Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, February 28, 2022

Welcome Back!  We hope you enjoyed your mid-winter break. As a reminder, both you and your students must submit evidence of a negative COVID test prior to returning to your classrooms. If you have any questions, please contact your Field Representative.

Join us for 2022 Shared Vision.  March 12, 2022

For more information, click here.

Register for Shared Vision Here.

Wellness Series with Aetna

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 themselves in creating a robust practice of Self Care. Starts Wed. 2/2; all sessions @ 6:30pm-7:30pm.

Each session includes different sets of:

• Powerful physiological tools of the breath that can be incorporated into one’s day to instantly reduce tension.
• Guided relaxation for deep restoration and quieting of the thoughts in the mind.
• Cognitive tools for navigating thoughts and emotions as they arise.

Use this link to register for all or some of the upcoming sessions: https://artofliving.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkf-mgrD0qEtfZQOKQy_UwiRpBfShnBeLC

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

Retroactive Personal Pandemic Leave

As you know, in accordance with the DCHR communication sent on January 19, all employees who must isolate due to a positive COVID-19 test are eligible to use up to 80 hours of Personal Pandemic Leave. More details on DCPS’s Personal Pandemic Leave policy can be found in the attached guidance.

To qualify for the use of Personal Pandemic Leave, an employee must: 

• Supply proof that they have tested positive for COVID-19 (e.g., a positive test result from a healthcare provider or an at-home test);
• Be unable to work or telework due to COVID-19;
• Need leave because the employee must isolate under DC Health’s or the employee’s local health department’s guidelines; and
• Have made a request and been approved for Personal Pandemic Leave.

 Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to the Time and Labor team at [email protected].

COVID CORNER

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

Discovery Education: Read Across America Day

Discovery Education will be hosting a Virtual Read Aloud event on March 2, 2022 featuring Alice Walker and her book, Sweet People Are Everywhere. Registration is OPEN! Please share with your colleagues, we can’t wait!  https://www.discoveryeducation.com/learn/read-across-america/

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.

Ignite My Future Spring Global Innovations Project

This spring our Global Innovations Project will focus on Green Infrastructure using the Ignite My Future lesson Resilient Cities as a basis for the project. Students will use computational thinking to design solutions to enhance their communities leveraging green infrastructure. Please reach out if you have any questions. More details and info session meeting links will be shared with teachers that register for the project.

• (Optional) Info sessions - March 10^th and March 16^th
• Kickoff Meeting for Teachers- March 22^nd
• If you're interested in joining us for this project please register here.

Upcoming Events

March 12^th – 2022 Shared Vision Conference

Resilience and Renaissance Ideas to Rebuild After a Pandemic

For more information, click here.

Register for Shared Vision Here.

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

IMPACT

Thank you to everyone who completed the IMPACT survey. The WTU is working with the AFT to create a teacher development and evaluation system that is fair to teachers and good for students. We are looking for members who would like to be part of a team that is writing the strands for Teacher Observation, Student Performance and Professional Growth.  If you would like to help with this effort, please email Regina Bell at [email protected] 

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.

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