A Message from WTU’s President

Good Morning WTU Members!

On Wednesday, August 14^th, we will welcome new District of Columbia Public School educators into the WTU family at the New Educator Orientation (NEO) at the Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) and the WTU’s NEO reception to follow at Lou’s City Bar! Please join us in getting to know those beginning their journey of educating our DC youth at these two exciting events. To learn more about how you can help during the orientation and reception, please contact WTU’s organizer Mike Roland at [email protected] no later than Monday, August 12^th.

Last week, WTU’s Contract Bargaining Team met with DCPS for another bargaining session. Continuing conversations over what constitutes a fair contract as well as keeping those important rights that we have had since the late 1960s continues to be the goal of our hard-working Contract Bargaining Team. We are grateful for their steadfast commitment to representing the views of our WTU members throughout the hot summer months.

If you would like to file a grievance over your final IMPACT score, please review the rules over what constitutes a violation for IMPACT available here. To file an IMPACT grievance with the support of the WTU, please reach out to your WTU Field Representative by Tuesday, September 3^rd, 2024.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

In solidarity,

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President

Washington Teachers’ Union

In Memory

Last week, WTU was sad to hear of the loss of one of our members. John Mungai, math teacher at School Without Walls, passed away on July 31. Mr. Mungai also taught at Deal Ms. His colleagues remember him as a humble, beautiful, and kind educator.

The WTU was saddened to also learn of the loss of Mary Levy – a lawyer, ed finance expert, data collector, and top researcher of DCPS’ budget & policies for over 40 yrs. A mother of DCPS grads, Ms. Levy supported all our DCPS educators over the years and played an integral part in performing vital research to ensure WTU members received fair contracts. Many times, she sat at the table with WTU’s contract bargaining team members and generously gave well-researched guidance to the WTU. A consummate professional, Ms. Levy paid attention to the smallest of details, possessed a wonderful sense of humor, and never hesitated to provide support, even as recently as April 2024 when she addressed the WTU Rep Assembly about budget cuts. She will be remembered for her wise counsel and sorely missed.

Once we have more details of memorial or funeral service plans, we will let you know.

Enroll in Sick Leave/Maternity/Paternity Banks

Open Enrollment for the Sick Leave and Maternity/Paternity Leave Banks is in progress Thursday, June 13, 2024, through Saturday, August 31, 2024! Please use this link to access the change/enroll/cancelation application.

Did DCPS Bring Back Teachers Excessed with DC Council Funding?

All schools had a challenging budget season and had to excess several positions. The WTU is collecting data to see if the excessing process was followed. Now that the Council has restored some funding, we want to make sure those funds are used to rehire teachers who were excessed. Please complete the school budget survey here: https://forms.gle/pcB35vWGn1qsXPRZ8

Have you experienced chronic or recurring problems with HVAC, plumbing, electric, windows, roof, security (door locks), rodents, etc.? We want to know!

The WTU is partnering with the Washington Lawyers' Committee and the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson to produce a report on the State of School Facilities. Although this report is NOT collecting data on laptops or smartboards, we want to collect accurate data on chronic and recurring problems with maintenance and repairs. Please complete the state of your school facility survey here:  https://forms.gle/h7CxG7tMFWnuVaLM7

Upcoming Events, Activities & Meetings

• August 14^th – New Teachers’ Orientation IN-PERSON
• September 3^rd – Deadline to file IMPACT grievance with WTU’s support

In the News

Congratulations to Dunbar’s Adrienne Glasgow, The Gilder Lehrman Institute 2024 District of Columbia History Teacher of the Year

• 07/12/24 – Washington Blade - D.C. Public Schools’ LGBTQ+ program helps ensure students feel safe (washingtonblade.com)
• 07/17/24 – The 74 - Students Speak Out: How to Make High Schools Places Where They Want to Learn – The 74 (the74million.org)
• 07/17/24 – Channel 4 NBC - DC program teaches elementary school students hands-on food education – NBC4 Washington (nbcwashington.com)
• 07/25/24 – Education Week - VP Harris’ remarks on education
  https://youtu.be/95aatxP1KP4?si=YnIfgiXWLvtckDDo
• 07/29/24 – DC Fiscal Policy Institute - With Council Changes, the FY 2025 Budget Advances Educational Equity (dcfpi.org)
• 07/30/24 – The Washington Informer - Ward 7 Politicos Tackle Voter Engagement Quandary - The Washington Informer
• 08/01/24 – Channel 7 WJLA - 14-year-old killed in shooting outside Northeast DC rec center; 18-year-old injured (msn.com)

LEA Look Forward – Weekly Updates

LEA Look Forward for July 26, 2024: Special Education Transportation Guide, Metric Calculation Confirmation and More

AFT Summer 2024 Webinars

SOL 24 (on24.com)

Membership Update

Make sure you are eligible to vote & receive WTU Communications!

The AM Brew is distributed as a benefit to members of the WTU. In the coming weeks, we’ll be updating our database removing non-members from the distribution for the AM Brew. To ensure that you’re not inadvertently removed from the distribution list, please confirm your personal email address by emailing [email protected].

Your ability to vote in WTU elections and receive WTU Communications depends on our ability to reach you. We must have your personal email address for all communications.

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

Be sure to follow the WTU on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with the latest from your Union.