Copied from the email sent on 7/14/20 by Union President Steve Shannon

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well and enjoying some well earned time off. I know the conversations around school reopening have started to escalate in the news, social media and other circles. I wanted to provide you with an update as to where we are in our own plans. APS is required to submit 3 plans to DESE, but is not mandated to go with the in-person model. Local School Committees continue to have the authority to implement a plan they feel is the best fit for their community. In addition, MTA is in discussions with DESE in order to ensure additional and more stringent guidelines on reopening. (Please review the linked document at the bottom of this post). I will be asking the Executive Board to endorse this plan at a virtual meeting this Thursday with the hopes of presenting it to Mr. Schafer and the School Committee as a starting point for negotiations. With MTA’s support, we are hoping to navigate a safer, common sense re-entry plan for our students and staff. Below is a list of meetings and calls that have taken place or are scheduled to date. We will keep you informed as more specific details become available. As you can see, there is much activity and momentum around these issues.
  • All Presidents calls with MTA Leadership to lay out a unified plan in response to DESE’s guidance ( 6/30, 7/8)
  • APS Admin Team meetings (7/1, 7/8, 7/13, 7/15, 7/17) – Discussions around the three plans
  • MTA Caucuses – follow-ups to MTA meetings with DESE (7/10, 7/15, 7/17, 7/22, 7/24, 7/29, 7/31)
  • AEA Executive Board Meeting (7/16)
SURVEY: Although APS just sent out a staff survey, we did not feel it was specific enough and that people don’t always feel comfortable around the anonymity of a district-generated survey. Please take a few moments to respond to this AEA survey so that we have more concrete data around your feelings and concerns over the direction of our reopening. You can access the survey by clicking the blue link below. It will be open until Monday, July 20th at 3 pm. It is vital that all members take the survey.
Members-please check your personal email for the AEA Survey (which is different from the District Survey). If you did not receive an email with a link, please contact Megan Kenealy at Abingtonedsecretary@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list.

Published by abingtoneducationassociation