Educator Solidarity and Community Engagement
President Jessica Tang spoke at a rally in support of the Newton Teachers Association on Friday as educators continue to strike in pursuit of a fair contract. Thank you to all BTU members who have been able to join an event in solidarity! Check out our photo album and join our Solidarity Committee!
Good morning,
This cold spell is about to break, and we encourage everyone to take some time to themselves to enjoy the few spots of sunshine forecast for this week. Our work continues and we’ll need to rely on each other as we push to finalize our contract proposal- one of the strongest tools we have to advocate for our students, educators and school communities.
We’d like to invite students and BPS parents and families to join us next week at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs on January 30th for Community Contract Forum. This meeting explains how community input has shaped our contract proposal and offers an opportunity for the public to weigh in on what we prioritize in the coming weeks.
We’ve been inspired by the engagement and energy our community partners and especially our BPS parents continue to show. This past weekend, we hosted a Common Start Coalition community forum that brought together community members, early childcare educators, and elected officials to discuss the challenges that the early childhood education industry continues to face. We’ll continue to work with elected officials to advance two bills before the legislature that cut costs to families and provides financial assistance to service providers. We are also planning a day of advocacy around the Thrive Act next Tuesday, January 30th.
As we mentioned before, the legislature has a February deadline to decide whether they want to advance pieces of legislation for their next session. One of our ongoing priorities is to continue to recruit and retain educators of color. That is why we are in full support of the Educator Diversity Bill, which offers straightforward solutions to remove barriers for certification, establish diversity tracking dashboards and establish accountability to ensure these goals are enacted. We also continue to advocate for a return to a much more straightforward approach: granting educators of color permanent status after their first year of service. It does not even require changing the law and has been long underutilized by districts across the state.
Promoting this legislation and our solutions is essential to combat an opposing proposal from the harmful, “ed reform” funded Educators for Excellence (E4E) organization that purports to focus on increasing educator diversity, but is actually using it as a guise to take away job security. The mechanism their bill uses to achieve diversity is to remove the protections of all educators so administrators have more control over staffing choices during layoffs, regardless of the amount of years an educator has dedicated to the district. It puts educators who speak out, disagree with administrators or advocate for their students at far greater risk of retaliation.
We have met with the organization several times to share our concerns about this approach and have been met with intransigence. E4E is currently circulating an online petition to gain support for their bill. We encourage you to NOT sign the petition as E4E can use this personal information to intervene in our elections and target members with misleading information. They have already done this in the past in Boston and in other cities like Chicago.
Working with local and state officials is one tool we have, but rallying with our partners across the state is just as effective in generating support. We are proud to stand in solidarity with the Newton Teachers Association as they continue their strike in pursuit of a fair contract. Their proposals would provide fair wages to ESPs, provide more planning time for teachers, add mental health supports for students and adjust salaries for veteran teachers. Each time we stand alongside our allies, we build unity and establish connections that are vital when we need their support. Please contact Cecil (ccarey@btu.org) or Natalia (ncaudra@btu.org) to join our Solidarity Committee!
And that support may be needed soon. We plan to finalize and vote on our own contract proposal at our February 14th membership meeting, and are finalizing our public engagement and communications strategy. We’re excited to share these updates in the coming weeks and at the next membership meeting. When we fight together, we win together.
We are continuing to meet with BPS in regards to the district’s responses to IPT plans and concerns regarding the lack of transparency and rationale in responses to IPT plans submitted. We are reviewing all available data, including in feedback forms to see what trends exist across the district. Based on the data shared by BPS, we know that 87 schools received allocations, 19 schools did not receive an allocation, and of those 19 schools, 6 did not request any additional FTE (full time equivalency). We also know that the range of FTE allocation is 0 to 4 with an overage allocation of 1.3 per school. We do not have data on ten schools, including the day schools.
We will not lose focus on making progress towards the goal of being an inclusive district that fully supports and funds the services our students deserve. The immediate next step for school teams is to meet as IPTs and provide feedback to BPS on the allocations. The due date to submit the district feedback form is Friday, January 26th. See the feedback form to learn what questions are being asked. Please reach out to Katie DeLaRosa if you have any questions about the form or the current process. More details about inclusion professional development can be found here.
The Inclusion Done Right Committee is planning our next open forum with a goal of bringing members of all school-based Inclusion Planning Teams and others in a faculty senate style meeting to share experiences in this first year of planning, talk about the plan reviews and outcomes, and brainstorm next steps for advocacy and improvement. This will be a hybrid meeting on Tuesday, February 13th from 6:30-8:00PM at the BTU Hall (180 Mt. Vernon St. Dorchester. MA) and on Zoom. Please register by February 5th to receive the zoom link, to reserve child care, or to request interpretation services. Register at www.bit.ly/IDRForum. Please share this flyer with your school inclusion planning teams.
The first round of payments for inclusion professional development was included in payroll last week. Unfortunately, the rate at which IPT members were paid was incorrect. The pay rate was supposed to be the pro-rata rate and not the contractual rate. We have been told that communication is forth coming from OHC about the issue this morning, including how they plan to resolve it, and the timeline for when it will be resolved.
We loved seeing everyone at our Winter Membership Party last Friday! Our members enjoyed food, dancing and photoshoots to cap off the week. Check out our Facebook for photos. We look forward to seeing you all at our Lunar New Years Party in February!
BTU Events and Announcements
Trainings for BTU Building Reps and Member Leaders: January 29
We continue to offer trainings with the aim of equipping our members with the knowledge and tools they can immediately use in the coming weeks:
Mon. 1/29 at 5pm at BTU: Faculty Senate Training
Thurs. 2/8 at 4:30 on Zoom: Increasing Union Engagement In Your Building
Learn more and register at bit.ly/BTUwws24
NEW- Understanding Anti-Semitism and Zionism Presentation & Discussion: January 27th 4-6:30 pm:
BTU Ethnic Studies Committee and Jewish Voices for Peace are working together to bring a space for some political education and discussion time. Register here
NEW-BTU Community Contract Forum for BPS Students and Families: Jan 30, 6-7:30pm
Students and Families: Learn how your input shaped the BTU’s proposals. Help determine what to prioritize and fight for together! Join us at the St. Stephen’s Youth Programs at 419 Shawmut Ave. 02118. Food, childcare, interpretation available with advanced registration. Register here: bit.ly/BTUccf
NEW- Thrive Act Day of Action: January 30
Join us and our community allies for a day of action in support of the Thrive Act.
We’ll come together in-person and virtually across the state to take action, bring communities together, and grow people power across Massachusetts.
The time is always right to build an accountability and assessment system rooted in our most impacted communities. Register to learn more about how you can fight for educational excellence.
NEW- Job Share Seminar: January 31st
Are you interested in Job Sharing next year? Join the BTU and representatives from BPS at our union hall next Wednesday for an informational session. Make sure to registerahead of time.
NEW-Important dates for paraprofessionals: February 1st Excess Pool
The deadline for paraprofessionals to submit their request for a reassignment is on February 1st. This is also the deadline for the district to notify people who have been identified for involuntary excess. There are multiple other important dates for paraprofessionals pertaining to transfer requests, excess and layoff notices approaching in the coming months. Check out this breakdown for more information.
Seeking Feedback on Professional Development Trainings
Telescope Network, BPS, an the BTU Para Professional Development Committee are looking for some feedback to help plan future PD offerings. Please consider filling out the para survey
Climate Resilient Schools Coalition Network: February 8
The Climate Resilient Schools Coalition is a diverse network that empowers teachers, students and community members to catalyze rigorous climate education and infrastructure improvements in Massachusetts schools by passing and implementing climate action resolutions at the district level. Register for the inaugural meetingof the Climate Resilient Schools Organizing Network on February 8 from 4pm-5pm. In the meantime,fill out this brief, 2-minute survey to get involved and stay connected with organizers statewide who are working to build more climate resilient schools.
Bilingual Education/Accelerated Community to Teachers(BE/ACTT):
The program is designed for paraeducators and others who wish to become BPS teachers. 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! Join us for an Informational Session on February 13th from 4-6p.m. at the BTU Hall to learn more, and also see our flyer.
BTU Lunar New Year Party: February 15
The BTU and APALA’s Lunar New Year party will be held at the Boston Teachers Union (180 Mt. Vernon St Dorchester, MA 02125) from 5 to 7 p.m. Register in advance so we can prepare enough food!
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.
Retirement Planning Seminar: March 6
There will be a Retirement Planning seminar at the BTU Hall with guests from the Social Security Administration and City Of Boston Health Insurance attending. It is never too early to start planning for retirement. Find more details in this registration form.
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
- Telescope Illustrative Math Planning Cohort: January 24, 12pm-3pm
- SLIFE Math & Native Literacy Learning Site: February 5
- Racial Trauma Resource
- Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts Fellowship Opportunity
- Telescope: Student Centered Illustrative Math Learning Site\
- Approaches to Multimodal Engagement with Modern and Contemporary Art
Community News & Events
NEW-Boston Education Justice Alliance Retreat: Sat, Jan 27, 10-3pm at the BTU
Join BEJA for organizational wide retreat. Learn from community mapping and strategizing for 2024. Check out the flyer here and help us grow!
NEW- Trivia Night at Long Live Roxbury: February 2
Join us at Live Long Brewery in Roxbury for an in-person trivia social event sponsored by the Office of Educator Development and Leadership (OEDL) and hosted by Mark & Kadian from the Telescope Network. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. Trivia starts at 5:15. Come solo or bring a team of colleagues. Free apps! Free cover! Prizes for winners! Fun for all!
Iron Workers Local 7 4th Annual School Supply Drive: February 24
Our union siblings are hosting a school supply drive at their union hall located at 195 Old Colony Ave. in South Boston. They’ll be accepting donations at this location up until the date. All teachers, parents and students are welcome.
In Memoriam
We could like to extend our condolences to the Norton family following the loss of their son Boston Police Officer Pierce Norton. Officer Norton passed unexpectedly on January 11 at his home. Pierce’s mother Maureen Norton, his late grandmother Jenna Fitzgerald (long time Para/Sub Field Rep) and numerous close relatives have served Boston Public Schools and the BTU for decades. You can read his full obituary here.
Our thoughts are with Pierce’s wife, children, parents and his community during this difficult time.
Thank You for Reading
Please send your comments and questions to us at bulletin@btu.org, or call the BTU at 617-288-2000.