Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, May 22, 2023

Tragically two more students lost their life to gun violence last week. Please keep the families, friends, teachers and communities of Arianna Davis and Jefferson Luna-Perez in your thoughts and prayers.

The WTU is incredibly concerned about violence in our community and its impact on our students and teachers. We continue to work with the administration and the Council to ensure that our city invests in proactive measures to help prevent violence across our community. On Wednesday, you will receive a survey on violence in our schools and the community. We hope you will take a moment to fill it out. Educators are on the front line and know best how to craft solutions that will work.

Teacher Leaders

Congratulations to Teacher Leaders Tanesha Chang, Ina Slaughter, Shaunta Morris, Chandler Dennard, Candice Pettus, Michael Edgerton, Ana Williams and Celeste Locke who presented their 10 month long research project on Saturday. Special thanks to Nadia Torney and Margaret Thomas who were the facilitators. The leaders presented dynamic and informative research and we hope to have additional opportunities for them to present their work to you. Special thanks to Nadia Torney and Margaret Thomas who were the facilitators. Thank you also to all of our members and community leaders who attended the Teacher Leader Symposium in support.

Retro Pay

Please contact your Field Rep if you weren’t paid the correct amount of retro pay on Friday, May 19^th

• WTU members active since School Year 2020-2021 would receive $3,000.
• WTU members active since School Year 2021-2022 would receive $2,000.
• WTU members active since School Year 2022-2023 would receive $1,000.

Sick Leave Buy-Back

Applications for Sick Leave Buy-Back are now available for use in accordance with the current WTU Agreement. Article 17 Leave Policy and subpart Sections 17.1.11.1 and 17.1.11.2 states: “Teachers who have perfect attendance (no absences and no use of sick leave during a given school year) shall have the right to return to DCPS all of the sick leave they accrued during the year. A Teacher may elect to return to DCPS one half (1/2) of the sick leave days accrued but not taken during the current year at the current daily rate of pay. Unreturned sick leave shall be credited each year to the Teacher’s sick leave balance and shall not be subject to the Sick Leave Buy-Back Plan.”

Applications will be available at school sites for any teacher who elects to participate in the plan. The deadline for submission of the application is June 9, 2023. Additionally, sick leave buy-back applications can be obtained via email from Tisa McGhee at [email protected]. 

For more details, click here. For the application, click here.

DCPS in the news

• 17-year-old student fatally shot outside Roosevelt High School in D.C.
  
• 10-year-old who was shot on Sunday dies (msn.com)
• C. Council Quietly Backtracks On Pulling Police Officers Out Of Schools
• Roosevelt High Student Fatally Shot In School’s Parking Lot
• Hardy Middle School principal leaves after parent complaints - The Washington Post
• C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Congress, crime, and the Commanders
• 7 DC high school students, future marine biologists earn certification in scuba diving (msn.com)

The DME wants your Input for boundary study

Click here to make your voice heard.

Revised DINR Window From DCPS

DCPS is asking us to send this message to apologize for an error which resulted in you not receiving communications regarding the Declaration of Intent Not to Return (DINR) application opening, as well as key dates for the DINR process. The DINR instructions and a revised timeline for any WTU member who did not receive notification follow:

We acknowledge that personal decisions may lead you to depart DCPS. As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and DCPS, the DINR process provides WTU members who do not intend to continue employment with DCPS for SY 23-24 an online form to indicate their separation intent. This requirement applies to members who are retiring as well as resigning from the school system. As such, we are reaching out to share a revised DINR application schedule for those WTU members affected by the communication error.

Please note, WTU members receiving this communication who submit a DINR application by May 26, 2023, and do in fact leave the school district of their own accord at the conclusion of the school year, shall be eligible for a one-time $1,000 bonus payable by September 30, 2023. Members receiving this communication who do not submit the DINR application by May 26, 2023, at 5 PM, and voluntarily separate from DCPS during the 2022-2023 school year or at any point before or during the 2023-2024 school year, may be required to pay a $1,000 penalty fine to DCPS.

The DINR application will serve as your resignation letter and the effective date of separation will be June 26, 2023 (10-month WTU employees), July 5, 2023 (11-month WTU employees), or July 7, 2023 (12-month WTU employees). This date ensures you will receive all owed payments.

If you intend to return to DCPS for the 2023-2024 school year, you do not need to take action.

To participate in the 2023 DINR process, please apply online here: Resignations and Retirement Application.  

Questions regarding this process can be directed to the off boarding team at [email protected].

AM Brew News and Notices are archived at https://www.wtulocal6.net/AMBrew.

WTU President Pogue-Lyons issued a statement to Channel 4 News on the murder of a 17-year-old student outside his high school, calling it an "unspeakable tragedy." She emphasized the need for community schools, which provided much-needed wraparound services for students and their families, especially mental health services, counseling and mentoring. To watch the full news story, click here.

Fox 5 News reporters interviewed WTU President Jacqui Pogue-Lyons and Teacher Clare Berke about how DCPS' delay in retroactive pay affects teachers. Read/watch the full story here. @WTUTeacher #RedforEd #Teachers #Unions

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, May 15, 2023

We want you to know the WTU is working diligently to make sure you receive the full amount of back pay due. We apologize for being put in the position to bring you the disappointing news of the delay in back pay at the beginning of what should have been a joyful week. WTU will continue to update you on any new developments in retro pay as soon as they are available. 

WTU is excited to announce that the WTU Executive Board has voted and the WTU Contract Bargaining Team will have its first meeting to prepare for going back to the table with DCPS on Thursday, May 18^th.  Finally, thank again to those of you who attended WTU’s Teacher Appreciation Party last Friday at Coolidge High School. Check out our website for some wonderful photos/videos from the event! 

• Channel 4 News - DC Teacher Back Pay Delayed
• The Washington Times – Complications Delay Retroactive Pay to Teachers 

Teacher Leaders

Throughout this school year, our WTU Teacher Leaders invested their time and attention to researching issues of interest to them as DC teachers. You will have an opportunity to hear about their research first-hand on Saturday, May 20^th from 9-3PM. To register, please click here.

DCPS in the news

• DC teachers’ retroactive pay delayed due to ‘administrative complications,’ union says - WTOP News
• DCPS Disciplines Staffers Over Unauthorized Payments on Million-Dollar Contracts
• Thousands of DC teachers waiting for pay raise will now have to wait even longer | WJLA
• DCPS Disciplines Staffers Over Unauthorized Payments on Million-Dollar Contracts
• DCPS Unlawfully Awarded $270 Million Worth Of Contracts | DCist
• DC teachers speak out after yet another delayed paycheck from the city (fox5dc.com)

Give your input and attend a meeting on:

Deputy Mayor’s master facility plan
DC Public Education Master Facilities Plan 2023 | dme

Master Facilities Plan meetings:

• Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)
• Wednesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

 Boundary Study meetings:

• Tuesday, May 16 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)
• Wednesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

2023 Boundary and Student Assignment Study (office.com)

Revised DINR Window From DCPS

DCPS is asking us to send this message to apologize for an error which resulted in you not receiving communications regarding the Declaration of Intent Not to Return (DINR) application opening, as well as key dates for the DINR process. The DINR instructions and a revised timeline for any WTU member who did not receive notification follow:

We acknowledge that personal decisions may lead you to depart DCPS. As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and DCPS, the DINR process provides WTU members who do not intend to continue employment with DCPS for SY 23-24 an online form to indicate their separation intent. This requirement applies to members who are retiring as well as resigning from the school system. As such, we are reaching out to share a revised DINR application schedule for those WTU members affected by the communication error.

Please note, WTU members receiving this communication who submit a DINR application by May 26, 2023, and do in fact leave the school district of their own accord at the conclusion of the school year, shall be eligible for a one-time $1,000 bonus payable by September 30, 2023. Members receiving this communication who do not submit the DINR application by May 26, 2023, at 5 PM, and voluntarily separate from DCPS during the 2022-2023 school year or at any point before or during the 2023-2024 school year, may be required to pay a $1,000 penalty fine to DCPS.

The DINR application will serve as your resignation letter and the effective date of separation will be June 26, 2023 (10-month WTU employees), July 5, 2023 (11-month WTU employees), or July 7, 2023 (12-month WTU employees). This date ensures you will receive all owed payments.

If you intend to return to DCPS for the 2023-2024 school year, you do not need to take action.

To participate in the 2023 DINR process, please apply online here: Resignations and Retirement Application.  

Questions regarding this process can be directed to the off boarding team at [email protected].

AM Brew News and Notices are archived at https://www.wtulocal6.net/AMBrew.

NEWS CHANNEL 4 - Channel 4 Investigative Reporter Ted Oberg interviewed WTU President Pogue-Lyons on DCPS' inability to pay teachers the back pay owed to them on time. When interviewed, President Pogue-Lyons said, "They (DC leaders) knew this date was coming,” Washington Teachers’ Union President Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons said. “It’s been six months. To find this out during Teacher Appreciation Week is both disappointing and disrespectful.”

To read the full story, click here.

WASHINGTON (7News) — "Over 5,000 D.C. public school teachers are now being set back financially after learning salary hikes they’ve been expecting are now being delayed. The retroactive pay increase was part of a new contract that was ratified in December." 

“Many of our teachers went through COVID, going back to classes in person, concerned about their health and their students," said Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, the Washington Teachers’ Union President. "To finally get a contract and find out that what they had been waiting for through the ups and downs of the economy is very disappointing.

”She added, “The average teacher is 32 years old, they have student loans, starting a family, hoping to get a home, so they depend on their money.”

DC News Now reported on DCPS' failure to pay teachers on time in an announcement released during Teacher Appreciation Week. WTU President Pogue-Lyons told reporters, "I’ve been receiving calls since yesterday with folks saying… what they were going to use the funds for, and now they have to dial back,” Lyons said. “Raising kids keeps going up and up, and so plans that you may have had for the summer are delayed, loans that you may have taken or wanted to pay back — all of that is delayed.” Read or Watch the full story here.

The Washington Times reported on DCPS' failure to pay teachers on time as part of the new teachers union contract. "According to the contract reached with the Washington Teacher’s Union in December, members who have been working since 2020 will receive retroactive payment for the three years they worked without a contract."

WTOP NEWS - WTU President Pogue-Lyons expressed disappointment and outrage at DCPS' inability to pay teachers on time. In a WTOP interview, she said, " This union and our teachers want to rebuild the trust, but you only really rebuild trust with consistency,” WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons told WTOP. “This is not working on consistency, by finding out during Teacher Appreciation Week that money you were counting on won’t be coming. They have promised to get partial payment, but teachers were counting on full payment. And so it’s disappointing and upsetting.”

To download .pdf, please click here.

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, May 1, 2023

Thank you for coming out to our Teachers Appreciation Party on Friday! It was wonderful to see so many of you in person. Throughout the week, we will post videos/photos from the par-tay available on WTU’s website, and official Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook and YouTube social media sites.

I expect your schools, students, parents, and community members will have a lot in store for you this week as they celebrate just how amazing you are.

A few reminders…

This coming Wednesday, May 10^th, we will host our popular virtual retirement seminar at 5PM via Zoom. Remember, it’s never too early to think about retirement! The URL to join the Zoom meeting is here: Join Via Zoom.

On Saturday, May 13^th, Dr. Persephone Brown’s class, Social Emotional Learning for Adults begins at 10AM. If you are interested, please register here.

Throughout this school year, our WTU Teacher Leaders invested their time and attention to researching issues of interest to them as DC teachers. You will have an opportunity to hear about their research first-hand on Saturday, May 20^th from 9-3PM. To register, please click here.

Tuesday May 8 @ 4:30 Rep Assembly meeting

Join Via Zoom. Passcode: 220352   
All members are invited to attend but may not participate in the meeting. Building Reps and delegates will receive a separate link to join as a participant.

Secondary Grading Policy Task Force Report

Please read and comment on the following report that will be presented to the WTU Rep Assembly for a vote in May's Rep Assembly. Click here for additional details.

Give your input and attend a meeting on:

Deputy Mayor’s master facility plan

DC Public Education Master Facilities Plan 2023 | dme

Master Facilities Plan meetings:

Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

Wednesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

Boundary Study meetings:

Tuesday, May 16 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

Wednesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (click here)

2023 Boundary and Student Assignment Study (office.com)

Revised DINR Window From DCPS

DCPS is asking us to send this message to apologize for an error which resulted in you not receiving communications regarding the Declaration of Intent Not to Return (DINR) application opening, as well as key dates for the DINR process. The DINR instructions and a revised timeline for any WTU member who did not receive notification follow:

We acknowledge that personal decisions may lead you to depart DCPS. As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and DCPS, the DINR process provides WTU members who do not intend to continue employment with DCPS for SY 23-24 an online form to indicate their separation intent. This requirement applies to members who are retiring as well as resigning from the school system. As such, we are reaching out to share a revised DINR application schedule for those WTU members affected by the communication error.

Please note, WTU members receiving this communication who submit a DINR application by May 26, 2023, and do in fact leave the school district of their own accord at the conclusion of the school year, shall be eligible for a one-time $1,000 bonus payable by September 30, 2023. Members receiving this communication who do not submit the DINR application by May 26, 2023, at 5 PM, and voluntarily separate from DCPS during the 2022-2023 school year or at any point before or during the 2023-2024 school year, may be required to pay a $1,000 penalty fine to DCPS.

The DINR application will serve as your resignation letter and the effective date of separation will be June 26, 2023 (10-month WTU employees), July 5, 2023 (11-month WTU employees), or July 7, 2023 (12-month WTU employees). This date ensures you will receive all owed payments.

If you intend to return to DCPS for the 2023-2024 school year, you do not need to take action.

To participate in the 2023 DINR process, please apply online here: Resignations and Retirement Application.  

Questions regarding this process can be directed to the off boarding team at [email protected].

NEWS FROM THE WTU ELECTIONS COMMITTEE:

2023 WTU ELECTIONS – REPEATED FROM LAST WEEK

As of Friday April 28, 2023, the Elections Committee has accepted, verified and notified the eligible candidates who are running for MD/DC AFL-CIO Delegate, AFT Convention Delegate and Elections Committee. 

The Election Committee initially planned for electronic voting during these elections however we were unable to move forward with this option. Consistent with the WTU Constitution and Bylaws and past practice, as this is not an officer's election, we will be moving forward with in-person voting during this election cycle. Please be on the lookout for the election date and voting times so that you can ensure you exercise your democratic right as a full dues paying WTU member. 

If you have any questions about the upcoming elections you can email the WTU Elections Committee at [email protected]

AM Brew News and Notices are archived at https://www.wtulocal6.net/AMBrew.