December Newsletter & Special Message from President Carter

“Without a doubt, this year has brought unprecedented challenges to our lives,” says President Carter in a special end-of-year message to the members of Louisiana Federation of Teachers and School Employees. “I am so proud of the solidarity and passion I have seen from LFT members…Whether it’s lobbying BESE, speaking out at local school board meetings, talking to journalists, or participating in socially distanced protests, teachers and school employees have found ways to make their voices heard.”

 

 

At the December committees meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the board discussed how to ensure that Louisiana educators have early access to the COVID-19 vaccine. This would help reduce the spread of the virus in schools and keep teachers and school employees safe so that in person learning can return to normal as soon as possible.

 

Louisiana has already begun Phase 1A of the state vaccine plan, which includes 75,000-80,000 nursing home and long-term facility residents and staff as well has 125,000-135,000 frontline healthcare personnel. However, phase two of the vaccine roll out is still being determined, but may include teachers and school employees.

 

 

Some school districts are struggling to meet the state-wide instructional minutes requirements this year. Many districts started late to ensure proper time to ensure compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols. On top of that, we missed multiple days due to storms during what was one of the most active hurricane seasons in a generation. This has caused many districts to lengthen the year or take away planned time off, adding to the stress and burnout that teachers and support staff are already feeling multiple times over.

 

If you feel that your district should qualify for a waiver to the instructional-minutes requirement for the 2020-2021 school year, you can use this form to submit your request to Superintendent Brumley and BESE. Keep in, however, that your local school district must submit a request to the state before a waiver can be granted.

 

Childhood bereavement is common, but this year it is more common than usual. Educators have an important role to play in supporting learning through grief. Still, being a grief-sensitive educator is not easy. In this webinar with AFT’s Chelsea Prax, participants will learn five strategies to support students who are experiencing grief and loss.

 

Monday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m. CST

Register Now: https://bit.ly/SupportingStudents_GriefandLoss

 

LSU is conducting a Survey of Louisiana PK-12 Teachers, designed to identify major challenges and priorities of educators across Louisiana. You can help academics and policy makers better understand the unique challenges that Louisiana teachers face by completing this 15-minute survey. Your responses are anonymous!