Good Afternoon,
First and foremost I want to thank each and everyone of you for your dedication to our students and for the kind words you have shared with me.
This afternoon REA Exec board met to discuss the first draft of the expectations of work starting March 30th. Many of you have sent me very valid and valuable questions. Your questions are being posed to the Cabinet members. Unfortunately, some of your principals jumped the gun and sent out information before they were supposed to.
With that being said I will reiterate the keys points again.
1. A message from Central admin will be disseminated to all staff, most likely Friday.
2. A plan is being created for staff to go in and pick up laptops or other needed materials, please stay tuned.
3. There has been no discussion thus far to hand out devices to students.
Some questions that have been posed to me that I would like to take the time to answer.
1. What do I do if I have children or other family members at home to take care of? I understand your plight first and foremost, I have 3 children at home myself! 😉 You are expected to complete the work you are assigned. Without getting in to too much detail, there is not an expectation that you teach virtually from your laptop all day. If you are unable to complete the tasks given to you, you will either need to take sick time like you would while we are in school or apply for a leave of absence.
2. How can they make me work from home? Our contract outlines that we work 188 days. The exception to the days is for STUDENTS. Each district has it’s own unique CBA that outlines the amount of days worked for the staff. The Association could argue the aspect of language that does not differentiate where our work will be conducted, however that opens the district up to argue if we are not working, we do not get paid.
3. What if I live in a county that is currently Shelter in Place? I am working on an answer for you and will be sending out more info.
4. My district laptop is requiring me to update my password but I am not on the RSD server to do so? RSD has disabled this feature. You should ignore the prompts at this time.
5. We were told we wouldn’t lose spring break and now we are. The ORIGINAL plan was not to take away spring break. As orders from the President and Governor change, so will the directive from RSD. I will be perfectly frank and share I do not feel we will be back by April 6th.
6. Will our dues be modified for this year? PSEA is still working via remotely. They diligently helped create and get passed legislation to protect all of us during this tumultuous time. We should be extremely thankful that we work in a profession where we have not seen a disruption to our pay or benefits.
I want to be very clear about the expectation from the state in regards to education our students. The LEGAL requirement is to show we as a district made an effort to afford our students the ability to continue with their education. If a student or parent choses to complete the work, GREAT! if not, it is not our concern, we offered the opportunity.
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Be Well!
Rebecca