COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE & COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION PUBLIC HEARING

Bill 23-515, Statewide Educational Data Warehouse Amendment Act of 2019

The WTU strongly supports Bill 23-515, Statewide Educational Data Warehouse Amendment Act of 2019, and I am here today to testify in support of the legislation. The bill would amend the State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000 to authorize the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to expand the Statewide Educational Data Warehouse to include additional information on teachers. We believe this effort is long overdue.

As I testified to last December, teacher turnover is a significant problem in the District of Columbia. Our schools and classrooms lose a high-percentage of highly-qualified teachers each year, a level of churn that is higher than other large jurisdictions. In its October 2018 report and its report update the D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) found that average annual teacher attrition at the school level in both District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools is—and has consistently been—about 25 percent. This is significantly higher than the national average and is higher than other urban jurisdiction.

Read President Davis' full testimony here.

For Immediate Release:

Washington DC Teachers Release Statement on Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) Ruling Against DCPS Reopen Plan

WASHINGTON — In response to complaints filed by the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU), the Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) Hearing Examiner on Tuesday October 20 ruled that DC Public Schools (DCPS) violated the law by refusing to bargain with WTU regarding reopening planning and granted WTU’s renewed request for preliminary relief. The PERB found that there is reasonable cause to believe that DCPS has violated the law by not bargaining with WTU regarding reopening and ordered that DCPS bargain with WTU over health and safety matters as they relate to reopening within 5 days of the ruling. DCPS must also rescind the Intent Form that it sent to teachers on June 30, and the Staffing Assignment Survey it sent to teachers on September 29.

President Davis' statement and the PERB rulings are available here.

Headlines

WAMU - DCision 2020: Your Guide To Every Candidate Running For An At-Large D.C. Council Seat This Year

Washington Post - Meet 15 candidates running for the D.C. State Board of Education

Washington Post - Negotiations stall between D.C. teachers union and the city over school reopening plans

WJLA 7 - City council's committee on education to hold roundtable on reopening D.C. schools

NBC 4 – DC Teachers Rally Against In-Person Instruction

City Paper - Despite COVID-19 Case Increases in Phase 2, Mayor Declines to Scale Back Any Activities

WAMU - A Quarter Of People Who Got COVID-19 In D.C. Recently Attended A Social Event, New Data Show

Washington Post - School reading classes still in a slump without more social studies

Washington Post - D.C. families demand answers after veteran principal’s sudden exit

City Paper - Injured Employees, Attorneys, and Labor Advocates Testify About D.C.’s Public Sector Worker’s Compensation System

October 15, 2020

Washington DC Teachers’ Release Statement on

Reports of an Agreement to Reopen Schools to In-Person Learning

Calls on Council of the District of Columbia to Open Upcoming Hearing to Public Witnesses

WASHINGTON — The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) President Elizabeth Davis released the attached statement regarding today following reports that the Union had agreed to a framework for reopening schools to in-person learning.

Read the full statement here.

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WUSA9 - DC Nurses Union: 'Your children are not safe returning to schools'

WUSA9 - 'It’s not time to go back' | DC teachers protest outside mayor's home over reopening concerns

WUSA9 - 'Trust the process' | DC teachers given until Oct. 5 to decide if they’re willing to teach in person

DCist - What Do In-Person Classes Look Like In A Pandemic? These D.C. Schools Are Finding Out

Washington Post - School Without Walls Principal Richard Trogisch leaves

Washington Post – Opinions - Sure, send our kids back to unsafe schools, even though it isn’t ‘in the best interest of anyone’

WUSA - Teachers, parents rally outside DC school demanding answers after principal fired weeks before return of school

DCIst - The Principal Of A Prestigious D.C. High School Was Suddenly Fired. Parents And Teachers Want Answers

Hill Rag - Meet the New Ward 6 Principals

Greater Greater Washington - Walk to School Day participants are looking for a little “good trouble” this year

WAMU - DCision 2020: Your Guide To Every Candidate Running For An At-Large D.C. Council Seat This Year

Washington DC Teachers Union Releases Statement on Mayor Bowser’s Plan to Reopen Schools to In-person Learning

Reiterates Union calls for transparency and public engagement

WASHINGTON — Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) President Elizabeth Davis the attached statement on the Mayor’s decision to reopen schools to in-person learning on November 9.

“While our teachers want to return to our classrooms and resume in-person learning, we can only do so when it is safe and when the Mayor and Chancellor have come to the table to work with us and other Union leaders to ensure the safety of our students, school –based staff, and communities.

“The Mayor and Chancellor Ferebee have failed to share the details of what COVID 19 safety measures have been instituted in each school. Their secrecy is a major part of our concern. In a survey of teachers the WTU conducted last week, less than 3% believed our schools will be safe to reopen for in-person learning on or before November 9. Fewer said that DCPS has shared detailed information on proposed schedules and staffing plans. Nothing announced today will change these numbers.

On our brief tour on Friday of schools that are currently open to students, I saw no evidence of progress being made to ready the buildings for in-person teaching and learning before our group was asked to leave the school. Signage was virtually non-existent and needed upgrades to restrooms and installation of hand sanitizing equipment were not complete. Teachers, rightly, feel as if they are playing Hunger Games with the Mayor and Chancellor. If our schools are truly ready or in-person learning, as the Mayor and Chancellor suggest, then why would they not want parents and school workers to see the evidence for themselves?

“In recent days, we’ve seen how quickly a public gathering can turn into a ‘super-spreader’ event. Research and news articles continue to document growing concerns around student exposure to this virus and its spread in school setting. We ask that the Mayor and Chancellor work with us to accomplish the following before they move forward with plans to reopen our schools to in-person learning:

• Agree to a safety checklist for school facilities. The WTU has adopted this checklist from national best practices to ensure our school buildings are equipped and safe for students, teachers, and school staff. We also want to ensure public reporting of any deficiencies and a public process for ensuring conditions are corrected. In partnership with Local School Advisory Teams (LSATs) and all Unions represented in our schools, tours shall be scheduled and approval of conditions for reopening must be agreed upon by all partners;
• Agree to a Memorandum of Agreement that covers school operations and develop specific staffing plans and guidance for teachers at each school, without compromising teacher privacy. While we appreciate the decision to extend the deadline for staff to respond to the DCPS staff survey, we believe the survey should be rescinded due to technical issues and concerns with provisions requiring teachers to share personal health information;
• Work in partnership with the Union to establish clear and specific protocols for cleaning and sharing information on COVID exposure in school communities. Multiple school –based staff have entered buildings since the school year began, yet school communities have not been notified; and
• Provide details on the purchase and distribution of PPE for school communities and clear, agreed upon, protocols for their uses in a school facility.

“The WTU will stay the course on ensuring that teachers, parents and other education stakeholders are provided the evidence that the schools are ready for safe return. Teachers, students, other school workers and our students are not disposable pawns to be used as a part of an experiment.”

 

Last Friday, President Davis joined Council of School Officers (CSO) President Richard Jackson, and Walakewon Blegay from the DC Nurses Association (DCNA) in visiting a school. During their visit to Cardozo Education Campus, school officials asked them to leave because the school was “unsafe.” The Union leaders, who represent the majority of school-based staff, were not allowed to enter the other schools, Noyes ES and Phelps ACE HS, they’d planned to visit. On their visit, the Union leaders saw limited evidence of an investment in signage and improvements to the physical school plan designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our school system.

The WTU has created a Checklist for Safely REOPENING Schools outlining the protections that need to be in-place before opening our buildings to students. We encourage school communities to REPORT UNSAFE CONDITIONs Here.

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You can download the full statement here.

News

WUSA - 'It’s not time to go back' | DC teachers protest outside mayor's home over reopening concerns

WUSA - 'Trust the process' | DC teachers given until Oct. 5 to decide if they’re willing to teach in person

The Washington Post - D.C. chancellor and union struggle to reach an agreement ahead of mayor’s decision on schools reopening.

WUSA9 - Some DCPS schools prepping to bring students back in-person

The 74 - 13 District Schools in D.C. Are Opening As ‘Student Support Centers’ to Serve Needy Students — But Questions About Selection, Safety Remain. A Look at One School’s Plan

The Washington Post - Some students will be able to return to D.C. public school buildings this week

WJLA7 - D.C. opening select schools for student services

WJLA7 - Teachers' union calls for more transparency, as in-person learning resumes in D.C.

NBC4 - Washington Teachers Union Concerned About DC's Hybrid Learning Model

The Washington Post - Will Washington-area schools publicly report coronavirus cases? Many say no.

NBC4 - DC Holds Town Hall to Discuss Resuming High School Sports

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

Washington DC Teachers, School Leaders, and Nurses Visit Schools

Release Statement on City’s Planning to Reopen Schools for In-Person Instruction

WASHINGTON — The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) President Elizabeth Davis, Council of School Officers (CSO) President Richard Jackson, and DC Nurses Association (DCNA) Executive Director Edward J. Smith released the following statement on the city’s planning to reopen schools for in-person instruction.

“‘You can only move at the rate of trust.” These were the words of Chancellor Ferebee in the days leading up to his confirmation as DCPS Chancellor. During a global health pandemic, there is no greater truth. If our school leaders, teachers, nurses and students do not feel safe and heard during this trying time in our nation’s history, we cannot expect to have a successful return to in-person learning across the District of Columbia. Furthermore, the failure to follow the guidance of health professionals and ensure adequate protections for our school-based staff and students will result in the continued spread of COVID-19 in our community, likely with deadly consequences.

“We sympathize with the many teachers, nurses, school leaders, and, most importantly, families who long for a return to our school buildings; however, we have not seen significant progress in our buildings or detailed information from the Mayor’s office or DC Public Schools to believe that our schools can safely reopen for in-person learning without creating a substantial health risk for our community. Nor have we seen the detailed plans for the school openings announced today.

“The Washington Teachers’ Union, Council of School Officers and DCNA echo the concerns put forth by Councilmembers Robert White (At-Large), Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1), Mary Cheh (Ward 3), and Trayon White (Ward 8) to the Mayor last week: “a full transition to in-person education cannot happen until we take further steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community.” The WTU, CSO and DCNA also echo the Councilmembers calls for clear standards and protocols to safeguard our students and staff when they enter our buildings and a full, transparent, analysis of building ventilation and safe and adequate nursing suites.

“With the Mayor’s announcement today of her plans to move forward with the reopening of select schools and plans to move forward with a full reopening in November, we call upon her administration and DC Public Schools officials to work with school leaders, teachers, nurses and the community to create a detailed plan for how they plan to safely reopen our schools, while ensuring that we are following national and local health department guidance.

“To move forward with plans to reopen our schools to in-person learning in the coming days or weeks without a detailed public plan and robust community engagement will set our schools and students up for failure.  We once again call for the Council to step in to ensure that our community can be safe should the Mayor decide to move forward with her plans to reopen our schools to in-person learning.”

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You can download the statement here.