The Seattle Education Association is the voice for educators standing with our students united to address the needs of our community and to transform our district into an anti-racist school system where every student thrives. |
It is with great sadness that we are sharing the passing of Deborah Greenwood, a special education assistant at Rainier Beach High School. Deborah will be missed by her colleagues, her friends, and her family for the brightness she brought forth. She was a presence in so many lives and impacted whomever she came in contact with. She believed in herself, her accomplishments and the ability for others to realize their own potential as well. Deborah was a strong advocate for her students, unapologetically addressing racism and holding others accountable to racial equity work.
Please consider donating to a GoFund Me started by a friend for funeral expenses and other costs that arise. Anything you can contribute would be helpful for the family.
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Frequently Asked Questions Related to Omicron
Q: What if I test positive for COVID? Do I have to use my ECPL and sick leave?
A: Last spring, Governor Inslee signed the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) into law. Click here to read more about HELSA.
A key element of HELSA is expanding Worker’s Compensation coverage for any “frontline” worker who contracts COVID. The presumption is an employee was exposed to COVID while on the job and would qualify for worker’s compensation. The burden is on the employer to provide a preponderance of evidence that the employee contracted COVID somewhere else. Staff should not have to use Emergency Circumstances Paid Leave (ECPL was negotiated in the 2021-22 Health and Safety MOU) or sick leave to cover an absence due to testing COVID positive.
COVID related claims are treated the same as other Occupational Illness/On-the-Job Injuries. This means employees need to report the reason for the absence to their supervisor, fill out an Accident/Incident Report, and call CorVel (1-877-764-3574). SPS asks that the call be made as soon as possible and the form be filled out and returned within 24 hours.
Q: Should I be wearing a KN95 or higher mask?
A: The department of health is urgently stressing the importance of appropriate PPE and they encourage people to wear KN95s or better in public life. For our work situation, you likely will need a KN95 or higher. To be sure, please review this L&I document. It is likely your working environment is a medium transmission environment, with some members in high transmission environments. For medium transmission environments, you should get a new KN95. Schools are employers and must make these available to staff. If you have any issues getting the appropriate PPE, contact your supervisor and copy sea@washingtonea.org.
Q: What are the thresholds for my classroom or school to pivot to remote learning?
A: SEA and PASS (Principal Association of Seattle Schools) leadership have been jointly insisting that SPS be more transparent and inform staff and families about what metrics the District is using to determine whether a classroom/school will need to pivot to remote instruction. We also have been asking SPS to share detailed absence rates for students, staff, and administrators as well as the unfilled sub rate per building/program.
Washington Department of Health (DOH) will be releasing updated guidance either later today or tomorrow. According to Dr. Umair A. Shah, Washington State Secretary of Health, the guidance will include K-12 updates for isolation and quarantine. Dr. Umair A. Shah also tweeted, “When outbreaks happen, Districts can opt-in to cascading closures in order to limit spread, starting with extra-curriculars, then classrooms, then schools, then districts.”
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SEA Delegate Nominations Now Open for 2022 WEA RA and NEA RA |
Delegates to the RAs play a key role in setting the direction of the work of the WEA and NEA for the next year. WEA is a member-driven, democratically governed organization and the annual Representative Assembly (RA) is its chief policy making body. Once a year, local associations send over 1,000 WEA members to gather for the WEA RA to collaborate, debate and vote on New Business Items, New Resolutions, and other provisions that govern the work of WEA. Delegates to the NEA RA perform the same key role at the national level to help set the work of the NEA for the following year.
The electronic nomination form is accessible HERE. Nomination and election information is available on the SEA website Elections page (https://www.seattlewea.org/elections/). All nominations must be made by an SEA member in good standing.
NOMINATIONS CLOSE: 7:00pm, Friday, January 14, 2022.
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SEA School Counselor Organizing Meeting Thursday, January 27, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
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Join your school counseling colleagues to discuss the newly ratified Senate Bill 5030 which effectively requires all school districts to develop a comprehensive counseling program for the 2022-23 school year. This is an opportunity to share what you consider opportunities and challenges to a comprehensive counseling program and any other issues related to its implementation.
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Drop in During SEA Governance Office Hours |
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SEA Governance is hosting Office Hours every Tuesday and Friday in January in order to connect with SEA Members directly as we start our full bargain. Please drop in to the Zoom room during your 30-minute duty-free lunch period to ask questions, share concerns, or provide input on the issues that matter most to you.
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More Upcoming Engagement Opportunities
Wednesday, January 12, 5:00-7:00 PM. SEA’s Disability Justice Coalition. Join the DJC’s quarterly meeting to connect with other disability justice advocates in our union. Register in advance for this meeting:
Saturday, February 12. 2022 WEA HCR Leadership Conference. Save the date for our 2022 WEA Human and Civil Rights Leadership Conference – February 12, 2022, 8:30am-1:00pm. Registration will open in mid-January.
The HCR conference provides training and mentoring for our historically underrepresented women and members of color for the purpose of diversifying our governance leadership and that includes elected positions and appointed positions at the national, state, council and local levels. The emphasis is to gather as many women and people of color into a leadership development space and provide inspiration, skills, networking and mentoring for the purpose of engaging and developing new WEA leadership.
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