Teachers Association of Long Beach

Update, Friday, February 12, 2021

Another 3 day weekend! Happy Valentine’s Day. Again, just like last weekend, you’ve earned it! We are in a place of high anxiety and it may be difficult to fully relax and enjoy yourself. PLEASE find some time to treat yourself. We are not getting much love these days, and sometimes if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself. And Valentine’s Day is an important reminder, we can get through anything together. 

Today the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued recommendations for “in-person” instruction. 

5 Key Strategies for “in-person” instruction. “I want to be clear, with this operational strategy, CDC is not mandating that schools reopen (“in-person” instruction). These recommendations simply provide schools a long-needed roadmap for how to do so safely under different levels of disease in the community,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a news briefing on Friday, February 12, 2021.

Long Beach Executive Staff are moving toward a March 1st reopening of ALL elementary schools. Not all of our preschool members are vaccinated and not all of our elementary teachers are vaccinated. Even if L.B. Mayor Garcia (City vows to vaccinate teachers of younger grades as tensions mount over school reopening date) can get the vaccines into ALL the arms by the end of next week. Full protection of the vaccine won’t be in effect until early April. TALB Leadership & Staff will be hosting “Emergency Elementary Schools Virtual Meetings” – Saturday – February 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00. You should have received an invitation in your personal email address. If not, please email Veronica Castillo for the link at vcastillo@talb.org

Saturday, 2/13/2021 @ 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Avalon E.S.
Addams E.S.
Alvarado E.S.
Barton E.S.
Birney E.S.
Bixby E.S.
Bryant E.S.
Burbank E.S.
Burcham E.S.
Carver E.S.
Cesar E.S.
Cleveland E.S.
Cubberley E.S.
Saturday, 2/13/2021 @ 11:00-12:00 p.m.
Dooley E.S.
Edison E.S.
Emerson E.S.
Fremont E.S.
Gant E.S.
Garfield E.S.
Gompers E.S.
Grant E.S.
Harte E.S.
Saturday, 2/13/2021 @ 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Henry E.S.
Herrera E.S.
Holmes E.S.
Hudson E.S.
Kettering E.S.
Lafayette E.S.
Lincoln E.S.
Longfellow E.S.
Los Cerritos E.S.
Lowell E.S.
Saturday, 2/13/2021 @ 2:00-3:00 p.m.
MacArthur E.S.
Madison E.S.
Mann E.S.
Muir E.S.
McKinley E.S.
Naples E.S.
Newcomb E.S.
Oropeza E.S.
Powell E.S.
Prisk E.S.
Riley E.S.
Robinson E.S.
Roosevelt E.S.
Signal Hill E.S.
Saturday, 2/13/2021 @ 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smith E.S.
Starr King E.S.
Stevenson E.S.
Tincher E.S.
Twain E.S.
Webster E.S.
Whittier E.S.
Willard E.S.

Bargaining to continue on Tuesday, February 16.

The Association should get a formal response from LBUSD on the following items proposed last Friday, February 5, before lbschools.net crashed.

Screening equipment will be checked daily and calibrated as necessary. Devices reading incorrectly will not be used until the calibration is corrected, even if this means delaying the start of the instructional period or closing the site for the day.

COVID testing will happen weekly. Students and staff who miss the weekly COVID testing will not re-enter the classroom until proof of a negative test for that week is received by the school.
PPE will be provided. Bargaining Unit Members assigned in-person instruction will be provided with KN95 masks.

Students who are identified as sick or refuse to wear a mask will not remain in the classroom.
Class sizes will be adjusted for all required adults working with students in the classroom. No extra visitors will be allowed when the maximum capacity of a room has been reached. VIPS, PTA volunteers, and other community volunteers will not be allowed in classrooms during instructional hours.

Social distancing will be observed at all times. Classrooms remain no-contact zones. Teachers should not distribute or collect papers.

Classrooms will be cleaned and sanitized between groups of students. Teachers are not responsible for this cleaning or sanitizing.

Teachers will not be conducting screenings, administering COVID-19 PCR tests, or providing before or after school childcare/supervision.

RETENTION OF WORK FORCE

Bargaining Unit Members called back for in-person instruction will have 10 days of COVID sick leave in cases of quarantine, COVID-19 positive leave, and post-vaccine symptoms.
Teachers requesting the vaccine will receive both doses prior to returning to in-person instruction.
Teachers are mandated to report any violations to the safety protocol including but not limited to distancing and mask wearing.
Teachers will not be reassigned to other classes to substitute for other teachers on leave.
Teachers will not be responsible for recess, lunch, and restroom supervision duties.

ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES

Open House and Meetings (including but not limited to parent-teacher, staff, and grade-level) will remain virtual for the entirety of the 2020-2021 school year.
Desks will be equipped with plexi-glass barriers.
Classrooms will be provided with a charging station and back up Chromebook for students experiencing technical issues with their device.

Days and Hours
Teachers will receive a student-free day or 2 asynchronous days prior to school opening to set-up their classroom.

To our members and parents:

We understand the desire to return to “in-person” instruction. Given the current level of “preparedness” and the level of infections in the community, it is hard to see how families and school personnel can be ready to open ALL elementary schools on March 1, just 17 calendar days away. Parents will need time to coordinate new work schedules that include the procedural health and safety requirements to get their children on to elementary campuses. Parents would like to see how the elementary schools will operationalize “in-person” instruction, particularly our Kindergarten students who may have had little “on campus” experience. Our community, our families, trust us with their children’s health and safety. Everyone SHOULD feel confident that all measures are in place to protect students and staff. Schools need to be fitted with equipment to provide health and safety requirements. School personnel will need to transition from their virtual classrooms. Hundreds of teachers have been working from an alternative worksite in order to protect themselves and their families from exposure to COVID-19. These employees will have to reestablish their classrooms and be familiarized and trained on safety protocols and procedures for “on-campus” instruction. There is no need to rush. Miscalculations on safety may cause site closures and quarantines.

We encourage all of our members and community members we serve to LIFT UP YOUR VOICES. The Board of Education may be asked to vote on a contract for the required COVID-19 PCR testing this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Along with other items listed on the Board Agenda.

Long Beach Unified School District’s YouTube Channel

Watch Live on Wednesday, February 17 @ 5:00 p.m. LBUSD YouTube Channel

Seniority List
The District has not released an updated seniority list. The good news, as of this writing, there are no plans for layoffs for the 2021-22 school year. The bad news, if you are working on a temporary contract / special contract you may not be asked to return in the fall. We’ve lost over 30,000 students over the last 15 years. The last update the District provided on enrollment, put it at around 69,000 students. The big question is just how many students will return in August? Where will our communities be in this global pandemic?

Displacements / Transfers
No update on numbers, but we expect there to be adjustments. The average yearly loss of students, for the past 15 years, has been around 2,000 students per year. The District’s projected enrollment was expected to flatten around 60,000 students pre-COVID-19. Will the pandemic accelerate declining enrollment?

Update, Saturday, February 6, 2021

Happy 3-day weekend!  You’ve earned it!

Sadly, we know may of you will be working on report cards, lesson planning and preparing fo instruction next week. PLEASE do something special for yourself this holiday weekend.  We’ve got a long road ahead of us. Do fine a comfortable space to sit and process the bevy of information below. Also, the narrative below takes some “editorial liberties”, please watch the BOE meeting for verbatim information.

On Monday, February 1, the rumor mill ramped up to a fever pitch. Apparently, Brian Moskovitz, Ass’t Superintendent of Elementary schools informed ALL elementary principals to be prepared to reopen for “in-person” instruction on March 1. Strange, we keep hearing in the press that the District wants to work collaboratively with the Association. However, neither Brian Moskovitz nor Dr. Jill Baker bothered to reach out to TALB leadership with this important announcement.

In the afternoon, the lead negotiators for TALB & LBUSD met to prepare for the upcoming (Friday) negotiation session. Safety has been a major issue. The District has failed to prioritize our most vulnerable members who are currently working with students. The public has been misled. LBUSD’s preschools have been open since July 1, 2020. The District could not figure out a way to prioritize vaccinations for teachers who are currently working with students. Now, they want all teachers to return to in-person instruction without vaccinating them? Inexcusable and unconscionable. “Executive Staff” won’t be working in-person with students, they’ll be in their offices at 1515 Hughes Way or maybe they’ll get to work from home? TALB pressed the District on their delusional thinking that somehow they are not violating the 8 hour a day 40 hour a week collective bargaining agreement. We say delusional, because the District somehow REALLY believes teachers are putting in their regular duty day. Now, we understand that it has been a LONG time since any of the “Executive Staff” have actually been teaching in a classroom, we aren’t sure if ALL of them have actually taught. We also understand that NONE of the “Executive Staff” have taught during a global pandemic. On Tuesday, February 9, TALB Executive Board Area Directors will be organizing to collect data from their area schools. We will need volunteers to join an Association grievance over days & hours of employment. The grievance remedy will be remuneration for all hours worked beyond our contractual duty day. Our members worked well beyond 40 hours a week prepandemic, taking advantage of our generosity has gone on for too long. Those that are interested in joining the days and hours grievance need to meticulously track their hours. Further details will be forthcoming.

Are you working an 8 hour day or are you working a 9-13 hour day?

• Teaching, planning, and grading
• Parent and student communications
• Required grade reports
• Attendance summary sheets
• Meetings
• Preparation for IEPs and other required documents

Start documenting your time! The district believes you are working 8 hours or less.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 | Board of Education Meeting
We were impressed with the attendance on the YouTube broadcast for Wednesday’s meeting, it reached well over 500. If that number seems small to you, it should, considering there’s roughly 140,000 parents and 10,000 employees. A .0033% participation rate. The meeting was about 4 hours long and there were many items of interest, but we’ll focus on Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Tiffany Brown’s report.

At this point, in the pandemic, there’s a real challenge with politicos and leadership assessing reality. Just like “Executive Staff” take the position that we are only working an 8 hour day, our governor has gone from the sky is falling and we need to shelter in place, to it’s perfectly safe to go out in the water.

We can’t help but wonder how people in leadership might behave if they didn’t have to worry about their political fortunes. Would we be in the same space if the pandemic struck during governor Jerry Brown’s tenure? Would things look differently if Christopher Steinhauser was still at the helm of LBUSD?

On January 14, 2021 the California Department of Public Health issued new consolidated guidance for the safe “reopening” of in-person instruction. Top 5 takeaways:

1. Physical Distancing is Required
Among other provisions for indoor and outdoor distancing, the guidance requires: Maximizing space between teachers, other staff, and students by requiring staff desks be at least six feet from student and other staff desks.

3. Schools are Restricted from Opening

4. COVID Safety Plan, Posting, and New Directives on Reporting

Friday, February 5 
The TALB & LBUSD bargaining teams met at 8:00 a.m. to discuss the latest turn of events and focus on safety for bargaining. In all honesty, there was no expectation that March 1 would be a realistic time for the district to return to “in-person” instruction given the state of the pandemic in Los Angeles county. While the data is currently hovering around 38 per 100,000 infections and declining, one would hope they could look at the history of the past 11 months. Every time restrictions are lifted, a spike in infections follows. We saw this last summer and in the fall. Will Super Bowl Sunday be a super spreader event this Sunday? Valentine’s Day? St. Patrick’s Day? Spring Break? Is all this high anxiety for naught? Could we drop below 25 per 100,000 in the next two weeks, only to have them spike well above 25 per 100,000 the week of February 22? You betcha!

At 9:00 a.m. TALB exchanged proposals with LBUSD surrounding safety for “in-person instruction”. The proposals included:

ACCOUNTABILITY & DEFINITION OF LBUSD’S PLAN

Screening equipment will be checked daily and calibrated as necessary. Devices reading incorrectly will not be used until the calibration is corrected, even if this means delaying the start of the instructional period or closing the site for the day.

COVID testing will happen weekly.  Students and staff who miss the weekly COVID testing will not re-enter the classroom until proof of a negative test for that week is received by the school.
PPE will be provided.  Bargaining Unit Members assigned in-person instruction will be provided with KN95 masks.

Students who are identified as sick or refuse to wear a mask will not remain in the classroom.
Class sizes will be adjusted for all required adults working with students in the classroom.  No extra visitors will be allowed when the maximum capacity of a room has been reached.  VIPS, PTA volunteers, and other community volunteers will not be allowed in classrooms during instructional hours.

Social distancing will be observed at all times. Classrooms remain no-contact zones. Teachers should not distribute or collect papers.

Classrooms will be cleaned and sanitized between groups of students. Teachers are not responsible for this cleaning or sanitizing.

Teachers will not be conducting screenings, administering COVID-19 PCR tests, or providing before or after school childcare/supervision. 

RETENTION OF WORK FORCE

Bargaining Unit Members called back for in-person instruction will have 10 days of COVID sick leave in cases of quarantine, COVID-19 positive leave, and post-vaccine symptoms.
Teachers requesting the vaccine will receive both doses prior to returning to in-person instruction.
Teachers are mandated to report any violations to the safety protocol including but not limited to distancing and mask wearing.
Teachers will not be reassigned to other classes to substitute for other teachers on leave.
Teachers will not be responsible for recess, lunch, and restroom supervision duties.

ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES

Open House and Meetings (including but not limited to parent-teacher, staff, and grade-level) will remain virtual for the entirety of the 2020-2021 school year.
Desks will be equipped with plexi-glass barriers.
Classrooms will be provided with a charging station and back up Chromebook for students experiencing technical issues with their device.

Days and Hours
Teachers will receive a student-free day or 2 asynchronous days prior to school opening to set-up their classroom.

After covering our proposals, we were asked by “Executive Staff” to prioritize safety. This was a very difficult ask. We understand that we have the right to negotiate safety, but we’d never have thought we would be asked to compromise on student and staff safety. The two bargaining teams broke off to individually caucus. It was about this time that a message from Dr. Jill Baker, LBUSD superintendent was sent out to the masses. The message is below:

Although the national COVID-19 pandemic remains severe, the Long Beach Unified School District is carefully monitoring a decrease in regional coronavirus cases, with an eye toward a phased return to in-person learning when permissible by the State of California, possibly in the coming weeks.

The California Department of Public Health recently released revised criteria for the reopening of schools. This new guidance makes it permissible for elementary schools to open for in-person instruction once the county’s adjusted case rate falls below 25 cases per 100,000 people for five days. Guidance is more stringent for grades seven to 12.

The adjusted county case rate is now about 38 cases per 100,000. Two weeks ago, the adjusted case rate was about 100 cases per 100,000. The significant decrease is encouraging, but the school district cannot yet determine when the case rate will reach the level allowing the reopening of elementary schools. The hope is to begin a phased reopening of elementary grades by March 1, but if that’s not possible the school district will plan for a potential phased reopening starting on April 12, a date that LBUSD provided back on Dec. 14 as a potential alternative.

The school district also does not yet know when the case rate will fall to levels allowing the reopening of middle and high schools.

As the school district monitors the health data, elementary parents should please remember to complete a survey that was sent last week. The simple survey asks elementary parents whether they plan to have their children return to in-person instruction when it is available, or whether parents would prefer that their children stay in a remote setting. Information from the survey will be used to plan for class configuration, scheduling, health screenings, childcare and a number of other details.

Students who return to in-person learning will go through a daily health screening process, as will school staff. Students will be required to wear a face covering. Students’ desks will be six feet apart from one another. Students will stay with their cohort, or their own group of students and adult staff while they are on campus, minimizing the number of interactions that staff and students have with others. 

Because of the quickly evolving health data on the pandemic, LBUSD will provide weekly updates during the month of February. In addition to community updates, the school district will be sharing more about its health and safety protocols – including the ongoing effort to vaccinate employees in partnership with Long Beach Health and Human Services – and what classrooms look like as schools continue to prepare for students to return.

Shortly after this message was pushed out, www.lbschools.net crashed. 

The TALB bargaining team waited for the District’s system to get back online, to no avail. TALB’s network was still operating and the TALB bargaining team continued to work. The team found it very curious that Dr. Baker chose to omit COVID-19 PCR testing procedures and the elementary schedule would only be 2.5 hours a day. So much so that we reached out to Board of Education members to ask why the discrepancy?

At around 5:31 p.m. the District pushed out a message clarifying that:

Dear Parent/Guardians of TK-5th grade students,

We are asking elementary parents of TK-5th grade students to complete a survey regarding a planned return to school.  With your prior survey responses taken into consideration, there are two options for our planned return:  An in-person option and all-online option.

 The in-person option is a hybrid program where students will receive instruction on campus for 2.5 hours a day.  Most students will attend school in the morning, although some students may be assigned to an afternoon session.  With the in-person program, parents must have a responsible adult available to drop off and pick up students.  TK-5 students will have additional asynchronous work to be completed at home.  Together with all staff, students who return to in-person instruction will be required to take a Covid-19 PCR test at school on a weekly basis.

 The all-online option is a virtual program where most students will receive live instruction virtually at home for 2.5 hours a day in the afternoon.  TK-5 students will have additional asynchronous work to be completed at home.

 Please log into ParentVUE and click on “School of Choice” to complete your survey for each TK-5th grade student by Friday, February 12th.

We know this is a ton of data to process. Stop for a moment. Breath deeply. This is where we are at. Further organizing activities will be rolled out next week. This is a difficult time for the membership and we know our members are conflicted. Please have a conversation with your primary care provider to assess your health risks for “in-person” instruction. Calculate your accrued sick leave. Get your affairs in order. In solidarity we stand, divided we fall. 

SPEAK OUT: LIFT UP YOUR VOICES

Seniority List
The District has not released an updated seniority list. The good news, as of this writing, there are no plans for layoffs for the 2021-22 school year. The bad news, if you are working on a temporary contract / special contract you may not be asked to return in the fall. We’ve lost over 30,000 students over the last 15 years. The last update the District provided on enrollment, put it at around 69,000 students. The big question is just how many students will return in August? Where will our communities be in this global pandemic?

Displacements / Transfers
No update on numbers, but we expect there to be adjustments. The average yearly loss of students, for the past 15 years, has been around 2,000 students per year. The District’s projected enrollment was expected to flatten around 60,000 students pre-COVID-19. Will the pandemic accelerate declining enrollment?

Update, Sunday,January 17,2021

Sorry for the delay, we held out hope for more information on vaccines. There is quite a bit to unpack. So much so, that we’ll have to break out what happened on each day last week. Please review the entire E-Update as there are important announcements of elections, grants and scholarships. 

Monday, January 11th

Last Monday morning, Brian Moskovitz, Assistant Superintendent of Early Learning and Elementary Schools

January 11 , 2021
To The Parents Of: ________________ _

Dear Head Start, Child Development Centers and Kids’ Club Families,

Happy New Year! We hope this finds you well and taking care.

We are writing to share our concern about the COVID case rate and exposures In our early
learning and child care centers over the last several weeks. We recognize that your family is
reliant upon our child care program. For that reason, we are doing our best to remain open. In
the coming weeks, please know that we will continue to do everything that we can to make care
available for your child. However, if the case rate continues to climb in the way that it has in the
last two weeks, we will need to consider a two-week closure of our child care programs.
Furthermore, if staffing at sites becomes an issue due to COVID exposure, we will need to close
classes/programs on an as-needed basis.
As we continue to see an unprecedented COVID surge, for the next two weeks please consider
keeping your child home as your circumstances allow. We will continue to provide the service
of child care to the extent that we can, but limiting the number of children and staff who are
coming together would be very helpful for everyone right now. Your child’s program leaders will
be able to share online options that they can offer at this time if you do choose to keep your
child at home, or if we are forced to close programs.
Thank you for your partnership with us. We appreciate the opportunity to care for your children
and to support the essential services that we know that you are providing.
With regards,
Brian Moskovitz
Assistant Superintendent of Early Learning and Elementary Schools

Monthly meeting with Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent

At 10:00 last Monday, the president of TALB, Dr. Christine Kelly and the executive director of TALB, Chris Callopy, met with Superintendent Dr. Jill Baker and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Tiffany Brown via Zoom. There is a standing conversation surrounding the “phases of the reopening of schools”. 

Phases of Reopening of Schools

Dr. Baker & Dr. Brown are committed to keeping open any program that is allowable by local health department guidelines / mandates (Long Beach Health Department). For our membership this includes:

Child Development Centers (CDC) & Head Start Preschool / Early Education Special Education Services
K-2 Waivers

These discussions are very difficult, particularly with the District notifying early education providers, prior to our meeting, that the District may have to close in-person instruction.  A conversation whipsawed from the push to reopen schools to the pandemic raging and further closures may be imminent. Reports have surfaced that children do in fact spread COVID-19, leading many European countries to close in-person instruction. Los Angeles county health department officials have detected the newer more easily transmitted and infectious version of COVID-19. Both the president and executive director expressed concern with the push to reopen in an ever evolving pandemic.

“weekly engagement log of daily student participation”. 

TALB President, Dr. Christine Kelly pressed the superintendents for an explanation. “What happened?” “Why was this sent from a “no-reply” email address after 5:00 on a Friday evening?”

Dr. Jill Baker acknowledged the timeliness of the email and promised to make changes regarding late email notifications. A commitment was made to have Chris Brown, Assistant Superintendent of Research & School improvement, give a presentation at the following day’s negotiations meeting.

Vaccines

The TALB bargaining and school climate survey data was discussed. Both superintendents were alarmed with the trending number of participants who did not have interest in vaccination for COVID-19. As of the writing of this newsletter, taking the vaccine is voluntary. The only detail provided on vaccinations was the targeted week of January 25.

Tuesday, January 12^th

The TALB & LBUSD negotiation teams met from 9:00 a.m. to noon. LBUSD executive staff presented the new attendance summary that is required in order to receive ADA in virtual education. Attendance translates into revenue for the District. There was no explanation for what happened. The new LMS was supposed to integrate attendance taking. The new requirement to take attendance was explained and demonstrated but there was a clear minimizing of the time this task may take for many teachers. However, teachers should wait until February to go back to put in lesson summaries. Each site will be given exact dates for which they are responsible to do the backfill. WAIT until that time as they are still doing some of the “programming” regarding attendance from the fall.

There were still no details on vaccinations other than the target date of January 25. Ideally, vaccines would be offered to the families of those who are at greater risk of exposure. Returning more schools to in-person instruction presents problems if families are not protected. If a member’s family becomes ill from a transmission of COVID-19, they may have to take time off from instruction in order to provide needed care. The least amount of disruptions to the continuity of instruction should be a part of the calculation. Vaccinating the school personnel is one step in the process.

TALB Bargaining Proposals:

All levels will have an asynchronous day on Wednesdays.  TALB Bargaining Unit members will conduct IEP meetings, provide Special Education services, conduct office hours, reach out to parents/students for individual meetings, provide interventions, and plan.  No more than 1 hour of this day will be taken for staff meetings or professional development.  All levels will have minimum days, twice per week, second semester.  Time after student dismissal will be protected teacher planning and grading time.  This time may also be used for IEPs, SSTs, and other services related to serving Special Education and EL students. In the interest of meeting student need and retaining students, the district will offer independent study options at all levels for the spring semester 2021. 

 Afterschool meetings will only occur as necessary.  No meetings will occur during teacher protected time. 

Safety

All staff, students, parents, and stakeholders must follow current safety guidelines when on campus.  Extra visitors are discouraged from entering campuses.

The TALB bargaining chair, Corrin Hickey and the TALB executive director, Chris Callopy encouraged executive staff to clearly communicate with every site regarding attendance changes and sanitation procedures. TALB leadership and staff phones have been inundated with concerns over the new attendance procedures and many of our sites are not having consistent enforcement of cleaning and sanitation protocols.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Last week’s board of education meeting welcomed two new members, Erik Miller & Doug Otto. We encourage our members to reach out to our new board of education members. There is quite a bit to catch them up on. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, February 3, 2021 @ 5:00 p.m. 

Voicemail Testimony
By noon on the day of the session, call (562) 242-2190 to record your message and follow the prompts. All comments should begin by listing the following information:

• Your name and item on the agenda you wish to address.
• The session during which you wish your comment to be read.

If your voicemail does not list a specific agenda item that you wish to address, it will be placed in the category of items not listed on the agenda for the public session. 

A recorded public comment becomes a public record as soon as it is recorded.  Any member of the public may request a copy.  There is a three-minute limit on public comments. An individual may make only one comment on an item appearing on the agenda, and one comment on an item not appearing on the agenda in a separate call. Please remember that comments on items not listed on the agenda cannot be responded to during the meeting, but board members carefully listen to those comments, and those comments often become part of the discussion of future board meetings when they can be listed on the agenda.

If there is insufficient time to listen to all voicemails, they will be forwarded directly to the board members.

Please remember that young children often watch these board meetings, so we invite commenters to use language that is suitable for young children. Because we require comment requests to identify whether the comment is on the agenda and if so which item on the agenda is being addressed, only those comments received after the agenda is posted will be eligible to be played during the meeting. 

If you have a condition which prevents you from accessing the ability to make comment through any of these mechanisms, please contact Leticia Rodriguez at (562) 997-8240.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Attendance procedures continue to roil the membership, bargaining team reaches out to Superintendents Dr. Baker & Dr. Brown. A meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. If there is breaking news we’ll send out an update. 

Friday, January 15, 2021

In the morning our members teaching in Head Start & CDC received the following email. 

Dear Head Start, Child Development Center and Kids Club Staff,

Before this work week comes to a close, I wanted to follow up with you on the letter that was distributed to families this past Monday. 

The good news is that we have only seen a small number of new cases of COVID in our pre-k and child care programs this week. As a result, we will continue to remain open for in-person care next week, January 19-22. Because the health and safety of our staff and students is our highest priority, we will continue to monitor cases over the weekend and into next week and will be prepared to make adjustment, as needed, as described in Monday’s letter.

Thank you for continuing to provide this essential care for the children of our community’s essential workers. 

With appreciation,
Brian Moskovitz
Assistant Superintendent of Early Learning and Elementary Schools

After school on Friday, Dr. Jill Baker sent out a message regarding vaccinations. Again, the target date remains the week of January 25. Given that the supply chain of vaccines is unknown at best, be prepared for this date to change. You may also consider the following:

• Have you discussed taking the vaccine with your physician?
• Some people report no side effects. Others have reported mild symptoms. Do you have sub plans ready should you need to take time off?
• There are no specifics regarding the timing of the vaccine. Do you have asynchronous work ready for students if your window of vaccination is during your duty day?

Your Voice, YOUR UNION
TALB GENERAL ELECTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

The Teacher’s Association of Long Beach will be holding its general elections on February 23rd, 2021, through March 5th, 2021 for the following offices:

TALB Officers:

• President
• Vice-President
• Treasurer (Fill term June 21, 2021 – June 20, 2022)

Nominations are open to all TALB members. The term for President and Vice-President is June 21, 2021 – June 19, 2023.

TALB Executive Board – Area Directors

• Cabrillo Secondary Director
• CDC-Head Start Director – Nominations are open to all CDC/Head Start members
• Jordan Area Elementary Director
• Lakewood Area Secondary Director
• Millikan Area Secondary Director
• Poly Area Elementary Director
• Wilson Area Elementary Director

Nominations are open to TALB members who work in each area. The term is from June 21, 2021 – June 19, 2023. 

3 CTA State Council Representatives

• Nominations are open to all TALB members
• The term for each CTA State Council Representative is 2021 –  2024

18 Delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly in Denver, CO 

• Nominations are open to all TALB members to serve a single term for 021. The term for each NEA Representative is July 2 to July 6, 2021.

Anyone interested in running for office should file a Declaration of Candidacy form so that it is received by Friday, February 5th, 2021, at the TALB office, 4362 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807 no later than 4:30 pm.  Post marked dates will not be accepted.  IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CANDIDATE TO ENSURE THAT THE DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY FORM AND CANDIDATE STATEMENT ARE RECEIVED BY THE DUE DATE AND TIME.

All candidates may provide TALB with an electronic flyer (PDF). All candidate statements will be limited to (1) page, one(1) side only, and no larger than 8-1/2 X 11inches.  Statements are due in the TALB office on Friday, February 5th, 2021 by 4:30pm.  Send your electronic flyer to Ingrid Perez at ingrid@talb.org.

COVID-19 Hotline – (562) 204-6075 | LBUSD COVID-19 Dashboard
If you SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

Cathy Coy, Long Beach Unified School District’s Emergency Preparedness Program Manager will be monitoring the hotline. Compliance to COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocols are not negotiable, they are to be followed religiously. If you are aware of safety and sanitation procedures that are not being followed please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you see individuals disregarding mandatory health and safety measures please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you are fearful of retaliation, please call the TALB office at 562-426-6433 and we will convey the information to Cathy Coy. Compliance to simple safety protocols will reduce the overall infection rates in our communities, allowing for schools to fully reopen. The current trajectory of infection rate casts many doubts on whether our schools will fully reopen. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part. 

Student Grades

  Education Code: 49066  

(a) When grades are given for any course of instruction taught in a school district, the grade given to each pupil shall be the grade determined by the teacher of the course and the determination of the pupil’s grade by the teacher, in the absence of clerical or mechanical mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency, shall be final.

(b) The governing board of the school district and the superintendent of such district shall not order a pupil’s grade to be changed unless the teacher who determined such grade is, to the extent practicable, given an opportunity to state orally, in writing, or both, the reasons for which such grade was given and is, to the extent practicable, included in all discussions relating to the changing of such grade.

(c) No grade of a pupil participating in a physical education class, however, may be adversely affected due to the fact that the pupil does not wear standardized physical education apparel where the failure to wear such apparel arises from circumstances beyond the control of the pupil.

COVID-19 Vaccines 

Right now there is no mandate that anyone take the vaccine, including public employees. There has been some talk about moving education personnel “up” in line for vaccines. The city of Long Beach has educators listed as “phase 1b”. Aetna, LBUSD’s vendor for the PPO and HMO has been ramping up communications on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. It is hard to imagine what the legislature will do regarding vaccinations. There are some who believe it may become mandatory, there are some who believe it will be voluntary. The issue of vaccinations for children is tricky too, given that vaccines have not been approved for children under 12.  A likely scenario is where vaccines are voluntary and the private/public sector reopens regardless. In other words, you run the risks of not getting vaccinated but everything reopens. 

Question: Will classrooms be opened for in-person instruction once teachers have been given the vaccine? And if not, what else will be needed?

The vaccine is just one part of reopening schools. It’s certainly an important part, but remember, right now there’s no research evidence that the vaccine alone eliminates or reduces transmissions. It reduces illness. Getting the vaccine does not immediately eliminate the need for the multiple layers of safety measures that need to be in place for schools: wearing masks and other PPE, social distancing, good ventilation systems and cleaning, robust testing and tracing programs, school safety plans, accurate and transparent data collection and enforcement of all standards and protocols. None of those needs go away immediately. And right now, so many of our schools are still struggling with meeting those needs. With the current surge, no school in counties with purple transmission rates and risk should be open or proceed with reopening.

What do we know about teachers being prioritized in California for receiving the vaccine and whether there will be enough of it to go around in tie to salvage the school year? 

Right now, educators have been placed in the 1b category of California’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which is basically the second phase after front line workers and nursing homes. We support educators staying in that category. Our public schools are vital to California’s full recovery from this pandemic and we cannot safely and fully return to face-to-face instruction without putting our public-school workers in that priority list.

Priorities within the educator group: Due to expected limitations of initial vaccine shipments, while CTA supports all educators prioritized in 1b, we recognize there may be a need to prioritize within that group. We believe that prioritizing should be done with an equity focus – starting with schools in communities with high transmission rates, communities of color that have been impacted at higher rates of infection, educators with high-risk conditions, and those who teach students with special needs that also are at high risk.

Vaccine rollout and availability: There are many unanswered questions yet on how many vaccines are and will be available, how many each state will get and when they will all arrive. We have heard that CA will get 327,000 vaccines in the first round and 670,000 the following week, with the hope of having 2.1 million vaccines by the end of December. We also know there are about 2.4 million front line healthcare workers in the 1a category…and about 10.7 million workers in the 1b category, including 1.3 million “educational services” workers. So, it’s pretty easy to do that math and see there are many unknowns right now and a lot of vaccines needed.

Leaves of Absence

The prospect of a majority of the District remaining in “Distance Learning” for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year is becoming more of a reality. We’ve received numerous inquires of insurmountable fatigue and exhaustion. There are some options.

Paid Leave – The preferable leave of absence. You may consider having a conversation with your family and physician and assess your physical and mental health. Accessing your accrued sick leave is an option. 

COVID-19 Leaves – These will expire on December 31, 2020. As of this writing Congress has not settled on extending any relief.

Unpaid Leaves – If you are fortunate enough to go without pay and benefits, you can apply for an unpaid leave.

For specific contract information click ETK-12 contract or HS|CDC contract. 

LBUSD leave information click here.

Update, Friday, December4

“December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that it’s going to put on our health care system.”

— Dr. Robert Redfield, Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Director

It is Friday! So there is something to rejoice about!

We know after a long week, the break we had last week seems like a distant memory. 

To give some perspective on the current state of our global pandemic, in the last electronic update sent out November 20, there were 11.8 million known infections in our country. Today, there are over 14.3 million known infections. On November 18 there were 14,839 confirmed cases of COVID-19, last night the city reported 17,550 COVID-19 cases. Local and State officials are warning of hospitals rapidly reaching capacity and limited Intensive Care Unit beds. 

A regional “lock down” is imminent. 

The only way to stop this scourge is to be compliant with public safety measures. That can be hard to do when there have been examples of politicos not, shall we say, taking their own medicine, but the truth of the matter still remains the same.

Wear a mask.

Abide by social distancing.

Wash your hands.

If you do not need to leave your domicile, DON’T. We are reaching a tipping point with our health care systems. If you go out and get into a car accident, there may not be a hospital bed for you. The functioning of our health care systems are critical for everyone, not just COVID-19 victims.

Yesterday, at negotiations, the TALB team discussed the following items:

1) Safety – All positions should be considered for “remote/distance learning and assessments”. With the rising tide of infections, all LBUSD employees need to be on high alert. LBUSD leadership should focus on the health crisis we are seeing escalate dramatically on a daily basis. As the largest employer in the City of Long Beach, District leadership can help our health care systems by reducing the possibility of requiring their services. 

2) Facing tough facts. If Los Angeles County does not go into the “Red” tier from the “Purple” tier we cannot open schools. TALB receives inquires from students and parents demanding schools open or remain closed. The truth of the matter is neither TALB nor LBUSD can make the decision to open schools. Under current legislation, while LA county remains in the “Purple” tier, we cannot open schools. Given the vertical infection rates, the likelihood that our county will move from the “Purple” tier to the “Red” tier by December 31, is slim to known. When does the Board of Education make the decision to announce schools will not be reopening on January 28, 2021? Do we look at another date? Are we peddling false hope? Or do we make public health the priority? 

3) If distance learning is our only option for the 2020-21 school year, how can we make it better? The Bargaining team made proposals to adjust the schedule, meetings and adjunct duties for the second semester. We hope to have a response by our next bargaining session which is December 17, 2020.

The Bargaining Team and the Advocates Committee are working on a combined survey. We know people are not in a space to take a survey at this point. The tentative plan is to launch the survey the week of December 28, with the hope that members will have had some distance from work. The survey will go to your personal email address. If you need to update your personal email address please email Ingrid Perez at ingrid@talb.org

TALB Bargaining Team

Bargaining Chair – Corrin Hickey, Lakewood H.S.
Gerry Morrison – High School Representative, McBride H.S.
Sybil Baldwin – Child Development Centers (CDC)
Maria Garcia – Head Start
Kevin Quinn – Los Cerritos E.S.
Maritza Summers – Mann E.S.
John Solomon, MacArthur E.S., TALB Executive Board Liaison
Mark Ennen – Middle School Representative, Newcomb K-8
John Kane – Special Education, Jordan H.S.

Advocates Committee

Susan Garcia, Jordan Secondary Executive Board Member, Powell K-8
Peder Larsen, TALB Vice-President, Jordan H.S.
Nina Jackson, Franklin M.S.

Long Beach Unified School District – Community Forum – December 5, 2020

If you missed the live event, watch it here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQD7U6uLpWs&ct=t%28EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_9.10.2019_COPY_01%29&mc_cid=3123c40ad0&mc_eid=b8c922f6c7

Your Voice, YOUR UNION
TALB GENERAL ELECTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

TALB Officers:

• President
• Vice-President
• Treasurer (Fill term June 21, 2021 – June 20, 2022)

Nominations are open to all TALB members. The term for President and Vice-President is June 21, 2021 – June 19, 2023.

TALB Executive Board – Area Directors

• Cabrillo Secondary Director
• Jordan Area Elementary Director
• Lakewood Area Secondary Director
• Millikan Area Secondary Director
• Poly Area Elementary Director
• Wilson Area Elementary Director

Nominations are open to TALB members who work in each area. The term is from June 21, 2021 – June 19, 2023. 

CDC – Head Start Director

• Nominations are open to all CDC – Head Start members.
• The term is from June 21, 2021 – June 19, 2023

3 CTA State Council Representatives

• Nominations are open to all TALB members
• The term is from September 2021 – June 2024

18 Delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly in Denver, CO 

• Nominations are open to all TALB members.

Candidacy declaration forms and election materials will be available at www.talb.org on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.
Elections forms and documents will also be disseminated in the January 26, 2021 ETK-12 Representative Council packet. 

COVID-19 Hotline – (562) 204-6075  If you SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

On Monday, November 16th a COVID-19 hotline will be active. Cathy Coy, Long Beach Unified School District’s Emergency Preparedness Program Manager will be monitoring the hotline. Compliance to COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocols are not negotiable, they are to be followed religiously. If you are aware of safety and sanitation procedures that are not being followed please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you see individuals disregarding mandatory health and safety measures please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you are fearful of retaliation, please call the TALB office at 562-426-6433 and we will convey the information to Cathy Coy. Compliance to simple safety protocols will reduce the overall infection rates in our communities, allowing for schools to fully reopen. The current trajectory of infection rate casts many doubts on whether our schools will fully reopen. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part. 

Phases of “reopening” of schools continues. Rising cases of COVID-19 may stop or reverse course.

July 1, 2020 – Preschool Early Education – Child Development Centers & Head Start

September 28, 2020 – Preschool Assessments

November 3, 2020 – Elementary School Assessments

November 16, 2020 – High School Assessments

December 7, 2020 – ACT & SUCESS – Hybrid – Student instruction – Delayed until after winter break.

January 28, 2021 – ETK-12 – Hybrid – Student instruction – Highly unlikely given the current infection rate in Los Angeles county. LBUSD officials may announce the cancellation of this date by the week of December 14.*
* If people follow safe guidelines over the next few weeks, it is possible, however unlikely, Los Angeles county may move into the “Red Tier” from the current “Purple Tier”. LBUSD cannot fully reopen for in-person instruction while in the “Purple Tier”. 

Winter Break – December 21, 2020 – January 1, 2021

Phases of “reopening” of schools continues. Rising cases of COVID-19 may stop or reverse course.
July 1, 2020 – Preschool Early Education – Child Development Centers & Head Start
September 28, 2020 – Preschool Assessments
November 3, 2020 – Elementary School Assessments
November 16, 2020 – High School Assessments
December 1, 2020 – ACT & SUCESS – Hybrid – Student instruction
January 28, 2021 – ETK-12 – Hybrid – Student instruction

With the prospect of being on line for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. We need to think outside of the box when providing instruction via “Distance Learning”. What adjustments would you make? Leadership should hear from you! 

Schedules / Screen Times

Dr. Christopher Lund – Assistant Superintendent Middle Schools
“We are working hard to adjust to our online environment, which should include the balanced use of instructional time—teacher directed lessons, collaborative work/discussion, and independent work time.  Although teachers need to be available to students during the 50-minute class period, there is great flexibility on how teachers utilize the instructional time, which could include giving students time to complete their homework during the independent work portion of the class period.”

Dr. Lund clarified with the following information:
1. Schedules: The District is looking at several options. Each option has positives and drawbacks. For example, a block schedule, while it provides fewer classes and longer periods per day, eliminates a conference period, and usually requires the content of two lessons per class due to fewer meetings.
2. Flexibility: Teachers are empowered to manage their class time. It is OK to give students worktime during class.
Some suggestions made were to turn work over to students, you can divide by levels. Do a 20-minute lesson and then send students off telling them, “the next 30 minutes of work time are yours”. The use of your time is flexible. You control how to utilize it. Use different breakouts, form feedback slides.  It is OK to sit back and observe. Class periods can be used for independent or collaborative work with students released to breakout rooms. Release the main class and keep a small group behind. Allow students to decide which breakout room they attend based upon the amount of support they need. (i.e. Independent, work with a partner, work with a small group, need teacher assistance) The student or the teacher can decide the level of support needed. Have students do more of the work as opposed to being passive receivers. Have students share screens to collaborate. Use a private chat to check in on students not showing their faces or who seem to be having trouble.
3. Grading: use authentic assessments. Give assessments that you score or make comments, but do not grade.
4. Survey: Please complete the survey that the District sent out. It will be used in planning adjustments to current schedules at all levels. This is your opportunity to provide feedback.
5. Check out district resources. District offices are working hard to provide resources for teachers. There are not as many teachers as there are subjects so this may feel a bit sporadic, but our teachers (these teachers are us) are working hard to support you.

Work to rule?
ARTICLE V –  Days and Hours of Employment

WORKDAY:
1. It is agreed that the professional duties of employees require both on-site and off-site hours of work, that the varying nature of such professional duties may not lend itself to a total maximum daily work time of definite or uniform length, and that such duties are normally expected to involve no fewer than eight (8) hours of total effort each workday for both classroom and non-classroom employees. 

Translation = You are paid for 8 hours a day. 
You are not earning bonus pay, credits or points by working 12-14 hour days. 

You will not make it to Thanksgiving, let alone January 28th if you are working 60-70 hours a week. Stop. We are all replaceable. Set boundaries with how much time you are willing to go above and beyond your contractual duty time.

Take it easy on yourself! 

Evaluations

The bargaining team really pressed hard to have evaluations waived for the 2020-21 school year. The District adamantly refused to entertain the idea. All temporary/special contract and probationary teachers will be evaluated this school year. Teachers who are eligible for the 5 year evaluation cycle should inquire with their administrator. Eligibility for the 5 year alternate evaluation cycle is below. The contract allows you to do your evaluation in “hard copy” or “electronically”. Essentially you have a choice. There are no “pilot” or “non-negotiated” evaluation forms or procedures. Why would one want to do an evaluation in hard copy vs. electronically? There is still a concern for the safety and security of LBUSD’s networks. If someone were to hack the network it is conceivable all of your evaluation records could be stolen.

5 Year Evaluation Cycle Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Effective with the 2008-09 school year, unit members with permanent status shall be evaluated at least every five (5) years if they have been employed by the district for ten (10) years or more and if the evaluator and the unit member consent to such time line. In order to be eligible for the five year cycle a unit member must be deemed to be “highly qualified” as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act (20 U.S.C. 7801) and his/her most recent evaluation must contain an overall rating of at least Satisfactory or Effective. For eligible unit members who do not teach in “core academic” subjects, qualification requirements shall be the same as for teachers of “core academic” subjects. For eligible unit members who are not classroom teachers the District and Association shall review and agree on appropriate comparable criteria.

Either the evaluator or the unit member may withdraw from this cycle at any time and such withdrawal shall not be subject to the grievance procedure. Upon request the evaluator will meet with the unit member to explain the reasons for withdrawal.

Evaluation Forms Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Evaluation and assessment of the performance of employees shall be made on a continuing basis at least once each school year for temporary and probationary personnel and at least once every other year for employees with permanent status. Employees may elect to complete their evaluation forms either manually or online. The district and TALB will assess the online evaluation usage and select the best option for future years based on the evaluation usage, security, and effectiveness.

Update, Friday, November 13

Eight months ago, on the last Friday the thirteenth, we were all in shock at what we thought was going to be a two week closure. Now, EIGHT MONTHS later, the trouble that started back then is getting alarmingly worse. A week from now, we’ll be starting the Thanksgiving Holiday break. We know it has been a very tough year and our hearts would be lifted by seeing friends and family. Please be thoughtful, mindful and careful. The phases of reopening our schools are dependent on infection rates going down, not sky-rocketing up. There is fatigue with this pandemic. Encouraging news of effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are on the horizon and if they are as good as they sound, normalcy is not too far away. What we do right now and over the course of the next few weeks will have a dramatic impact on the health of family, friends and absolute strangers living in our community. We ALL have a responsibility to stop the spread of this scourge. We can do this, hang in there!

COVID-19 Hotline – (562) 204-6075  If you SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

On Monday, November 16th a COVID-19 hotline will be active. Cathy Coy, Long Beach Unified School District’s Emergency Preparedness Program Manager will be monitoring the hotline. Compliance to COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocols are not negotiable, they are to be followed religiously. If you are aware of safety and sanitation procedures that are not being followed please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you see individuals disregarding mandatory health and safety measures please call Cathy Coy at 562-204-6075. If you are fearful of retaliation, please call the TALB office at 562-426-6433 and we will convey the information to Cathy Coy. Compliance to simple safety protocols will reduce the overall infection rates in our communities, allowing for schools to fully reopen. The current trajectory of infection rate casts many doubts on whether our schools will fully reopen. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part. 

Quick Hits

Bargaining continues on Monday, November 16th. Topics included:

Phases of reopening our schools.
Schedules
Student Assessments (Grading, Equity, & Resources)
District’s Financial Standing
Safe Protocols (Employee training, contact tracing, and compliance)

The Bargaining Team is working with the Advocates committee on a survey covering the current MOU and site/administrator climate. The teams are being mindful on how much time rank and file can commit to a survey. Reports from the District indicate less than 1/2 of surveyed personnel responded to the most recent survey. This is worrisome. We know people have quite a lot to say and haven’t been bashful with letting us know. Is there not enough time to take a survey or have people given up on the hope that their input will effect change? 

TALB Bargaining Team
Bargaining Chair – Corrin Hickey, Lakewood H.S.
Gerry Morrison – High School Representative, McBride H.S.
Sybil Baldwin – Child Development Centers (CDC)
Maria Garcia – Head Start
Kevin Quinn – Los Cerritos E.S.
Maritza Summers – Mann E.S.
Mark Ennen – Middle School Representative, Newcomb K-8
John Kane – Special Education, Jordan H.S.

Veteran’s Day, November 11th – Please take some much needed time off. We have suggested to the District that every Wednesday be an “asynchronous” learning day. Students could catch up on any missing assignments and teachers could plan. We hear you, people are exhausted.

Virtual Site Visits – continue – We have been holding site visits virtually, if you have not received an invitation to attend please be sure to contact Blanca Paredes – bparedes@talb.org

Monday, November 16 – Avalon, Cubberley, Gompers, Hudson, Muir, Newcomb, & Robinson – Virtual Site Visit
Tuesday, November 17 – Bancroft, Franklin, Hamilton, Hoover, Hughes, & Jefferson – Virtual Site Visit | School Psychologists & Counselor Forum
Wednesday, November 18 – Adaptive Physical Education – Virtual Site Visit
Thursday, November 19 – Speech Language Pathologists Forum | CDC – Head Start Rep. Council

Thanksgiving Break – November 23-27

Phases of “reopening” of schools continues. Rising cases of COVID-19 may stop or reverse course.
July 1, 2020 – Preschool Early Education – Child Development Centers & Head Start
September 28, 2020 – Preschool Assessments
November 3, 2020 – Elementary School Assessments
November 16, 2020 – High School Assessments
December 1, 2020 – ACT & SUCESS – Hybrid – Student instruction
January 28, 2021 – ETK-12 – Hybrid – Student instruction

Please continue to lift up your voices. Continue to share your successes and struggles as we navigate education in this global pandemic. Board of education members and executive staff need to hear from you! Collectively our voice will bring change. 

School Board Election – District 2
WE DID IT! My team and I are projecting a WIN for the Nov. 3rd election!

From the first ballot count on Election Day, we established a lead and have not relinquished it. Though there are still a few more ballots to be counted, our percentage of support has held steady through multiple counts and we feel confident that this will continue until the final count is announced.

Thank you all for your patience over this past week as we awaited results. For me it was important to be sure of the outcome before this announcement.

I couldn’t have done this without all of you! Thank you to: the volunteers who talked to voters, the financial contributors who generously gave to our campaign, and to the voters who cast their ballots.

I am excited to get to work on behalf of the parents, students, and LBUSD staff. I LOVE LONG BEACH and look forward to being part of the infrastructure that makes this one of the best cities to live in.

Erik Miller
LBUSD Board Member – Elect

Schedules / Screen Times

Dr. Christopher Lund – Assistant Superintendent Middle Schools
“We are working hard to adjust to our online environment, which should include the balanced use of instructional time—teacher directed lessons, collaborative work/discussion, and independent work time.  Although teachers need to be available to students during the 50-minute class period, there is great flexibility on how teachers utilize the instructional time, which could include giving students time to complete their homework during the independent work portion of the class period.”

Dr. Lund clarified with the following information:
1. Schedules: The District is looking at several options. Each option has positives and drawbacks. For example, a block schedule, while it provides fewer classes and longer periods per day, eliminates a conference period, and usually requires the content of two lessons per class due to fewer meetings.
2. Flexibility: Teachers are empowered to manage their class time. It is OK to give students worktime during class.
Some suggestions made were to turn work over to students, you can divide by levels. Do a 20-minute lesson and then send students off telling them, “the next 30 minutes of work time are yours”. The use of your time is flexible. You control how to utilize it. Use different breakouts, form feedback slides.  It is OK to sit back and observe. Class periods can be used for independent or collaborative work with students released to breakout rooms. Release the main class and keep a small group behind. Allow students to decide which breakout room they attend based upon the amount of support they need. (i.e. Independent, work with a partner, work with a small group, need teacher assistance) The student or the teacher can decide the level of support needed. Have students do more of the work as opposed to being passive receivers. Have students share screens to collaborate. Use a private chat to check in on students not showing their faces or who seem to be having trouble.
3. Grading: use authentic assessments. Give assessments that you score or make comments, but do not grade.
4. Survey: Please complete the survey that the District sent out. It will be used in planning adjustments to current schedules at all levels. This is your opportunity to provide feedback.
5. Check out district resources. District offices are working hard to provide resources for teachers. There are not as many teachers as there are subjects so this may feel a bit sporadic, but our teachers (these teachers are us) are working hard to support you.

Work to rule?
ARTICLE V –  Days and Hours of Employment

WORKDAY:
1. It is agreed that the professional duties of employees require both on-site and off-site hours of work, that the varying nature of such professional duties may not lend itself to a total maximum daily work time of definite or uniform length, and that such duties are normally expected to involve no fewer than eight (8) hours of total effort each workday for both classroom and non-classroom employees. 

Translation = You are paid for 8 hours a day. 
You are not earning bonus pay, credits or points by working 12-14 hour days. 

You will not make it to Thanksgiving, let alone January 28th if you are working 60-70 hours a week. Stop. We are all replaceable. Set boundaries with how much time you are willing to go above and beyond your contractual duty time.

Take it easy on yourself! 

Evaluations

The bargaining team really pressed hard to have evaluations waived for the 2020-21 school year. The District adamantly refused to entertain the idea. All temporary/special contract and probationary teachers will be evaluated this school year. Teachers who are eligible for the 5 year evaluation cycle should inquire with their administrator. Eligibility for the 5 year alternate evaluation cycle is below. The contract allows you to do your evaluation in “hard copy” or “electronically”. Essentially you have a choice. There are no “pilot” or “non-negotiated” evaluation forms or procedures. Why would one want to do an evaluation in hard copy vs. electronically? There is still a concern for the safety and security of LBUSD’s networks. If someone were to hack the network it is conceivable all of your evaluation records could be stolen.

5 Year Evaluation Cycle Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Effective with the 2008-09 school year, unit members with permanent status shall be evaluated at least every five (5) years if they have been employed by the district for ten (10) years or more and if the evaluator and the unit member consent to such time line. In order to be eligible for the five year cycle a unit member must be deemed to be “highly qualified” as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act (20 U.S.C. 7801) and his/her most recent evaluation must contain an overall rating of at least Satisfactory or Effective. For eligible unit members who do not teach in “core academic” subjects, qualification requirements shall be the same as for teachers of “core academic” subjects. For eligible unit members who are not classroom teachers the District and Association shall review and agree on appropriate comparable criteria.

Either the evaluator or the unit member may withdraw from this cycle at any time and such withdrawal shall not be subject to the grievance procedure. Upon request the evaluator will meet with the unit member to explain the reasons for withdrawal.

Evaluation Forms Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Evaluation and assessment of the performance of employees shall be made on a continuing basis at least once each school year for temporary and probationary personnel and at least once every other year for employees with permanent status. Employees may elect to complete their evaluation forms either manually or online. The district and TALB will assess the online evaluation usage and select the best option for future years based on the evaluation usage, security, and effectiveness.

Update, Friday, November 6

It has been a tough week. Regardless of your political persuasion, the anxiety of the unknown is weighing heavily on all of us. We hope you find some time this weekend to unwind.

Quick Hits

Bargaining continues on Tuesday, November 10th. The bargaining team is crafting a survey surrounding our current working conditions.

TALB Bargaining Team
Bargaining Chair – Corrin Hickey, Lakewood H.S.
Gerry Morrison – High School Representative, McBride H.S.
Sybil Baldwin – Child Development Centers (CDC)
Maria Garcia – Head Start
Kevin Quinn – Los Cerritos E.S.
Maritza Summers – Mann E.S.
Mark Ennen – Middle School Representative, Newcomb K-8
John Kane – Special Education, Jordan H.S.

Veteran’s Day, November 11th – Please take some much needed time off. We have suggested to the District that every Wednesday be an “asynchronous” learning day. Students could catch up on any missing assignments and teachers could plan. We hear you, people are exhausted.

Virtual Site Visits – continue – We have been holding site visits virtually, if you have not received an invitation to attend please be sure to contact Blanca Paredes – bparedes@talb.org

Thanksgiving Break – November 23-27

Phases of “reopening” of schools continues. Rising cases of COVID-19 may stop or reverse course.
July 1, 2020 – Preschool Early Education – Child Development Centers & Head Start
September 28, 2020 – Preschool Assessments
November 3, 2020 – Elementary School Assessments
November 16, 2020 – High School Assessments
December 1, 2020 – ACT & SUCESS – Hybrid – Student instruction
January 28, 2021 – ETK-12 – Hybrid – Student instruction

Please continue to lift up your voices. Continue to share your successes and struggles as we navigate education in this global pandemic. Board of education members and executive staff need to hear from you! Collectively our voice will bring change. 

School Board Election – District 2  – As of Friday, November 6

Schedules / Screen Times

Dr. Christopher Lund – Assistant Superintendent Middle Schools
“We are working hard to adjust to our online environment, which should include the balanced use of instructional time—teacher directed lessons, collaborative work/discussion, and independent work time.  Although teachers need to be available to students during the 50-minute class period, there is great flexibility on how teachers utilize the instructional time, which could include giving students time to complete their homework during the independent work portion of the class period.”

Dr. Lund clarified with the following information:
1. Schedules: The District is looking at several options. Each option has positives and drawbacks. For example, a block schedule, while it provides fewer classes and longer periods per day, eliminates a conference period, and usually requires the content of two lessons per class due to fewer meetings.
2. Flexibility: Teachers are empowered to manage their class time. It is OK to give students worktime during class.
Some suggestions made were to turn work over to students, you can divide by levels. Do a 20-minute lesson and then send students off telling them, “the next 30 minutes of work time are yours”. The use of your time is flexible. You control how to utilize it. Use different breakouts, form feedback slides.  It is OK to sit back and observe. Class periods can be used for independent or collaborative work with students released to breakout rooms. Release the main class and keep a small group behind. Allow students to decide which breakout room they attend based upon the amount of support they need. (i.e. Independent, work with a partner, work with a small group, need teacher assistance) The student or the teacher can decide the level of support needed. Have students do more of the work as opposed to being passive receivers. Have students share screens to collaborate. Use a private chat to check in on students not showing their faces or who seem to be having trouble.
3. Grading: use authentic assessments. Give assessments that you score or make comments, but do not grade.
4. Survey: Please complete the survey that the District sent out. It will be used in planning adjustments to current schedules at all levels. This is your opportunity to provide feedback.
5. Check out district resources. District offices are working hard to provide resources for teachers. There are not as many teachers as there are subjects so this may feel a bit sporadic, but our teachers (these teachers are us) are working hard to support you.

Work to rule?
ARTICLE V –  Days and Hours of Employment

WORKDAY:
1. It is agreed that the professional duties of employees require both on-site and off-site hours of work, that the varying nature of such professional duties may not lend itself to a total maximum daily work time of definite or uniform length, and that such duties are normally expected to involve no fewer than eight (8) hours of total effort each workday for both classroom and non-classroom employees. 

Translation = You are paid for 8 hours a day. 
You are not earning bonus pay, credits or points by working 12-14 hour days. 

You will not make it to Thanksgiving, let alone January 28th if you are working 60-70 hours a week. Stop. We are all replaceable. Set boundaries with how much time you are willing to go above and beyond your contractual duty time.

Take it easy on yourself! 

Evaluations

The bargaining team really pressed hard to have evaluations waived for the 2020-21 school year. The District adamantly refused to entertain the idea. All temporary/special contract and probationary teachers will be evaluated this school year. Teachers who are eligible for the 5 year evaluation cycle should inquire with their administrator. Eligibility for the 5 year alternate evaluation cycle is below. The contract allows you to do your evaluation in “hard copy” or “electronically”. Essentially you have a choice. There are no “pilot” or “non-negotiated” evaluation forms or procedures. Why would one want to do an evaluation in hard copy vs. electronically? There is still a concern for the safety and security of LBUSD’s networks. If someone were to hack the network it is conceivable all of your evaluation records could be stolen.

5 Year Evaluation Cycle Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Effective with the 2008-09 school year, unit members with permanent status shall be evaluated at least every five (5) years if they have been employed by the district for ten (10) years or more and if the evaluator and the unit member consent to such time line. In order to be eligible for the five year cycle a unit member must be deemed to be “highly qualified” as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act (20 U.S.C. 7801) and his/her most recent evaluation must contain an overall rating of at least Satisfactory or Effective. For eligible unit members who do not teach in “core academic” subjects, qualification requirements shall be the same as for teachers of “core academic” subjects. For eligible unit members who are not classroom teachers the District and Association shall review and agree on appropriate comparable criteria.

Either the evaluator or the unit member may withdraw from this cycle at any time and such withdrawal shall not be subject to the grievance procedure. Upon request the evaluator will meet with the unit member to explain the reasons for withdrawal.

Evaluation Forms Contract language, Article XII – Section A
Evaluation and assessment of the performance of employees shall be made on a continuing basis at least once each school year for temporary and probationary personnel and at least once every other year for employees with permanent status. Employees may elect to complete their evaluation forms either manually or online. The district and TALB will assess the online evaluation usage and select the best option for future years based on the evaluation usage, security, and effectiveness.