January Update
Welcome to 2022!
We truly celebrate having you in our union. Each of you are an asset to our membership and to the students you touch each day. We believe in your skills, talents, and knowledge and are excited to see what we can accomplish together to improve our working conditions and our students’ learning conditions. No deed will go unnoticed, from the smallest to the greatest.
Some of you have stated to me, “I don’t think I do enough”. Well, let me enlighten you.
When you read a text/email and take an action that helps.
When you speak to your co-workers by having 1:1 conversations or group conversations on improving our working conditions that helps.
When you speak up on behalf of an injustice that helps.
When you simply read what’s going on that helps.
When you get out of bed and show up that helps.
When you stay home because you are mentally drained or sick that helps. I can go on and on I think you get the point.
Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
Our union needs each of our voices as we collectively plan, act, and invest in improving our schools and district. Each of us has abilities that can help us move forward and we are really looking forward to working with you.
We also implore each of you to believe in yourself and if you need assistance, please don’t be afraid to ask it. We need to take time to fill our own cup with joy, love, and laughter because we cannot pour from an empty cup. Take time to pat yourself on the back, be kind to yourself, know when you need a “time out” and take it.
There will never be another you. We at the SEA “see you” “hear you” and we are rooting for each of you. These tough times will pass and meanwhile “We can do this; educators were born to make a difference” Rita Pierson.
Thank you for inspiring us with your support and dedication as we all work together to be the best union that we can be.
Warm wishes, stay safe!
Tracy Little-Sasanecki MSW
SEA President
COVID UPDATE
Testing Availability
The IHealth Test Kits
These are the test kits that were provided by the state over New Year’s weekend. Any tests left over after distribution that weekend have been sent to the schools. The tests are available to staff and students who want to test back into school from isolation on day 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10, (assuming they have not had a fever in the past 24 hours), or staff or students who are at home, symptomatic and want to test to see if they are positive.
Staff can call the school nurse or principal to let them know they are coming for a test, and someone will bring a test out to the car. If the nurse says she does not have anymore – call the SEA office and we will follow up with the nursing department.
BiNax Tests
BiNax tests are paid for by the state and are used for Pool testing. Educators who become symptomatic at school can ask for a BiNax test.
Pools for pool testing will be smaller (2 or 3 per pool) so the follow up to a positive pool does not take as long or use as many tests.
Take home rapid tests for staff and students
The district is participating in DESE’s new program that allows staff and families who opt into the program to receive a home testing kit with two tests in it every two weeks.
This new plan will allow staff who consent to pool testing to get tested twice a week, once in the pool and then at home with the rapid test. Being able to be tested twice a week was a proposal that came out of the last Building Rep meeting.
Quarantine
Quarantining is for when you have been a close contact and are not vaccinated.
According to the CDC anyone who is fully vaccinated (1 or 2 doses depending on manufacturer) and a close contact does not need to quarantine.
Isolation
When you are symptomatic, then you isolate for at least 5 days and can come back on the 6th day if you have not had a fever for 24 hours and test negative. The antigen tests can be used to both show you are COVID positive (send a picture to HR) and, after day 5, used to show that you are negative so you can come back to work.
Masks:
- Each staff person should have received 6 packages of the KN95 masks. If you want them and did not get them, see your principal.
- You can wear whatever mask you want.
- According to the MTA Health and Safety committee the KN95 masks we got are better than cloth or surgical, if they fit you.
- A video should be coming out from MTA about the efficacy of the KN95’s the district received and how to wear it. There is a YouTube video on how to make surgical masks fit better. We will put both on the website when we get the video from the MTA.
- Kids’ paper masks are on back order. Adult paper masks were delivered. The plan is for each teacher to have paper masks in their classroom. There are still plenty of cloth masks available for students.
Results of the Omicron Survey
Completed by over 1400 members between January 10th and January 13th
The results of the survey were shared at the January 13th Legislative Board (Building Rep) meeting and are available here.
After the results were shared, the following proposals for change were made for the meeting to consider. Some of these proposals are state level and some are district level. We will bring the statewide issues to the MTA and the district ones to the superintendent.
Adequate Masks and Testing:
- KN95 masks for all students and school staff (ongoing)
- Access to PCR tests for school staff and families, available upon request and including self-administered tests.
- COVID19 Pool Testing twice a week.
- Home test kits provided to students, families, and staff for testing purposes, especially for educators when a student in class tests positive.
- Enforcing mask compliance more than enforcing uniform – communication daily in school and to home
Allow Schools to Focus on Supporting Students:
- No evaluating teachers or walk throughs for the rest of the spike and the next one so we can focus on responding to the crisis in front of us.
- Extend report card periods and no ANet 2 or 3, MAP, Unit tests, lack of staff for accommodations and students not in school to be tested – no mixing cohorts for testing.
- No MCAS testing.
- Ensure safe staffing levels – all hands-on deck – licensed educators who do not regularly teach should teach now.
- Don’t count suspensions against a school for suspensions for refusing to wear a mask.
Contact Tracing:
- Daily reporting of positive cases and real comprehensive contact tracing.
- Families should find out day-of if their student was in a school community with positive cases.
- All educators (including specialists) should find out day-of which classrooms had a student who is positive.
Support for Families:
- Resources to families who need to isolate, including delivered meals and
other resources necessary to ensure families are safe and food secure during quarantine.
- Vaccine clinics in every school with a robust outreach campaign
Remote Learning
- Schools must have the option to go remote if in-person schooling is unsafe.
- DESE’s inflexibility around counting remote learning toward yearly requirements has prevented districts from making student and staff health-based decisions.
Communication
- Regular communication from the district directly to educators at least every other week.
- Prioritize a district wide communication campaign that constantly talks about signing up for testing and getting vaccinated.
We raised the above concerns with the Superintendent. Here are the results:
Adequate Masks and Testing:
- All educators should have received 6 packages of KN95 masks during the first week in January. Another 6 packs will be provided in February. The MTA Health and Safety Committee has deemed the KN95 mask we received as adequate if they fit correctly. The district has agreed with the SEA that staff can wear the mask that they are most comfortable wearing.
- Now that DESE is providing home test kits for staff who opt in to receive them, we can be tested twice a week. One time during pool testing if we consent to that, and then the home test.
- We reiterated that administration needed to support educators by enforcing mask compliance as much or more than enforcing the uniform policies. We asked for more communication at school and to home.
Allow Schools to Focus on Supporting Students:
ANet and Unit tests will continue but the district says schools are to be flexible about when a student takes the tests. They claimed that they have not heard that there were not enough staff to provide accommodations, if this continues, please let us know. The district would not agree to ending ANet for the year.
Contact Tracing:
- Contact tracing will be done in schools when the nurse, in their professional judgement, determines that it needs to occur.
- It is hoped that the nurses will be able to better respond to symptomatic students since they will not be spending time administering test and stay.
Support for Families:
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The district is providing breakfast and lunch to children who test positive. School nurses let the food service department know the names of eligible children and families can pick food up at Rebecca Johnson twice a week. Please click here for more information.
- There will be vaccine clinics at elementary and secondary schools though the end of the school year. Some SEA retirees, led by Maureen Colgan-Posner, are working with Azell Cavaan to develop a robust outreach campaign to get more students vaccinated.
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We are working with the district to try to get more students vaccinated and he test kits into every home If you have ideas about how this can happen, email the SEA office at [email protected].
Remote Learning
This is a state level issue that MAT is bringing to Commissioner Riley next week.
Communication
Azell Cavaan in the district’s communication office is willing to do regular communication to educators but would like to know what people want communicated. She is willing to meet with some educators to discuss this – if you are interested in meeting with her, please email the SEA office.
Zone Bargaining Update
We are getting close to a settlement!! Our team will be meeting on Wednesday the 2nd at 4pm to develop a comprehensive response to the Zone and we will be presenting it on the 9th. If you would like to attend either meeting, contact the SEA office for the link. [email protected]
SEA/Zone Education and Support Sessions for TLT Members
The SEA and the Empowerment Zone leadership both believe that SEA TLT members need additional support to understand the role of the TLT, their role as elected members, the information that they should expect to receive, when they make decisions and when they advise the principal who then makes the decisions. To provide this support the Empowerment Zone and SEA selected two active members who have experience on well-functioning TLTS to work as Empowerment coaches. The meetings will happen monthly. The next one is on Thursday, February 10 from 3:30-4:30. The meeting link will be sent out to all SEA TLT members. In the meantime if you have TLT questions, issues, or concerns feel free to reach out to Emma Sanchez at [email protected] or Dygo Tosa at [email protected].
Zone Jobs Available Now
The Empowerment Zone contract allows Zone schools to post jobs that are open for next year before the transfer process. If you are in a Zone school and would like to move to another school for next year or if you are in a district school and would like to move to a Zone school, you can apply now before the transfer process. Jobs that have not been filled at the time of the transfer process will be listed then. The regular transfer process will start on March 14th.
Retention Bonuses and ESSER Funds
The district has reached out to SEA to set a time to bargain on the Retention Bonuses. We will be meeting with them soon. All the SPS unions will be proposing the same amount of money and the same language, with the goal of retaining every staff person who is working now.
As was mentioned in the district’s survey on the spending of ESSER funds, schools will be receiving money to spend as they see fit. The language of the survey said that principals would have the say, but it is our position that educators in the building ought to have a say. We will discuss this more at the next L-Board meeting.
Support the SPS Para-Educators as They Fight for a Living Wage
The Para union is asking for our support in their fight for a decent raise. Specific upcoming actions that we can support:
- Wear blue every Friday.
- Sign a valentine card to be sent the school committee –
the Paras at your school will be asking you to do this,
- Attend their town hall on Valentine’s Day:
Springfield Paras Public Forum (Love Rally for a Raise)
Monday, February 14th, 4:30-5:30
Delegates Sought for MTA Annual Meeting and NEA Representative Assembly
Massachusetts Teacher Association (MTA) Annual Meeting and the National Education Association Representative Assembly self-nominations will be due on February 10, 2022. The forms will be posted on the website on January 13, 2022.
The MTA Annual Meeting will be held in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center on Friday, May 20th and Saturday, May 21st. The SEA will pay for a shared room on Friday night, mileage, self-parking, and meals.
The Annual Meeting provides an opportunity to experience the union’s democratic process at work. Delegates to the Annual Meeting vote on the budget and resolutions, approve new business items and changes to the bylaws, and elect representatives to the MTA Board (including the President and Vice President of the MTA).
All members are welcome to self-nominate. Whether you are in your 1st year or 27th year of teaching, you will find the Annual meeting to be an opportunity to get to know other SEA members and work together to make decisions that will impact our work lives and our students’ lives for years to come.
The NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly
The Representative Assembly (RA) will take place July 2nd - 6th this year. As of this writing, the location of the 2022 meeting is to be determined. Delegates are reimbursed for their expenses by the MTA and SEA. This is another opportunity to be involved in the democratic process of the union, as delegates elect officers of the union, and debate and decide on issues that impact our work, as educators, on the national level.
The SEA office accepts nominations for the NEA RA at the same time as it accepts nominations for the MTA annual Meeting. The deadline is February 10th. You must complete the self-nomination form and check the box for what meeting you want to attend (the Annual Meeting and/or the Representative Assembly). The self-nomination form is available here. The deadline has been extended until February 10th.
