Sunday, August 9, 2020

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!)

16 comments:

  1. Yeah, FANTASTIC News indeed! It amazes me that supposedly responsible people in positions of power ACTIVELY oppose measures to protect people's health. I mean, what's THAT about? COVID doesn't *care* who you vote for. It just wants to infect you and every one around you! DUH! Wearing a mask to protect yourself *and others* is NOT a political act - its a PUBLIC HEALTH act!

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    1. Because trumplethinskin and his idiot minions want to believe their rights are being infringed upon and it is garbage. That is honestly how it is actually being framed at this point, it is no longer about health and safety. It's a political issue and I am fucking sick of it.

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  2. That is very good news for you and I can understand the weight that has been lifted because of it. Thank goodness for competent and compassionate superintendents! My older daughter works in a school system here and they are presently aiming for a combination of remote learning and in school classes. I am hoping the school district will come to its senses and go completely remote as the virus continues to surge here. I know parents are anxious to get kids back in school, but better to have them miss a semester or a year of in-class experience rather than missing the rest of their lives.

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    1. Yes!! I feel like parents are freaking out, thinking their kids will be behind. Except, literally everyone's kids will be behind because NO ONE should be in school right now. I hope they switch to 100% remote learning for your daughter's district!

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  3. not my business, i know, but i'd definitely keep Eleanor on full remote;it's so easy to under estimate human idiocy... kudos on you all for the good work!! Dorothy said it best...

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    1. That is what I am leaning towards. Just have to get her dad to agree. She loved school these two days she went, but the risk is just not worth it.

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  4. Your superintendent sounds a force of nature, we need more people like her in the world to think of people rather than politics.

    Stay safe and have a good week.

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    1. She is so fierce and I love it. She will always do what is best for our safety and it is garbage that the governor and mayor shrugged off the responsibility. Luckily Dr Logan can handle it!

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  5. So fantastic! I am happy for you, for Eleanor and for your schools.

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    1. Thank you! I am hoping Eleanor's district goes fully remote soon. She has loved going these two days, but I feel like it is just not worth the risk.

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  6. i am so glad they wised up. here in florida...well... take care and stay safe
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Yikes! Florida is a mess! I am still praying for Eleanor's district to go fully remote, and I think it is the best option. She has had so much fun these two days she went, but it is just not worth the risk.

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  7. Yay! I'm glad you guys are starting with remotely learning and hopefully your daughter's school will wisen up.

    I'm also relieved that our district followed LAUSD's direction for distance learning. It certainly does take a huge weight off our shoulders. Now we worry how legal is going to work out special education. We were just told that we do not have any waivers and that we must complete ALL IEP's that were put on hold during quarantine to be completed in 30 days; this includes testing.
    *sigh*

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    1. I really hope so; it will be hard to pull Eleanor from school and do remote only because she loved these two days this week that she went. But it is just not worth the risk. She has such a great teacher, and I don't want her to miss the opportunity to have him, but I am so anxious all day when she is at school

      That will be so much work! Can I ask what state you are in? We still completed IEP meetings, because we use Microsoft Teams, and that is how we will be teaching this entire quarter. I am not sure how testing will look for initial MDTs and those kiddos in their re-verification years, because that aspect was put on hold when schools were closed. Even when we were going to start with the 3/2 model, all meetings (staff, team, IEP, etc) were to be held via Teams chats.

      I'm sorry that this is going to be a stressful time, I will be praying for you and your kiddos my Teacher Sister!

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    2. I live in California.
      IEP meetings were still being held via Zoom or Google Meets only if team members were ready. Unfortunately, we did not get good advice from our SPED department and many of my colleagues are now in deep waters. During the closures, I went ahead and completed my annuals and transition meetings since I had enough data. The initials and triennials had to put on hold but luckily I did not have too many of them.

      At my home school I am doing fine but now I am doing 50% at a middle school. My colleague, who I share the caseload with, and I inherited a mess. We have to conduct 10 transitions, 8 annuals, 2 triennials, and 5 initials in 30 days. We have already shared our thoughts on this to our SPED department.

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    3. That is so frustrating when the people who are supposed to have answers actually have none. I was lucky to have enough data as well, and so few IEPs left to even complete. We had to add amendments to all of our IEPs though to indicate what distance learning plan parents selected for their child - daily meetings like in school, support via phone/email, work sent home, paper packets, or they could also decline services. If we could not get a hold of the parent we were not to add an amendment because there was no contact. Luckily that only happened for me with three of my eighteen, but one of those kiddos REALLY needed services.

      I am glad you are letting your SpEd department know that they fucked this up! (Though of course I am sure you are using nicer terms than that, lol.) I understand that this is all so new, but expecting you to get all of that done in 30 days is unreasonable and maybe even impossible. How will you have enough data? Gah. I'm sorry.

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