Good morning,

Welcome to the new year and welcome back to school! We hope you all had a chance to get some much needed rest and were able to spend time with loved ones over the winter break. As we reflect and envision new goals, we also hope for peace both locally and abroad in the new year. We are grateful for our diverse membership of more than 10,000 educators, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, school nurses, psychologists, guidance counselors, related service providers, and are hopeful that our unity will continue to build on our momentum to face whatever 2024 brings.

We confronted some significant challenges in 2023, but we remained steadfast in our commitment to serving our students, promoting social justice and contributing to a resurgent labor movement.  At the end of the year, our union was the target of a coordinated attempt to weaken our membership by an out-of-state organization funded by billionaires intent on dismantling workers’ rights. We are proud of our members for standing together and remaining dedicated to the essential work we do together to build the best possible schools for our students and educators. We sent out a special bulletin and have a continued response planned for the next few weeks.

Our Inclusion Planning teams navigated compressed deadlines and shifting directives  sent by the state and district regarding SEI classrooms. Schools will be notified by January 5 of their approvals and may collaborate with BPS throughout January to make adjustments based on the feedback provided. We have developed a “How to Understand your School Inclusion Plan” document that explains the review process in more detail. We will continue to closely monitor the next steps of the Inclusion planning process and whether or not schools are able to get the additional resources they need to get Inclusion Done Right. If not, we will continue to do what we always do—mobilize and organize to fight for the schools and communities our students, educators and families deserve.

2024 is a year full of opportunity. We remain committed to advocating for legislation that supports our retired members by adjusting the Retirement plus program and increasing COLAs. We’ll also continue to pursue the passage of the Thrive Act, which will remove the pressure of high-stakes testing as a graduation requirement and the threat of state takeovers of schools and districts. Our political team is already looking to November and is building a strategy to mobilize our members for what will be one of the most significant presidential elections in our lifetime.

Our members have made significant progress in crafting a contract proposal reflective of our membership’s diverse perspectives and needs. We are finalizing the language of our proposals centered around Sustainable Work and Working Conditions, Educating All Students and Equity and Respect for Educators. We will have an update at our next membership meeting on January 10 and plan to vote on the proposal for February. If you need childcare for the next meeting, please register here.

Getting this contract ratified will require collaboration, energy and a unified front to reinforce the idea that an investment into our facilities and educator support systems is an investment in the future of our students and communities. Be on the look out for important BPS faclities planning update later today.  

 

In light of the issues we have been experiencing with our Bulletin delivery system, we have signed onto a new digital mailing service. We value the connection that this weekly newsletter maintains with our members and community partners and look forward to reestablishing this reliable solidarity building tool. If you are a subscriber, please keep an eye out for a new eBulletin format next week. 

In the meantime, we are asking our Building Reps to please continue printing a copy of the bulletin, post it on your BTU bulletin board, forward the bulletin to your staff lists and/or leave a copy in the teacher’s lounge while we continue to address the email list issue.  You can also find our past eBulletins posted on our website. We encourage you to check your spam or “promotions” folders, and we will provide a new subscription sign-up form to share next week if you still continue to have issues.

As a reminder, BPS sent out an email and robocall on December 21st relaying that each BPS family and educator should have received COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test kits over the break. The City of Boston offers free tests and vaccines at the Bolling building and other locations across the city. If you do test positive for Covid-19, please follow these protocols and alert your school.

Finally, we were thrilled to host our annual Children’s Holiday Party over the break, bringing hundreds of our members and their families together for a fun celebration. We are planning to have a BTU Winter Party for our adult members at the end of January and will soon have more details to share. 

BTU Events and Announcements

BPS Paraprofessionals Technology PD Series: DATE CHANGE to January 22
Join this session to develop a basic understanding of BPS technology systems to be effective in the classroom and in schools with students. This tech training session aims to familiarize beginners with the fundamentals of basic navigation and the Google suite, and for those with more experience, a higher level look at these systems. The session runs from 5-7 p.m.

Housing Justice Committee Meeting: January 8 & 22, 5:30PM
Do you want to address homelessness in BPS and housing affordability for BPS staff? Join the Housing Justice Committee to plan an educational event around housing justice. The meeting is on Zoom at this link.

Strategies of Successful Inclusion for Children with Disabilities: January 9
The Pyramid Model Consortium is presenting a four part series for teachers, paras and UPK educators. Each session will have a different presenter; Session 1 on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 is “Power of Peers”. You can find more information here.

 

Bruins Tickets: January 15
The BTU has Bruins tickets available for the game against the New Jersey Devils at 1:00 P.M. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The seats are in Balcony 320 section and are $120 per seat. You can email our admin assistant Michelle Frank for more information and direct your payment through our Paypal.

 

Fund for Teachers: Plan Your Dream Summer Learning Experience: January 18
It’s not too early to dream of summer! Fund for Teachers awards grants of $5000 for individuals and $10,000 for teams to design your own professional learning experience for Summer ’24 anywhere in the world.  Designing your fellowship and writing the application requires time and planning, and the BTU is happy to offer you support, mentoring, and feedback to put your best foot forward! Learn more and begin your application today! Deadline is January 18th. Please contact Paul to be connected to a mentor.

NEW- Bilingual Education/Accelerated Community to Teachers(BE/ACTT): February 13
The program is designed for paraeducators, substitute teachers, community members, or career changers who wish to become teachers in the Boston Public Schools. Our program is “accelerated” in that we offer coursework, MTEL preparation, and several experiences and opportunities to get hired in the district- all in 12 months! Learn more about this event taking place at the BTU Hall.

NEW- Paraprofessional Online Vector Training
This “IORAD training” provides step-by-step instructions to get on to Vector and enroll in any PD offered to them. This training with help you learn how access Vector and how use Vector. You can find the presentation here.

NEW- A Conversation with Kim Kelly: February 4
Kim Kelly, the author of “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor”, will be speaking at the BTU Hall to discuss how past labor struggles and organizing tactics can inform our practices today. This is open to the public, please make sure to register ahead of time.

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.

• AFT Member Benefit Virtual Workshops
• Secondary Open Up Math Unit Virtual Previews
• Degree Completion
• National Board Certification Leader Team Seeks Leaders and Readers
• Secondary Leadership Certificate in Critical & Equitable Literacy
• Fund for Teachers: Plan Your Dream Summer Learning Experience
• Connect & Share on “Foundational Literacy”: January 18, 5:30-7:00 pm on Zoom
• Telescope Illustrative Math Planning Cohort: January 24, 12pm-3pm

 

Community News & Events

Education Justice Youth Survey
The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) is launching the 2023 Education Justice Youth Survey to understand the schooling experiences of students in Massachusetts and center the voices of youth in MEJA’s advocacy and organizing efforts. Current Massachusetts public high school students or recent graduates (within the past 2 years) are eligible for the survey. Those who take the survey will be entered into a drawing for one of three $25 Visa gift cards!

2nd Annual BLA Step and Stroll Fest: Deadline Application January 12
Boston Latin Academy is inviting all schools and organizations in Boston and surrounding areas to join us in celebrating Black culture in its finest in all forms of entertainment. If your school/ organization has a step team, dance team, choir or students who are extremely talented in other areas, we extend a warm invite for them to be part of the show! Registration is here and the actual show will be on March 8.

NEW- Job Opening at Arnold Arboretum
The Family Nature Educator will develop and implement nature-based programming for families with children in preschool and elementary school, who reside in two nearby Boston Public Housing communities: Archdale Village in Roslindale and South Street Development in Jamaica Plain. Details on the application process are here.

NEW– Scholarship Opportunity for Graduating Students
The Fidelity Scholars Program provides access to education and ongoing support to historically underserved and underrepresented students who want to attend four-year, two-year and certificate academic programs. The deadline to apply is January 11th.

NEW- MassCEC’s Equity Workforce Training, Equipment, and Infrastructure Grants: DEADLINE JANUARY 19
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is offering direct funding and technical assistance to organizations and vocational schools that can build and scale career pathways leading to climate-critical priority occupations for individuals from Environmental Justice (EJ) neighborhoods or low-income communities, members of Federally recognized and State-acknowledged Tribes, Fossil Fuel Workers, and other underrepresented populations. Learn More about the grant process here.

 

In Memoriam

Sheila (Holt) Drain, passed away in early December after battling health issues for the better part of the year. Sheila was a dedicated Special Education Teacher and BTU member. For 27 years she taught in BPS including at the Rogers and the Frederick. Even after retiring, Sheila dedicated time to mentoring new and veteran teachers.

Clare A. Joyce of Milton also passed in December. She worked in the BPS for over 35 years both as a teacher and administrator. She retired as principal of the Henry Grew School in Hyde Park.

Our thoughts are with Sheila and Clare’s loved ones at this difficult time.