Greetings NEA-Jurupa Family,
I hope you had a restful weekend and that your week is going well so far. It’s Groundhog Day and live from Gobbler’s Knob, “the Seer of Seers, the Prognosticator of all Prognosticators”, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow. Guess that means six more weeks of winter, although the mid-60’s to 70’s doesn’t seem so bad to me. But now I can’t seem to get “I Got You Babe” out of my head…
As always, thank you to all of you for all that you do on behalf of your colleagues, students, and community at-large!
National School Counseling Week: This week, February 1-5, let’s take time to honor our school counselors and guidance coordinators! They have a tremendous impact on helping our students achieve success and planning for college/career readiness! Thank you!
Black Lives Matter at School Week/Black History Month: For those of you interested in exploring curricular opportunities and learning about how to improve the school experience for students of color, here are some resources: Teaching For Change and Black History Month Lessons from NEA.
SRP: Just a friendly reminder to those who are considering taking the Supplemental Retirement Plan, the deadline to submit is this Friday, Feb 5.
Upcoming Conferences: There are several awesome conferences and educator led professional development opportunities coming up this weekend/month. These events are free to CTA/NEA Members! If you are interested in pursuing free University Credits, CTA’s Season Pass will show you how!
Good Teaching Conference: Elementary Edition (Feb 4-7)
Educator Self-Care During COVID: (Feb 5, 4:30-6)
Teachers Teaching Teachers: CTA ILC Spring Event (Feb 6)
HRC’s Time to Thrive: (Feb 9-11)
New Educator Weekend: (Feb 18-21)
Equity and Human Rights Conference: (Feb 24-27)
Distance Learning Series:
Important Dates:
NEA-Jurupa Executive Board: Feb 3
NEA-Jurupa Rep Council: Feb 10
Lincoln Holiday: Feb 15 (No School)
JUSD School Board Meeting: Feb 16
NEA-Jurupa Grievance Training: Feb 17
President’s Day: Feb 22 (No School)
Governor’s “Re-Opening” Plan: The plan introduced in late December and rolled out with the State Budget Proposal has not been acted upon by the State Legislature. I had the opportunity to meet with several legislators including Assemblymembers Eloise Reyes (AD 47), Freddie Rodriguez (AD 52), and State Senator and Senate Education Committee Chair Connie Leyva (SD 20). They had some major concerns with the proposal for Early Action including the “hard deadlines” and attempt to “incentivize” Prop 98 monies (which is the minimum school funding requirement under state law). They also acknowledged that schools never closed, teaching and learning never stopped happening, the need for more SEL/Mental Health resources, and the need to address the digital divide and equity issues. The legislature will continue to work on bills and hold hearings to address the state budget and ways to return to in-person instruction. This is in addition to the normal budget hearings and negotiations process. The good news is that all parties recognize the vital importance in providing more money to schools.
State Testing: State Testing has not been suspended. There is still a concerted effort by educational organizations at both the State and Federal levels to get the Federal Government to allow for waivers to suspend testing. Until a decision is made, we are expected to go through the motions of preparing for testing.
I’ll leave you with this (my child of the 80’s, pop-culture nerdiness couldn’t resist)
I hope that you all have a wonderful week and please continue to stay safe and well! Best to you and your loved ones!
In Unity-
Wendy Eccles 🙂
NEA-Jurupa President
Office Phone: 951-681-7997, Google Voice: 951-643-4076
Non-district email: president@neaj.org
Website: www.neaj.org
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