Checking-In/Updates

Greetings NEA-Jurupa Family,

I hope that you all had a relaxing and restful weekend! Only 3 weeks to go! Again, THANK YOU for your continued compassion, empathy, grace, kindness, patience, and understanding throughout this year.

My apologies in advance for the extremely long email and multiple attachments (especially on a Monday), but I figured it’s better to have everything in one versus several because we receive so many emails…

JUSD School Board Meeting: May 10, 2021 Open Public Session – 6:00 p.m.: https://jurupausd.org/board

PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS: Public comments will be accepted in person or online, the link will open one hour prior to the start of Closed Session (at 4:00 p.m.), the comments link will close at the beginning of the public verbal comments period. A staff member will facilitate the reading of public comment submissions, consistent with the direction of the Board during “Public Comments.”

Public Comment Submission Form (English): https://forms.gle/GqD6meGRCysBvdQ86

Our district retirees will be honored tonight! Thank you to all of our retiring members for your years of dedication and service to the students of Jurupa!

California Day of the Teacher: On Wednesday, May 12^th, all active members will be receiving a $15 Target gift card as a token of our appreciation for all that you do. You should receive an email from giftcards@cashstar.com. Please be on the lookout!!!

Elementary Minimum Days: May 21^st and May 28^th are the scheduled minimum days for our Elementary Schools. Per an email from Rosa Santos-Lee, unit members are required to do 45 minutes of virtual instruction and will have the remainder of the days for grading, etc. Because these days are “virtual”, elementary unit members have the option of working remotely (as you have on Wednesdays).

MOU’s: NEA-Jurupa’s Executive Board approved MOU’s for Virtual Learning (21/22), Summer School 2021, and 21/22 COVID Acknowledgement. All three of the MOUs are attached in one file above. FAQ’s for Virtual Learning regarding our agreement and the FAQ’s for families are also attached for reference.

The other two MOU’s reflect the parties’ (Association/District) understanding and adherence to all CDC, CDPH, and RUHS requirements for mitigating the risks of COVID-19. It’s also important to note that the guidance continues to change as more information becomes available and the “chain of command” goes from Federal to State to County Public Health Officials. The current distancing guidelines are 3 feet (but for the remainder of the school year it is 6 feet).

Questions have also come up regarding class sizes for Summer School. The TK-8 LEAP Classes were planned under the agreed upon 6 ft distancing requirements so class sizes should max at about 16. For HS Summer School, they are being planned according to 3 ft distancing guidelines. Although class size max is 36, it is most likely that in-person class sizes will range in the mid-20’s. PE classes will be higher (contract max is 48), with the understanding that we will need to ensure distancing in the locker rooms.

Negotiations: The Association and District met on Friday, May 7^th to begin discussing initial proposals. Attached above is an update from George Monge, our NEA-Jurupa Bargaining Chair, that he asked for me to send out on the team’s behalf. We encourage you to support our team in Negotiations by wearing RED on the following days: May 13^th, May 14^th, May 18^th, and May 27^th! Thank you to our awesome team for their dedication and work for our members!!!

Rep Council Meeting: Our final Rep Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 12^th at 3:45 p.m. via Zoom. Attached above is the Tentative Agenda. We will be recognizing our Representative Council Honorees and NEA-Jurupa Scholarship Awardees. Congrats to all!!!

If you have specific questions or concerns, please reach out to me, your site reps, or area directors. We have our monthly Contract Management meeting with the District tomorrow and it is always our goal to get as many answers as possible prior to Rep Council.

San G Social Justice and Cultural Equity Conference: There is still time to register!!! The virtual conference will be held this upcoming Saturday from 9-11:45 a.m. followed by the WHO (We Honor Ours) Awards at 1:00 p.m. There are great sessions planned. You can click on the image to get the registration link!

After 15 months of crisis/pandemic schooling, you should feel no guilt, WHATSOEVER, about looking forward to a much deserved and needed summer break. You have more than earned it.