We hope you all have been able to enjoy the recent beautiful days of New England spring weather. The sun has certainly helped to brighten our days, and we wish you all a happy, healthy Spring Equinox.
As the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continues to reel and respond to the escalation of violence and racism, the AFT AAPI Task Force met last Friday to discuss how to continue supporting AFT members and the AAPI community as we continue to combat all forms of racial violence and racism. There will be several follow-up steps, including education resources, curated curriculum and book lists. In the meantime, please see resources from APALA on Anti-Asian racism and guidance on protecting AAPI workers, as well as statements shared last week by the BTU and AFT.
WikiWisdom Forums: Today until noon is your last chance to share your thoughts on reopening this fall! Join the conversation.
If you missed the special bulletin Friday: We have been consistently sharing and updating all of the resources available on making vaccination appointments for educators on our Vaccine Resources page. If you learn of any resources that haven’t been shared, feel free to let us know by emailing bulletin@btu.org. We thank Mayor Walsh, BPHC, district and community partners for their strong partnership in helping to get BPS educators and school staff vaccinated.
Last chance to register for the Parent2Parent Conference, taking place THIS Saturday, and reach out to families at your school site. This is a conference for parents AND educators to share and learn from each other, support family engagement, promote family advocacy, and strengthen family and educator collaboration. Thedeadline for registration is this Friday at noon. Please help make sure parents seeking interpretation register by the end of the day on Wednesday so we can guarantee our ability to meet their needs!
There will be a virtual City Council hearing regarding the implementation of the #BPSReady reopening plan this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. If you are interested in testifying, please reach out to Political Director Johnny McInnis.
If you haven’t already done so, please sign the MEJA petition asking the Governor to allow time for districts to prepare for 5 days a week in-person instruction. Boston BIPOC parent-led group is also hosting about a town hall for parents on Thursday night as well as demonstration at BESE on Saturday afternoon at DESE. View details and share their flyer. Many voices, paricularly those from BIPOC families, have been left out and they are demanding a seat at the table!
We learned yesterday that BPS has applied for a waiver to start grades K-8 in person 5 days a week beginning April 26 instead of April 5. We will be getting more details about the plan they submitted, which also includes opening the Horace Mann, Carter and McKinley schools 5 days a week. We also learned from BPS that DESE has changed its position on in-person students being counted as absent if they sign on virtually. We hope to get this confirmed in writing. Our reopened contract negotiations will resume this week after two meetings last week.
Simultaneous teaching is difficult, but is the reality most of us are now facing. BPS has created this one-stop splash page with links to resources, ideas, professional learning opportunities, and other supports. We will continue to advocate for the resources needed to improve both in-person and remote instruction while decreasing the need for simultaneous instruction.
The AFT and First Book are working together to help our members help their students succeed. Whether you’re planning a book distribution, creating care closets to support the whole child, or getting books for summer literacy programs, First Book and the AFT can help with everything from planning to title curation. Register for First Book today!
Substitutes – please see information on how to update your information on Smartfind to regain access to sub assignments. Due to a security update at Smartfind, you may need to register to regain access to the system.
Finally, we are excited to congratulate U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty on his Senate confirmation last night! He will be an asset to the nation and to the Biden-Harris administration as they advance a pro-worker and pro-union agenda to build back better for the benefit of all working people. We would also like to congratulate Mayor Kim Janey, who assumed the role of acting Boston Mayor last night and has also been a long time public education advocate. Mayor Janey’s term is already historic, with her being the first Black person to assume the role of the Mayor of Boston, as well as the first Black woman. We look forward to working with Mayor Janey’s administration to continue creating the schools our students deserve.