Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, February 22, 2022

Save the Date March 12^th – 2022 Shared Vision Conference

Resilience and Renaissance Ideas to Rebuild After a Pandemic

Dr. Meisha Ross Porter, the former Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, will be our keynote speaker at the WTU's 2022 Shared Vision Conference: Resilience and Renaissance Ideas to Rebuild After the Pandemic on Saturday, March 12^th.  Dr. Porter rose through the NYC public school ranks as a teacher, principal and executive superintendent before becoming the first Black woman to lead the nation’s largest school system. Dr. Porter’s admirers have said that she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty and she’s never forgotten where she came from. We hope you'll join us at our 2022 Shared Vision Conference on Saturday, March 12 to hear from Dr. Porter.

Shared Vision Virtual Session - Healing Conversations (limited to 50 teachers)

March 12, 2022 9am-10am
Healing conversations are skillfully facilitated conversations about the racial injustice in the United States. The conversation invites individuals to reflect upon and share experiences or insights about racial injustice. The goal is to begin to hold space for important conversations and healing through a combination of small groups (3-4 people) and breathwork. The Restorative session includes:

• Facilitated discussion in large and small groups
• Open, safe space for sharing, connecting and self-care 
• Guided relaxation to relieve stress and move towards healing
• Led by highly-trained SKY Schools Instructors certified in stress- and trauma-relief

Space is limited to 50 teachers. Please register here if you would like to attend this session.

COVID CORNER

Reminder: All DCPS staff and students must submit proof of a negative test prior to returning to school on Monday, February 28.

Please contact your Field Representative if you requested but haven’t received your weekly testing kit in the mail.

Please continue to report COVID related issues to the situation room - http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings
And any testing or reporting issues to OSSE (OSSE Online Complaint Form (dc.gov).

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

Professional Development

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

WTU Professional Learning - SPRING 2022 Course Offerings

Sign up now HERE for amazing, engaging, and informative virtual spring professional development with the WTU including these upcoming classes (1 FREE class for new WTU members):

• English Language Learners 101 (starts 3/5)
• Instructional Strategies (starts 3/5)
• Reading Comprehension (starts 3/5)
• Reclaiming Assessments (starts 3/5)

FREE WTU Workshops starting soon:

• IMPACT PD Workshop on EP’s 3-5 (3/5)
• Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (2 parts: 3/5 and 3/12)
• Flagway Math League (next session 3/7)

Learn more and Register for all classes HERE.

Read about AFT National trainer & WTU Teacher Leader Donald Thompson Jr.'s MindPrint action research project Case Study: Teacher Engagement for Formative Assessment

Click here: https://mindprintlearning.com/case-studies/teacher-engagement

Wellness Series with Aetna (all sessions are virtual @ 7:00pm-8:00pm)

Each session below is a one-hour “gift of self-care” with unique perspectives and tools. Participants will find value in attending one, a few, or all the sessions to support yourself in creating a robust practice of Self Care. Use this link to register for all or some of the four sessions: https://artofliving.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkf-mgrD0qEtfZQOKQy_UwiRpBfShnBeLC

• March 2 ^- Energy and Breath: Powerful Tools to Increase Your Resilience
• April 6 - Supporting Your Mental Health and Preventing Burnout
• May 4 - Making the Impossible, Possible - Setting and Achieving Your Goals
• June 8 - Courageous Conversations: Healing Conversations about Systemic Racism

Upcoming Events

March 2^nd - DC Council’s Committee of the Whole Committee Performance Hearing. All Education Agencies.

Sign- up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsqhcaaR6I40BH0SldcXeTqY118ww-MIalwyszMoyEZkvbkA/viewform

March 2^nd - DC Council's Committee on Labor and Workforce Development hearing on:

• B24-615, “District Government Paid Leave Enhancement Amendment Act of 2022.” This bill will extend Paid Family Leave to up 12 weeks of parental or family caregiving leave and establish medical leave and pre-natal leave.
• B24-53, “District Government Family Bereavement Leave Amendment Act of 2021.” This bill will provide more time off in certain circumstances.

Sign up here to testify on these two leave bills: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMJF4wD6sHAIz7DV8up7IezXeiGkehW56qG651Jv_aXbTIdw/viewform

Friday, March 11^{th -} Bill 24-428, School Attendance Amendment Act of 2021.

Update on Improving School Attendance/Reducing Truancy and Chronic Absenteeism

Sign-up here: Committee Hearing Signup: B24-428 and School Attendance (google.com)

Contact Regina Bell, [email protected] if you need support writing testimony for any of these hearings.

Save the Date March 12^th – 2022 Shared Vision Conference

Resilience and Renaissance Ideas to Rebuild After a Pandemic

Partner events and other upcoming events of interest are also posted to the AMBrew Blog.

Reminders:

Report unsafe conditions at http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings

As part of the MOA, the WTU and DCPS teams will meet weekly to review and find solutions to any violations of the #ReopenStrong: School Building Readiness Checklist. If you see something out of compliance, please report it at http://bit.ly/WTUSafeOpenings. As you click on an area of the form, a drop-down box will appear to allow you to enter comments. Or simply complete the text box at the end of the form. All reports will remain confidential and no identifying information will be provided to DCPS.

WTU Memorandums of Agreement with DCPS.

MOA from August 2021

MOA from November 2021

ICYMI: DC Educator Wellness Center

In partnership with EVERFI, a social impact educational technology company, the WTU is pleased to share with you the DC Educator Wellness Center. The funding for the DC Educator Wellness Center is provided by Johnson & Johnson. In the DC Educator Wellness Center you will find access to a prevention-forward, self-guided, digital microlearning experience designed to provide you with on-demand content related to mental health. The growing list of topics includes Mental Health Basics, Managing Mental Health Challenges, Developing Resilience, Supporting Loved Ones With Mental Health Challenges, and Mindful Living. You can read more here.

We’re continuing to update our database.

Please help us ensure we have your current personal contact information on file. Email [email protected] to provide us with updated information.

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