Sisters and Brothers,
Last night, we sent a clear message to the administration that the many, many unanswered questions about the Superintendent’s plan has far too many of our members considering their options for the upcoming school year. In response to our many inquiries, the District sent an all-staff email at 7:30pm outlining the types of leave available to all members under the contract and the law. I wonder though, why does the administration assume that all eduators are checking their work emails while on summer break? Two things concerned me most of all. The first is that at no point did HR Director Sandra McArthur’s email even mention the remote learning academy as an option for teachers who may have concerns about returning to the building, even without students. Second, the district has asked members to potentially make a life-altering decision about taking leave with under a week’s notice, all while we don’t even have the information nesessary to make an informed decision.
The Bargaining Team has compiled the many questions our members submitted in response to the Superintendent’s proposal for a hybrid start to the school year and published them in English and in Spanish to be shared with our community. Please forward to parents, neighbors, etc., and send the link to the School Committee (schoolcommittee@haverhill-ps.org) and ask them, “where are our answers?”
https://haverhill.massteacher.org/2020/08/19/hea-unanswered-questions-preguntas-sin-repuesta/
In addition to these questions, the Association asked that the condition of all buildings be assessed prior to beginning bargaining. We provided them with the following checklist from the MTA: EH&S Building Checklist We still have not received this information either.
Please share these resources with parents, neighbors, etc., via email, social media, or 1:1 conversations, and also send the links to the School Committee (schoolcommittee@haverhill-ps.org) and ask them, “Where are the HEA’s answers?
The Association is still advising members NOT to share specific information with the District regarding your possible need for leave or accomodations. Until we have an agreement in place to define our working conditions and expectations for teaching during a pandemic, it is not yet possible for members to make an informed decision.
In Solidarity,
Anthony
Anthony J. Parolisi
President
Haverhill Education Association