Stay calm, stay the course, and continue to fight for what is right
CFT President Jeff Freitas is out with a new Up Front article this week, urging CFT members to stay calm and stay the course. “These are scary times, and this administration is relying on the time-tested autocratic strategy of “shock and awe” to paralyze us,” Freitas writes. “We cannot let that happen. In this moment, what is needed is to stay calm, stay the course, and continue to fight for what is right.”
Read the full article here.
School community fights back to pause mass layoffs in Oxnard
A shout out to the Oxnard Federation of Teachers and School Employees who turned out in force this week to successfully convince their school board to pause a layoff proposal of 110 teachers, 74 classified members, and the reduction of workdays for 99 more classified members. This represented 10% of the workforce and would have crippled their school district.
Over 500 educators, classified professionals, parents, and students turned out at the Oxnard Union High School District school board meeting on Wednesday, filling the board room, the overflow area, the hallways, and spilling out of every entrance and exit. Over 70 speakers gave passionate testimony about the impact of layoffs and demanding cuts be made as far away from the classroom as possible.
Hearing the concerns of the crowd, the board decided to pause the layoffs, instructing staff to work with the union to find alternatives. "This win is minor and temporary but critically important," said OFTSE Executive Director Tim Allison. "Our successful community outreach sent the board and administration a loud and clear message and bought us some time to negotiate alternate cuts in the district's spending."
Great organizing everyone!
Join the March 4 Day of Action to Protect Public Education
On Tuesday, March 4, educators, students, parents, and community allies will stand up against assaults on public education and for opportunity for America’s youth during a national day of action. Together we are calling on lawmakers to strengthen, not undermine, our local public schools, colleges, and universities, and the services they provide to children, families, and communities.
Please consider joining the national day of action either in Sacramento, for the second-annual March in March or with an event in your local community. Events can be as small or as large as you like. Some examples include flyering before school, wearing union t-shirts and taking photos, or holding a rally at a busy intersection. Take a look at the AFT Protect Our Kids toolkit for more ideas and information.
News in Brief
EC/TK-12 Educational Issues Conference finishes strong – Last weekend CFT’s EC/TK-12 Council hosted the second part of their new educational issues conference at the CFT Sacramento office. The conference was once again led by member-practitioners training other member-practioners, with topics including literacy for practitioners (grades 6-12), co-teaching students with disabilities in the mainstream, and supporting social-emotional development for 3-6 year olds. Thanks again to all who made the two-part conference such a success!
Urge California senators to reject Linda McMahon as US Secretary of Education – Please sign the CFT letter today, urging California Senators Padilla and Schiff to VOTE NO on Linda McMahon. We need a U.S. Secretary of Education who believes in our schools and fights for all of our students. That is not Linda McMahon.
Last chance to take the CFT member survey on literacy instruction – All CFT members who work in K-12 schools or in early education (including all educators who do reading instruction, in any grade) are encouraged to take the new CFT member survey on literacy instruction. The brief online survey, which closes March 2, is an opportunity to share your experiences and ideas about how the state can best support literacy education.
AFT spearheads lawsuit against Trump admin challenging ‘Dear Colleague’ letter – This week AFT filed a lawsuit with a coalition of nationwide groups of educators and sociologists challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter that threatens federal funding for any school or college that provides race-specific programs. In addition to withholding funds, the letter also threatens educators and schools with potential investigations and prosecutions. We will keep you posted on any updates on the lawsuit.
Social Security administration announces immediate action on WEP/GPO payments – On Tuesday the Social Security Administration released a statement announcing it is immediately beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). According to the statement, most people impacted by the penalties will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security. Higher monthly benefits will first be reflected in the benefit payment they receive in April.
