Professional Development

Additional PD highlights are posted to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog

Upcoming Certification Deadline???

Many educators received an extension to March 2022 to submit recertification materials. Please begin the process now. Attached is an infographic that can help guide you.

Also, there is an upcoming tech support session on 1/19. 

WTU Educators’ Guide to Best Practices in Socially Distant Teaching

Please take 5 minutes to provide suggestions and resources HERE to be added to a WTU guide for what really works pedagogically in a socially distant classroom.

WTU Professional Learning - SPRING 2022 Course Offerings

Sign up now for amazing, engaging, and informative virtual fall professional development with the WTU including these classes which start this month ($125 early bird registration fee through 1/12/21; 1 FREE class for new WTU members):

English Language Learners 101 (Started 1/8)

BRAND NEW: Reclaiming Assessments: Using a Balanced Classroom Assessment System to Strengthen Student Learning (starts 1/15)

Thinking Mathematics, Grades K-2 (starts 1/15)

FREE WTU Workshops starting this month:

10 Trauma-Informed Strategies to Help Students Heal (starts 1/15)

Conversational Spanish (starts 1/19)

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (2 Part Series: 1/25 and 2/12)

Dimensions of Wellness (1/22)

Flagway Math League (continues TODAY 1/10)

IMPACT PD Workshop (2 Part Series: 1/29 and ⅗)

Strategies for Student Success (starts 1/15)

Learn more and Register for all classes HERE.

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, January 10, 2022

I hope you were able to read my full message last night about the return to school this week. I know that many of you are nervous about the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the spread of the Omicron variant. We continue to fight DCPS to turn “what to do if” concerns into policies that you can count on. I invite you to read more about the concessions we’ve obtained from DCPS – including being one of the few jurisdictions that implemented a “test to return” policy for students and staff, a key demand of Chicago Teachers that they have failed to achieve (read more here) – and our on-going efforts to improve notifications and contact tracing, ensure more students are tested weekly, and ensure our schools are prepared should they have to switch to remote instruction. Again, read the full message here.

We’re working to hold DCPS accountable for their COVID-19 promises and to learn more about the return to school after the Winter Holiday.

Please complete our short survey by clicking here.

Representative Assembly Meeting

Please join us for the January 2022 Representative Assembly Meeting on Tuesday, Jan 11 at 4:30 PM. All members are invited to attend. Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 939 669 4583; Passcode: 148566

Meeting to discuss exemptions to vaccine requirement

On Thursday, Jan 13 at 5PM, President Pogue Lyons will meet with WTU members who have been denied exemptions to the vaccine mandate. To register for this conversation, please complete this form.

Memorandums of Agreement

We’ve received requests for the August 2021 and November 2021 Memorandums of Agreement. They are available via the links below and we’ll be updating the WTU website to make them more prominent.

MOA from August 2021

MOA from November 2021

As part of the WTU’s agreements with DCPS, DCPS is required to publish monthly reports on the air-quality of DCPS buildings. The November Air Quality Report is available here.

Additionally, the WTU has received requests to republish the results from three recent surveys:

• Survey with Empower Ed
• Academic Testing Survey  
• Impact Survey

Update on IMPACT

The IMPACT writing team will start to draft a new teacher development and evaluation framework. The draft of the framework will be reviewed by the IMPACT committee. If you’d like more information contact Regina Bell at [email protected].

REMINDER: Please report any COVID related problems to the Situation Room and OSSE

OSSE Online Complaint Form (dc.gov)

Situation Room: http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings

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

As we return to our classrooms for a full week of school, I know that many of you are nervous about the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the spread of the Omicron variant. We continue to fight DCPS to turn “what to do if” concerns into policies that you can count on.

We should be proud that due to our activism DC is one of only a few jurisdictions that implemented a “test to return” policy for students and staff. The Chicago Teachers have also made this key demand, but they have not achieved it (read more here).

As you enter your classrooms tomorrow, all educators and students who failed to submit a negative test result last week must submit one. DCPS has arranged for testing to be available on-site. Your WTU Contract Team negotiated to require DCPS to provide mail-in self testing kits every week for all teachers; you should receive information this week on how to obtain your test.  Any educator who shows symptoms while at a school building should be tested on site. Due to our advocacy, educators who are instructed to quarantine may work remotely and not use sick leave. All educators should have received KN-95 masks. If you did not receive a KN95 mask, please reach out to your field representative.

We know that DCPS’s policies do not go far enough and we continue to press the Mayor and the Chancellor to meet national best practices, including weekly testing. We also remain disappointed that DCPS has failed to meet city mandates to test 20% of students. We remain adamant that school and city officials have a written plan on how they will handle outbreaks to ensure the health and safety of all teachers, staff and students. In addition to all that we have won, I have made it clear to Chancellor Ferebee that the plan should include:

• A more effective way of contact tracing, testing and notifying the community, including teachers of positive COVID-19 cases.
• The criteria for determining the threshold upon which a school is closed, such as how many teachers and students are infected and quarantined.
• A commitment to distribute tech devices that students can take home in case their school building is closed and must return to remote learning.

As educators, we know the importance of continuing in-person education for our students. We also know that our schools must be kept safe for our students as well as our staff. Please don’t allow those presenting dooms day scenarios prey on your fears. We are continuing to ensure that our school settings are as safe as they can be during these trying times.

Please let myself or your Field Representatives know if you have any questions or concerns.

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

Professional Development

PD highlights are posted to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog

WTU Spring 2022 Course Offerings

WTU’s professional development courses are all research-based, peer-to-peer and solution-driven. All WTU courses are aligned to the DCPS IMPACT Teaching and Learning Framework and Essential Practices Standards 1 through 5. We invite you to check out our Spring 2022 Course offerings and earn credits towards your certification.

Click here to learn more about WTU's Professional Learning Program.

Click here for Spring 2022 course descriptions and registration links.

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, January 3, 2022

Welcome Back!  Myself and the entire WTU team hope you had a wonderful Winter Break. I am extremely disappointed in DCPS’s decisions to continue in-person learning prior to the break exposing many of you and our students to COVID-19 and I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. We will continue to press our case with the Mayor, Chancellor and City Council members for additional protections for you and our students as we return from Winter Break, including specific, written details on what thresholds of staff or student absences will result in a school transitioning to virtual learning. We also have requested that COVID- leave be reinstated for any staff who are required to quarantine.

As outlined in a message sent to WTU members yesterday, the chancellor and mayor announced a safety plan last week that includes testing requirements for all school staff and students. Key elements of this plan include:

• On Monday, Jan. 3, all DCPS school staff must pick up a free rapid COVID-19 self-test before 12 noon (or their own testing option) at their DCPS school and administer it by 1 p.m. on Monday.
• Students, parents or guardians must pick up a test at a DCPS school or at a Test-Yourself pickup site on Monday, Jan. 3, between 1 pm – 4 pm or on Tuesday, Jan. 4, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Students’ tests must be uploaded by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
• School starts Wed., Jan. 5. Everyone returning to DCPS schools must show a negative test result before coming back to school.
• School staff will receive KN-95 masks.

We plan to host a WTU Town Hall in the coming days to provide additional information and answer your questions. In the meantime, please report any concerns to your Field Representatives.

Health and Safety Complaint Process

OSSE has established a website linked here for individuals who wish to notify OSSE that a pre-K-Grade 12 or adult education school may not be adhering to the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement (see DC Health Guidance for Schools and Mayor’s Order 2021-109).

After all the required information is entered in the portal, OSSE will acknowledge receipt of the notification and share the information provided with the school. If notified of a complaint, schools are expected to acknowledge receipt of the information, review the information, and, if needed, take any follow-up corrective action. For additional information, email osse.[email protected].

REMINDER: Please report any COVID related problems to the Situation Room and OSSE

OSSE Online Complaint Form (dc.gov)

Situation Room: http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings

Deadline Extended: Invitation to Apply for 2022-23 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre

OSSE is recruiting elementary teachers/educator leaders from schools across the District that serve pre-K through Grade 5 to participate in the Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre. The application deadline has been extended to Jan. 5, 2022.

Established in February 2016, OSSE’s Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre is a group of individuals from elementary schools across the District who will be responsible for developing a plan to implement the Environmental Literacy Framework at their schools and coordinating its implementation. Participants will meet to (a) receive comprehensive professional development related to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), (b) develop and implement a school-based environmental literacy program using the Environmental Literacy Framework, (c) discuss existing supports and make recommendations regarding environmental literacy implementation in elementary schools, and (d) disseminate information about environmental literacy to their community and garner feedback on the school-based environmental literacy program.

Visit OSSE’s website for more information. Interested educators should complete and submit an application online by Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. For more information or questions, please contact Grace Manubay at (202) 654-6116.

Community Event for MLK Jr Day

WTU, AFT, DCAEYC are partnering with Washington Tennis & Education Foundation in Ward 7 to give away 40,000 books and other school supplies. Download the full flyer here.

Tutoring opportunity from Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid

Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid, through a grant with City Bridge, SYC/W6MA will be launching an in-person Math tutoring program for 60 Middle School Students. We are looking to hire 30 tutors who will be responsible for tutoring 2-3 students following a guided curriculum. This is a paid part-time position, for 6 months, starting in January 2022. The full position description can be found on Idealist here and on Indeed here.

Additionally, SYC is still recruiting for volunteer virtual tutors. Commitment is 1-3 hours a week depending on availability. We are requesting tutors for all subjects and all ages. Link to sign up and more info can be found here: www.bit.ly/sycvolunteertutor

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

Dear WTU members,

In my continuing effort to ensure a safe return to schools next week, I want to let you know the latest information.

As I outlined in a letter to you last week, I have asked Chancellor Ferebee, Mayor Bowser’s staff and the City Council to develop a written plan on handling COVID-19 outbreaks in DC public schools, including the threshold for closing a school, testing, contact tracing and access to tech devices.

Last week, the chancellor and mayor announced a safety plan that includes testing requirements for all school staff and students—a plan that I believe is based on WTU’s persistence.

• On Monday, Jan. 3, all DCPS school staff must pick up a free rapid COVID-19 self-test before 12 noon (or their own testing option) at their DCPS school and administer it by 1 p.m. on Monday.
• Students, parents or guardians must pick up a test at a DCPS school or at a Test-Yourself pickup site on Monday, Jan. 3, between 1 pm – 4 pm or on Tuesday, Jan. 4, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Students’ tests must be uploaded by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
• School starts Wed., Jan. 5. Everyone returning to DCPS schools must show a negative test result before coming back to school.

We also have learned that all school staff will receive KN-95 masks.

DCPS and the mayor said they do not expect to close all schools amid the recent COVID surge. However, they said they would close individual schools on a case-by-case basis, based on staff availability and the percentage of students and staff in quarantine. We continue to urge school and mayoral staff to develop a written plan with specific details, including what will happen for students and staff who fail to submit a negative test by the deadlines, and thresholds for closing schools as soon as possible to avoid chaos and confusion.

We are also continuing to call for DCPS to grant teachers, who are unable to work because of a COVID infection, special “COVID leave” so they do not have to use their sick leave.

I pledge to continue to work with the chancellor, the mayor’s office and City Council on these and other issues that are high priority for all of us.

Soon after we return from the winter break, I will schedule a Town Hall for all members. I know there are numerous questions and concerns about health and safety and other issues. Please watch your email for details in the coming days.

Again, please know that the WTU continues to stay focused on helping you stay healthy and be able to do the best you can for your students. I look forward to seeing all of you in 2022.

Best,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers' Union

Dear WTU members,

It’s been quite a school year so far. You’ve been through some pretty tough challenges but met them with your usual strength and grace. We made some gains; tried with all our might to work through continuing problems with returning to teaching in-person; and still we have lots of work ahead of us to make sure every teacher, school employee and student is safe and that our kids get the best education possible under the very difficult circumstances of COVID-19.

When schools re-opened this fall, we thought we might have the worst of the pandemic behind us and we could start and keep in-school instruction—the best place to learn. But the pandemic, especially the Omicron variant, reared its ugly head. The big problem we have been facing is a lack of an actual plan to deal with serious outbreaks in numerous schools, including some that had many teachers and staff testing positive.

Over the past few days, we have been fighting for DCPS to turn “what to do if” concerns into policies that we can count on. I’m disappointed that DCPS did not communicate in a timely manner a clear and effective plan and policy in dealing with the rise in the Omincron variant. Some schools went virtual, but employees and parents weren’t told which ones until the night before—not enough time for everyone to make plans, especially parents who work and need to make arrangements for their young kids.

We remain adamant that school and city officials have a written plan—ready to go into effect as soon as the winter break ends—on how they will handle outbreaks to ensure the health and safety of all teachers, staff and students. I have made it clear to Chancellor Ferebee that the plan should include:

• A more effective way of contact tracing, testing and notifying the community, including teachers of positive COVID-19 cases.
• The criteria for determining the threshold upon which a school is closed, such as how many teachers and students are infected and quarantined.
• A commitment to distribute tech devices that students can take home in case their school building is closed and must return to remote learning.
• Follow through on DCPS’s commitment to distribute at-home COVID-19 tests to educators.
• A commitment to encourage parents or guardians to test all children before coming back to school after the winter break.

As I said, it’s been a tough school year, starting with the untimely death of President Elizabeth Davis. I know that morale is low. This was reflected in a WTU-EmpowerEd survey that also showed many teachers were considering leaving the profession. I don’t want that to become a reality; it would be such a loss for our students.

In the coming year, I plan to spend considerable time fighting for a better evaluation system that is not biased, racist or unfair. I also commit to working to eliminate the scourge of over-testing, among the most identified reasons why morale is so low. And of course, WTU will work to achieve a fair and equitable contract.

On the bright side, we were able to secure two Memorandums of Agreement. Both MOAs ensure the following for all teachers:

• If a teacher is required to quarantine, DCPS shall give the teacher the option to teach remotely and not require teacher to use sick leave.
• If a teacher is required to provide simultaneous instruction for a semester to meet the needs of virtual and in-person students, teachers will receive a $1200 stipend per semester.
• If a teacher is required to provide simultaneous instruction that does not have semester long assignment, the teacher shall receive a one-time stipend of $300 per semester. Payment will be provided at the end of the school year.
• DCPS shall grant each teacher 3 hours of sick leave per injection for a vaccination or booster against COVID-19. Each teacher shall receive 8 hours of sick leave for getting fully vaccinated or a booster.
• DCPS shall provide on-site testing for COVID-19 at no cost for all teachers, including vaccinated teachers who are symptomatic.
• DCPS shall provide COVID-19 mail-in kits to all teachers, including vaccinated teachers, weekly.

In addition, over the past year, WTU has worked with its legal counsel to successfully advocate for teachers in arbitration and litigation. We settled several cases, securing backpay for teachers who were wrongly excessed and terminated. Just a few days ago, we received an arbitration decision awarding backpay and reinstatement to another teacher who was wrongly excessed. Several other cases remain pending. We also obtained a ruling from the DC Public Employee Relations Board rejecting DCPS’s attempt to deny teachers the right to decide whether their hearings should proceed virtually or in person. Finally, we enforced the COVID safety agreements reached by the WTU and DCPS, taking the school district to arbitration when it failed to comply with safety requirements prior to the reopening of schools in February.

Thanks to your strong advocacy and actions on all levels as well as the support of Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, we now have a librarian in each school. This shows what we can do when we work in unity.

For the next week, I hope you take time to take care of yourselves, be around family and friends in a safe way and enjoy your time off.

Please reach out to me, the WTU office or your field representative during the winter break with any concerns. The office, though, will be closed on Christmas Eve and December 30^th and New Year’s Eve.

Have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy and healthy New Year.

Best,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, December 13, 2021

The WTU would like to congratulate and honor Aiton Elementary Teacher Alex Diasgranados on being named the National University 2021 Teacher of the Year!!

Happy Holidays! Myself and the entire WTU team wish you a safe and healthy holiday and we hope that you’re able to enjoy your Winter Break. We are increasingly concerned about the growing number of cases of COVID-19 in our schools and the delays in reporting cases to school communities (we greatly appreciate WTOP highlighting the issues in this story: DC teachers, lawmakers apprehensive in days before holiday break). The WTU and DC Labor are actively reaching out to Mayor Bowser and DCPS officials to demand a plan for this week that will keep staff and students safe. We are also asking for a test to return policy in place for January.

We encourage you to take extra precautions this week and over your Winter Break.

Happy Holidays!

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

* There will be no AM Brew on Monday, December 27 as staff celebrate the Holidays. We will be sure to keep you updated on any breaking news or announcements concerning health and safety protocols.

The Top 10 Library Stories of 2021

The WTU would like to give a shout out to librarians Christopher Stewart and KC Boyd for their advocacy and testimony at the Council Hearing on Students Right to Read Amendment of 2021. 

Our work to ensure every school has a librarian was recognized as one of The Top 10 Library Stories of 2021. Read more here.  We still have a long way to go to ensure our schools are fully and adequately staffed in every community. We hope you’ll join our Legislative Committee (contact Regina Bell at [email protected]) as we continue to fight for our students and staff across the city.

A Barrage Of New Tests Is Overwhelming D.C. Teachers In An Already Draining Year

Read more from the DCist. Our thanks to everyone who is speaking out on this issue.

Community Event for MLK Jr Day

WTU, AFT, DCAEYC are partnering with Washington Tennis & Education Foundation in Ward 7 to give away 40,000 books and other school supplies. Download the full flyer here.

Tutoring opportunity from Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid

Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid, through a grant with City Bridge, SYC/W6MA will be launching an in-person Math tutoring program for 60 Middle School Students. We are looking to hire 30 tutors who will be responsible for tutoring 2-3 students following a guided curriculum. This is a paid part-time position, for 6 months, starting in January 2022. The full position description can be found on Idealist here and on Indeed here.

Additionally, we are still recruiting for volunteer virtual tutors. Commitment is 1-3 hours a week depending on availability. We are requesting tutors for all subjects and all ages. Link to sign up and more info can be found here: www.bit.ly/sycvolunteertutor

Water Fountain Use is Permitted at School 

DCPS announced in its Nov 18 Reopen Strong Update that after consultation with DC Health, and in collaboration with the Department of General Services (DGS), DCPS will turn water fountains back on in all schools. This process will take place over the next month and follow a schedule that prioritizes our largest schools first.

During our situation room meetings, we have requested DCPS and DGS provide, as required by law, a schedule for the testing of all water sources for lead. We’ve also requested details on how the sources will be flushed and made ready for student/staff usage. Water sampling results and the testing protocols can be found here. If you have concerns that the protocols were not followed, please file a report with the Situation Room (see below).

Please report any COVID related problems to the Situation Room and OSSE

OSSE Online Complaint Form (dc.gov)

Situation Room: http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings

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

Professional Development

PD highlights are posted to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog

Register HERE to save your space for amazing FREE WTU spring professional development starting in January!!!

10 Trauma-Informed Strategies to Help Students Heal

Saturdays: January 15, 22 & 29, February 5 & 12; 9am-12noon

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how adversity can impact children’s developing brains, bodies and behaviors. (20 PLU’s)

Conversational Spanish

Wednesdays: January 19 & 26; February 2, 9, 16 & 23; March 2, 9, 16 & 23; April 6, 13, 20 & 27; May 4, 11 & 18; 6pm - 8pm

Expose: Saturdays: February 12; March 12; April 9; May 14; 2 - 5pm

These sessions focus on naturally conversing in Spanish with interpersonal, interpretive, presentational language proficiency. (45 PLU’s)

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

In this 2-part session, we will establish the connection between culture and learning, and explore research-based strategies, such as cultural competency, high expectations and critical consciousness.(8 PLU’s)

Series #1 RSVP – Saturday, January 29 and Saturday, February 12 @ 9:30am-12:30pm:

Series #2 RSVP – Saturday, April 2 and Saturday, April 9 @ 9:30am-12:30pm

Strategies for Student Success (Saturdays; 4:00-7:00pm)

Strategies for Student Success includes activities that require reflection on daily practice, debate over research and current practices, utilizing modeling, and experiential learning. The following modules will be offered in this section:

Curriculum Matters - January 15; Teach Them to Think - February 29; The Trio: Inquiry-Based, Problem-Based & Project-Based Learning - April 16; Students with Challenges - May 7. 

Participants will receive 4 PLU’s per session.

Dimensions of Wellness

SESSION 1: Saturday, January 22; 9:30-12:30pm

SESSION 2: Saturday, April 23; 9:30-12:30pm

In this session, learn how to tackle all aspects of “you” to increase the likelihood that you stay well. Taking care of yourself is paramount to your success. (4 PLU’s)

Math Flagway League

Mondays: 5pm-6pm | January 10, February 7, March 14, April 11, May 9

Be a part of a community of DC educators who are transforming the way math instruction is delivered to students!!! (15 PLU’s)

The Game Factor

Saturday, March 29; 9:30am-12:30pm

Explore an instructional design that works for both online and in-person instruction. Caution: We will talk about games, but this module will cover much more.(4 PLU’s)

IMPACT Professional Development

Saturdays: January 29 and March 5 @ 9am – 1pm

In many ways, your career in DCPS is dependent upon the IMPACT scoring system. Learn what the system measures, how it works and much more. (6 PLU’s)

Register HERE.

Professional Development

Additional PD highlights are posted to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog

WTU Tech Tuesdays Are Back!!!

Next session is tomorrow  Tuesday 12/14 @ 5:30-6:30pm, with PD Instructor Tameshia Henry for a session on Loom.

Register HERE.

Check out the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institutes HERE.

NEH offers tuition-free opportunities for K-12 educators and higher education faculty to study a variety of humanities topics. Stipends of $1300-$3450 for residential programs and $650-$1725 for virtual programs help cover expenses for these one- to four-week programs. Applications for all programs close on March 1, 2022.

Black Lives Matter at School: December and January curriculum fairs

Learn more and register for the national Black Lives Matter at School Virtual Curriculum Fair on Saturday, January 8th from 10am ET - 12:30pm ET. Apply to present a workshop, here.

The fifth annual Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action is January 31st - February 4th, 2022. Learn more and sign up to participate, here.

If you’d like to participate in a 1 hour planning meeting around Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action on Saturday, January 22nd from 1pm - 2pm, RSVP here.

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, December 13, 2021

General Membership Townhall

Join us on Tuesday, December 14 at 4:30 PM for a special membership townhall. We will be discussing the following at the townhall:

• Reopening MOA
• Vaccination mandate MOA
• The future of the DC Teacher Evaluation system by Cleveland Teachers Union President, Shari Obrenski.
• And more

Register here: https://bit.ly/MEMBERSHIPTOWNHALL

WTU Virtual Holiday Party

Washington’s Teachers would like to thank you for the work you’ve done throughout the year to support our students and your Union. Please join us to celebrate the Holidays, at the WTU’s 2021 Virtual Holiday Party, on Friday, December 17^th from 6 - 7:30pm.

Register here: https://bit.ly/WTUVIRTUALHOLIDAYPARTY

Join us for Networking in Breakout Rooms, Raffles, and to Hear from Invited Guests. We’ll have music and your personal bar is unlimited.

Ward 3 EdNet

WTU Survey on Excessive Testing.

Thank you to the 634 teachers who responded to the WTU survey about testing during the 2021-22 school year. The vast majority of those responding, 92 percent, said they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the amount of required testing of students. Nearly the same number of teachers, or 89 percent, said they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the amount of time available for teaching versus testing.

Further details about the WTU teacher evaluation survey can be found at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-VS5M6VSQ/

We have been discussing with Chancellor Ferebee and the D.C. City Council our serious concerns over classroom time taken up by testing. These survey results reinforce our concerns and demand changes. We will send them the results of this survey to augment our efforts to ensure that teaching triumphs over testing.

Teacher Morale and Retention Check-in

The WTU has joined with EmpowerEd to learn more about your hopes as well as the challenges that you are facing this year. I hope you’ll complete our joint “Educator Morale and Retention Survey” to help us understand whether or not you're considering leaving the teaching profession and what is driving your decision-making.

Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete our short survey. Please note that if you sign-up for one of the teacher-led campaigns in the last section of the survey, Empower Ed will contact you. Participation in the campaigns is completely voluntary.

Ward 3 Dems on Covid Saftey

If there is a problem with COVID health and safety provisions, please report it to OSSE and the situation room

• OSSE Online Complaint Form (dc.gov)
• Situation Room: http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings

LAST DAY -- Dental and Vision Open Enrollment 

DC government has announced its open enrollment to run from 2022 for Monday, November 8 through Monday December 13, 2021. This is an annual opportunity to review your current benefits elections and make changes. This is also an opportunity for you to make any changes to your dental and vision benefits. Click here for details on your dental and vision coverage or if you have any questions regarding these benefits, contact Valerie Kilby at [email protected]. 

If you have questions regarding enrollment into the plans, contact DCPS benefits at [email protected]. 

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

Professional Development

PD highlights are posted weekly to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog

Join the Flagway MATH League!

We launched the Flagway Math League on Monday, October 25 led by coordinator Raphael Bonhomme. Our next meeting is TODAY December 6 @ 5pm-once you register, you will receive a calendar invitation from our league coordinator.

"The goal of The Flagway™ Game is to create environments where students can practice and celebrate learning math. There are many different ways to create a cultural context in which mathematics emerges naturally from students’ experience. One method used by the YPP and the Algebra Project is to create mathematically rich games and experiences." Find more info about the game here: http://www.typp.org/flagway.

Register HERE to become a Flagway Coach: https://www.wtulocal6.net/fall_2021_flagway_league_section_1

Strategies for Student Success (FREE!)

Instructor: Laurine Kennedy

Last Session in Series; TOMORROW December 7; 4:15-7:15pm

The following modules will be offered in this section: Dimensions to a Better Life; Navigating the Journey Between Stress and SEL, Electrifying Online Learning, The Game Factor. Participants will receive 4 PLU’s for each session. RSVP HERE: https://www.wtulocal6.net/fall_2021_strategies_for_student_success

WTU Tech Tuesdays Are Back!!!

Next session is Tuesday 12/14 @ 5:30-6:30pm, with PD Instructor Tameshia Henry for a session on Zoom. Register HERE.