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SEA Impact Bargaining 2020 - Update for July 17, 2020:
United for Safe and Equitable Schools
The Seattle Education Association is the voice for educators and our students, standing united to address the needs of our community during this pandemic and to transform our district into an anti-racist school system where every student thrives.
From the Bargaining Table
It's been a busy week! You have probably seen several communications in the press, social media, and your personal email. To summarize...Barring adequate safety precautions from the district and widespread transmission rate decreases, SEA is not comfortable with the District's in-person A/B model which we believe gambles with the safety of our students, families, and educators. For that reason, SEA met with the District this week to discuss how to improve remote learning because it is the only model we are confident can be safely implemented. The bargaining teams exchanged proposals around professional development, recognizing educators need training and time to learn the best practices to implement a more equitable, robust, and accessible remote learning model.
In case you missed this, on July 10, Superintendent Juneau stated to KING 5 news that, "Even if we do come back in person, depending upon the activity of the virus, we will likely have to pop-in and pop back out [of our buildings] several times, so there will be a need for online instruction."
Clearly, Superintendent Juneau is acknowledging that our high levels of community transmission will require schools to close repeatedly.
Another development occurred on July 15 when Washington State Department of Health, Public Health - Seattle & King County and Institute for Disease Modeling released a new report that shows how cases will double within the first three months of schools reopening in-person unless a number of countermeasures are in place. The report explains, "Recent case data collected since this report was drafted indicate that levels of disease activity following the move to Phase II are too high to support school reopening at this time." The report further calls on our community to make significant efforts to improve our activity.
Needless to say, your SEA bargaining team and subcommittee members have been busy and remain committed to developing proposals to address the many issues and concerns to start school in September.
If you have questions or concerns, especially as it relates to family engagement, please feel free to send an email to SEAbargainingteam@washingtonea.org or reach out to one of the bargaining team or subcommittee members directly. Remember, your input drives our bargain.
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Meet the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee!
Davina Diaz
, PreK Paraprofessional; Marla Rasmussen, Elementary Paraprofessional; Mahamoud Gaayte, ELL Paraprofessional; Charlie Mercer, ELL Teacher; Priscilla Allen, ELL Teacher; Eve Soffer, Pre-K Teacher; Bridgett Baldwin, Elementary Teacher; Kaitlin Kamalei-Brandon, Elementary Teacher; Derek Grandbois, K-8 Teacher; Rebecca Wynkoop, Librarian; Jessica Staire, Elementary Specialist; Elizabeth Hogan, Elementary Specialist; Katherine Landerholm, Middle School Teacher; Evin Shinn, High School Teacher; Edmund Trangen, High School Teacher; Meesh Vecchio, Special Ed Teacher; Len Hill, Consulting Teacher; Shannon Ratner, Secondary Registrar; Susan Talley, Admin Secretary; Ceci Mena, SEA UniServ Director, Tim Kopp, SEA UniServ Director.
There are two additional bargaining subcommittees in addition to the Core Bargaining Team. Student Supports will be highlighted next week. Health & Safety Subcommittee was highlighted last week (
click here
) and Core Bargaining Teams were highlighted two weeks ago (
click here
).
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are SEA and SPS still bargaining?
A: Yes! Our SEA bargaining team is hard at work. On Saturday, July 11, SEA sent a letter to Superintendent Juneau that SEA will not continue with interest-based bargaining based on recent communication from the district to staff. This communication had not been shared with the SEA bargaining team and was shared via other channels. We have now moved to traditional bargaining where the parties develop their own proposals independently and exchange proposals at the table. Sometimes both parties of the table will discover they have put forward very similar proposals- and sometimes they are far apart. When both parties are far apart, it takes negotiations to find a middle ground that both parties can agree to.
Q: My administrator ordered me to come pick up my belongings because SPS is preparing for socially distanced, in-person learning. What if I don't feel safe picking up my belongings?
A: First, it's important to emphasize SEA and SPS have not reached an agreement on any one model- let alone agreed to any in-person model. Secondly, in the Spring, SEA and SPS established protocols on how members could safely return materials to the building as well as take home materials as needed at the end of the school year. SPS is not honoring that agreed-upon protocol. SEA is encouraging members to email their administrators emphasizing that this is not something SEA and SPS have agreed to and share your health concerns. It is not respectful to our educators that administrators are threatening to throw their personal supplies and other belongings away.
Send Us Personal Stories via Video!
SPS and our community need to hear our educator voices.
We need to be able to hold the line for what is right; to proceed in safety, in care, in compassion. That if we err, we err on the side of caution, not gambling with the lives of our students, families, or educators. We also know our families are struggling, and we must do better with remote learning and center our students furthest from educational justice.
Cell phone videos are preferred. Keep the message under 2 minutes. Speak from the heart.
If you need a jump start, try speaking to one of the following prompts:
- I empathize with parents/families' anxiety right now because...
- I miss my students, but I care about their safety so...
- What we did in the spring was not remote learning, but crisis education. We can do better by...
- Even if health and safety protocols were in place, teaching in a classroom with 6 feet social-distancing rules means...
Communications is a Two-Way Street
Keep an eye out for the weekly Bargaining Update with important details and actions related to the bargaining process. Stay in touch with your colleagues and ask them if they are getting these bargaining updates. If not, forward this message to their personal email!
Important Dates to Calendar
July 23 from 5-6:30pm SEA Listening Session
Register in advance for this meeting:
July 30 from 4-5:30pm SEA Listening Session
Register in advance for this meeting:
August 12 from 1-3pm: SPS Board Special Meeting regarding Fall 2020 Re-opening
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The 2019-2022 Contracts are posted on the SEA Website!
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Seattle Education Association
5501 4th Ave S, Ste 101
Seattle, WA 98108
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