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A Message from WTU President
Good Morning WTU,
Happy Hanukkah! During this holiday season and always, we wish you peace, joy, and happiness! We, as a Union, have a lot to be hopeful about! We received word last Wednesday that DCPS has finally agreed to join us at the contract bargaining table on Tuesday Dec. 12th. This marks the start of the WTU’s Negotiating Teams’ first in-person contract bargaining session. Given this new development, we will move our previously scheduled membership meeting from Tuesday to Thursday, Dec. 14th. Please come down to The Negotiations Center from 4:15PM-5PM to cheer on our hardworking bargaining team as they enter the Negotiations Center (441 4th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001). We are very grateful for their steadfast support alongside that of the larger membership. Every little bit counts whether it’s a teacher testimony, selfie in red, petition signature, reporter interview or a cheering crowd. Together, we are sending the message that we want a new contract, and we want it now!
In anticipation of our first negotiating team meeting, WTU’s bargaining team met last Tuesday to prepare. An update of what they accomplished can be viewed here. Last week, we released additional videos on the causes of teacher retention issues as described in testimonies from DCPS teachers Ashley Boyle Schiraldi, Dylan Craig, Michael Haller, Crawford Bennett, Siedae Culbreath, and Andelgo Parodi. The Hillrag also published an expose on the repercussions of widespread malfunctioning classroom door locks here. In related news, Channel 7 interviewed me on the impact of high rates of chronic student absenteeism on DCPS teachers. I explained how this hinders learning and makes a teachers’ job even more challenging. All news stories help us to communicate the urgency of our plight to the public as well as to DCPS.
We ask for your support in showing up to cheer on our team this Tuesday. Thank you, as always, for your support! I wish you a week filled with hope and the strength to bring that hope to your students who may not believe in themselves.
In solidarity,
Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President
Washington Teachers’ Union
Weekly Update - WTU’s Contract Action Team
Watch the December 5th Contract Negotiating Teams’ weekly update here or click on photo above. The prior week’s video update can be found here. All other updates from CAT can be viewed on the playlist here.
Please share our petition for safe schools! We also need your beautiful photos wearing red on Fridays! Email photos to [email protected] or text them to 202-957-1782.
AM Brew News and Notices are archived at https://www.wtulocal6.net/AMBrew.
Member Feedback Needed on DC Council Candidate Questionnaire 2024 for the June DC Primary
For your review, members of the Committee On Political Education (COPE) finalized the DC Council Candidate Questionnaire 2024 for the June 2024 DC Primary.
Please use the following link to review and provide comments (at your discretion) before the presentation at the Thursday, December 14th Representative Assembly meeting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GJJ1NSZia4ef2BFqdMvnxSCtV7cR2n1a/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112516333820132303403&rtpof=true&sd=true
Truancy and Attendance Reports – OSSE
DC Attendance Reports – 2022-23 Academic Year
Upcoming Events, Activities & Meetings
- December 11th: : OSSE-sponsored Listening Sessions on New Financial Literacy Standards @5PM Registration Required
- December 12th: Cheer on WTU Contract Negotiating Team as they begin 1st bargaining session with DCPS @4:15-5PM, The Negotiations Center, 441 4th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
- December 12th: Town Hall Meeting on DCPS Boundary & Feeder Pattern @6-8PM, Anacostia HS 1601 16th St. SE, Washington, DC 20010 Registration Required
- December 13th: Town Hall Meeting on DCPS Boundary & Feeder Pattern @6-8PM, Virtual, Registration Required
- December 14th: Town Hall Meeting on DCPS Boundary & Feeder Pattern @ 12-2PM, Virtual, Registration Required
- December 14th: Membership Meeting@4:30PM – Registration Required
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- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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December 15: WTU’s Holiday Party, MLK Library Rooftop Terrace *RSVP here – Members-Only Password: WTU4u
* WTU MEMBERS-ONLY EVENTS - December 18th: OSSE-sponsored Listening Sessions on New Financial Literacy Standards @5PM, Registration Required
In the News
- 12/05/2023 – WUSA Channel 9 News – Keeping Teachers in DC Classrooms & the IMPACT effect
- 12/05/2023 – WJLA Channel 7 News – New report details startling statistics on chronic absenteeism in DC public schools
- 12/08/23 – The Washington Post – Opinion: On DC’s truancy crisis, school officials prescribe alphabet soup
- 12/10/23 – The Washington Post – The Right School can change a D.C. child’s life. Can his parents find it?
Professional Development and Other Opportunities
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.