ABCFT - YOUnionews - May 21, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
We have a calendar for 2021-2022! We will be working a traditional or standard calendar with 184 contractual days for teachers and 180 days with students. Our first day for teachers will be Thursday, August 19 and the first day with students will be Monday, August 23. The last day for students will be June 8 and the last day for teachers will be June 9. Thank you to all of those who provided input via our survey and our chats to help us negotiate this one-year calendar.
The negotiating team is discussing the potential for two professional learning days on August 17 and August 18. As in past years, these PL days would be completely voluntary. More information to follow as negotiations progress.
Members of the negotiating team attended the School Services May Revision workshop on Thursday. To recap the process, the Governor presents a budget in January and then the Legislature is able to advocate for their priorities in the following months. Typically, the tax deadline would be in April so in May the state would have a more accurate projection of its revenues but with this year’s extension, the actual numbers won’t be available until later in the summer. But this year’s May Revise did offer positive news about substantial new investments in education funding. The Governor and the Legislature will then negotiate a final budget that is due in June. Those are the numbers that we can then use to bargain salary and benefits for the 2021-2022 school year.
A word about COLA. I personally prefer Mexican Coke made with real cane sugar. Additional limes are a must. When nostalgic, I may even pop open a Royal Crown cola. But the COLA that I want to mention briefly today is the concept of COLA or Cost of Living Adjustment. This refers to additional ongoing dollars provided by the state for education funding. The mechanism to determine the particular percentage this year is more convoluted than usual but the term “Mega COLA” was used for the first time that I can remember. A portion of this is due to some accounting sleight of hand but the final compounded cost-of-living adjustment results in the growth of LCFF by 5.07% over 2020-2021 levels. A 5% COLA is significant but it is important to point out that there is not a 1:1 correlation between the COLA and the ongoing dollars available to bargain for compensation. A 2% COLA, for example, does not equal the necessary funding for a 2% raise. Last year the state provided a flat or zero COLA and increasing expenses still needed to be paid for. Factors such as increased contributions to STRS, increases in benefit costs, and yes, even the well-documented idea of declining enrollment are all elements that must be accounted for before determining what additional funds are truly in the base or unrestricted portion of the budget. But there is no disputing that the fiscal news at the state level is good...finally! These upcoming budget numbers, along with the one time state and federal funds that we are scheduled to receive, will be crucial when we go to the negotiating table with the goal of maintaining a competitive and equitable salary and benefits package for all of our members.
In Unity,
TEACHER LEADERS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
ABCFT is seeking teachers, nurses, and SLPs to join the 2021-22 Teacher Leaders program. ABCFT now has 42 members that have completed this powerful program and we are hoping you will join us next year.
Have you ever seen a news report or talk show discuss issues around education, social and emotional issues, equity, or learning and thought to yourself or said to your colleagues, “Why don’t they just ask a real educator about (you fill in the blank)?”
The AFT Teacher Leaders Program is a union-sponsored program designed to help prepare YOU to be that classroom teacher, nurse, or speech and language pathologist facilitating discussion of the issues that affect our profession both here in ABC Federation of Teachers and nationally.
ABCFT is seeking teachers and nurses interested in collaborating with colleagues across the city/district and nation on:
Increasing an understanding of the major challenges facing the education profession
Improving leadership skills
Representing our profession as spokespersons
Becoming members of an influential and supportive network of educators
Over 70% of the Teacher Leaders are also active in our local and serve as Site Reps, ABCFT Executive Board, ABCFT’s Equity committee, district committees, Negotiating team, Facilitator for Professional Learning, PASS Coach, PAL Council, CFT convention delegates, and state committees, and AFT Committees. Essentially, where there is ABCFT union representation and leadership there is a Teacher Leader.
This program will take place monthly, from October 2021 to May 2022. A modest stipend will be offered. We are looking forward to you joining us in this exciting, rewarding program. Here is the Teacher Leaders Guidelines. For more information, contact co-facilitators, Erika Cook at Erika.Cook@abcusd.us or Tanya.Golden@abcusd.us
Click here to Apply for the ABCFT Teacher Leaders Program
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 multitasking. Participants practice meditation and yoga in a support of focus and being in the moment.
The session closes with a quote,
“One of the greatest thieves of joy is simply not being present to the task at hand.”
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.
The days left are in the low teens, you’ve already made your hotel reservations, the planning for the end of the year parties is in full swing, and each day you feel the weight on your shoulders lessen as we inch toward the end of the school year. We don’t need a survey to know everyone is exhausted and like attending a party for small children the adults are looking for an exit strategy. We are almost there and like the amazing teachers, nurses, and SLPs you are, we have almost completed this school year with professionalism unseen before in education. I am amazed at the intensity and determination you have exhibited this school year. The public will never really know what teachers went through this school year and teachers who enter the profession after this year will only hear about how we stuck together week after week in the YOUnion Chats sharing, venting, and caring for each other. You are incredible and what you have nearly accomplished is historic.
An enthusiastic and loud hand-clapping congratulations to this year’s ABCFT Teacher Leaders graduating class and co-facilitator, Erika Cook All year these hardworking teachers put in extra time after school gaining leadership skills and researched topics that would impact our classrooms. In a powerful series of presentations, this year’s class set a new standard for excellence in the scope and depth of their research topics. This event was attended by members, administrators, community leaders, and school board members. Thank you for this truly remarkable event. I look forward to seeing what new leadership opportunities these graduates take on in the future.
I would like to congratulate those elected to the ABC Federation of Teachers Executive Board and those who stepped forward to become ABCFT Site Representatives. Your dedication and desire to take these leadership positions are appreciated and completely necessary for the success and lifeblood of the YOUnion. A special thanks to those who took part in this year’s local and site elections. The democratic process gives members an opportunity to reflect on who they want as leaders as well as identifying what issues are most important and valued for members and students. A leadership that does not reflect the will of the membership is counterproductive and weakened our YOUnion. Therefore, I am confident that this elected body will continue to make meaningful member engagement a priority in the years to come.
Lastly, I would like to thank you for your vote of confidence to re-elect me to be the president of this organization. It is an honor and a privilege to serve you. Helping members is exactly the same reward I got from teaching students in my classroom. There is a sign that hangs above the door frame in my office that says, “What have you done for members today?” I look up at that sign every day and make sure that I am following my simple pledge I made ten years ago when I first became president of ABCFT. The moment I can’t answer that daily question is the day I will no longer deserve my position. So, thank you again for providing me with the opportunity to continue to serve you and your family’s needs. I look forward to seeing you all in person next year so we can compare our battle scars from this 20-21 school year, laugh about the craziness, and then work together to make ABCFT a great UNION.
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
AFT President: ‘It’s time for in-person learning’
NPR speaks to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), about schools reopening in the fall while coronavirus cases continue to rise in some areas. The leader of America’s second-largest teachers union discusses how officials are working to convince people that COVID vaccines are the path for normalcy, the need to maintain social distancing measures in elementary schools, and whether there should still be an option for virtual instruction, to cater to parents still concerned about whether campuses are safe places to send their children to.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Schools could be mask-free by fall, says Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the White House, says that it is conceivable for middle schools and high schools to be completely mask-free in the fall, if children continue to be given COVID-19 vaccines. “It’s within our power. We can stop it or prevent it merely by vaccination, and I guess that’s the thing that’s so frustrating about when people don’t want to get vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci said. “We all want to be back to normal...There’s an easy pathway to that, and that is just get vaccinated.” On Tuesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that more than half a million 12- to 15-year-olds have received a COVID-19 vaccine so far, less than a week since they were cleared for distribution among kids of that age.
----- THREATS TO TEACHING-----
Four states introduce legal limits on how teachers can discuss race
Four states have now passed legislation that would limit how teachers can discuss racism, sexism, and other controversial issues. The legislation, signed into law in Idaho and Oklahoma, and awaiting the governors’ signatures in Iowa and Tennessee, bans teachers from introducing certain concepts, including that one race or sex is inherently superior, that any individual is consciously or unconsciously racist or sexist because of their race or sex, and that anyone should feel discomfort or guilt because of their race or sex. Supporters of these laws say they’re designed to get schools to stop teaching critical race theory, an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped the U.S. legal system. Opponents say they fear such legislation will stifle discussion of how racism and sexism have shaped the country’s history and continue to affect its present, by threatening educators with the possibility of legal action. Additionally, scholars of critical race theory have said that the laws mischaracterize the framework.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Biden looks to boost Title I funding for low-income students
In his budget proposal for 2022, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to more than double the amount spent on Title I grants for schools with low-income students, from $16.5 billion to $36.5 billion. The gap between funding for poor and rich districts is substantial, and widens along racial lines. A 2018 report from The Education Trust, an advocacy group, found that districts with the largest proportions of racial minorities received $1,800, or 13%, less in state and local funding per student than those with the fewest students of color.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Transitional kindergarten advocates applaud Newsom plan
A state plan to spend $2.7bn on universal transitional kindergarten is a welcome development, advocates have said. The proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom would give all four-year-olds in the state a year of free public pre-kindergarten classes taught by certificated teachers. Transitional kindergarten gave the children who missed the September 2nd deadline a special year of pre-kindergarten preparation, a plan that school districts said was inequitable because it only served a quarter of the student population. Newsom’s proposal would eliminate the age delineations and give all four-year-olds a year of pre-kindergarten. “I share in the great enthusiasm for this proposal,” said Ulrike Steinbach a parent of children in the Mill Valley School District, which eliminated transitional kindergarten in 2018. “My girls and I personally understood the benefits of TK, and we promoted TK as part of the education system in California,” said Steinbach, who lobbied the district to keep the program. Del Mar USD trustee Katherine Fitzgerald said she has coordinated with Steinbach and others in Marin over the last year or so to promote the TK program, which also was eliminated in 2015 in her district. “It’s truly historic and exciting that our state is recognizing the value and importance of transitional kindergarten for our young learners, their families and their communities,” she added.
Newsom plan would withhold funds from schools that don't fully reopen
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to withhold billions of dollars from schools that don’t return to pre-pandemic learning with full in-class instruction this fall as part of a budget proposal that emphasizes an economic recovery from COVID-19. The blueprint would see most students would return to a “default” in-person, classroom-based instruction. Families who aren’t ready for a physical return to school could instead enroll their kids in already-existing independent study programs offered by school districts. Each of the options are “generally one of only two ways in which local educational agencies can earn state apportionment funding in 2021-22,” Newsom’s budget plan includes. The budget mandates access to technology and internet connectivity for program participants, a rigorous curriculum and a re-engagement strategy for those who don’t log on for instruction. It requires schools to “track and record daily student participation and interaction” between educators and students.
Broadband gets a major boost in California budget revision
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to inject $7bn into California’s spotty broadband infrastructure. The funding was announced Friday alongside a sweeping set of proposals for K-12 education in California as part of the annual May revision of the governor’s budget proposal. Altogether, K-12 education spending in the current budget proposal totals $121.7bn, the highest level in California’s history. Only 52.4% of Californians are using broadband at 100 Mbps, according to the budget summary, which is the typical speed required for video conferencing and other basic uses. “This is an opportunity… to finally close this digital divide and do justice,” Newsom said Friday. “Let’s get this done once and for all. This is what the federal stimulus from my perspective was all about, catalytic investments to make generational change.” The latest budget also builds upon a proposal introduced in January when California was facing a massive surge in COVID-19 cases and places an emphasis on initiatives aimed at reopening schools safely. It includes $2.7bn over three years to phase in transitional kindergarten for all 4-year-olds and to cut the class size in transitional kindergarten in half from 24 to 12, and $2.6bn for high-dosage tutoring — intensive, in-school tutoring that Newsom predicts will be an effective strategy to accelerate learning that has been disrupted by school closures over the past 15 months.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Sac City schools halt $6m air cleaners order
Sacramento City USD is demanding Johnson Controls stop sending the remaining air cleaners that were part of its $6m contract, as school officials continue to investigate whether product claims made by the global building equipment company were true. Concerns were raised earlier this year that the air purifiers were overpriced, inefficient and included unnecessary and unproven technology. In a letter to Johnson Controls last week, district counsel Raoul Bozio said the district will not accept additional deliveries of the air cleaners “until the District has satisfied its concerns ... including but not limited to the claim by JCI that the units' UV-C technology is effective in neutralizing the Covid-19 virus as well as its effectiveness in addressing a 1000 cubic-foot space.”
LAUSD to launch widespread student vaccination campaign
Los Angeles USD is launching a major campaign to vaccinate students aged 12 and above before the end of the current school year. If the vaccination effort is successful, it will help to pave the way for a fall semester in which as many children as possible will have maximum protection from COVID-19, said Superintendent Austin Beutner. “No other organization has such a deep relationship with that many children,” he said. “Schools are trusted partners with the families they serve and are in almost daily contact with their students. This engagement is a critical piece of any vaccination effort. There’s no better place to provide vaccinations to schoolchildren than at their local, neighborhood school.” The vaccine would be available to students at school-based and mobile clinics. Beutner said the school-based effort would bolster community vaccination rates because it would lessen vaccine hesitancy in some communities and also provide a practical location for shots, at a venue families already interact with and trust. The district also announced a new partnership with Amazon to help graduates struggling financially to be able to work and still attend community college. The new program will give LAUSD graduates who enroll full time one of several hundred Amazon jobs with a minimum $15 per hour wage, benefits, and flexible hours.
CBS Los Angeles Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times
Declining enrollment in Ventura County K-12 schools mirrors state trends
Enrollment dropped by nearly 4,000 students among Ventura County public and charter schools this year, according to state data. The 2019-20 school year had an enrollment of 135,312 students, which dropped to 131,481 this school year - a 2.8% or 3,831 decrease - as reported by the California Department of Education. Enrollment at publicly funded schools for kindergarten to 12th grade in the state decreased by more than 160,000, or 2.6%, between last school year to this year. Pleasant Valley School District started the Digital Learning Academy this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and expected to continue it in the fall. Carol Bjordahl, assistant superintendent of administrative services, said the district hopes it will help retain and bolster enrollment. "We lost over 600 kids," she said. A third moved out of state, a third went to private or home schooling and the last third went to an independent charter program, Bjordahl explained.
Schools step up efforts to entice students back to classrooms
Half of school districts nationwide now offer school fully in person, but some classrooms remain largely empty. With billions in federal funding to support reopening and vaccinations, now available to children 12 years and older, schools are ramping up efforts to lure back families in time for summer school and the fall. They are calling parents at home and sending frequent email blasts. Community organizers are door knocking. Some schools are offering outdoor sports like soccer to all children, while others are working with local community organizations or the YMCA to offer transportation outside of bus service or after-school programs that might make a return to the classroom more feasible. Nevertheless, many hesitant parents and guardians say they are fearful after losing family or others in their communities to COVID-19, while others can’t make the logistics work with different hybrid schedules for multiple children. In Los Angeles, elementary schools in higher-income neighborhoods have two times more students back than those in lower-income communities. In West Los Angeles, where the median income is over $115,000, about 70% of children are back in schools, while fewer than 20% are back in Bell, California, where the median income is $44,000. Los Angeles USD has consistently advertised safety measures like new air filtration systems, additional custodians and frequent COVID-19 testing, Superintendent Austin Beutner said, but he added there is only so much educators can do. “It’s a lived experience. It’s more than a politician clicking their heels and saying, ‘Let’s go back to Kansas,’” Mr. Beutner said. “It doesn’t work like that.”
The compound benefits of greening school infrastructure
Across the country, more and more students are returning to their classrooms after what has been, for some, nearly a year of online learning. The school closures brought on by COVID-19 have underscored how critical the physical environment is to student well-being and educational success. And yet, for large populations of students, particularly those in communities with fewer resources and in Black, Latino, and other communities of color, going back to school means going back to broken-down facilities with poor insulation and outdated ventilation systems. According to a 2020 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54% of U.S. school districts, a bulk of which primarily serve students of color, need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools. The Center for American Progress says that, following the short-term relief provided to schools in the American Rescue Plan, Congress should shift to providing long-term funding to adequately and equitably update school infrastructure, equipping schools to withstand potential climate change-related disasters ahead, and to participate in the clean energy transition. “Strong and targeted federal investment will enable the education sector to lead the country in its transition to a more equitable and just 100 percent clean future, including, and perhaps especially, for the country’s youngest generations,” it argues.
Districts explore ways of boosting teacher vaccination take-up
In order to get more teachers and school staff members vaccinated against the coronavirus, some district leaders are tempting them with raffles, jeans passes, and even cash. In Georgia, the Atlanta and Fulton County school districts held mass vaccination events with plenty of freebies to drum up excitement, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Atlanta school district raffled off prizes, including tropical resort stays and gift cards for Delta Airlines. And teachers in Fulton County got a green commemorative T-shirt after they got their shot, and every time they wear it to school, they can also wear jeans. Elsewhere, the Anderson Community school district, near Indianapolis, is offering $150 to every employee who gets vaccinated. The district is using federal relief money to pay for the bonuses, which could add up to $150,000. Research shows that in order to motivate people to change their behavior, the incentive has to be something they value, like cash, said Sandra Crouse Quinn, a professor of family science at the University of Maryland and the senior associate director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity. Ms Quinn explained that district leaders should also create opportunities for open dialogue and ongoing education about the vaccine. Unvaccinated staff might respond better to hearing directly from their trusted peers in the school community, rather than an impersonal message from an administrator, she said.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Teacher shortages impact plans for expanded summer programs
School districts are using incentives, bonuses and competitive salaries to draw teachers back to campuses to support summer learning programs, but even with the attractive packages, some districts are struggling to fill spots. Summer school teacher shortages could limit the number of students a district can invite for summer activities, as well as hamper a school system’s plans for programming that combines accelerated learning opportunities and social and emotional supports in response to pandemic-related disruptions in education. Many believe the summer teaching shortage is due to the heavy workloads educators have had as they adapted to varying virtual, in-person and hybrid learning formats. “Quite frankly, teachers are burned out,” said Lynn Holdheide, senior advisor with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. “This last year and a half has been really tough, and teachers have gone above and beyond.”
----- LEGAL -----
California judge says DeVos must testify in student loan suit
A federal judge in California has ruled that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos must comply with a subpoena for testimony in a class-action lawsuit brought by former students of now-defunct for-profit colleges seeking to have their federal student loan debt forgiven. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California denied DeVos' request to block a subpoena for her deposition issued in a suit concerning the lawfulness of the Education Department's 18-month pause in issuing decisions on "student-loan borrower-defense applications," which allow borrowers to seek forgiveness of their student debt if their schools misled them or engaged in other unlawful misconduct. Alsup froze enforcement of his order for 14 days and scheduled a status conference for June 3rd.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Twin Hills teachers union authorizes potential strike action
Members of the Twin Hills USD teachers union in Sebastopol have voted to authorize a strike if they fail to come to an agreement with the district over a new contract. The May 12th strike vote, which earned support from 98% of the teachers who participated, comes amid protracted negotiations over proposed pay and benefit terms. It is the second Sonoma County district in two months where teachers have agreed to mobilize for a strike amid an impasse in contract talks. Union leaders point to the district’s $3.9m surplus as evidence that it can afford to give them more than the latest offer, which would see no raise for the first year and a 2% raise in the second. Superintendent Barbara Bickford said the district cannot afford to give higher raises. “There are no longer funds, beyond COLA (cost of living adjustment), to provide higher raises and increased benefits,” she said. “We cannot afford raises of 6 and 7% for this year and next that the association is asking for.”
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Teachers suffering from more stress than ever, survey finds
Educator vaccination rates have increased in the past month and so has the share of district leaders who say they’re providing COVID-19 testing. Yet even with these promising developments, educator stress levels are on the rise. The latest COVID-19 survey from the EdWeek Research Center, administered April 28th-30th, found that 80% of teachers, principals, and district leaders have now been fully vaccinated, up from 65% a month earlier. An additional 2% are either partially vaccinated or report that they have made a vaccine appointment. At the same time, 92% of teachers said teaching is more stressful now than prior to the pandemic, up from 81% a year earlier. Teachers in the Midwest are significantly less likely to say teaching has grown a lot more stressful in the past year (34%), compared with their peers from the Northeast (40%); the South (49%); and the West (50%).
Biden admin provides $500m to boost school nurse numbers
The Biden administration is providing $7.4bn to expand the nation's public health capacity, a sum that includes $500m for hiring school nurses, who could play a key role in vaccination now that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been cleared for use by teenagers. Coronavirus testing coordinator Carole Johnson said it's part of a strategy to respond to immediate needs in the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes $3.4bn for states and local health departments to step up hiring of vaccinators, contact tracing workers, virus testing technicians and epidemiologists, who are disease detectives trained to piece together the evidence on the spread of pathogens. The White House is stressing that local governments hire people from the communities being served, with an emphasis on lower-income areas.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Schools on defensive against ransomware attacks
Cyber criminals are stepping up their efforts to hack into vulnerable school districts, often launching ransomware attacks like the kind that shut down the Colonial Pipeline earlier this month. The number of cyberattacks targeting schools has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, jumping almost 20% shut down, no learning going on for days,” said Doug Levin, national director of the K-12 Security Information Exchange. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have increasingly taken notice of the threat posed by ransomware attacks to schools and other critical entities, such as hospitals and government agencies. Rep. Yvette Clarke, chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s panel on cybersecurity, will soon introduce bipartisan legislation that would provide $500 million annually to state and local governments to defend against ransomware attacks. “Schools could benefit from purchasing various cybersecurity products and services that might help protect them. Certainly school districts could use money that might help them implement cybersecurity risk management plans. They could use money to help hire cybersecurity staff,” Levin said.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
University of California will no longer consider SAT and ACT scores
The University of California has agreed to drop SAT and ACT scores from its admissions and scholarship process, marking a distinct shift away from the decades-long high school tradition. An announcement came Friday in the form of a legal settlement with students. Activists have long argued that standardized tests put minority and low-income students at a disadvantage. Critics say test questions often contain inherent bias that more privileged children are better equipped to answer. They also say wealthier students typically take expensive prep courses that help boost their scores, which many students can't afford. Some 225,000 undergraduate students attend University of California schools, and the settlement this week makes the system the largest and best-known American institution of higher education to distance itself from the use of the two major standardized tests. The settlement resolves a 2019 lawsuit brought by a coalition of students, advocacy groups and the Compton Unified School District, a largely Black and Hispanic district in Los Angeles County.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Senate considers investing billions in science to counter China
An expansive bill that would pour $120bn into jump-starting scientific innovation by strengthening research into cutting-edge technologies is moving through the U.S. Senate, amid a rising sense of urgency in Congress to bolster the United States’ ability to compete with China. The Endless Frontier Act, led by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Todd Young (R-IN), would support and expand research into new technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and robotics, creating 10 technology hubs to connect manufacturing hubs and research universities across the country in an effort to scatter investments, rather than building onto already established institutions. The goal is to position the United States to be on the forefront of emerging technologies while strengthening the nation’s manufacturing capacity and building a pipeline of researchers and apprentices to implement it.
----- OTHER -----
CalSTRS names first female chief executive
The Teachers' Retirement board has appointed Cassandra Lichnock as chief executive of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), effective July 1st. Ms Lichnock will replace Jack Ehnes at the helm of America's second-largest pension fund, upon his retirement.
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
