Membership Meeting TOMORROW:

Feb. 11th, 4:30pm, BTU Hall

If we’re being honest with ourselves, a Duck Boat Parade while there’s snow on the ground would’ve been a logistical headache. Congratulations to the New England Patriots for giving local football fans hope for the first time in AGES: about 5 years. Until next time.

We’re on to our monthly membership this Wednesday, February 11th, starting at 4:30 pm at the BTU Hall!

While the move away from Weighted Student Funding provides necessary transparency to the budgeting process, cutting school-based supports and positions will compound the harms caused by federal cuts. In the weeks ahead, we will fiercely fight for a budget that centers students, protects essential jobs, and ensures every child in Boston has access to the well-resourced public schools they deserve.

The district framed this budget as a compliance proposal. As we have always said, no matter the challenges this city faces, students deserve a baseline educational experience. We fought for this over past few contract campaigns: regardless of revenue, some services should be off limits because they are essential to a quality learning experience.

Every budget proposal is a values statement and we cannot call ourselves a world-class city if essential services for students have to be cut. We think our students deserve more than just compliance. They deserve to have access to arts class, a library, and team sports and clubs. We have heard from schools that preliminary budget proposals are not reflecting that vision.

We look forward to getting together at membership meeting tomorrow to discuss strategies on how we can advocate for our respective school communities. We’ll also be filming short member testimonies on these budget cuts to use for advocacy videos. Try to think of a concise but vivid example that can be explained in less than 30 seconds.

The BTU is already advocating for the City of Boston to fund the increase in health insurance costs, and we’re advocating for additional relief with community allies at the state level. One area of advocacy is for state funding to mitigate the harm for districts, like Boston, that have seen steep enrollment drops due to the federal government’s lawless assaults on immigrant communities.

Excessing Process

The BTU has compiled FAQs documents for members of the Teachers bargaining unit and the Paraprofessionals bargaining unit. The self-excessing deadline of February 1st has passed, the district is supposed to notify members by March 1st if they will be excessed by BPS. If you work at an autonomous school (other than UP Academy Holland or the Dearborn), you should have already received a notice if your position is being excessed. Paraprofessionals can rescind their self-excessing decision by February 14th.

Mayor Michelle Wu’s Executive Order on Immigration Enforcement
Last Thursday, Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order which among other things reiterates that Boston Police have the authority to ensure federal immigration agents follow local laws and that federal agents are banned from accessing non-public city property without a judicial warrant.

The BTU attended the EO announcement and supports Mayor Wu’s efforts to protect our students and families. However, the BTU is also calling on the city to “build on this order and inform families when there is federal immigration enforcement activity happening within 2 blocks of a school and issue clear, written, public guidance for protocols when this activity occurs during recess, arrival, and dismissal periods.”

You can read the BTU’s full statement here. Mark your calendars now, because we are preparing to participate in a nationwide Day of Action to Protect our Communities on March 4th as well as another No Kings rally on March 28th. We will share more details in the coming weeks!

All Black Everything Celebration at the BTU
Last Friday, more than 100 BTU members attended the All Black Everything celebration at the BTU Hall organized by the BTU Black Caucus. We were once again reminded of the immense talent our BPS students have. Thank you to Jacob Roach (NAACP award-winning vocalist), the Madison Park JROTC program and the Curley K-8 School dance team for providing the entertainment of the night. Thank you also to all of the vendors who participated! Check out some photos on our Facebook!

The School Department annually offers an incentive of a one-time $1,500 payment for teachers (and now paraprofessionals — we won that in our most recent contract!) who provide the district notification of their retirement at the end of the school year by January 9. This year, the district has agreed to extend that deadline until February 13. If you know that you will be retiring at the end of the school year, we encourage you to take advantage of this incentive. Information can be found in Superintendent’s Circular HRS-PP08.

BTU Events and Announcements

Haitian Educators Committee (HEC) Meeting: Monday, February 23rd, 5:00-6:30PM

Join us on Zoom to discuss issues and concerns in our community. We will continue to discuss how we can support the Haitian community and plan the next in-person meeting. Please contact Bianca Pierre at bpierre74@gmail.com for the zoom link.

Join us Thursday, February 12, from 5:30-6:30pm on zoom to learn more from BTU and BPS about Job Sharing for SY 26-27. Please fill out this registration form to receive the zoom link if you are interested in attending. Read more and find the official application form in the Job Sharing Circular. Applications for SY 26-27 must be submitted by March 25, 2026.

Union Night with the Dropkick Murphys: Buy tickets by February 20th

The BTU has a collection of tickets reserved for the annual Dropkick Murphy’s Union Fundraiser concert at the MGM Music Hall on Lansdowne Street. It will be $65 per ticket, which includes access to a pre-show acoustic performance with the band and a custom t-shirt. Please reserve by Feb. 20th, a paypal link for payment will be shared after you complete the form.

Retired Teachers Chapter Scholarships: Application Deadline April 7

Each year the Retired Teachers’ Chapter of the Boston Teachers’

Union awards three scholarships to deserving high school seniors who

are the children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces or

grandnephews of RTC members. One of these scholarships is

earmarked for a student who chooses to attend a vocational school or

equivalent institution. Applications for these scholarships can be downloaded from the BTU website or picked up at the BTU office.

BTU Dependent Scholarships: Application Deadline April 10

The BTU will be offering 16 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 to high school seniors who are dependents of dues-paying BTU members. If you’re interested in applying for the scholarship, please contact Michelle Frank (mfrank@btu.org) or download this 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.

• 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
• Co-Teaching Structures: Parallel Teaching Learning Site: February 4, 8 AM -1:30 PM
• Middle School Day of Learning: March 9, 8am-2:30pm
• MTSS Learning Cohort Session 3 on “Supporting Multilingual Learners through MTSS”
• Wicked Math Learning Site Series: Feb 12 or Feb 26

Community Events

CitySprouts Boston Area School Garden Conference, Feb. 28, 9:00-3:00

You are invited to join a cohort of local educators, gardeners, and administrators to: Build the greater Boston school gardening community, brainstorm ideas for inclusive curriculum and lesson models, and discuss how to create a greener future for youth in underserved, overpaved communities.

The day will feature panel discussions, presentations, interactive workshops, and breakfast & lunch. Registration

Teaching 250 Years of Immigration: February 25, 4:30-5:30PM

This free webinar, co-hosted by The Immigration Learning Center and the Institute for Immigration Research, invites educators to examine how immigration has shaped the nation from the Revolutionary era to the present day. Designed for K–12 educators, this session blends historical content, data literacy, and classroom practice to support inclusive and inquiry-based teaching in the lead-up to America’s 250th. Learn more and register here.

Citizens for Public Schools: Ice and Schools Webinar on Feb. 26

Join us Thursday, February 26 at 6:30pm for Citizens for Public Schools’ ICE and Schools webinar. Empower yourself by learning from front-line educators about the impact of ICE on our schools and communities. Learn what is being done to protect immigrant students and how individuals and communities can help. Learn more about the event and registration here

Voices of Boston Public Schools: 1st World Languages Week March 9th-13th

Join us for the first-ever BPS World Languages Week! We are celebrating our vibrant multilingualism with a district-wide Spirit Week featuring daily themes. Students: enter the poster contest. All staff, students & community: submit a video that celebrates “Voices of Boston Public Schools. Learn more here!

Practical Strategies for Supporting Immigrant Students with Disabilities Webinar: March 10, 4:00-5:30PM

This free, 90-minute webinar focuses on practical, classroom-based strategies K–12 educators can use to ensure meaningful access to education for multilingual learners with disabilities, how to make content-rich history and civics instruction more accessible, and how to better support Latino students with ADHD. Join us on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, from 4:00-5:30 PM ET. Learn more and register here.

My America Project: Nationwide arts & civic engagement program
The My America Project is offering USA Flag Kits to classrooms nationwide. The kits allow students to create art pieces which demonstrate their definition of American principles. Classrooms submissions will then be stitched together into a large American flag that will displayed at TBD location in Boston. Register your classroom here!

Friends of the Boston Schoolyard Newsletter

Friends of the Boston Schoolyard advocates for outdoor learning by supporting professional development as well as the maintenance and development of schoolyards as vital public spaces. We are currently looking for a treasurer for our Board. Our most recent newsletter features the Samuel Adams School.

In Memoriam

The BTU and RTC offer its love and support to the friends and family of Bruce L. Conley of South Boston, a beloved BPS swimming coach who passed on January 30th.

From his obituary: Bruce served as the swimming coach for both the Boston Latin School girls and boys swim teams, for multiple decades. His dedication to coaching earned him induction into the The Boston Latin Hall of Fame and the Eastern Massachusetts Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame. His students adored him and many stayed in touch with him up to this day. At the time of his retirement from the Boston Public Schools, Bruce was the swimming instructor at the Richard J. Murphy K-8 School in the Neponset section of Dorchester. He taught hundreds of Boston students to swim and loved them all. Donations may be made in Bruce’s memory to the Boston Latin Swim Team, at bls.org or mailed to Boston Latin School Association, 300 Fenway St., A375 Boston, MA 02115.

Thank You for Reading

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