TODAY- Haitian Educators Committee: November 17, 5:00PM
Please join us for a Haitian Educators Committee meeting this evening. Email Bianca Pierre for the Zoom link.

Parent Support Group
Parenting while teaching is harder than ever. With the support of a grant from the AFT Innovation Fund, we are ready to restart our parent support group. Sign up to receive the Zoom link. See the flyer for dates and times.

UPCOMING DEADLINE- InSPIRED Fellowship: Deadline November 23
Registration is open for all educators of color to join DESE’s InSPIRED virtual Statewide Affinity Network, a group created to help Massachusetts retain a diverse educator workforce. The year-long network aims to create a safe space for educators of color to network and engage in dialogue about their authentic experiences, explore professional development opportunities, and/or action that makes for a more equitable experience in their schools in an effort to retain a diverse workforce. This opportunity is open to any and all educators of color.

NEW- K0-K2 Paras Virtual Coffee Hour: November 19, 4:30-5:30PM
Please join the Early Child Dept. for Para Virtual Coffee Hour! See flyer for details and Zoom link.

NEW- Important Upcoming School Site Council Training
The School Site Council plays a critical role in hiring of staff, reviews and advises on the budget, and can waive the provision of the collective bargaining agreement or any School Committee rule regulation. To register, please contact Caren Carew or Cyntoria Grant.

NEW- Unions in the Fight for Safe Schools: December 3, 6:00-7:30PM
Join us for a discussion with educators on the frontlines of the struggle for safe schools. Register for the Zoom link here.

Computer Science Education Week: December 7 – 13
Celebrate Computer Science Education Week with BPSTech! Check our website for updates & opportunities for teachers and students, including #BPSCoders Student Contests open to all BPS students and asynchronous activities to try out during CS Ed Week.

NEW- Listening Tour
Over the next few months, the BTU will be engaging in listening tours with members with the goal of visioning for the upcoming negotiations, because our contract expires in August, 2021. Please fill out this form if you and the members of your school would like to schedule a listening tour session. We will follow up with you with available dates and times.

COVID-19 Testing Available to BPS Employees
In order to encourage and assist the City of Boston employees in getting tested for COVID-19, the City is now offering employees up to one (1) hour of paid time off in order to get tested during the workday. Employees may access this leave up to once every fourteen (14) days. This temporary paid leave benefit will remain in effect until further notice. Please use the BPS Employee Certification of COVID-19 Testing form and read through this FAQ.

BPS Survey on Teaching In-Person
BPS sent out a survey gauging interest of those who may want to teach in person.  If you missed the survey, you can find it here. The deadline has been extended because of the discrepancies of who received it. BPS has clarified that the emails were sent to addresses linked to ESS accounts. Staff have to be logged into their BPS Email to access the form. Staff who are getting bounced out of the form are likely not logged into their BPS account as their primary Google account while trying to access the form.

Enrollment for Flexible Spending Plans: Information Session November 19
Enrollment for Flexible Spending Plans for 2021 is now open. Be sure to sign up by November 23. Even if you have been enrolled in the past, everyone needs to re-enroll each year. As a result of the new PEC agreement, administrative fees will now be covered by the City – a savings of $48 per year! You can find the list of healthcare FSA eligible expenses here, as well as a $5 off coupon here. Want to learn more? Attend the last info session Thursday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. To join, go to https://zoom.us, select JOIN A MEETING, enter meeting ID 494 403 2605, and password 002441.    

Paraprofessional Informational Meeting: November 24, 4:30PM
Due to previously scheduled events, the Virtual Paraprofessional Conference has been rescheduled to Tuesday, November 24. There is no need to re-register if you have done so already. If you have not registered, please do so here.

BTU & BPS Paraprofessionals PD 
There are several upcoming webinars over the next three weeks just for paraprofessionals. These webinars are open to all paras and begin this week. We will be issuing PDPs. There are two options: asynchronous (watch on your own time) and live webinars. You must register to attend each live webinar. Go to our Paraprofessionals PD Playlist to register for a live webinar or watch asynchronous webinars.

Telescope Network Fall 2020 Survey
What do you need this year? The Telescope Network wants to help. Please fill out our Fall 2020 survey to help us better understand your learning needs. We will raffle off a dozen $25 Amazon gift cards for educators who complete our survey – and it helps us plan for future PD. Survey open to ALL BPS educators (teachers, paras, admin, other school-based roles, and district-level roles as well). More at the Telescope website!

Connect & Share with Your Same-Role Colleagues
Would you be interested in a virtual professional learning community? It’s a chance to connect with same-role colleagues from across the district and a space to share resources and dilemmas. You can participate when and how you want to. Right now, we’re starting up a PLC for World Language 9-12 teachers and for 7th-grade math teachers, and we’re hoping to start other groups as well. More info at bostonpublicschools.org/telescope.

Telescope Trivia Fall 2020
We’re back this fall for our popular team trivia league. Last spring, we had more than 190 players join us for a fun-filled hour of trivia. These sessions will take place on Tuesday nights at 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Join on your own, bring a team of colleagues, or bring your family/friends. It’s a chance to connect across BPS and have some fun. Register here!

Virtual Homework Helpers
Homework Helpers will be available for K-8 students Mondays through Fridays from 3 to 5 p.m. Students can visit the webpage during these time frames and help will be waiting. Please make sure to circulate this information to your students. The Boston Public Library is also offering a similar program.