Latest on Seattle Schools and Collective Bargaining

I've been reading a lot of chatter lately at a couple of sites about the negotiations between the district and the SEA (Seattle Education Association, the union that represents teachers). Here's what the district says (partial and bold mine):

For the past two weeks SPS has been bargaining the 2021-22 health protocols in good faith with Seattle Education Association (SEA), which include an agreed plan to implement new guidance from the Washington Department of Health(DOH). We are generally aligned in our approach and close to a final agreement.

Unfortunately, Seattle Education Association has made clear they won’t agree to any requirements in the 2021-22 MOU that mandate classroom teachers to post class work and related learning supports for students and families to access online. This refusal is significant because this type of communication is necessary to support ongoing learning for any student in these uncertain times, including those students absent from class for health-related illness or required quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure. Families need our teachers to share instructional information in a predictable and accessible format. 

 

SEA has incorrectly stated that this will place new and undue burdens on teachers. We disagree – this only clarifies existing expectations of teachers, continues practices from the past year and there is sufficient time in teachers’ paid workday to provide these needed resources to students and families.

The union says:

To clarify some misinformation about SEA’s position, while SEA objected to the idea of educator expectations being included in this health and safety MOU, we nevertheless worked at the bargaining table in good faith to understand and counter the District’s proposal to reach an agreement. SEA continues to assert that the District’s one-size-fits-all approach to communication or accommodations is not the best way to meet the diverse needs of our students, nor does it allow for educators to use their professional judgement. Below are the counters we made to the District in writing- both of which were rejected. 

 

SEA Counter from August 9:

Communicate expectations to students and parents/guardians via appropriate modes of communication such as email, newsletter, packets, and/or learning management system about the instructional plan. 

 

SEA Counter from August 13:

When practicable and reasonable, classroom teachers will post learning expectations to students and parents/guardians via a district-supported learning management system such as Schoology or See Saw about the instructional plan for the coming week which may include learning objectives, required activities, assignments/homework, links to resources, and assessments along with any associated due dates. Administrators/evaluators may not use this as evidence for evaluation or other performance concerns given it’s not a duty assigned to certificated staff per the CBA. In some cases, educators may choose to supplement their communications using other modes of communication such as email, newsletters, and packets to keep students and parents/guardians informed.

To paraphrase some comments I read:

1) This negotiating is NOT for the main CBA, it's for an MOU on health and safety.

2) Earlier SEA brought up mental health supports but the district didn't want to hear about those issues which is odd for a health and safety MOU.

3) And, since this is a limited document, instituting a fairly large change to how teachers support learning seems inappropriate. In fact, it also seems like the district is trying to wedge this in for the next CBA.

What I find funny is that the district and the Board are all about differentiation in the classroom for Advanced Learners and yet, they want a one-size-fits-all for this issue. 

Also from the district:

Seattle Public Schools is simply proposing that classroom teachers continue the following practices implemented during the 2020-21 school year, including: 

 

- Post learning expectations to a district-supported learning management system (e.g., Schoology or SeeSaw) on a weekly basis. This would include the week’s learning objectives, required activities, assignments, links to any available online resources, and assessments along with associated due dates.
- Continue to supplement with other modes of family communication including emails, newsletters, and hard copy learning packets to keep students, parents, and caregivers informed and connected.
Continue to utilize multilingual technology tools to support consistent and predictable communication with linguistically diverse families.

These continued practices will help provide learning consistency and predictability for all students across 104 schools and there is adequate time built into teacher schedules to readily accomplish these critical tasks, which are already routinely performed by many of our educators. The district is not asking classroom teachers to create new or additional asynchronous materials, new or different lessons, or to record and post live teaching lessons.

Special education teachers already prepare individual education programs (IEP) for students they serve and are in regular contact with families regarding student IEP goals. As such, special education teachers will continue to monitor goal progress and will not be expected to post learning information weekly.

SPS families and students have asked for consistency and predictability as we return to in-person learning this fall. This requires that clear expectations in support of student learning are included in our 2021-22 agreement with SEA and our educators.

To ensure full transparency with our families, students, and staff, the 2021-22 MOU proposed by SPS is attached below. We will continue to work closely with SEA towards an agreement that supports the health and safety of our community and the learning needs of our students.

Thoughts?