since the 2008 financial crisis, and billions of dollars are needed to address a multitude of obstacles.
Charts Show How Pandemic, Remote Learning Changed US Education System. Politico (4/15, Choi) publishes four charts “of how the pandemic changed education in America.” In most states, “more than 80% of children in both public and private schools transitioned to remote learning during the pandemic; however, a handful of others reported much lower rates.” While a large majority of parents “want their students to return to regular classrooms next year, a significant minority actually preferred the new arrangements that started during the pandemic.” According to a POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey “of public K-12 school parents, a total of 29% of parents would prefer their children continue with some form of remote learning – 13% want to remain fully online, while another 16% want a combination of online and in-classroom instruction.” Additionally, “while there have been concerted efforts to provide devices, hot spots and other resources to students without reliable internet access at home, some states have been more successful than others at tackling the digital divide.” Higher education institutions also “witnessed shifts in enrollment during the pandemic.” Undergraduate enrollment “was down for all student groups in spring 2021-- averaging a 4.5% decline from a year ago.”
----- LEGAL -----
Ed Dept to launch Title IX review
The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that it plans to launch a comprehensive review of Title IX regulations. In a letter to students, educators and other stakeholders, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne Goldberg wrote the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also anticipates proposing new rules to amend Title IX after gathering feedback from the public. The OCR plans to hold a public hearing to allow those interested to share their views through oral comments and written submissions. The most recent round of rules issued under Title IX by the Trump administration took effect last August and required K-12 schools to overhaul processes around reporting and investigating sexual harassment and assault claims, notably holding schools liable if they failed to respond to notices by bus drivers, coaches, cafeteria staff and others.
LAUSD sued by parent group over school reopenings
Parent group California Students United filed a lawsuit yesterday against Los Angeles USD and its superintendent, Austin Beutner, calling for a return to full-time, in-person instruction to the fullest extent possible. LAUSD is keeping to a 6-foot social distancing requirement, even though the Centers for Disease Control and California Department of Public Health has recommended reducing this to 3 feet. The suit was filed by Aannestad Andelin & Corn LLP, the same law firm that recently won a temporary injunction against six San Diego area school districts setting aside 6-foot and 4-foot social distancing guidelines.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Little evidence to date of rising teacher turnover
Heading into the current school year last summer, various polls and news reports sparked fears of a “massive wave” of teacher resignations, concerns that appear not to have been realised. However, experts are now suggesting that a new period of flux is looming, as the school year ends and more teachers consider whether to leave after another year of heightened stress. “If the economy accelerates with all the government spending, as I anticipate it will, outside-of-teaching opportunities are going to look pretty good, so we may well face some staffing challenges,” said Dan Goldhaber, a leading researcher on teacher quality issues at the University of Washington. But, he emphasized, such challenges likely won’t be felt across the board, but rather in subjects like special education and math and science, as well as in schools with more low-income students and more students of color. Even a modest rise in teacher turnover next school year could exacerbate staffing challenges at schools that have long struggled to attract and keep quality teachers. Ultimately, Mr Goldhaber argues, the conversation about teacher shortages and staffing challenges should shift from concern about nationwide shortages to persistent challenges in specific schools and subjects. “Talking about this in a generic way does not move the debate forward,” he explained. “It does not point policymakers toward the problems that exist even when people are not talking about this issue.”
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Best practices for hosting on-campus vaccination clinics
As COVID-19 vaccines roll out at varying paces, districts are setting up school-based clinics and working with local health organizations to get shots to school staff at other community vaccination events. "We all know schools get used for a lot of different events...they’re a real center of a community and so it’s not difficult to set something like that up," said Kathleen Ethier, a public health official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Districts are advised to nurture relationships with neighboring schools, pharmacies, hospitals and health departments to organize school staff vaccination events, and ensure sufficient supplies of the vaccine, and to pre-plan ahead of time by asking teachers about eligibility status. Officials also say that privacy concerns should be addressed, with personally identifiable health information, such as Family and Medical Leave Act requests handled only by HR staff to ensure information remained confidential and not available to other employees working on the sites.
Americans eating less healthily everywhere - except at school
A new dietary analysis has found that Americans are eating less healthily everywhere, except at school. The study is based on surveys conducted among 61,000 adults and children between 2003 and 2018. Respondents' answers revealed that the quality of much of the food they've been getting from restaurants, grocery stores, work sites, entertainment venues and food trucks has remained consistently poor over the years. However, during the study period, saw the poor nutritional content of their in-school meals (as a percentage of all school-based food on offer) drop by more than half, down from 57% to just 24%. The study period coincided with the passage of the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" in 2010, an Obama administration effort to set higher national nutritional standards in schools across the nation. Lead author Junxiu Liu, an assistant professor in the department of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City attributed the upswing to increased access to whole grains, fruits, greens and beans, and lower exposure to sugary drinks, refined grains, added sugar and saturated fat.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Virtual learning resulted in 'significant' learning loss
More than half of public school K-12 teachers said the pandemic resulted in a “significant” learning loss for students, both academically and in their social-emotional progress, according to a report by Horace Mann. The Voice of the Educator Study polled nearly 1,000 educators, including public school K-12 teachers, administrators and support staff in February and March 2021. It found that more than 97% of educators reported seeing some learning loss in their students over the past year when compared with children in previous years, and a majority, or 57%, estimated their students are behind by more than three months in their social-emotional progress. Nearly one-third expected more students will need to repeat a grade.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Many families want alternatives to four-year college
Just 54% of parents with children between the ages of 11-25 would like their child to enroll in a four-year college or university immediately after high school, according to a survey carried out by the Carnegie Corporation and Gallup. Almost half of parents (46%) desire an alternative to college even if they did not see major obstacles, the survey indicated. Parents who have Black children are among the most likely demographic to choose post-secondary education immediately following high school for their child, while 51% of parents with white children prefer immediate college enrollment.
Low-income students lagging in filing FAFSAs
Four in five high school seniors have now completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to a new survey by consultancy EAB, which reveals however that the share of low-income students who planned to file a FAFSA, but had not yet done so, was double that of higher-income students who said the same. The findings follow earlier data suggesting enrollment this coming fall could lag for low-income and first-generation students, along with those from underrepresented minority groups. Separate data from the National College Attainment Network shows that FAFSA completions were down 7.6% year over year as of March 26, lagging more among students from low-income high schools (-10.5%) and students from high schools with large shares of Black and Hispanic students (-12.4%). K12 Dive
Half of California bachelor’s degrees awarded by Cal State
Nearly half of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in the state come from a California State University school, according to a new report released by the system on Thursday. In May, the university awarded close to 110,000 baccalaureate degrees. In 2018-2019, university spending, including operations, capital and student spending, totaled $17.5bn. But that sum generated a total of $26.9bn in “industry activity” — meaning both direct and indirect sales and spending. It also produced $1.6bn in state and local tax revenue.
California universities plan a mix of in-person, virtual commencement ceremonies
Commencement ceremonies at many of California’s colleges and universities will look a bit closer to normal this year, though with a few twists. Improving COVID-19 infection rates encouraged California State University, Fresno, for example, to allow small in-person ceremonies scheduled for May 14th-16th. The campus will host six separate commencement ceremonies based on the size of the academic schools and colleges. Each ceremony would include approximately 1,400 graduates. Two ceremonies will be held each day — in the morning and evening. The graduates will be seated on Fresno State’s football field, and their guests will be assigned to specific seating locations, or pods, in the stadium. Each of those pods will be socially distanced, and everyone will be required to wear face coverings. At the University of California, Riverside, graduating students can sign up to walk across the stage one by one at one of two buildings on campus and, like in a normal year, have their names read and their photos taken. No guests will be permitted inside the facilities. UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara are still mulling whether their ceremonies will include in-person elements.
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How California schools plan to stage 'normal' graduations
Ahead of the end of the 2020-21 school year, K-12 and high school districts in California are not just focusing on reopening campuses in a safe way, but also on giving students a send-off to remember. “The District recognizes that high school graduations are a once in a lifetime event and a cherished memory for our graduating seniors and their families,” Chris Funk, superintendent of the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, wrote in a letter to seniors last month. Pulling off a graduation, though, will require the same painstaking attention to safety and health precautions and social distancing as a reopening of school, for an event attended by hundreds of parents who may be unfamiliar with the protocols. On March 26, the California Department of Public Health issued a separate guidance for commencement and graduation ceremonies beyond the extensive requirements issued the same day covering all outdoor seating events and performances. Among the requirements listed in the graduation document, districts must follow the capacity limits determined by a county’s color tier, tied to infection rates; require that all attendees self-screen for signs of COVID before leaving the house; and leave two hours between events to ensure attendees of separate events won’t mix. Beyond the California Department of Public Health guidance, the state’s 58 county public health directors can set their own rules, including event capacity.
Tennessee student killed by police did not fire bullet that hit officer
A student who was fatally shot during a confrontation with the police on Monday at a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee did not fire the bullet that struck an officer who was wounded, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday. The fresh disclosure contradicted its earlier statements that the police officer had been shot by the student at Austin-East Magnet High School. The bureau said on Wednesday that the student’s gun had been fired in a struggle with officers. “Preliminary examinations indicate the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student’s handgun,” the bureau said in a statement. The injured officer, identified by the Knoxville Police Department as Adam Willson, a school resource officer at the high school and a 20-year veteran of the force, is expected to recover. The incident is not only the first fatal shooting inside of a U.S. school since the pandemic began a year ago, but the first since Tennessee poured millions of dollars into fortifying its campuses. In 2018, then-Gov. Bill Haslam ordered a comprehensive security review of more than 1,800 public schools across Tennessee after a shooter killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The state also provided districts with $35 million in safety grants, mostly to improve their aging school buildings with upgrades like security cameras, beefing up front entrances, and fixing or replacing broken locks or outdated doors.
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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