Greetings NEA-Jurupa Family,
We know that you have been anxiously awaiting the approval of our MOU for Returning to In-Person Instruction. After several hours over several days of negotiating in good faith, the Association and the District have come to an agreement (under AB/SB 86, there does not need to be an MOU in place for districts to return to in-person instruction). The agreement was approved by NEA-Jurupa’s Executive Board. I would like to give a huge THANK YOU to our incredible Bargaining Chair, George Monge, our CTA Primary Contact Staff, John Vigrass, and our Executive Board for the hours of work they have put into this agreement. Also, thank you to all of you who sent questions and concerns, as many of those drove our discussions.
Although it isn’t perfect (no agreement ever is), we are very happy with the outcome. Please remember that the Association can continue to push for improvements, even after this is signed. Both Parties have agreed to continue working together as we go through the transition into In-Person Instruction. It’s again important to note that the Return to In-Person and Safety Plan are the purview of the District and it is our purview to negotiate the impacts.
We understand that the current school year has been the most challenging in the history of public education in America. We know the stress and upheavals you all have endured. If we the Association, could have spared you another stressful change or transition, we would have. We tried.
So, next we concentrated on making sure that we represented the needs of our membership to District leadership. Your input greatly improved the plan which has emerged. And it is still a work in progress. The Association will continue to advocate for further improvements.
Many of you have asked about the first three days when we return from Spring Break. 03/29-31 are scheduled instructional days and therefore could not be used entirely for planning/prep. Students must be offered both synchronous and asynchronous instruction in accordance with the law.
This is a short list of some of the improvements that we were able to get through the process:
- 2% off-schedule salary bonus (for whole year)
- First three days (03/29-03/31) 45 minutes of synchronous instruction in the morning only (secondary will meet with each of their 3 daily classes for no more than 15 minutes), the remainder of the days will be available for planning/prep. Students will be assigned asynchronous instruction for the remainder of these days.
- Defining Stable Cohorts
- Ensuring instructional minutes are aligned with SB 98 (180 TK-K, 230 1-3, 240 4-12)
- M/T and Th/F Cohorts to allow for deeper cleaning between Cohorts.
- Only one 45-minute staff meeting on one of the first three days. No staff meetings on 04/07 or 04/14.
- All Unit Members will have the option of working remotely when not in-person and on Wednesdays. Elementary teachers will have 45 minutes of instruction with their classes, the remainder of the day will be asynchronous to give ample time for planning/prep. Secondary teachers will meet with their regularly scheduled classes and will have the afternoon available.
- Limit of one administratively directed meeting per week (no more than 45 minutes)
- Before class supervision is limited to students in the classroom (no more than 30 minutes). No after class supervision. The Parties have also agreed to revisit the staggered arrival times on or before April 19th. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS CLOSELY AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED, WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
- Extensive safety language (25 bullet points)
- Meetings will continue to be held virtually. Department and grade level team meeting schedules will continue to be determined by the group members
- Ability to take leave in half-day increments as a potential accommodation.
- Trigger language in the event we need to revert to Distance Learning.
The MOU and FAQ’s will be coming in the next day or two. Additionally, I will be holding an Emergency Representative Council Meeting on Wednesday, March 17th at 3:45 to review the MOU and for a Q&A. The meeting will be recorded and shared with the membership.
Again, I can’t say THANK YOU enough for your continued compassion, empathy, grace, kindness, patience, and understanding throughout all of this.
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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