1-Oct-Nov 2020 BACK TO SCHOOL pp 1-11 Advisor

REOPENING

OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2020 CEA ADVISOR 5

CEA TACKLES QUARANTINE LEAVE When a student or staff member tests positive for coronavirus, a school district should require all individuals who have had close contact with an affected person, as defined by the CDC, to quarantine. But there are great disparities in how teacher quarantine is handled from one district to the next. Until the end of 2020, all teachers are entitled to paid leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, limited to 80 hours, when they have been directed by either a government entity or healthcare provider to quarantine. Some districts incorporate additional paid quarantine leave into their MOUs, while others lack a policy, potentially forcing teachers to take their own personal sick time. “Paid quarantine leave is something CEA is working hard to advance uniformly in all school districts,” says CEA Executive Director Donald Williams. “It’s unfair for educators to have to use their earned leave anytime a quarantine is necessitated by someone in the school community testing positive for COVID-19. We have been in conversations with administrators and other education stakeholders and have advanced this issue with the governor. Thanks to a CEA Action Alert issued to all members, thousands of teachers have already emailed the governor and legislators.” CEA believes teachers who must quarantine should first be allowed to teach remotely; if that is not possible, they should receive paid quarantine leave.

CEA SECURES TEVAL FLEXIBILITY CEA’s strong push for greater flexibility in

teacher evaluations this school year contributed to the State Department of Education’s decision to offer Professional Development and Evaluation Committees (PDECs) the option of adopting a formative process that does not rate teachers or require a standardized indicator. CEA was part of a consortium of education stakeholders including AFT Connecticut and Connecticut Association of Boards of Education that urged the CSDE to offer a more flexible option, and at press time, dozens of districts opted for the flexible plan. Under the flexible plan, student growth goals may focus on social-emotional learning or student and family

Kate Field, CEA Teacher Development Specialist

engagement instead of only academic growth. Goals need not be SMART or outcome-driven, and summative ratings for the 2020-2021 school year have been waived for those districts that opted for the flexibilities. (Districts had until October 8 to choose this option.) “We urged far greater flexibility for our teachers,” says CEA Teacher Development Specialist Kate Field, “because no one knows what to expect this year, although continuous disruptions to teaching and learning seem very likely. Teachers have had to adapt, with minimal professional development, to an entirely new way of teaching. The work teachers do is extraordinarily stressful. That was true even before the pandemic, but it’s much worse now, as are levels of student anxiety. CEA pushed for more flexibility to allow teachers the option of focusing on their students’ emotional well-being or their own SEL growth without fear of a low rating. Everyone—teachers, students, parents, and administrators—will need extra support and compassion this year.” To learn more about TEVAL and the new flexibilities, visit cea.org/certification .

Teachers Stand Up, Speak Out Against Broken Promises, Safety Gaps

Some teachers were provided with commercial face shields, while others received handmade versions stuck together with painter’s tape (photo at left). SEA leaders brought their concerns to the superintendent and were told that the district received 4,000 canisters of disinfectant wipes. The following week, Stratford teachers had yet to see them in any school. “We have many teachers who have serious health issues and have to be in the classroom unless they’re taking unpaid leave,” says SEA President Michael Fiorello. He and Record spoke to reporters at Channel 8 and the Connecticut Post and have continued to advocate for school safety for students and teachers. Darien rallies Similarly, Darien teachers have come out in force before board of education meetings to let their community know about serious concerns surrounding a full reopening of schools in a district whose neighbors are experiencing growing numbers of COVID cases. Concerns include an inability to provide six feet of distance between students, a lack of disinfecting supplies, and teachers’ input excluded from district plans. “We are rallying for best practices, for clear and consistent protocols, and to be

fight for the health and safety of their school communities. Stratford is one such community. The same day schools reopened, the district reported its first COVID-19 case of the new school year. When students arrived, there were no hand-sanitizing stations at building entryways. “The district

Many districts have benefited from strong, positive relationships between teachers’ unions and administrators and their communities’ investments in their schools. Superintendents elsewhere, however, have refused to hear teachers’ concerns, prompting educators to speak up, organize, and

a part of the process,” says Darien Education Association President Joslyn DeLancey. “I couldn’t be prouder of our teachers. We love our students and want to keep them safe.” DeLancey penned an op-ed published in The Darien Times on behalf of her union, cautioning that a return to full in-person learning carries enormous risk, with students crammed 25 to a room in some schools. Read the op-ed at cea.org/blog . “Students at the middle school and high school and in some elementary school classrooms will not be sitting three feet apart. Many will not be able to sit six feet apart and eat unmasked. Fourteen hundred students at the high school will not be able to walk the halls socially distanced.” CEA President Jeff Leake and Secretary Stephanie Wanzer joined Darien teachers at a rally to demonstrate their support for keeping schools safe. “Darien teachers are excellent role models—they’re showing their students the importance of standing up and speaking up when something isn’t right,” says Leake. “Darien students and staff all deserve safe learning and teaching environments, and CEA is working with Darien teachers to keep schools safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

promised they would provide us with CDC- approved cleaning supplies and PPE,” says Kristen Record, a high school physics teacher and secondary vice president of the local union. “Students are now back in our classrooms, and we don’t have the supplies promised to us. Teachers were given one canister of alcohol wipes—which are not on the CDC’s list of approved disinfectants against COVID-19—and we do not have access to soap and water in

While some Stratford teachers received commercial face shields, others were given handmade versions stuck together with painter’s tape.

most of our classrooms.”

Stonington Accommodates Teachers Who Need to Work Remotely, Limits Students’ Screen Time

“At a certain point, we can have students work on their own or move them into breakout rooms,” he says. “For the kids’ sake we pushed really hard in our MOU to limit the amount of time they would be sitting and staring at a screen. Four 75-minute periods is a long time.” To the best of his knowledge, Freeman says, every teacher who has a health-related issue or a spouse with a health issue is teaching remotely. Approximately 15 of the districts’ 203 teachers are distance teaching. “In our district we have a good relationship between the administration and the union. It was easy to get them to understand the need for the safety protocols we requested.”

the kids for most of my classes, which makes me more comfortable as an older teacher who has health issues,” says Freeman, who has only seven or eight students in his classroom at a time. “I’ve looked out into the hallway, and it’s not overly crowded,” he says. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’m a stickler for rules, and not once have I seen a student without a mask. They’ve been very cooperative.” Freeman does say that he and most of the faculty he’s talked to find simultaneously teaching students in person and online a challenge that will take a while to master. Classes at the high school are 75 minutes long, but students learning from home don’t have to be online for the entire period.

Most Connecticut students are now back in school, but reopening has not gone smoothly in all districts. Several districts were forced to institute quarantines or shut down entire schools because of confirmed COVID-19 cases. In Stonington, local president Michael Freeman says, “I’ve been really excited to see my students in person after more than five months. There have been nice smiles and enthusiasm from the kids, so that bodes well.” Stonington, which closes one day a week for deep cleaning, is using a hybrid model with only half the high school students in attendance on any given day. “I have considerable space between myself and