Call to Action

 

Join us for a Call to Action
Tuesday, October, 20th from 4 - 4:30pm

First, let's get educated about what our schools are owed.  Then, let's take collective action by calling and emailing our union leaders to demand they fully fund our schools.  Register at: https://bit.ly/3jOjRA8

All are encouraged and welcome to participate.

Waiting on the $5.6 billion owed to NYS students means:

• Programs eliminated
• Schools closed
• Thousands of staff cut
• Unsafe to reopen with in-person learning
• Inequitable Funding 
  

Monroe County School Reopening Proposal

Background and Context

In the same way that the state is taking a deliberate and careful approach to reopening the economy, the state must take an equally deliberate and careful approach to reopening our public schools. Having spent approximately 25 percent of the 2019-2020 school year in crisis mode and learning remotely, all of our students — regardless of socioeconomic status or race — will be coming back with social, emotional and academic needs that we don’t yet fully understand. The health and wellness of the students and staff of the Rochester City School District is intrinsically linked to that of students and staff in all of Monroe County. Any reopening plan must be uniform across the county to acknowledge the interconnectedness of our communities. Public health crises do not recognize town boundaries.

The nearly 60,000 students whose families are living in poverty will have even more acute trauma than they carried before the pandemic. The intersection of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement compels us to examine and dismantle structures of racism and classism in society and in the institution of public education. Our schools cannot go back to the conditions under which they operated before COVID-19 or we will fail our students, families, educators and communities at the time of their greatest need. This moment provides us with an exciting opportunity to transform public education to adapt to our new reality.

Educators will need to develop new skills, strategies, teaching methodologies and curricula that match the conditions we will be returning to under any of the three models (remote, in-person or hybrid). Students and their families have ongoing needs that must be met — before and upon return to school. School buildings across Monroe county are not yet equipped to meet environmental health and safety standards. To be ready to return, we need time to prepare buildings and physical settings; plan and learn new skills; and welcome and acclimate our students and families. And we need full funding and staffing to address the myriad facets of teaching and learning during a global pandemic.

Local associations and local districts should determine the plan to start the year with that best suits their context — be it remote, hybrid or full return with health and safety protections — and then determine a secondary plan for changes in context. Standing labor management committees should be established immediately to provide opportunities for regular communication and feedback to the district regarding reopening planning and implementation. MOUs should be negotiated as dictated by local governing practices. Additional stakeholders such as families, students and community members should also be given ongoing and systematic opportunities to be engaged and to give input. The local plan should be a living document, the goal of which is to provide a vehicle for ongoing partnership and collaboration with educators, families, communities and students. 

EVENT: What Should Our Role Be in the RCSD?

From cuts and school closings to whatever else the powers-that-be have up their sleeves, people who work in the Rochester City School District have no idea what is actually going on.  Join the members of RORE (Rochester Organization of Rank & File Educators) for a discussion. What should OUR role be in all of this?  

*Find out the latest.

*Propose solutions.

*Organize.

All rank & file members and elected officials of RTA, RAP, & BENTE are invited to participate.  

Saturday, February 1st, 2:30 - 4:30pm

Metro Justice Community Room

1115 E.Main Street, Door 7

Rochester, NY 14609