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Here's What's Brewing Today
Monday, October 2, 2023
Good Morning WTU Members,
This past Saturday, the WTU hosted a successful in-person Union Leadership Institute (ULI) for our building leaders at AFT Headquarters. Thank you so much to our WTU leaders who came out to receive professional development on organizing, the contract, and how to best support colleagues in their schools. If you missed an opportunity to join us, we will have another Union Leadership Institute in January.
This weekend, the Washington Teachers Union received the Human Values Award at the World Cultural Festival for our work and activism in keeping students, teachers, and staff safe through the pandemic. Again, this award shows WTU’s deep commitment and love for the children of the District of Columbia and the DC community. WTU has so many partners we’d like to thank for this honor. This great award would not have been possible without the support and hard work of all our WTU members, the WTU Contract Bargaining Team, the American Federation of Teachers, the Washington Metro Labor Council and the Black Coalition Against COVID. This year, eight recipients received this award. Award recipients included Yale faculty member, Dr. James Leckman for his research with the Early Childhood Peace Consortium. DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr., also received an award for his work throughout the COVID pandemic. We hope you had the opportunity to attend this three-day festival featuring more than 17,000 global music and dance artists, yoga pavilion, wellness zones, and wisdom series with visionary and spiritual leader, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. More than half a million people from across the world attended this event.
WTU’s Contract Bargaining Agreement with DCPS expired on Saturday, September 30th. Despite the Contract Negotiating Team’s steadfast efforts to work diligently throughout the summer to deliver our ground rules, several MOAs, and 13 proposals to DCPS beginning in May, we have not received a substantive response on anything submitted so far with one exception. A few days ago, DCPS responded to the ground rules first proposed in May. To say we are disappointed in the lack of urgency shown by DCPS is an understatement. As part of our response, the Contract Action Committee urges all to double-down on their efforts to get everyone in the community and in our union to sign the petition for Safe Schools. Our best defense is a good offense. We need to show DCPS we are extremely committed to getting a fair contract.
In solidarity,
Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President
Washington Teachers’ Union
Opportunities to GET INVOLVED!
Join the Contract Action Team (CAT)!
To learn more about the Contract Action Team, please visit our Contract Action Webpage and follow us on WTU’s official FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram sites. Our campaign focuses on showing our collective demand for a new contract by wearing red on Fridays and our new Campaign button, posting pictures on social media, and rallying everyone we know to sign our petition for school safety. We also need your wonderful photos! So, please don’t forget to keep emailing them to [email protected].
Watch WTU's Contract Negotiating Team's Weekly Video Update
Please click here or on picture below.
Watch previous video updates here.
Join a WTU Committee!
The start of a new school year offers all members a chance to join one of five WTU Committees established by the WTU Executive Board to lead our work:
- Contract Action Team (CAT) & Organizing Committee. The CAT Team and the Organizing Committee will be meeting as one team monthly until further notice. Contact: Mike Roland ([email protected])
- Communications Committee. Chair: WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons ([email protected]) meets the 4th Tuesday of each month @ 4:30pm Join via Zoom.
- Committee on Political Education (COPE) Meeting – Monday, October 2nd @ 7PM. Chair: Michael Donaldson ([email protected]). Meets the 1st Monday of each month Virtual @ 7-8pm Join via Zoom
- Legislative Committee. Chair: Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, President WTU and Vice President Regina Bell ([email protected]) Join via Zoom.
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IMPACT Committee. The IMPACT Committee continues to gather feedback from different stakeholder groups, and academic research data regarding the validity and fairness of IMPACT's rating system compared to other evaluation systems.
Contact: Regina Bell ([email protected])
To join one or more of these committees, click here.
Attend a Ward 7 Education Council Meeting
October 5th 6:30PM Register here.
Register to Testify Before City Council on Bill 25-218 “Work Order Integrity Amendment Act of 2023”
This bill would require DGS to receive affirmative approval from a school-level staff member before marking maintenance or repair requests as complete in the Department’s internal work order system. All public testimony is virtual. Register here.
Attend in-person WTU Retirement Session
DCPS and DC Retirement Board will hold a 90 minute in-person retirement session on October 23, 2023.
Time and place TBD. We also hope to have a virtual option. Registration is required.
In the News
- The Washington Post - DC Boundary Study Sparks Debate, Worry from Parents
- NBC4 News - Washington Commanders teach Xs and Os of reading
- NBC4 Washington - Teenager shot to death near high school in Northwest DC
The Washington Post - Student teen, bystander killed in separate shootings in District - ABC7 News - SE DC elementary riddled by bullets during school hours Monday, principal says
- Washington Lawyers Committee - Students Deprived of Education During Pandemic Reach Landmark Settlement with District to Receive Special Education & Related Services at DC Jail
AM Brew News and Notices are archived at https://www.wtulocal6.net/AMBrew.
Professional Development Opportunities
Those who register for classes before the October 16th Early Bird Deadline will earn deep discounts – only $125 per class. The Fall PD course catalog is available for download here.
Become a Teacher Leader (TL)
Learn more about the Teacher Leader Program here. Download TL application here.
Contact Nadia Torney [email protected] with any questions.
Professional Development Oportunities
LEA Special Education Performance Reports
Latest IMPACT Guidebooks
The latest IMPACT guidebooks which outline how staff and teachers will be assessed in their specific roles/responsibilities is available here.
Update your Contact Information
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, as well as other important Member–Only emails.
To ensure that you’re not inadvertently removed from the distribution list, please update your member information by clicking here.
If you are removed, please contact Carlton Nettles at [email protected] to update your information and be re-added to the WTU mailing lists.