In case you missed it on Sunday night, we were glad to announce that we reached an agreement on an MOA that includes many of the most important safeguards and protections that we have long advocated for on behalf of our members and our students. This MOA covers key details regarding the provision of in-person learning to high-needs students at the Carter School, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, McKinley Schools, and Henderson Inclusion School.
Please be sure to read the special bulletin, the full MOA, and the joint press release with BPS. We want to thank all of the BTU educators and our parent allies who stood with us as we advocated for important safety and quality-of-learning protections in this latest agreement with the Boston Public Schools. Thank you also to the Building Reps of all four schools who have been meeting with us daily over the last week and through the weekend – and continue to communicate with us daily as the agreement is implemented and enforced.
We would also like to give a special thank you to AFT President Randi Weingarten. The national office has been extremely supportive as we continue to problem-solve together and look to other districts for possible solutions to these unprecedented challenges. Despite an incredibly busy schedule and week, she took the time to personally work with us as we negotiated through the weekend on the MOA and regularly follows up to ensure that we have what we need from both her and her office. The active support for our negotiatons as well as all of the national election work are deeply appreciated.
We will be going over the MOA, its implications and several other important topics on our agenda at our next monthly membership meeting TOMORROW, Wednesday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m. Please register ASAP. Please be sure to register in advance of the meeting. When registering, it is very important that you include your exact BPS ID# in order to expedite approvals. If you are retired or don’t have an ID# for another reason, please enter “000000.” The minutes of our previous meetings can be found behind the portal on our website.
If you have a minute, take some time to read this touching op-ed from BTU member Josh Benjamin, a first-grade teacher at the Russell. Josh writes about what he misses most about in-person teaching. We know that educators across the district, like Josh, miss seeing their students in person as well, and we hope that with everyone doing their part to keep each other safe, we can return to some level of normalcy as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to use our collective union power to keep everyone as safe as possible, whether remote or in person.
AFT-MA and MTA have partnered to track COVID cases in lieu of tranparent information from the states and districts. If you know of a confirmed positive case, please use this website to help us keep track. We may follow up with you if it is not already a confirmed case.
Thank you all for your continued engagement in our union advocacy as we strive to find solutions and reach agreements that provide the safety everyone deserves and the flexibility that everyone needs during this pandemic. Our work is not over as we continue to advocate, uplift our voices, share our solutions and ensure that even during this pandemic, we continue to fight for the schools our students deserve.