AM Brew - February 7, 2022

Here's What's Brewing Today

Monday, February 7, 2022

Rally to support substitute teachers

TODAY -- Monday, February 7^th from 3:30-6pm

John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

February Representative Assembly Meeting

Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 4:30
All members are welcome to attend, but only building representatives and delegates are eligible to vote.

Please click this link to join the webinar:

Webinar ID: 990 9622 2702

Passcode: 017504

Save the Date March 12^th– 2022 Shared Vision Conference: Resilience and Renaissance Ideas to Rebuild After a Pandemic

Elections Committee Updates

WTU Elections: Building Reps Need to Know (click to learn more)

An electronic version of the Building Rep Binder is available here.

IMPACT

Please take a few minutes to complete the IMPACT survey.

IMPACT Survey

Scholarship Opportunity for seniors who live in wards 5, 7, 8.

Cathy Feingold, sister in labor, has turned a tragic event in her life into a scholarship opportunity for students who live in Wards 5, 7, & 8 and have been impacted by gun violence. We hope you will encourage young people in these Wards to apply for the scholarship which will provide $4,000 for a year of continuing education. If you have any questions about the scholarship program, please email [email protected]

Cathy has partnered with Ryane Nickens, founder of the TraRon Center. The WTU is joining the partnership with the TraRon Center whose mission is to expose gun violence survivors to therapeutic modalities that may be absent from their current grieving and coping methods. With a focus on the inclusion of creative arts, the center equips survivors with strategies to healthfully endure the complexities of loss while promoting community health and solidarity.

Here are additional stories about Ryane and Cathy:

COVID CORNER

Test Kits

Sign up to receive a weekly PCR test mailed to your home:

Go to this link to sign up to have a mail-to-home PCR test sent to you each week.

Follow the instructions in the test kit.

Drop the completed test off at any FedEx drop box, and results will be sent directly to you by LabCorp via email.

If you test positive, please isolate immediately and notify your supervisor.

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

Situation Room

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

Crowdsourcing a WTU Guide Best Practices for Teaching in a Socially Distant Classroom

Please contribute your best practices via this link as we create a guide to share with all our members. Feel free to also mail [email protected] if you have any questions or specific resources/suggestions to share.

The Importance of Teacher Force Diversity

Educator Panel hosted by Keishia Thorpe, former WTU Teacher Leader and

Winner of the 2021 Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022@ 5:00 PM EST

Studies show that when students can see themselves in their teachers, it leads to better academic performance and lower behavioral issues. That said, we have a long way to go when it comes to creating diverse classrooms. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 18% of teachers aren’t white, even though half of all public school students are POC. During this panel, PGCPS teachers will discuss how we can diversify our teacher force by creating more inclusive schools.

Topics to be discussed include:

Recruitment and teacher retention
Benefits of teacher diversity, including male teachers in education
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace
Making teacher training accessible for everyone

Participate by registering at this LINK and viewing the monthly sessions or watching previous recordings.

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):

Educating Low Vision Students (starts TODAY 2/7)
Managing Behavior in School Communities (started 2/2; still spaces available!)

FREE WTU Workshops starting soon:

The Social Practice of Literacy in Special Education [High School SpEd Educators ONLY] (Orientation on 2/16)
Learn more and Register for all classes HERE.

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^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

Upcoming Events

Rally to Support Substitute Teachers – Mon, Feb 7 at 3:30pm
Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW

C.O.P.E. Meeting - Monday February 7 at 7PM

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 828 4392 2846

Passcode: 462246

Ward 3 Education Network - Monday February 7 at 7PM

W3EdNet will host Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who will share his vision for education in the city and take questions. Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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

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.

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