Dear members:
At the board meeting on 07/20/20, Dr. Norrell presented some of the details about the fall return.
The District will begin the year with remote learning, with the in-person hybrid learning start date pushed until after Labor Day.
Since the schools were closed in May, Executive Board members, House of Delegate members, as well as members from every level (pre-K, K-5, 6-8, 9-12, etc.), have been involved in planning committees and have used every platform available to them to advocate for the health and safety of our community. The District has been listening. To our knowledge, we will be the only school district in the area to be starting remotely.
The Board also approved the following additional hires to help ensure a safe working environment when we return:
- 51 substitute custodians
- 26 Pre-K -12 permanent substitutes
- 79 noon hour personnel
We are aware that many members have concerns regarding the health and safety of themselves, their families, and our students. We have been advocating since spring that people’s health and safety are paramount, and we will continue to do so. Beginning remotely provides the District with more time to hire the additional staff needed to implement a safe rollout. It also gives us time to see how other districts and the state as a whole fare with new cases before we go back.
These changes in schedule and staffing are due to the concerns of our members being heard and responded to by the district.
Our efforts must now be focused on pushing for additional advancements in the area of safety. Some union efforts currently taking place are:
- Our union and the SEIU (custodians union) are working together to create a process to perform independent, union-led safety inspections in all the schools to ensure that all areas are adequately cleaned
- We have created a list of essential questions that need to be clarified by the administration before we start again in September.
All of us want to make sure that the District does everything feasible to maintain the health and safety of our students, teachers and staff, and thus our own families. We acknowledge your anxiety and will work to counteract it by addressing your concerns to administration in an ongoing effort to create a safe work environment.
Thank you to everyone who has participated in the planning and advisory committees, as well as everyone who has made their voices heard in myriads of ways in productive efforts to make EA a safe and unified district.
In Unity,
East Aurora Council of AFT / Local 604
At the board meeting on 07/20/20, Dr. Norrell presented some of the details about the fall return.
The District will begin the year with remote learning, with the in-person hybrid learning start date pushed until after Labor Day.
Since the schools were closed in May, Executive Board members, House of Delegate members, as well as members from every level (pre-K, K-5, 6-8, 9-12, etc.), have been involved in planning committees and have used every platform available to them to advocate for the health and safety of our community. The District has been listening. To our knowledge, we will be the only school district in the area to be starting remotely.
The Board also approved the following additional hires to help ensure a safe working environment when we return:
- 51 substitute custodians
- 26 Pre-K -12 permanent substitutes
- 79 noon hour personnel
We are aware that many members have concerns regarding the health and safety of themselves, their families, and our students. We have been advocating since spring that people’s health and safety are paramount, and we will continue to do so. Beginning remotely provides the District with more time to hire the additional staff needed to implement a safe rollout. It also gives us time to see how other districts and the state as a whole fare with new cases before we go back.
These changes in schedule and staffing are due to the concerns of our members being heard and responded to by the district.
Our efforts must now be focused on pushing for additional advancements in the area of safety. Some union efforts currently taking place are:
- Our union and the SEIU (custodians union) are working together to create a process to perform independent, union-led safety inspections in all the schools to ensure that all areas are adequately cleaned
- We have created a list of essential questions that need to be clarified by the administration before we start again in September.
All of us want to make sure that the District does everything feasible to maintain the health and safety of our students, teachers and staff, and thus our own families. We acknowledge your anxiety and will work to counteract it by addressing your concerns to administration in an ongoing effort to create a safe work environment.
Thank you to everyone who has participated in the planning and advisory committees, as well as everyone who has made their voices heard in myriads of ways in productive efforts to make EA a safe and unified district.
In Unity,
East Aurora Council of AFT / Local 604
EA Council Local 604 