ABCFT YOUnionews for January 28, 2022
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team met with the district on Wednesday, January 26. We received their latest proposal and made a counter proposal. We are scheduled to meet again on Thursday, February 3.
I wrote last week about why our practice is to not negotiate in public. Rumors and misinformation make the process more difficult than it already is. But I have shared with the district the real sense of frustration and urgency that members justifiably feel regarding a fair salary agreement. A lack of progress in a timely manner understandably leads to questions regarding the efficacy of our bargaining process. We believe that our members deserve results and being asked to wait until the next board meeting week after week is becoming untenable. Our teachers and nurses keep making whatever accommodations necessary to keep student achievement at the forefront but would like the same consideration shown towards us at the table.
One such example of our flexibility has been short term independent study or STIS. The volume of expanded STIS requirements has been a significant change to our daily expectations and practice. But our members have done this added work in response to the exigencies related to COVID. We have not been compensated for these additional hours thus far. It is not spelled out in our contract. How can we be expected to maintain this pace without fair pay and the reduction of other responsibilities throughout our duty day?
We are professionals and deserve to be treated as such. Increased compensation is one logical way to demonstrate our value. There should not be a transactional expectation that we do even more to “justify” a raise that we have already earned through our hard work and sacrifice. ABCFT members have been on the front lines providing services to our students throughout a pandemic. We ring golden bells and say pleasant things about teachers and nurses at school board meetings but those who helped produce these achievements are asked to wait yet again for a fair deal. This is a time for action, not more words.
The ABCFT executive board met on Thursday, January 27. The ABCUSD school board meeting is Tuesday, February 1. The rep council meets next Thursday, February 3 after negotiations. We will continue to keep you informed as new information becomes available. Now is truly the time for solidarity. Thanks again for your support.
In Unity
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
Science of Reading for Everyone!
Register for Amplify’s The Science of Reading Is for Everyone webinar series to discover how the science behind how we learn to read can help all of your students, and why making the shift to the Science of Reading is worth it.
In this thought leadership series, you’ll hear from authors and experts—including Natalie Wexler (author of The Knowledge Gap), Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, and Dr. Lillian Durán—on applying insights from the Science of Reading to support all students, including emergent bilinguals, students with dyslexia, students from all backgrounds, and even middle schoolers.
All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for each of the webinars they attend.
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.
“Teachers and nurses are one crisis from a total breakdown.” ABCFT Executive Board
Years ago when I first became ABCFT President, I sat down with some former ABCFT retirees to discuss the momentous teacher strike that took place in ABC over an eight-day period in 1993. My questions were focused on the events that transpired that led to a job action that many retirees recall as part of a campaign to change a disastrous trajectory brought upon by a school board that was hostile to ABC Employees. One of those retirees was former ABCFT President, Richard Hathaway who reflected, “A strike is not so much about the money but is more about not feeling valued and disrespected by those in authority.” At the time I found this revelation ponderous because, like many of you, I had not really seen the ABC School Board treat teachers and nurses with disrespect for the mighty task that teachers take on each day to educate their students.
Do you feel valued by our current school board members?
At the time I could never conceive of a time when teachers would put their life and the lives of their family members in jeopardy by teaching students in their classroom. However, for the last ninety-six days ABC teachers and nurses, classified employees and administrators have been doing their professional best to serve the needs of students and the families of ABC. I felt like the school board last spring was more receptive to the needs of the ABC employees and was more concerned about the value they added as we all worked together to support students in the scariest of times. ABC employees overall have been the ROCK that has held this educational community together.
Over sixty million dollars has since been flooding into the district coffers and as Rome burns the ABC school board members withhold compensation for services rendered and at the same time gloat about how they want to spend twenty million dollars on an aquatics complex for Cerritos High School that will only serve the needs of a sliver of our student population. Have our board members become so intoxicated with the success of ABC student achievement awards that they have forgotten the effort and professionalism of teachers? Without teachers in the classrooms doing LOTS OF UNPAID EXTRAS this social contract with the community would not bear fruit. I once heard our past ABC Superintendent tell me that a workforce that feels valued will go above and beyond their job to create a culture of success and we can say that for the last thirty years this has been more or less the case. ABC has been very successful on a number of levels and over those years the ABC School Board members understood that balance between value and services rendered.
I find it concerning that our current school board thinks that all actions are transactional and that without teachers giving even more to students then teachers' and nurses' work is not valuable enough to justify a FAIR COMPENSATION.
As Ruben wrote in his article this week, we are slated to have an additional negotiation session, Thursday after the next board meeting where school board members in closed session will debate the value of ABC employees. The negotiating team and I remain expectant that the district proposal will be reasonable and that we can come to an agreement on Thursday. However, this is where the rubber meets the road and there are two possible outcomes as outlined below. ABCFT has a scheduled Site Representative meeting on Thursday and we anticipate that the outcome of negotiations will be the only topic on our agenda. Here are the two possible scenarios:
If we come to a compensation agreement in Thursday’s negotiations then the ABCFT Executive Board and representative council will follow the standard procedure of deciding whether to approve the Tentative Agreement to be voted on by the ABCFT general membership.
Or
If we do not come to a compensation agreement, the ABCFT Site Representatives will begin training on how to prepare the entire ABCFT Membership on how to participate in a limited job action in the form of a “Work to Rule” campaign. This type of job action is an escalation of negotiation pressure that stresses the value that teachers and nurses contribute for our students, school sites, parents, administrators, and the community. The ABC Federation of Teachers has not had to use job action measures in negotiations in almost thirty years.
The ABCFT leadership is prepared to lead our membership through whichever journey we must take to achieve a fair and equitable compensation package. Bringing up the topic of a “Job Action” is something this union and district have worked together to prevent for the last thirty years and the blame for this misstep is wholly the responsibility of our current school board members who are not supporting the ABC employees in a time of unprecedented uncertainty and crisis.
Whichever road we take after next Thursday, I know we will take it together. I hope that all ABCFT members will band together to show the ABC community that the Teachers and Nurses of ABC matter and make a difference in the lives of their children. We value their children. Now is the time to VALUE the ABC employees!
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 poll indicates support for teacher response to pandemic
Parents overwhelmingly back decisions public school leaders are making to navigate the pandemic and give teachers top marks, according to a poll commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Conducted in mid-December by Hart Research Associates and Lake Research Partners, the survey found that 72% of parents say their schools provide excellent or good-quality education, and 78% say they are pleased with the quality and performance of teachers. In addition, 83% of all parents say they are satisfied with the schools’ efforts to keep students and staff safe. “This polling shows the virus is our enemy, not each other,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Parents are saying teachers are heroes for their efforts during this pandemic and they deeply value how their public schools have gone above and beyond to help their kids recover and thrive."
America’s Parents Express Overwhelming Support for Teachers, Their Unions and Public Education
Amid Pandemic, Parents Say Neighborhood Public Schools Are Crucial to Help Their Children Recover and Thrive
WASHINGTON—A supermajority of U.S. parents give their public schools and teachers top marks for their Herculean efforts to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, fresh polling shows, with perceptions of teachers unions soaring to record highs.
Black parents and parents in urban areas in particular feel that teachers and their unions have played an overwhelmingly positive role, and they blame the virus—rather than the professionals charged with their kids’ care—for difficulties during the pandemic.
Overall, 72 percent of parents say their school provides excellent or good-quality education, and 78 percent endorse the quality and performance of their teachers, up 7 points from 2013, according to a new national survey by Hart Research Associates and Lake Research Partners.
Teachers unions are seen by parents as a more positive force in education today than prior to the pandemic, mirroring public polling conducted over the past year and tracking record high support for the labor movement as a whole.
AFT President Randi Weingarten said the survey confirms what she has seen in her months of school visits throughout the country. “Parents value educators’ heroic actions to help their kids through COVID and view them as partners to keep schools open safely and deliver the social, emotional and academic support kids need.”
“This polling shows the virus is our enemy, not each other. Parents are saying teachers are heroes for their efforts during this pandemic and they deeply value how their public schools have gone above and beyond to help their kids recover and thrive,” she said.“Some on the far right have tried to exploit this crisis to usher in a shameful new chapter of teacher bashing, but they’re failing dismally. Parents are public school proud, and they are standing with the community, teachers and their unions—not only in defense of public education but also to address inadequate school funding, students’ progress during COVID, lower class size, and the conditions necessary for academic recovery, including enough counselors and nurses and adequate teacher pay.”
Parents are very satisfied with the way their schools have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Fully 78 percent of parents express satisfaction with their children’s schools’ overall handling of the pandemic, including 82 percent of urban parents, 77 percent of Black parents and 74 percent of Hispanic parents. More specifically, 83 percent are satisfied with the schools’ efforts to keep students and staff safe.They blamed the virus, not educators, when schools needed to temporarily switch to remote instruction or make other schedule changes. They do not believe that schools reopened too slowly, and they reject the claim that schools waited too long to resume in-person instruction.
Just 22 percent of parents believe that schools waited too long, while three-fourths feel that the school either struck a good balance between safety and learning (48 percent) or moved too quickly to reopen buildings (26 percent). Just 20 percent of urban parents and 11 percent of Black parents feel that schools waited too long before reopening.
In response to the omicron outbreak, some schools needed to periodically close buildings or temporarily return to online learning in December. Significantly, very few parents (14 percent, including 15 percent of urban parents and 9 percent of Black parents) blame teachers or teachers unions for these disruptions. Instead, most feel that these disruptions were beyond anyone’s control (47 percent) or were the fault of districts and administrators (26 percent).
Parents say their children’s teachers communicate with parents and keep them informed (80 percent), an important reason for these positive views of teachers. Similarly, 79 percent are satisfied with the job their school does communicating with parents about academics. Four in five say they are satisfied with their children’s public schools when it comes to helping their children achieve their full potential, while only 21 percent report feeling dissatisfied.And, by a remarkable 31-point margin, parents feel that teachers unions have a positive (48 percent), rather than negative (17 percent), effect on the quality of education provided by public schools, a 23-point jump since 2013. Urban parents (62 percent to 9 percent) and Black parents (57 percent to 4 percent) feel that teachers unions are playing a positive role.
Hart Research Associates and Lake Research Partners conducted a national survey of 1,308 public school parents who were registered to vote, including subsamples of 206 Black parents and 240 Hispanic parents.
The survey was completed online between Dec. 15 and Dec. 22, 2021. The margin of error is +/-3.1 percent. The full memo can be viewed here
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Tennessee School Board’s Decision To Remove Holocaust Graphic Novel From Curriculum Draws Widespread Attention
The New York Times (1/27, Gross) reports a Tennessee school board “voted unanimously this month to ban ‘Maus,’ a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from being taught in its classrooms because the book contains material that board members said was inappropriate for students.” The McMinn County Board of Education “said in a statement on Thursday that it had removed ‘Maus’ from the curriculum because ‘of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide.’” The board “said that it did not diminish the importance of teaching students about the Holocaust” and “it would look for other works that would accomplish the same educational goals, but in a way that was appropriate for students.”
The Tennessean (1/27) reports news of the school board’s decision to pull “Maus” from its middle-school curriculum “has drawn international attention, including coverage from CNN, BBC and Times of Israel.” Art Spiegelman, the author of “Maus,” told The Tennessean Thursday that he thinks the board’s decision is “absurd,” but that it is also not the first time his graphic novel has been the subject of controversy. Spiegelman “said he’s alarmed by school boards banning books nationwide,” but he is also happy his book has “an afterlife” as a teaching tool. He said, “It’s a book that breaks through in a way that others can’t. It allows an entry point for people. I just don’t want it to be boxed in as only about the Holocaust or only about the Jews.”
Philip Bump writes in an analysis for The Washington Post (1/27, Bump) that the school board’s decision “offer[s] useful insights into how the national conversation over censorship has evolved – and how it hasn’t.” After reviewing the board meeting’s minutes, Bump concludes the decision was “driven not by the political rhetoric that is prominent in the national conversation of the moment but by more conventional (or, if you will, traditional) concerns about bad words and naked ladies.” Regardless, Bump points out it is still “intensely weird in a deeply American way to take an award-winning book about the mass murder of millions of people, presented as a deeply personal, allegorical story about a family, and fret over eight bad words and a naked mouse.”
Also reporting are The Washington Post (1/27, Bump), The Wall Street Journal (1/27, Subscription Publication), and the AP (1/27, Coyle)
----- SUPREME COURT CHANGES COMING-----
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Who Ruled On Numerous Education Cases, Set To Retire
Education Week (1/26) reports US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced Wednesday he will soon retire after 28 years on the high court. Breyer, a member of the court’s liberal bloc, was a “stalwart vote for racial and gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and a high wall of church-state separation.” He consistently voted “in support of broadly interpreting Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972” and also “tended to side with parents and students in special education cases interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education.” However, Breyer “sometimes sympathized with school administrators over students.” This was reflected “in a number of cases in which he joined the court’s conservatives in ruling for school districts, such as on two decisions upholding the drug testing of students in sports or extracurricular activities and on the discipline of a student in a 2007 speech case.” EdWeek also mentions Breyer was “the son of a career school board attorney.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Ed Sec sets out K-12 goals for district leaders
In a speech on Thursday laying out his vision for education nearly a year after he took office, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona trumpeted his support for teachers Thursday, while also pushing for more resources and backing for educators and children. He laid out specific goals for schools, including: offering a trained tutor to every student who’s fallen behind during the pandemic, for 30 minutes a day, three times a week; having at least one career counselor to support students’ ambitions beyond K-12; and for every high school student should participate in at least one activity outside of classes, such as athletics or arts programs. Mr. Cardona also expressed sympathy for education workers. “I know you’re tired. I know you’re stretched,” he said, describing their efforts as "heroic."
States relax substitute teaching requirements to reduce impact of shortages
Since schools nationwide have returned from winter break, the Omicron variant and ongoing school staffing shortages have significantly impacted some districts’ abilities to continue in-person learning. To address a shortage of educators, more states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Kansas, are passing legislation and executive orders aimed at expanding the pool of eligible substitute teachers. Loosening substitute requirements makes it easier to recruit people to fill in for teachers, which helps prevent burnout by allowing teachers to take time off as needed. When schools don’t have enough substitute teachers, students, school culture, and staff morale are all hurt, said Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University. “That can cause really detrimental, cascading effects on not just the kids, whose teacher is absent and who the school can’t find a sub to fill in for, but for other students in the building, other teachers in the building,” Kraft said. “Why? Because when schools can’t find a sub, that means they have to pull an adult from other duties.”
More Than 50% Of Virginia School Districts Defying Governor’s Mask-Optional Order
The Washington Post (1/26, Natanson) reports an “analysis shows that the majority of Virginia public school districts – enrolling more than two-thirds of the state’s students – have opted to disobey [Gov. Glenn] Youngkin’s mask-optional order.” As of Wednesday, “69 districts, or 53 percent, are still requiring masks for all students inside schools.” The analysis also found “almost every district that opted to make masks optional is in a locality that voted for Youngkin in the 2021 gubernatorial election.” The Post says the “widespread defiance suggests Youngkin will have enormous difficulty in enforcing his mask-optional mandate, which is already the subject of two lawsuits.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
Mandatory kindergarten bill passes California Senate
The California Senate on Wednesday passed a key early education bill that would make kindergarten compulsory in the state, sending it to the state Assembly. Senate Bill 70, introduced by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), would require all students to complete a year in kindergarten before entering first grade to ensure children are prepared for elementary school. Kindergarten is not compulsory in most states, according to the Education Commission of the States, a research group that tracks education policy. Children are required to be enrolled in school at age 6 in California. An estimated 5% to 7% of students in the state do not enroll in kindergarten, according to the California Kindergarten Association, in an average year, although this number ballooned during the pandemic, experts say, widening the achievement gap.
Former LAUSD super pushes arts education ballot initiative
A campaign to increase funding for art and music programs in schools throughout California, spearheaded by former Los Angeles USD Superintendent Austin Beutner, is underway, with supporters working to gather enough voter signatures to place a statewide measure on the November ballot. The Art and Music in Schools initiative would steer about $800m more each year into art and music programs in K-12 public schools, with campuses that serve a greater number of low-income Black and Latino students receiving a larger share of the funds. The money could be used to support art programs ranging from traditional visual arts, theater and music to screenwriting and animation, said Mr. Beutner, who has often credited a teacher for encouraging him to learn to play the cello in the fifth grade. If the ballot measure is successful, schools would receive the additional funds starting with the 2023-24 academic year.
Bill Would Require All California Students To Receive COVID Vaccine
The San Francisco Chronicle (1/24, Gardiner) reports that a bill from California state Sen. Richard Pan (D) “would require all students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to attend schools, eliminating the state’s existing personal belief exemption.” Pan’s legislation “would add COVID-19 to the list of vaccines that students must get to enroll in public or private schools, starting Jan. 1, 2023. It would apply to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.” The measure “would expand California’s existing COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, which Gov. Gavin Newsom [D] announced last fall, by removing the personal belief exemption. A small percentage of students could still receive medical exemptions if they have a bona fide medical condition that prevents them from being vaccinated.”
The AP (1/24, Johnson) reports Pan, a pediatrician, argued the bill is needed to ensure that children are educated. Pan said, “Families across the state and country have faced disruption, anxiety and trauma from this pandemic for now almost two years. Confidence and certainty are things we all long for.” The Orange County (CA) Register (1/24, Tat) reports Pan “added that many children haven’t returned to in-person learning not because their parents oppose the COVID-19 vaccines but because they fear their children will become infected and bring the virus home to other household members who are medically vulnerable.” He said, “We need to acknowledge the fact that we do have children who are not attending school in person because the schools aren’t safe yet.”
----- DISTRICTS -----
N.Y.C. Schools report thousands of students to child protective services
New York City school personnel sent more than 2,400 reports to the New York Statewide Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment during the first three months of the 2021-22 school year, a 45% increase on the same period a year earlier, when most of the city’s nearly 1m students were learning remotely. From August 2020 to November 2021, records show NYC school staff made a total of 9,674 reports. About a third of the reports from NYC school personnel from September through November included an allegation of educational neglect. Of that total, just over half named educational neglect as the sole allegation, according to an Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) spokesperson, who pointed out that the rate was actually higher pre-COVID in the fall of 2019, when about 40% of reports from city school personnel alleged educational neglect.
West Contra Costa teachers threaten strike over COVID protections
More than 1,500 West Contra Costa USD teachers, nurses and support staff say they may go on strike if the district doesn’t strengthen protective measures against COVID-19 by Friday. Marissa Glidden, president of United Teachers of Richmond, said 72% of the 1,100 teachers polled over the weekend would support a strike over what they contend is an unsafe environment for learning in the district, which serves about 27,000 students in Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Pinole and Hercules. The union wants new high-quality masks provided every day to teachers, weekly COVID testing for everyone, a qualified adult assigned to every classroom without a regular teacher and either twice-a-week testing or remote learning for classes where multiple cases of the virus have broken out.
Coachella Valley creates student trustee board position
Coachella Valley USD trustees have added a student position to the board. Caitlyn Hill, a student at Desert Mirage High School in Thermal, was appointed to the board by trustees and will serve in an advisory role for the remainder of the 2021-22 year. She will have a ceremonial vote on certain matters but never a binding vote, and she will be excluded from the board's closed session and action items related to district personnel, disciplinary actions and other confidential issues. Because the position was established mid-year, the inaugural trustee was selected by board appointment. Board member Adonis Galarza-Toledo said the process for selecting next year's student trustees, whether by election or appointment, has not been finalized yet.
Sac City moves to fire teacher who used racial slur in class discussion
Sacramento City USD i dismissing a middle school teacher who used racial epithets during a classroom lecture last year, according to the district’s new community liaison on racial incidents. The teacher used the racial slur twice in a discussion with students in June 2021, saying the word no longer has the meaning it once did. She was heard on an audio recording comparing the use of different racial slurs. After an investigation, the district determined that her conduct was severe enough to call for her dismissal, said attorney Mark Harris, the district’s community liaison.
Chicago schools' No.2 administrator steps down
Chicago Public Schools has announced the departure of the district's chief education officer Maurice Swinney, and the retirement of chief medical officer Dr. Kenneth Fox. Citing the “drain” of public service, he said Wednesday he will step down at the end of February to “heal.” “Public service takes a lot out of us,” Mr. Swinney told the school board. “It is time to move on. I’m ready to heal, rejuvenate, think, and allow my mind and heart to see new, non-existent possibilities and partner with other creatives on how we respond to the emerging needs of Chicagoans coming out of this pandemic.” In the past year, Chicago Public Schools has experienced multiple departures among top leaders. Chief executive Janice Jackson did not renew her contract last spring, and her top lieutenants, LaTanya McDade and Arne Rivera, departed the district. Current CEO Pedro Martinez has named the district’s chief of schools, Bogdana Chkoumbova, as Mr. Swinney's successor.
Oakland USD reaches deal with union on school safety plan
Oakland USD and the Oakland Education Association have reached an agreement on COVID-19 safety measures, averting a a possible strike amid a student boycott and after a series of teacher “sickouts.” The district has agreed to provide weekly COVID testing access for all students and staff at every school site, to make KN95 and other high-quality masks available to all students and staff, to provide covered outdoor eating spaces at all school sites, and to provide baseline COVIE testing access to all students and staff prior to the return from spring break. The district will also work to expand regional testing hub evening hours in times of high positivity rates at the district. The union said the district will assign non-classroom staff and administrators to cover teacher absences not filled by a substitute, if possible, and will meet with OEA to discuss covering absences. Special education classes and schools with the “highest need” will also be prioritized.
Coachella Valley creates student trustee board position
Coachella Valley USD trustees have added a student position to the board. Caitlyn Hill, a student at Desert Mirage High School in Thermal, was appointed to the board by trustees and will serve in an advisory role for the remainder of the 2021-22 year. She will have a ceremonial vote on certain matters but never a binding vote, and she will be excluded from the board's closed session and action items related to district personnel, disciplinary actions and other confidential issues. Because the position was established mid-year, the inaugural trustee was selected by board appointment. Board member Adonis Galarza-Toledo said the process for selecting next year's student trustees, whether by election or appointment, has not been finalized yet.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Study Highlights Elementary School Teachers Struggling To Manage Classrooms Amid Pandemic
In an analysis for The Conversation (1/26), Concordia University, Saint Paul associate professor Laura Wangsness Willemsen and Indiana University postdoctoral fellow Elisheva L. Cohen write, “As part of our research into teaching, since March 2020, we have been following the experiences of a group of elementary school teachers in one suburban school district in the Midwest. We’ve seen variations in teachers’ experiences and well-being over the course of the pandemic, yet our research suggests their situation continues to be incredibly challenging.” The pair state, “In January 2022 – halfway through the school year that was supposed to be a return to normal – teachers tell us they are barely hanging on. Teachers tell us they are more worried about student learning than ever before, and their job duties keep expanding while resources dwindle.” Additionally, “many previously hopeful teachers describe being utterly overwhelmed, overworked and exhausted. Now in their third disrupted school year, students in the same grade have even more widely varied academic achievement levels than usual.”
Setbacks To Education Because Of Pandemic “Nearly Insurmountable,” UN Says
The New York Times (1/24, Gladstone) reports, “Almost two years into the coronavirus pandemic, more than 635 million children globally remain affected by full or partial school closures, the United Nations said Monday in a report that called the setbacks to education ‘nearly insurmountable.’” The review “from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that many of these children had lost basic numeracy and literacy skills from the prolonged loss of classroom learning.” UNICEF said up to 70 percent of 10-year-olds, in low- and middle-income countries, “could not read or comprehend a simple text, up from 53 percent before the coronavirus became a pandemic in March 2020.”
----- TESTING -----
SAT To Go Fully Digital By Spring 2024
The Washington Post (1/25) reports the SAT college admission exam “will soon go fully digital, ditching paper test booklets and answer sheets, and get much shorter, shrinking from three hours to two.” The changes “and others announced by the College Board on Tuesday will take effect at international test sites next year and domestic sites by spring 2024. There are no plans to offer the digital test to students at home.” Post-secondary institutions “across the country have halted or ended testing requirements during the coronavirus pandemic, and some competitive schools...declared they won’t consider scores from the SAT or rival ACT at all.”
The New York Times (1/25, Saul) reports the College Board “is trying to retool the exam that has stressed out millions of students in the face of questions about whether college admissions tests are fair, or even necessary.” In pilot runs “that were conducted last year, 80 percent of students said they found the digital tests less stressful, according to the College Board, which said laptops or tablets would be provided for students who need them.”
The AP (1/25, Thompson) reports Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessment at College Board, said, “The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant.” Rodriguez continued: “We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform. We’re taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible.”
----- SUPPLY CHAIN -----
Supply chain issues remain a problem for school districts
Supply chain disruptions continue to create unprecedented challenges for school systems, with little sign of letting up. Experts warn that the omicron variant has thrown yet another wrench into the works as China orders new lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, schools are struggling to purchase staples such as paper and milk. Food services have been hit especially hard. Although it is a global problem, involving international economic and political factors, multinational companies, airports, seaports, and national governments, school district officials can still employ strategies to ease the impact. Administrators are advised to formulate a risk management plan, in order to deal with shortages of different sizes. The formulation of these plans can be help by looking at what is going on further up the supply chain, by talking to vendors, peers, and counterparts in other districts about how long it is taking them to get orders. The key to success, according to the Association of School Business Officials International, is fostering good relationships with vendors and remaining in constant communication with them. That way, districts can get better intelligence on the lead-time for deliveries.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Two-fifths of teachers could quit if impacted by K-12 censorship laws
Among 2,000 teachers surveyed nationwide by Stand for Children, a nonprofit advocating for equity in public education, and SurveyUSA, an independent research firm, 37% said they are more likely to leave the profession at the end of this school year if a push for laws that “prevent honest teaching and conversations” reaches their classrooms. Overall, 29% said they were likely or very likely to quit teaching at the end of this school year, according to Stand for Children. Additionally, 93% of surveyed teachers agreed it’s important for children to “learn to value and respect the humanity of every person and to recognize and reject racism,” Stand for Children found. The Stand for Children survey highlights how laws seeking to ban issues of race, gender or other divisive topics in the classroom are only adding to the list of reasons teachers may want to leave the profession, said Colin Sharkey, executive director of the Association of American Educators, a national non-union professional educator organization.
Teachers receive top marks for handling of pandemic
Parents overwhelmingly back decisions public school leaders are making to navigate the pandemic and give teachers top marks, according to a poll commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Conducted in mid-December by Hart Research Associates and Lake Research Partners, the survey found that 72% of parents say their schools provide excellent or good-quality education, and 78% say they are pleased with the quality and performance of teachers. In addition, 83% of all parents say they are satisfied with the schools’ efforts to keep students and staff safe. “This polling shows the virus is our enemy, not each other,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Parents are saying teachers are heroes for their efforts during this pandemic and they deeply value how their public schools have gone above and beyond to help their kids recover and thrive."
New Mexico Governor substitutes amid teaching staff shortages
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday became the first state employee to serve as a substitute teacher in Santa Fe Public Schools, as part of an emergency program she authorized to try to keep schools open amid a COVID-19 surge. Lujan Grisham’s face time with kindergartners at Salazar Elementary School came as the omicron variant has left a wave of staff and student absences - and a lack of COVID-19 test availability - that forced dozens of schools to return to temporary remote learning. As of Wednesday afternoon, the statewide program had 119 applicants and had issued 70 licenses, including 50 to New Mexico National Guard members.
Collaboration key to addressing school staff shortages
To alleviate staffing shortages, schools are being encouraged to partner with their communities, universities, state education departments and even other departments in their own school districts. Collaborative efforts are especially important now as states, districts and schools determine how to effectively and rapidly spend funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund on staff recruitment and retention efforts, speakers advised during a January 17th session on leveraging ESSER funds for the special education workforce at the Council for Exceptional Children's Convention & Expo in Orlando, Florida. Keane Alavi and Amy Colpo, from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) highlighted a new resource from AIR's Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and its Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform Center that details examples of how states and districts are putting ESSER money toward school staff. The resource also highlights specific routes states and districts are taking for staffing stabilization, such as alternative routes to teacher certification, grow-your-own programs, educator preparation program and district partnerships, social and emotional supports, financial incentives and more.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Schools continue to invest in virtual tutoring
School districts are continuing to spend American Rescue Plan funds on virtual tutoring services, despite Education Secretary Miguel Cardona's exhortations to officials to end instruction through screens. Virtual tutoring is a big business opportunity for the education technology sector. Investment in ed tech surged to $3.2bn in just the first half of 2021, from $1.7bn in all of 2019, according to market research from Reach Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in education. Now some online tutoring start-ups are drawing half their new business from federal funds, according to James Kim, a partner at Reach. Districts typically pay $1 to $100 per student who will use tutoring services over the course of a year. Critics say online tutoring rarely matches up to in-person tutoring, and that only a few such services replicate strategies that research has shown to be most effective, such as a paid, trained tutor who has a consistent personal relationship with a student. “A key piece of tutoring is that social relationship with a caring adult,” said Amanda Neitzel, an assistant research scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education. “How can you build that in an online format?”
----- SOCIAL & COMMUNITY -----
More work needed to ensure effectiveness of equity plans
Many school districts adopted equity policies in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, but more work is needed to ensure these efforts aren't seen as merely symbolic, argues Mary Rice-Boothe, chief access and equity officer for The Leadership Academy, a nonprofit focused on helping education leaders disrupt systemic inequities. She highlights the importance of certain components, such as having a common language and shared beliefs, which begins with teachers addressing their own racial consciousness and examining "cycles of socialization" that show what educators may unconsciously be doing that prevents students from being successful. She also advises that districts leverage data to facilitate focus group discussions and ensure feedback comes from diverse groups. After the process is complete, districts can create an action plan that holds stakeholders accountable for improvements.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Fewer California high school students file FAFSA applications
College and high school students use the FAFSA to apply for federal financial aid and grants. The California Dream Act application allows students who are undocumented or who participate in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to qualify for state financial aid. Although students may apply for aid at any time, the state’s priority deadline is March 2nd. California’s FAFSA completion rate among 12th graders is down this year compared with previous years. Compared with January 14th last year, California is down 5% in high school seniors completing a FAFSA application. According to the national FAFSA tracker, of the approximately 512,000 12th graders in the state, only 139,138 had completed the application as of Jan. 14. Nationally, as of Jan. 14, 31.4% of the Class of 2022 has completed a FAFSA, a 0.3% increase compared to the same time last year, according to the National College Attainment Network, or NCAN. Patrick Perry, the director of policy, research and data at the California Student Aid Commission, described the decrease in applications this year as “concerning,” especially once one examines the population that is not completing applications. He said the pandemic has made it more difficult for high school counselors to be able to work with students to complete the forms.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Pandemic created hugely damaging losses in education globally
A new report by the United Nations children's charity Unicef reveals that school closures during the coronavirus pandemic have led to hugely damaging losses in education among children around the world. Analysis shows that over 616m students are still being affected by full or partial school closures almost two years since the pandemic began. Unicef added that children across the world have lost basic reading and number skills, and the disruptions have also affected their physical and mental health. It said that up to 70% of 10-year-olds in poorer countries were "unable to read or understand a simple text" because of lost schooling. Robert Jenkins, Unicef's Chief of Education Robert Jenkins, asserts that "just reopening schools is not enough" and calls for intensive support to recover lost education. "Quite simply, we are looking at a nearly insurmountable scale of loss to children's schooling," he laments.
----- OTHER -----
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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