MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers; BTF School/Site Delegate Chairperson/Building Committee

From:         Philip Rumore, President, BTF

Date:          October 1, 2020

Subject:     BTF School/Site Health and Safety Assessment

As you know, we recently sent the link to our BTF School/Site Health and Safety Assessment to all teachers.

Unfortunately, some of the teachers from the same school had different information and submitted different responses based on the information they received.

Therefore, we request that no further BTF School/Site Health and Safety Assessments be submitted by individual teachers and that the survey be submitted by the Delegate Chairperson/Building Committee. If you are in a school/site in which you have no representatives, you can of course submit one and note that it is the situation.

We realize that with the District’s directive to principals telling them to refuse to provide teachers with information, it is difficult to obtain the information. Having the Building Delegate/Building Committee send one document will assure there is more accurate reporting.

The information will be used in our legal proceedings.

Please try to have your response to us by October 13, 2020.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

PR:su

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Philip Rumore, President, BTF

Date:          October 22, 2020

Subject:     Updates

APPR/Evaluations – Observations
Teachers aren’t under enough stress, yet the District is intent on evaluating teachers virtually.

We have not agreed to any modification of our APPR Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to which both the BTF and District agreed (Click Here).

Any change would have to be agreed to by the Executive Committee, Council of Delegates and you.

ISSUE: Rubric did not contemplate virtual observation(s).

Remember, if directed to “submit” to an APPR, there must be a pre-meeting, agreed upon lesson, date and a “waive off”.

We are working with NYSUT to obtain some relief.

NOTE: If you are observed for your APPR or any other reason:

• Take notes relating to the conditions/circumstances, e.g.:
  • The date, time and length.
  • Was it done virtually, i.e. the administrator was/or was not in your room?
  • How could the building administrator “view” all of your students?
  • What did the administrator say during the lesson?
  • What was said at your pre and post meetings with your building administrator?
  • Other information we can use to challenge this.

The directive to do evaluations is apparently coming from City Hall.

Building Elections
A By-Law Change to allow for the extension of terms for Building Delegates, Alternates and Building Committee members will be presented to the Council of Delegates (Click Here).

The BTF Constitution and By-Laws only delineate these positions. Site-Based (SBMT) positions do not require a By-Law change. Site-based positions can be filled at the time of the vote for Building representatives or as agreed to by the teachers at the building.

Procedures for conducting virtual building elections are being formalized using a platform called “Election Buddy”.

Information and procedures will be forwarded as soon as the procedures are arranged.

Pre-K – Grade 12 COVID-19 Toolkit/Other Documents
Below, please find two (2) documents relating to COVID-19 and schools.

• Pre-K – Grade 12 COVID-19 Toolkit (Click Here)
• Erie County Department of Health Guidance for Pre-K – Grade 12 and Higher Education when a Student/Staff has COVID-19 Symptoms or a Positive COVID-19 Test (Click Here).

Please remember these change often.

Building Reopening Plans
Principals have been instructed to develop reopening plans for their building.

• Like in D.C., there have been no guidelines or models suggested, no delineated procedures for entering, exiting, visiting the school, etc. In short, you are on your own and if it doesn’t work and COVID-19 is spreading and students don’t learn, it’s your fault.
• Once again if asked if you would teach 5 days a week in person with students, you can indicate that you do not have sufficient information, e.g. what sanitization procedures will be followed for the entire building, what will be my schedule, how many students will I have, how will movement in the building take place, etc. Teachers want to be with their students; however, there must be delineated and written procedures in place to ensure the safety of students, parents, staff and community.

How important is the voice of teachers, parents, staff, etc.?

What follows is a quote from the October 19, 2020 District Reopening Committee Agenda.

“ 2. Meaningful Engagement? – Edit, rework, add to… the following definition:
Stakeholders (parents/caregivers, teachers, administrators, support staff) working together to support and improve the learning, development, and health of students. Listening, offering suggestions, developing plans that aid in the goal of a workgroup or committee. Acknowledgment and understanding the feedback loop and ensuring representatives speak on behalf of constituents – allowing everyone to have a voice. Meaningful engagement is not the same as shared decision making.” (emphasis added)

In other words, you can talk and we will listen; however, you are not part of any decision making. There is no shared decision making. We will unilaterally make the decisions. All that comes before the last sentence is meaningless verbiage.

What else is new?

PR:su

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Philip Rumore, President, BTF

Date:          October 16, 2020

Subject:     District Teacher Survey

The District is apparently surveying teachers asking:

“As we prepare for a possible reopening scenario, if it is determined that we bring back our special education students first, would you be willing to work in the building 5 days per week?

Yes
No”

We advise teachers to leave this blank as it provides no information relating to the safety and health sanitization conditions and procedures that will be in effect, number of students, expectations, etc.

If ordered to answer, indicate you are doing so under protest as you have been ordered to do so and advise BTF, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and your LRS.

You can advise your administrators that you have been so advised by the BTF.

We all want to be back with our students; however, as outlined in our October 2nd and 9th correspondence to the Superintendent and Board, under conditions all agree are safe for our students, parents, staff and community.

PR:su

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Philip Rumore, President, BTF

Date:          October 8, 2020

Subject:     Updates

“Re-Opening”
We have still not received a proposed delineated re-opening plan from the District, e.g. when, where, what, how, who, etc.

The District Re-Opening Committee is meeting on Monday, October 19, 2020. They have apparently been told that they should not expect a date for the start of hybrid re-opening.

We will continue to work to ensure that our schools are, and remain safe for us now and our students and staff when students return.

BTF Legal Actions

• We are appealing Judge Sedita’s refusal to prevent teachers from being required to enter schools that have not been properly sanitized.
• We have filed an Improper Practice Charge (IP) against the District for basically telling teachers, you are not important. We don’t need to follow the contract and hear grievances when required to do so.
• Grievances have been filed re:
  • Duplicate Lesson Plans.
  • Multiple student attendance reports.
  • Special Education – Unacceptable lengthy reporting/documentation. Note: We believe this has now been corrected.
  • District administrators requiring access to teachers’ Schoology accounts.
  • District’s refusal to allow access to Wi-Fi hot spots for teachers without internet access at home.
  • District directive to principals to not share building safety information (COVID-19) with teachers.
  • Excessive duties assigned to teachers while teaching remotely.

New York State Refusal to Allow Instruction
New York State has been preventing instruction for students receiving virtual instruction only (no personal contact), if they had not received required immunizations. This has obviously impacted mostly on our immigrant students whose parents haven’t been able to schedule immunization appointments or who had no knowledge of the problem.

This has impacted mostly on the lower grades but also on some high school students.
We brought this to NYSUT.

These parents want their children immunized, but haven’t been able to have it done. In many cases, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to obtain the immunizations.

The New York State Department of Health, in recognition, has extended the date for students learning “exclusively remotely” to be immunized, to November 12, 2020.

Needed Equipment/Supplies
Our contract requires that you are provided with the equipment and supplies you need (see pg. 21-22 and pg. 2, lines 8-14).

If you need supplies, equipment, etc., you should request whatever you need via email to your principal. Keep a copy. If you are turned down, advise your LRS. We will check and then grieve it.

We have been informed that teachers needing a second monitor for demonstrating lessons should request one by putting in a request to “Team Dynamic”, located on the Buffalo Public Schools website under Staff Resources. They will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

If they are not available you should still continue your request.

More COVID-19 Physical/Cognitive Harm
In reference to questions relating to statements I have made relating to COVID-19 brain damage, please see this article (Click Here).

Please stay well. Take no chances.

PR:su