Last week was full of celebrations, activism and action: BTU members celebrated the Lunar New Year on the same day the Pats held their victory parade, educators in Boston and across the country participated in the largest #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Week of Action to date, and BTU members convened for a day of inspiration, learning and building community at our 5th Annual Winter Conference!
Thank you to all who participated in our events this last week! We were grateful to hear from Durham Educators Association VP Turquoise LeJeune Parker, who shared the North Carolina #RedForEd story. It was clear that while we share many similar challenges, we also share many of the same solutions as well: organizing with educators, students and community members to build power to create the schools our #StudentsDeserve.
We were thrilled to welcome Turquoise LeJeune Parker, VP of the the Durham Association of Educators, to speak at our Winter Leadership Conference this past Saturday about the #RedforEd movement in North Carolina and beyond. Thank you to all of our presenters, participants and organizers for making it our best conference yet! #BTUproud
Negotiations for our own #StudentsDeserve contract continue weekly, and multiple subcommittees are meeting daily and through February vacation to get our new contract settled as quickly and thoughtfully as possible. We will know in the next two weeks or so just how close or far apart we are, and we will share more specific updates at our Membership Meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, February 13 at 4:30 PM. See the agenda, and don’t forget to sign up for childcare if needed!
#LoveTeaching Week starts on Thursday! #LoveTeaching Week is a grassroots campaign started by teachers in 2015 as an opportunity to celebrate teaching, leading, and learning in a way that unites and invigorates educators and those they inspire all around the world. Every year, Valentine’s Day marks the beginning of a week-long conversation that aims to illuminate why teachers enter and remain in the field of education, offering a mindset shift from the seemingly singular focus on the challenges of the profession. Read more about how you can bring #LoveTeaching to your school, and don’t forget to tag us or use the #BTUproud hashtag in your social media posts!
Lastly, thanks to all who participated in the BLM at School Week of Action — the photos of lessons, displays and student work were inspiring and impressive! Check out #BlackLivesMatterAtSchools to see work from across the country. As we move further into Black History Month, please check out our extensive list of classroom resources celebrating and exploring Black history at btu.org/blackhistory.
Have a great week!