ABCFT - YOUnionews - May 14, 2021
TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM OPPORTUNITY BY STACEY HAMAGIWA
ABCFT is proud to bring to your attention a critical support program for newer teachers to the ABC School District. We asked the ABC Induction Coordinator Stacey Hamagiwa if we could fly these positions in hopes of attracting interest in this leadership opportunity. Stacey says that she is anticipating the need to recruit more secondary teachers and an additional special education teacher to participate in the program for the next school year.
ABC USD would like to invite all certificated teachers, (with a minimum of 5 years teaching experience) to apply to be a mentor in ABC USD's Teacher Induction Program for the 2021-2022 school year. We are mainly seeking secondary (grades 7-12) and Special Education teachers. Teachers will be compensated at the district hourly rate for attending all required LA County Office of Education (LACOE) mentor trainings. An honorarium for the year is also included. Please see the attachments for more information. If you have any further questions, please contact Stacey Hamagiwa at Stacey.Hamagiwa@abcusd.us. Applications are due on or before May 28 and interviews will be held on June 9, 2021.
Click this link to see the latest newsletter and click here for more information on the program
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 stipends will be offered. We are looking forward to you joining us in this exciting, rewarding program. Here are 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
SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERS
ABCFT Teacher Leaders Showcase Success! The culmination of the Teacher Leaders work was shared at the annual Showcase on Wednesday. The Teacher Leaders Program is rigorous and it is not for the weak. Some may think it impossible to fulfill all of their professional and personal obligations AND be a Teacher Leader but these tough women did not let a worldwide pandemic stop them or the fact that this year has been the most tumultuous time for education but these 6 professionals not only completed the multiple tasks necessary to complete the program. they excelled. Thank you to Erika Cook for her leadership and guidance during this 8-month process and thank you to each Teacher Leader for an exceptional job, for persevering, and for sharing your important action research with us. You can find their work below. Next week, we will be sharing their research summaries which their presentation is based upon.
Teacher Leaders Action Research Presentation
Retirement Incentive for ABCFT Unit Members
ABCFT unit members have until May 14, 2021, to take advantage of ABCUSD’s retirement incentive.
The Retirement Incentive is as follows:
All ABCFT unit members are eligible for a retirement incentive in the form of an off-schedule payment of 15% of the employee’s salary for the 2020-2021 school year and it shall be subject to all appropriate withholdings for all ABCFT unit members who file an irrevocable letter of resignation by May 14, 2021.
Irrevocable retirement forms submitted after May 14, 2021, will not be eligible for the retirement incentive.
Those who submit an irrevocable retirement form by May 14, 2021, must indicate a retirement date on or before June 30, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - ABCFT LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS
Let your voice be heard by casting your vote for your program/site rep for 2021-22 and officer elections for the 2021-23 term. The election window is now open and you have until 4 p.m. on Monday, May 17th to vote. Check your ABC email for your ballot.
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 being ferociously optimistic. Participants practice meditation by connecting their breathing to their inner and outer body. Then listening to your body an let it guide from within. Participants practice table top pose, triangle pose, arrow lunge, goddess move, superman pose and fish pose.
The session closes with a quote from author, Noam Chomsky:
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. ”
MAY 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 rollout 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.
Hello everyone, I hope that you had a good week as we get one week closer to finalizing this unforgettable school year. As of today, we do not have a calendar set for next year but we anticipate that you will see a calendar agreement in the next week. The most common question we receive from emails, phone calls, or at the YOUnion chat is the specter of starting 5 days early. I will repeat what Ruben said at the chat this week on this subject stating, “We heard the wishes of the members in our calendar survey and we are negotiating a calendar that reflects the survey results.” If you recall the last couple of weeks, we have reported that seventy-seven percent of all teachers, nurses, and SLPs said “NO WAY!” to the idea of additional days at the start of next school year. People have vacation plans and in my opinion, this particular Summer Vacation is a sacred time that is not to be infringed upon or interrupted. We all need summer to reboot our spirits, even more so this year!
The major conversations at the chat, with site reps, when visiting schools, and among the ABCFT Executive Board is the concern about the lack of trust this year has fostered between teachers, principals, and the district office. To say that relationships across the district are strained is an understatement and has taken its toll after a year of knee-jerk daily changes to education. The ABC School District is not unique to this dilemma because this fundamental fatigue and organizational distrust are pervasive throughout the national education system. The big question is what will next year look like in comparison to this year?
At this moment, the state and the federal government have not mandated reopening plans for the fall but if you read the tea leaves, check your horoscope, or visit your local gambling establishment, I would say that we will be back with full classrooms at five days a week with a small virtual option for those parents that are requesting this limited option. This is just my guess and not something ABCFT has not negotiated but I want to make sure that you start wrapping your heads around next year’s big comeback. Next year we will return with new technology tools and understandings, new virtual strategies, new ways to engage kids and groups, and a broader understanding of what is possible. Do we come back and start where we left off in education? If society takes a good look at what politicians have done to education, not all of it was good. I hope that as a society, we listen to what teachers and students are saying about what is needed to be successful both academically and emotionally. For two decades, we have let politicians dictate unattainable goals at the cost of spreading a tsunami of suicidal and emotionally damaged students. We need to get away from an education system that uses a cookie-cutter mentality for our students that tosses out those students who don’t make the cut. Teachers need to be part of any future discussions on how education moves forward in ABC and across this country.
The most important way we can start to move forward is to repair the trust and faith we have lost in our education organizations during this past year. We need to have honest conversations with our administrators, our parents, and our students. The topics of equity and academic accountability need to be addressed realistically as an education community. Every stakeholder is important.
Anyway, these are my thoughts as I cross off the days of my calendar and look longingly at my outside seating area in my backyard. My backyard needs some serious attention this summer much like my own body and spirit. We all need the time. Meanwhile, have patience with each other, don’t burn bridges, and make sure to tell someone you appreciate them for just being themselves. Have a good weekend!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
May 10, 2021
Contact: Matthew Hardy, 510-703-5291
California Teachers and Classified Professionals Emphatically Oppose Recall of Governor Newsom
SACRAMENTO, CA -- CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals announced today that they will emphatically oppose the recall campaign of Governor Gavin Newsom. The announcement comes after a unanimous vote of the CFT Executive Council.
CFT President Jeff Freitas blasted the recall campaign as being out of touch with California values and an expensive waste of time:
“California educators and classified professionals unequivocally stand with Governor Newsom and urge all Californians to vote no on the recall. Make no mistake about it, the forces that are behind the recall do not have our students’ or our communities’ best interests at heart.
“The right-wing extremists who have bankrolled the recall are part of a broad national network allied with Trump’s former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that seeks to dismantle and privatize our public schools.
“The recall is nothing more than a cynical attempt to take advantage of a crisis by right-wing activists who are out of touch with California values and priorities.
“Governor Newsom has faced crisis after crisis during his tenure as Governor, successfully navigating through the pandemic and establishing California as the national leader on beating COVID-19. He has been there for our students, he has been there for our communities, and he understands that our public schools are worth fighting for.
“Instead of wasting time on a costly recall, California’s focus should be entirely on ensuring a recovery for every California student, every California family, and every California community.”
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
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten delivered a landmark address Thursday outlining her vision to reopen schools, help students recover, and reimagine public education as the country emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.
Amid a polarized national education debate and lingering fears among parents over school safety, the leader of the 1.7 million-member union backed the Biden administration’s deployment of billions in federal resources for full five-days-a-week reopening of schools and launched an unprecedented $5 million “Back-to-School for Everyone” campaign to realize it.
In the speech, “Return, Recover and Reimagine: Toward a Renaissance in America’s Public Schools,” delivered live from AFT headquarters, Weingarten spelled out the steps necessary to return safely to full in-person learning and build the support systems to help students socially, emotionally and academically.
“There is no doubt: Schools must be open. In person. Five days a week. With the space and facilities to do so,” she said. “We know that’s how kids learn best and that prolonged isolation is harmful.”
“Educators have yearned to be back in school, with their students. They only asked for two things—a safe workplace during this pandemic and the resources they and their students need to succeed.”
She said, “The United States will not be fully back until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in.”
Weingarten argued that “we must do far more than physically return to schools, as important as that is to create the normalcy we crave.” We also need to need to recover and reimagine with an eye to a renaissance in public education.
“We must put in place the supports to help students recover—socially, emotionally and academically. And we must reimagine teaching and learning to focus on what sparks students’ passion, builds confidence, nurtures critical thinking and brings learning to life—so all children have access to the opportunities that give them the freedom to thrive.”
In doing so, Weingarten said, “we can seed a renaissance in America’s public schools that will change young people’s lives and change the course of our country.”
Weingarten said that the AFT’s members have gone above and beyond during the pandemic to engage their kids remotely during a year of turmoil.
“This pandemic has also underscored how important educators are. Teachers scrambled to redesign lessons and projects, and to create virtual field trips and labs to keep kids engaged and learning from afar. School food workers kept meals coming, often feeding anyone in the community who needed it. Many school bus drivers delivered those meals, along with schoolwork and internet hotspots so students could learn from home.”
The game-changer for many has been the vaccine, she pointed out.
“I hear it in educators’ voices and see it in our polling results. The fear that they will bring the virus home decreases the moment they get their shot. Our members have stepped up—according to our data, 89 percent of our members are fully vaccinated or want to be. And it’s really good news that just this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have authorized use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.”
Weingarten laid out 10 ideas, backed by real-world models, to match rhetoric with reality and fulfill the speech’s practical promise. The plan was backed by a formal resolution, passed by the AFT’s executive council on Wednesday afternoon.
Launch a $5 million “Back to School for Everyone” national campaign to connect not just with teachers and school staff but also with families and communities to communicate the importance of in-school learning and build families’ trust and confidence in children returning to school.
Form school-based committees of staff, parents and, where appropriate, students to plan for and respond to safety issues and to conduct safety “walk-throughs” in school buildings.
Align health and pedagogical best practices by reducing class sizes to reflect the CDC’s 3-feet social distancing guidance. Eliminate simultaneous in-person and remote instruction.
Designate “office hours” and clinics for AFT affiliates and others to call in to discuss ideas and get technical support.
Roll out recovery programs this summer that provide academic support, help students get back into routines and offer lots of ways for kids to have fun.
Promote community schools to build trust and remove obstacles to getting kids and families the support and services they need.
Increase the emphasis on civics, science and project-based learning, to nurture critical thinking and bring learning to life.
Commit funds from the American Rescue Plan to fill shortages of teachers, school counselors, psychologists and nurses.
Encourage Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to form a task force to rethink how we assess student learning and how to measure what really counts.
Engage stakeholders—families, educators and community partners—to ensure funds in the American Rescue Plan and other federal funds for schools are spent equitably and effectively.
The union published fresh polling Wednesday showing that showed the last remaining piece of the schools reopening puzzle—a lingering lack of trust among parents in communities hit hard by COVID-19—can be overcome if states and districts adopt the safety guardrails recommended by the AFT.
Weingarten concluded on a determined, optimistic note. “I truly believe we have a rare chance to seed a renaissance in American public education—a time of a flowering in culture and learning as in the Harlem Renaissance and the European Renaissance. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only to reopen and recover, but to reimagine our schools in a way that makes every public school a place where parents want to send their children, educators and support staff want to work and students thrive. This is our moment.” The full speech is available here.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Fauci: Schools should be open "full blast" in fall
Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said Thursday that schools in the fall should be open “full blast” five days a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can resume life without masks or other restrictions. The agency said it was making the revisions based on the latest science indicating that being fully vaccinated cuts the risk of getting infected and spreading the virus to others, in addition to preventing severe disease and death. In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN Mr Fauci said he agrees with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten that school life should return to normal this year. Ms Weingarten had earlier cited expanded eligibility for coronavirus vaccines, her own visits to schools carrying out federal safety guidance for reopening, plus hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid now being delivered to K-12 schools as reasons to reopen campuses to full-time in-person instruction. She said that the union will run a $5 million “back-to-school for everyone” campaign this summer to persuade teachers and families to return. “The United States will not be fully back until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in,” she said.
The Hill Politico Washington Post
----- VACCINATION UPDATE -----
States Prepare To Roll Out Pfizer Vaccine To Adolescents Following CDC Approval
The AP (5/12, Neergaard, Stobbe) reports that advisers to the CDC on Wednesday “endorsed use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12...just as planned new guidelines say it’s OK for people of any age to get a coronavirus shot at the same time as other needed vaccinations.” Though “the sprint to vaccinate millions of middle and high school students has already started in parts of the country,” some states were awaiting the recommendation from advisory panel, which the CDC “rapidly” agreed on. The CDC also “said...it is changing” its advice that people do not receive the vaccine at the same time as other shots “because the COVID-19 vaccines have proved very safe.”
NPR (5/12, Neuman, Wamsley, Keith) reports the Biden Administration has already laid “the groundwork to immediately roll out vaccines to adolescents,” including “aggressively working to sign up pediatricians and family practitioners to begin administering doses to their patients, making sure pharmacies are ready to serve younger patients and reaching out to Medicaid providers.” The Administration also “plans to work to have COVID-19 vaccines offered as part of annual physicals and sports physicals that kids and teens are often required to get before school starts.”
Reuters (5/12, Erman, Maddipatla) reports that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “backed” the vaccine “in a unanimous vote” after the FDA “on Monday authorized [it] for children aged 12 to 15, offering relief to parents eager to get their children back to schools and summer camps. The action by the CDC group is an important, but not required, final seal of federal regulatory approval.” States including Georgia, Delaware, and Arkansas “began offering the vaccine to younger teens on Tuesday,” and California’s COVID website “said families could start making appointments for the younger group on Thursday.”
Fox News (5/12, Hein) reports a spokeswoman for Georgia’s public health agency “told Reuters that shots were offered right away in part to avoid the risk of turning a young person away and then them not returning.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County explained to the AP why they started offering shots for residents 12 and up on Tuesday: “Under all relevant legal authority, once the FDA gives approval, a prescriber is permitted to prescribe the vaccine.”
The Detroit Free Press (5/12, Shamus, Hall) reports that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said after the CDC approval that “we are ready to go” and that state healthcare providers, including hospitals, pharmacies, and local health departments, “will begin administering vaccines to Michiganders 12-15 so that they can be safe from COVID-19 as well.” Chalkbeat (5/12, Higgins) reports that Detroit children “over the age of 12 can start getting vaccinated at city locations beginning Thursday, but they need to have a parent or guardian with them to get the shot.”
Boston (5/12) reports Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said Wednesday, “Pending the CDC’s approval for this group, people aged 12 to 15 will be able to book appointments, or access a walk-up appointment, beginning on Thursday.” The Pfizer vaccine’s approval for this age group “means that roughly 400,000 additional people in Massachusetts will be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”
The AP (5/11, McConnaughey) reports Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter said Wednesday that children as young as 12 can start receiving Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, “adding that parents could already make appointments.” He expects the health department to release its formal notice Thursday morning.
The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch (5/12, Moreno) reports, “Virginia’s 12-to-15-year-olds can officially receive a coronavirus vaccine, a move top state officials are hailing as critical to ending the pandemic and reaching immunity before school reopens in the fall.” State spokeswoman Dena Potter “said the state’s nine community vaccination sites will begin inoculating youths on Friday.” There will also be popup vaccination sites around the state on Saturday.
Also reporting are the New York Times (5/12, Mandavilli), Washington Post (5/12, Sun, Nirappil), CBS News (5/12, Tin), ABC News (5/12, Pezenik, Stoner), USA Today (5/12, Weise), Politico (5/12, Owermohle, Foley), and The Hill (5/12, Weixel).
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
FCC announces Emergency Connectivity Fund
The US Federal Communications Commission has now formally approved the final rules to implement the $7.17bn Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (ECFP), which will provide funding for schools and libraries across the country to buy laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots and broadband connections. "FCC implementation of the ECFP is an important step towards ensuring the 'homework gap' does not grow into a more damaging learning and opportunity gap for our children, particularly those who live in communities of color, low-income households and rural areas," said Sen. Edward J. Markey in a statement. According to the FCC, there may be 17m children across the U.S. who don't have access to the broadband needed for remote learning. The initiative is backed by the $1.9tn American Rescue Plan.
Cardona reverses ban on pandemic aid for undocumented students
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has reversed a policy banning undocumented students from receiving pandemic aid, finalizing a regulation that lets universities distribute $36 billion in federal pandemic aid to students, regardless of their immigration status. "These funds are critical to ensuring that all of our nation's students - particularly those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic - have the opportunity to enroll, continue their education, graduate, and pursue their careers," he said in a statement. Aside from direct grants to students to provide money for school supplies, food and housing, the funds are expected to be used to bolster academic support services, purchase laptops and expand mental health programs. José Muñoz, a spokesman for United We Dream, a youth-focused immigration advocacy network, said the policy was “one of the more explicit ways” undocumented people have been able to obtain a share of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package Mr. Biden signed in March. “Undocumented people have been largely left out of federal COVID-19 relief,” he said in a statement, “so access” to the funds “for undocumented students is crucial.” Around half of the $36 billion released yesterday will go directly to students with dire financial needs, with the remainder to be used by colleges and universities themselves to stem the spread of COVID-19 on campus, vaccinate students and staff, re-engage students who may have dropped out, and provide academic and mental health support, among many other things.
CNN The Hill US Department of Education New York Times US News and World Report Washington Post
CDC quizzed over unions’ influence on school reopening policies
Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions questioned the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday about reports that a national teachers’ union had input on the agency’s guidance on school reopenings. Sen Richard Burr (R-NC) suggested to Rochele Walensky that emails from the American Federation of Teachers to the CDC created the impression that the union had unfair influence into the guidance. “There’s a chain of information that suggests people had preferred access to not only advice but actual language that went into the guidance” he said, citing emails on the matter between the AFT, the CDC, and the White House. The union suggested alterations to the February guidance, including revised language about how schools should address the needs of staff with health vulnerabilities, and a caution that the guidance may need to be updated “in the event of high community-transmission results from a new variant of SARS-CoV-2.” The AFT was not the only outside organization the CDC consulted in drafting its recommendations “as a matter of practice and in an unbiased fashion,” Ms Walensky explained. She echoed earlier comments by White House officials that federal health officials reached out to groups representing educators, school leaders, and state officials to ensure their recommendations were informed by the practical realities they faced.
Classrooms are open, but many families are reluctant to return
Even as fears of the coronavirus abate, many students are continuing to opt out of in-person learning. While only 12% of elementary and middle schools, and a minority of high schools remain closed, according to the Institute of Education Sciences, the percentage of students learning fully remotely is much greater: more than a third of fourth and eighth graders, and an even larger group of high school students. A majority of Black, Hispanic and Asian-American students remain out of school. Experts have coined the term “school hesitancy” to describe the remarkably durable resistance to a return to traditional learning. Some wonder whether the pandemic has simply upended people’s choices about how to live, with the location of schooling now up for grabs. But others see the phenomenon as a social and educational crisis for children that must be combated. “It’s not acceptable that we have a two-tier education system where white kids go to school in person disproportionately, and students of color disproportionately go to school online,” said Vladimir Kogan, a political scientist at Ohio State University. His research has found that parents are more likely to feel hesitant about in-person learning if their children’s schools were closed for a longer period, which was most likely to be the case in the liberal-leaning urban districts that serve large numbers of nonwhite students. The hesitancy was caused less by fear of the coronavirus than by messaging from school districts about whether in-person learning was safe and desirable.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Gov. Newsom proposes public school 'transformation'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a “total transformation” of the state's public schools, offering pre-kindergarten to all four-year-olds, opening up college savings accounts for low-income students and providing universal after-school care in disadvantaged communities. The measures are part of a broad new education spending package made possible by the state’s surprise budget surplus. The surplus means California has about $93.7bn for public education this year, $36bn more than last year. The spending agenda expands the reach of the state’s education system with $4bn for youth mental health support; more than $3.3bn for teacher and school employee training; and $3bn for “community schools,” where education is integrated with healthcare and mental health services. The state would also establish a $500 college savings account for students from a low-income family with an additional $500 for foster youth and those who are homeless. The plan was greeted enthusiastically by Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the state Board of Education. “This set of investments and reforms will catapult California forward and really allow us to reinvent the public school system in this state,” said Darling-Hammond, who appeared with Newsom at Elkhorn Elementary School in North Monterey County USD.
ABC 7 Bakersfield.com Los Angeles Times The Mercury News
California could fast track endorsement deals for NCAA college athletes
State lawmakers are considering a bill to fast track major reforms in college athletics by speeding up plans to allow players to make money from endorsement deals as early as next month. California is already set to allow college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image or likeness beginning in 2023, but the senator behind that law is now pushing a bill to make it effective immediately if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) said that since her 2019 bill became law, Florida, New Mexico, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi have passed legislation to push the NCAA to overhaul its longstanding policies, with the changes in those states becoming effective July 1st. Skinner said California schools would be at a competitive disadvantage if those states implement reforms first, while student athletes will continue to lose economic opportunities. She plans to amend Senate Bill 26 so that it’s an urgency bill, which would require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses, or a budget trailer bill, which requires a majority vote, both of which would make the bill effective immediately if signed by Newsom.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Los Alamitos board approves social justice teaching standards
During a meeting that was moved online because people feared for their safety, the Los Alamitos USD yesterday voted unanimously to approve a set of social justice teaching standards. The curriculum for a high school ethnic studies elective will come before the board in June. Wednesday’s vote came after an uproar in the community that saw parents, students and political activists clashing over the proposals. Developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice group, the social justice standards for K-12 educators are designed to help students embrace their own identities, avoid bias and respect people from different backgrounds. Even though the meeting was held virtually, protesters gathered outside district headquarters. “I think it was a way to hide from accountability,” conservative activist Marc Ang said. He was one of an estimated 100 protesters who showed up to oppose the new teaching standards, according to Los Alamitos Police Chief Eric Nunez. “We want to teach our children to be accepting, to learn about historical context, to be able to be critical thinkers, to build confidence and kindness and inclusion, and to accept diversity,” said School Board Vice President Diana Hill.
LA Super continues push for extended school time
Los Angeles USD Superintendent Austin Beutner said yesterday that he isn't ready to abandon the idea of extending classroom time for the upcoming school year, despite a vote by the school board last week to stick with a traditional 180-day instructional calendar based on input from district employees and families who are exhausted after more than a year of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. “I hope this issue can be revisited once students and staff are back in schools in August,” the superintendent said during his weekly update. “At that time, stakeholders will have a more clear picture of student needs, and the opportunity will still exist to amend the calendar at the district level or for an individual school to add more time in a classroom to help students recover.” As the district continues to test students and staff who have returned to campuses on a regular basis, Mr Beutner also reported the first known viral infection linked to an LAUSD school. Fifteen students and two staff members at schools tested positive for the coronavirus last week, including at one elementary school where an employee with symptoms tested positive and a colleague who had had close contact also tested positive thereafter, he said. Neither individual had been vaccinated.
Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times
Police advise Los Alamitos school board to go virtual
The Los Alamitos school board has been advised to switch from in-person meetings to virtual ones by the Los Alamitos Police Department, amid an increasingly charged debate over proposed classes and teaching standards aimed at recognizing the contributions of people of color. Police Chief Eric Nuñez said the agency has come across “inflammatory remarks from people on both sides of the issue” on Facebook and Twitter. For instance, a New Orleans-based group that purportedly organizes “civilian militias” to fight “Marxist terrorism” tweeted a “riot alert” for its followers to unite Tuesday in Los Alamitos. “To avoid putting anyone at unnecessary risk of harm, and to facilitate free speech, we recommended that this meeting be moved to teleconference,” Nuñez said. School board president Marlys Davidson expressed regret that the meeting will not be held face-to-face, commenting: “How can we share the power of democracy with our children when we need police and security to carry on public debate in our own community?”
Slow LAUSD student return rate raises concerns
Only 7% of high school students and 12% of middle school students have returned to Los Angeles USD's reopened campuses. Although officials insist they will act aggressively to help students, the low return rate could intensify pressure on the school district. The district's reopening plan offers both middle and high school students a half-time, on-campus academic schedule that includes no in-person instruction. This format was a miscalculation, said Tressa Pankovit, associate director for Reinventing America’s Schools at Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. “If a kid is miserable doing Zoom lessons, why force them to do it in an unfamiliar classroom with a teacher whose attention is on students in another class? It’s a ridiculous proposition, really,” Pankovit said. “It’s inarguable that LAUSD tried too hard to balance the demands from the adults, clearly at the expense of its students.” Board member Nick Melvoin acknowledged that the limited secondary format means “fewer students are choosing to return.” He added: “This underscores the need for a full-time, in-person learning option that looks as close to normal as possible for the fall.”
COVID Debates Have Politicized School Board Races Nationwide
Axios (5/9, Kight) reports that the “debate over coronavirus precautions and school reopening has fueled a surge of new candidates for school boards across the country.” Conservative and progressive parents have “clashed over when and how to reopen classrooms – and it’s pushed some of them to run for offices themselves.” National School Boards Association CEO Anna Maria Chávez told Axios, “Historically, we’ve actually seen where some school board seats have gone uncontested – sometimes for years – and now we’re seeing multiple candidates for seats.” Troy Flint, Chief Information Officer for the California School Boards Association, said more people are “looking to express their political fervor in all different avenues. And school boards, as the most approachable elected body, is a natural first step” – both for activists and those wanting to run for office.
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In-person learning: rural schools ahead of urban counterparts
Rural school districts in the United States have led the way back to in-person instruction during the pandemic, according to a survey of school leaders by the RAND Corporation. About 42% of rural school districts were fully back to in-school learning by February, compared with 17% of urban districts, the survey found. The opposite was the case for online learning: 29% of urban districts offered fully remote instruction, compared with 10% of rural districts and 18% of suburban districts. "This survey shows how the choice of remote instruction has ramifications that extend beyond longstanding concerns about the lower quality of remote instruction," said researcher Heather Schwartz, director of the Pre-K to 12 educational systems program at RAND. "Rural districts - which were primarily fully in-person or hybrid - did not decrease instructional minutes as often as urban districts, which means that urban students of color have likely lost more instructional time this school year than their white counterparts in rural districts," she added.
Schools seeing surge in academic dishonesty
A year of remote learning has spurred an eruption of cheating among students, from grade school to college, reports the Wall Street Journal. Websites that allow students to submit questions for expert answers have gained millions of new users over the past year, with some allowing students to put their own classwork up for auction. “Students have found a way to cheat and they know it works,” said Thomas Lancaster, senior teaching fellow in computing at Imperial College in London, who has studied academic integrity issues for more than two decades. He said cheating sites number in the thousands, from individuals to large-scale operations. At the K-12 level, some schools block a range of homework help websites from district computers to prevent cheating, though that doesn’t stop a student from visiting the site from a different device. Middle-school teacher Suzanne Priebe in Riverside, California, has put less emphasis on testing during online learning to alleviate stress and the desire to cheat. “We have no control of what is going on when you’re on a computer,” she said.
Experts Say Children Who Missed In-Person Kindergarten Could Be Impacted For Life
The Wall Street Journal (5/9, Bauerlein, Subscription Publication) reports experts say that children who missed in-person kindergarten this past year could be impacted for life. Experts say the time when children attend kindergarten is a crucial time in brain development.
----- LEGAL -----
Montana Governor Signs Transgender Athletes Ban Into Law
The AP (5/6, Samuels, Hanson) reported Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) on Friday signed into law legislation banning “transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender with which they identify, making Montana the latest of several Republican-controlled states to approve such measures this year.” State Rep. John Fuller (R), the bill’s sponsor, said that “allowing males to compete as women in female sports will result in women once again being once again being shouldered aside to stand below the awards podium and forced to cheer the accomplishments of men.” However, a review by the AP “found that in almost every state where such measures were advanced this year, bill sponsors could not cite a single instance in their own state or region where the participation of transgender athletes in sports has caused problems.” CNN (5/7, Kallingal, Rose) reported the law includes a provision “that would automatically rescind the new rules if the US Department of Education finds them to be in violation of their nondiscrimination rules.”
Also reporting are The Hill (5/8, Castronuovo) and Montana Free Press (5/7).
----- CHILD DEVELOPMENT ----
Remote kindergarten could have lifetime impact on kids
Of all the students who suffered learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic and remote schooling, one grade level has educators very concerned. Kindergarten is where five and six year olds learn the building blocks of how to be students, skills such as taking turns and working together that they will need for the next 12 years of formal schooling. It coincides with a critical window for brain development, the time between five and seven years old when neural connections are firing most rapidly for higher-cognitive functions like problem-solving and reasoning. Kindergarten “can’t be replicated even by the very best teachers in the virtual environment,” said Whitney Oakley, chief academic officer for North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools. A missed, delayed or low-quality kindergarten experience “could impact this generation of kids for their lifetime.” Many parents didn’t enroll their children in kindergarten this year, with enrollment off by roughly 15% in many states. There are typically three million kindergartners, according to federal data, so a decline of 15% nationwide would mean roughly 450,000 missing students. Harvard University education professor Stephanie Jones said she hopes that once all kindergartners are back in the classroom, the emphasis isn’t just on getting them caught up academically to prepare for required testing but also on the intangible habits of thinking and behavior. “They need to focus attention, be aware of their emotions and interactions, just to understand the words being spoken by the teacher,” she said. “It’s all wound up in the process of learning.”
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----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Study suggests links between school reopenings and COVID spread
The findings of a new study from the University of Kentucky suggests that the reopening of school campuses contributes to the spread of COVID-19. The paper, which has not been formally peer reviewed, examines school reopening in Texas starting in fall 2020. Researchers effectively compared districts to each other based on when they reopened, controlling for other factors, including politics and existing COVID spread. The results, researchers said, were striking. Over several weeks, school opening triggered a large jump in COVID cases and deaths, researchers said. Their best estimate is that a remarkable 45% of cases and nearly two thirds of deaths in Texas in nine weeks following reopening were the result of the direct and indirect effects of school reopening. Case rates among Texas school staff during this time period were notably higher than in the surrounding community. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services said the office typically doesn’t comment on external research but noted “we haven’t seen large outbreaks associated with on-campus learning.”
Growing number of schools ditch student mask requirements
Dozens of school districts around the country have eliminated requirements for students to wear masks, and many more are likely to ditch them before the next academic year, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance that schools “should prioritize universal and correct use of masks and physical distancing.” Data from the CDC shows infection rates among U.S. residents ages 14-17 are now higher than for all Americans, while the rates among children 6-13 are getting closer to the national average. “We know that masks work to reduce transmission,” Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said. “This is really not the time to remove one of the best tools we have to reduce transmission.” Meanwhile, as younger children qualify for COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials are unsure of how many families will opt to have their children inoculated if the shots aren’t required for school attendance. While some colleges and universities have made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for their students, experts say it’s unlikely states will issue similar requirements for K-12 students any time soon. “In the background is the fact that the anti-vaccine movement has been mobilized in past years for every attempt to tighten mandates,” said Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law and a member of the Vaccine Working Group on Ethics and Policy. “If there is a proposed mandate, we are going to see them mobilize nationally again.” States may eventually add COVID-19 vaccines to their school requirements in future years, but encouragement may be a stronger public health tool this year, she added.
ABC News Education Week Education Week
New report calls for inclusive, holistic summer learning
A recent report from the Learning Policy Institute and Spencer Foundation explores opportunities for creating equity in summer learning programs and beyond as the public education system recovers from COVID-19. The study suggests six design principals to adopt in order to avoid returning to the "old normal," including: centering learning on relationships; creating a culture of affirmation and belonging; building on students' interests for a holistic learning approach; engaging students' and families' knowledge for disciplinary approaches; providing creative and inquiry based learning; and addressing educator needs and learning. Summer programs have been touted as especially important in the K-12 recovery from COVID-19 learning disruptions. A five-year study published in July in American Education Research Journal showed 52% of students lost an average of 39% of their total school year gains over the summer months.
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Catholic schools losing students at record rates
Catholic schools across the country are struggling to keep the doors open, after a pandemic year that left many families unable to pay tuition and the church without extra funds to cover the difference. The National Catholic Educational Association says that at least 209 of the nation’s nearly-6,000 Catholic schools have closed over the past year, with enrollment at the start of the 2020-21 school year down 6.4%. For many of the lower-income families whom Catholic schools serve, especially in urban areas, the cost became too much once the pandemic hit and the economy cratered. In Boston, 11 of the 111 schools in the archdiocese closed this year. “They were serving populations that were hardest hit by the economic shutdown,” said Tom Carroll, superintendent for the Archdiocese of Boston. When schools hit financial difficulties in past years, he added, the archdiocese could help keep them afloat. That wasn’t possible during the pandemic, as in-person services shut down and donations plummeted.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Enrollment growth continues at America’s full-time virtual schools
Despite continued academic struggles, enrollment in the nation’s full-time virtual and blended schools continues to climb, according to a new report from the National Education Policy Center, a trend abetted by fading attempts at legislative oversight and a global pandemic that has pushed online learning into the national mainstream. A total of 477 full-time virtual schools enrolled 332,379 U.S. K-12 public school students during the 2019-20 school year, the report found. An additional 306 “blended” schools, in which instruction takes place both online and face-to-face, enroll a combined 152,530 students. In all, enrollment in the nation’s full-time virtual and blended schools is up by more than 50,000 students since 2017-18. Blended schools tended to perform better than their virtual counterparts, the researchers found, and virtual schools operated by districts or non-profit groups tended to perform better than those operated by for-profit education management organizations.
----- OTHER -----
Southeast U.S. schools prepare for gas shortages
A gas shortage spreading in the Southeast due to a pipeline shutdown has caused schools in the region to take precautions, impacting daily K-12 district operations yet again after schools had reopened following COVID-19 shutdowns. Some districts are still monitoring the situation, according to school leaders and local reporting. Others have already cancelled afterschool activities or announced virtual learning days or the possibility of pivoting to virtual for as long as the rest of the school year in an effort to save fuel. The hacking of the Colonial Pipeline has "created a new set of challenges" for schools, families and employees across Georgia and the broader region, said Morcease Beasley, superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools. "As a result, district officials are meeting daily to monitor the gas shortage to assess its potential impact on district operations." The duration of the gas shortage is still unknown, but some are looking to the end of the week as an indicator of whether the emergency will worsen or ease up. In a press briefing on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the government is working "around the clock" to help Colonial restart normal operations.
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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