We hope you all had a restful Labor Day weekend, and a productive first day of professional development as we ramp up the beginning of school year activities. This is the first of regularly scheduled school year bulletins that are usually sent every Tuesday morning unless there is a Monday holiday, in which case it is sent on a Wednesday.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, we also regularly send special bulletins with the most up-to-date information on issues related to the pandemic response and often send special bulletins to Building Reps and other groups as needed.
We continued negotiations with the district on the MOU for this school year late into the night yesterday. We are hopeful that we will have an agreement soon. To hear more about what is being negotiated, please join us for our first membership meeting of the new school year, this evening, Wednesday, September 9 at 4:30 p.m. You must register in advance in order to get a Zoom link. Due to logistical restrictions, registrations cannot be accepted past 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
We know that everyone has many questions, and we hope to be able to answer them all soon as we continue to advocate for a sensible, thoughtful, equitable, and safe school restart. We thank you for your patience and trust in us as we continue to organize, negotiate, and work towards conditions that will enable a school year we can all be proud of.
Our solidarity with each other matters and your voices matter! Please continue to share your concerns with the district and city leadership, and continue to reach out to BTU staff if there are immediate questions we may be able to help you with. Please remember that we may not have answers to all questions at this time.
Two of our members have been featured on Fund Our Future’s Soapboxx platform, explaining why their schools can’t afford budget cuts. Check out the videos from Chantei Alves and Michaella Chung, and submit your own story!
Again, we will be in touch with you all soon as we have more details and information to share as we get closer to an agreement with the district on an MOU.
The following are a few other important updates and reminders:
- We continue to receive questions about options for leave, particularly for high-risk educators. We recommend seeking accommodations from the Office of Equity first. Please see the latest special bulletin for updated details, and click here for emergency paid sick leave under the FFCRA. If you need support or are applying for the family or childcare leave under for FFCRA, please email OHC leaves.
- Scheduling for Professional Development Days 9/10 – 9/18
All educators will participate in PD from 9/8 – 9/18. Tuesday and Wednesday (9/8 & 9) will be six-hour days, inclusive of 30-minute lunch. We are continuing to work with BPS on identifying classroom setup time. The remaining days will follow existing contractual workday requirements including daily and weekly P&D time and duty-free lunches. Educators SHOULD NOT be scheduled wall-to-wall for full days of new professional development content during this time. You should have plenty of self-directed and team time protected in your schedule to ensure you can apply your learning, and do your planning so you are ready for the first day of remote learning on 9/21. If you need assistance with planning your PD time, please contact Paul. - Guidance on Mandatory Professional Development Sessions
Each school leader will use their judgment to identify a priority set of sessions on Cadence which makes the most sense for your school and team, and for each individual. Those sessions which deal with health and safety information and protocols are the most important and must be prioritized in all schools for all employees so we can keep each other and our students safe. Work within your school to create a plan which balances the important content available with the need for sufficient team and individual prep time so we feel ready to begin remote learning on September 21. All sessions will be available asynchronously, and schools should make a plan for completing this important content as the year begins. School leaders should consult with their superintendents for guidance. - WIDA Professional Development Update
Many educators are being asked to complete the WIDA 15 hour self-paced Language Objectives and Differentiation PD. Educators must be afforded contractual time to complete this PD. If contractual time is not provided and you are required to complete it, you may do so on your own time and be compensated at your real pro-rata rate. - Attention Building Representatives: Every school should hold a 30-minute Union meeting TODAY unless you already had one. Please make sure that one Building Rep fills out the Exit Ticket at the end of the Powerpoint. Please contact icarver@btu.org if you need support.
- Attention Building Representatives: Building Rep Orientation Session is this Saturday morning, September 12th from 10:00 – 11:30 am. Please RSVP here and we will send you the zoom link. It is critically important that our union organization is strong this year and we are counting on your presence!
- Unafraid Educators and the Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA) co-founded a Relief Fund for BPS students and families experiencing financial need during this ongoing pandemic — regardless of immigration status. Please donate to and share the Relief Fund with your networks. All BPS students and families are eligible to apply.
- Continue to submit your COVID-related questions or concerns on our Google Form.