*CORRECTED EDITION: Correction in first article*
Ballots have been mailed.
They're due by November 5!
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
The Seattle Education Association is proud to endorse the following candidates in the 2019 election:
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD:
Reminder - elections for School Board candidates are citywide. Everyone votes for
candidates in all districts.
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL:
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WASHINGTON STATE REFERENDUMS
SEA took a Vote NO position on I-976.
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SEBB Update
The School Employees Benefit Board (SEBB) program Open Enrollment is October 1 - November
15. Employees are eligible if they are anticipated to work 630 hours or more this school year. For substitute employees, if you have worked 630 hours or more in the last two years, and it is anticipated you will do the same for this school year, you are eligible for SEBB enrollment.
A few reminders:
- Notification of eligibility has been sent out by the District via email. If you believe you are eligible for SEBB and have not yet received a notice of eligibility, please contact the District benefits line.
- Start the enrollment process early in order to ensure time for processing.
- Because of the change to SEBB, there are no healthcare premium deductions for the month of December.
- Every employee needs to register for the SEBB even if they are waiving medical coverage. Employees who do not register will be defaulted into a SEBB plan and will be charged both the monthly premium and the smoker surcharge.
Additional information and resource links available
at:
Regional Meetings underway for ARs
Joint SEA/SPS CBA Meetings - Dates, Times & Locations
Meetings for SEA building reps to attend with their building/program administrator.
ALL TIMES 4:15-5:45PM. *SEA building reps will be paid extra time to attend.*
Tuesday, October 29th - Sacajawea ES, Cafeteria
Tuesday, November 5th - Rainer Beach HS, Library
Thursday, November 7th - W Seattle HS, Lunch Room
Tuesday, November 12th - Cleveland HS, Room 1201
Thursday, November 14th - JSCEE, Auditorium
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SEA Center for Racial Equity
2019 Ethnic Studies Institute
CRE, in partnership with the Ethnic Studies program, hosted its first Ethnic Studies Institute this summer. The successful 2 week-long program brought together over 100 participants to focus on anti-racist work and how educators can be at the forefront of this work. There were 34 sessions ranging from introductory topics like recognizing racial inequities in schools all the way to critical pedagogy. Key components of the Institute were the student, educator and parent panels.
Anti-Racist Pedagogy Training Series
CRE continues to build on the great work of the Institute and is rolling out the Anti-Racist Pedagogy Training series. The goal of this training series is to build staff capacity and anti-racist school cultures and practices that improve culturally responsive practices and support the implementation of Ethnic Studies curriculum.
The series was developed in partnership with the SEA Center for Racial Equity, SPS Ethnic Studies Program, and the Culturally Responsive Teacher Leadership Cadre
Series. The series includes Racial Equity Literacy 101/102, Culturally Responsive Teaching 101/102, and Ethnic Studies 101/102. Courses can be accessed on Early Release Wednesdays and are offered as a recommended scope and sequence to best support educators in acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to create change in the classroom to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students of color and those furthest from educational justice.
Click HERE for additional information on the courses and how to request the courses for your school.
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Special Education Taskforce
The Special Education Taskforce kicked off its work on September 26. The SPED Taskforce
started with a racial equity training to develop our lens for the ongoing work. We will continue with racial equity training throughout the year in collaboration with the SEA Center for Racial Equity (CRE) and the Department of Racial Equity Advancement (DREA).
The SPED Taskforce purpose statement is as follows:
We, the Joint SEA/SPS Special Education Taskforce, explicitly acknowledge the inherent structural and institutional racism in the current special education service pathways. We will examine the impact of institutional racism and recommend changes and actions to dismantle and decolonize institutional racism in the current service pathways, student placement, and special education services, in order to create structural racial equity in special education. In doing this work we intend to strengthen special education practices, policies, and services for all students.
We will,
- Center all outcomes using a racial equity lens.
- Recognize the urgency of creating and sustaining anti-racist practices for students and families of color. This work is complex and requires continuous and intentional input from multiple stakeholders in order to create and maintain sustainable changes to redress white normative educational culture and systems.
- Dismantle and decolonize structures that uphold racist systems within special education, through reviewing and recommending changes to practices and policies.
Stay tuned for updates on the important work of this taskforce.
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CONTRACT CORNER
An ongoing segment of the Unity that will highlight different CBA provisions. Member knowledge of contract language is a critical part of our joint responsibility to ensure the provisions of our negotiated CBAs are honored.
Personal Leave FAQ's:
Under the new CBA, SEA members now have 4 personal days and 8 sick days. Current contract language still dictates use of leave (check the relevant article of your CBA).
The procedures for obtaining sick or personal leave are as follows:
a)
An employee who anticipates the need for taking short term leave shall notify her/his
supervisor at least three (3) working days before taking the leave.
b)
In cases of personal emergency or personal illness when it is not possible to give three
(3) days' notice, the employee shall notify their supervisor as soon as possible.
c)
The employee must make proper arrangement for a substitute, if they work in a position
for which a pool of substitutes exists.
d)
The employee must keep the supervisor informed about the expected duration of their
leave and/or expected return date.
e)
Fridays and Mondays, particularly those associated with a holiday weekend, are
generally those days which have the highest demand for substitutes and often the
Substitute Office cannot fill all requests for substitutes. Employees are encouraged not
to request personal leave on Fridays or in conjunction with holiday weekends. In the
case of an emergency, the SPS will attempt to provide a substitute, but in the cases
where no substitutes are available, the buildings will not be reimbursed by the SPS for
the lack of substitutes.
f)
Upon return from short term leave the employee is responsible for entering the absence
into the District's time and attendance system to ensure accurate time accounting and
payroll processing.
g)
Employees who fail to notify their supervisor of their leave status and/or fail to return to
work after the expiration of any leave will be subject to progressive discipline for failure
to follow leave procedures and/or job abandonment unless a written medical reason
from a health care provider is submitted to the District prior to the scheduled return
date.
h)
Any employee who is injured by a student and has been approved for worker's
compensation as related to the injury will not be deducted sick leave for the first two
days.
If you have questions on the use of personal leave, reach out to your Association Rep.
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The updated School Year Calendar (list of dates) for the 2019-2020 School Year has been released, including the Early Release days.
Here's the link.
The Early Release-specific calendar for 2019-2020 is available here: Here's the link.
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Don't miss out
on breaking SEA text alerts: text
SEATTLEEA
to 41411 to stay informed!
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SICK LEAVE REQUESTS
Thank you all for your generous donations to those who share their need for leave.
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Dianna Jolley, teacher at West Seattle High
has been stricken with a sinus infection, as well as a bad case of shingles. The time off needed to recover has depleted most of her sick leave already, and she will be most grateful for any hours you'd be willing to donate.
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Patty Murray in Accounting at the JSCEE is looking for sick leave donations while she cares for her sister who is suffering from Stage 4 cancer (her sister was a Sub at SSD until her ilness kept her from continuing to work). Any help is greatly appreciated!
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Members can access the shared leave form to donate hours by clicking
HERE. Forms can be submitted to
[email protected] or FAXED to 206-252-0021 or mailed to Seattle Public Schools, MS 33-380, PO Box 34165, Seattle, WA 98124-1165.
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