Published On: January 6, 2026

Welcome to 2026!!
Dear Member,

Happy New Year–Welcome to 2026 and welcome back to school! In 2025, together we achieved significant progress and also faced equally significant challenges. However, we enter the new year with a sense of hope because we have proven that we, the people, continue to possess power in this country.

In 2025, we settled a contract with BPS that: secured historic wage increases for our lowest-paid members, increased resources for students with additional needs, and improved job security for teachers. BTU members at Neighborhood House Charter School and Codman Academy Charter Public School have made significant progress towards securing the first ever collective bargaining agreements at their schools.
The AFT was party to multiple successful lawsuits which reversed some of the Trump Administration’s attempts to illegally cut education funding and violate union workers’ rights; and AFT Massachusetts, including the BTU, is a plaintiff in an ongoing suit regarding the elimination of the US Education Department. We achieved this progress despite the federal government’s attempts to destabilize and divide:
the Trump Administration slashed education funding, fired tens of thousands of skilled public servants, froze funding to food assistance programs, and sent masked federal agents into our communities to break apart families.

Immigration enforcement and housing costs also resulted in a dramatic enrollment decline in BPS, which continues to fuel further division, including ongoing school closures and budget cuts.
The BTU will continue to fight against these cuts, which serve to harm, rather than help, our schools and our students.

At each turn, our members attempted to do what they could to help: members have completed trainings on how to be an effective ally to our immigrant communities, organized food and clothing drives for BPS families, and stood up to speak on behalf of others who could not.

2025 presented unprecedented challenges, yet we endured and learned a valuable lesson: Together, united, we will never be defeated!
Important Upcoming Dates: Additional Program Area and Excessing Deadlines

January 16th, 2026, is the deadline for teachers to submit an application for an Additional Program Area. Teachers can receive an APA designation if you are DESE licensed, and have taken the appropriate steps listed in Superintendent’s Circular HRS-HS07.1. Teachers can apply for an Additional/Alternate Program Area (APA) at the link provided in the above Superintendent’s Circular where they can submit an application and documentation proving they have satisfied the requirements.

Paraprofessionals who want to request reassignment to another school must submit the reassignment request  by February 1st, 2026. The request form can be found in Attachment #1 in the Superintendent Circular # HRS-HS07. Paras have until February 14th, 2026 to rescind this decision. Due to backlogs at USPS, it is suggested that the form is scanned and emailed to ohr@bostonpublicschools.org. Otherwise please contact Colleen Hart for the google form to submit virtually. It is also in the staffing circular HRS-HS07.

Permanent teachers have until February 1st to excess themselves. Teachers at autonomous schools must be notified by February 1st if they will be excessed.

You can find a comprehensive breakdown of the Excess process in the FAQ documents compiled by BTU staff for Teachers and Paraprofessionals. They are also posted on the FAQ page of our website.

Negotiating Team application

As we gear up for the next round of contract negotiations, we are seeking applications from members interested in serving on the BTU Negotiating Team. If you are interested in this role, please send a resume and statement of interest to eberg@btu.org by no later than this Wednesday, January 7th.

BTU Events and Announcements

AFT Member Survey: Impacts of Financial Debt
Workers are being crushed by the soaring costs of basics like housing, healthcare, child care and college. Two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck—and our members are not immune; they are feeling this pressure too. The AFT is conducting a confidential survey of its members to understand how rising costs and personal debt are impacting their lives. Please take this brief survey to help inform our national union priorities!

BTU Safety Committee: January 12 5:30-6:30pm on Zoom
Please join us for Safety Committee, January 12, on zoom to continue our work around creating healthy and safe welcoming schools. Fill out this google form to receive the calendar invite with zoom link.

BTU Pre-K Working Group: January 13, 5:30-6:30pm on Zoom

Please join our Pre-K Working Group on Tuesday, January 13, 5:30-6:30pm on Zoom as we collaborate and problem solve around issues unique to our youngest learners. Please fill out the form if you are new to our group.

BTU ELT Working Group: January 15, 5:30-6:30pm on Zoom

Please join us Thursday, January 15, from 5:30-6:30pm on zoom to continue our work exploring Extended Learning Time. Fill out this google form to receive the calendar invite and zoom link if you are new to our group.

BPS National Board Certification Information Session: January 12, 2026, 6-7PM

Want to take your teaching practice to the next level? Then join us for a virtual information session on National Board Teacher Certification (NBCT) and learn about the benefits to this nationally recognized credential and how it can strengthen your practice, elevate student learning, and open new professional opportunities! Register in advance and see you there!

BTU Latino Caucus Three Kings Day Celebration: January 15th

The BTU Latino Caucus will be hosting a Three Kings Day Celebration at the BTU Hall on Thursday, January 15th from 5:30-7:30! We are looking for people to sign up to bring food, participate in an open mic, and donate items for a raffle. If you are interested in attending and/or helping out, use this link to sign up!

Language in Centers (K1) Learning Site: Mon, Jan 26th at Ellison/Parks EES

Observe two K1 inclusion classrooms led by Farah Annylusse and Trinh Tu (Ellison/Parks EES), where students are engaging in meaningful conversations and play about big ideas, texts, vocabulary, and their growing knowledge of the unit. After the classroom visit, educators will reflect, synthesize the learning impact, and pose questions for a debrief with the host teachers. Follow-up coaching sessions are designed for collaborative feedback from the group of participants. ALC/PDPs are available.  Flyer | RSVP

 

Teaching Climate Change/Climate Justice Focus Group & Social: Feb. 5th

Join the BTU Climate Change & Justice Committee’s focus group to engage in conversation and share your ideas on what Climate Change related information and skills BPS should be teaching our students. Thurs. 2/5/26 , 4:30-6:00 PM, at the BTU Hall. The five BTU members on the joint BTU-BPS Climate Curriculum Committee (that we won in the last contract!) will be there to take your ideas back to the Committee. There will be light refreshments and beer/wine. RSVP here.

Professional Learning & Development Updates

Each week, we have many new and exciting Professional Learning & Development opportunities to share with you. You can find a full description of each listing on our Professional Learning & Development Updates Page.

  • Addressing Knowledge Gaps in Secondary Math (Connect & Share)
  • MTSS Learning Cohort Session 2: “MTSS in Secondary” – Wednesday, January 7, 5:30-7:00 on Zoom
  • SLIFE Educators Day of Learning: January 16, 2026; 9AM-3PM
  • Exploring AI in K-12 Education: Winter 2026 Session
  • SEI History Day of Learning, January 22, 2026, 9am-3pm
  • Early Career Mentoring Program for Professional Licensure: For provisional and initial-licensed teachers in their 2nd year or beyond
  • Teacher Training Opportunities from BHS Available on BPSLearns
  • Secondary Math Learning Site: Jan 16, 2026
  • Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms Connect & Share: Mon, Feb 9th and March 9th, 5:30-7:00PM
  • Telescope: Language in Centers Learning Site (K1) 8:00-2:00
  • Middle School Meaningful Math Learning Site: January 15, 8:30am-2:30pm
  • Telescope Network: Elementary IM Learning Site: January 23rd, 8:30am-2:30pm

Community Events

Free vaccine clinic at BTU Membership Meeting: January 14th, 3 to 7pm
The BTU will be hosting a free vaccine clinic at our monthly membership meeting at the BTU Hall. You can reserve an appointment by filling out this form. Walk-ins are accepted.

Survey on Student Cell Phone Use

Researchers at Harvard University and Dr. Angela Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania are inviting Massachusetts public K–12 educators to share their experiences with student cell phones in schools. Phones in Focus is a confidential, 5-minute survey about your school’s cell phone policy, when it started, and how many students are following it. Your input will be combined with test scores and student surveys to help us understand the effects of the bans on achievement, bullying, students’ sense of belonging, and more.

Take the survey here: phonesinfocus.org

Here is a 1-minute video describing the survey.

Friends of the Boston Schoolyard Newsletter

The Friends of the Boston Schoolyard is an organization that supports outdoor learning in the BPS. They publish a seasonal newsletter that highlights the work of outdoor learning that is happening in the BPS and shares information about other organizations that support outdoor learning. Link: https://conta.cc/3VnDyTL

#BPSCoders Contest 2025

Celebrate Computer Science Education Week with the annual #BPSCoders Student Contest! Please visit bit.ly/bpscoders for more information. The contest is open to all BPS students, grades K0-12, from December 8, 2025 to January 9, 2026. Contact hhosokawa@bostonpublicschools.org for more information.

Thank You for Reading

Please send your comments and questions to us at bulletin@btu.org, or call the BTU at 617-288-2000.
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