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Originally the Preferred Group was going to collect the dues directly from the retirees. However, that is not going to happen this year. All retirees will need to send payment directly to the Brewster Teachers’ Association. Dues can be made payable to Brewster Teachers Association and mailed to the following address:
C.V. Starr Attention: Kristin Field, BTA Treasurer 20 Farm to Market Road Brewster, NY 10509 An open letter to the school communities in Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland Counties from the leadership of teacher and staff unions:
We feel compelled to write to you in a shared voice, as there are universal elements to our concerns about re-entry into the schools this September. It is important to note that this is a discussion about re-entry, not reopening. The education of children is, and has always been, our top concern. One truth that cannot be ignored as a necessary precursor to any successful model of instruction is a safe learning space. Though we will open this September for instruction, the only question is the modality of that instruction. All districts in New York were required to create a re-entry plan that addressed three options: full virtual, hybrid, and full in-person instruction. The hybrid model is the most popular one for re-entry this September, but it poses significant risks. The hybrid model requirement gained traction in the state early on, but unfortunately, most of what we have recently learned about Covid-19 and children calls the safety of this model into question. These risks are not a reflection of inadequate efforts by any one district or administrative team in protecting the children and staff in their schools. Rather, they are inherent inadequacies when a system designed around instructing students is tasked with creating learning environments that will protect children and teachers during a viral pandemic. Additionally, there has been a failure in state and federal governments to ensure that adequate testing, PPE, and HVAC filtration systems are readily available. The requirements for the district plans were provided by the Governor’s office and the State Education Department in the middle of July and they were to be completed by July 31. The Governor even added new testing and contact tracing requirements in the first week of August. To create truly safe reentry plans districts would require more time, direction, and resources. It is telling that neither the state nor federal governments have provided additional resources to help ensure a safe re-entry. Districts have been on their own. Educators approach every task with a “can do” attitude. Throughout the months of July and August, teams in each district leaned in and got the job done. The plans were made and it is truly impressive work. The problem, however, is that they are plans to meet government requirements for safety; they are not necessarily plans to make the schools as safe as they can be. The limits of these plans could be seen close to home this summer when the Greenburgh-North Castle school experienced an outbreak of Covid 19, despite meeting or exceeding all Department of Health guidelines and having a very small student population. As anyone with any experience planning school events can attest, even the best plans on paper never match what happens once actual students are brought in. Every plan assumes a well-behaved student body that will follow all directives and maintain masks and social distancing, even during hall passing. Plans assume we will be able to hire enough leave replacements, substitutes, and monitors to supervise students in the next three weeks. This will not occur. When schools reopen with the potential of being understaffed, it will make an already unsafe situation even worse. In every survey conducted about reentry, the most important condition people have is that the schools be safe. The phrase “Maslow before Bloom” is never more applicable than the current situation. It is irrational to expect students will be able to learn in any reasonable manner, when their teachers and classrooms are constantly conveying the need for vigilance in mask- wearing and social distancing. The constant need for vigilance cannot help but be internalized as fear and anxiety. At best, schools will be more similar to a well-meaning prison than an actual rich learning environment where thoughts can be shared and joy can be expressed. Before we can return to schools we must be sure that every reasonable precaution has been met in order for schools to be safe. The goal cannot be to just mitigate risk, but to create the safest possible learning environment. Many of these requirements go well beyond the capability of an individual school district and require action at the state or federal level. We may feel powerless to secure what is necessary; that, however, does not change the reality of its necessity. To ensure that in-person instruction begins safely, every school district should be putting into place the following measures that create the highest health and safety standards for our students, teachers and staff:
Additional Resources: Hybrid Model Risks https://www.wired.com/story/hybrid-schooling-is-the-most-dangerous-option-of-all/ Testing: https://covidstates.net/COVID19%20CONSORTIUM%20REPORT%208%20TEST%20JULY%202020.pdf HVAC: https://www.ashrae.org/file%20library/technical%20resources/covid-19/ashrae-reopening-schools.pdf New Information on Children and Covid 19 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-scientists-know-about-how-children-spread-covid-19-180975396/ https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2020/08/12/westchester-doctor-school-chronic-illness/3331348001/ https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/12/health/covid-kids-school-gupta-essay/index.html https://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2020/07/29/greenburgh-north-castle-summer-school-coronavirus/5530181002/ Cosigning Presidents Marcia Heffler Dobbs Ferry United Teachers Edward Caperna USWOM Michael Lillis Lakeland Federation of Teachers Nate Morgan Hastings Teachers Association Vanessa Vaccaro Ossining Teachers Association Tom McMahon Mahopac Teachers’ Association Jennifer Maldonado Hendrick Hudson Education Association Elisa Rosen Hendrick Hudson Education Association David Wixted Scarsdale Teachers Association Anthony Nicodemo Greenburgh North Castle United Teachers Mary Claire Breslin New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees Samantha Rosado-Ciriello Yonkers Federation of Teachers Brenda O’Shea Somers Faculty Association Andrea McCue Haldane Faculty Association James Groven Irvington Faculty Association Judith A. Kelly Teachers’ Association of the Tarrytowns Chris Tyler Harrison Association of Teachers Jeanne Whelan Tuckahoe Teachers’ Association Roseanna Cutietta Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Federation of Teachers Rick Tivnan Brewster Teachers' Association Carene Domato Mt. Vernon Federation of Teachers Melissa Barreto BOCES Teachers’ Association Jeff Yonkers NYSUT ED 16 Director Sean Kennedy Yorktown Congress of Teachers Lisa Jackson Carmel Teachers’ Association Janet Knight Mamaroneck Teachers’ Association José Fernandez Peekskill Faculty Association Amy Geiger Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers’ Association Kathleen Fox Edgemont Teachers’ Association Miriam Longobardi Chappaqua Congress of Teachers Jennifer Cole Greenburgh Eleven Federation of Teachers Jim Nolan Mount Pleasant Cottage School Teachers Association Kara McCormick-Lyons White Plains Teachers’ Association Alyson Tina Ardsley Congress of Teachers Ryan Odell Putnam Valley Federation of Teachers Catherine Armisto United Staff Association (PNW BOCES) Vincent Kennedy Katonah-Lewisboro Support Staff Association Jennifer Moore Croton Teachers’ Association Melinda Merkel Rye Neck Teachers’ Association Jim Agnello Bronxville Teachers’ Association Kevin Budzynski Elmsford Teachers Association Clare Delongchamp Eastchester Teachers’ Association Vanessa Van Deusen Graham School Federation of Teachers Brenda Wright Cornwall Teachers' Association Virginia Campbell Mount Pleasant Teachers Association Michael Groarke Bedford Teachers’ Association Sparrow Tobin Board of Directors NYSUT ED14 Laura Beck Orange-Ulster BOCES Teachers Association Ray Hodges Monroe-Woodbury Teachers Association Theresa Uhelsky Minisink Valley Teachers Association Jon Wedvik Clarkstown Teachers Association |
EditorBrewster Teachers' Association Archives
February 2025
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