ABCFT YOUnionews for April 8, 2022
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
“April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.”
Not to disagree with T.S. Eliot but I would place April more in the “so far, so good” category at this point. It was a real positive to see our well deserved 5% raise finally appear in our April paychecks last week. A long awaited spring break is right around the corner. And there are under forty school days remaining in the year. But who’s counting, right?!?
Regarding other compensation timelines, the news from the district is that we can expect one check in June that will cover the retroactive portion of the 5% raise, the 1% off-schedule payment, as well as any retro for those who were teaching an additional period option. The negotiating team met yesterday to work on our master contract proposal and have another session scheduled for next week. And to put our successful salary campaign into a larger statewide perspective, our brothers and sisters in Sacramento just concluded an eight-day strike and are returning to the classroom after coming to an agreement on a 4% raise.
Last week I featured Pat Mancillas in my acknowledgment of how I am turning into my parents so this time Ruben Sr. will receive his due. My father taught art at Paramount High for over 30 years and, truth be told, I likely morphed into him some time ago. My own children ask why I watch the same genre of 70’s films over and over and it might be because their grandfather and I watched them together in the theater when they first came out. So please look me up if, for example, you would like to discuss Jan-Michael Vincent essentially playing the same character in 1972’s The Mechanic and 1978’s Hooper despite the tone of those respective Charles Bronson and Burt Reynolds films being quite different. What’s your favorite paranoid thriller, The Parallax View or Three Days of the Condor? I still get DVDs in the mail from Netflix for the endless amusement of my family. Thanks Dad!
In Unity,
MEMBER VOICES - ELD Survey for Elementary Teachers
Teacher Leader, Linda Baas is conducting a survey for elementary teacher about the English Language Development programs within ABC. She is asking elementary teachers please complete this anonymous survey if they haven’t already done so.
Click here to complete the elementary ELD survey
MEMBER VOICES - COPE Meeting - We Need YOU!
Do you want to get involved in local school board election as a COPE member activist or contributer?
The Committee on Political Education also known as COPE is a committee made up of ABCFT members who make voluntary contributions for the exclusive purpose of ensuring that teacher friendly school board candidates. ABCFT is preparing for the upcoming school board elections in November 2022 where there are three seats out of the seven up for election. An instrumental part of this board election preparation is having an active COPE. We hope you can find the time and let your voice be heard.
Click the link below to join your fellow ABCFT union members at this informational COPE meeting.
Register here for the ABCFT COPE virtual informational meeting
Tuesday, April 12th 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m
SCHOOL BOARD REPORT by Ray Gaer
Tuesday evening the ABC school board held a regularly scheduled board meeting. Highlights included: a presentation of the program plan for the expanded learning opportunities program (ELOP) and an informational item concerning School Facilities Capacities and Declining Enrollment. Not much drama, a few public speakers but I’m happy to say that the tone is calmer than in a previous couple of meetings.
Below are some of the highlights of the meeting.
School board president Report Soo Yoo, Superintendent’s Report, ELOP Plan Presentation, Demographics study (of interest because you can hear that board members are looking at the possibility of closing schools. More on this in the coming weeks.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
Health and Wellness Webinars
Join Share My Lesson’s Health and Wellness Community, with downloadable free resources for educators and adults. There are even more wellness sessions scheduled this month and next. Bonus: If you’ve missed prior wellness sessions, you can watch them on demand for free.
Sign up for all the sessions you want:
Guided Relaxation and Deep Rest Workshop | Register
Tuesday, April 12, at 6 p.m. EDT with Catherine Zack
Practices to Help Staff and Students Identify & Talk About Emotions | Register
Tuesday, April 19, at 6 p.m. EDT with High 5 Adventure Learning Center
Optimizing Your Own Well-Being: In and Out of Classroom | Register
Tuesday, April 26, 6 p.m. EDT with WE Schools / WE Teachers
The 5 Adult SEL Muscles that Will Make Your Life Easier! | Register
Tuesday, May 10, at 6 p.m. EDT with All It Takes
Register for All Wellness Sessions
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 well-being 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.
“We don’t fight for temporary teachers…” Told to me when I first joined the ABCFT negotiating team but nobody on the team knew I was still on a temporary contract.
You can imagine my horror when I heard the above quote stated matter of factly by those now retired members of the ABCFT negotiating team. My guts turned, and in my head, I screamed but outwardly I calmly informed the team that I was on a temporary intern credential for special education. I had begun my transition to a special education credential after completing my general education credential. Yeah, it’s insane that I got both credentials but back then there was no reciprocity between neighboring states so credentials were tricky. Regardless of my status, how was it that I could be on a negotiating team and I didn’t even matter in the scheme of things? Didn’t any of this contract language protect me? Outrageous as these statements about temporary status teachers they steeled my resolve that I would one day have permanency and eventually be in a position to fight my own union so that they recognized the importance of temporary teachers and their livelihood and families are just as important as those with permanent status.
So at the beginning of my career had two strikes against me, I was seen not only as an “encroaching” special education teacher but also as a temporary teacher who had no voice because I could lose my position for being too outspoken. However, one thing that all special educators have in common is that they can go to just about any district and get hired because their positions are so hard to fill. Knowing that I could get a job anywhere in special education made me fearless as I advocated for my students I demanded student equity and a voice for all special educators. Looking back now, I think I would not encourage anyone to be as pell-mell in their pursuit of justice, but there is nothing wrong with advocating for students. I got lucky and I was heard by the right people, and I survived long enough to see change for our special education students at Artesia High School. It was a testament to the fact that temporary teachers mattered and to this day I still hold that as a core belief.
This past week the CTE teacher who has been teaching in ABC for multiple years was notified that they now have permanent status and I imagine that those with this new status will feel more valued and will have less anxiety about their financial futures. Isn’t that what we all want from an employer? Congratulations to those CTE teachers. This is a big step towards parity on a number of issues.
Being a temporary or intern teacher now is just as gut-wrenching as it was 25 years ago. When you receive your lay-off notice in March it is a blow to your idealism of education. In a sickening way for a short time, it feels just like working in the private sector where you can be let go at any moment. The March 15 pink slips are a necessary escape valve for districts so they can adjust their staffing numbers to fit the number of students enrolled and when there is declining enrollment there tends to be more temporary contracts than in years of steady or increasing enrollment. For example, during the recession of 2008-2013 ABCUSD had approximately ninety temporary teachers which is almost ten percent of our total unit size. ABCUSD was one of the very few districts during that time that NEVER gave out March pink slips to permanent employees. I would attribute this fact to the collaborative partnership between the ABC District and ABCFT but that’s a story for another time. At this time ABC has approximately half the number of temporary teachers that we had during the recession and I attribute this fact to the planning and professionalism of Dr. Zietlow in Human Resources. She understands the importance of temporary staffing but she also acknowledges that every employee's employment stability has a direct impact on the culture of a district, the motivation of employees, and the importance of retaining staff. For historical reference, ABCUSD usually rehires over ninety percent of its temporary employees for the following school year. For the most part, those that are currently temporary employees should have some idea about their positions from their principal/supervisor by the end of the school year but I am sure that it is agonizing for those temporary employees during this long waiting period.
As long as I am president you will never hear me say that temporary employees are not important. I understand their plight but now I also understand the financial reasons for this rite of passage before becoming a tenured permanent employee. Our Master Contract protects all members regardless of status and every member deserves to be treated with dignity. ABCFT advocates for all members regardless of status. WE ALL MATTER.
Four more school days before a much-needed Spring Break, hang on, you can do it.
Have a good weekend!
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
Here is a recent email response that we sent out to a site representative who had good questions:
Is there a new hiring policy?
No, the district continues to hire and place teachers on temporary contracts based on student enrollment and district needs.
One of our teachers told us today that she has to fill out a new application and interview again for her job. She said that now new hires are temporary for the first 2 years, then probe 1 and 2 for the next two years. What is that?!
After we became aware of this change in policy, thanks to your email and calls I received from other temp teachers. I spoke with Dr. Zietlow and expressed the lack of dignity and value temp teachers felt by having to reapply. She assured me that was not the intent and apologized. She shared that in an effort to ensure as many as temporary contracted teachers return next year, the district asked temp teachers to submit some new hire paperwork on EdJoin which helped streamline the process for HR. They are looking into modifying this process and will not be treating already employed ABC teachers the same as potential new hires. The district is hoping to inform teachers of their placement for next year by mid-May. This delay is due to the remaining unknown factors such as declining enrollment and online independent studies which directly impact the number of needed teachers.
Since she is not an official staff member, does she even get to move up the step and column for pay?
Temporary teachers are official staff members and move up the step and column for pay at the beginning of the following school year.
If you are temp are you really considered even a unit member?
Yes, temporary teachers are ABCFT unit members.
Temp teachers don't vote for banking minutes or anything because it doesn't even officially affect them the following year.
Temporary teachers are considered 'affected members' and therefore should vote for banking of minutes and site rep election. The only exception is if the member has been told explicitly by their principal they will not be returning to ABC next year.
CALL TO ACTION- YOUR UNION ACTIVIST VOICE IS NEEDED FOR
CERRITOS COLLEGE FACULTY
The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has officially declared that negotiations with the District and CCFF are at an impasse. The impasse was declared after more than fifteen (15) months of negotiations, having exchanged over sixty (60) proposals with the District over about 25 different bargaining sessions, shared by Lead Negotiator, Dr. April Bracamontes, a Tenured Communication Studies faculty.
Cerritos College Faculty have been working without a contract for a year, and have not seen pay increases since the ratification of their previous contract in 2018. While faculty have not seen changes in their pay, the college has watched their unspent reserves increase. Cerritos College currently has a 36% unrestricted reserve -- $41.8 million -- last year. $36 million more than is required by the CA Chancellor’s Office.
CCFF is looking to settle a contract that secures wages that reflect their experience and qualifications and to build toward a more equity-focused workplace. Unfortunately, our district is only interested in off schedule lump sum payments.
Please help support the faculty at Cerritos College by signing our digital petition https://tinyurl.com/
P.S. CCFF's union president is a proud graduate of the ABCUSD, Go Gladiators, class of 2004.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT’s Weingarten Congratulates Ketanji Brown Jackson on Historic Confirmation to US Supreme Court
For Release:
Thursday, April 7, 2022
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice of the Supreme Court:
“The confirmation of Justice Jackson is a momentous day for our Constitution and the rule of law, and for young girls everywhere, particularly African American girls. As Sen. Cory Booker recently said, referencing a quote by Maya Angelou, ‘Rise, Judge Jackson, all the way to the highest court in the land.’ Rise she did—to become Justice Jackson, and the American people will be better off because
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
With students in turmoil, teachers train in mental health
Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts. In low-income areas, where adverse childhood experiences were high before the pandemic, the crisis is even more acute and compounded by a shortage of school staff and mental health professionals. Luna-Herrera, who teaches in a high poverty area of the Mojave Desert, is among a small but growing number of California teachers to take a course called Youth Mental Health First Aid. It teaches adults how to spot warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy. The California Department of Education funds the program for any school district requesting it, and the pandemic has accelerated moves to make such courses a requirement. The training program is operated by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and available in every state. “I don’t want to read about another teenager where there were warning signs and we looked the other way,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino, author of a bill that would require all California middle and high schools to train at least 75% of employees in behavioral health. “Teachers and school staff are on the front lines of a crisis, and need to be trained to spot students who are suffering.
----- Aftermath of Sac City Teacher/Classified Strike -----
Sacramento schools to reopen as teachers end strike
The teacher strike that has shut down schools in Sacramento City USD for eight days is over. District and union officials said Sunday that an agreement had been reached between the district, the classified employee union SEIU Local 1021 and the Sacramento City Teachers Association, with schools to reopen today. The tentative agreement with the teachers union includes ongoing 4% salary increases starting with the current school year; 3% one-time stipends for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years; one-time payments of $1,250 in the current school year; 25% rate increases for substitutes who filled in for absent teachers this year; and 14 more sick days for subs who test positive for or have symptoms of COVID-19. The deal also addresses teacher health benefits, which have been a point of contention for years between the district and union. “The district will continue to provide 100% paid health coverage through Kaiser and a mutually agreed upon alternative plan or plans. The current alternative plan is HealthNet,” the district said. The teachers union will also “withdraw a grievance and all of its pending unfair practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Board.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Biden administration announces expanded resources for trans students
Recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility, the Biden administration has announced a range of initiatives and resources to advance equality for transgender Americans, including students. Included in the new initiatives are plans for expanded trainings focused on the challenges transgender and nonbinary students are confronted with and how schools can support them from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools. The Biden administration fact sheet announcing the initiatives highlights that bullying, rejection and denial of healthcare place transgender youth at increased risk of suicide and mental health challenges. It also highlights the White House's opposition to state legislation that marginalizes LGBTQ students, which are considered likely to run afoul of federal civil rights laws including Title IX.
What a historic undercount of Latinos means for schools
The U.S. Census Bureau reported in March a significant undercount of Latinos in the 2020 census data, an outcome with wide-ranging implications for K-12 education, experts and community leaders say. The population count that happens every 10 years to determine the number of seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives historically undercounts certain demographic groups including Latinos. But the 2020 undercount of 4.9% for Latinos was about three times greater than the undercount of 1.5% in 2010. Factors behind the drop include an underfunding of the census program, and the Trump administration’s unsuccessful bid to add a citizenship question onto the census form, which likely deterred some immigrants from participating. Thanks to the undercount, states and regions with large Latino populations likely now have legislative electoral districts that are larger than what the numbers say they are. This could lead to the drawing of K-12 school board electoral maps in a way that disadvantages Latinos’ opportunities to serve on the board and partake in the election process. This comes at a time when Latino leadership in education is needed to ensure the community’s needs are met by representatives with deep ties to the community, according to Arturo Vargas, chief executive of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.
Cardona urged to do more against anti-LGBTQ measures
As more states pass anti-LGBTQ legislation affecting schools, from transgender student athlete bans to more recent bills that opposition have dubbed "Don't Say Gay," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has been firm and consistent in his stance: the Department of Education will not let these actions slide. Legislation that advocates say restricts LGBTQ students' rights is making its way through state legislatures as the education community awaits revised Title IX proposed regulations, now expected in May rather than this month. Those regulations are expected to include protections for LGBTQ students, and specifically transgender students. However, advocates say Mr. Cardona could act sooner, using its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to enforce its 2021 notice of interpretation that said Title IX protects the rights of LGBTQ students. "OCR has done nothing to help schools with the incredible Catch-22 they are in when balancing state and federal laws regarding transgender student rights," said Jackie Wernz, a partner at Thompson & Horton, a law firm that represents public schools. Wernz said OCR could take a number of steps to support LGBTQ students, including issuing focused guidance explaining how it would respond if a school follows an athlete ban law, opening directed investigations against schools that implement bans, and publishing letters related to cases for other schools to reference.
Quarter of America’s superintendents plan to leave their posts
More than a quarter of America’s superintendents plan to leave their posts imminently, with hundreds more unsure they want to keep balancing pandemic-era 67-hour work weeks and staffing challenges, a new RAND survey of over 350 district leaders has found. While RAND’s early look at 2021 departure rates suggests the “big quit” has yet to play out among superintendents, an emerging trend raised concern: Urban school district superintendents are leaving in higher numbers than their suburban and rural counterparts. About 18% of urban superintendents left their position between spring and fall 2021, compared to about 13% of suburban and rural leaders. It is indicative of a persistent pattern that urban schools and districts experience higher teacher and staff turnover. In a previous survey, RAND found urban districts were more likely to face significant challenges like enrollment declines.
----- STATE NEWS -----
CSBA to split from national organization
The California School Boards Association (CSBA), which represents and lobbies on behalf of district and county office of education school board members, will sever ties with its parent organization, the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The CSBA's board of directors has voted not to renew its annual membership with the NSBA, in part because it says it doesn't adequately represent California at the federal level. CSBA President Susan Heredia also cited NSBA’s lack of communication and coordination, and the board's "dissatisfaction" with some of the national group's business practices." She added that 21 other state school board associations also parted ways with NSBA, putting the national organization’s future in doubt.
Student math scores touch off ‘five-alarm fire’ in California
Math scores of California’s average eighth graders on standardized tests in 2021 were in line with the knowledge and skills of fifth graders, according to a new analysis of the state’s Smarter Balanced tests. The results raise doubts whether traditional strategies like summer school and tutoring can succeed in making up such a huge gap in learning. The analysis was produced by David Wakelyn, founder of Union Square Learning, a nonprofit with offices in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., that works with education organizations on improvement strategies. It shows that students fell behind each year incrementally even before the pandemic, starting in third grade when tests were first given. Progress completely stalled last year, when most students were in remote learning. Eighth graders overall scored at the same level that they did when they took the sixth grade test two years earlier. Wakelyn tracked the scores of the students as they progressed from third to eighth grade and compared the results with the pre-pandemic cohort that took the eighth grade test in 2019, two years earlier. Smarter Balanced makes this possible since scores progress on a vertical scale from 2350 to 2700. Making standard – passing the test – requires a score of 2436 in third grade, 2485 in fourth grade and so on. Last year, the average scores of all groups in eighth grade were below standard except for Asian students, the only group whose scores significantly increased last year; their average score was in the upper range of exceeding standards. In his commentary, Wakelyn wrote that help can’t come too soon for besieged teachers. “The materials and know-how to embed support for prerequisites from several earlier grades does not exist,” he wrote. “To expect teachers, especially in middle and high school, to figure this out on their own places unnecessary stress on an already exhausted workforce.”
----- DISTRICTS -----
Nearly half of LAUSD students have been chronically absent this year
Nearly half of Los Angeles Unified students, more than 200,000 children, have been chronically absent this school year, meaning they have missed at least 9% of the academic year, the Los Angeles Times reports. In the three years just before the pandemic the district’s chronic absentee rate, already considered high, averaged about 19%. This school year it has been about 46%. For Black students the chronic absence rate is nearly 57%, for Latinos, 49%, and for homeless students, 68%. “We thought we were going to go back to normal this year and it just hasn’t happened at all,” said Erica Peterson, national education manager for School Innovations & Achievement, a company that works with districts to track and improve attendance. “It is going to take a long time to right the ship.” Experts say that one of the best ways to increase attendance is to ensure students feel connected to their teachers and safe and supported on campus, something that’s even more important at a time in which many students have suffered from isolation and trauma. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is planning to launch an “I Attend LAUSD” program, which would create a team of trained counselors whose primary responsibility is preventing chronic absence by identifying and supporting at-risk students . The framework for the program should be ready by this summer, he added.
----- LEAL -----
How states vary on the Pledge of Allegiance in schools
A Texas teacher agreed to pay a $90,000 settlement this week after he was sued by a student on First Amendment grounds for requiring a class to write out the Pledge of Allegiance. The incident occurred in 2017 when teacher Benjie Arnold asked his class to write out the Pledge of Allegiance or receive a failing grade. The student, Mari Oliver, wrote a squiggly line on the paper, and failed the assignment as a result. Oliver, who is Black, refused to write out the pledge over religious and social justice reasons relating to the treatment of Black Americans in the United States. Forty-seven states in the U.S. require the Pledge of Allegiance be recited in public schools, with varying exemptions for students or staff who wish to opt out. The Hill offers a full breakdown of states' laws on the Pledge in schools.
Judge issues tentative ruling in LAUSD vaccine case
A judge said Wednesday he is inclined to deny a legal challenge to Los Angeles USD's student COVID vaccine mandate brought by the father of a 12-year old student, but he took the case under submission after a hearing. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff did not say when he would issue a final ruling in the case brought by a father identified in court papers only as G.F. The man filed the case October 8th on behalf of himself and his son, a Science Academy STEM Magnet School student who is referred to in court papers as D.F. G.F. maintains the state and not the LAUSD is authorized to issue vaccination and that the district's requirement that unvaccinated pupils 12 years old and over attend independent learning classes outside campus violates the state Education Code. In his tentative ruling explaining why he is leaning toward denying the petition, the judge said the LAUSD has a constitutional mandate to provide a "safe and peaceful campus for its students and staff" and that the district is therefore "permitted to take action to protect the health and safety of all students and staff." The LAUSD mandate does not deny a public education or educational services to any student who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, but instead says that unvaccinated students 12 years old and older will be limited to participating in off-campus independent study or seeking some alternative means of instruction, the judge further wrote.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
How students are affected by on-campus police presence
In an opinion piece for The Hill Jason P. Nance, a professor and associate dean for research and faculty development at the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, discusses how the presence of police officers in schools impact student involvement in the criminal justice system. He reports the findings of a study he conducted with Michael Heise of Cornell Law School that used U.S. Department of Education data; they found that in the 2009-2010 school year just over one-third of schools surveyed reported the presence of a law enforcement officer at least once a week. In the 2017-2018 school year, the most recent data available, that increased to just over half of the sampled schools. This increase occurred even though it remains unclear whether school resource officer programs effectively reduce school crime and deter acts of violence. "Our study is consistent with other studies that showed that the presence of a law enforcement officer at a school can transform how common disciplinary issues are managed," he says. "Instead of seeing routine incidents as opportunities to apply pedagogically-sound disciplinary practices, they often are redefined as criminal justice issues requiring police intercession and/or arrests."
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Senate inquiry warns about harms of digital school surveillance tools
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) have asked the Federal Communications Commission to clarify how schools should monitor students’ online activities, arguing in a new report that educators’ widespread use of digital surveillance tools could trample students’ civil rights. In October, the senators asked four education technology companies - Gaggle, GoGuardian, Securly and Bark Technologies - that keep tabs on the online activity of millions of students across the country to provide information on how they use artificial intelligence to glean their information. Based on their responses, the senators said the companies’ software may be misused to identify students who are violating school disciplinary rules. They cited a recent survey where 43% of teachers reported their schools employ the monitoring systems for this purpose, potentially increasing contact between police and students and worsening the school-to-prison pipeline. They also said schools parents and communities are not being appropriately informed of the use of the data. Three of the four companies indicated they do not directly alert students and guardians of their surveillance. Warren and Markey concluded a dire “need for federal action to protect students’ civil rights, safety and privacy.” An FCC spokesperson said they’re reviewing the 14-page report and an Education Department spokesperson said they “look forward to corresponding with the senators” about its findings.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Absence rates in UK 'remain at concerningly high-levels'
Data from the UK Department for Education reveals a total of 179,000 pupils (around 2.2%) were off last Thursday because of Covid, down from 202,000 (around 2.5%) in mid-March. Figures show that 46,000 teachers and school leaders (nearly 9%) were absent from open schools on 31 March, down from 48,000 on 17 March. One in five state schools had more than 15% of their teachers and school leaders absent, down from 23% two weeks before. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: "It is very difficult to operate in these conditions. The Government's decision to withdraw free testing in such circumstances is a retrograde step, particularly with exams a few weeks away, and we have repeatedly urged ministers to reconsider.” Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said absence rates "remain at concerningly high-levels". He added: "We continue to hear a sense of deep frustration from school leaders as they struggle to deal with the significant and ongoing disruption caused by Covid - whilst the Government removes every measure they have for controlling it."
U.K. class size limits should be ignored so Ukrainian children can be enrolled
U.K. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said that councils should work with newly arrived Ukrainian families to ensure children can attend school as soon as possible, including by ignoring class size limits. He has written to local authorities to say that officials should be looking to provide places and, where necessary, use the flexibilities to admit above published admission numbers and exceed the infant class size limit. Mr. Zahawi also said he is “extremely grateful for the warm welcome many local authorities have given to the families who arrived from Afghanistan and Hong Kong” and thanked them for their “tremendous support” in helping Ukrainian families settle in the UK. NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman, said: “There will be many schools up and down the country welcoming Ukrainian refugee children into their classrooms ... It's important that schools are able to access the support they need, including translation services, so that they can fully meet the needs of these children and families." In the Times, Emma Yeomans speaks with four children who are among 12 young refugees starting at Colfe's School in southeast London on scholarships for Ukrainians.
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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