Fantastic News!

Needless to say, last week was a mess. We started teacher work days the 4th and all kinds of things were going on that were making it really hard for our school's resource team (there are five of us - we are the second largest elementary school in the district of 54,000 students) to plan and prep for the new year that was supposed to begin by welcoming students back on Tuesday, August 11th.

First, our resource team was told that one of us would be moving to the primary (K-3) ACP (alternative curriculum program) because that teacher vacancy had not yet been filled. None of us wanted it, with how crazy everything else was going to be. I was lucky that I was not selected, and will remain in resource.

Secondly, due to the 3/2 model our district was starting the year with, figuring out schedules was CRAZY. In our school, we do not take kids from their gen ed room to provide their resource time. We go into the classrooms and provide small groups there. But with kids only being in school 2 to 3 days per week, scheduling was that much harder because we had to contact parents to see how they wanted their children to receive their special education minutes. Parents could choose to have their child receive all their SpEd minutes only on the says they were in school, only on the days they were home, or a mix of both. We also are predominantly Hispanic so beyond calling all the parents, we were needing interpreters to assist. Thank God for Google Translate and other useful software.

Additionally, in general much of our staff was very concerned with returning to school even in the 3/2 model due to the fact that Omaha remains the only city in the US in the top fifty (by population) that still does not have a mask mandate. Our governor is a supreme trumplethinskin ass-kisser and has stated he will sue any mayors/cities/health officials who institute a mask mandate. The capital city of Lincoln has one, though I do not know the status, or if it being enforced due to our idiot governor's threats.

Add in the fact that the school where we teach is in South Omaha, it is also troubling because we have a large segment of the population who work in meat-packing plants, where we have seen COVID-19 spiral out of control. We have students who have lost family members to the virus. It is incredibly scary.

On Friday afternoon, our fantastic superintendent gave us a wonderful gift: she announced that for the first quarter of the school year, we would teach remotely and students would not yet be back in the buildings. This was an enormous relief - not because we are excited to not have the kids, but that we can actually teach the kids safely so everyone can focus on learning. Our district used much of the funding it received to purchase iPads for every single student in the district, complete with Internet access, so that will not be a problem barring students from learning.

I am also incredibly grateful for the fact that we are allowed to bring our own school age children with us to work, as long as they remain in our room. This is a huge bonus for me because Eleanor attends school in a different district. So far, her district opens on Tuesday and student will attend every other day. On days she is not in school, she can come with me and complete her work in my office. Though, I am hoping her district closes as well. If they don't, I am considering signing her up for the fully remote learning option, as she will be able to be with me every day.

I wanted to share my good news because this is such a huge weight off my shoulders. As the 11th came closer, I was seriously considering resigning from the district, even though it would count as me breaking my contract. Teachers will now have this addition week to prepare how we will teach our students remotely, and classes will begin on the 18th.

I am so grateful for a strong superintendent whose number one priority is the safety of staff, students, and families. She was the first to come out of meetings in March with health officials and say she anticipated closing the district within two weeks or so - and that is exactly what happened. Her press conference on Friday was pretty awesome, and it was clear she gave no fucks what our idiot governor might say about her decision. A reporter asked if she had spoken to the governor and Dr. Logan stated that she had texted him about changing the district status, and he had responded that he was available after 4 PM to speak to her. When asked if anything had been discussed since then, her answer was that she hadn't checked her phone in the last two hours so she didn't know if he had said anything else. I seriously adore this woman and she is exactly the person we need to stand up to our incompetent city and state "leaders" to do what is best for families.

Cheers!
Sarah

(And as always...teacher wishlists are in need of serious help right now, if anyone feels so inclined to help. Thank you!)