AM Brew - July 26, 2021

Here's What's Brewing Today

July 26, 2021

Last week, President Pogue Lyons and General Vice President Bell spoke before the city council. The WTU continues to call for DCPS to ensure all schools provide acceptable air quality, as defined by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standard 62.1-2019, and share detailed air quality reports with the public. The WTU also believes that DCPS must ensure mask wearing is universal and that we must meet social distancing requirements, consistent with CDC guidelines. In addition to health and safety concerns, the WTU is committed to prioritizing research -based efforts to help students regain lost learning.

YOU CAN READ PRESIDENT POGUE LYONS' FULL STATEMENT HERE.

FY2021 Budget

Last week, the DC Council held their first vote on the FY2022 budget (school year 2021-2022).

Councilmember Robert White moved an amendment that will require DCPS to results of a 2020 survey on the IMPACT teacher evaluation system so that we all can understand what teachers think of the IMPACT system. This measure is a step forward in obtaining data around teacher turnover and our work to replace the teachers’ IMPACT evaluation system. Also during the hearing, Chairman Mendelson expressed support for “finding funds within the DCPS budget” to ensure every school has a full-time librarian.

We’re continuing to monitor developments around the FY2022 budget. Watch your email for ACTION ALERTS as we approach the next votes on the budget, currently scheduled for Aug 3 and Aug 8.

Sick Leave and/or the Maternity Leave Banks

DCPS will not accept individual requests to be removed from either the Sick Leave and/or the Maternity Leave Bank. Please contact Charmaine Wilks at [email protected] before the October 1, 2021 if you’d like to be removed from these banks.

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

Professional Development

WTU Summer Professional Learning!!!

Courses and Workshops that are still open:

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (8/7 and 8/14) FREE

Decolonizing the Curriculum (starts 7/27) FREE

Financial Literacy Fridays for MS and HS Educators (5 part workshop series continuing 7/30) FREE

Managing Behavior in School Communities (starts Monday 8/9)

OSSE Licensure Focus Group

OSSE is launching a series of focus groups to enable us to better understand how our educator credential candidates are experiencing our website. We’re hoping to hear directly from current or aspiring DC teachers and school service providers who have recently engaged with OSSE’s educator credential website. Interested individuals will be eligible to participate in a 45-minute virtual focus group, and should complete this brief interest form by Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.

Recognizing WTU Trainers

Please congratulate Nadia Torney (Kimball ES) and Dr. Casey Collins (Walker-Jones EC) who are both facilitating national professional development training with the American Federation of Teachers at the 2021 Virtual Summer Educator Academy. Our WTU trainers ROCK!!!

Additional Professional Development opportunities - including upcoming opportunities from the National Math Alliance - are also posted regularly to the PD Blog at https://www.wtulocal6.net/pdblog.

Upcoming Events

We have no new events this week.

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

Reminders:

Get Reading DC

DCSBOE Ward 2 Representative Allister Chang is looking to speak with reading instructors, school librarians, and other interested educators about OSSE's recently released Comprehensive Literacy Plan. Please reach out to him directly at [email protected] if you are available and interested in providing your feedback on the plan.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The WTU is looking for volunteers to help us analyze DCPS’ response to a FOIA request for information on literacy interventions as well as investments DCPS made to HVAC systems. Please contact Joe Weedon @ [email protected] if you’d like to help.

2021-2022 Vacancies

Open positions for the 2021-2022 School Year are posted here.

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.

Click here or 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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