Our members joined our siblings from AFTMA, the AFL-CIO and dozens of other unions to offer their support to SAG-AFTRA and the WAG in their ongoing fight to secure fair wages and job security from Hollywood’s major studios. Join us again on Labor Day in solidarity with striking workers!
Welcome back to the educators who have already started the school year, and to everyone else, we hope you are having a restful last few days of summer. This is the last summer special bulletin, but keep an eye out for our big back-to-school bulletin coming out next week as we resume our usual schedule. In the meantime, we wanted to update you on activities in the last few weeks of summer as well as highlight some important changes implemented by last year’s agreement to keep an eye on.
In August, BTU members joined hundreds of our union siblings in a demonstration on Boston Common in support of SAG-AFTRA and the Writer’s Guild of America as they continue their strike against Hollywood studios. Actors and writers have been fighting for fair wages and a guarantee that their jobs won’t be replaced by AI programs. We’ll be joining our union families again on Monday, September 4 for another rally at 10:00 a.m. on Boston Common. Come out in support and make sure to wear your BTU blues. If you can join us, please let Karen Cross at kcross@btu.org know so we can coordinate and send details.
30 Minute Meeting: Remember that every school needs to run a BTU 30 minute back-to-school meeting during PD hours. Most schools will hold this meeting on Wednesday, September 6 (as spelled out in the red contract book on p. 49). A slide deck presentation has been created to help facilitate these meetings. At this meeting, all members will have a chance to complete an important survey to inform our contract negotiations later this school year. We are looking for surveys from 100% of BTU members at your school!
Don’t Forget to Vote! Boston Retirement Board elections are happening now: BTU Secretary-Treasurer Karen Cross and Boston Firefighters Local 718’s Michael O’Reilly have both been endorsed by the BTU, the BTU Retired Teachers Chapter, and the Firefighters Union to be elected to the Boston Retirement Board. For more information, please see here! You can mail in your ballot or vote electronically.
The organization Ranked Choice Boston launched its campaign to bring a ranked-choice voting system to the city’s municipal elections. We’re proud to be one of the organizations working as a coalition to promote a more democratic form of voting. Check out their website to learn more about ranked choice voting and how you can offer your support.
BTU Political Director Johnny McInnis spoke on our behalf at a rally on Boston Common in support of Ranked Choice Boston, an organization that is working to institute ranked choice voting in local elections!
Thank you to our staff and volunteers who spent three days running tables at theNew Educator Institute at the Reggie Lewis Center to collect union membership cards and promote the impactful work the union does on behalf of its members, students and broader community. We welcomed over 300 new members and hosted a social at our headquarters on the last day of the NEI to introduce incoming members to the work our advocacy committees are focused on this year.
Many BTU members participated in a Black Educators Rally on August 24 outside of the Boston Public Schools headquarters in Nubian Square to demand that the school system follow through on its promise to recruit and retain educators of color. Multiple BTU members spoke, including Field Rep Lea Serena, E-Board Member Cecil Carey and two members of our Ethnic Studies Committee: Amrita Dani and Jukurious “JD” Davis. They emphasized the importance of hiring staff that reflect the student body and shared personal accounts on how educators of color made them feel welcomed and inspired them to enter the profession. Read more in the Globe.
We’d like to remind you that our latest agreement allows members of all faiths time off for religious holidays. If you are a BTU member, you may request a day off based on your personal religious practices with 10 school days notice. Now is a good time to do so and you can find the information here. We recommend putting in for the requests now so that you do not forget the 10 days notice!
We also have new class size limits for the upcoming school year. Please see an updated chart and remember that you can file class size overage grievances directly on our new and improved website.
Executive Board member Cecil Carey and several other BTU members participated in a rally in front of the Bolling Building to demand that BPS follow through on its promise to recruit, respect and retain educators of color.
We are hiring an Executive Assistant to join the BTU team. The EA will provide executive-level support to the President and Vice President, anticipate needs, ensure efficient operation of the President’s office and be self directed in an environment that can be fast paced and deadline driven. Please send a resume and cover letter directly to Michelle Frank ASAP.
As your focus shifts to preparing your classrooms for the year, make sure to mark your calendars for our 10th Annual Back to School Fair. We’re hoping to make this a particularly special event to commemorate the fact that the BTU has given away hundreds of thousands of books since this event first launched. Check out the flyer below, see translated flyers, and sign up to volunteer to sort books and help out the day of the fair if you can!
BTU educators can pick up free classroom sets if you have registered for FirstBook. Registration for FirstBook is free!
- Embedding SEL Practices in the Classroom: A Paraprofessional Focus
During this session, participants will engage in an overview of Transformative Social Emotional Learning (SEL). They will learn ways to implement Transformative SEL practices that support learning and foster community building for students.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept 5 remote offering from 1:00-2:30PM
Register - Movement Break
The Movement Break Training is a fun-filled hour where staff have an opportunity to experience first hand the value and joy of incorporating movement into the school day. Staff will leave the training feeling more empowered to implement their own movement breaks to enhance student relationships and overall academic success.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept 5, 1:00-2:00PM
WHERE: BTU
Register - Early Childhood Best Practices Through the Lens of NAEYC Accreditation (K0-K2)
The Early Childhood Department is offering a professional development session for paraprofessionals working in schools who are involved in the process of NAEYC Accreditation, Renewal, or Maintenance. This training will help prepare educators with an overview of best practices for Early Childhood classrooms based on NAEYC standard and criteria. Guided discussions and hands-on experiences will offer participants an opportunity to share and reflect on their teaching practices.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept 5, 2:00-3:00PM
WHERE: BTU
Register
Inclusion Planning Teams
It is going to be an exciting fall as school-based Inclusion Planning Teams (IPTs) begin working with their regional inclusion coaches to plan for inclusive education implementation over the next few years. There is a lot to know and we are working to ensure you have as much information as possible at your fingertips. There is a Toolkit online at bit.ly/InclusionFolder (case sensitive). There, you will find tools for electing your team, understanding the planning process and implementation timeline, professional development details, FAQs, and more! Please reach out to Katie DeLaRosa, the BTU Inclusive Education Liaison with additional questions and/ or concerns.
Setup and PD Days are Six Hours
In traditional schools, including Schedule A ELT, the first two work days (Tuesday and Wednesday) should be six hours in total including a 30 minute lunch. If your staff is mandated to work more than six hours today or tomorrow, it can be grieved at Step 1. A recommended remedy might be to reduce hours scheduled for later in the year. Please contact your Building Rep or Field Rep if you have further questions.
Fall Conference: Register today!
Join us for the BTU Fall Conference from Friday, October 20 through Sunday, October 22 at the Omni Providence Hotel. Our theme is BTU Building Blocks: Together and United as One. Open and free to all building reps and member leaders! Deadline to register is October 2. Register today at btu.org/fallconference.
Community Events and Announcements
We have two important climate justice related events coming up in September. Our Climate Justice Committee is working with 350 Massachusetts to recruit members interested in attending the March to End Fossil Fuels happening on September 17th in New York City. The movement is calling on President Biden to cease the expansion of fossil fuel use, ban drilling on public land and water and to declare a climate emergency. If you’re interested in buying a spot on the bus run by 350 MASS please register here by September 9th. If you want to connect with our BTU members attending, you can fill out this short form.
Secondly, we encourage you to attend an Open House on the Green New Deal for BPS on Saturday September 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn how BPS and the City of Boston are building a decision-making tool to guide investments in BPS buildings and share your thoughts on how to improve schools across Boston. Childcare for ages 1 to 12, interpretation and translation services, and refreshments will be provided. Please register here.