ABCFT YOUnionews for December 17, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team has presented our most recent proposal to the district. We anticipate scheduling our next bargaining session after we return from winter break. Other significant dates on the calendar next month include the board meeting of January 18th and Governor Newsom releasing his preliminary budget for the following year.
I do have a few thoughts on the issue of banking minutes that I would like to share during this last negotiations update of the calendar year. I’m teaching A Christmas Carol in my classroom this week (full title for those English majors out there = A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.) and don’t want to be accused of being a Scrooge. It is the season of giving. ‘Tis better to give than to receive. I get it. But...we may want to consider the implications before a site votes to extend that altruistic concept to our contractual minutes.
Banking minutes is a tool that is available to members but I suggest that it be means tested for utility on a regular basis and not just considered a given of “how we do things around here” without careful examination. ABCFT supports site autonomy. If a staff has clearly identified goals that they feel banking minutes can best meet then the majority vote of that staff indicates that it is working well for them. But priorities can change and that should be reflected in the year to year discussion of precisely what a staff wants to achieve by banking minutes. How many minutes, for example? To accomplish what specifically? A staff may all be in agreement about one thing but grudgingly accepts other elements because they assume it all has to be part of a package deal. It does not have to be that way. A staff only has to vote for a model that meets their needs without anything extra added. Please remember that the default model is to simply work to the minutes in the contract. Let’s call that Plan A. If a variation is proposed by the administration that contains elements that a staff likes and deems necessary that’s ideal. Let’s call that Plan B. But let’s suppose that this Plan B also has minutes set aside that is not a staff priority. I would suggest that a site could then generate a Plan C that contains only the banked minutes they really need.
And the minutes do add up. Tanya Golden was thoughtful enough to crunch some hypothetical numbers using a model involving a member earning the district average salary. Banking two minutes a day would add 1.2 days of work a year and be equivalent to approximately $600.00 of potential salary. Banking five minutes a day works out to 3 extra days of work and approximately $1500.00 of potential salary. Banking ten minutes a day doubles these numbers, an additional six days working for free without an accompanying $3000.00 in potential salary earned.
Wow.
Perhaps “banking minutes” is too much of a euphemism? Should we more accurately call it “minutes we are choosing to work for free this year?” I know the negotiating team feels the justifiable pressure to make sure that members are adequately compensated for every minute of their hard work. If teachers vote to work for free that stands in contradiction to the oft stated goal of increasing our salaries that typically tops our surveys. It is challenging to argue with the district about the necessity of remaining competitive in terms of salary if we have members elected to give up the equivalent of up to a 3% raise by working additional days without compensation.
Have a safe and happy holiday break. One thing I am grateful for this season, yet again, is our union. Since I cannot count on three ghosts being summoned to help protect our working conditions I will continue to proudly stand in solidarity with my ABCFT brothers and sisters!
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - CFT COMMITTEES
A part of the structure within our state affiliate, CFT is standing committees. The fourteen member-driven committees examine educational issues that affect members across the state from early childhood to retirement. To learn more about the work of CFT committees, you can access this document, CFT Committee Priorities. Committee members are nominated by the local and serve for a two year term. Committee members meet virtually and in-person 3-4 times a year on Saturdays to lend their expertise and voice which guides CFT policy and procedures. ABCFT members are an integral part of the committees. Thank you to the eight ABCFT members who serve on these formidable committees. Below are some of the updates from their December meeting.
Adult Education - Diane Jhun:
The Adult Education Committee discussed a shortage of teachers, especially replacing the retirees. We also discussed increasing the student enrollment by providing training for Green Jobs as one of the Career Pathways. Our committee received an Adult Education Legislative update; lobbying for AB388 continues.
Career Technical Education - Joe Randeen:
The CTE Committee continued discussion regarding parity in pay and tenure for CTE teachers K-12. We identified a bill, AB 388, which would REQUIRE tenure for CTE employed longer than 3 years. There is some confusing language so we reached out for clarification. The bill is currently being held on the suspense file of the senate appropriations committee. We reached out to other committees for assistance bringing this bill to the floor. In addition, we are addressing hiring hurdles for community colleges where they are requiring CTE teachers to have college degrees in their area of expertise, despite the fact that a job in these areas only requires a certificate. There is concern regarding shortage of CTE teachers K-14 and the committee is looking at solutions to address this issue.
Early Childhood Education - Patty Alcantar:
The Early Childhood committee mainly discussed Universal Transitional Kindergarten and the negative effects it will have on existing early childhood programs. Across the state early childhood programs have been greatly affected by declining enrollment, so losing 4 year olds to Universal Transitional Kindergarten will dramatically decrease the number of children who currently attend early childhood programs. Declining enrollment will potentially cause programs to close and staff to lose their jobs. We also discussed changing existing programs to serve 2 and 3 year olds; this is much easier said than done. A change would require a new learning environment that is age appropriate, a new curriculum, and most early childhood teachers would need to go back to school. Currently, some agencies are working on creating education pathways for early childhood educators to become credentialed teachers so they can transition into TK teaching positions. Rollout of Universal TK will begin in the 2222-2023 school year.
English Language Learners - Marivel Aguirre:
The English Language Learner Committee, composed of representatives from West Valley, UESF, and SVFT, has been discussing the impact online learning has had on students, but specifically English Learners from K-12 grade and community college. We identified the lack of resources like computers, tablets, and hotspots, plus information in multiple languages for parents to be able to support their students as key contributors to the challenges experienced by this community. Additionally, North and Central California have noticed a larger increase in new English Language Learners from Central and South American than previous years. They wondered if our district noticed this trend? Lastly, we are planning to attend CABE, California Association for Bilingual Education, during the spring to inform us about improving our parent engagement, instructional strategies to help with the ELPAC, and deepen our understanding of the California Learner Roadmap (Prop 58).
Labor and Climate Justice Education - David Hind:
The Labor and Climate Justice Education spent the first part of the meeting discussing Climate Justice issues and the last part discussing Labor issues. (Admittedly, there is a great deal of overlap between the two issues.
In the climate justice portion of the meeting, we discussed potential “Just Transition” legislation. “Just Transition” refers to a move to a more climate-friendly economy and society. The committee is part of a coalition of other groups advocating for this move, and we heard from members working with other organizations. In addition, we received an update from members of the CFT Divestment Group. Finally, we agreed to revisit the idea of writing a Greening the CFT Resolution for the next convention. We had been working on one, but it was tabled after the pandemic began.
In the labor portion of the meeting, we went over various projects designed to help educate students about the role of and importance of labor. We viewed a video on May Day and discussed ways we might use this video in classes.
PreK-12 Education Issues - Connie Nam:
Here is a brief overview of our work:
Reforming school funding: the current ADA system in California should not be continued. We would like to pursue policies that guarantee minimum funding based on expected attendance and not daily attendance. There are states that fund based on the average daily attendance beginning the school year. This is our goal.
Reforming Standardized Testing: our students are facing serious testing fatigue as districts pile on test after test in an effort to improve standardized test scores. Standardized testing tends to perpetuate negativity without truly helping to improve educational outcomes.
Hire and retain classified and certified employees: employee shortages have become endemic throughout the state. We need policies enacted to hire and retain employees.
Independent Study Law I
mpact: The law enacted by the state is having quite a few unintended consequences, often negatively impacting students. We need to work to change and future iteration of IS laws.
Retirement Policy - Rhonda McNutt:
Our committee discussed the Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) survey which looks at what districts offer after an employee retires as well as the funding for CalSTRS.
Specifically, we are supporting recommending to the Legislature to amend statute to: (1) allow the state’s contribution rate to increase by more than is currently allowed, (2) determine a fixed proportional division of Unfunded Actuarial Obligation (UAO) between the state and employers, and (3) enable CalSTRS to develop a standard amortization policy to address future UAO.
MEMBER BENEFITS - Wellness for Winter Break
Prioritize your well-being this winter break by taking time to move your body, relieve some stress and calm your mind with resources from Share My Lesson, Kaiser Permanente and ABCFT.
Wellness Wednesdays Archive from ABCFT
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.
Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga 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.
Health and Wellness Sessions from Share My Lesson
These free, on-demand health and wellness sessions as well as a series of health and wellness sessions are available to members on Share My Lesson which can be found in the Health and Wellness Community section of their vast website.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
December is Universal Human Rights Month
Human Rights Resources
The historical struggle for human rights is something that affects us, our children and future generations as we fight for equity and inclusion in an increasingly torn society. It can also be difficult to speak with students about sensitive subjects, but at Share My Lesson we provide expertly curated lesson plans, resources, and activities that define these rights, develop a global awareness, and teach how we can all make a difference when we act together to improve the lives of citizens, immigrants and refugees alike.
With resources from organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers, Makematic, Facing History and Ourselves, ADL and the Global Oneness Project, you can feel comfortable tackling these difficult conversations with your students.
Additional Human Rights Resources
Get additional resources for June's World Refugee Awareness Month, World Refugee Day from Re-imagining Migration. Be sure to also check out the Back to School collection.
ABCUSD Education Foundation - Mini-Grants Due Today
Earlier this week teachers in ABC were notified via email that The ABC Education Foundation annual Mini-Grant Program application are now open. There are a new set of dates and deadlines but will be able to provide funding by mid-January 2022 as we have in the past. Please refer to the email to find the documents which include: official announcement, calendar/timeline, and applications (general and special programs) for more information. The ABC Education Foundation and our generous sponsors and donors who have contributed to this program are excited to see all of the wonderful programs you are submitting for funding! While this is a competitive grant process, the ABC Foundation seeks to fund as many projects as possible to support our students. Mini-Grant submission deadline is December 17, 2021, by 4:00 p.m.
If you have any questions regarding the 2021-22 ABC Education Foundation Mini-Grant Program, please contact Sasha Leonardo at sasha.leonardo@abcusd.us or 562-926-5566 X 21197.
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 roll out 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.
I hope that you had a decent week and you’re going to be packing soon to head on out for Winter Break. Ruben’s article today does an excellent job of telling you where we are for negotiations and that most likely we will be done in January. Ruben’s comments about the impact of banking minutes are something that we discussed earlier this month with the site representatives but it is also a situation we want to make sure all teachers understand. Make those bell schedules work for you and your colleagues.
I do want to say thank you to the Bridges teachers Marla Everage and Ignacio Nunez Avalos for inviting Tanya and me to stop by to learn more about their program at Cabrillo Lane. We appreciate any time that teachers can spare to talk with us about your classroom successes and challenges. Every conversation we have with members is informative but learning about the complexity of the Bridges teaching positions and the challenges they overcome delivering rigorous academic curriculum to emotionally disturbed students was inspiring. ABCFT has future plans to visit with all of the Bridges program teachers over the month of January and February to learn more about how we can support these teachers who may have unique issues that will be needed to be addressed in collaboration with the district or at the negotiating table in the form of protective contract language. If you’re a Bridges teacher be on the lookout for an email from ABCFT about visiting your school site.
This week, I really am going to keep this short. Say goodbye to 2021. Put those grading pens and lesson plan pencils away for a couple of weeks. It will be here when we get back so forget about it for now. I hope that you enjoy your time with family and friends over the holidays. Thanks as always for all you do throughout the year. Now is your time to relax.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT Launches National Taskforce on Teacher and School Staff Shortages
As Great Exhaustion sets in, teacher union moves to find shortage solutions amid two years of COVID turmoil
WASHINGTON—The American Federation of Teachers convened a new national taskforce Thursday to tackle widespread educator and support staff shortages imperiling the future of public schools and public education. AFT President Randi Weingarten will attend the group’s inaugural meeting, along with more than 20 AFT state and local leaders drawn from local affiliates covering key AFT constituencies around the country.
The AFT Teacher and School Staff Shortage Task Force will examine causes and propose solutions for districts experiencing extreme shortages leading to immense pressure on educators and families that could disrupt recovery from the pandemic. Adding to the chaos, schools have been roiled for months by poisonous national political debates that have turned them into cultural battlefields.
“Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions,” said Weingarten. “Even before COVID, nurses, guidance counselors, teachers, support staff and bus drivers were facing daunting workloads and a lack of respect. And layoffs at the start of the pandemic, the virus’ malaise, political brawling over the teaching of honest history, and the challenge of this school year have made the current situation even worse.”
Many states are suffering: The Virginia Department of Education reported that the number of unfilled teaching positions across Virginia has increased by nearly 62 percent, with school districts reporting nearly 5,000 vacancies. Overall, state and local education jobs are down by more than half a million since the onset of the pandemic in February 2020. “The damaging part is this is a spiral: A lack of support makes the job harder, which in turn leads to more shortages,” added Weingarten. “Teachers, bus drivers, food service workers, nurses and so many other educators have been heroes during the pandemic, going above and beyond to help their kids, checking in on them day and night while paying for supplies out of their own pockets. The best way to respect and support them is to address the root causes of their stress, including low wages, poor working conditions and divisive political fights.”
The task force will bring together union leaders representing teachers and paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, rank-and-file members, as well as the nation’s top education researchers to review frontline education professions to make recommendations that enhance well-being, improve working conditions, and advance the careers of those who choose this heroic work.
Taskforce co-Chair Carl Williams, president of the Lawndale Federation of Classified Employees and the CFT Council of Classified Employees, said that the shortages have hit support staff especially hard. “Paraprofessionals, custodians and bus drivers are the fabric that holds schools together; and when you see the shortages we’ve seen around the country, that bond and those schools start to fray. Kids rely on their support staff each and every day, but when we’re under-resourced, their learning suffers, adding to the stress of an already stressful job made even more difficult by COVID.”
“Every year, thousands of New York City teachers walk out the door, many of them taking their talents and expertise to other districts and other professions,” said co-Chair Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers. “Developing creative ways to recruit the best candidates, and then keeping these teachers and other personnel in our schools, must be a priority for superintendents and school boards.”
In addition to virtual and in-person meetings of the task force members, the AFT will hold listening sessions with rank-and-file members around the country. The work of the task force begins this month and will conclude with a report released at the AFT’s biennial convention, to be held in Boston in July 2022.
The panel members are:
1. Nick Archuleta—North Dakota United
2. Ellen Bernstein—Albuquerque Teachers Federation
3. Kesler Camese-Jones—Jefferson Federation of Teachers
4. Zeph Capo—Texas AFT
5. Nicole Capsello—Syracuse Teachers Association
6. Kathy Chavez—AFT New Mexico
7. Melissa Cropper—Ohio Federation of Teachers
8. Ray Gaer—ABC Federation of Teachers
9. Lisa Gourley—Oregon School Employees Association
10. Karla Hernandez-Mats—United Teachers of Dade
11. Deb Howes—ATF-New Hampshire
12. Jerry Jordan—Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
13. Adam Marcoux—Nashua Teachers Union
14. Terrence Martin—Detroit Federation of Teachers
15. Dan Montgomery—Illinois Federation of Teachers
16. Michael Mulgrew (co-chair)—United Federation of Teachers
17. Shari Obrenski—Cleveland Teachers Union
18. Jason Roberts—Kansas City Federation of Teachers
19. Lincoln Stocks—East Detroit Federation of Teachers
20. Jessica Tang—Boston Teachers Union
21. Nancy Vera—Corpus Christi AFT
22. Carl Williams—(co-chair) Lawndale Federation of Classified Employees and CFT Council of Classified Employees
23. Tina Williams—Fairfax County Federation of Teach
AFT-NH, Teachers, Parents File Lawsuit Against ‘Divisive Concepts’ Law
Unconstitutional Law Puts Teachers in Untenable Situation and ‘Chokes off Learning’
CONCORD, N.H.—In a federal lawsuit filed today, educators and parents are taking a stand against New Hampshire’s attempt to implement a vague and punishing law that makes it impossible for public school teachers to know what and how to teach, as a result of a new law commonly known as the “divisive concepts” law. By attempting to restrict the way discrimination, diversity, bias, justice and struggle is viewed or taught, the measure puts educators at the center of a nightmare scenario: They would be required to comply with a law that appears to be at odds with the state’s constitution and its law mandating a robust and well-rounded public school education—an education that includes the teaching of accurate, honest history and current events.
The federal lawsuit, brought by AFT-New Hampshire, three N.H. public school teachers and two parents, aims to protect educators from this politically motivated new state law that put teachers at risk simply for discussing accurate historical concepts in their classrooms. At last count, New Hampshire has become one of eight Republican-controlled states that have passed laws aimed at censoring discussions around race and gender in classrooms, prompted by a conservative-led and -manufactured “crisis” over critical race theory. Dozens more are considering similar legislation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord, N.H., names the state attorney general, state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and the state Commission for Human Rights. It asks that the court rule the divisive concepts statute is unconstitutionally vague, making it impossible for educators to teach their students.
As the suit notes, the law is so hopelessly vague and broad that the New Hampshire attorney general and state Human Rights Commission have already had to clarify it, but their clarifications have not resolved the issues and are nonbinding, putting educators in the difficult position of having to interpret several different directives to educate their students. Teachers are at risk for not knowing what they’re legally allowed to teach in their own classrooms; they fear that if they get it wrong, they run the risk of public shaming, reputational damage, or discipline, including loss of license or termination.
In evident contrast to the divisive concept statute, New Hampshire’s uniform educational standards require that all public and private schools teach about “intolerance, antisemitism and national, ethnic, racial or religious hatred and discrimination that have evolved in the past” and that students learn about controversial events from multiple perspectives and ideologies.
The suit comes after Gov. Chris Sununu signed the New Hampshire budget bill—which included the divisive concepts provision—into law in June and the education commissioner created a webpage to facilitate third-party actions where the public could file complaints against teachers. That, in turn, led an extremist group known as Moms for Liberty to put a $500 bounty on the head of any N.H. teacher, offering cash to any informant who successfully lodges a complaint. Since then, educators report online harassment, obscenities and vicious attacks as a direct result of this political intimidation.
Because the law is vague and ambiguous, the suit states, it is nearly impossible for teachers to follow it, making them “highly susceptible” to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
AFT-New Hampshire President Deb Howes decried the law. “This law has created fear among teachers who are not actually violating any New Hampshire law, but fear they could be targeted without evidence by people with a political agenda. Educators are terrified of losing their teaching license over simply trying to teach. This is something I never thought would happen in America,” Howes said.
Ryan Richman, a high school teacher in Plaistow, N.H., teaches world history and is a named plaintiff in the suit:
“I ask students to discuss events in the news and their connections with the past. Nine times out of 10, they want to discuss stories about oppression and how they’ve observed or experienced it—the Rohingya genocide, the Uyghur genocide, the Black Lives Matter movement. I shouldn’t lose my license for honestly discussing current events in my classroom,” Richman said. He also questions how, under the law’s prohibitions, he and his students can honestly discuss the Nazi philosophy that the Aryan race was superior to all others, the history of human chattel slavery in the American South and its impact on African Americans, or the deep-seated racial and cultural biases of the Conquistadores toward indigenous peoples.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, a former civics teacher, called the law “chilling and untenable.”
“Either teachers attempt to follow a law so defectively vague and broad that they can’t fulfill their instructional duties to adequately educate their students, or they choose to teach as they have and as the state law has long required, and risk career-ending repercussions,” Weingarten said.
“These educators are faced with an excruciating Hobson’s choice, all at the hands of this effort to smear and shame educators, divide our communities, and deny our kids opportunities to learn and thrive.
“Public education is the lifeblood of our democracy; its purpose is to prepare our children for life, including college, career and civic participation. The core of our job as educators is to teach critical thinking and the ability to freely evaluate ideas—that’s what helps students learn, particularly when it comes to the history of our country. We must teach both our triumphs and our mistakes, whether it’s enslavement, Japanese internment or the treatment of those with disabilities. We teach so we can help students create a better future, and that requires us to learn from the past. But this flawed law aims instead to stop that, and to politicize our schools and scapegoat the people who work in them.
“To meet the needs of every child, educators need resources, support and clarity, not further blaming and shaming codified into law. This untenable law—and the danger it poses to educators and the kids they teach—must be struck down.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Law enforcement downplays unconfirmed TikTok shooting threats
At least a dozen school districts around the United States are on alert after posts on social media warned of violence in classrooms today. The “school shooting copycat threats” were spread on TikTok, according to several police departments and media reports, which also noted the presence of posts on Facebook and Snapchat. However, law enforcement officials say the vague threats are not credible. There were sporadic school cancellations around the country, including in Carson City, Nev., and Gladstone, Mich., where a superintendent said a threat that originally appeared to be a way for students to skip school had “morphed into something much more disturbing.” Elsewhere, the superintendent of Haverford Township school district in Pennsylvania, where writing was found on the wall of a local middle school alluding to a possible shooting, said police did not believe students were in immediate danger. Classes will continue, with increased police presence. Closing classrooms is a “double-edged sword,” said Amy Klinger, a school-safety specialist and former public school principal in Ohio, adding that a tough reaction could prompt anxiety and disruption that inspires copycat behavior from other malicious actors. Administrators should determine whether any menacing rhetoric is “specific” and “substantive” before imposing measures, she said. “Not all threats are equal.”
----- PUBLIC SCHOOLS BACK IN-PERSON -----
Federal Data Show Nearly All Public School Students Are Back To Full-Time, In-Person Learning
US News & World Report (12/15) reports 99% of public school 4th and 8th grade students “are learning in person, full-time, despite roughly one-third of schools offering remote learning to at least some students, according to the first batch of data released through a new Education Department portal.” The School Pulse Panel website “includes new data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics.” The findings are “not necessarily breaking news,” as President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona have spent months “touting the fact that 99% of students are learning in-person, juxtaposing the positive statistic with a reminder that at the end of the last school year, 74% of fourth-graders and 67% of eighth-graders were enrolled full time and in person or in a hybrid model.” The portal will let the ED “collect extensive data on issues concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and staff – including reopening efforts, strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus, services offered for students and staff, and technology use – and it will be updated frequently.” The new data also show “that, as of September, about 39% of public schools reported over three-quarters of their staff have been vaccinated – though 24% reported not knowing the percentage of their staff who have been vaccinated.”
K-12 Dive (12/15) reports that at the end of the 2020-21 school year, “about 40% of schools were offering students a remote option, compared to around 34% as of September 2021. There was an even sharper drop in hybrid learning: While 44% gave that option at the end of last school year, less than 5% offered hybrid learning at the beginning of this school year, according to Chris Chapman, an associate commissioner for NCES.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Staffing issues closing classrooms nationwide
Facing incredibly challenging staffing issues, school districts nationwide are being pushed to switch to remote teaching for a day a week, leaving families scrambling to find child care. Officials cite various reasons for the temporary closings, from a rise in Covid-19 cases to a need to thoroughly sanitize classrooms, but for many schools remote learning days are a necessary effort to keep teachers from resigning. "They are burned out," leaders lament, , after a year of working overtime to make up for more structural labor shortages. In Utah, the Canyons School District announced that all of its schools would go remote one Friday a month from November until March, equivalent to more than week of school. At least six school districts in Michigan extended Thanksgiving break, and three districts in Washington State, including Seattle Public Schools, unexpectedly closed on November 12, the day after Veterans Day. Brevard Public Schools in Florida used leftover “hurricane days” to close schools for the entire week of Thanksgiving. In Portland, Oregon, the teachers' union is proposing early-release days for high schoolers after they return from winter break.
How the nation's metro areas rank on school effectiveness
A new ranking of metro areas showing each locality's educational effectiveness could be used to help school leaders find measures of academic success to replicate or reinforce as they seek to help students recover from the pandemic, according to the authors of an analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. One hundred large and mid-sized metro areas were ranked by their educational effectiveness using data based on academic growth for cohorts of students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as other factors. Students in the Miami; Memphis, Tennessee; and El Paso, Texas, metro areas made above-average pre-pandemic progress, while learners in Honolulu, Las Vegas and Tulsa, Oklahoma, made below-average progress, according to the analysis. Using data from the Stanford Education Data Archive and U.S. Department of Education high school graduation rates, the report's authors developed Student Learning Accelerating Metros (SLAM) rankings that give the most weight for academic growth to results from spring assessments in all grades from 2016, 2017 and 2018, with 2015 used as an additional baseline year. The report allows "local stakeholders to dig in and see what kind of sense they can make out of it, and what kind of stories that they can tell," said Adam Tyner, a researcher at the Fordham Institute.
Biden administration sets out priorities for education grants
The Biden administration’s priorities for education grants will include promoting equity in resources and opportunities, addressing learning loss caused by the pandemic, and advancing “systemic change” in schools. These priorities, named in a Federal Register notice December 10, involve spelling out U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s top priorities for grants awarded to both K-12 and higher education institutions. The grants aim to address the impact of COVID-19 on students, educators, and faculty, promote equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities, support a diverse educator workforce and professional growth to strengthen student learning, meet students' social, emotional and academic needs, increase postsecondary education access, affordability, completion and post-enrollment success, and also strengthen cross-agency coordination and community engagement to advance systemic change.
Biden: 'we owe school shooting victims more than prayers'
In a video released Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke directly to the families of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School nine years ago, saying the nation owed families of mass shootings “more than our prayers. We owe them action.” He added: “No matter how long it’s been, every one of those families relives the news they got that day. Twenty precious first-graders, six heroic educators, a lone gunman and an unconscionable act of violence. Everything changed that morning for you. And the nation was shocked.” Mr. Biden said it was one of the “saddest days” he and former President Barack Obama had in office. He pointed to executive action he's taken to stop the spread of so-called ghost guns and promote safe firearms storage. He also hopes communities use some of the money from the massive spending plan to help end gun violence. Relatedly, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), founder of the public Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School in the Bronx, discusses how the country can prevent such tragedies. Two bills, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act passed the House nine months ago and are currently awaiting discussion in the Senate. He also says that lawmakers should seek to pass federal policies that address the social neglect that lays the groundwork for potential violence.
US News and World Report Washington Post
----- STATE NEWS -----
California educators report rise in school threats, fights and misbehavior
Months after students returned to campuses, and a week after four were killed in a shooting at Michigan high school, multiple schools in Southern California and elsewhere have reported receiving threats of violence, compounding campus tensions at a time when school administrators and teachers say students are increasingly acting out in class, showing aggressive behavior and fighting. Communities In Schools of Los Angeles, a nonprofit that collaborates with several Los Angeles USD schools to provide academic support, said staff at school sites have seen an increase in aggression and misbehavior among students. Students from second to fourth grade displaying behavior similar to kindergartners and younger students are having trouble acclimating to rules and cultural norms, likely due to the amount of time they were out of in-person school, said Elmer Roldan, executive director of the organization. “All those signs are telling us that children are not well and are dealing with the effects of the pandemic,” said Tyrone Howard, education professor at UCLA. “Just the disconnect from friends and social connections, even though they’re now reconnecting, just that absence can have a massive effect.”
California orders statewide mask requirement starting Wednesday
Faced with rising coronavirus cases and growing concerns about the Omicron variant, California is ordering a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces to go into effect on Wednesday. The move comes as coronavirus case rates in California have risen by almost 50% in the last 2½ weeks, and COVID-19 hospitalizations are up by nearly 15%. County health officials across the state say they suspect they may be seeing the start of a winter jump in coronavirus cases. State public health officials credited a universal masking requirement in indoor settings in California’s K-12 schools as being effective in helping to keep schools open even as other states nationwide have been forced to temporarily halt in-person instruction due to outbreaks. “California accounts for roughly 12% of all U.S. students, but only 1% of COVID-19 related school closures,” state officials said.
State eases testing requirements for teachers
Teacher candidates in California were given more time to complete tests required to earn a teaching credential and learned what coursework could be taken to replace some tests at a meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing last week. During its final meeting of the year, the commission agreed to extend the deadline for teachers to take the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment, or RICA, the California Basic Educational Skills Test, or CBEST, and the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET, to June 30th. “The struggle is real,” said Dannette Brown, the mother of a credential candidate who spoke on behalf of the California Teachers Association. “It has been extremely challenging for her, and her classmates, to navigate the circumstances of Covid and a preparation program and a job and all the things that go with it.” About 20% of the state’s 130 testing centers have yet to reopen, according to a report from commission staff. Fresno and Oakland are among the areas with the least access to testing for teacher candidates, although many students throughout the state are taking advantage of new online testing options.
----- DISTRICTS -----
New Superintendent named at Los Angeles USD
Los Angeles USD's board met on Tuesday to finalize an employment contract with newly-chosen Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. The district announced Thursday that it had unanimously selected Mr. Carvalho, a celebrated educator who has led the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system, the fourth-largest in the nation, since 2008. “Honestly, I’m excited about this opportunity,” he said. “And my excitement is a reflection not only of the opportunity Los Angeles offers to all of us, but also reciprocally and with equal weight, the responsibility we have to emerge from this crisis stronger than we entered it.” He also spoke of eliminating long-standing achievement gaps that separate the more privileged from the less privileged, with attention to immigrants, English learners and students with disabilities. He said the work must be approached “in a very forceful, respectful, compassionate way” that would “recognize the needs of our students, their parents, the families and certainly our workforce.” He will take up his new role by March at the very latest.
Whittier Super announces retirement
Whittier Union High School District Superintendent Martin J. Plourde announced yesterday that he will retire on June 30th next year, bringing to a close a 40-year career. “From securing the recognition of Pioneer and La Serna as California Distinguished Schools, to maintaining beautiful, modern schools and working with the community to approve bond funds for future improvements, the district continues to thrive as a result of his strong leadership,” Board President Russell Castañeda-Calleros said.
Los Angeles district weighs pushing back vaccine mandate until fall
Los Angeles USD students 12 and over may have until next fall to comply with the district’s vaccine mandate, nine months after the original January 10th deadline, officials announced Friday. The first large school system in the nation to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students, the district is facing roughly 34,000 students who will not be fully vaccinated by the original deadline as well as concerns from parents and administrators over the surge in enrollment in the district’s remote learning program. Pushing back the deadline will “hopefully lessen the stress on administrators in terms of the possible number of students they may lose,” said Nery Paiz, president of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles. Board members will discuss delaying the deadline at their meeting on Tuesday, when they also plan to ratify the contract of Miami-Dade superintendent Alberto Carvalho to lead the district’s schools.
Palo Verdes Peninsula agrees tentative contract with teacher union
Palos Verdes Peninsula USD teachers will get 4% raises and a one-time bonus, as well as other benefits, under a new proposed labor deal announced yesterday. The school district and the Palos Verdes Faculty Association, which represents teachers, agreed on a new deal about 18 months after the previous contract expired. The tentative deal, which would be retroactive to July 1st and end in 2023, still needs approval from PVFA membership and the Board of Education. It would also give faculty a one-time, 2.75% payment, and an increase in district health benefit one-time contributions of $1,000 to $1,500 per employee, according to the press release.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Schools dealing with 'wave' of student misbehavior
School districts across the nation are responding to a wave of student misbehavior with more counseling, increased patrols and fewer suspensions. The National Association of School Resource Officers said it has seen a rise in gun-related incidents in schools. Peter Faustino, a school psychologist in New York who serves on the board of directors for the National Association of School Psychologists, says school psychologists nationwide have seen roughly the same volume of mental-health complaints and behavioral issues in the first three months of the school year that used to occur in an entire academic year. Schools have seen an increase in both minor incidents, like students talking in class, and more serious issues, such as fights and gun possession. In Albuquerque, N.M., for example, the school superintendent sent a letter to parents warning of a “rise in violence and unacceptable behaviors posted to social media” that have disrupted classes. In Dallas, disruptive classroom incidents have "tripled" this year compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Black and Latino students still more likely to have inexperienced teachers
Black and Latino students are still more likely than their peers to have teachers with one year or less of experience in the classroom, despite years-long federal efforts to change that trend, according to a new analysis from the Education Trust, a civil rights group that advocates for more accountability of low-performing school districts. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection, the report compares rates of novice teachers in schools with high percentages of Black and Latino students to schools with lower percentages of Black and Latino students. When newer teachers are unevenly distributed in this way, the report argues, students of color are losing out. The report offers a host of policy solutions, from paying teachers more to work in high-need districts, to providing teachers with more mentoring, to supporting and hiring more school leaders of color—who are more likely to attract and retain teachers of color.
----- FINANCE -----
Districts urged to prepare for electric bus transition
With $2.5 billion in federal funding slated to support the transition to electric school buses, a new CALSTART study recommends that U.S. school districts prepare to convert from diesel to electric. President Joe Biden recently signed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with $5 billion allocated over five years for electric and low-emission school buses - and at least half that funding is expected to go toward zero-emission buses. "Electric school buses are ready to roll, funding is available, and now school districts have some homework to do," said Jared Schnader, director of bus programs at the national nonprofit consortium. "Our research found that school districts will save money, save time, and enjoy a smoother transition to the new technology if they plan ahead, reach out to ESB manufacturers, work with their local utilities on charging infrastructure, and give their bus drivers and mechanics time to adapt."
SFUSD meets state-imposed budget deadline
The San Francisco USD board has voted to for a staff proposal that would cut from schools and administration. SFUSD’s state-appointed fiscal expert, Elliott Duchon, endorsed the staff plan rather than an alternative plan brought forward by school board member Matt Alexander, who withdrew his proposal. Around $50m will be cut from school-based budgets using funding formulas accounting for enrollment and attendance. However, no schools are planned to be closed. Another $10m will come from direct services such as social-emotional supports, $14.1m from indirect services such as equity services, $12.4m in central budget operations such as transportation, and $3.5m in central administrative costs. The remaining $35m is covered by a state grant and savings in the current year. The cuts come in the face of a long-running structural deficit that amounts to a $124.7m shortfall for the 2022-2023 school year and $139.9m in the year after. In September, state officials determined SFUSD to be a “lack of going concern,” meaning it was not expected to meet its financial obligations. Paired with an interim report, SFUSD’s submissions “we believe will satisfy the (California) Department of Education, at least to the road to restore the district to going concern,” Mr. Duchon told the school board on Tuesday. “This is not the end of the road. It’s the beginning of the road toward fiscal recovery.”
----- LEGAL -----
Supreme Court asked to rule on San Diego's vaccine mandate
A student who sued San Diego USD over its student COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to intervene on her behalf. The Scripps Ranch High School student's lawsuit takes issue with a vaccination mandate that the San Diego school board approved in late September for staff members and all students 16 or older. Students have to get their second vaccine dose by December 20th to comply with the mandate, otherwise they won’t be allowed to attend school in person or to participate in extracurricular activities starting January 24th. The Scripps Ranch student, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, sued the district because it is not allowing religious exemptions to the mandate for students. Justice Elena Kagan asked San Diego Unified to respond to the student’s request by Thursday at 3 p.m.
Pasadena appeals court to rehear lawsuit over schools closed during pandemic
A federal appeals court in Pasadena agreed Wednesday to vacate its previous ruling that Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 order barring private schools from in-person teaching was unconstitutional and will have the case reheard by a full panel of judges. In the prior ruling in favor of parents, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children is a fundamental right, including "the right of parents to be free from state interference with their choice of the educational forum itself." Southland parents brought the lawsuit last year against Newsom to allow schools to open for in-person learning, claiming their children were suffering academically and psychologically from the closure.
Biden admin reverses proposal to stop data collection on sexual assaults committed by teachers
The Biden administration is withdrawing its proposal to stop Trump-era data collection on sexual assaults committed by teachers in U.S. schools. Last month's controversial proposal would have continued to include the number of documented incidents at a given school, but retired Trump-era reporting on "rape or attempted rape, or sexual assault" allegations that were followed by "a resignation or retirement prior to final discipline or termination." On Wednesday, an Education Department spokesperson said "The Department has reissued the proposed 2021-2022 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), with a new 60-day comment period, to allow for public comment on additional questions," adding: "For the 2021-22 CRDC, OCR will continue to collect data on the number of documented incidents of offenses committed by school staff, including rape or attempted rape, and sexual assault. These are data the CRDC has collected since 2015-16. We propose retiring data on the number of allegations made against school staff to reduce burden and duplication of data. This is a proposal and OCR welcomes feedback on this proposal from the public during the 60-day comment period."
----- CHILD DEVELOPMENT ----
Marin schools unveil ‘universal transitional kindergarten’ plan
Four Marin school districts will offer a year of free public pre-kindergarten classes for four-year-olds under plans detailed this week. The programs in the San Rafael, Novato, Ross Valley and Mill Valley districts are for children who won’t make the five-year-old birthday cutoff on September 1st for kindergarten eligibility. “The name is UTK, or universal transitional kindergarten, which means it will be available to all four-year-olds,” Stephanie Kloos, elementary education director for San Rafael City Schools, told the district’s board at its meeting on Monday. “It’s a really big shift from our current program.” Both the San Rafael district, which began registration Monday, and Novato, which started registering children on November 1st, are launching transitional kindergarten programs for the fall term next year. Mill Valley, which terminated its transitional kindergarten program in 2018 over equity issues, will restart it next fall under the same state-advised schedule. “We’ll have registration starting in January,” said district spokesperson Anna Russell. In Ross Valley , preview nights for transitional kindergarten at Brookside, Hidden Valley, Manor and Wade Thomas elementary schools will start in January. The $2.7bn, state-financed program, approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the spring, will expand the window of time for four-year-olds who will turn five after September 1st to be eligible for UTK.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Districts embrace test-to-stay policies as CDC explores effectiveness
Schools are increasingly implementing test-to-stay policies as a COVID-19 mitigation strategy, said Leah Perkinson, manager of pandemics at the Rockefeller Foundation. No guidance has been released yet on test-to-stay plans by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even though the federal agency has stated it views test-to-stay “as a promising practice.” The CDC defines test to stay as a mitigation method “comprised of regular testing and contact tracing to allow close contacts to remain in the classroom, while maintaining other layered prevention strategies.” Several school health experts, including Ms. Perkinson, agree test-to-stay is an effective mitigation strategy to keep schools open when used with other safety measures, including universal masking, vaccinations and social distancing.
Half-days recommended as fix for teacher stress
In a school year widely described as the most grueling of the pandemic, some schools are addressing stress among teachers by allowing more half-days. Rick Briggs, chief academic officer in Maryland’s Wicomico County school district, which includes the Eastern Shore city of Salisbury, said his system converted seven full days to half days because of “the stress and the anxiety and the wearing-down of staff like none of us have ever seen before.” “We want our teachers to be fresh, to be energized, to be in a better spot,” which in turn allows them to bring their best to classroom instruction, Briggs said. Elsewhere in the Washington region, Alexandria City Public Schools added two days off before the scheduled Thanksgiving break to give families and staff more time to decompress and connect with family and friends. D.C.’s largest charter network, KIPP DC, converted the Friday after Veterans Day in November into a staff and student wellness day, with no instruction.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
How will UC handle the post-SAT/ACT era?
The University of California’s historic move to abandon standardized exams may not be the last of changes coming to the admissions process for the public university system, according to college access advocates and admissions experts. UC has stopped using the SAT and ACT in admissions, and has no intention of introducing a different standardized test, in response to criticism that the tests are biased against low-income students, disabled students and Black and Latino students. Michal Kurlaender, a professor of education policy at UC Davis whose research includes college preparation and access, says UC should continue its work to make admissions more equitable by working more closely with K-12 schools to better understand their applicants and possibly even guaranteeing admission to more students who meet certain criteria. Robert Penman, executive director of undergraduate admissions at UC Davis, aid his office has made it a top priority to meet with high school counselors across the state and understand the specific circumstances at different schools. Additionally UC could improve the current guarantee program by creating a local guarantee, where students would be promised admission to the campus closest to their high school if they meet certain criteria, said Audrey Dow, senior vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity.
----- OTHER -----
Membership decline continues at National School Board Association
The National School Board Association has reportedly seen its membership numbers decline, following the revelation of a letter that compared parents to domestic terrorists. School board associations in various states faced tense situations as parents expressed their frustrations over COVID-19 mask mandates, remote learning and other difficulties in the classroom. The NSBA submitted a letter to President Joe Biden in which it claimed members suffered acts of "malice, violence and threats" that "could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes." At least 17 affiliates have cut ties with the organization and have considered forming a new, rival group after losing faith in leadership over the letter and its handling of various issues. That loss of membership would constitute a loss of around $1.1m in membership fees and annual dues – roughly 42% of the total fees paid to the NSBA in 2019.
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.
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