Dear BTU Family,
We know the last two days have been incredibly challenging. We hope you are able to take some time to get much-needed self-care this long weekend. We are writing late this evening to give you all the latest updates:
1) The injunction was filed yesterday afternoon. The injunction hearing has been set for Wednesday at 2 p.m. (It was originally Tuesday, but was moved unilaterally by the court to Wednesday late today.) We will let you all know more about the outcome when we are able to.
2) We convened a press conference about the injunction yesterday evening covered by over a dozen media outlets, including the Boston Globe, NBC 10, CBS Boston, WCVB 5, and WGBH News.
3) The city has purchased 500 air purifiers for nurse offices and medical waiting rooms and is looking into air purifiers for special education rooms where students cannot socially distance or wear masks.
4) Follow-up air quality testing will occur in all schools prioritizing those with the highest number of HIPP students.
5) The Reopening Task Force Plan Review Committee met last night for three hours. They were able to approve three alternative hybrid plans: the Carter School, East Boston High School, and the Lee Academy. These plans now go to the superintendent for approval. We will have further guidance on creating plans out soon. The city is willing to expedite approval of satisfactory alternative plans which must first be submitted to your regional superintendent with the approval of your principal and building reps.
6) Clarification: the four days of in-person services will begin at the earliest Oct. 22 – not next Tuesday.
7) We continue to condemn the scare tactics and intimidation from the superintendent and some school leaders. The schools that have been most successful have been the ones where school leaders have had a trusting, supportive, and respectful relationship. Bullying and threats of discipline are not needed when there is a culture of community and mutual respect.
We have been in dialogue with the city for the last two days, which resulted in some of the aforementioned updates. We met for three hours yesterday and again for several hours today. While we have made some progress and appreciate the Mayor’s efforts to find a path forward, there are still outstanding differences that need to be resolved.
There is actually much we agree on. We agree that many HIPP students benefit greatly from continued in-person services. We agree that the disastrous response of the federal government to respond to this pandemic has put us all in a difficult situation. However, we disagree about how, when, and where it is safe to continue to provide in-person services. We also feel that educators are being scapegoated by the district for their lack of a better plan for HIPP students during this time.
The question of when it is just no longer safe for anyone to be in school buildings – HIPP students or otherwise – is still outstanding. We continue to believe this was already agreed upon, but at this point, we will have to resolve this at our court hearing on Wednesday. Despite what the superintendent sent with emphasis added to the second sentence in the MOU following the 4% language, that language negotiated was not intended to enable a carve-out for any subset of the student population – it has always applied to all students. A carve-out was never discussed or brought up during negotiations. The sentence about returning when BPHC felt it was safe to do so is supposed to be for after schools buildings were closed and rates went down. THEN they would determine when staff would return safely. The attempt to try to use this as a loophole is not in the spirit of our safety agreement.
We remain hopeful that we can resolve the differences expeditiously so that the disagreements between the union, district, and city do not continue to cause undue hardship for anyone – educators, students, families, and school leaders/staff. Our goal has always been to be collaborative and solutions-oriented. We will continue to advocate for an adequate and thoughtful plan for HIPP students, including our previous proposals that were shared at our rallies and town halls with special education families over the last two months.
Lastly, during these uncertain and challenging times, it is easy to start to vent frustrations towards others closest to you and to turn on those who should be natural allies: BTU member against BTU member, parents against teachers, school leaders towards staff. We cannot let that happen. We ultimately share the same goals: high-quality education, particularly for our highest-needs students – whether remote or in-person – in the safest ways and places possible.
Two BTU teachers have organized an action tomorrow in Dorchester to help further amplify and clarify what we are fighting for and why. As they write, “This decision [to ignore the MOA] creates a false choice for teachers between their safety, their livelihoods, and their students. It gives families a false choice between Remote+ instruction (with students zooming all day, isolated from peers, in unsafe buildings) or fully remote instruction. Our students deserve better! Our students deserve a plan that is truly safe and provides the best possible instruction. Learn more about the rally and demands.
We can all do better and we will continue to engage in constructive dialogue to solve the unprecedented challenges we have found ourselves collectively facing. We will continue to fight not just for the schools our students deserve. We will continue to fight for dignity, respect, and safety for all.
In solidarity and #InThisTogether,
BTU Officers and Staff