Washington Teachers’ Union Announces Jacqueline Pogue Lyons as President; Regina Bell to Serve as General Vice President

WASHINGTON — The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) today announced that Jacqueline Pogue Lyons has been confirmed as the union’s next President. Regina Bell will be become General Vice President.

“It is an honor to lead the Washington Teachers’ Union,” WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons said. “We will continue to honor the work and legacy of Elizabeth Davis by working to ensure that our students receive the education they deserve. This starts today with our work to prevent cuts to our school budgets and ensure that city leaders follow the law by ensuring city dollars are allocated equitably to our students.”

Born and raised in New York, Jacqueline Pogue Lyons has been a teacher in the District of Columbia for twenty-eight years and has taught in public schools across Washington, D.C. including: Plummer Elementary, J.C. Nalle Elementary, Thomson Elementary and Hyde Elementary. Prior to being the WTU’s General Vice President in 2016 and joining the WTU office team, she served as a kindergarten teacher at Savoy Elementary.

In her role with the WTU, Pogue Lyons has been a tenacious advocate for the rights of teachers and oversaw the work of the WTU Field Representatives in ensuring DC Public Schools abided by the contractual rights of WTU members. She has also worked tirelessly to support the certification and professional development needs of DCPS educators. Pogue Lyons earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Smith College in Massachusetts and a Master of Education in Bilingual Special Education from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Pogue Lyons has one son, who is a recent graduate of Howard University.

“Every teacher who chooses to come to Washington, D.C. deserves a Union that will stand behind them and support them,” Pogue Lyons continued. “Every student deserves a great teacher who is supported and encouraged to grow in their profession. We must end the antiquated and punitive systems that our city uses to evaluate teachers and schools, causing tremendous turnover in our profession, and replace them with programs and supports that will help our students thrive.”

Pogue Lyons became acting president upon the passing of WTU President Elizabeth A. Davis on April 4. 

The WTU also announced that Regina Bell has been elevated to become the WTU’s General Vice President.

“I’m honored to have been selected by my colleagues to help lead the continuation of President Davis’ work to close the opportunity gaps that plague our city,” Bell said. “The pandemic has only magnified the disparities that our students and school communities face. To improve equity in education we must fully fund our schools and provide library programs for all students”

Bell has served as the Librarian/Media Specialist at Murch Elementary for the past 13 years, where she works with all teachers and staff to support student learning. Bell has served on the Local School Advisory Team (LSAT), the Murch Equity Team, and in other school leadership roles. Bell has served on the Executive Board of the WTU since 2018 and most recently chaired the WTU’s Legislative Committee. Bell and her husband live in D.C. Their three children each graduated from Wilson High School.

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The WTU represents more than 5,000 active and retired teachers. It is dedicated to social and educational justice for the students of the District of Columbia and to improving the quality of support, resources, compensation and working conditions for the public servants and proud teachers who educate our students in D.C. Public Schools.

The full release is available for download here.

It is with deepest sorrow that the WTU has confirmed the passing of President Elizabeth Davis.

President Davis has been at the forefront of public education advocacy and reform, leading the WTU’s transformation into a social justice, solution-driven organization dedicated to advancing and promoting quality education for all children, irrespective of their zip codes or results of the school lottery, improving teaching and learning conditions, and aggressively amplifying the voice of teachers in the dialogue around issues of teaching and learning. We are confident that her legacy will continue to shape the WTU as well as education across the District.

Please keep President Davis and her family in your prayers during this difficult time.

Details on a celebration of her life will be forthcoming.

Nominations are now being accepted for the following positions:

• Maryland/DC, AFL-CIO (8)
• AFT Convention Delegate - 2022 (44)
• Elections Committee (15)

Click here to download the Elections Notice (published on April 1, 2021). The Election Notice includes information on the Term of Office, Eligibility for Election, and Deadline for Nominations.

Nomination Information 

Virtual Information

Candidates for the Elections Committee, Delegate to the AFT Convention (2022) and Delegate to the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO (2023) must be current District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) teachers and full-dues paying members of the Washington Teachers’ Union, Local #6, AFT, AFL-CIO (WTU). All Candidates may start their nominating petition process here.

Candidates for the Elections Committee must have signed petition submissions by a minimum of twenty (20) full dues paying members in good standing with the WTU. Petitions for Candidates for the Elections Committee can be found here. 

Additional signatures from WTU members are not required for Delegate to the AFT Convention (2022) and Delegate to the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO (2023).

Paper Based Information

For members interested in running for any of the above positions but would prefer a paper-based process instead of an electronic one, you will find a petition for Delegate to the AFT Convention (2022) and Delegate to the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO (2023) here to nominate a WTU member or self-nominate for the position. 

For members interested in running for the Elections Committee, a petition is available here. Self-nomination is also an option. Please keep in mind that you must obtain a minimum of 20 signatures from full dues paying members of the WTU as part of this petition form.

Deadline for Nominations

Nomination petitions must be signed by the candidate and received no later than close of business (5:00 PM) Friday, April 30, 2021. If using a paper version of the petition, it must be mailed to the Washington Teachers’ Union Elections Committee, P.O Box 31394 Washington DC, 20030.

NOMINATING AND ELECTIONS RESOURCES

URL to self-nominate: https://form.jotform.com/210798502019051. Any Candidate running for any of the three positions must submit this form.

URL for Signed Petitions for Candidates running for Elections Committee:
https://form.jotform.com/210666549665164. Candidates running for Elections Committee should have a minimum of 20 full dues paying members submit this form on their behalf.

Ballot Request Form: If interested in receiving a Paper Ballot, once available, for the election, please submit a request here or via the link https://forms.gle/KWKmQ9pkHshts3rr8 or email your request to [email protected] by May 14, 2021.

If you have any questions please email the committee at [email protected].

Click here to download Election News, Vol 1.

Nominations are now being accepted for the following positions:

• Maryland/DC, AFL-CIO (8)
• AFT Convention Delegate - 2022 (44)
• Elections Committee (15)

Term of Office:

The term of office for Delegates to Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO runs through the Convention of Fall 2023.  The term of office for the Elections Committee runs through June 30, 2023. The term of office for Delegates to the AFT Convention runs through the Convention of Summer 2022.

Eligibility for Elections Committee:

Candidates must be current District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) teachers and full-dues paying members of the Washington Teachers’ Union, Local #6, AFT, AFL-CIO (WTU) and must submit a nomination petition signed by a minimum of twenty (20) full dues paying members in good standing with the WTU, to be eligible.

Eligibility for Delegate to the AFT Convention and Delegate to the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO:

Candidates must be current DCPS teachers and full-dues paying members in good standing of the WTU to be eligible.  A member may self-nominate or be nominated by a WTU member in good standing by submitting his/her name on a nominating petition by the deadline. Signatures from additional WTU members are not required.

Deadline for Nominations:

Nomination petitions must be signed by the candidate and submitted/received no later than close of business (5:00 PM) Friday, April 30, 2021 to the Washington Teachers’ Union, Election Committee, P.O Box 31394 Washington DC, 20030.

ELECTION

The election of the Elections Committee and Delegates will be conducted by electronic and mail ballot. For your convenience, a mail ballot option will be made available for those with technological concerns. The ballots will be emailed/mailed no later than May 14, 2021 and must be returned/received by COB May 31, 2021. Ballots will be opened and counted by an independent agency at a location and time to be determined. Additional information is forthcoming.

DC City Council Performance Oversight Hearing

Committee of the Whole

March 9, 2021

I am Elizabeth Davis, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union. The Washington Teacher’s Union represents over 5,000 active and retired teachers. We are dedicated to social and educational justice for the students of the District of Columbia and to improving the quality of support, resources, compensation and working conditions for the public servants and proud teachers who educate our students. I am a DC teacher and DC resident.

At last year’s public oversight hearing, my testimony included the following:

Citywide, 62.9% of those who took the English language portion of the PARCC exam did not achieve proficiency. In math, 69.5% citywide did not reach proficiency. Large achievement gaps persist between students of color, particularly African Americans, and their white counterparts. The barriers our students face are real and the resulting achievement gaps that are present in the District of Columbia are striking.

Unfortunately not much has changed since I wrote those words a year ago. In fact, due to the pandemic, we can expect that gaps have increased further. It is time for our city to embark on bold reforms to ensure that every single student in the District receives the education that he or she deserves. Our return to in-person learning cannot simply be a return to what was. We must return to a system that has learned and improved; that is changing its practices.

Read our full statement here.

For Immediate Release   

February 9, 2021

WTU Asks Mayor and Chancellor to Establish a ‘Situation Room’ to Handle School COVID-19 Emergencies and to Partner on Safety Metrics

 Death of DCPS Teacher Heightens Concerns 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Frustration and deep concern over continuing school safety problems heightened today as the Washington Teachers’ Union and the American Federation of Teachers sent a letter to the mayor and schools chancellor asking to establish a “Situation Room” to deal quickly with COVID-19-related emergencies and to partner on school safety safeguards.

The letter came as WTU members voted against authorizing their union leaders to call a strike, demonstrating that they still want to work with city and district leaders on urgent action to safely reopen schools and want to exhaust all other remedies before authorizing a strike. At the same time, they were mourning the death of a Ballou STAY Opportunity Academy teacher, Helen Marie White, who died this past weekend after succumbing to the virus. 

“We must make sure schools are safe. What keeps me up at night is that the District is putting the health of our city’s educators and students at risk with in-school learning because of continuing exposures in schools, numerous reports of violations of agreed-upon safety protocols and tragically, the death of a beloved teacher,” said WTU President Elizabeth Davis. “Our teachers are pleading with the mayor and chancellor to wake up to the reality that things are not right or safe in our schools.”

Read more...

The full press release and the letter to Mayor Bowser and Chancellor Ferebee are available via the links. 

WTU: Teachers Want to Go Back to School and Want It Done Safely

Click here for the full news release.