NYC Educator: UFT Executive Board February 1, 2021--Slogging Through the Pandemic Snowstorm

NYC Educator: UFT Executive Board February 1, 2021--Slogging Through the Pandemic Snowstorm

UFT Executive Board February 1, 2021--Slogging Through the Pandemic Snowstorm

UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr--Welcomes us, says minutes passed. UFT Town Hall this Thursday.

Carrie Prugh--Tomorrow is mayoral town hall 5 PM

UFT President Michael Mulgrew--Evaluation--Some superintendents and schools have been using attendance and time on Zoom as evaluation. That's not acceptable. There is a state law on evaluation. Governor made executive order last year, is not inclined to do so this year. DOE has done nothing to help, offered no PE. As far as we're concerned, this is about when student and teacher are in classroom. We will try to settle, but if not we will go before commissioner. 

Important to have different type of appeal process. This is a very unique and odd teaching process. We can't have principals using attendance. Issues are over what schools did when students didn't engage. We have had some good process, but we're not done until we're done. 

MOSL is something we'll have to start looking at. MOSL has worked well for us. We've had five different laws. The matrix with MOSL has been our friend. Student learning has protected teachers. There are hundreds of schools where maybe science exam is used for all in building. We will make sure we do a good job and no one is harmed for teaching in a pandemic.

Vaccine--We are more than halfway through our list. This week and next should be 16% increase in doses, and federal should help. There will be no cancellation of UFT appointments. If you find a match elsewhere you can remove yourself online. I'm not happy until everyone who wants it gets it but we're working on it. 

Middle schools--Don't know yet, will discuss with mayor. It's all about testing. City positivity rate going down for last 9 days, now at 5.2. We'd have 227 schools closed today, but CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: UFT Executive Board February 1, 2021--Slogging Through the Pandemic Snowstorm

Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Snow Days | Teacher in a strange land

Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Snow Days | Teacher in a strange land

Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Snow Days

Several years ago, I was on the dais at the annual meeting of the Michigan Association of School Administrators—the superintendents—in Dearborn, Michigan. I was there as token teacher, making a few remarks, but the keynote speaker at the evening banquet was their annual award-winner.

He was telling a story about a mistake he made, as a first-year superintendent. The U.S. Weather Service had predicted 12”-16” of snow overnight, with blowing and drifting, in a rural area where snows like this are commonplace. Instead of waiting until morning, and having to activate an early-hours phone fanout and radio alerts, he went ahead and called school off, and went home, secure in the knowledge that there would be snow, and plenty of it.

Of course, the storm veered north and there was no snow. None. Roads were dry and bare. And he spent the next week fielding angry phone calls. When he came to the punch line of his story, a groan swept across the ballroom. They’d all been there.

All these school leaders knew that if there had been an early a.m. storm making roads dangerous, and stranding kids at their bus stops before school was called, he would have faced the same wrath from parents. When it comes to calling snow days, it’s a crapshoot in the snowbelt. Ya can’t win.

In every community, there are the ‘Hey I had to go to work and it wasn’t so bad’ folks CONTINUE READING: Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Snow Days | Teacher in a strange land