ABCFT YOUnionews for October 1, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team had our initial session with the district last week. I attended the Finance and Audit district committee meeting last week and had a follow up conversation with Mr. Nguyen, the district’s Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Zietlow and I have met for our regularly scheduled partnership meeting. We gave a report to the ABCFT executive board yesterday. The document to officially open the bargaining process will be voted on during next week’s board meeting. This will be the first board meeting held in person for quite some time so I will be there as well. The negotiating team will then work with the district on a calendar of dates to meet at the negotiating table.
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the idea of comparing our district to other districts can be challenging given the number of variables involved. But the core principle of remaining competitive is definitely relevant and we will be closely monitoring the agreements of neighboring districts to see how they could potentially impact our negotiations. The reality of declining enrollment is a legitimate issue but it cannot be allowed to compromise ABCFT’s commitment to being able to attract and retain the highest quality professionals to best serve our students and community.
A recent example of this need to remain competitive was the board’s recent vote to raise substitute pay. Though we do not negotiate for this group of employees, we have all seen the negative impact of ABCUSD not having enough quality substitute teachers in our pool so I support the district increasing their pay. It is instructive, however, of just what a moving target the concept of remaining competitive can be. Within hours of our district raising their daily sub rate to $175, a neighboring district voted to raise their daily sub rate to $190. So the competitive imbalance remains in place. Hopefully, this can be a lesson for all of us as we move forward with our own bargaining. The negotiating process is necessarily a confidential one, for both parties involved, but we will continue to share as much information as we can when it becomes available.
In Unity,
TEACHABLE MOMENT
Tik Tok Calendar of School Challenges
Remember when our understanding of the “challenges” was about raising awareness for some good cause like the “ice bucket challenge.” Unfortunately, the positive messages of social media are taking on a treacherous new direction that’s having a negative impact on the lives of our students and staff. It is likely your students are aware of the latest Tik Tok school challenge posted by a user called devious lick who has issued a list of monthly disruptive school challenges to school-age children (You can find the full list of these monthly challenges in this article).
Last month, schools across the country have seen their bathrooms vandalized or destroyed by students who have participated in the Tik Tok school challenge. There are numerous articles in the media about students destroying their school bathrooms and some being caught and charged with felonies for their offenses. When I reached out to members of the ABC custodian department they reported that this has been an issue in ABC schools. Custodians and Administrators have been trying to find answers as to the motivations of our students and why they would do such destructive behaviors in a place that is supposed to be a safe place for all students. After investigations have taken place we find that these destructive incidences are a national trend that is causing havoc across the country.
ABCFT believes that members should be well aware of this situation and the coming challenge calendar. If you look at the challenge calendar for the month of October you will see that this month the challenge is to “smack a staff member.” We wanted to make sure that you are all aware of this challenge so that you can engage your students in constructive dialogue about the gravity of this list of challenges which might proactively stop a student from participating in the Tik Tok challenge. In a virtual meeting Thursday with the American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, the issue of the Tik Tok challenge calendar was brought to her attention as union leaders across the country asked for support on how to address the escalating cycle of school disruptions in the form of challenges. Weingarten stated that she will put together a campaign to educate school authorities, employees, and community members about the Tik Tok calendar and how we can all work together to stop this destructive and violent trend. Here is an excellent article with some go quotes from a superintendent about the impact Tik Tok is having on the school district. The screenshot above is what was sent to parents about this issue on Thursday night this week.
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - ABCUSD COVID DASHBOARD
Numbers have decreased dramatically over the past two weeks with a decrease of 80% daily cases for students and staff. COVID-19 cases have also decreased in Los Angeles County over the same period. Remember to stay vigilant by helping students to maintain healthy practices as outlined by the county health department as we head into flu season. ABC Dashboard can be found here. Below is a chart for LA County.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Parent Conferences By Tanya Golden
Last year, while negotiating school reopening last year, ABCFT negotiated moving parent conferences to October to coincide with progress reports. The feedback from elementary teachers was positive. Sharing academic progress and areas of growth earlier in the school year gave parents an opportunity to better support their children. Consequently, again this year parent conferences will be held in October. If the timing for parent conferences works best for students and teachers then we will continue to negotiate a calendar to reflect this need.
As educators, it is important to not only educate our students but to connect with parents too. I refuse to buy into the ‘learning loss’ narrative. Instead, I think of last year as a time of limited learning opportunities. ABC teachers did their best to pivot into virtual learning during last year and offered the best curriculum and teaching strategies but nothing can replace in-person student-to-student or student to teacher interaction. Personalized interactions that happen due to the teacher guiding the instruction or are created organically in a classroom lead to reflection, learning, and thinking for the student. Teachers use their expertise and professional judgment by adjusting their instruction based on these interactions. These personalized teaching touches are something that is very difficult to replicate online and sometimes are not effective for all learners in a virtual learning environment. So here is my advice, go ahead, share with parents the academic development and social-emotional supports students you are providing their child, and although their child may have experienced limited learning opportunities last year those obstacles will not hinder what will be accomplished this year in your room.
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.
Each week Tanya and I sit and brainstorm what we are going to feature in the YOUnionews for the week and much like a classroom the events of the week completely change our lesson plan for the week. This week was no exception. This week, ABCFT leadership met with nurse representatives, elementary school OISP teachers, secondary school OISP teachers, the PAL council, ABCFT Teacher Leaders, administrators, site reps, AFT Policy and Program Committee, and the ABCFT Executive Board. We thought that the Tik Tok article was timely and was something that is directly relevant to your classrooms so we decided to feature that information this week.
We’ve been meaning to bring you information about the critical race theory (CRT) battle that is being waged in school board meetings across the county. It is so bad in some states that it is causing some superintendents to get security systems because of violent threats. Thank goodness none of that violence is happening here in ABC but we have had a few ABC board members find themselves in controversial situations surrounding CRT. Let’s agree on the fact that critical race theory is not being taught in our classrooms in ABC or in any K-12 district in the county. It isn’t. However, if you would like to see the local articles in the Los Cerritos News concerning the CRT meeting that was hosted in Cerritos you can find both of those articles here and here. Furthermore, the American Federation of Teachers Executive Council this past week passed a statement condemning “Critical Race Theory as Political Propaganda” and you can find that document with this link. If there are further developments in this area locally we will follow up with more information.
I’m going to keep my comments short but I did want to assure you that as part of the negotiation process we are meeting with constitute groups, engaging our district counterparts in informal negotiation conversations, preparing an updated member survey for preparation for the master contract negotiations, preparing a calendar survey, and preparing for a collaborative meeting with the district cabinet about the direction of the district and how our collaborative process can effectively be leveraged for maximum gains for all stakeholders. This outlines a bunch of stuff going on behind the scenes but is a glimpse of what we are doing to serve our members and how we advocate for your compensation and working conditions.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have received a number of emails from members who have been frustrated by the upcoming vaccination/weekly testing change that will happen in the coming weeks. They are frustrated by the lack of transparency and information coming from the district and the union. ABCFT is committed to transparency and we are getting information to you as things develop. Sometimes the issues we are advocating are communicated to members in the form of district email and sometimes we are able to present them in our weekly YOUnionews but in an age when everyone is building the plane while they are flying it can be confusing and often times frustrating. I totally get that and so when members write to me I make sure that they know that EVERY member is being represented regardless of political, religious, or personal beliefs. A UNION stands for the common good and must fully explore all member’s needs as an organization. In a society that continues to fragment humans into incompatible and competing social and political groups, it is the role of a workers UNION to make sure that our combined forces are united in the advocation for wages, working conditions, and the dignity of all stakeholders. Below is an example reply from a recent email concerning vaccinations and weekly testing that helps to illustrate how ABCFT has been advocating for the totality of all member needs.
“I appreciate you taking the time to write to me your questions and concerns. There are others who have concerns about the testing that is going to take place in October and we have been working hard to find safe harbor for our members who have personal beliefs or other reasons for having concerns about vaccinations or testing. To answer your questions, yes, there will be testing options and the union has fought for a saliva testing option which will be one of the optional testing types...This will give those teachers that have concerns about privacy a more confidential way to test because according to the district there will be multiple ways to drop your completed test off. The union will ensure that privacy is a standard. The testing results are protected by Hippa laws that legally protect your right to privacy in all matters medical. Maybe we don't post enough about all the negotiating we do behind the scenes but when there are issues that impact our members and we can do something about it, we fight. I hope that this email is helpful and I would encourage you to always feel like you can reach out to ABCFT concerning such delicate matters.”
In the coming weeks, I will be taking a page out of AFT President Randi Weingarten’s playbook for leadership by engaging the community on their terms. I am working with community members directly to understand their needs, fears, and beliefs about ABC and the education system as a whole. Not all of my conversations will be comfortable and I am positive that people will raise their voices at me at some point but I think that it is critical that the ABC Federation of Teachers work together with all stakeholders to provide stability to our district and our school board. In the business world, if do not understand your client’s needs, suggestions, and motivations then that business adventure will eventually lead to collapse. Public education must avoid collapse at all costs for the sake of our students and their futures. American education and its future are in the balance. As a leading organization in this district, we will engage the community to strengthen our communication and the ties that bind us together.
Thank you for all you are doing this month in parent conferences and the constructive conversations and parent outreach you are doing on a day-to-day basis. How we treat each other and those with differing opinions say a lot about our character as individuals and as an organization. The world is watching.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
----- VACCINATION NEWS-----
Pfizer Submits Initial Trial Data To FDA For COVID-19 Vaccine In Children Aged 5 To 11
Reuters (9/28, Mishra) reports, “Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE submitted initial trial data for their COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 to U.S. regulators on Tuesday and said they would make a formal request for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks.” The news comes as “coronavirus infections have soared in children and hit their highest point in early September, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.” Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine “was authorized in kids aged 12-15 roughly a month after the companies filed for authorization” and “if the same timeline is followed for this application, kids could start receiving their shots as soon as late October. NBC News (9/28, Li) reports the FDA “is expected to take at least several weeks to analyze data collected in a trial that included more than 2,000 children before it would grant emergency use authorization. A formal submission to request emergency use authorization of the companies’ vaccine is expected to follow in the coming weeks, officials said in a release.” Also reporting are the AP (9/28), The Wall Street Journal (9/28, Hopkins, Armour, Subscription Publication) and The Seventy Four (9/28, Lehrer-Small).
About 12,000 Los Angeles Unified Employees Remain Unvaccinated As Mandate Deadline Approaches
The Los Angeles Times (9/29, Blume) reports COVID vaccine mandate deadlines “are fast approaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District and employees who refuse the inoculations face losing their jobs while unvaccinated students would ultimately be forced off campus into an online program.” The “vast majority of students and teachers are expected to comply” but “large numbers in the nation’s second-largest school district have so far resisted the requirement. Currently, about 1 in 5 district employees, about 12,000 workers, have not begun their immunization, according to information provided at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. A loss of that magnitude would add more disruption to school operations, especially as the district is struggling to fill more than 2,000 vacancies.” A district spokesman “said Tuesday that the percentage of workers vaccinated is expected to rise substantially. The current rate of 80% does not include people with vaccine appointments or those who have simply not yet uploaded documentation.”
ABC News (9/29) reports Los Angeles Unified employees “have until Oct. 15 to receive either the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.” The district has been “holding daily vaccine clinics and information sessions to help staff upload their vaccination records.” One complication is that as the deadline looms, “the district is facing staffing shortages, including some 622 teaching position vacancies.” SEIU Local 99, the union that represents nearly 30,000 non-teacher employees in Los Angeles public schools, “has called on the district to extend the vaccine deadline to the end of October.”
Newsweek (9/29) also covers this story.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
CA school vaccine mandate could still be introduced
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said “We are in discussions with 1,050 school districts" about implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in K-12 schools across the state. This comes after the Oakland Unified School District voted to require all students 12 and older to get the vaccine, and the Los Angeles Unified School District made a similar announcement.
New report underlines significant variation in pandemic learning plans
A new report has underlined significant variation in connectivity, rurality and district poverty levels in school districts' remote learning plans filed with state education agencies in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming, at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The report, from Regional Educational Laboratory Central, indicates that districts with a connectivity rate of at least 70% prior to the pandemic were more likely to propose support for home-based internet access, devices and tech support. Those districts were also more likely to plan additional supports like mental health assistance for teachers, students and parents, with 73% of the highly connected districts planning for social-emotional learning and support, compared to 50% of districts with lower connectivity. Lower-income districts were more likely to propose supports such as one-on-one meetings between students and teachers, as well as resources for parents to help with remote learning. Sixty-eight percent of nonrural districts proposed providing professional development to teachers, compared to 58% of rural ones, while 68% of nonrural districts proposed remote learning resources for parents, compared to 50% of rural districts.
Federal government asked to help bolster school officials' safety
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has written to the Biden administration urging federal officials to “investigate, intercept, and prevent the current threats and acts of violence against public school officials” by enforcing existing laws and mandates. The NSBA, which represents more than 90,000 school board members nationwide, also called for the potential formation of specialized task forces equipped to “ensure the safety of our children and educators, to protect interstate commerce, and to preserve public school infrastructure and campuses.” Daniel A. Domenech, the executive director of the AASA, comments: “Leading these schools during a global pandemic is an enormous task, one that is unnecessarily complicated when adult tempers flare. We oppose the increasingly aggressive tactics creeping into board and community meetings, and we cannot let frustrations and tensions evolve into name calling and intimidation.”
NSBA, AASA Issue Warning About Escalating Tensions Over COVID Safety Measures
District Administration (9/24) reported that across the country, “school board members have received threats of violence both in-person and online as they have been developing school reopening policies this summer and fall.” The National School Boards Association and the AASA (The School Superintendents Association) “issued a dire warning this week about the escalating tensions.” Chip Slaven, NSBA’s Interim Executive Director and CEO, said, “School board members are our neighbors. They attend our churches and shop at our grocery stores. They have children in the public education system and share the same concerns as the communities they represent. But for their hard work, school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers and others who work in service to our students are being subjected to online and in-person threats, abuse and harassment.” Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, said his organization staunchly defends freedom of speech but will not “tolerate aggression, intimidation, threats and violence toward superintendents, board members and educators.”
'Widespread' monitoring of student devices in K-12 schools
The monitoring of student electronic devices by schools appears now to be widespread, according to research by the Center for Democracy and Technology, with 81% of teachers surveyed saying their schools use student activity monitoring software. About 20% of teachers, parents, and students surveyed said it was installed on students’ personal devices, and 30% of teachers said monitoring software was active all of the time, not just during school hours. Supporters of such monitoring say it can protect against online predators and other cybercriminals, and can also identify cyberbullying campaigns and flag students who search for topics including suicide and eating disorders. The CDT, the ACLU and eight other organizations have however called on Congress to protect student privacy and expression by updating the Children’s Internet Protection Act to clarify that the law “does not require broad, invasive, and constant surveillance of students’ lives online.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
High school students can still apply for grade changes
The Press Democrat reports that the window for school districts to accept applications for relief from the academic impact of distance learning may soon close. It notes that Santa Rosa City Schools and the West Sonoma County Union High School District have made instructions accessible on their websites, with parents able to contact schools to find out more about the application process.
----- DISTRICTS -----
California students increasingly skipping school
Absenteeism is on the rise at a number of California schools, with districts such as Elk Grove and Long Beach reporting large increases despite having relatively high attendance before the pandemic. Lisa Cruikshank, director of special projects at Thermalito Union Elementary in Butte County, Northern California, commented: “My heart goes out to these kids. They’ve lost a year of instruction, and now this. What keeps me up at night is all these kids losing out on high-quality instruction, falling behind, falling through the cracks. We’ve been working so hard to keep kids engaged, but it’s tough.”
Substitute teacher pay shortage in Los Angeles County
Boards of education in the Long Beach and Torrance unified school districts have increased pay rates for substitute teachers amid a shortage across Los Angeles County exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Oakland schools shut due to fleas
A flea infestation will see Esperanza Elementary School and Korematsu Discovery Academy in Oakland shut for the remainder of the week. The Oakland Unified School District issued a statement saying: “The move comes after a major problem developed with fleas on campus."
Latino students reportedly mocked by Yorba Linda High School student
An Orange County student at Yorba Linda High School reportedly made a social media post deemed offensive to the Latino population, which makes up 37% of the student population at Esperanza High School. The two are scheduled to play a football match this week.
Los Angeles Times
----- FINANCE -----
Most parents feel 'left out' of schools' spending plans
A new poll by the National Parents Union indicates that parents have heard little about how their schools are using new federal COVID-19 relief aid and that they feel left out of discussion about how those funds are being spent. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they have not seen or heard anything about how funds were being spent in their child’s school or classroom. While 56% of respondents said parents should be involved in deciding how the funds should be used, 67% reported their children’s schools had not asked them for input or feedback in their plans. Among respondents with an annual income below $50,000, just 17% said schools had sought parent input, compared with 28% of parents with incomes above $75,000. The U.S. Department of Education’s regulations for the American Rescue Plan, which provided $122 billion for state and local education systems, requires leaders to seek input from a variety of groups, including parents, disability rights advocates, and educators, in making their plans.
States' teacher retirement systems get poor grades
A report on states' teacher retirement systems by Bellwether Education Partners found that only a handful can claim to serve both teachers and taxpayers well. While none received an A, 20 states received F grades. South Dakota earned the top score, with 88.4%, while Tennessee and Washington were the only two other states to notch even B grades. Among the lowest-rated jurisdictions were California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts. In all, only about one out of five teachers receive their full pensions, while roughly 50% don’t remain in a single pension system long enough to qualify for minimum benefits at the end of their service. Chad Aldeman, a former Bellwether analyst who now serves as policy director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, laments that, while there has been some movement in a few states to offer public employees more choice and portability in their retirement benefits, the "intertwined issues" of back-loaded pensions and huge debts owed by states are heading in the "wrong direction."
Federal spending package could have major impact on student poverty counts
The Build back Better Act, a legislative package in Congress, could, if enacted, have major repercussions for how educators, policymakers, and others measure and respond to student poverty. One of its aims is to make it easier for more students to get free, federally supported school meals; if the changes become law, they would almost certainly lead to fewer schools collecting data from families about which students are eligible for meal subsidies, a metric that’s commonly used to analyze and discuss poverty in schools. Under current law, a school or clusters of schools can provide free breakfasts and lunches to all students if 40 percent of them are in families that already participate in other means-tested programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly known as SNAP). This provision, known as community eligibility, means districts don’t have to collect data from individual families when determining which students qualify for meal subsidies, a process that’s raised concerns about people being stigmatized. In 2019, 52% of U.S. students were eligible for free and reduced-price school meals, recent federal data show. The section of the Build Back Better Act approved by the House education committee in early September would lower that threshold for community eligibility to 25%. It would also give states the option of authorizing free breakfasts and lunches for all their students through community eligibility. Both provisions would last through June 2030. These and other changes affecting child nutrition in the bill account for $35bn in the legislation.
----- LEGAL -----
Supreme Court's education-related cases previewed
Mark Walsh previews the wide-ranging array of cases of interest to educators on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket, as it prepares to open a new term in October. The school choice case from Maine is a significant case, he notes, and in Carson v. Makin the justices will review the state of Maine’s exclusion of schools that provide religious instruction from its program of paying private school tuition for students in communities without high schools. The court is also taking up two cases involving federal anti-discrimination laws that may have implications for school districts, in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC the question is whether a party suing a recipient of federal aid under laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, may seek "compensatory damages for emotional distress." On school board censure, in Houston Community College System v. Wilson, the justices will consider whether a school board’s censure of one of its members over his speech violates the First Amendment. An issue surely to have greater significance at a time when school board meetings have become "hotbeds of conflict," Walsh asserts, with much consternation over issues such as pandemic protocols and teaching about race.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Schools scramble to feed students amid shortages
Supply chain issues and a lack of truck drivers are creating shortages of cafeteria staples for schools across the country, with officials scrambling to provide meals for students. Many of whom rely on the food they eat at school as a significant source of daily nutrition. Labor shortages have rocked food distributors and manufacturers, who say they do not have enough people to drive trucks, pull products from warehouses or work assembly lines, while the virus has exacerbated long-standing workforce issues nationally. This school year, more than 95% of school lunches have been free for students, according to federal data, compared with slightly less than 70% in the months prior to the start of the pandemic. For most schools outside of Alaska and Hawaii, the federal government this school year will provide roughly $4.25 per free lunch and $2.42 per free breakfast, compared with the typical $3.66 per free lunch, and $1.97 per free breakfast. According to a recent survey conducted by the School Nutrition Association, 97% of school meal program directors reported having concerns about supply-chain disruptions. Beth Wallace, the president of the SNA, says the group is now urging federal officials to further increase the reimbursement rate and temporarily loosen requirements that certain products be American-made.
Bullying prevention for teachers and parents
Experts anticipate an increase in bullying incidents this year and, in response, educators are implementing many different prevention techniques across grade levels in preparation. “We know that bullying can have short- and long-term impacts on the students being bullied, those doing the bullying and also the bystanders who witness it,” says Amanda Nickerson, director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo—SUNY. “These effects may include depression and anxiety, withdrawal and isolation, anger and aggression, and a decrease in school performance and connection.” Roughly 20% of students ages 12 to 18 are bullied in American schools, according to 2019 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, and Shelley Hymel, co-founder of the international Bullying Research Network, comments: “Schools must focus on social and emotional learning and mental health supports, in addition to academics.”
Child obesity soared during pandemic, CDC warns
A new study underlines the pandemic's impact on child obesity rates, with body mass index among a sample of 432,302 individuals between the ages of 2 and 19 expanding at twice the rate between March and November 2020 as compared to January 2018 to February 2020. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that ages six to 11 saw the largest rate of BMI increase, at 2.5 times the pre-pandemic rate, while the estimated proportion of those ages two to 19 with obesity increased from 19.3% in August 2019 to 22.4% a year later. The report suggests school closures, disrupted routines, increased stress, and less opportunity for physical activity and proper nutrition as key contributing factors.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Security report warns of edtech vulnerability
Software security outfit McAfee has warned of a bug in the Netop Vision Pro Education software, which is used by millions of teachers and students across 9,000 school systems globally, including in the U.S., which may have inadvertently exposed millions of kids to hackers online. This is the second time in less than a year that McAfee researchers have found vulnerabilities in Netop’s education software, which allows teachers to monitor and control how students use school-issued computers in real time, block websites and freeze their computer screens if they’re found to be off task. In the last month, educational organizations were the target of more than 5.5 million malware attacks, according to Microsoft Security Intelligence.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Teachers worldwide have upskilled to meet tech challenges
Around four in 10 teachers worldwide have worked to successfully improve their technology skills over the past year, according to a new global survey. More than 20,000 educators from 165 countries participated in the study, which spanned topics from professional development to schools’ technology priorities to teachers’ access to technology. While the most common method for teacher professional development during the pandemic was videoconferencing tools, over the past year, 32% of responding educators also underwent PD for “video resources,” and 24% engaged in training for virtual learning environments, including virtual learning management systems like Canvas, Blackboard and D2L. Report co-author Vikas Pota comments: “Our understanding is that teachers have upskilled and learnt how to teach digitally. This is undoubtedly a benefit, as not only will they be able to use this in case of a need for distance learning, but also how digital tools can enhance learning day to day.”
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
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 online. 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 online.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
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