ABCFT YOUnionews for September 24, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED -YOUnion Chat Highlights
Thank you to the members who were able to join the first YOUnion Chat for the 2021-22 school year. We are aware many were unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict with social studies professional learning. Below are some of the questions members posed during the chat as well as correspondence received from members at the union office and thought it would be helpful to share the information including ABCUSD COVID-19 related resource links with you here.
Q: On September 30th the COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave is expiring. Will there be an extension? Also, if a teacher was out for 10 days with COVID-19 last spring, are these sick days retroactive? Can they get their regular sick days back and instead qualify for the supplemental COVID paid sick time?
A: Although our state affiliate CFT along with other education-related organizations lobbied legislators to extend this benefit to workers within California, it was not extended. However, ABCFT is in negotiations with the district regarding protections for ABCFT unit members who are required to quarantine as a result of close contact exposure at work. In regards to retroactively using the COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave email Human Resources Supervisor, Kester Song for more details and to see if your circumstance qualifies.
Q: If you are vaccinated do not have COVID symptoms, but test positive for COVID what do you do?
A: Contact your site or program administrator as soon as possible to notify them of your status. Do not report to work. Be sure to take care of yourself and seek medical assistance if your symptoms worsen.
COVID-19 Staff Reporting Protocols
Q: A student sits next to my desk that was out for 10 days on quarantine but I have not been contacted. Is that normal?
A: If the student did not have a positive case of COVID-19 but was quarantined due to being a close contact then you would not be contacted because you are not considered a close contact. Close contact is someone who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. If you are vaccinated and not directly in contact with a positive case then you do not need to quarantine.
COVID-19 Student Reporting Protocols and ABCUSD Exposure Matrix
Q: Will testing be available for teachers?
A: Testing will soon be available for any staff requesting it. Also, in compliance with California Public Health Department orders, weekly COVID-19 testing will begin soon for public school employees who chose to not disclose COVID-19 status or are unvaccinated.
ABC COVID-19 Testing Guidelines and Vaccination Appointments
Q: Is our district looking at a vaccine mandate for students 12+? Seems like several districts in our county have done so, wondering if we are going to follow that lead.
A: The district is encourage any student or employee eligible to be vaccinated to do so. Currently, mandating COVID-19 vaccines for students has not been issued by the state or county. The district has been adhering to state and Los Angeles County public health COVID-19 guidelines and will take action once the state or LA county issues the guidance.
Q: Other districts are paying more for paras and sub-teachers. We don't have enough of either and we aren't meeting the needs and services of our students that are listed in their IEP's and we are open to lawsuits!
A: ABCFT has pushed for a pay raise for substitute teachers and paras, both groups that we don’t formally negotiate for, during our meeting with the district last week. We noted the liability issues in special education in particular. At this week’s board meeting the school board approved to increase teacher substitute pay for daily to $175 and $200 for long term effective September 22, 2021.
Q: What about inclement weather and lunch for students?
A: Depending on the weather conditions students may still be able to eat at the outdoor lunch tables and complete their recess in the classroom. Or they may have to spend their entire lunch in the classroom. Students should be directed to remove masks while eating and drinking and put them back on as soon they are finished.
Q: Teacher lunchtimes are being cut due to inclement weather. Can they do that?
A: Regardless of inclement weather status teachers are guaranteed their duty-free lunch period. If your staff voted to increase the time past the contractual 30-minute lunchtime does not mean you forfeit that time and you are still guaranteed your entire duty-free lunchtime. If you have already lost some of your duty-free lunchtime the minutes should be repaid. Work with your site rep and principal on how to achieve this. Some sites have fewer or shorter staff meetings or extra recesses to make up the time. Also, since this will be an ongoing situation a plan should be made to accommodate the teachers entire duty-free lunchtime.
Q: What does the district plan on doing about all the student plexiglass that continue to fall apart in many of our classes?
A: ABCFT has heard from many teachers about the frustrations and difficulties with the plexiglass and communicated your concerns with our district partners. The district is looking into the issue and hopes to have some solutions for this ongoing issue. ABCFT will keep you informed of any new updates.
Be sure to join us for member-only YOUnion Chats
on Tuesday, October 19th and Tuesday, November 2nd
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY - Teacher Leaders Program
LAST CHANCE FOR THIS YEAR - It’s Not Too Late To Apply!
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
Last opportunity to apply by Thursday, September 30th
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success.
SCHOOL BOARD REPORT
You can find a recording of this weeks school board meeting here
ABCFT did not give a report but we did speak when the action item for raising the pay of substitute teachers was presented to the board for a vote. ABCFT stressed the importance of paying more for recruitment and retention. Furthermore, representative Gaer illustrated how the challenge of retaining employees overall in ABC is becoming increasingly challenging as people in specialized positions are continuing to leave ABC to go to other school districts. This is a concerning trend and the issue of compensation and retention will be a major factor in the future for the district in recruiting and retaining teachers. ABCFT is happy to report that the ABC School Board trustees did approve the temporary pay increase for substitute teachers.
BOARD MEETING RECAP from ABCUSD Scott Smith: The ABCUSD Board of Education took the following actions at the Sept. 21st meeting: Approved submitting an application for the K12 Strong Workforce Program Grant; Approved a pay increase for substitute teachers; and Approved contracts with three staffing firms to help fill open positions.
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.
Are you in a groove yet? Do you feel like you’re getting a handle on the “new normal”? Maybe you are and maybe you’re far from it, but I think we are all working in the same direction. This week for ABCFT was about getting back to some degree of normal as far as representations, negotiations, and planning. ABCFT is submitting our official “sunshine” agreement to officially notify the District about opening contract negotiations and bargaining for the 2021-2022 salary compensation package. The “sunshine” paperwork is the legal requirement that a collective bargaining unit uses to open contract negotiations. I’m sure that Ruben will have more details about this process, where we are, and what needs to be done in a feature by our chief negotiator, Ruben Mancillas article coming soon.
An important milestone for each school year is the ABCFT Site Representative training we do at the beginning of every school year. This year, we decided to continue to hold our training virtual and after school to make sure we caused the least amount of disruption possible. I am pleased to report that the vitality of the union is in good hands as we noted that we have a good number of new union representatives and alternates that are filling the ranks of those unionists who have retired, passed the torch, or have found new avenues for leadership experiences. The typical newer union representative has between five to ten years of teaching experience and has some level of site leadership or regular interaction with their supervisor or principal. During our training, we help site representatives to understand where they can find the answers they need and we help to comfort any anxiety they may have about being a site rep by illustrating the vast support system we have built to support their needs. “The answers are in the room” is a perfect way to explain how our communication structures allow us to find experts on any subject to provide timely feedback and guidance for any question a site rep may be asked.
Your elected site/program representatives are there to provide direct support for ABCFT members who have questions, need guidance, or representation. Union involvement in any form is often a great way to gain leadership experiences and personal growth. Learning how to problem-solve with adults can be some of the most challenging but rewarding experiences you can have as an adult. In my journey of becoming involved with the union, I really was focused only on my school and how I could advocate for special education students, but over time I became aware of a much broader understanding of our district’s ecosystem and how all of the parts fit together. Being a site rep can provide unionists with new directions, new opportunities, and new ways to express their focus on student achievement.
Boy, it seems like Ray is droning on about site reps this week….I wonder why? I’ll tell you why. I wanted to devote this weeks thoughts to these unsung heroes who help to hold the fabric of our schools together. Site representatives provide support, institutional history, a voice for all members, and a guiding hand for those in need of assistance. I hope that we all take a moment to recognize their sacrifice of time and energy to help other members thrive because site reps are the lifeblood of our organization. Stop them in the hall or say a thank you in the staff lounge just to make their day. Over the next five to ten years we will see a great many of my fellow unionists retire but it
warms my heart to see an entirely new generation of unionists that are diving into the deep end of the pool. I want those new site reps and alternates to know we are right there next to them, helping them learn how to swim.
Thank you all for what you do each and every day. You are amazing and I hope to visit with you face to face in the near future.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
Click on the picture for the link to the video
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
POLL: 90% of AFT members are vaccinated and Two Thirds support Vaccine Mandates
WASHINGTON—Fresh polling of American Federation of Teachers members has revealed the vast majority—90 percent—are vaccinated and fully 2 in 3 K-12 members support vaccine mandates.
A survey undertaken by Hart Research Associates show 67 percent of K-12 members favor a requirement that all school employees be vaccinated unless they have a valid medical or religious exemption and 73 percent support a policy requiring vaccines or a weekly COVID-19 test.
A separate poll of the full membership—including teachers, higher education workers, nurses and public employees—shows 9 out 10 report being vaccinated and another 3 percent either have a vaccination appointment or say they will likely get vaccinated.
It indicates strategies to convince the small minority of educators who are unvaccinated include connecting them with trusted messengers to provide information on the vaccines such as their doctor, pharmacist, the CDC, and their coworkers.
On the issue of vaccine mandates, support is similarly strong among teachers (67 percent) and paraprofessionals (65 percent) and exceeds 60 percent in every region of the country. Educators of color voice particularly strong support for a mandate—78 percent among Black members, 73 percent among Hispanic members—as do those at high personal risk for COVID-19 (74 percent) and those with someone in their household at high risk (75 percent).
The policies were important, respondents said, to protect the health and safety of educators, their coworkers, their families and their students. They voiced very strong support for the principle in the AFT Executive Council’s resolution that their union should negotiate vaccine policies with districts, so that school staff have a voice in how such policies are implemented, with 82 percent in favor.
AFT President Randi Weingarten said: “This poll is proof positive that the hard work educators have been doing for months to get vaccinated, promote the shot and work with employers on vaccine requirements has paid dividends. Educators know that safety was the pathway back to in-person learning and is the key to staying back—a combination of vaccines, masking, ventilation, physical distancing and planning for an outbreak. They are doing everything they can to make that happen.”
From August 10 to 15, 2021, Hart Research Associates conducted a telephone survey among 1,204 AFT members on the issue of COVID-19 vaccination. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.2%.
Hart conducted a text-to-web survey from August 26 to 29, 2021 among 2,008 active AFT K-12 members (1,417 teachers, 591 PSRPs), on the issue of COVID-19 vaccination policies. The survey has a margin of error of ±2.2 percentage points.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
LAUSD strikes deal with the teachers union
Los Angeles USD has reached a tentative agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles to provide live online instruction to students quarantining at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, following weeks of negotiations over that issue and other COVID-19-related health-and-safety measures. The deal, which still needs to be ratified by the school board and United Teachers Los Angeles, would also require all students and staff to continue undergoing COVID-19 tests weekly, regardless of vaccination status, through the remainder of this semester. It also increases educator pay by 5%, and provides a $2,500 one-time stipend. School nurses will receive a $5,000/three-year retention incentive. "First and foremost, the agreement recognizes that COVID-19 is still very much with us," UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a statement. "The agreement meets our critical goal of extending multi-layered COVID safety measures -- including regular testing, masking and air filtration - - to keep our schools safe and open, and we secured a new quarantine checklist that will bring clarity and consistency across the district to how LAUSD responds to COVID cases. "Health and safety must come first to protect everyone who walks through the doors of our classrooms and work spaces."
The Daily Breeze Fox 11 Los Angeles Times
----- VACCINE HEADLINES -----
East Bay school district cancels meeting to vote on vaccine mandate
West Contra Costa USD Superintendent Kenneth "Chris" Hurst has canceled a special Tuesday board meeting that was to feature a vote on whether to require COVID-19 vaccination for eligible staff and students. He cited the need for more time to work out specifics. Explaining his decision, he said that in communicating with Los Angeles USD, which approved its own vaccine mandate this month, his staff was “still learning their gaps and incorporating this into our presentation” for the board. The district also is still working on how to incorporate a vaccine mandate for contractors and others working with students, and how to conduct teaching for students who don’t want to get vaccinated.
Oakland school board 1st in Northern California to require vaccination for students
Oakland USD will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the school board decided Wednesday night, making it the first in Northern California to impose a student mandate. The measure, passed 5-1, with one abstention, mandates all students 12 and older be fully vaccinated, with exemptions for medical and “personal belief” reasons. It does not set a timeline for enforcement. Oakland’s board took up the issue after Los Angeles USD recently set a similar student requirement. The resolution introduced by Benjamin “Sam” Davis, board vice president, also calls on the district superintendent to “establish vaccination thresholds and incentives for each school” to try and reward students when their schools reach “a certain percentage of vaccination.” It’s unclear what the incentives would be.
Educator support for vaccine mandates on the rise
The Delta variant is causing big shifts in educators’ opinions about vaccine mandates, according to the most recent monthly survey of teachers and officials by the EdWeek Research Center. Nearly 60% of educators are now saying students who are old enough to receive COVID-19 vaccines should be required to show proof they got the shot to enter school buildings, up from 27% when the question was posed in June. Sixty-three percent also support vaccine requirements for staff. The survey was administered August 25th-September 8th to a nationally representative sample of 1,241 educators.
Pfizer says COVID vaccine safe for elementary-age kids
Pfizer announced on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine works for children aged five to 11, and that it will be seeking authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for this age group by the end of the month. For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose, a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages five to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, explained. Pfizer said it studied the lower dose in 2,268 kindergartners and elementary school-aged kids. The FDA required what is called an immune “bridging” study: evidence that the younger children developed antibody levels already proven to be protective in teens and adults. The study still is ongoing, and there haven’t yet been enough COVID-19 cases to compare rates between the vaccinated and those given a placebo, something that might offer additional evidence. It remains to be seen, however, how much of the younger group will be vaccinated. About 40% of children ages 12 to 15 have been fully vaccinated so far, compared with 66% of adults, according to federal data. Polling indicates that parental openness to vaccination decreases with a child’s age. About 20% of parents of 12- to 17-year-olds said they definitely did not plan to get their child vaccinated, according to polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation published last month. The “definitely not” group grew to about 25% in parents of children ages five to 11, and 30% among parents of under-fives.
Chicago Sun-Times New York Times
Education Secretary backs mandatory school COVID vaccines
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Thursday he supports mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for older teenagers, saying vaccines are critical to keeping students in school and that governors, not school superintendents, should implement such mandates. “I wholeheartedly support it,” he said. “It’s the best tool that we have to safely reopen schools and keep them open. We don’t want to have the yo-yo effect that many districts had last year, and we can prevent that by getting vaccinated.” Mr. Cardona pointed to the effectiveness of the measles vaccine, which is required for children in childcare or public schools in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in protecting against infections as reason why the coronavirus vaccine should be mandatory for schoolchildren. “There’s a reason why we’re not talking about measles today,” he noted. “It was a required vaccination, and we put it behind us. So I do believe at this point we need to be moving forward.” Meanwhile, a federal vaccine advisory committee has voted against recommending a booster shot for essential workers, including K-12 school staff. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee on immunization practices voted yesterday to recommend a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 65 and older and those ages 50 and older with underlying medical conditions; however, it declined to recommend that adults younger than 65 who live or work in settings where the burden of COVID-19 infection and risk of transmission are high, including schools, receive a booster dose based on an assessment of their individual benefit and risk, which typically means a conversation with their doctor. Committee members were concerned that there were no clear data yet showing that healthy adults needed a booster shot, regardless of their occupation. Opening the door to allowing millions of essential workers to get a booster shot would be complicated, they said, and it wouldn’t make a significant dent in curbing the pandemic.
The Hill Education Week Politico Washington Post
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Education Department Begins Reimbursing Florida School District For Pay Cuts Imposed As A Result Of Mask Mandate
The AP (9/23) reports the Alachua County school district in Florida “has received cash from President Joe Biden’s administration to make up for state pay cuts imposed over a board’s vote for a student anti-coronavirus mask mandate.” The article adds that “Superintendent Carlee Simon said in a news release Thursday the district has received $148,000 through a U.S. Department of Education program.” This “is the first district in the nation to receive such a grant.”
Politico (9/23, Atterbury) reports Alachua County is “one of 11 school districts in Florida to mandate masks for students in defiance of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants parents to have the ultimate say on face coverings in schools.” Since the summer, the Biden Administration “has clashed with DeSantis over the GOP governor’s resistance to Covid-related restrictions amid the surge in new infections.” The federal funding used to repay the county officials comes “from the Support America’s Families and Educators, or Project SAFE grant program cooked up by the U.S. Education Department in response to some Republican states blocking Covid-19 precautions like masking requirements for students.”
NPR (9/23, Turner) reports that in response for defying the state’s ban on school mask mandates, Florida moved to penalize Alachua and Broward counties “by withholding state funding equivalent to the monthly salaries of the school board members who voted to defy the mask mandate ban. So far, the state has withheld two months of board member salaries.” The Orlando (FL) Sentinel (9/23, Postal) reports Alachua County “said it lost $27,000 in state money so far.” The $148,000 the county received Thursday “is equivalent to the yearly salaries of the four school board members who voted for Alachua’s mask mandate.”
NBC News (9/23) reports Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement “that the first wave of reimbursements sends a clear message to school board members nationwide: You will not be punished for overriding GOP governors and legislatures to make schools safer for children.” Cardona said, “We should be thanking districts for using strategies that will keep schools open and safe,” adding that the Education Department was making sure schools and communities across the country “know that we have their backs.” The ED “also published a notice inviting more districts to apply for Project SAFE grants.”
Also reporting are Axios (9/23, Reyes), The Hill (9/23, Coleman), Florida Phoenix (9/23), Rolling Stone (9/23, Wade), WFLA-TV Tampa, FL (9/23), Forbes (9/23, Durkee), and National Review (9/23).
DeSantis Doubles Down On Florida’s New Masking, Student Quarantine Rules. The Miami Herald (9/23) reports Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) “doubled down Wednesday on his insistence that parents should decide whether their children wear masks at school and whether they should quarantine or attend school after being exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.” His stance is backed by his new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who issued a new rule that takes “masking and quarantine decisions out of school officials’ hands.” DeSantis said at a press conference in Kissimmee, “I trust parents and families, and I don’t think they are going to go around lying.” The governor claimed the rule is to prevent “quarantining healthy students.” He said it is “damaging for their education advancement” and disruptive to families who are not able to work from home.
TikTok trend causes chaos in U.S. schools
School officials across the country have spoken out against the Devious Lick challenge - a new trend on TikTok in which social media users share videos of damage done to schools. In North Carolina, Wakefield Middle School is creating a new bathroom schedule after principal Alison Cleveland said vandalism included “breaking toilets and pulling sinks off the walls, removing the soap from the dispensers and spraying it on the floors and walls, and breaking the water vents and pipes, causing leaks." The trend even prompted Olathe North High School in Kansas to close some of its restrooms, principal Jason Herman told families. “They see this as a joke,” Mr. Herman said. “I do not. Our custodians work too hard every single day to put up with this nonsense.” In response to a request for comment, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We expect our community to stay safe and create responsibly, and we do not allow content that promotes or enables criminal activities. We are removing this content and redirecting hashtags and search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior.”
New COVID testing model spares students from quarantine
An increasing number of school districts are turning to testing to keep more children in the classroom and avoid disrupting the work lives of their parents. The resource-intensive approach, sometimes known as “test to stay” or modified quarantine, allows students who have been exposed to the virus to stay in school as long as they take frequent COVID tests, which are typically provided by the school, and adhere to other precautions. A new study, which was published last week in The Lancet, suggests that the test-to-stay approach can be safe. The randomized controlled trial included more than 150 schools in Britain, and found that case rates were not significantly higher at schools that allowed close contacts of infected students or staff members to remain in class with daily testing than at those that required at-home quarantines. Roughly 2 percent of school-based close contacts ultimately tested positive for the virus, researchers found, which means that schools were keeping 49 uninfected students out of class every time one student tested positive. “When you put that in the broader context of what we’re doing in society, it’s putting a pretty strong penalty on young people, I think,” said Dr. Bernadette Young, an infectious disease expert at the University of Oxford and a lead author of the paper.
----- STATE NEWS -----
California ready to welcome thousands of Afghan refugee students
In California, home to the largest number of Afghan refugees in the country, school officials are preparing for an influx of refugee students who fled Afghanistan with their families after the Taliban seized power in the country last month. School districts with Afghan student populations are offering wrap-around services for refugee families, including dedicated staff to enroll students in school, language classes for parents and students, and translators to help explain schoolwork or make medical appointments. Districts also refer refugee families to community resources that provide food, housing and medical care, among other services. In another effort to make environments inclusive for Afghan families, schools are setting up peer or mentor systems with students who speak Pashto or Dari.
California sets reading goal for third graders
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has announced a new initiative that will get all third-grade students reading by 2026. “This is a strategy about helping children learn to read, but also about putting them on a path that can create success,” said Mr. Thurmond, speaking at West Contra Costa USD's West County Mandarin School. Accountability measurements for the initiative will be determined by a task force of educators, parents and education experts; it will also focus on school readiness, professional learning, reducing chronic absenteeism, bilingual education and support that will offset some social and economic impacts that can become a barrier to students. Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) will author a bill for the upcoming legislative cycle that will address and fund the group's recommendations.
Staffing shortage delays program to extend school day and year
One of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and the Legislature’s most ambitious and expensive education programs, the extension of the school day and of the school year for elementary school students, will not be happening this year, at least in most districts. School districts and charter schools say they are struggling to find enough teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers and COVID contact tracers to fill existing and new pandemic-related jobs, so adding before- and after-school positions is unfeasible. Newsom and legislators had hoped to launch the program this year, which they saw as critical to meet the extra emotional needs of students, particularly low-income, foster and homeless children, after 16-plus months of isolation and, for many, of trauma during the pandemic. That’s also what the existing state-funded after-school programs, called After School Education and Safety programs, are designed to do through tutoring, project-based learning, social and emotional supports and physical activity. “Districts have so much on their plates. Legislators recognized that it will take time to build new systems, and we want them to do it well, starting with a safe reopening of schools,” said Erin Gabel, a consultant for the Assembly Budget Committee. The committee chairman, Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, was active in final negotiations on education spending.
----- DISTRICTS -----
New research digs into districts' pandemic pivots
A new study from Next Generation Learning Challenges examines what school districts did to successfully pivot due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finding those that did so most effectively had existing practices in place prior to closures, and that many attributed positive school cultures and strong relationships to their success. Of the 70 schools and districts that participated in the research, 84% reported an emphasis on healthiness of culture, strong relationships between adults and students, and the ability to adapt. Leadership was cited as an important factor by 79% of the respondents, and 74% emphasized a focus on student-centered learning. The research highlights schools like Urban Assembly Maker Academy in New York, which chose to focus primarily on a few key standards. This strategy allowed teachers to narrow their scope of planning and figure out how to deliver core subjects. The schools’ history of mastery-based learning also meant students were already aware of academic expectations and accustomed to independent learning.
School districts continue to struggle with staff shortages
All across the country, school districts are posting in towns and on social media with urgent requests for applicants to fill crucial job openings. Interviews with economists, administrators, and employees reveal a complex array of factors causing the school hiring headaches: Fears over health and safety, frustrations over longstanding pay gaps and inequities, and political disagreements over masks and vaccines. Some of these shortages are far more severe than usual, while others existed long before the pandemic. “When I was a principal, we had tremendous turnover among our bus drivers and the folks who staffed our cafeterias,” said Stefan Lallinger, a former teacher and administrator at a charter school in Louisiana who now serves as fellow and director of the Century Foundation’s Bridges Collaborative, which advocates for school integration and other progressive policies. “Even before the pandemic, whether we talk about bus drivers, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, [they] were dramatically underpaid and undercompensated for the work that they did,” he said. “By and large people in the general population have often taken these positions for granted.” Districts and states are trying to find creative ways to respond to the needs of their current and prospective employees, including hosting job fairs, dangling bonuses and hiring internationally. This week, the governor of New York announced new steps to tackle the bus driver shortage including opening new testing sites for commercial drivers trying to get their licenses, and reaching out to law enforcement, military and fire departments to try to find already-qualified drivers who can pitch in.
LAUSD teachers union members set to table vote on Israeli-Palestinian resolution
A vote on a controversial resolution expressing support for Palestine and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel will likely be shelved during a meeting this week of members of the union representing Los Angeles USD teachers. A substitute motion is expected to be introduced during Thursday’s meeting that calls for the original motion to be postponed indefinitely and for voluntary forums about the conflict in the Middle East to be held instead. The original proposal was brought forth in May by some UTLA members amid 11 days of deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory. Supporters of the original resolution have accused the Israeli government of committing apartheid and genocide against Palestinians. Critics, meanwhile, called that resolution anti-Semitic and one-sided, saying that Hamas also fired thousands of rockets at Israel during the May fighting and noting allegations that the group used civilians as human shields. Others questioned why a local teachers union would take a position on a conflict occurring across the globe when, they felt, the focus should be on helping students closer to home recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Los Angeles Daily News
----- CLASSROOM -----
How schools can keep music education going through the pandemic
The National Association for Music Education and the National Federation of State High School Associations have published updated guidance recommending that music education programs consider student safety through masking, instrument-sharing policies, distancing and outdoor singing. Music teachers, through a survey from NAfME and NHFS, also suggested schools design music lessons that emphasize social and emotional learning; focus on joyful music-making; and redesigning performances to not require bringing large groups of people together. Schools have been forced to make significant changes to music programs during the public health crisis. In some New York City public schools, teachers from Education Through Music, a nonprofit organization that helps build music programs in underresourced schools at all grade levels, used several online apps and learning platforms during remote instruction to coordinate instruction and virtual performances, said Nick LaFleur, director of partnership programs for ETM. LaFleur also recommends that school leaders, who may not be familiar with music programs, form partnerships with organizations that can advise — and potentially support — the continuation of music education and performances in schools. Equitable access to music programming for all students should be a top priority, he said.
How the pandemic has exacerbated special education challenges
While the pandemic made it harder for teachers everywhere to do their jobs, special education teachers in particular experienced a lack of training, support, and collaboration with their general education counterparts, according to a new study from the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). This spring and summer, researchers interviewed more than 60 special education directors and teachers, school leaders, and general education teachers working at 15 schools across the country to ask them about their experiences with special education during the pandemic. It identified a number of difficulties, including a lack of opportunities to collaborate with general education teachers, and districts not factoring in students with disabilities into their reopening plans. The CRPE report advises administrators to encourage general and special education teachers to be jointly responsible for students with disabilities by explaining what shared responsibility looks like for lesson planning, classroom instruction, family communication, and supporting students outside the classroom. It also says that leaders should help educators meet these new standards by scheduling dedicated time for collaboration and training for general educators about special education students’ needs.
----- SPECIAL EDUCATION -----
3 Reasons Why Being a Special Education Teacher Is Even Harder During the Pandemic
While the pandemic made it harder for teachers everywhere to do their jobs, special education teachers, in particular, experienced a lack of training, support, and collaboration with their general education counterparts.
That’s according to a new study released by the Center for Reinventing Public Education. This spring and summer, researchers interviewed more than 60 special education directors and teachers, school leaders, and general education teachers working at 15 schools across the country to ask them about their experiences with special education during the pandemic. Most of the special education teachers did not have their own classrooms, but provided special education to students in general education classrooms, according to Lane McKittrick, a research analyst for CRPE.
How districts can support students with disabilities amid mask debates
Disability advocates in at least half a dozen states are filing complaints in court, arguing statewide policies prohibiting mask mandates discriminate against students with disabilities and deny those students equal access to education. Some school attorneys and special education experts agree but say as the lawsuits weave their way through the courts, there are proactive steps districts should take to address the individualized needs and safety of students with disabilities. Jose Martín, an attorney with the Richards, Lindsay & Martín law firm in Austin, Texas, which represents school districts, said he advises districts to have mask policies. Where that’s not possible, he recommends schools consider potential alternatives, such as remote instruction, based on each student’s circumstance. But, he said, even that's not a good alternative. "If you don't have a mask requirement, you're forcing some vulnerable special ed students to have to do remote learning even if it's not a good learning environment and more restrictive than necessary," Martín said.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
More states adopt legislation to address suicide prevention
At least nine states, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, have enacted legislation around youth suicide prevention since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Education Commission of the States, which tracks state education policies. The pieces of legislation require schools to include suicide prevention hotline information on student identification cards, among other options like student planners and agendas in some states. To fund such efforts, districts are investing federal aid dollars in programs and supports. Chicago Public Schools, for example, is investing $24m to increase its behavioral support teams over the course of three years.
Twenty percent of parents say their kids are eating more fast food
While half of surveyed parents reported their family has eaten home-cooked meals more often since the pandemic started, 20% of parents said their family has had fast food more often, according to a new poll published Monday. More than 2,000 parents participated in the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which surveyed parents with at least one child between the ages 3 and 18. Reports of kids consuming fast food at least twice weekly were more common among parents who had lower incomes (less than $50,000 annually) and those who thought their child was overweight. Parents with lower incomes were more likely than those with higher incomes (more than $100,000 yearly) to say their child is overweight. "There is convincing data that regular consumption of fast food predisposes children to gaining unwanted weight," said Dr. Maya Adam, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Stanford University in California, who wasn't involved in the report, via email. "Parents love their kids, so they are often the first to notice potential health issues." For these parents, "the demands and stress of daily life required compromises," the report's authors wrote.
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Charter schools see highest enrollment growth since 2015
Charter schools experienced more growth in 2020-21, the first full year of the pandemic, than they’ve seen in the past six years, according to preliminary data released Wednesday from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. At a time when traditional public schools saw a 1.4m drop in student enrollment, charters in 39 states saw an influx of 240,000 new students, a 7% year-on-year increase. Of the 42 states covered in the report, only Illinois, Iowa and Wyoming saw declines in the charter school population. While Tennessee, Kansas, Puerto Rico and Guam also have charters, data was unavailable for those states and territories. Growth in the charter sector ranged from less than 1% in Washington, D.C. and Louisiana, to a 78% jump in Oklahoma. Alabama saw a 65% jump in enrollment.
----- AWARDS -----
Education Dept, announces 2021 National Blue Ribbon schools
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has announced that 325 schools have recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021. The award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. Now in its 39th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. "This year's cohort of honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish," said Secretary Cardona. "I commend this school and all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have so much to offer and can serve as a model for other schools and communities so that we can truly build back better."
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Harvard, Stanford, MIT take top rankings in WSJ/Times college rankings
Harvard University has taken the top spot in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings for the fifth straight year. It was followed by Stanford, MUT, Yale and Duke. The WSJ/THE rankings are based on 15 factors across four main categories: Forty percent of each school’s overall score comes from student outcomes, including graduates’ salaries and debt; 30% comes from academic resources, including how much the college spends on teaching; 20% from student engagement, including whether students feel prepared to use their education in the real world, and 10% from the learning environment, including the diversity of the student body and academic staff.
UC San Diego reports minimal COVID infections among returning students
UC San Diego has reported that only eight of the 4,900 students who moved into campus housing in the five days to September 15th tested positive for COVID-19. That figure is roughly the equivalent to what the university reported during most of the 2020-21 academic year, when UCSD used a combination of testing and strict masking and social distancing rules to keep the numbers low. All students, faculty and staff in the University of California system, including UCSD, are required to be vaccinated in order to access campuses. “We were prepared for the infection rate to be as high as 1 percent to 1.5 percent,” said Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley, the director of UCSD’s Return to Learn program. “You hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Providing a welcoming classroom for students from Afghanistan
Assisting in international evacuations is beyond the usual scope of school district employees’ work. As education officials across the nation prepare for new arrivals from Afghanistan - with funding requested to resettle 65,000 people from the nation by the end of September - experts say having systems in place to welcome refugee students and continuously support them will be key. While newly arrived families are often first helped by resettlement agencies, schools then quickly pick up the work of helping families adjust to their new homes and feel supported going forward, said Cristina Burkhart, an English-learner program specialist at San Juan USD in California. That means tending to students’ academic needs, but also doing things like providing donated food, clothing, and wheelchairs for students. The work also extends to helping parents gain agency, including teaching them things like how to schedule doctors’ appointments and how the school grading system works. Fostering a welcoming environment for refugee students is something teachers can do in the classroom as well. At Travis Heights elementary school in Austin, Texas, Shayna Bright, a 2nd grade English-as-a-second-language teacher, keeps a journal where she jots down Pashto and Dari words her Afghan students teach her. So while they learn English, she learns more of their home languages. “That buy-in with the children has really made a big impact,” Bright said. “They see that I care not just about their education, but about them and their culture.”
----- OTHER -----
School bus fleets report success in push for propane
As people and companies across the country are looking at ways to lower their carbon footprint, coupled with the federal government pushing for lower emissions, the school bus industry is quickly adopting alternative fuels including propane in this new environment. The move to alternative fuels like propane - which has a carbon intensity of 19%, five times better than diesel and gasoline - brings many benefits for fleets, including reduced maintenance, increased cost savings, and renewability. In Indiana, Carmel Clay Schools (CCS) started running propane buses in 2014, with 30 Blue Bird buses running currently. “We have been purchasing new propane buses when older diesel buses were due for trade,” explains Ron Farrand Jr., recently retired director of facilities and transportation at CCS. “These buses have been focused on our special-needs student transportation in response to a student group that may have compromised health issues. The use of propane-powered buses reduces emissions in proximity to student loading areas.” Jarrod Adams, chief operations officer for Washington County Schools in Tennessee, said the district is seeing fuel costs about equal to diesel, with diesel at $2.56 a gallon and propane at $1.89 a gallon — or 36 cents per mile for diesel and 45 cents per mile for propane, although factoring in maintenance brings diesel to around 70 cents per mile and propane to around 47 cents per mile.
I found this shirt at the thrift store last weekend. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. - Ray
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
Leann.Blaisdell@horacemann.
Click here to schedule an appointment
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