TEACHERS UNION, LOCAL 66, AFT Non-Profit Org. ATTENTION! 180 Mount Vernon Street U.S. Postage th Boston, 02125 PAID 75 Anniversary of the Boston, MA Boston Teachers Union Permit No. 52088 Celebration Party BBOSTON TEACHERSU postponed until TUNION October 16, 2021 75

EVERYONE ¡TODOS IS SON WELCOME BIENVENIDOS BBOSTON TEACHERSU HERE! AQUÍ! TUNION BT U BT U The Award-Winning Newspaper of the Boston Teachers Union, AFT Local 66, AFL-CIO • Volume 53, Number 3 • December, 2020 President’s Report Jessica J. Tang Welcoming a New Year and Leaving 2020 Behind 020 will be a year for the history families and educators deserve. This also more compassionate union of edu- 2books: an unprecedented pandemic, work will continue to be challenging, cators. It is up to us to build the type of a reckoning of racial injustice, a historic unprecedented and without easy solu- community we believe in. This is what election with record voter participation tions. my late mentor and former principal and a turbulent school year throughout The New Year will continue to require Jinny Chalmers instilled in each of us it all. All of us have been tested in so patience, empathy and forgiveness as that became a part of the Young Achiev- Jessica J. Tang many ways—our capacity for adaptation, we heal not just divisions within the ers community—the community she BTU President isolation, anxiety, and working under nation politically, but within our own was integral in building. duress to name a few. It has been a year communities as well. Our neighbor- At Young Achievers, we had a song passing, we also hold in our hearts every- of chronic stress, trepidation, anger and hoods, schools and our union has been or anthem of sorts. It went (with drum one who is holding grief, pain and loss frustration for so many, and as we emerge tested and divided during this pandemic: beats, of course): from this year and prior. These experi- from a divisive election that felt like a teachers pit against parents; school versus “As a member of the Young Achievers ences indelibly leave their mark on all of battle for the soul of our nation, many school; and also union member to union Science and Math School, I believe I have us, but as we leave a year of pain behind, of us are also exhausted—emotionally, member. It was a difficult year because great powers and important things to we can remember why we came into this physically and mentally. tensions were high, needs were great, learn. I know my power will build a very work in first place—what inspired us, The good news is that a new year is resources inadequate and emotions ran strong and caring school. I have the power. who inspired us—and the joy that those just around the corner—we can finally high. In this environment trust was run- I have the power. To respect myself and memories and people brought us. leave 2020 behind and welcome in what ning low when we needed it most and we others. To make my school safe. To make As the YA anthem goes, “I have the we hope will be a new era. The hope that all had to dig deep to not just take care of good choices and work hard to succeed. power within me. You have the power a new presidency comes with—including ourselves, but strive to self-regulate not To focus and be the best student I can be. within you.” We, both—individually and a new Secretary of Education and a First just to support our students, but so that To make connections in math, science and collectively, have the power to make a Lady who is an educator herself—is one we could take care of our families and technology. I have the power within me. difference and carry on the legacy of all that we have long hoped for. President- others as well. You have the power within you. To study those fought bravely before us to cre- elect Joe Biden has promised to imme- My hope is that in this New Year, we and act in ways that make a difference in ate a better, and more just world. As we diately reverse many of the most harm- will find the kindness that I know is in our school, our neighborhood, our coun- leave 2020 behind, and welcome 2021 ful policies dismantled by the Trump each of us to help us heal, reflect and try, Young Achievers, we rule!” ahead of us, let us remember that we are and DeVos administration. He has also strengthen. It is what brought us to this As we hold Ilene Carver (our BTU stronger and better together, and we have committed to choosing an educator for work as educators—love for our students organizer and widowed wife to Jinny) in the power to make the new year what we the new Secretary of Education. Our and love for others—that will help us to our hearts during this holiday season need it to be, through learning, kindness national unions have many members on prevail as a stronger, more powerful and after Ms. Chalmers’ tragic and untimely and believing in each other. his transition team. These are all promis- ing developments. On the horizon is also hopes for a vaccine, that by next summer, is believed to be ready for the larger public and available for essential workers even by early next year. This gives the possibility of herd immunity by next fall. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The hope that next school year will return to “nor- malcy” is finally within sight. “ N o r m a l c y,” however, will likely be redefined and revisited, as we have all been impacted during this year in ways that we have perhaps yet to fully understand. We also know that what was “normal” before the pandemic was not what so many in our community needed. This pandemic exacerbated inequities and laid bare the injustices we already knew existed, but was not so easy for the larger public to ignore anymore— whether it was within education, hous- ing, health care or many other ways. We cannot make the mistake as a district, community or nation to accept the past as our new normal, and we cannot auto- matically count on new leaders to do what is right. We have much work ahead of us as we continue to advocate for the schools and communities our students, Members of the Boston Teachers Union were very active on the campaign trail this Fall. See more photos on page 8. Commentary Garret Virchick Open Letter to the Labor Movement – Defend Each Other – Demand Democracy! ur country stands at a moment of against systemic white supremacy, and of and the cities and states during the COV- Operil. A rejected president threat- the Women’s March. This was a demo- ID-19 crisis. It means defending the vote ens to overturn the clear verdict of the cratic uprisings against systematic voter with the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. American people. suppression and intimidation, the result It means expanding Medicare to cover Our country stands at a moment of of many years of grass-roots organizing. us all. It means passing the PRO act to peril. A rejected president threatens to These movements can rightfully claim make it easier for workers to form unions Garret Virchick overturn the clear verdict of the Ameri- this victory as their own. -- a democratic voice in the workplace. It Boston Union Teacher can people. Presiden-elect Joe Biden has prom- means making the District of Columbia Co-Editor We urge everyone to take President ised to bring America together. a state, giving those largely Black com- Trump’s threats seriously, and prepare to We too, want to bring the country munities a say in their governance. It reform, protections from evictions and act: to defend democracy in the courts, together: around a program that that means investment in infrastructure foreclosures, drivers’ licenses for undocu- in the streets and in our workplaces, if serves the vast working class majority – another broken promise by Trump. mented residents and much needed rev- Trump tries to steal the election. who suffered during the pandemic while It means defending LGBTQ rights. It enue from progressive tax measures. We The Biden/Harris victory by nearly the billionaires enriched themselves. means comprehensive immigration need increased unemployment insurance six million votes resulted from the mas- We speak of the nurses, the food service reform. It means rejecting the free trade for mothers and fathers who have to stay sive turnout of Black, Brown and Native workers, the first responders, the postal deals that benefited the multinational home, emergency paid sick time, equi- voters in the large cities like Atlanta and workers, the educators who risked their corporations at the expense of workers tably funded and safe K-12 and public Detroit, and in Arizona, Nevada and lives. We speak of the poor and immi- here and abroad. higher education, and safety protections other states, and of union voters in key grant communities, hardest hit by the These measures are widely popular. and paid leave for essential workers. swing states pandemic due to inadequate housing, Only the billionaires – the one percent We did not win the presidential elec- The record Biden/Harris vote was health care and job safety protections. – and the unwillingness of many of our tion to return to the status quo. The teach- the expression in the electoral arena of This means passing a Green New leaders to fight for them, stand between ers’ strikes, the mobilizations of the Black the strike wave of educators against the Deal to protect our imperiled planet by us and progress. Lives Matter uprising and the Women’s destruction of our public school system, providing millions of good union jobs. It Here in Massachusetts, Governor March will be our models in the struggle of the 24 million people who took to the means passing the Heroes Act and more, Charlie Baker and the state legislature ahead. We won to seek justice for all – and streets in the Black Lives Matter uprising to protect workers and small businesses have failed to provide criminal justice we will fight for it, starting today. Commentary Joshua Benjamin I’m Mourning the Sounds of Kids Arguing in My Classroom Noisy Disagreements are Fuel for Social Growth in Childhood hen I see my students on Zoom, I Wam in full control of the noise and I can turn off their microphones with omnipotence. I can create silence, and it is deafening. Let us gather today to remember the noise of a first-grade classroom. Last November, and for over a hundred Novembers before that, there were children in my classroom, and those children were loud. Now it is dystopically silent, as if it is awaiting a future team of archaeologists to draw conclusions about a past civilization of small people who struggled to add and whose pencils often broke. There are no stories being shouted about slights on the school bus and triumphs on the playground. There are no wet shoes squeaking across the floor. There are no words being sounded out for the first time. Before, we made music. Now, to avoid the incoherence and microphone feedback of singing together over Zoom, I sing “The More We Get Together” at my computer screen while my students are on mute — a lonely concert for faraway children whose voiceless mouths sometimes appear to be moving along with me. Before, new words tiptoed off When I see my students on Zoom, I am in full control of the noise and I can turn off their microphones with omnipotence. I can create silence, the tongues of young English learners for and it is deafening. – Photo by David L. Ryan, Boston Globe the first time. Now, due to the vagaries of computer speakers, microphones, and passionate and intense. I know they can children can also begin to make noise own legitimate needs and interests. And slow Internet speeds, children’s speech be loud. But I mourn their absence in a for a higher purpose. Arguments over it begins in noisy classrooms, with the falters in competition with background Zoom classroom. concrete objects eventually, as children mediation of a decent teacher. noise and audio glitches that sound When children argue, they learn about grow up, evolve into actionable debates When I see my students on Zoom,I like construction equipment. Before, themselves and the people around them. over subjects like sexism, gender identity, am in full control of the noise and I first-graders argued over glue sticks, If they want something in the world — a and police brutality. can turn off their microphones with space on the rug, and appealing picture glue stick, a turn in a conversation — As adults, our daily life is a bottomless omnipotence. Children no longer need books. Now, because they have nothing they can use their words to make it theirs. reservoir of potential arguments. We to regulate their noise to fit their social to share in virtual space, young children Sometimes, though, that desire conflicts jockey for space on the T, reach for the environment, because a teacher can do it in a Zoom class cannot participate in the with other people’s interests. That glue last box of raisins at the grocery store, for them with the push of a button. I can intense disputes of childhood. stick over there? I want it, but so does decide how to divvy up speaking roles create silence, and it is deafening. Surely, you might be thinking, that Xiomara at the exact same time. An for a presentation at work. Most of us (Josh Benjamin teaches first grade at the last point was made in error. The lack opinion about “The Story of Ferdinand”? can get through the day without these Russell Elementary School in Dorchester.) of arguments must be an improvement. I have a strong one, but Jamal does too. conflicts escalating into crisis. That is (Reprinted from the Boston Globe, This writer, you might imagine, has not A noisy argument offers a space to not an inconsequential achievement. It November 11, 2020.) borne witness to the furies and bitterness work out those understandings and comes from seeing ourselves as people unleashed in a skirmish over a magenta arrive at more productive modes of with legitimate needs and interests who crayon, an altercation over a ruler, or behavior, like disagreeing with respect live in a community of others with their a standoff over the classroom copy of and sharing limited resources without “Green Eggs and Ham.” hostility. With a teacher’s support, young I assure you, I have seen them all. I know that childhood conflicts can be

2 | BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 Know Your Rights Caren Carew When Are School Site Council Elections and Meetings Held and is There Training for SSC Members? he School Site Council is the central should be willing to devote to reaching con- there must be at least two weeks notice. Tgoverning body of the school under sensus decision. Routine matters should be The SSC bylaws must include the fol- the school-based management/shared given much less valuable time and energy lowing operational procedures: how elec- decision-making model. The contract than fundamental issues. Provide opportu- tions will be organized and conducted; stipulates; “Elections for new SSC mem- nities for all views to be expressed. Mem- when meetings will be held; the notice bers shall be conducted as early in the bers with differing views should have the procedure for announcing meetings; who Caren Carew school year as possible [by October 15], opportunity to make sure other members is responsible for co-chairing the SSC with BTU Secondary and a first meeting of the new council shall have understood their views before ending the Principal and for recording minutes; Field Representative be held no later than October 31st. At the the discussion. Although others may still what the system is for selecting alternates first meeting, a monthly calendar should not be persuaded, everyone must have a who have the same racial identity as the There are also State and Federal rem- be agreed upon by the SSC members for chance to state their views and to have oth- members they would be representing; the edies outlined at the end of Superinten- the entire school year and be made public ers listen. The strength of feeling about an terms of office and how they will be stag- dent’s Circular #EQT-4 to file complaints through distribution to all staff and par- issue must be gauged. How strongly mem- gered; and what the salary is in regards to concerning harassment with the (MCAD) ents. Any change must be approved by the bers feel should guide how much time members who fail to regularly attend. Massachusetts Commission Against Dis- SSC with at least one week’s notice to all should be devoted to an issue as well. The bylaws may also include provisions crimination 617-994-6000 or the United staff and parents. SSC Meetings should be SSC meetings are not competitive, win- that address the following: what subcom- States Equal Opportunity Commission at times convenient for all members and or-lose events. Making decisions solely mittees will be established in addition to (EEOC) located in the JFK Federal Build- times may alternate to meet this goal.” on the basis of majority votes runs the the Personnel Subcommittee; if a portion ing in Boston. Get empowered – knowledge is power. unacceptable risk of dividing the Council. of each meeting is set aside for public com- The BTU and BPS have set the following School improvement is defiantly a matter ment by individuals in attendance who dates for SSC training that all elected SSC of teamwork, trust, and shared commit- are not SSC members; how the SSC will Are We Entitled to Time for members are invited and encouraged to ment on the part of everyone in the school inform the wider school community of its Cancer Screening? attend. This is an interactive process that community. This team approach doesn’t decisions and activities; where minutes will es. There is a Superintendent’s Circular brings SSC members from attendees to prohibit voting in every case. Occasionally, be posted and distributed; what the process Y#HRS-PP-14 “Paid Leave for Cancer active informed participants. periodic ‘straw polls’ may be a good idea to is for amending the bylaws. Screening and/or Living Organ Donation” These workshops will be held via identify the common ground on the way which states that the Mayor signed an Zoom with all sessions held between to reaching consensus decisions. Voting What Can Be Done If Executive Order allowing all city employees 5:30-7:00 p.m. can save valuable time reaching decisions Someone is Being Harassed in to use four (4) hours of leave per calendar To register please contact: ccarew@btu. on routine matters. Under the terms of the the BPS? year for various types of cancer screening org and [email protected]. BTU Contract, decisions must be formal- including that for breast, prostate, colon, • SSC 101 – Basics & Shared Decision ized by a majority of the SSC. The Principal he BPS has a Superintendent’s Circular skin, thyroid, oral cavity, lymph nodes, th Making: Nov. 19 ; 5:30-7:00 p.m.. must vote with the majority of the SSC and T#EQT-4 ‘Non-Discrimination and Zero reproductive organs, and lungs. The pro- • SSC 102 – Budget Basics: Nov. 24th they may not delegate their vote. Here, the Tolerance Policy’, which outlines BPS’s com- cedure dictates that employees are allowed st rd or Dec. 1 or Dec. 3 ; 5:30-7:00 p.m. purpose of voting is to validate and to make mitment to “maintaining an educational one (1) four (4) hour period that cannot • SSC 104 – Recruiting & Retaining official consensus decisions. Formal voting environment and workplace where bigotry be broken into hourly units. It requires th th Diverse Council: Dec. 19 or Jan. 7 ; should be the last step in the decision-mak- and intolerance, including discrimination that they must make their leave request 5:30-7:00 p.m. ing process. If the vote results in a simple on the basis of race, color, national origin, through their responsibility center man- • SSC 105 – Engaging Students in majority but does not reveal consensus sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, dis- ager [principal] and then provide them a th Decision Making: Dec. 15 or Jan. on the issue debated, it should be viewed ability, or age have no place, and where any signed copy of a medical document verify- th 5 ; 5:30-7:00 p.m. as a signal that the best option has not yet form of intimidation, threat, coercion and/ ing the date that the employee was given a • SSC 106 – Personnel Subcommit- been developed and proposed. Unless all or harassment that insults the dignity of oth- cancer screening. For attendance reporting st th tee: Jan. 21 or Feb. 4 ; 5:30-7:00 p.m. members are willing to support a majority ers & interferes with their freedom to learn purposes, the time reporting code S1200 decision, more discussion is needed. Votes or work is unacceptable.” to report time taken under this provision What Approach Should the which split parents and BTU members are The circular emphasizes; “Therefore, must be used. This cancer screening leave SSC Take Toward Decision of particular concern and a clear indication any form of discrimination or harassment, time is not charged to any accumulated Making? that consensus hasn’t been achieved. In as described [in the body of the circular], of sick time. All questions concerning this such cases, the decision should be set aside any BPS student or employee shall be viewed circular should be made to the BPS Office t is expected that the SSC will function and the issue should be revisited. as serious misconduct and shall result in of Human Capital, at 617-635-9670. Iby consensus or general agreement of its The Principal may veto a majority deci- discipline, up to and including termina- members. Members of the SSC are expect- sion of a SSC. The Principal must vote with tion of the offending employee or expulsion the majority for a decision to be adopted ed to operate as a single decision making of the responsible student.” It is suggested Phone Numbers team. Their task is to work together to and carried out. In the event of a veto, the you review the circular in its entirety BBOSTON TEACHERSU TUNION fashion effective solutions to the school’s Principal is required to give their reasons in and if after doing so feels compelled to educational challenges. SSC have parent, writing and in person at a following meet- report such matters as set forth should Office...... 617-288-2000 BTU staff, student, and associate mem- ing for any vote that is in opposition to a do so in Superintendent’s Circular #EQT-2 Health & Welfare...... 617-288-0500 AFT Massachusetts...... 617-423-3342 bers to guarantee that decisions reflect majority of the Council. Successful School ‘Employee Grievances of Discrimination Function Office...... 617-288-3322 Based Management demands cooperation, or Harassment’, #EQT-3 ‘Student Griev- the viewpoints of everyone in the school Lounge Office...... 617-288-3322 trust, and mutual regard of every one! community. Reaching consensus does not ances of Discrimination or Harassment’. For Vision Center...... 617-288-5540 mean that all members must agree with additional info, contact BPS Equity Office Tremont Credit Union...... 781-843-5626 decisions unanimously. Consensus is a way How are Bylaws/Operational at 617-635-9650. of working together where some members Procedures for SSC’s may disagree with a final decision, but yet agree to support it. Consensus occurs Determined? when most, if not all, members agree on ach School-Site Council determines the matter to be decided. Emost of its own operating procedures EVERYONE ¡TODOS IS SON Boston Teachers Union, Consensus won’t necessarily result through the adoption of SSC bylaws. Each WELCOME BIENVENIDOS AFT Local 66, AFL-CIO BBOSTON TEACHERSU HERE! AQUÍ! in endless discussions and no decisions, SSC is required to pass bylaws to govern its TUNION BT U BT U particularly if the following guidelines are operation. The bylaws must be approved EDITORIAL NOTE: The opinions expressed in the Boston Union followed: Prioritize the importance of the by two-thirds of the BTU members in the The Boston Union Teacher is published ten times a year Teacher do not necessarily represent the views of issue at hand. Normally, the more impor- school and by two-thirds of the parents September - July, inclusive. the Boston Teachers Union, or those of its members. tant the issue, the more time members who come to a parent meeting for which President WHEN WRITING: JESSICA J. TANG All correspondence to the Boston Union Teacher must be typewritten and include the author’s name Vice President and school or department if not school-based. ERIK R. BERG All articles must be appropriate to the publication, Secretary-Treasurer and in good taste. BETSY DRINAN Letters to the Editor should be sent to Co-Editors [email protected] MICHAEL J. MAGUIRE GARRET VIRCHICK DEADLINE: The deadline for submitting articles for the Editorial Board next issue of the Boston Union Teacher is Caren Carew Betsy Drinan December 9th. Tim Maher All copy should be e-mailed to Johnny McInnis Anne Slater [email protected] and [email protected] This deadline will be strictly adhered to. from the Officers and Staff of the Richard Stutman 180 Mount Vernon Street | Boston, MA 02125 Boston Teachers Union! 617-288-2000 | Fax 617-288-0024 | www.btu.org Union Printworks BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 | 3 Commentary Michael J. Maguire Grading During the Pandemic ichael in West Roxbury, you are of the numerous crises my students as I did last year. “Mnext on Boston Public Radio.” are enduring primarily because I am As mentioned above, assessments are Driving home from a day of remote undergoing similar difficulties. I’ll be a wild gamble these days. I have both teaching from my old classroom (by blunt, I am 50 years young. While I paper and digital folders going back to choice), I called into Boston Public can set the clock on the microwave, I the 1990s full of various assessments Radio. The topic that day, September often seek help from my teenage son on on how to translate Julius Caesar’s 22, 2002, was the beginning of the new which cable remote I need to start the Commentaries on the Gallic War. Even school year. TV. I unashamedly ask advice from my if I pop them into Google Classroom, Michael J. Maguire Jim Braude was talking about how younger colleagues on how to use the what’s to stop a student from opening Boston Union Teacher Mitch McConnell and the US Senate a new table in order to ask Mr. Google Co-Editor were unlikely to authorize extra funding I am not going to mark for translation help? Or what’s to stop to help schools across the country deal my students down two students from texting each other believe ultimately helpful. But I cannot with COVID. I was up next and I opened during the exam? (After all, the school say with certainty that my method with “You are right about the money, I for any mistakes I am committee members text each other of assessing is developed enough to can’t argue with that. But I think we can making in transitioning during their meetings; so I guess texting quantify a student’s performance using control how we grade kids.” to a digital world. during work is officially sanctioned.) the old metrics. Obviously teaching is not the way I am trying my level best to administer The best I can do is present the it used to be. (Funny how nine months latest Chrome add-on. I am trying my fair assessments so that I can tell if the material in such a way that students ago feels like nive years ago.) I suggest best to be a 21st Century Classist; and I students are retaining the information can understand it. My desire in grading that grading ought not be the same will be the first to admit that some days (because, isn’t that the goal?). But it is lightly is to lessen the anxiety we are all either. I am not advocating for a repeat are worse than others. (Don’t get me a work in progress. I no longer have feeling so that learning can be a joy in of the “everybody passes” movement wrong, I am a wizard when the wifi goes centuries of pedagogy to rely upon. I and of itself. at the end of the last school year. But I down because I started teaching with have my intuition and the help of my (Michael J. Maguire teaches Latin at am advocating for a new way to grade paper and chalk.) colleagues. Both are valuable and I do Boston Latin Academy.) students. All of which is why my guiding I would love for us to move away principle in remote learning is this: from 100% to zero and from As to Fs. I I am not going to mark my students Letter to the Boston Herald prefer a broader look at grades. I would down for any mistakes I am making in like to see us use meeting the standard, transitioning to a digital world. Dear Editor, ID did not cause these problems but it competency or mastery. We should still In short, I’m grading lightly. Let’s We are dismayed but not surprised sure is highlighting them now. Boston include a non-promotional category, but say I give a five question quiz (more on that Michael Graham would scapegoat could have spent money on portable air please let us not call it failure. Perhaps assessments later). If a student correctly teacher unions for all of society’s ills. filtration systems, instead it spent $900 something like “not ready for the next answers two of those five questions, (Zoom calls expose bad behavior and per classroom on video cameras but only level” or “a second year is needed in order should that student fail the quiz? If we undermine schoolkids, October 23, 2020) $15 on box fans. to meet the standard.” For certainly the were in a traditional classroom, with the Contrary to his unfounded assertions, The district has its priorities back- student in such a circumstance is not a usual schedule and with the controllable the teachers’ unions are not demanding wards, and Mr. Graham would be well failure but rather a victim of the times. conditions, then I might be inclined to Zoom or remote learning. The Boston advised to print facts instead of fantasies. Just as it would not be fair to advance agree with 40% being a failing grade. Teachers Union has been vocal since Sincerely, a child who is unprepared, it is equally But we are not in any way, shape or form March that the district come up with a Stephanie Lindeborg unfair to blame/label that child. in a usual situation. Wifi is unreliable, feasible plan to get students into schools. Michael J. Maguire These are my wishes which live in older students often have to care for The district has not responded to either the subjunctive mood. My grade book, their younger siblings when at home, the teachers’ or the parents’ pleas. (Stephanie Lindeborg, teacher at Bos- however, dwells in the indicative mood. Zoom fatigue is real and consequential. The major problem Boston faces in ton Latin Academy and BTU building (Latin humor). But just because I must The list goes on and on. Not to mention returning to in person instruction is representative there, and Michael J. Magu- use As and Bs does not mean that I have the impossibility of controlling the decades of deferred maintenance on our ire, teacher at Boston Latin Academy, to grade harshly or adhere to a rigid testing environment, even with cameras buildings. Forget HVAC systems, many member of the BTU Executive Board.) submission schedule. on. Therefore I cannot with a clean of our windows won’t open. We have (Published on November 1, 2020 in the I am very tolerant and understanding conscience use the same grading schema uneven heat and virtually no AC. COV- Boston Herald.) Open Letter to Mayor Martin Walsh Keep Our Kids Alive am writing this open letter to Mayor initiate a dialogue, starting in March, ventilation/filtra- I Walsh as a City of Boston constituent, 2020 through present and continue to be tion, BPS chose to employee, a Boston Public Schools (BPS) largely ignored. reopen anyway. parent, a BPS spouse, a BPS employee Decisions made at the district level Mayor Walsh even and as an essential worker. were not informed by school based nurs- went as far to say I would like to preface this letter with es. This not only feels like a huge oppor- that BPS build- the statement that as a Registered Nurse, tunity missed - I mean how many people ings have adequate I am an essential worker regardless of can say they have a virtual STEM think ventilation. This where I’m employed and I chose a career tank full of educators and healthcare pro- statement is base- path that places me at risk for infection, fessionals at their disposal, yet failed to less and mislead- illness and death. I am not writing this include us in the reopening process. It is ing. We know that letter on my behalf, but on the behalf of important to note because school based HEPA filtration/ Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Mayor Marty Walsh, Lauren O’Malley-Singh BPS families and staff who did not choose nurses as well as STEM educators have upgraded HVAC & Uma Singh on her First Day of School, 2019. to be placed at risk. I am writing with a intricate scientific foundational under- filters to MERV-13 singular intention and goal of student & standings of our school buildings and the or better are the current national and filtration is HEPA filtration, as recom- staff health, safety, social-emotional well- logistics within our school communities. global public health recommendations. mended by the CDC. Mayor Walsh has being and academic achievement. We know that protocol/policy/safety Mayor Walsh is providing disinforma- not provided any schools with HEPA fil- I cannot sit back while Mayor Walsh measure is only as good as its adherabil- tion to students, staff and families about ters. Mayor Walsh is actively complicit in & Dr. Cassellius rush into reopening ity. ventilation in our school buildings. Only placing his employees and BPS children schools when very little was done to With an October 1st deadline, BPS staff 37 of our 125 school buildings have an at risk for illness and death. improve them while they were closed. and BTU members participated in safety HVAC system with a filtration capabil- If I cannot appeal to Mayor Walsh’s Mayor Walsh has insisted twice now walkthroughs, in all 125 school buildings ity. The remaining 88 schools have been humanity, perhaps I can appeal to his that our most vulnerable populations in the district. We placed ourselves at risk instructed to open partially opening budget. A HEPA filter for 800 ft² costs return to school buildings. I’m not to do this, understanding the buildings windows and plug in a box fan. roughly $150. This is not beyond the City including Dr. Casselius in that statement, were unsafe. We performed the safety This demonstration was lauded by of Boston’s capabilities and I call upon as he hires Boston Public Schools’ super- walkthroughs and shared the concerning Michael Loconto, former School Com- the Mayor to immediately disburse funds intendents and our School Committee findings with Mayor Walsh. My school’s mittee Chairperson, as best practice. As for HEPA filtration in classrooms. HEPA Members which I imagine prevents first walkthrough accumulated 3 checks a healthcare provider, I am appalled and filtration in each classroom cannot pos- independent decision making in the best on the roughly 50 item checklist. My embarrassed. This isn’t a best practice. sibly cost more than your current plan interest of BPS students, families and school’s second walkthrough accumu- This isn’t even good practice. This is in place: keeping windows open through staff. This is politically, logistically and lated a few more, but nothing close to a bad practice. A partially opening win- the winter season, thus increasing heat- systemically problematic; I digress. “safe” status prior to schools reopening to dow combined with a box fan actually ing usage and costs. As far as school reopening conversa- students. recirculates the virus into the air. This If I cannot appeal to Mayor Walsh’s tions go - there was very little dialogue The most egregious of all of the safety information has been shared with Mayor humanity nor his budget, perhaps I can between BPS School Based Nurses and violations, however, is the unsafe air qual- Walsh by the BTU in collaboration with appeal to his interest in avoiding litiga- district level leaders in Health Services. ity and lack of filtration and ventilation. MassCOSH. Adequate ventilation in tion. Mayor Walsh, how are you ensur- BPS School Based Nurses attempted to Despite this glaring issue of inadequate the absence of an HVAC system with continued on page 5 4 | BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 Adrianne Jordan volunteering with the Red Cross to deliver turkeys to our students across the City of Boston on behalf of the Boston Teachers Union.

What a pleasure to service our students and families during these difficult times. Keep Our Kids Alive… continued from page 4 ing our BPS children with Asthma and I have not received it. What do we do • We know we have poorly venti- º Create district-wide policies on Sickle Cell are not being triggered into with a symptomatic student who takes lated buildings how to handle non-adherence Sickle Cell Crises and Asthma Attacks, a MBTA/bus/walks to school without • COVID-19 in its airborne state to the mitigation strategies by with open windows in November? These alternative transportation? That was remains suspended in the air for those in school buildings. As it children would be immediately brought the exact situation at hand. I would be hours and travels beyond 6’ stands, we do not have a policy to emergency rooms all over the city. remiss if I didn’t also share that Mayor • Brief encounters throughout a around that - it is being left up Have you prepared our city hospitals Walsh, you had all of this knowledge of day constitute Close Contact. to the schools. to prepare their pediatric Emergency how the first COVID-19 + case went This new criteria was born out º Create district-wide proce- Rooms and ICUs for this horrific sce- in BPS on the eve of your choosing of a study that aligns closely with dures on how information nario, Mayor Walsh? to keep our school buildings open > situations we find ourselves in as about a covid + case in a school The first reopening in October was 4% positivity rate. Your actions speak school based staff. This particular is communicated to families unnecessarily terrifying. The face masks volumes. statement struck me deeply: including next steps. I received for symptomatic students/staff As the days, weeks and months go by, º “the employee did have • Align school safety practices with are not FDA approved Surgical Masks, we have learned more about COVID-19 ‘numerous brief (one-minute) national guidelines, not DESE as required through DESE. They’re face that needs our attention as a city: encounters that cumulatively guidelines, as Jeff C. Riley is not masks and are ineffective in preventing • Independent air quality tests to exceeded 15 minutes.' During a medical professional nor public respiratory transmission of diseases. I’ve determine baseline air quality, his eight-hour shift, he was health expert. requested appropriate masks since Octo- without deviation from best stan- within six feet of an infected As we look towards the future with ber 15th. I was told they were at the Bol- dards of practice. person an estimated 22 times, BPS rushing to reopen amidst a pan- ling Building. I offered to go there to pick • COVID-19 is airborne. for a total of about 17 minutes demic during flu season, I remain ter- up the masks and I was told they’re in a º This means the size of a of exposure.” rified. We still don’t have PPE, safer air vendor warehouse. I have no idea where COVID-19 respiratory par- • Follow CDC Guidelines: quality, nor do we have district guidance these masks are and to this day still have ticulate can be as small as 0.3 º Implement in-school COV- on in-building protocols to follow in a no effective PPE for symptomatic people μm. That automatically tells ID-19 rapid antigen testing pandemic setting. Students and staff are in my school. us that adequate air filtration with the expectation that BPS being placed at risk for illness and death. Days into the first reopening, BPS would include MERV-15 (or will be included in part of One single life lost due to the political had its first known COVID-19 + case. at least 13) filters in our filtered the 2 million test distribution and economic pressures trickling down There was no district guidance for HVAC BPS buildings and por- to MA schools - this would to our city's leadership is unacceptable. a building protocol to follow, so the table HEPA filters throughout require immediate attention Further, a single life lost due to this egre- school based nurse received telephone the rest. to coordinate, as it requires gious neglect of our buildings by sending triage from the district-level Health º This also means the only PPE particular credentialing for students and staff into buildings with Services. There is no formal guidance that effectively prevents air- these rapid antigen testing to unsafe air safety will fall solely on the on what in-building procedure to borne transmission is N95 be performed. shoulders of our city’s leadership. follow if a student or staff is actively respirators. º PPE for Airborne Transmis- Mayor Walsh, the city is watching and COVID-19 + in a BPS building - I have • It’s potential to be airborne sion we are voting. asked for it multiple times including increases in poorly ventilated º Air filtration for Airborne Signed, asking Dr. Cassellius personally and buildings Transmission Lauren O’Malley-Singh, MSN, RN

BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 | 5 Peer-to-Peer Kelly McDermott Reading, Writing and Talking with Kelly: Learning from and with Our Students hen I was at Cambridge Rindge mark on a page, one of many that across chromebooks, longing for hugs and joy Some would have us arguing for only Wand Latin, in the early 90’s, the a lifetime may shape or alter an identity and connection, can we help them see phonics or only comprehension, only high school was provided with fund- for good or for bad or for naught?”. reading and writing and talk as essential fluency or only vocabulary instruction ing and equipment to allow city kids a We find it easy to compartmentalize tools for building identity and reaching but as educators, we have to understand chance to learn to ski. A group of friends literacy learning. We allow students to out to the complexity that is the world that it all matters. A comprehensive demanded I join them. This required engage in lots of “reading” activities with- of 2020? Or will we get bogged down in frame for literacy teaching and learning waking before the sun rose and a crack out actually ensuring students are the the bits and teach a lesson on grammar, remains a critical tool missing from each of dawn trip to Youth Opportunities and ones reading, writing and conversing in a lesson on phonics, a lesson on making and every packaged curriculum. To be Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.) in the South increasingly complex ways. Phonics, flu- text-to-text connections? responsive, flexible teachers capable of End to pick out ill fitting skis and boots. ency, vocabulary, comprehension within, Don’t get me wrong, these can all be reaching a wide array of student needs, On the slow drive to New Hampshire, about and beyond the text, how we hear critical details to support and expand a we must understand how to teach our dozing and chatting, friends would eas- and manipulate sounds as readers and student’s current capacity, but when used readers and our writers through multiple ily convince me to forgo lessons with an writers, prefixes, suffixes, the syntax and en-masse, these bits can also be part of texts daily, weekly and monthly. We must expert instructor. On each trip, friends semantics from sentence to sentence…. the “dumbing down of curriculum”, a watch our students closely as they engage would take me to the top of a moun- it all matters, but for students, the emo- practice often pushed upon large urban in the act of reading connected text and tain, shout two bits of info over their tional connection to becoming literate districts when smaller, more privileged writing out their ideas and talking with shoulders and leave me there. I would is paramount. We cannot afford for our school systems are promoting dialogue their peers. Yes, this is doubly challeng- push off half heartedly. Before reaching students to sit by the fire without a book and inquiry and student independence ing as we teach remotely and in-person, a halfway mark, my boots would fall off in their hands. as a means to leverage access for all. but in order to take note of subtle chang- and I would tumble into the snow. Cold “Do students engage in conversation “If we keep a focus on the larger pic- es over time, we must see student learn- and miserable, I would trudge down the to open their world or do they want ture of becoming increasingly literate, ing as it occurs, in real time. We must mountain past the bunny slope where clear demarcations between good and can we still teach the bits?” Of course. jot down tiny celebrations each day, new others engaged in lessons, learning bad, right and wrong?” Our society is We utilize multiple texts, 5-10 each day, words, ideas and understandings as they slowly and with support. Hours later, my growing increasingly divided. Families to ensure breadth and depth and as emerge, making a map of all they know friends would find me alone, inside the are turning on each other, rather than students interact, reading and writing and can do. lodge, next to a blazing fire with some hearing each other out and saying, “I and talking we remind and deliberately As educators, we are charged with warm drink in my hand. I am not, nor disagree, but I hear your point”. Teaching instruct and “catch” them doing what helping students develop a love of read- ever will be, a skier. students to become critical of informa- we need them to do more of. “Yes! That ing through reading aloud, indepen- What does this have to do with read- tion online, to create ideas rather than makes sense, reread it again and be sure it dent reading and by exposing children ing and writing? The power of teacher just to consume them and to continue looks right too!”. “Does that sound right to a wide array of texts, scaffolding as feedback, of having a knowledgeable to grow as learners through digital com- to you? Check it and be sure it sounds needed to ensure access to a diverse set other at our elbow as we learn or expand munities is part of our work too. Civic right and makes sense!”, this is what we of authentic, intact and unadapted texts. our current capacity matters greatly. engagement, moving beyond headlines sound like as we put students in control Students should have frequent opportu- “How do your readers feel about read- and soundbites and searching for nuance of self-monitoring, searching for more nities each day for discussing and writing ing? Will they do it without you? How in the news remains critical in remote, information and discovering new things about reading in order to develop criti- do your writers feel about writing? Will hybrid and face-to face instruction. for themselves. cal thinking skills and to demonstrate they engage in writing to help them- This is literacy learning. In the upper grades, we engage stu- understanding. selves learn? To expand understanding? In this day and age, with few stu- dents in word study, analyzing roots, The Massachusetts frameworks require To process? Or only for a grade, a small dents at our side and many at home, on and prefixes and suffixes as they grapple us to, “select works of fiction and non- with extrapolating meaning from a text. fiction that instill in students a deep Poetry and spoken word and perfor- appreciation for art, beauty, and truth, RESOURCES TO EXPLORE mances carry power, as the meaning while broadening their understanding Videos: must be inferred and each word carries of the human condition from differing A Culture of Reading: https://vimeo.com/124937009 weight. Choice and intrinsic motivation points of view. Reading, discussing, and Jason Reynolds on Book Haters: matter more than schools have cared to writing about high-quality prose and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fFmiHWltlQ acknowledge historically. Our readers poetry should also help students develop Accountable Talk Third Grade Example of Student Run Discussion: are sometimes quiet about this and other empathy for one another and a sense of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGRUOz2pJzk times are quite vocal, telling us, “don’t put their shared values and literary heritage, Effective Early Literacy Practice Video Library: me in a box….I’ve been reading all my while learning about who they are as https://readingrecovery.org/professional-learning/ life but all I like comic books and they individuals and developing the capacity effective-literacy-practices-video-library/ don’t count in school”. for independent, rigorous thinking”. As If we affirmed the fact that children Boston Public School educators we value Readings: need meaningful interactions to develop all students carry with them, the love of The guiding principles (pages 15 and 16) deep understandings, we might ensure family and community, the energy of this Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for English Language Arts: that literacy learning be rooted in joy- city as it works to bridge years of negativ- https://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/2017-06.pdf ous, culturally relevant texts, talk and ity. We partner with our students, find- Four Ways Kids Use Self-Monitoring to Learn: socializing with peers along with clear, ing resources to help survive the hard https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking- intentional teaching in regards to phono- bits, sharing their brilliance with them differences/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning- logical awareness, orthography, phonics and with others. We find ways to do this issues/4-ways-kids-use-self-monitoring-to-learn and ongoing word study. remotely, in hybrid or face-to-face set- Keeping virtual learning real for early readers: If we were to acknowledge that all our tings. https://literacypages.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/ students come to school carrying with We must consider, “Who will kids be raising-remote-readers-keeping-it-real/ them rich language experiences from as readers, writers and thinkers after a their home culture and if we honored year in our care? (Gallagher, 2020)” and Blogs: the fact that each dialect and language is we must plan deliberately for scaffolded, The Mind Online Podcast: made up of patterns developed socially, joyful daily instruction including: https://www.tolerance.org/podcasts/the-mind-online historically and culturally over eons, we • Reading Aloud Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking Virtually in the Early Years: could help students map their language • Shared and Close Reading https://readingrecovery.org/teaching-literacy-in-a-virtual-world/ onto the language of books and expand • Guided Reading Zaretta Hammond Breaking out of the Bilingualism Double Standard: their ability to read, write and talk across • Independent Reading https://crtandthebrain.com/breaking-out-of-the-bilingualism-double-standard/ varied genres and purposes. • Writing across Genre Zaretta Hammond Start with Responsive: Inviting students into a literate world • Writing About Reading https://crtandthebrain.com/start-with-responsive/ goes far beyond telling them what to do, • Phonics, Phonemic Awareness and Centering Reading Joy in the Virtual Classroom: what to read and forever making them Word Study https://pernillesripp.com/2020/08/25/centering-reading-joy-in-the-virtual- write to a prompt. It requires valuing the • Intense Analytical Opportunities to classroom/ oral language they bring to school from Communicate with Each Other Digital Notebooks for Reading Identity Development: home and community. It requires breath- • Reading, Writing and Talking must https://pernillesripp.com/2020/07/23/a-work-in-progress- ing life into the guiding principles of the occur across art and music, math- digital-notebooks-for-reading-identity-development/ Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks ematics, science, history, physical Cult of Pedagogy Blog Remote Learning Varied Posts: for English Language Arts to ensure that education and every other possible https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/tag/remote-learning/ reading, writing, speaking and listening aspect of daily life becomes the work of our students in each Reading, writing and talking as math- And a Webinar: discipline, that this work is in their hands ematicians, as scientists, as artists and Getting Your Hands Down Conversation as often as possible and that we are their musicians, as civilians posed to cast a Going In Person or Online Webinar: coaches and guides, pointing up letters, calculated ballot, these are all important. https://page.stenhouse.com/webinar-wedekind- words, phrases and nuances of meaning We do not know who they will become. thompson?hsCtaTracking=ba116437-9f92-4d09-8596- only when they cannot discover these Learning from and with our students a62ccb943bb1%7C55f1f599-e61e-48bc-a013-d593c017ddab things for themselves. continued on page 7

6 | BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 Retired Teachers Chapter Letter to the Editor Joan Devlin, RTC Secretary The ABCs of the RTC Change the Name here comes a time when a city Today, Confederate monuments, e hope that you are surviving this be found on that page. Tspeaks as one and acts as one. The symbols of the traitors to the United Wpandemic and staying well. Please In addition to the monthly article planes originating from Boston on 9/11 States, are rapidly coming down; even remember to wear your mask every time in this paper, the RTC emails bulletins brought sorrow and pain to our city and our military seeks their removal. "There you go out, wash your hands frequently with all of the information that affects the region; residents came together in is a difference in the remembrance of and maintain your social distance. What our members – events; meetings; an outpouring of public support. Again, history and the reverence of it.", stated a year! opportunities for participation in union with the Marathon Bombing, Boston Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans There are two things that we can events like rallies and demonstrations; responded in a way that the residuals of in his 2017 address on the removal of celebrate. First, the presidential election political action; and legislation. Please reverence remain. So too, should the City Confederate monuments from public is over. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris notify the RTC office of your personal of Boston and its elected officials consider property. His political foresight and will be inaugurated January 20, 2021. email. We keep those emails to provide the renaming of Faneuil Hall, previously courage helped propel a movement Second, progress on finding a vaccine for you with quick access to information that nicknamed "The Cradle of Liberty,” at the throughout the southern states, and this virus seems to be progressing with you need. We do not share them beyond time of its construction, in 1792. consequently across the United States. some hope that we will have distribution the BTU. Many might ask; Why, amid a lethal Mayor Walsh similarly used his political of the first rounds of the vaccine in early The legislative committee continues to pandemic, a racial revolution, economic capital to change Yawkey Street back to 2021 with general distribution as early as fight for a better structure for our COLA insecurity, and the horrific realization Jersey Street, due to Thomas Yawkey's April 2021. Good news indeed. base. The base is currently $14,000. When that normal may never be normal again, obstinate bigotry. This writer believes If you know of colleagues that have the Boston Retirement Board calculates a would the removal of the name Faneuil that the name should have been changed recently retired, please remind them Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) raise from a public building be so crucial to to Yawkey Foundation Way, recognizing that they must sign up to join the for retirees it applies only to the COLA Bostonians moving forward as one? It the road to redemption followed by the Retired Teacher Chapter. Dues are $5 base of $14,000. Over time, this erodes would rebuke, in part, Boston's perceived Yawkey Family; A road to redemption per month for teachers and $2.50 for the value of the pension putting Boston or unperceived narrative of a legacy of Peter Faneuil never traveled and never paraprofessionals. Retirees who want retirees at a disadvantage. The committee racial and gender inequity. It would say will. to join the RTC Delta Dental after their is meeting with representatives of the to people of color in this city, whose ties Mayor Walsh has invoked the Land- COBRA benefits have ended must be Mayor’s office, the Boston Retirement to slavery, from the wrong end of it, need mark Commission's powers to change dues paying members of the RTC. Board, City Council members and due process, and as poet Gil Scott Heron the name of Dudley Square to Nubian Chapter Office is open every Representatives and Senators to the describes it saying, Square (another slaving civilization) Wednesday and Thursday from 10 Massachusetts legislature to improve the “They call it due process, and some and the removal of a white supremacy am-2pm. The BTU office is closed but COLA base. people are overdue. “ statue from Park Square, depicting a members can call 617-288-2000 or There are four elected officers of It will not close the economic dispari- slave, kneeling at the feet of President email Marilyn Marion at mmarion@ the RTC. These offices are Chair, ties among races, nor will it desegregate Abraham Lincoln. If the mayor intends btu.org or Roz Avant at ravant@btu. Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. the schools or the numerous neighbor- to the right the wrongs of the past, why org, to get information, applications for Elections to these offices are part of the hoods which have become gateless gated stop short? It all boils down to consis- membership and benefits. We also have BTU elections. The Executive Board communities. However, it will signal to tency vs. hypocrisy. On the one hand, a section on the BTU website www.btu. of the RTC consists of the Chairs and our visitors, students, nation, and beyond Mayor Walsh’s hesitancy to return the org under Resources. The site provides Co-chairs of the RTC committees. The that, Boston is evolving. damaged Christopher Columbus statue additional information about benefits. BTU election committee is meeting While Boston's elected officials have in the North End until the city could Delta Dental is once again offering now and will be publishing the rules, been reticent or even fearful of open assess its historical meaning and, on the a 15% reduction in the premium cost regulations and timelines of the debate, organizations such as The New other, refuse to do the same for Faneuil for one month. The details are not yet upcoming elections. Primary elections Democracy Coalition, civic, religious Hall. This was done without a public available, but we expect to have a one- are held the first Wednesday in May leaders of all ilks, and even Bostonians hearing. Within a matter of days, the city month reduction and then resume the if there are more candidates than that are direct descendants of slaves, have determined Columbus passed the moral regular premium. The cost of the Delta positions. Final elections are held on pressed the issue, to the point where the smell test and should remain, an appar- Dental premium will remain at the the first Wednesday in June. world is watching. In three years, the ent slight to the Indigenous and progres- current rate. Members are reminded to update notion of removing the name of Faneuil sive people in our city, who seek change We have a Facebook page with articles their information if they move, change from a public building in Boston has and respect for a diversity of views and its and information of interest to our their phone number or email address. gone from ridiculous to plausible. Mayor citizenry’s heritage. members. You are invited to drop by and Having the latest information about you Martin Walsh has declined to respond A policy of appeasement that seeks like our page. The latest information can allows us to keep in contact. to a twenty-week old request for a con- to equate the changing of street names, versation with proponents. The Boston removal of offensive statues, or renaming City Council members, as individuals, of neighborhood squares to changing the Reading, Writing and Talking with Kelly… have at least on occasion, engaged in name of Faneuil Hall does not reflect the dialogue, albeit contentious and some- reality of our times or the world-wide continued from page 6 times respectful. However, they have value of changing the name. Simply put, means we collaborate with colleagues to Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, El failed to execute the most fundamental removing Faneuil's name has greater ensure we are working from a strength Salvadorans, Peruvians, Ecuadorians, doctrine of democracy, listening to the redeemable and societal benefit, coming based lens and constantly asking “what Mexicans, Brazilians and a million com- people. Ignoring calls for a public hear- down, than remaining. It would essen- can they do?, how can I help expand that binations. Within that, our students may ing for nearly three years suggests the tially reinforce the doctrine, “All Bosto- at this moment in time?”. We must work be Afro-Cuban, light-skinned Latinx, dearth of political and moral courage nians Matter.” together to not overwhelm their pro- Indios not speaking Spanish. Asian runs deep. The council appears uncon- It is incredulous to believe that Bos- cessing systems so as to value each and students arrive from Cambodia and cerned this might be a litmus test in next ton’s competent city leaders have not rec- every bit of their lives they are willing to Laos or have been here for generations year's municipal elections. Mayor Martin ognized the offense of whitewashing the share with us, to allow them to grapple and are Vietnemese, Chinese, Japanese, Walsh may also enjoy such political capi- deeds of Peter Faneuil and continuing to with complexity in our care, with scaf- Filipino. White students may be old or tal that supporting a continuing legacy hold his name in reverence. folded support, so they do not feel they new immigrants from Saudi Arabia, of Peter Faneuil will not impact his pros- The Walsh Administration’s persistent are flailing, so they do not walk down Ireland or Armenia. Rich and poor, well pects for a potential Biden Administra- mathematical problem of rhetoric not the mountain alone. We do not know educated or new to school, they are ours, tion appointment. Regardless, with an adding up to policies can be mitigated, to who they will grow up to be. Two of my our neighbors and families, our students, at-large city council race decided by one some degree, by a willingness to change former students have become my banker our hearts, our reason for getting up and vote in 2019, and a ubiquitous domino on this and other issues. It is unbecoming and my pharmacist. “What did I do to coming to work each day. There are layers effect in America and Europe of the of a “progressive city “and a “progressive” prepare them for that? What could I do upon layers of culture that the publish- discarding symbols of slavery, neither mayor. now, knowing how limitless they are? “ ing industry has not even contemplated the mayor nor city council should find The Boston City Council has rendered Massive exposure to a wide array but we know. They are our students. We comfort or refuge in the obstinance and itself irrelevant on this issue, even while of texts and text types must become an must let them write their stories, find ambivalence of the past. under the tutelage of two African Ameri- essential part of each school day, regard- their voices and teach us about the world, Peter Faneuil, an 18th Century Bos- can city council presidents. It is time for less of a grade level curriculum. As criti- day in, day out. ton merchant, was known for his busi- them to assert political and moral leader- cal consumers we need to draw our stu- ness acumen. He obtained his wealth ship, compassion, and reverence to the dents’ writing into the limelight. There is (This month’s P2P is written by our from inheritance and his participation history we now know to be true. no other way to show we value the voices special guest Kelly McDermott. Kelly is in the commodity market. Included Some astute political thinkers of from our community. Our students are currently serving as a literacy coach for in those commodities were human many backgrounds believe the window our community. but they do not always grades 2-6 at The Dr. William W. Hen- beings. Active in the slave trade until of opportunity for change is now. Faneuil see themselves in books. When the social derson K-12 Inclusion School. Kelly L. his death in 1742, Peter Faneuil also Hall no longer represents who we are as a construct of Blackness includes a million McDermott also works as an adjunct pro- owned five human beings valued today city. The Mayor and the Landmark Com- variations; African-American, Haitain, fessor at Lesley University. For ten years, at $123,679.68, making him “the worst of mission are due gratitude for the changes Jamaican, Cape Verdean, Nigerian, Kelly worked in the Boston Public Schools the worst.” His participation and reliance they have made. Somali and on and on, and each fam- serving in the Department of English Lan- on human trafficking for the financing of Tiny steps are good; bigger steps are ily may have been here for eons or be a guage Arts and Literacy as the Reading Faneuil Hall trumps the misdeeds of the better. recent arrival. They may have come with Recovery Teacher Leader and still serves confederates and dwarfs the ignorance of – Barry Lawton wealth or faced poverty and rose above as chair of the Reading Recovery Council a professional baseball owner. it or be grappling still. Latinx includes of North America’s advocacy committee.)

BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020 | 7 The Boston Teachers Union Backs Winners!!!

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley with Russell Weiss-Irwin and Johnny McInnis at the Lila Frederick.

BTU Political Director Johnny McInnis in Natick.

Paraprofessional Field Rep. Colleen Hart and BTU Political Director Johnny McInnis in Weymouth.

COPE Committee member Keisha Lewis standing out for our endorsed candidates. Senator Ed Markey at the BTU Pilot School.

BBOSTON TEACHERSU TUNION AFT Votes for Biden. #BTUVotes BTU November 3 Election Results U.S. PRESIDENT Joe Biden

U.S. VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris

U.S. SENATOR – MASSACHUSETTS Edward Markey

U.S. CONGRESS – MASSACHUSETTS MA 2nd Congressional - James McGovern MA 3rd Congressional - Lori Trahan Senator Mike Brady at the MA 5th Congressional - Katherine Clark GBLC Labor Day event MA 7th Congressional - Ayanna Pressley with BTU Political Director th Johnny McInnis. MA 9 Congressional - William Keating MASSACHUSETTS STATE SENATE INCUMBENTS Everett City Councilor Gerly Adrien State Senator , Cape and Islands and Black Caucus President Adrianne State Senator Patricia Jehlen, Second Middlesex Jordan of the BTU in Everett City Hall. State Senator Mike Brady, Second Plymouth and Bristol – Photos by Adrianne Jordan State Senator , First Plymouth and Bristol State Senator Patrick O’Connor, Plymouth and Norfolk State Senator Nick Collins, First Suffolk State Senator Rebecca Rausch, Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex State Senator , Second Middlesex and Norfolk State Senator , Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth

MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INCUMBENTS State Representative Thomas Vitolo, 15th Norfolk State Representative Thomas Stanley, 9th Middlesex State Representative Christine Barber, 34th Middlesex State Representative Liz Miranda, 5th Suffolk State Representative Jon Santiago, 9th Suffolk State Representative Nika Elugardo, 15th Suffolk State Representative Kevin Honan, 17th Suffolk State Representative David Rogers, 24th Middlesex State Representative Daniel Ryan, 2nd Suffolk Adrianne Jordan campaigns for the re-election of Gerly Adrien, the only woman of color on the Everett City Council. Adrianne Jordan is Chair of NON-INCUMBENTS FOR MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the BTU Black Caucus Andrianne went to Everett to support our fellow Erika Uyterhoeven, 27th Middlesex colleagues of color and multicultural ethnicities in the fields of education th and educational studies, as well as to bring solidarity to our union Brandy Fluker-Oakley, 12 Suffolk th members. Rob Consalvo, 14 Suffolk 8 | BOSTON UNION TEACHER | December, 2020