| Dear Member,
As we celebrate Black History Month and honor the contributions and sacrifices of so many activists past and present, it is imperative that our union collaborate with our allies to protect the principles our leaders once celebrated and resist the drumbeat of ignorance echoing out of Washington.
We encourage you to check out our Black Lives Matter at Schools week of action. You can find opportunities in the flyer above.
The past few weeks have been unsettling logistically, mentally and emotionally for many of our members, our students and their families. The Trump Administration has released a series of executive orders that threaten support services for vulnerable communities, terrorize our immigrant neighbors, and jeopardize public education across the country.
One of Donald Trump’s first decisions following his inauguration was to issue executive orders requiring federal agencies to cease all efforts to ensure there is a workforce that reflects the demographics of America, scrub their existence from government platforms and to place employees focused on that work on administrative leave. While his administration continues its crusade against a manufactured problem, the BTU will continue to strive to make sure this union offers space to celebrate and support the diverse cultures and customs of all members.
Not long afterwards, Trump issued two executive orders which directly threaten education autonomy and attempt to co-opt longstanding funding programs such as Title 1 and IDEA to serve private interests. The order instructs federal officials to withhold funding to states not pushing a “patriotic” education and provides a pathway for state officials to use funds designated for low-income and special needs students for school vouchers.
The BTU’s statement in response to the order lays it bare: “This order seeks to make our schools teach propaganda disguised as education. Educators are professionals dedicated to preparing students for the future, not political targets in a manufactured culture war”
We expect this is just the beginning, as there have been reports of Department of Education officials being placed on leave, and Republican lawmakers have already filed legislation to dismantle the Dept. of Education entirely.
As if using the Department of Education to take away services from vulnerable children wasn’t enough, the Trump Administration attempted to freeze all federal funding for thousands of assistance programs that impact millions of the country’s most vulnerable residents. The latest news is that a federal judge has blocked the order, but we know how quickly things can change with this administration.
The BTU has issued statements rejecting the administration’s Immigration Policies, federal funding freeze, as well as its education executive orders. Speaking out in unity can effect change and the near universal objection to the funding freeze did force at least a temporary back track. Our voices do have power and the BTU is in active conversations with community allies and local and state officials to create as many safety nets as possible for our communities now that we cannot rely on Washington D.C.
Contract Organizing and Acknowledgements
While the decisions on a federal level consume the country’s attention, we continue to fight for our own contract locally.
We must solidify policies in our contract to protect and support our students, especially with the threat of funds historically dedicated to students with disabilities being re-routed to support destructive school-voucher policies.
This Thursday Feb. 6th, district management has requested to hear first-hand accounts from educators in grades K2, 7, and 9 about their experience with the rollout of inclusion classrooms. This is an opportunity to speak directly to the individuals who set these policies and advocate for models that better serve our students.
If you are an educator in one of the roll-out grades, or if you’d like to attend a bargaining session, register to attend the negotiation session and BTU staff members will be in touch!
On a more positive note, the BTU has already succeeded in winning two important changes at the bargaining table. The BTU proposed, and BPS agreed to, two additional early release days for professional development in the upcoming school year. Additionally, in response to a BTU negotiating proposal, BPS has unveiled a salary dashboard that members can now access to verify that their pay is correct.
We would like to congratulate BTU member Sugeily Santos, a 7th & 8th grade School Counselor at the Curley K-8 School, for winning the 2025 School Counselor of the Year prize awarded by Massachusetts School Counselors Association (MASCA). The naming of Santos as the 2025 SCOY means that Boston Public Schools have had three of the last five SCOYs, including Jessica Descartes (TechBoston Academy) in 2021 and Andrea Encarnacao Martin (Boston Latin School) in 2023. “BPS should be proud of the work that their school counselors are doing,” said MASCA Executive Director Bob Bardwell.
The Curley school will receive a $5,000 prize and Sugeily will represent Massachusetts in the 2026 American School Counselor Association’s School Counselor of the Year competition.
This was a great way to have an early kick-off to National School Counselors week. This year’s theme is School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive, which highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
Thank you to all of our counselors for the work you do! |
