Thank you to everyone who participated in today’s vote. With over 300 votes counted, the result is a nearly unanimous approval (>98%) of the proposed MOU. Thank you to the rest of the Executive Committee and members Liz Briggs and Barry Davis for negotiating what might be one of the most responsible and flexible remote work MOUs around the state.
As the District moves forward, it is critical that we communicate with administration and keep them honest with regard to the letter and spirit of this agreement. The “remote work” expectations now in effect are explicity designed to reflect our understanding that circumstances for both educators and students at home mean that neither can be held to a strict schedule of teaching and learning the same way we would expect in the physical classroom. I’ve already been in contact with the superintendent about some overzealous administrators and I am confident those issues will be resolved quickly.
The language we agreed to states:
“To avoid conflicts between students who may share devices at home as well as those who have multiple teachers, such as at the middle school and high school level, building principals may, in collaboration with unit members, develop a schedule for students and families to help them plan and avoid conflicts such as multiple members of a household being offered an online lesson at the same time or more than one of a student’s teachers delivering online lessons at the same time. Pre-planned lessons and resources need to be available for students at those times.
Such schedules are meant to provide structure and consistency for those families who need it and are not necessarily a reflection of what the unit member may be doing at that exact time, though educators are expected to use their flexibility in scheduling to meet the needs of their students.”
Over the next few days there are bound to be more growing pains as educators and administrators determine how best to meet the needs of students under these new conditions. Dr. Marotta and I will be meeting on Monday morning and throughout the week to identify any problems early on and address them immediately. If you encounter any problems, reach out to your building representative, have a conversation with your administrator, and if you have any trouble feel free to reach out to me or another member of the Executive Committee.