ABCFT YOUnionews for October 22, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team met with the full district team on Monday and presented our initial proposal. The school board was presented with our proposal during the closed session portion of Tuesday night’s board meeting. We are now awaiting a district response. We will update the process as new information becomes available.
Thanks again to those members who participate in our board meetings. The board members do take note of our presence and it is crucial that the community literally sees us and hears our concerns firsthand.
The executive board will be meeting today and a contingent from ABCFT will be meeting with the district cabinet next week. In lieu of our traditional PAL meeting this year, we will work in this smaller group setting to reaffirm the structure of our partnership. We want to take advantage of this opportunity but we also look forward to returning in person to our larger-scale gatherings like the PAL retreat and the Employee Recognition Dinner. Hopefully, all of this time off will allow some of the emcees to improve the quality of their entertainment!
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - SCHOOL BOARD REPORT By Ray Gaer
You can find a recording of this weeks school board meeting here
This Tuesday was the second school board meeting for this month and it had double the drama and lasted twice as long by almost going to midnight. If you read our last ABCUSD School Board meeting report you are aware of the two ABC school board members who attended a local political meeting that had anti-public education topics as part of their agenda. Hopefully, you were able to catch up with the newspaper articles that were circulating in the community prior to this week’s school board meeting. One thing for sure, the public and ABC employees are extremely disappointed in the actions and words of board members Soo Yoo and Dr. Michael Eugenio but it was unknown how the public would respond.
The ABCFT report I delivered was a summary of the conversations I have had with members over the past month and participants of this Tuesday’s YOUnion Chat. I emphasized our extreme disappointment of the divisiveness of having two board members attend such a controversial event on top of delivering unacceptable comments. I also focused on the voting records of Yoo and Eugenio because I think it is important to illustrate intentions and to identify if there are patterns of behavior that are unbecoming of public school board members. I need to express the outrage that ABCFT members and myself have felt but I also understand that the final decisions and justice will eventually be delivered in the voting booths. If you would like to read my report you can read it here. If you would like to watch my comments click here.
After my ABCFT report, there were then over two hours of public comments from various community members either in support of board members or in outrage of board members. However, it did seem that the community overall was disappointed in the actions but there were more calls for cultural sensitivity training for the board members than there were for resignations.
For ABCFT, I believe that there was progress. Much later in the meeting, I was able to quickly meet with school board member Dr. Eugenio during a break in the meeting. I think it is significant that ABCFT has more discussions with Dr. Eugenio so that he will have a better understanding of the challenges for teachers and nurses that are ongoing for our members. One of my jobs as president is to make sure that we have ongoing relationships with our ABC board members but during this pandemic, it has been much more difficult to truly engage with them. For the newer board members of Beach and Eugenio, there has been little or no time to engage them in person due to the challenges and restrictions of the pandemic. I may not agree with Dr. Eugenio, but as president, I need to find common ground with all board members so that they remain true to their mission of supporting students, parents, and the members of the ABC Federation of Teachers. As for Soo Yoo, ABCFT will continue to work with her on issues that impact our classrooms. She has always been supportive of ABC teachers and it was a major blunder of judgment on her part to even attend the critical race theory meeting but it was even a bigger blunder to say things that hurt and demeaned others.
Time will tell if both of these board members will survive the next election cycle. The ABC voting committee will need to look long and hard at voting records, words that are said, and actions taken to ascertain who will ultimately ensure that their children will have a great education in ABC in a district where the school board members treat every constitute and student with dignity and respect.
Ultimately, the work of the board is to support the stakeholders, and later that night an action item with a price tag of 23 million dollars was put before the board. This action item was the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Expenditure Plan and it is critically important for providing mental health supports, class size reductions, after-school support services, and a number of other supports for students, parents, and teachers. The irony is that I was the only speaker of this action item and this was an incredibly important expenditure plan for the community’s sons and daughters. It’s a weird world but we will continue to keep you informed about the latest school board activities throughout the school year.
Congratulations to those teachers who completed the Teacher Induction Program in ABC! Thank you for your efforts and service and we wish you all a long and rewarding career at ABC.
MEMBER BENEFITS - Wellness Wednesday Archive
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. Last year, ABCFT offered Wellness Wednesdays members had an opportunity to virtually participate in Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga. These weekly sessions gave members a chance to practice self-care. Even if you were not able to attend these wonderful restorative practices you can still access the archive by using the link below.
Click here to view the recording of the Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga for the weekly archives
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.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
National Arts and Humanities Month
In 2016, President Obama explained that, "In many ways, the arts and humanities reflect our national soul. They are central to who we are as Americans -- as dreamers and storytellers, creators and visionaries,” and declared October to be National Arts and Humanities Month. Use these free preK-12 arts and humanities lesson plans and resources to support and inspire student learning and community participation across the nation.
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.
Click Here For This Month’s Full Report
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with the membership is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and wellbeing of ABCFT members. This weekly report aims to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Together we make the YOUnion.
This week, we had our monthly YOUnion Chat to catch up and discuss some of the hot topics in ABC. We are committed to continuing these important chats indefinitely because they add to the ongoing dialogue about what is currently happening around the district, at the school board meetings, and how negotiations are going so far. Thank you to those who attended, your guidance, support, and important questions are helpful in guiding the leadership of ABCFT.
Speaking of negotiations, this Monday was our first meeting to discuss a number of compensation issues and I think that the stage is set for us to come to some kind of agreement in the next couple of months. Furthermore, ABCFT signed an MOU for the start of the school year in addition to the testing language to ensure our members have choices and the required safety measures in place in our schools and classrooms. We will keep you posted as things progress and next week we will have more information about the MOU that was signed this week for working conditions and testing.
ABCFT Executive Board is out today in our annual retreat where we are discussing the major changes that have taken place in ABC over the last year and how the ABC Federation of Teachers will continue to evolve to meet the needs of its members.
This week, I’m a little pressed for time so I’ll keep this one short. Have a good Friday and watch a TV show that someone mentioned….that’s my plan this weekend. My family just finished Gilmore Girls and it was good (team Luke here) so I’m looking forward to something Octoberish. My teenagers will continue to dictate what I watch hehe.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
You may be eligible for public service loan forgiveness under new rules
After years of pressure and lawsuits from AFT and other advocates, the Department of Education recently announced sweeping changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program that will make it easier to qualify and easier to achieve forgiveness.
For a limited time only through October 31, 2022, the Department of Education is offering a Limited PSLF waiver to count previous payments that were previously ineligible because of loan types or repayment plans. This will help thousands of borrowers who were denied forgiveness in the past and could now be eligible to have their entire loan balance wiped away.
For more information to determine whether you can access the benefit, see this resource page from the AFT and Summer. Summer is a members-only benefit offered by AFT.
According to the AFT, more information will continue to be announced in the coming weeks and months, including changes to streamline the application process. The long-term structural proposals will take longer to be approved and implemented, and will probably undergo changes in the rule-making process. The good news is that things are moving in the right direction to make student loan forgiveness easier and more accessible to borrowers.
The CFT Organizing Department has facilitated many student debt clinics for hundreds of our members over the last few years, resulting in many people getting the help and support they needed to get on the right path to PSLF. Through those clinics, we also identified several California members who worked with AFT on the advocacy and political work resulting in the overhaul of PSLF. They participated in a critical lawsuit against Navient (resulting in the company no longer servicing student loans due to their predatory practices), visited elected, talked with reporters, and much more. This is a huge victory and CFT members helped make it happen!
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT President Randi Weingarten Celebrates Life and Legacy of Colin Powell
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the death of Colin Powell, former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“Colin Powell is an American hero, patriot and success story: The child of Jamaican immigrants and a graduate of New York City public schools, he went on to serve with honor and integrity as a soldier, a diplomat, a politician and a civic leader. His long career was marked by optimism, wisdom and careful, methodical thinking; beyond his storied professional service, Powell was a generous and enthusiastic role model for young people. As the founding chair of America’s Promise Alliance, he grew one of the largest networks in the United States focused on youth well-being, advocating that our country’s young people were an urgent national priority.
“He left an indelible mark on our nation, and our hearts go out to Alma, his children, the rest of his family, and all his colleagues and friends. May his memory forever be a blessing.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
California districts anticipate major hits to their 2022-23 budgets
Despite this year’s return to in-person learning, districts throughout California are seeing major declines in both enrollment and average daily attendance and fear the reductions could result in significant funding cuts next school year. Without state intervention, many districts face substantial cuts in state funding and could be forced to make significant budget cuts in the 2022-23 school year due to a fall in enrollment and attendance to which funding is tied. Districts’ baseline funding depends on the number of students enrolled, minus the daily average number of absent students. Statewide, enrollment in K-12 public schools in California fell by almost 3%, or 160,000 students, in 2020-21, according to annual data released in April by the California Department of Education. On October 6th, districts filed their “census day enrollment” figures, which is the enrollment figure used in the state funding formula. Those figures likely won’t be made public until early next year. West Contra Costa USD, a district of about 26,000 students serving Richmond and surrounding areas, anticipates a loss of around $30m in the 2022-23 school year barring no change in the funding formula, said Tony Wold, the district’s associate superintendent of business services. He recommends that average daily attendance be taken out of the equation for districts’ baseline state funding. The clock is ticking for legislative action on any change to the district funding formula. Districts will begin filing their interim budget reports on November 15th and April 18th, and they will adopt their budgets by June 30th. Those reports must reflect the funding formulas currently in place. If the budget recommendation reflects a $30mshortfall by March 15th, layoff notices will have to be sent out.
----- NEGOTIATION UPDATES -----
Pleasanton teacher union green-lights strike action
More than 98% of members of the Pleasanton USD teachers union voted this month to authorize a strike after nearly two years of bargaining. The union argued that its teachers are among the county's lowest-paid and that the district refuses "to invest in students by prioritizing teaching and learning in their budget," according to its statement. The district has pushed to increase high school teachers' work time without additional compensation and remove a 30-minute work-free lunch for teachers — even though it has benefited from a 5% funding increase amid "the largest funding increase to public education in a generation," according to the union.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Early figures suggest that school disenrollment is rife
With the release of new data in recent months, a clearer picture is emerging of how K-12 enrollment has responded to the pandemic. Researchers at Stanford have found that roughly one-quarter of the decrease in students is directly attributable to the move to all-virtual instruction, and that the trend mostly affected the very youngest students. And early indicators from states and school districts suggest that total enrollment won’t bounce back to the pre-COVID status quo this year. According to the study kindergarten enrollment fell by 3%-4% in districts that opted for all-virtual instruction last fall. Elementary school enrollment fell by about 1%, while middle and high school enrollment was mostly unchanged. In all, researchers found that offering all-remote classes led to an enrollment drop of 1.1 percentage points, or roughly 300,000 students. Notably, the scale of disenrollment resulting from all-remote school was greater in demographically identifiable areas, such as rural districts and those serving more Hispanic students.
U.S. senators line up major boost in school funding
Federal spending for disadvantaged students would double and support for special education programs would also increase significantly in a new U.S. Senate appropriations bill proposed for fiscal 2022. The bill, unveiled by Senate Democrats on Monday, would increase total discretionary aid to the Education Department to $98.4bn, a $24.9bn increase from the current fiscal year. It also boosts spending on school-based mental health professionals, rural education, and improving states’ academic assessments. Among its provisions, Title I aid for disadvantaged students would rise to $33.1bn, an increase of $16.6bn; IDEA grants to states would rise to $15.5bn, an increase of about $2.6bn; $820m would be provided to boost the number of mental-health professionals in schools; and state grants to improve the quality of their academic assessments would get $58.8m, an increase of $50m. "Our focus needs to be on ensuring our country can come back better from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and head of the subcommittee that deals with annual education spending, in a statement announcing the legislation.
California accounts for 12% of U.S. students - but just 1% of COVID school closures
Of the 2,321 nationwide school closures since August because of COVID-19, about 1% have been in California, even though the state accounts for 12% of the nation’s K-12 students, according to data from Burbio, a technology company that monitors outbreaks. California has mandated that all schoolchildren must eventually get COVID-19 vaccines, the first and only state to do so. Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of California’s Board of Education, said she saw vaccines as the next stage of the state’s pandemic response.
Biden signs order to improve education for Black U.S. students
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order establishing two commissions within the Department of Education to improve education for Black students. One of the panels has been assigned to raise awareness around challenges for Black students and increase Black children's access to high-quality early childhood programs, among other projects, while the other will make recommendations to the president about educational equity and economic opportunity for the Black community. School districts with high concentrations of Black students are much more likely to be underfunded than districts where a majority of students are white, and face much wider funding gaps, with an average deficit of more than $5,000 per student, the White House said. It added that 26% of Black Americans aged 25 and above have attained a bachelor's degree, while the national average is 36%.
----- STATE NEWS -----
California could lose millions in federal K-12 funding
California might have to forfeit tens of millions of dollars in pandemic relief money meant for schools if the department in charge of distributing funds does not strengthen its oversight of spending, a state auditor says. The audit, released Tuesday, found that California might have to return up to $160 million in federal aid if the state’s Department of Education, referred to as “Education” by the auditor, continues to disburse and monitor federal funds used by K-12 schools the way it is doing it now. About one in five local school districts that received coronavirus relief money through two federal funds had spent 20% or less of their initial money by the end of June, the auditor found. “Education has not ensured that (school districts) consistently submit required quarterly reports that include the amounts they have spent on various allowable categories. Without these reports, Education lacks the data it needs to administer the funds and to adequately oversee how (school districts) are using the funds to mitigate the effects of the pandemic,” Elaine Howle, California’s state auditor, wrote in a letter attached to the findings. Some school districts told auditors that they were using money from other sources with earlier deadlines and that delays in returning to in-person learning also prevented the use of these funds, the auditor wrote in the report released Tuesday. The state auditor said that California’s education department needed more supervision over how school districts report spending and that the department is not monitoring enough of the recipients.
California Parents Protest Student COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The AP (10/18, Burns) reports, “More than a thousand people crowded the front steps of the California Capitol on Monday to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to require all children to get the coronavirus vaccine to attend public and private schools.” The mandate will not “take effect until the school term that starts after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval for the [COVID-19] vaccine.” Many of the parents attending the Sacramento rally “had pulled their children out of school to attend the rally, hoping the absences send a message to state officials.”
The Sacramento (CA) Bee (10/18, Morrar) reports Amber Faddis and Tess Van Dusen, both Placer County mothers, organized the Sacramento rally through Facebook. The response on social media, “which encouraged children to stay home from school, resonated with thousands of parents who liked and shared the campaign.” Speakers at the rally “called on attendees to reach out to their local school districts to oppose the mandate. But many school boards have already announced their plans to comply.” The California School Boards Association “announced it welcomed the state’s decision to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of already existing vaccine requirements in the state.”
The San Francisco Chronicle (10/18, By) reports Faddis “said her two children, ages 10 and 2, were up to date on their other required immunizations and she did not consider herself anti-vaccine, but she was concerned about the comparatively speedy development and approval of the COVID-19 shot, without time yet to observe long-term effects.” Even though multiple clinical trials has shown the vaccine to be safe and effective, Faddis asserted, “They were made so quickly, we just don’t know.”
The Los Angeles Times (10/18, Gomez) reports the student vaccination mandate “has large support among parents and educators. United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents more than 30,000 teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians, has endorsed a mandate for employees and students.” Nery Paiz, head of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, the administrators union, “spoke proudly of a compliance rate of 99.4% among his 3,000 members.” EdSource (10/18) reports it is unclear how many students and school staff participated in Monday’s “walkout,” but the “percentage of students not showing up for school was highest in rural, more conservative areas of the state.”
----- DISTRICTS -----
97% of LA teachers, administrators meet vaccination deadline
About 97% of Los Angeles USD teachers and 97% of administrators met the school district’s Friday deadline to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a level of compliance that officials hoped would result in minimal disruption to classroom teaching in the sprawling district, according to information released Friday by officials. The vaccine requirement applies to all LAUSD employees as well as parent volunteers and district contractors who work on campus. Employees of district-authorized charter schools also must comply. Officials would not disclose information about how many of the remaining 3% of teachers union members or other school employees have received vaccine exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Anyone without at least one vaccine dose will be prohibited from campuses from today, potentially disrupting the continuity of classroom education in the nation’s second-largest school system.
Carroll ISD Superintendent Apologizes For Official’s Holocaust Remarks
In continuing coverage, The New York Times (10/15, Diaz) reported Carroll ISD Superintendent Lane Ledbetter apologized Thursday “after one of his top officials advised teachers that, if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should give students access to a book from an ‘opposing’ perspective.” Ledbetter told Southlake, Texas families in a statement that the comments were “in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history.” He added, “We recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust.”
The AP (10/15) reported many Republicans in Texas and throughout the country have “this year moved to regulate what can be taught about race-related ideas in public schools and colleges amid the nation’s racial reckoning after last year’s police killing of George Floyd.” Karen Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for Carroll ISD, said in a written statement to NBC News that the district is trying to help teachers comply with a new state law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing controversial issues. Fitzgerald said teachers who are unsure about a specific book “should visit with their campus principal, campus team and curriculum coordinators about appropriate next steps.”
An anonymous Carroll ISD teacher told CNN (10/16, Elassar), “It’s almost like a joke, what would an opposing view of the Holocaust be?” The teacher added, “We’re not being asked to have opposing views on colonization, we’re not being asked to have opposing views on Christopher Columbus Day or Thanksgiving. We’re being asked to have opposing views on only certain things and that’s where the problem lies, really.” When asked what subjects teachers are being asked to have opposing views on, the teacher said, “Civil Rights Movement, Holocaust, the Civil War, slavery, women’s rights.”
The Washington Post (10/15) reported Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, said about the incident, “We’re saddened to hear it, but we’re not terribly surprised.” Robison added that the teachers union anticipated that the new law would be misinterpreted by school officials. He said, “There is enough vagueness and ambiguity in that law that some educators are overreacting to it, as we feared that they would.” Meanwhile, state Sen. José Menéndez (D) “wrote a letter to the Texas Education Agency urging a review of the new law following the incident at Carroll ISD.”
NPR (10/15, Pruitt-Young) reports state Sen. Kelly Hancock (R) “argued that Southlake’s actions had nothing to do with the bill.” He wrote on Twitter, “School administrators should know the difference between factual historical events and fiction. Southlake just got it wrong. No legislation is suggesting the action this administrator is promoting.” In contrast, state Sen. Beverly Powell (D) tweeted, “Already, we are seeing the impact of a vague and unnecessary bill that leaves teachers and administrators confused and afraid to teach the history of the Holocaust or the Civil War without teaching ‘both sides.’ “
----- CLASSROOM -----
Higher student morale linked to in-person instruction
Student morale is up, especially in schools that have held more in-person learning, according to the perceptions of educators in the EdWeek Research Center’s latest monthly survey focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on K-12 education. Educator perceptions of student morale ticked upward over the summer, tying an all-time high since the EdWeek Research Center first started tracking this metric in March 2020. Fifty-eight percent of teachers and district leaders still say student morale today is lower than it was pre-pandemic. In April, 67% of district leaders and teachers perceived that student morale was worse than it was prior to the pandemic. Perceptions of student morale are more positive among teachers, principals, and district leaders in districts that provided more in-person instruction last school year. In districts that spent most of 2020-21 doing in-person instruction, 49% of teachers, principals, and district leaders said that student morale was lower than pre-pandemic. That perception was worse (63%) among teachers and administrators in districts where students spent most of last school year learning from home
----- VACCINE UPDATES -----
White House Outlines Plans To Administer COVID-19 Vaccines To Children Aged Five To 11
The AP (10/20, Miller, Tanner) reports, “Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for elementary school youngsters in a matter of weeks.”
Bloomberg (10/20, Wingrove, Baumann) explains that on Wednesday, “President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 response team held a news briefing Wednesday to detail their plan for vaccinating younger children, a long-awaited but logistically complex milestone, the success of which could hinge on efforts to combat parental hesitancy. Kids’ shots are smaller doses and will be largely administered by doctors’ offices, requiring a tailored distribution plan.” The Administration “will begin shipping vaccines for kids age 5 to 11 as soon as next week, and shots could start going into arms the week after.”
The New York Times (10/20, A1, Rogers) reports federal health “officials, anticipating that regulators will make the vaccines available to 5- to 11-year-olds in the coming weeks, laid out plans on Wednesday to ensure that some 25,000 pediatric or primary care offices, thousands of pharmacies, and hundreds of school and rural health clinics will be ready to administer shots if the vaccine receives federal authorization.” The Washington Post (10/20, Sun, Sellers, Wang) says the “operation is slated to begin as soon as federal health officials sign off on a reduced dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which the Biden administration anticipates could come as soon as the first week of November.”
Chalkbeat (10/20) reports that polls indicate “a significant share of parents are hesitant to vaccinate their child. A September poll found that only a third of parents of children ages 5-11 said they would vaccinate their child right after the shot is approved. Another third said they would ‘wait and see,’ and the final third said they would either not vaccinate their child or only do so if required.” Most parents “oppose school vaccine requirements, but many believe that schools should encourage vaccination.”
Teachers and students stage walkout in protest of vaccine mandates
Thousands of parents, students and teachers walked out of school and onto the California State Capitol lawn in Sacramento, all in protest of the state vaccine mandate. A crowd of about 2,000 from all across the state converged on the capitol Monday afternoon. Localized protests were also held, including in at Redlands USD's headquarters and in San Bernardino USD. Newport-Mesa USD parent Lindsay Murad, who participated in a rally, said: “As a parent, I want to continue to have the right to decide what’s in the best interest of my children, for their health. I don’t see the necessity of this vaccine as a part of their health, so I want to continue to advocate for choice for myself and for other families." She added: “We’re not opposed to the vaccine. I’m very thankful that there’s an opportunity for people to take it if they want. I just want to continue to have the choice to make my own informed decisions of whether or not it’s the best for myself and for my children, and to maintain that for everybody else as well.”
CBS Sacramento Los Angeles Times Redlands Daily Facts The Tribune
----- FINANCE -----
Schools have 'once-in-a-generation' chance to improve infrastructure
In an opinion piece for The Hill on school infrastructure, Joseph Allen, DSc, MPH, is associate professor and director of the healthy buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Céline R. Gounder, MD, ScM, is an internist, infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at the N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital, suggest that Congress should have included specific guidance and standards for school districts to follow when upgrading buildings and facilities. They also cite a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers that found 53% of public schools need to update or replace building systems; 41% report problems with their HVAC; and 13,000 schools haven’t even assessed their facilities in the past 10 years.
----- LEGAL -----
States ask Biden, Garland to stop 'criminalizing' speech at school board meetings
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, along with 16 other state attorneys general, penned a letter to President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking them to cease what they describe as efforts to intimidate parents into silence at school board meetings. A memorandum issued by Garland, which was released shortly after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to Biden claiming some clashes between school boards and parents may amount to "domestic terrorism," calls for the FBI to take the lead on a task force to address threats against school officials, including creating a centralized way to report such threats. The 17 chief law enforcement officers from each state argued that it is "based upon a flawed premise" and violates "First Amendment rights of parents to address school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff on educational matters by seeking to criminalize lawful dissent and intimidate parents into silence."
LAUSD faces new student vaccination lawsuit
Los Angeles USD is facing another lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students. Along with interim Superintendent Megan Reilly and all seven school board members, the district is being sued by the California chapter of the Children’s Health Defense, a group founded by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids. Attorneys for CHD-CA and P.E.R.K. argued in the petition that LAUSD acted beyond its authority by requiring students 12 and over to receive a vaccine that hasn’t been mandated by the state as a condition for attending school in person. The attorneys for the petitioners argued that by law, only the state’s public health department can add a new vaccine to a list of 10 that kids must receive, and that even if LAUSD had the authority, it failed to follow the proper steps outlined under the California Administrative Procedure Act to add the vaccine to the state’s childhood immunization schedule before requiring students to get their shots.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Many Teachers Thinking Of Quitting Amid Pandemic-Era Difficulties
In a 5,500-word piece, The Washington Post (10/18) reports that whoever “said ‘those who can’t do, teach’ obviously never experienced the modern educational system, where teachers do everything.” They’re “more than the people who give math and science lessons: They might find themselves makeshift social workers to troubled students, surrogate parents checking if children eat, security guards breaking up fights and funders of the most basic of classroom supplies from their own shallow pockets.” Their specific reasons “for resigning vary,” as some fear “for their health and that of their family” or they are juggling “work and parenting from the literal confines of their homes.” Whatever “their particular motivations, these former teachers were ready to move on.” While many of them “have been isolated from their peers over the past year and a half, they are now united by the bold act of walking away.”
Marin substitute teacher shortage fuels pay competition
Substitute teachers who are eligible to work in Marin schools are being wooed with higher pay and even waivers on state exams amid a steep shortage of stand-ins. The competition for substitutes is so great that numerous Marin school boards have voted to raise the daily pay rate by as much as $50. This month, trustees at the Tamalpais Union High School District and the Ross Valley School District voted raise the daily rate to $190, up from $130 to $150. Sausalito Marin City School District trustees have approved a pay boost from $140 to $165 per day as well. At least four Marin districts - Lagunitas, Novato Unified, San Rafael City Schools and Miller Creek - are already paying $200 per day. The Marin County Office of Education held a substitutes job fair Wednesday at its headquarters in San Rafael. The county hopes to help hire substitutes for both teachers and classified positions such paraprofessionals, teacher aides or schoolyard supervisors. Pay for the classified jobs ranges from $18 to $22 per hour.
----- CHILD DEVELOPMENT ----
Working families struggling to find child care
As Congress continues to debate a spending package that would expand child care and provide universal pre-K, parents across the U.S. are struggling to find ways to pay for the child care they now need. According to a new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 34% of families with young children are facing serious problems finding child care when adults need to work, while 44% of households with children under age 18 have been facing serious financial problems. That figure jumps to 63% for Black families and 59% for Latino households. Some 36% of adults in households with children said they experienced serious problems meeting both their work and family responsibilities in the past few months.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Schools trying 'test-to-stay' instead of quarantines
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with select school districts across the nation to evaluate the practice of "test-to-stay" measures, in a bid to avoid learning loss as a result of quarantines. While many health experts fear quarantines are still necessary in certain circumstances, the test-to-stay type of policy prioritizes testing as a way to monitor students who may have been exposed to Covid-19, allowing students to continue to attend classes if they test negative rather than quarantine. Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools in Georgia, tells CNN: "Three percent of our students who participate in test-to-stay test positive, which means we can keep 97% of them in class. Under a traditional quarantine program, the 97% of students who tested negative would still stay at home from school." Demetrus Liggins in Fayette County, Kentucky, says that out of the 402 Covid-19 tests that his school district conducted so far through its test-to-stay pilot program, only four tests yielded positive results. A study led by researchers at the Utah Department of Health estimates that a test-to-stay program implemented at 13 high schools in Utah collectively saved 109,752 days of in-person instruction for students who otherwise wouldn't have been kept in school.
Education Department Releases Guidance To Address Student Mental Health
CNN (10/19, Janfaza) reports the Education Department on Tuesday released a plan “to address rising mental health concerns among students in schools across the country.” CNN says the plan “lays out seven critical areas of difficulty educators and care providers may experience when it comes to addressing the mental health of young people and includes a corresponding seven-point list of recommendations aimed at helping schools’ and providers improve the emotional well-being of students and children.” The ED noted that while young people struggled with mental health prior to the pandemic, key data points from the last 18 months show “the need for urgent action.” The guidance include suggestions to “enhance mental health literacy and reduce stigma and other barriers to access,” “enhance workforce capacity,” and “use data for decision making to promote equitable implementation and outcomes.” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement, “Amid the pandemic, we know that our students have experienced so much. We can’t unlock students’ potential unless we also address the needs they bring with them to the classroom each day. As educators, it’s our responsibility to ensure that we are helping to provide students with a strong social and emotional foundation so that they also can excel academically.”
NY1-TV New York (10/19) reports “Tuesday’s recommendations build on the department’s previously published Return to School Roadmap, which also stressed the importance of focusing on student and teacher wellness as schools across the country returned to in-person learning this school year.” The ED says schools are authorized to use ARP ESSER funds to implement mental and social health programs.
ABC News (10/19, Deliso) reports the ED’s announcement came the same day as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association, sounded “the alarm over a ‘shocking’ rise in families seeking urgent mental health help for their children.” The medical associations pointed to CDC research “that found between March and October 2020, the proportion of mental health-related emergency department visits increased 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for children ages 12 to 17 when compared to 2019. There was also a 50.6% increase in suspected suicide attempt emergency department visits among girls ages 12 to 17 from Feb. 21 to March 20, 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, another CDC study found.”
White House details plan to address students' mental health
The Biden administration has released a plan to address rising mental health concerns among students in schools across the country. The announcement came as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association put out a statement warning of a "mental health state of emergency" for children and adolescents. Between March and October 2020, mental health emergency visits increased 24% for children aged 5-11, and 31% for kids aged 12-17. There was also a more than 50% spike in visits for suspected suicide attempts among girls ages 12 to 17 in early 2021, compared to the same period in 2019. The U.S. Department of Education's new proposals, titled Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health, sets out seven critical areas of difficulty educators and care providers may experience when it comes to addressing the mental health of young people and includes a corresponding seven-point list of recommendations aimed at helping schools' and providers improve the emotional well-being of students and children. It points to school districts and programs across the country -- in states such as New Jersey, California, Oregon and Vermont -- that have already implemented successful techniques for improving students mental health. Examples include a peer based initiative for college students in California, youth advisory councils funded by the state legislature in Oregon and a program to support students of military families started by the Military Child Education Coalition.
CNN U.S. Department of Education Education Week
-----NUTRITION -----
School food service departments face supply chain woes
Since the beginning of the current school year, schools across the U.S. have been missing breakfast and lunch items more frequently due to major supply chain disruptions that have left staff scrambling to replace items and change menus. To mitigate the effects of these issues, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in late September it would provide $1.5bn in assistance to schools for purchasing commodities to ensure students have access to healthy meals. The School Nutrition Association has described some of the solutions districts have found to overcome the worst of the disruptions, from streamlining menus to take advantage of food on hand, improving communications with vendors to identify any missing items and better identify what food shortages may be ahead, and even turning to local restaurants, suppliers and vendors to fill in gaps.
----- OTHER -----
Teachers of the Year honored at White House ceremony
Dr. Jill Biden hosted the 2020 and 2021 State and National Teachers of the Year at the White House on Monday, in a months-long delayed event to celebrate their talents and commitment to education. The Council of Chief State School Officers State honors Teachers of the Year in all 50 states, with one selected to be National Teacher of the Year, which means taking on a year-long advocacy role, speaking at events across the country to share wisdom and inspire others to join the profession. The 2020 winner was Tabatha Rosproy, a preschool teacher in Kansas who established an early childhood program inside a retirement community and nursing home, while Juliana Urtubey received the 2021 honor, who works as a special education teacher for elementary students in Las Vegas. "With all of my heart and on behalf of millions of American families, thank you for being the heroes we needed," Dr. Biden said. "Never, ever underestimate the power of what you do every 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
Leann.Blaisdell@horacemann.
Click here to schedule an appointment
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