In rare school board campaign visit, national teachers union president calls Scranton recovery plan 'immoral'

In rare school board campaign visit, national teachers union president calls Scranton recovery plan 'immoral'

In rare school board campaign visit, national teachers union president calls Scranton recovery plan 'immoral'

May 16—SCRANTON — Calling Tuesday's election a critical moment for the Scranton School District, the national president of the American Federation of Teachers visited the city on Saturday to campaign for the union-endorsed candidates.

The unprecedented visit by Randi Weingarten comes amid the Scranton Federation of Teachers' push to elect candidates who say they will question the financial recovery plan, restore the preschool program, settle the teachers contract and hold the line on taxes.

Nearly two years into the recovery plan, the progress and the process of obtaining solvency has led to the highly contentious primary campaign. More than 100 people gathered behind the SFT Wyoming Avenue headquarters to hear Weingarten, who called the recovery plan "immoral." Using the slogan from President Joe Biden's economic recovery proposal, she challenged attendees to spend the next few days encouraging neighbors to vote for the endorsed candidates.

"You build back better by building a better school board," she said. "When you want to help a community thrive, you don't take away anchors and foundations."

With four four-year seats available, incumbent President Katie Gilmartin, Director Sean McAndrew, former Director Tom Borthwick and newcomers Danielle Chesek and Tyrone Holmes seek both Democratic and Republican nominations. Newcomers Chris Gaidos and Tucker J. Hottes seek Democratic nominations.

Former Director Greg Popil and Gilmartin seek both Democratic and Republican nominations for one two-year seat. Hottes and Gaidos also seek a Democratic nomination for the two-year seat.

The union has endorsed Borthwick, Chesek, Holmes, McAndrew and Popil. In remarks Saturday, the five candidates vowed to ask questions of the administration and chief recovery officer and push for fair funding from the state.

As teachers complete their fourth year of working under an expired CONTINUE READING: In rare school board campaign visit, national teachers union president calls Scranton recovery plan 'immoral'

Texas teachers campaign against Republicans’ school charter bill – People's World

Texas teachers campaign against Republicans’ school charter bill – People's World

Texas teachers campaign against Republicans’ school charter bill

AUSTIN, Texas —Using data showing Texas’s so-called “charter schools” are over-funded and under-performing—compared to promises to parents and lawmakers—the Texas Federation of Teachers is campaigning against GOP-pushed state legislation to remove the few strings the Lone Star State attaches to chartering charters and giving them money.

TFT faces an uphill battle. Though it’s one of the largest unions in Texas, the state is notoriously anti-union. It’s also a deep-red state with a lot of power vested in its lieutenant governor—and GOP Lieut. Gov. Dan Patrick backs the “Charter Schools Equity Act.”

The fight is important to teachers, parents, and students and not just in Texas. Studies nationwide show inconclusive results for students attending charter schools, as opposed to regular public schools. Meanwhile, the private firms that run charters make money off them, hand over foot.

Charters are also one of the favorite ways right-wingers and their corporate backers nationwide use to destroy public school systems, trash teachers, and wreck unions, all goals of those interests. Charters often “cherry-pick” students, thus avoiding educating kids of color.

In Texas, charters educate 6% of all students, but get 16% of the state’s education aid, TFT reports. There are few strings attached in the right-to-work state and the charter bill, which already passed the State Senate, CONTINUE READING: Texas teachers campaign against Republicans’ school charter bill – People's World

MUST WATCH VIDEO: President of the American Federation of Teachers on schools reopening - CBS News

President of the American Federation of Teachers on schools reopening - CBS News

President of the American Federation of Teachers on schools reopening

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers union, joins Nikki Battiste on CBSN to discuss how school reopening efforts are going so far.

President of the American Federation of Teachers on schools reopening - CBS News

AFT & NEA Issue Joint Statement on Actions Needed After the Pandemic to Benefit All Students | Diane Ravitch's blog

AFT & NEA Issue Joint Statement on Actions Needed After the Pandemic to Benefit All Students | Diane Ravitch's blog

AFT & NEA Issue Joint Statement on Actions Needed After the Pandemic to Benefit All Students

The nation’s two teachers’ unions joined together to issue an unusual joint statement that advises federal, state, and local leaders what must be done not only to revive education after the pandemic but to restart it with a fresh vision that focuses on the needs of children, not assumptions about their “learning loss” or “COVID slide.”

They introduce the document and its visionary proposals with these words:

Nation’s educators release shared agenda to ensure all students succeed Organizations offer proven ways to help students overcome Covid-19 opportunity gaps and meet students’ academic, social, and emotional needs

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation’s two largest educators’ unions, released a bold, shared agenda to ensure that all students receive the supports and resources they need to thrive now and in the future.  

Over the course of the last month, AFT and NEA have come together to define the essential elements needed to effectively understand and address the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted students’ academic, social, and developmental experiences. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to create the public schools all our students deserve,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “It is our mission to demand stronger public schools and more opportunities for all students- Black and white, Native and newcomer, Hispanic and Asian alike. And we must support the whole learner through social, emotional and academic development. The ideas presented in this roadmap will lay the groundwork to build a better future for all of our students.” 

“COVID-19 has laid bare this country’s deep fissures and inequities and our children, our educators and our communities have endured an unprecedented year of frustration, pain and loss,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “As vaccine access and effectiveness suggest the end is in sight, it is incumbent on us to not only plan our recovery, but to reimagine public schooling so our children, families and educators can thrive.  

“The crises gripping our country are weighing heavily on young people, who are the future of our communities. That’s why our schools must, at a minimum, be supported and well-resourced to address our students their trauma, social-emotional, developmental and academic needs. This framework is an invaluable tool to help us get there,” Weingarten added. 

Shared with Sec. of Education Cardona last week, Learning Beyond Covid-19, A Vision for Thriving in Public Education offers the organizations’ ideas on ways our education systems can meet students where they are academically, socially, and emotionally.  The framework outlines five priorities that can serve as a guide for nurturing students’ learning now and beyond COVID-19 including learning, enrichment and reconnection for this summer and beyond; diagnosing student well-being and academic success; meeting the needs of our most underserved students; professional excellence for learning and growth; and an education system that centers equity and excellence. 

The full document can be found here. 

AFT & NEA Issue Joint Statement on Actions Needed After the Pandemic to Benefit All Students | Diane Ravitch's blog

Only 4% Of U.S. Kids Live In Counties Where Schools Should Be Open

Only 4% Of U.S. Kids Live In Counties Where Schools Should Be Open

Only 4% Of U.S. Kids Live In Counties Where Schools Should Be Fully Open

A New York Times analysis of the CDC’s guidelines for reopening elementary schools posits that very few U.S. counties even meet the CDC’s thresholds for in-person learning

In the last few weeks, the CDC, along with many states that previously barred in-person classroom learning, have been making a concerted effort to get kids back in classrooms, however, by the CDC’s own guidelines, only 4% of our nation’s kids live in areas that actually meet their thresholds to safely reopen schools, leaving everyone to utter a big “huh?”

Despite Biden’s push to reopen schools and the CDC’s own recommendations that seemingly encourage school reopenings, The New York Times reports that, according to the CDC’s own guidelines on what COVID-19 metrics a county needs to hit before they can be safely encouraged to fully reopen classrooms, “only 4 percent of the nation’s schoolchildren live in counties where coronavirus transmission is low enough for full-time in-person learning without additional restrictions.” The CDC is essentially like, Okay basically nowhere in the U.S. meets our guidelines to reopen classrooms, but here are the guidelines anyway, so good luck?! CONTINUE READING: Only 4% Of U.S. Kids Live In Counties Where Schools Should Be Open

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the announcement that the Biden administration will challenge every state to prioritize vaccinating educators and school staff, and will authorize the use of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership program to help achieve the goal of vaccinating all teachers and school-related personnel by the end of March 2021:

“What a tremendous relief to have a president who is meeting this moment of crisis. Vaccinations are a key ingredient to reopening schools safely, and this is the administration taking the steps to ramp up vaccinations for educators, which is great news for everyone who wants in-school learning. For almost a year, America’s educators have been working tirelessly to meet the needs of students and their families, in ways that are heroic but unsustainable. Parents are frustrated and educators are exhausted. But now, we have a science-based road map of mitigation, testing and vaccinations to get school buildings reopened safely and equitably; a true partner within the education community; and legislators to get this done.

“Yes, it requires resources, but it also requires leadership. Today, this White House reminded us that they see us, they respect our efforts, and they truly understand that, in order to make school reopening a reality, we need the testing and vaccination infrastructure to do it. For far too long, the rhetoric of prioritizing educators went unmatched with policy, action or effort. The Biden administration has stepped up, and our students, educators, school staff and communities will be better and safer for it.

“Getting our school buildings reopened safely doesn’t happen with wishful thinking. It happens through trust, collaboration, transparency and serious policy. By following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and with the help of this federal commitment to prioritize teacher vaccinations, we’re confident that within the next weeks and months, we’ll be able to be back in classrooms, enabling the academic, social and emotional learning that we know happens best in person. We look forward to bringing our public schools back to life as places where children can thrive.”

# # # #

The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize Educators for Vaccinations | American Federation of Teachers

A road map to safely reopen our schools | by Randi Weingarten | Feb, 2021 | AFT Voices

A road map to safely reopen our schools | by Randi Weingarten | Feb, 2021 | AFT Voices

A road map to safely reopen our schools

The grim toll of the coronavirus pandemic has many measures: Twenty-eight million infections and 500,000 lives lost. Eight million more people enduring poverty, many of them children. Family businesses shuttered, weddings without guests, and epidemics of depression and isolation. The shocking one-year decline in life expectancy in the first half of 2020 alone. It’s tempting to tick through “what-ifs.” What if the last administration’s response had been competent, not chaotic? What if officials had prioritized reopening schools over bars and gyms, and used the time schools were closed to prepare them to safely reopen? But we must shift from “what if?” to “what now?”

My union has been working to safely reopen schools for nearly a year, and we welcome the sea change the new Biden administration brings. Yet some critics, in a cynical attempt to exploit families’ legitimate frustrations, spread the myth that teachers and their unions don’t want to return to in-person teaching and learning. Educators know that in-person learning is essential for children to thrive; they are asking to be safe in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic. With commonsense safety protocols, COVID-19 testing and vaccines, our public schools can reopen for in-person learning and can do so with the overwhelming support of teachers and support personnel.

The AFT recently polled educators, who have been working harder than ever to help our kids in this pandemic. Eighty-five percent of AFT teachers and school staff support a return to in-person learning with the science and health and safety guardrails that the AFT laid out — safeguards like masks, physical distancing, sanitizing, ventilation upgrades, testing and contact tracing. Educators also strongly approve of the Biden administration’s plan to reopen schools.

This is not to suggest that educators are not afraid of this deadly virus that spreads asymptomatically and invisibly. Our poll found that 64 percent worry they might get infected with COVID-19 at work and 71 percent fear they could infect someone in their family. Yet the vast majority are willing to return to their schools with the necessary safeguards, including priority access to the vaccine, given the essential work they do.

AFT President Randi Weingarten outside Edward T. Steel School in Philadelphia on Feb. 8, calling for health and safety upgrades to make schools safe.

Educators’ overwhelming support for a safe return to in-school learning raises the question of whether, if the federal government early in the pandemic had provided a plan to reopen schools similar to the Biden administration’s, with the resources to fund it, millions more students would be learning in person now, instead of remotely. It’s time to work with teachers and their unions to reopen schools safely for in-person instruction, instead of blaming them for the continuation of a pandemic made incalculably worse by the last administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines for reopening schools. The guidelines reinforce the need for mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, testing to detect asymptomatic transmission, vaccine prioritization for teachers and school staff, and accommodations for educators with pre-existing conditions and those taking care of others at risk.

Teachers unions have negotiated such health guardrails in Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere — playing a critical role in enabling in-person learning to resume that other school districts could emulate.

But countless places lack the resources to implement the necessary safety provisions, because the pandemic and resulting recession have drained state and local coffers. The Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan would fund vaccinations, direct relief to families bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, and provide crucial local and state aid — including $170 billion to help schools, colleges and universities reopen and operate safely.

This funding is needed immediately to safely reopen schools for in-person teaching and learning for the remainder of this semester, and to allow schools to prepare for this summer, which can and should be a voluntary “second, second semester.” Wealthy parents have an array of summer programs for their children. All students, particularly from under-resourced communities, should have access to programs this summer for reconnection, recreation, enrichment, social and emotional support, and academic growth.

Even as we deal with the challenges at hand, we must reimagine learning beyond COVID-19 and create the conditions to help all children thrive. Rather than the traditional spring state testing, we should assess and respond to students’ wide-ranging needs; support our most vulnerable students; focus on educators’ professional learning and growth to meet these unprecedented challenges; and promote equity and excellence in all of our public schools.

As we approach one year since the first school closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, students, families and educators are understandably frustrated. But we all want the same thing — to be together in school, with the conditions and support not only to recover from what has been lost but to thrive and grow. People are recognizing anew how important our public schools are. Let’s do what is needed to make them safe for students and staff to return.

A road map to safely reopen our schools | by Randi Weingarten | Feb, 2021 | AFT Voices

Karen Lewis 1953 – 2021 | JD2718

Karen Lewis 1953 – 2021 | JD2718

Karen Lewis 1953 – 2021

This is not an obituary. I could not do her justice. But one summer I flew to Chicago then on to Minneapolis, and while in Chicago I spoke (indirectly) to Karen, and in Minneapolis I met her, and it makes a little story. Here’s how I told it, the evening after the one and only time I met Karen Lewis.

AFT Convention 2016 – Meeting the President

JULY 21, 2016 PM31 12:40 PM

tags: #AFT100, AFT, AFT Convention, Chicago, Karen Lewis, Minneapolis

Not that one. Obama’s not here in Minneapolis. And not the next one – she left. And not the AFT President. I’ve met Randi many times before, argued with her, agreed with her, e-mailed, etc. And not Mulgrew, we’ve met.

This is the story of how I met the President of AFT Local 1, the Chicago Federation of Teachers, Karen Lewis.

OK, so I could have walked up to her and said hello, but my story is a little more convoluted.

Four days ago, before the AFT Convention, I was in Chicago, debating Fred Klonsky. Actually, I was staying with Fred and Anne. But little debates broke out. Yankees vs Cubs. Hillary vs Jill.

But our strangest debate was about the relative importance of Belief vs Acts in Judaism. Both Fred and I have tenuous links, not enough to claim expertise. Anne suggested we ask Karen. So we did. Fred texted her a series of questions. Each of which she answered with a question. Quite appropriate, we thought.

So I’m off to Minneapolis and Fred says I have to meet Karen. The first day I look a little for her, but don’t really know where to look. I don’t find her. Fred CONTINUE READING: Karen Lewis 1953 – 2021 | JD2718

Dana Goldstein: Randi Weingarten Says She Can Get Teachers Back in Schools - The New York Times

Randi Weingarten Says She Can Get Teachers Back in Schools - The New York Times

The Union Leader Who Says She Can Get Teachers Back in Schools

In cities and suburbs where schools remain closed, teachers unions are often saying: not yet. Can Randi Weingarten change that?

Randi Weingarten, the nation’s most powerful teachers union president, has a message: She wants to get students back in the nation’s classrooms.

She spends 15 hours per day on the phone, she says — with local labor leaders, mayors, the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — trying to figure out how to reopen the three-quarters of school systems that remain fully or partially shuttered.

But with the pandemic approaching its first anniversary, and a new president — a union ally — vowing to reopen elementary and middle schools within his first 100 days, she faces a difficult truth: In the liberal cities and suburbs where schools are most likely to remain closed, teachers unions are the most powerful forces saying no, not yet.

Not before teacher vaccinations, they say, or upgraded school ventilation systems, or accommodations for educators with vulnerable relatives.

The Chicago union had ground reopening to a halt before reaching a tentative deal Sunday with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, averting a strike and agreeing to return K-8 students to classrooms by early March. The Philadelphia local is threatening to refuse to enter school buildings this week.

And California unions have left that state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, so frustrated that in a recent meeting he lashed out, saying, “If everybody has to be vaccinated, we might as well just tell people the truth: There will be no in-person instruction in the state of California.” CONTINUE READING: Randi Weingarten Says She Can Get Teachers Back in Schools - The New York Times

Teachers Union President Weingarten: Vaccinations Aren't 'Precondition' For School Reopening, But Need To Be Priority

Teachers Union President Weingarten: Vaccinations Aren't 'Precondition' For School Reopening, But Need To Be Priority

Teachers Union President Weingarten: Vaccinations Aren't 'Precondition' For School Reopening, But Need To Be Priority

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Randi Weingarten on BPR | Feb. 5, 2021

Teachers Union President Weingarten: Vaccinations Aren't 'Precondition' For School Reopening, But Need To Be Priority

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Friday on Boston Public Radio that while vaccination for teachers is “not a precondition,” for reopening schools, it needs to be a top priority for state and local officials throughout the country.

The former inner-city educator commended Boston’s handling of school reopening, which took place this past Thursday. She specifically praised Boston Public Schools officials for prioritizing what she called the “blueprint” for safe reopening — factors like proper social distancing, mask mandates and effective air ventilation systems.

Read More: Boston Public Schools' Reopening Will Bring 'Certainty And Stability,' Says Superintendent Brenda Cassellius

However, she also made the point that many cities and towns across the U.S. don’t have the money or resources to provide these kinds of safety measures, making teacher vaccination all the more critical.

"What happens in a place like Philly, where you can’t get the mitigating factors? Where they’re never going to be able to put the ventilation systems together in the next few weeks?” she asked.

“The easiest route to reopen schools is to get everybody vaccinated and have both shots in the arm, and the [two week] immunization period.”

Read More: The COVID Slide: Inequality And Pandemic Learning Loss

A CDC study published in late January found low transmission of COVID-19 in schools with proper safety precautions, which elevated pressure to bring teachers and students back as quickly as possible, with or without vaccinations for teachers, bus drivers and other school officials.

But Weingarten said government officials need to be accounting for the psychological stresses around reopening, as well.

"All the risk is on the educators, in terms of going back to school buildings,” she said. "The science is one thing, but the moment — psychologically — you [return to in-person classrooms], you’re always wondering if you’re the case, if you’re the one in 100.”

“The difference between educators and so many other frontline workers is: What happens when a child takes off her mask? What happens when kids in a class just for a moment … forget about the social distancing? You’re dealing with lots of other factors on an ongoing basis, that make some of the mitigation hard,” she said.

Teachers Union President Weingarten: Vaccinations Aren't 'Precondition' For School Reopening, But Need To Be Priority

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

NEW HAVEN — The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has created an online course designed to aid educators battling the anxiety and stress of teaching during the pandemic and, in turn, students.

The course came after a recent YCEI survey “of over 2,500 educators nationwide found that their top emotions were anxious, exhausted, frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed,” prompting members of the center to strive to “preserve the well-being of the nation’s school staff and their ability to teach and work” through the new educational offering, according to a university statement.

The course, “Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress,” will offer participants information on “why social and emotional learning is an important component of education” and how to “identify and manage emotions, including how to support their students with their emotions in scientific and culturally responsive ways.”

Participants will use what they’ve learned to fill out weekly plans, which as designed to give them a guide toward lasting change, according to the statement.

“Research shows that school staff who are better at managing their emotions have greater physical health, well-being, and job satisfaction,” said Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and professor in the Child Study Center. “They also create more supportive learning environments for students where there’s more CONTINUE READING: We are 'scared, frustrated, and anxious'; Weingarten says this Yale course can help educators

Ex-NYC teacher’s union boss could be Biden’s Education chief

Ex-NYC teacher’s union boss could be Biden’s Education chief

Former NYC teacher's union boss could be named Biden's Education Secretary

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet has been taking form in recent days and the Democrat is expected to announce his first round of personnel choice on Tuesday.

Biden has already picked Ron Klain as White House Chief of Staff and Janet Yellen as Treaury Secretary. He is also expected to pick Antony Blinken as Secretary of State, according to reports.

Another potential cabinet pick for the Biden administration is a name New Yorkers know well: the former head of the United Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten.

She now leads the American Federation of Teachers and her name has been floated for Education Secretary.

WCBS 880’s Steve Burns spoke with Weingarten recently to ask how she feels about the possible job and her feelings around Biden himself.

Q: What was your experience like with [Biden] when he was a part of the Obama administration?

“You know, it's not a secret that the Obama administration had a different view of schooling than we did at times and they were very focused on a top-down accountability model. They were real believers in public schooling but, they also believed that the market could it do far more than, frankly, we think it can. You have to actually meet the needs of all children, not hope that an accountability system will shake everybody up. And what I have found was that Joe Biden, during that period of time, really was our go-to person. He would deeply listen – very, very, very loyal to the president, as the vice president has to be, but he would find ways to not just listen, but to find a mechanism by which we could really try to solve problems.”

Q: And the First Lady-to-be has to be a point of pride for you as well. What kind of influence do you think she, as someone who wants to continue teaching in the White House even, what kind of influence do you think she could have on the policy here?

“I think it's revolutionary and I think that will have a real renaissance in terms of public education. She has the lived experience of what it takes to meet the needs CONTINUE READING: Ex-NYC teacher’s union boss could be Biden’s Education chief

RANDI WEINGARTEN: A blueprint to safely open schools | TheHill

A blueprint to safely open schools | TheHill

A blueprint to safely open schools

The United States has the sad distinction of having the most confirmed coronavirus cases and death in the world, which has kept many schools shuttered for instruction in person. Parents and educators know that our children do best at schools, where they can get support, and they worry that the lack of learning in person has hurt students in need.

Systems from New York City to the Netherlands have shown that, with the necessary protocols to prevent transmission, students can safely return to learning in person. But schools are not islands. Americans must summon the collective will to follow science both in and out of schools. If we can do this, we can allow children across the country back to schools for the second semester and then for enriched summer programs.

Reopening schools is vital for the health and education of our children. It is also critical for the economy. We all have a role in doing this safely. Our holidays will look very different this year as infections surge with hospitals at capacity. Our leaders must use every tool at their disposal to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and pass a relief package that includes funding for states, schools, businesses, and the Americans who now struggle with rents, nutrition insecurity, and student loans. It is why we need a national blueprint that has these objectives to safely reopen schools.

We must get the coronavirus under control. This will take a national mask mandate, a federal system for both testing and contact tracing, targeted regional closures of schools and restaurants, making sure our exhausted health care workers have everything they need, and a robust coronavirus vaccination program once it is proven as sound and effective.

We must place public health protocols in schools. We know what works, such as masks, hand washing, physical distancing, sufficient ventilation, electrostatic cleaners, and broad testing. These protocols are enabling CONTINUE READING: A blueprint to safely open schools | TheHill