Sisters and Brothers,
Tonight our core bargaining team sat down one final time and reached another tentative agreement with the District regarding evaluations. We’ve agreed to limit the number of announced and unannounced observations for educators, and language that states an educator’s evaluation will not be downgraded solely due to a lack of technological expertise. All of the language is now being verified by both parties and will be shared with you sometime tomorrow. Information regarding an all-member meeting to discuss the review will be coming soon, along with a date for a ratification vote.
Part of the MOU includes the formation of a Joint Stakeholder Coronavirus Response Team which has now met twice to discuss the state’s Weekly COVID-19 Health Report. At this evening’s meeting, School Physician Dr. John Maddox, Nurse Supervisor Katie Vozeolas, and public health expert Mary Connolly reviewed the numbers with educators, administrators, and parents and we discussed the implications for our schools.
At this time, the available evidence indicates that the spread of the virus in our community is still centered around a large outbreak at a single nursing home and that there appears to be no known transmission from one person to another as a result of contact within the schools. So far, a total of 25 students and 4 staff members have tested positive, but of those cases, only 3 students and 2 staff members are believed to have been in a school building during their infectious period, and there are no known cases of transmission from them to someone they contacted in the school. Fifteen students and two staff members have already been cleared to return to schools, while the rest remain active and under isolation or quarantine.
The group was also warned that all signs point to our community remaining “in the red” with regard to our average daily incidence rate (per 100,00), now at 20, for at least another week, and we agreed that it was important to continue to monitor whether the source of new cases shifts before making a determination about a district-wide change to the learning model. This was based, in part, on this report from Mathematica shared by Dr. Maddox. The JSCRT did not decide to make any specific recommendations with regard to a change in the learning model, and will meet again next Wednesday at 6:30 pm.
In the meantime, all agreed that we needed to continue to push safe practices such as wearing a mask, washing hands, and maintaining a safe physical distance with our students not just in school, but at home as well, and are reaching out to community partners to help with this. The team also agreed that it was important, for as long as school can remain open to students, to encourage parents of hybrid students to send their children to the schools on their in-person days. We understand parents are uneasy with the new data, and many are keeping kids home instead of sending them to the schools. This is causing anxiety and stress for educators who have to change plans with sometimes no notice, and leaving students missing out on the high-quality, hands-on experiences educators are planning to make the most of the in-person time with them. We hope that with some positive messaging and community outreach it’s still possible to make the most of hybrid while its still available.
None of this is to say that there aren’t many issues across the district with the hybrid model, the Remote Learning Academy, or the many questions and issues with our buildings that remain unaddressed. I will be discussing plans to convene an Environmental Health and Safety Committee well as a Joint Labor Management Committee to address these issues and others related to the MOU (once ratified) and our contracts throughout the school year. If you have issues that you think should be addressed by one of these committees, please share them with your building representative. For possible contract violations (including violations of an MOU) contact 1st Vice President Sarah Emilio (sarahemiliohea@gmail.com).
As always, thanks for all that you do for our students and each other.
In Solidarity,
Anthony
Anthony J. Parolisi
President
Haverhill Education Association