A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

I hope your week was filled with remarkable achievements for you and your students! Last Monday, April 1^st , WTU’s Contract Negotiations Team met with DC Councilmember Zachary Parker to discuss our teacher contract concerns as well as our concerns regarding IMPACT, and school budget cuts. We also learned about his new truancy legislation bill. To read a draft of his truancy bill, please click here. DC Councilmember Parker expressed his concerns about our expired contract and pledged to attend future bargaining session meetings to lend support. As you can see from this short clip, in a public meeting with Mayor Bowser held after we met, he questioned the Mayor regarding our expired contract. To learn more about the Contract Negotiation Team’s meeting with DC Councilmember Parker, please watch the weekly update here.

On Thursday, April 4^th, WTU’s Vice President Regina Bell and I testified before the City Council of DC at the Budget Oversight Hearing. As always, we expressed our continuing frustration over the cavalier way DCPS addresses the School’s First in Budgeting Law. This year, as in year’s past, they failed to give teachers, parents, and community members enough time to review and address budgeting concerns and proposed cuts. This could leave schools struggling to retain the same number of teachers for school year 2024-25. The WTU believes DCPS’ budget gap occurs because they continue to pass Central Office costs onto individual schools. Moreover, the Mayor’s overall budget proposal simply does not reflect the needs of our students or teachers. To learn more, please watch my full testimony here and Vice President Bell’s testimony here.

In other, more positive news, I’d like to highlight a scholarship opportunity for your high school seniors. If you know of DC high school seniors living in Wards 5, 7, or 8 who have lost a loved one due to gun violence and who plan to attend a two or four-year college next year, please encourage them to apply for the Jeremy Black Scholarship Fund before May 10^th. Their essay application may earn them a $4,000 scholarship toward college expenses! (See details below.) Also, if you missed reading Banneker HS journalism teacher Clare Berke’s article on why exposing  students to experiential learning opportunities matter, please check it out here!

WTU’s Contract Action Team encourages all teachers to plan and/or take part in actions at your school. This will greatly support the work we do at the bargaining table. To learn more about how to participate, please reach out to your school’s building representative and WTU’s Organizer Mike Roland.

Thank you, as always, for your hard work and support! I hope you have plans for a relaxing and joyful Spring Break at the end of the week!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Please watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team update here or by clicking on the picture below.

If you have ideas on what contract actions your school should take, please contact your Building Representative and WTU’s organizer, Mike Roland, for support. Together, we must show DCPS we will not tolerate their proposed reduction of our rights! To learn more, please download WTU’s two-page summary of WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s 10 Proposals and 3 Memorandums of Agreement released in October 2023.

Register for WTU’s Shared Visions Conference

Please do not forget to RSVP for the conference. We will welcome award-winning author Sharon E. Flake for both an in-person session with teachers/students on April 26th and a virtual session on April 27th. Teachers can attend either or both sessions. To RSVP, please click here. Please note that only teachers interested in attending the Friday, April 26th in-person session with your students should contact Mike Roland.

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

Happy Easter to my favorite people! I hope your holiday was filled with love and hope. Last week marked another busy one for the WTU. On Monday, March 25^th, teachers from Ballou HS, Ballou Stay, and Simon ES walked out of their schools at the end of their tour of duty to rally for a new contract! We also want to thank Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White for attending too. Go Ward 8! On Tuesday, March 26^th, WTU’s Contract Bargaining Team met with DCPS for our 6^th contract negotiations session. In advance of the session, WTU encouraged At-Large DC Councilmember Anita Bonds, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White and Will Perkins, a representative for Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George to attend and they did! The presence of our Councilmembers is really helping to support and move the bargaining process forward. In addition to attending the contract bargaining session, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White wrote a public letter of support for a new contract that reflects the hard work and dedication teachers bring to the classroom everyday. To read his letter, click here. To learn more from the DC Councilmembers about the negotiating session, please click here. To learn more about the bargaining session in general, please watch the Contract Bargaining team’s weekly update here.

Last week, the Committee on Political Engagement (C.O.P.E.) hosted a DC Candidate’s Forum for WTU members to learn more about the officials running for office. If you missed the online forum and want to watch it, please click here for part one and here for part two. If you’d like to learn more about C.O.P.E. and the candidate forum, please attend C.O.P.E’s monthly meeting tonight at 7PM via Zoom.

This coming Thursday, the DC Council will hold a Budget Oversight Hearing. Please consider testifying on DCPS’ budget decisions. To sign up to testify, please click here. WTU’s organizer Mike Roland can assist you throughout the process. Please contact [email protected] for help and let him know if you would be interested in giving your testimony in-person at the Wilson Building. Your in-person testimony will have a powerful impact.

WTU’s Contract Action Team encourages all teachers to plan and/or take part in actions at your school. This will greatly support the work we do at the bargaining table. To learn more about how to participate, please reach out to your school’s building representative and WTU’s Organizer Mike Roland.

Thank you, as always, for your hard work and support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Please watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team update here or by clicking on the picture below.

If you have ideas on what contract actions your school should take, please contact your Building Representative and WTU’s organizer, Mike Roland, for support. Together, we must show DCPS we will not tolerate their proposed reduction of our rights! To learn more, please download WTU’s two-page summary of WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s 10 Proposals and 3 Memorandums of Agreement released in October 2023.

Register for WTU’s Shared Visions Conference

Please do not forget to RSVP for the conference. We will welcome award-winning author Sharon E. Flake for both an in-person session with teachers/students on April 26th and a virtual session on April 27th. Teachers can attend either or both sessions. To RSVP, please click here. Please note that only teachers interested in attending the Friday, April 26th in-person session with your students should contact Mike Roland.

Let the Council Hear Your Teacher Voice!

• April 4th @9AM (rescheduled) Budget Oversight Hearing at DCPS, DC Council Hearing Management Systems, INFORMATION

DC Teachers – Share your voice!

Drs. Kristin Sinclair (Georgetown University) and Alisha Butler (Wesleyan University) are researching how people work to influence education policy decisions in their schools and communities in Washington, DC. Please consider signing up for a one-hour interview and sharing your perspectives on how teachers can help shape policy. Participating teachers will receive a $25 gift card as a thank-you for their time. All interviews will be over Zoom and responses will be anonymous and confidential. Sign up for an interview here: https://calendly.com/d/3z3-dkb-6h9/dc-education-policy-interviews  

EmpowerEd and WTU’s 2024 Educator Wellbeing & Retention Survey

This survey is for ALL DC educators! This survey is for both DCPS and DC Public Charter School educators (not just classroom teachers). We define educator as anyone who works in a school and interacts with students. Responses are completely anonymous. To take the survey, please click here.

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

I hope your week was filled with non-stop learning as was ours! WTU focused on supporting events fundamental to the core mission of our Union. On Wednesday, we attended AFT’s conference Race Forward, Standing Together Roundtable on Pathways to Peace in Israel/Palestine - a Jewish-Palestinian grass-roots conference based in Israel that promotes peace, justice, and equality of opportunity for both Jews and Palestinians. On Thursday, the AFT graciously allowed us to give student journalists from Eliot Hine Middle School and Banneker High School the chance to apply classroom knowledge to a real-life interview with political leaders such as Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore at AFT’s experiential learning conference Passion Meets Purpose! The AFT also plans to pay them for their work. #realsolutionsforkids Click here to watch the interview with Governor Moore. We’d like to thank Eliot Hine Middle School teacher Mandrell E. Birks and Banneker High School teacher Clare Berke for preparing their students for this exciting event. Thursday evening, WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team met to prepare for next week’s bargaining session with DCPS. Please watch the team’s weekly update here. 

We also want to give a huge shoutout to teachers from Ward 8’s Boone Elementary School and Anacostia High School who walked out of their schools at the end of their tour of duty on Friday. Walking out of school was an act of protest against DCPS’ insistence on trying to take away our rights at the bargaining table. Today, teachers from Ballou High School will also walk out at the end of the school day to rally against DCPS’ contract stance. Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White also plans to join the rally. If you are in the area, please join us. WTU’s Contract Action Team encourages all teachers to plan and/or take part in actions at your school. This will greatly support the work we do at the bargaining table. To learn more about how to participate, please reach out to your school’s building representative and WTU’s Organizer Mike Roland.

April is almost here and so is our Shared Vision Conference! Please do not forget to RSVP for the conference. We will welcome award-winning author Sharon E. Flake for both an in-person session with teachers/students on April 26th and a virtual session on April 27th. Teachers can attend either or both sessions. To RSVP, please click here. Please note that only teachers interested in attending the Friday, April 26th in-person session with your students should contact Mike Roland.

Thank you, as always, for your hard work and support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

If you have ideas on what contract actions your school should take, please contact your Building Representative and WTU’s organizer, Mike Roland, for support. Together, we must show DCPS we will not tolerate their proposed reduction of our rights! To learn more, please download WTU’s two-page summary of WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s 10 Proposals and 3 Memorandums of Agreement released in October 2023.

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here!

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

WTU's professional development program offers Shared Vision, our Spring Professional Development Conference, as well as online and face-to-face courses for teachers who aim to sharpen their skills, explore research opportunities, earn academic credit, and fulfill certification requirements. 

Our Shared Vision Conference brings together educators, policymakers, and the community to discuss the state of DC schools and what can be done to re-center our vision on students’ needs. This year, in keeping with WTU’s focus on literacy, we will welcome award-winning author Sharon G. Flake for both an in-person session with teachers/students on April 26^th and a virtual session on April 27^th. Although all teachers are invited to attend the in-person session on Friday, we want to extend a special invitation to MS and HS librarians and English teachers. All who participate in the in-person event will have an opportunity to receive a free copy of “The Skin I’m In.” This book will be the focus of our author discussion. WTU will provide lunch for all participants. Students will also have an opportunity to receive additional books by the writer, Sharon G. Flake. If you are interested in attending the in-person sessions with your students on Friday, April 26^th from 10AM-1:30PM, please contact Mike Roland [email protected].

On Saturday, April 27^{th ,} the virtual component of our Shared Vision Conference will focus on building literary for our young adults as well as our legislative session with DC City Council and State Board members. Author, Sharon G. Flake will be our keynote speaker and we will have professional development sessions on building literacy. If you are interested in registering for the online session of the Shared Vision Conference on Saturday, April 27th, click here. 

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

As teachers, we spend much of our workdays caring for others. That is why I hope you took the time to prioritize your self-care during last Friday’s Wellness Day. Last Monday, WTU’s Contract Bargaining Team met with DCPS for our 4^th Contract Bargaining Team session. Although we were satisfied to meet at the newly negotiated time of 1PM, DCPS won’t stop threatening to remove our current teacher rights from the contract. It is alarming! To learn more, please watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s Weekly Update here.

While the contract negotiating team fights for your rights at the bargaining table, we need your help in schools. And we don’t expect all schools to protest the same way. Just as everyone is unique, so is each school. Some schools may prefer to launch a contract rally as Deal MS teachers did two weeks ago. Others may feel comfortable protesting differently. To learn more about the contract actions you might want to take, please plan to attend a Special Organizing Committee Meeting on Thursday, March 21^st from 4:30-5:30PM via Zoom or in-person at the WTU’s office. (see Zoom link below) This meeting also will include discussing actions we can take regarding cuts to our school budget. Also, please look for contract actions coming from Ward 8 in the next week and lend your support!

Each spring, WTU hosts the Shared Vision Conference where we bring together educators, policymakers, and the community to discuss the state of DC schools and what can be done to re-center our vision on students’ needs. This year, in keeping with WTU’s focus on literacy, we will welcome award-winning author Sharon Flake for both an in-person session with teachers/students on April 26^th and a virtual session on April 27^th. Although all teachers are invited to attend the in-person session on Friday, we want to extend a special invitation to MS and HS librarians and English teachers. All who participate in the in-person event will have an opportunity to receive a free copy of “The Skin I’m In.” This book will be the focus of our author discussion. WTU will provide lunch for all participants. Students will also have an opportunity to receive additional books by the writer, Sharon Flake. On Saturday, April 27^{th ,} the virtual component of our Shared Vision Conference will focus on building literary for our young adults as well as our legislative session with DC City Council and State Board members. Author, Sharon Flake will be our keynote speaker and we will have professional development sessions on building literacy. If you are interested in attending the in-person sessions with your students on Friday, April 26^th from 10AM-1:30PM, please contact Mike Roland [email protected].

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

If you have ideas on what contract actions your school should take, please contact your Building Representative and WTU’s organizer, Mike Roland ([email protected]), for support. Together, we must show DCPS we will not tolerate their proposed reduction of our rights! To learn more, please download WTU’s two-page summary of WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s 10 Proposals and 3 Memorandums of Agreement released in October 2023.

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here!

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

Get Involved in Ed Politics - Come to the Candidate’s Forum!

Learn more about the elected officials running for office! Hear their stance on all issues facing educators today on Saturday, March 23^rd!

WTU Candidate Forum. Mar 23, 2024 at 9:45 AM

Join Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 921 7798 0378; Passcode: 630798

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

I hope last week went well for you and your students! In addition to March being Women’s History Month, March is also National Social Work Month. We’d like to acknowledge our school social workers and the critical role they play in supporting students and families in our schools. The pandemic has magnified and increased the need for the support social workers provide to those experiencing safety, trauma, isolation, hunger, housing insecurity, and mental health issues.

Last week, WTU’s Contract Bargaining Team went above and beyond, spending two late evenings at WTU’s office, prepping for today’s bargaining team meeting with DCPS. Due to your protests and effort, I’m happy to report that WTU’s bargaining team meeting today will take place at 1 PM rather than the ridiculous hour of 5 AM. To learn more about what transpired during our preparation meeting, watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s Weekly Update here. If you want a detailed update on our contract negotiations as well as the plight of our athletic trainers, please read Sam Collins’ article in The Washington Informer.

I’m also so grateful to Deal MS teachers who rallied every day after school last week for a new contract! Their school’s contract action, organized by Building Representative Michael Donaldson, proved to be a huge success! On Friday, the last day, teachers and community members from Jackson-Reed HS, Janney ES, Hearst ES, Murch ES, and Lafayette ES joined the rally for a new contract! WTU would also like to thank the building representatives from all these schools for their support and coming out to this action. Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin, DC State Board of Education Representatives Eric Goulet, and Frazier O’Leary also supported this action and we are so grateful. To learn more about Deal MS’s final contract action, click here to watch a short video and here for photos.

If you have ideas on what contract actions your school should take, please contact your Building Representative and WTU’s organizer, Mike Roland ([email protected]), for support. The WTU staff is here to support you in whatever actions you believe will work best for your school! Together, we must show DCPS we will not tolerate their proposed reduction of our rights! Remember, good teaching conditions equals great learning conditions! If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to download WTU’s two-page summary of WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s 10 Proposals and 3 Memorandums of Agreement released in October 2023. We want all members to know what we’ve proposed to DCPS for our new contract.  

Also, please be on the lookout for your school’s visit from the WTU team and loud and proud contract actions around the city. We look forward to seeing you shortly!

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here!

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

Let the Council Hear Your Teacher Voice!

April 3 at 9 AM Budget Oversight Hearing for DCPS DC Council Hearings Management System

April 11 Virtual Retirement Session with DCPS, DC Retirement Board and WTU, details will follow.

Sign a Petition to Fully Fund our Schools!

Petition · Fully Fund Our Public Schools · Change.org

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

I hope you had a peaceful and productive week! Last Thursday, your hardworking Contract Bargaining Team met at the AFT for a bargaining meeting with the District and DCPS that started at 5AM. Although Chancellor Ferebee was not in attendance at this early hour, DC Council Chairman Mendelson and Julia E. Hudson, Chief of Staff from the office of Anita Bonds were. To learn more about what transpired during the meeting, watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s Weekly Update here.

The following day, DC Chairman Mendelson’s public testimony with Chancellor Ferebee illustrated his annoyance at DCPS’ disrespectful insistence on 5AM meeting times, inability to speed up bargaining by increasing the number of sessions, and unwillingness to make progress on negotiating the contract issues under discussion. To hear more of what transpired, please click here.

We thank DC Council Chairman Mendelson and DC Councilmember Anita Bonds for their attendance at our bargaining session last Thursday as well as the WTU members who testified at DCPS/OSSE’s Performance Oversight Hearings last Wednesday. Your voices MATTER! Thanks to the support of members, DC City Council and the DC State Board of Education DCPS will no longer insist on 5AM meeting times. Hence, moving forward, new bargaining sessions will be scheduled at reasonable times in the day. Again, none of this is possible without your support. When we work together, we win together!

As mentioned previously, WTU is now reaching out to building representatives to share DCPS’s changes to our contract and discuss possible actions each school may take. Please be on the lookout for a visit from the WTU team and loud and proud contract actions around the city. We look forward to seeing you shortly!

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here: https://youtu.be/4Npf-8hazZM?si=X4fpqP1gfXCIrKator click on the photo below.

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

C4DC – Coalition for DC Public Schools and Communities Releases FY24 DCPS Budget Analysis soon

FY25 Budget Materials — C4DC (c4dcpublicschools.org) (Spreadsheet of Initial Budgets coming soon)
DCPS local school budgets for next year: The good news is that general education/at-risk per pupil allocations are more equitable than in prior years, see betsyjwolf.substack.com. The bad news is that most schools--even some gaining enrollment--will have to cut staff. Why?

FY25 Initial Allocations - from Mary Levy

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU!

I hope you had a peaceful and productive week! Last Thursday, your hardworking Contract Bargaining Team met in the wee hours of the morning outside the Negotiating Center for a meeting with the District and DCPS that started at 5AM. We still believe the District is not negotiating in good faith by only offering the WTU 5AM meeting times. It is the height of disrespect to not permit our bargaining team to meet after the school day ends. On a positive note, Chancellor Ferebee did attend the meeting. We appreciated his presence as we had an opportunity to review with him our MOAs on Safety and Climate. We expect him to attend the meeting on Thursday, Feb. 29^th at 5AM where we hope to negotiate with his team on our 10 proposals and our MOA on diversity. To learn more about what transpired inside the building, please watch the Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here.

In other news, 5PM today is the last day to register to testify at DCPS/OSSE’s Performance Oversight Hearing. We need your teacher voice! Please do not feel overwhelmed. The WTU will help you to prepare your testimony and walk you through how the online process works. The public needs to know your concerns. If you are willing to testify, please register here no later than 5PM today and/or reach out to our WTU organizer, Mike Roland at [email protected]. If you or your school’s LSAT team still has questions or concerns regarding the budget process, please reach out to your Field Representative for support.

Lastly, do you need PLUs or graduate credits? Check out WTU’s Spring Development Courses (online and in-person) beginning on March 9^th! Catch the Early Bird Special – a discounted rate of $125 per course – offered only to WTU members who register before this coming Friday, March 1^st.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

As mentioned previously, your building representative will be reaching out to you shortly to share DCPS’s proposed changes to our contract and discuss possible actions each school may take. Please be on the lookout for a visit from the WTU team. We look forward to seeing you shortly!

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here: https://youtu.be/CdxRH0GbFwg?si=gXi860fMOO7xd0Lx or click on the photo below.

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

Share your insights on the availability and effectiveness on mental health services for students

Jason Cherkis is working with The Office of the D.C. Auditor on the availability and effectiveness of mental health services to students in DC Schools as it relates to suicide awareness and prevention. Jason has surveyed social workers at The DC Department of Behavioral Health and is now seeking your insights. Please contact Jason at [email protected] if you have any questions. 

Teachers: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DCPS_Teachers

Social Workers:   Suicide Awareness and Prevention in D.C. Schools Survey (surveymonkey.com)

Counselors: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DCPSCounselors

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU Members!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful long weekend! Last week, WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team met to prepare for our second Contract Bargaining Meeting with DCPS this coming Thursday, February 22^th at 5AM. To say we were both shocked and angry by DCPS’s lack of respect in requesting a 5AM meeting time would be an understatement. To learn more about what transpired during the last contract negotiating team meeting, please watch the video update here.

As mentioned in last week’s AM Brew, the WTU will continue to visit building representatives in each school throughout the upcoming weeks to share DCPS’ proposed changes to our contract and determine the actions each school will take in protest to their unreasonable and unjust proposals. We look forward to visiting your school shortly!

DC public school officials released initial budget proposals last Tuesday. Mayor Bowser is proposing to increase the per pupil funding formula. However, school leaders are still predicting that budgets will be tight and limited. Please keep the WTU in the loop as your LSAT teams continue to meet. Please reach out to your school’s field representative if you need support of any kind during this tense and stressful budget season.  We will let you know how we can come together to ensure that all schools are funded fairly.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here: https://youtu.be/GTYvohUwjLY?si=hyIMLDgK6awPDTNO or click on the photo below.

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

FY 2025 Budgets have been released!

Preliminary Budgets have been released here:

https://dcpsbudget.com/budget-data/

Mayor Bowser and DCPS Public Schools Release Initial School Budgets

https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-and-dc-public-schools-release-initial-schools-budgets

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU Members!

Happy Chinese New Year! Sending happiness and good fortune to you in the year of the Dragon. I also want to thank our school counselors for their hard work and dedication. They continue to build brighter futures for our District of Columbia Public School students. Last week marked another exciting series of actions by our WTU team. Over the next few months, we plan to increase the number of school visits weekly to talk with building representatives and school leaders directly about the status of contract negotiations and ways your school can help. We want school leaders to see the ridiculous counterproposals DCPS made to WTU’s 10 proposals, and three memorandums of agreement initially submitted in June. In sum, all of what we submitted was dismissed and DCPS counter-offered proposals that will take away our current rights as teachers. They justified their counterproposals by claiming them as ‘managerial rights.’ We know you will be outraged when you learn more about what they sent. However, we also recognize each school may feel comfortable protesting DCPS’ failure to negotiate in good faith differently. That is why we need to talk to all building representatives and school leaders.

In other important news, last week, WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team met with DC Councilmember McDuffie. We shared our disappointment in DCPS’ disrespectful proposal of meeting the contract negotiating team to bargain at 5AM rather than the 5PM time frame we proposed. Counter-offering to come to the table at 5 or 6AM in the morning before a busy school day shows that DCPS is not negotiating in good faith. Please watch the WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s video update here.

The WTU looks forward to visiting your school and I hope you have a productive and peaceful week. Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Watch WTU’s Contract Negotiating Team’s weekly update here: https://youtu.be/lOl3wv5Chfg?si=Rj-AGuf9Kg6jJXvyOur or click on the photo below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOl3wv5Chfg

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

Let the DC City Council hear your teacher voice!

HVAC broken, leaky roof, mold, doors not working? Register to testify at DGS’ Performance Oversight Hearing on Monday February 26 @9:30AM https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/254

Share your insights on the availability and effectiveness on mental health services for students

Jason Cherkis is working with The Office of the D.C. Auditor on the availability and effectiveness of mental health services to students in DC Schools as it relates to suicide awareness and prevention. Jason has surveyed social workers at The DC Department of Behavioral Health and is now seeking your insights. Please contact Jason at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Teachers: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DCPS_Teachers

Social Workers:   Suicide Awareness and Prevention in D.C. Schools Survey (surveymonkey.com)

Counselors: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DCPSCounselors

Do you have a Special Education and RSP Grievance?

Complete this form is you would like to sign onto a Special Education and RSP grievance. Contact Field Rep Janice Brown Parker at [email protected] if you have any questions.

FY 2025 Initial Budgets to be released soon!

The FY25 initial budgets will be released soon. Review the LSAT newsletter to prepare the budget priorities for your school. Use the FY24 Budget Guide until the new budget is released. Budget webinar recording. Contact [email protected] if you need support.

A Message from WTU President

Good Morning WTU Members!

Thank you for continuing to send us the wonderful pictures of members wearing Red for Ed on Fridays! Wearing red one day a week reminds DCPS that we are serious about wanting to receive a contract as soon as possible. If you’d like to hear my podcast interview on the contract with WPFW 89.3 producer Chris Bangert-Drown, please click here for the link.

Our next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting is on Wednesday, Feb. 7^th @ 5PM via Zoom. If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend, please come to the meeting. We want to know what contract actions you think we should take to get DCPS to negotiate with us in good faith. Thank you, again, to the members who joined our last CAT team meeting. We appreciated hearing your ideas!

On Wednesday, February 7^th, WTU member Candice Pettus will be speaking at an AFT Share My Lesson Webinar @6PM. This free one-hour session focuses on giving SPED teachers the essentials in how to implement the Individualized Education Program (IEP).  Let’s support our own as we join her online for this important session!

I wish you a peaceful and productive week ahead! Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team (CAT)

Our next Contract Action Team meeting is Wednesday, February 7^th at 5PM. Please join us! lHWkhlc1owQT09#success
Meeting ID: 816 3587 3339, Passcode: 302288

We still need your photos wearing red on Fridays and signatures on our petition. Please encourage all to sign!

Let the DC City Council hear your teacher voice!

HVAC broken, leaky roof, mold, doors not working? Register to testify about DGS’ Performance Oversight Hearing on Monday February 26 @9:30AM https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/254

Do you have a Special Education and RSP Grievance?

Complete this form if you would like to sign onto a Special Education and RSP grievance. Contact Field Rep Janice Brown Parker at [email protected] if you have any questions.

FY 2025 Initial Budgets to be released soon!

The FY25 initial budgets will be released soon. Review the LSAT newsletter to prepare the budget priorities for your school. Use the FY24 Budget Guide until the new budget is released. Budget webinar recording. Contact [email protected] if you need support.