Join dozens of our community partners in a day of advocacy for the Thrive Act, a bill that would return policy decision-making power to local school districts!
Good morning,
One of the guiding principles of our work together is to always center the needs of those most impacted — including students, BPS families, educators and our neighborhoods — when advocating for educational equity, our contract and legislative priorities.
One of the strongest tools we have to successfully pursue change is the collective power contained within a unified coalition. Today is an opportunity to demonstrate our ability to empower and mobilize our partners and stakeholders in pursuit of our shared priorities by taking action to pass the Thrive Act!
This morning and throughout the day, we are joining dozens of educational justice organizations in promoting the Thrive Act to legislators on Beacon Hill. The bill would restore decision-making power where it belongs: to the educators, parents and students who best understand the needs of their schools. The Thrive Act would replace an MCAS-based graduation requirement with a requirement that revolves around a student’s ability to demonstrate mastery of coursework. It would also end the state’s undemocratic ability to takeover school districts.
In conjunction with Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA), we’ll be assisting in a letter-writing campaign targeting the lawmakers who have the influence to ensure the bill is reported favorably for consideration by the whole legislature. Individual stories on how these harmful policies wielded by DESE tend to resonate the deepest, so it is important to present as many individual experiences as possible. Following a letter writing campaign is a phone-banking campaign. This two pronged strategy ensures that our stories reach their inboxes and our voices echo in their ears. This is a fight for our students and the future of education in this state, and we all must do our part.
On the same day that we are fighting for our students, the billionaire-backed organization “Educators 4 Excellence” (E4E) will be actively lobbying for a bill that attacks the rights of all educators. E4E is pushing a harmful bill under the guise of educator diversity. Instead of joining the Educator Diversity Coalition and bill that we and dozens of allied organizations are supporting, they continue to lobby for a bill that is a thinly veiled attempt to remove job protections for all educators. The legislation would give the administrators the power to pick and choose which educators they want to see laid off. The bill would have a freezing affect on school staffers’ ability to advocate for their students and to challenge harmful school policies by exposing those staffers to potential retribution.
We agree that recruiting and retaining educators of color is essential to building a BPS that best serves our students. 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 that is already available: granting qualified 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.
Meanwhile, our members participated in a day of solidarity last week by wearing their BTU Blues in support of the Newton Teachers Association’s ongoing strike to secure a fair contract for their students and members. Check out our Facebook album documenting all of your contributions. BTU members also continue to stand on the picket line alongside the NTA and will remain at their side as they overcome an obstinate School Committee and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.
Each time we stand alongside our allies, we build unity and establish connections that are vital to building solidarity. Please contact Cecil (ccarey@btu.org) or Natalia (ncaudra@btu.org) to join our Solidarity Committee!
The January issue of the BTU Inclusive Education newsletter went out last week with detailed information about the latest updates on the outcomes and next steps from the first round of inclusion planning team submissions to the district, programing for multilingual learners, clarification on stipends for inclusion professional learning and inclusion planning team members, and more. Please note that the district is no longer requiring that 7th grade classes implement unclear changes to SEI programs next fall. We continue to work with our advocates and allies to ensure that changes both to inclusion and SEI are done in a thoughtful, playful and collaborative way.
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.
We want all educators to be aware that the deadline for teacher bargaining unit members to excess themselves is this Thursday, February 1st. We do not typically recommend that teacher bargaining unit members excess themselves because we do not believe in the process of placing our qualified educators in suitable capacity positions. We believe that all permanent educators have the right to an open position in BPS. However, we do want educators to know that if they do not excess themselves and do not find a position on their own, BPS has not always approved lateral transfers after July 1st. If you have questions about this, please contact your Field Rep.
We’d also like to invite students and BPS parents and families to join us tonight at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs on January 30th for a 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.
BLM at Schools Week of Action is coming up Next Week! See the flyer below for more details and information on how to get involved. There are many resources, events and activities, both locally and nationally, to celebrate this year’s theme of Collective Value.
Don’t forget, all are invited to our upcoming Lunar New Years Party on Thursday, February 15 to celebrate and learn more about the Lunar New Year! Educators, students and families are all welcome.
We understand how precious all of our time is, and we thank you for the time and energy you dedicate to the essential work that we all do. Have a great week!
Make sure to register for our BLM at School week of national action.
BTU Events and Announcements
BTU Community Contract Forum for BPS Students and Families: TODAY
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: TODAY
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.
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 register ahead of time.
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.
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.
Unafraid Educators Monthly Meeting February 5
Unafraid Educators is the BTU’s immigrant rights organizing group. Join us for our November Unafraid Educators meeting on Monday, February 5th at 4:30pm. We will meet at Fenway High. There will be free pizza and salad! Please email unafraideducators@gmail.com to be added to the listserv and receive regular updates.
Boston Labor Notes Meet-Up and Fundraiser: February 10, 2:00-3:30PM
Interested in building BTU? Then this social is for you! Come meet union members from across the city interested in building collective power and attending Labor Notes, a national conference with more than 200 workshops all about building a fighting labor movement. Please register ahead of time
BTU Housing Justice Action Forum: February 12, 5:30pm
The housing crisis is deeply affecting our schools. How can we use our contract campaign and our relationships with City Life/Vida Urbana and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization to ensure that all BPS students and staff have safe, affordable housing? Come to a panel Monday, February 12th, at 5:30pm at the BTU hall, to learn and take action to for housing justice! RSVP here. Dinner provided.
Bilingual Education/Accelerated Community to Teachers(BE/ACTT): February 13
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!
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.
Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets March 14th
We have limited amount of Celtics Tickets for March 14th balcony 310. Seats are $135.00 each. We are taking reservation and payment, tickets are on a first come first serve basis. The tickets will not be distributed until February 14th and must be paid in order to secure your seats.
Click the flyer above to be redirected to registration
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
- 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
- Elementary ESL Planning Cohort: Begins Feb 29, 12-3 PM
- Registration for SP24 RETELL Courses is Open
Community News & Events
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.
NEW-FREE Summer Middle School Science Program, July 1-August 2
The Arnold Arboretum runs a free, science and nature based summer program intended for current 6th and 7th graders from BPS, called Arboretum Young Scientists. We are actively recruiting students who are interested in furthering their learning and growth in science and love being in nature for our 5 week program, July 1 through August 2. The application form can also be found on the AYS (Arboretum) webpage, and it is in both English and Spanish.
In Memoriam
We are deeply saddened to share that Alana Greene, a longtime educator and active member of the BTU, passed following a long-term illness on January 20. Greene leaves behind her beloved daughter Kate, two brothers and many dear cousins and friends. Please see the full obituary. Our thoughts are with the entire Henderson School community as well as her friends and family during this difficult time.