VOL. 45, NO. 1 | SPRING 2021 aft.org /ae ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: INCREASING AWARENESS OF SYSTEMIC RACISM PAGE 26 UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION PAGE 32 TEACHING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE PAGE 38 ORGANIZING AND MOBILIZING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION PAGE 44 WHERE WE STAND “Where Do I Start?” Free Resources to Support Effective, Courageous Conversations About Race with Students First Book Educator Tip Design your curriculum and lesson plans using an inquiry-based method to help evaluate materials through an anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) lens. Learn More: FirstBook.org/AFTempower Empower Your Classroom! Explore the full Empowering Educators series of resources, thanks to support from our friends at Pizza Hut: ü Free educator resource: Guidebook on Race and Racism ü Video series with tips from anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) teaching experts ü Special edition #OwnVoices stories Access Free Resources: FirstBook.org/AFTempower Need help finding additional resources or placing an order with First Book? Call us at 1-866-READ-NOW or email us at [email protected]. WHERE WE STAND still choosing remote instruction, prioritize Tools, Time, and Trust vaccines for teachers and staff who will be The Keys to Reopening and Recovery working in schools. Educators want what students need, RANDI WEINGARTEN, AFT President but they deserve to be safe. And there are ways to do so.† In New York City, the United “Where Do I Start?” Federation of Teachers (UFT) has worked THE AFT IS COMMITTED to ensuring that our experiences: science is important, but with the district on a massive testing and every person in America has the freedom to so are common sense and collaboration. tracing strategy, with the data posted thrive—especially children. That’s why we’ve Buildings differ, as do communities’ online. After more than 250,000 tests, the Free Resources to Support Effective, Courageous been fighting to safely reopen school build- resources. We have been calling for com- in-school positivity rate was just 0.42 per- ings since the COVID-19 pandemic began. mon sense and collaboration in applying cent. Ongoing testing and other mitigation Conversations About Race with Students Children have gone hungry and suf- six essential pillars for reopening: strategies (personal protective equipment, fered from social isolation. Families have HVAC upgrades, distancing, building • COVID-19 testing must become a way struggled in so many ways, from tragic walk-throughs to check safety protocols, of life in schools, with regular and rapid deaths to job losses. Although educators and more) give educators and families testing to monitor the virus. and school staff have made herculean confidence. The Boston Teachers Union • Proper safety protocols—including efforts, remote learning was never a negotiated a phased reopening, starting masks, physical distancing, cleaning, substitute for in-person learning—even with in-person priority students, including and sanitizing procedures—and venti- for those students with reliable internet special education students and English lation upgrades must be implemented. First Book Educator Tip access. Despite legitimate fears for their language learners. The Albuquerque • High-risk teachers and school staff own and their families’ health, educators Teachers Federation and district devised need appropriate accommodations to Design your curriculum and lesson plans understand the importance of in-person an accommodations plan that protects keep them safe. using an inquiry-based method to help instruction, but they have a right to be safe. the highest-risk staff and those caring for • Vaccine prioritization for teachers and Reopening schools safely requires evaluate materials through an school staff, starting with those doing tools, time, and trust. Tools of mitigation, in-person learning. anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) lens. testing, and resources to prevent transmis- • Given the new variants, communities sion of this deadly, invisible virus and to Educators want what need a metric for community infection meet the academic, emotional, and social rates that will trigger increasing safe- Learn More: FirstBook.org/AFTempower needs of our students and families. Time students need, but they guards, including temporary closures. to put those tools in place. And trust that • Safety committees, situation rooms, as new information emerges—such as deserve to be safe. and building walk-throughs build trust variants of COVID-19—district leaders and help to abate fear about reopening. and other key officials will work with us to prioritize safety. The Trump administra- According to a recent poll of our mem- high-risk family members. And, after the tion fell down on all of this. bers, 88 percent of educators favor this AFT pressed hard for educators and other Empower Your Classroom! Thankfully, the Biden administration reopening plan and 85 percent would feel essential workers to have vaccine priority is literally a breath of fresh air in this comfortable in their classrooms if these (behind healthcare workers of course), the Explore the full Empowering Educators series of resources, thanks to support from our friends at Pizza Hut: fight against the COVID-19 respiratory recommendations were followed.* Washington Teachers’ Union won vaccina- virus. It has been transparent and hon- What should happen if a ventilation sys- tions for school staff and the UFT stood up ü Free educator resource: Guidebook on Race and Racism est—making decisions based on science tem needs major renovations? Not bringing its own vaccination effort. and on the needs of Americans. President in cheap fans that the manufacturer itself This fight to safely reopen our buildings ü Video series with tips from anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) teaching experts Biden is committed to safely reopening says are not appropriate for non-household for in-person learning and to reconnect the majority of K–8 school buildings for use, as at least one large school district with our students is some of the hardest ü Special edition #OwnVoices stories in-person learning in his first 100 days and attempted. That’s why educators and work educators have faced—made worse has championed the bold level of funding parents protested. But there are common- by the ongoing fights against austerity and needed to increase vaccinations, support sense solutions, which working together hazards like lead, mold, and asbestos in state and local governments, and provide would produce, as it has in districts large schools. Together, we are overcoming the Access Free Resources: FirstBook.org/AFTempower critical resources to schools and colleges. and small, like New York City and Meriden, crises gripping our country. With Presi- Under Biden’s leadership, the Centers for Connecticut. These include upgrading fil- dent Biden’s recovery plan, our schools Disease Control and Prevention released ters, cleaning vents, opening windows, and and colleges will have the resources to (as it should have a year ago) a rigorous bringing in air purifiers and appropriate address trauma, meet emotional and aca- road map that our members can use to fans. Also, vaccinate the teachers and staff demic needs, and ensure the full recovery fight for a safe reopening. who want it, and since many families are of our students. ☐ Need help finding additional resources or placing an order with First Book? Since releasing our first reopening Call us at 1-866-READ-NOW or email us at [email protected]. blueprint in April 2020, we’ve learned from *For the poll results, visit go.aft.org/poll_on_return. †For case studies, visit aft.org/reopen-schools. AMERICAN EDUCATOR | SPRING 2021 1 Download this issue for free at aft.org/aewww.aft.org/ae. VOL. 45, NO. 1 | SPRING 2021 aft.org /ae OUR MISSION TheAmerican Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic Creating the Conditions for Students to Thrive opportunity; and high-quality public The myriad effects of the pandemic, from the tragic loss of life to the terrible impacts of education, healthcare and public services the digital divide, underscore the need to create the just and equitable conditions that for our students, their families and our will revitalize learning. By increasing opportunities for families experiencing home- communities. We are committed to lessness and youth seeking academic, emotional, and cultural supports, these articles advancing these principles through show how we can ensure that students not only survive these challenging times but community engagement, organizing, also thrive long after them. collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work 4 Supporting Students Who Are Experiencing Homelessness our members do. A Brief Guide for Teachers and Schools RANDI WEINGARTEN By Ronald E. Hallett and Linda Skrla President FEDRICK C. INGRAM 8 Being Part of the Solution: From Early Childhood Through Higher Education Secretary-Treasurer EVELYN DEJESUS 10 Unlocking Social Studies Text Executive Vice President How High School Teachers Can Support Students with Reading Difficulties LISA HANSEL By Jeanne Wanzek Chief Publications Editor JENNIFER DUBIN Managing Editor 16 In College, But Not Always Earning College Credit LUKE STEELE Editorial Coordinator Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for Success SEAN LISHANSKY During—and Beyond—Developmental Courses Copyeditor By Elizabeth L. Tighe, Meagan C. Arrastía-Chisholm, and JENNIFER CHANG Njeri M. Pringle Art Director JENNIFER BERNEY Graphic Designer 22 A Formula for Success RACHEL