Napa Valley EA News
Representing NVUSD Teachers, Counselors, and Nurses
School Reopening Update - July 24, 2020
Good morning -
Here are the talking points from today's NVEA/NVUSD Council meeting:
Dear Teachers, Counselors and Nurses,
The NVEA/NVUSD Council has reached a tentative agreement related to COVID-19 issues such as safety, schedules, medical accommodations, assignments to Virtual Learning Academy, and the Continuing Professional Growth Process (“Evaluation”) during the 20-21 school year.
Both NVEA and NVUSD will review the MOU one final time with legal counsel. We expect to share the full text with members early next week.
We are happy to share with you that we also reached an agreement to provide an option for NVEA unit members to work from home during Phase One. An addendum detailing the guidelines and expectations for this option is included with the overall COVID-19 MOU we have drafted.
As this option is a change from the original expectation put forth in the reopening of school plan shared with the board and community, a communication to parents will be released today with the following message.
July 24, 2020
Dear NVUSD Families,
During last week’s board meeting, our leadership team presented our plan and options for the 2020-2021 return to school. As a part of the plan, during our Phase One distance learning, the district required all teachers to work on campus in their classrooms to increase accountability, ensure professionalism and productivity, provide access to technology tools and curricular resources, and facilitate individual meetings as needed between students, parents, and teachers.
Although this expectation was incorporated into our original reopening plan, the Napa Valley Educators’ Association (NVEA) has requested that the work from campus requirement be optional for NVUSD teachers during Phase One of our reopening plan. This request came after lots of concerns shared by our teacher workforce. NVUSD has been in negotiations with NVEA all week around the impacts of our reopening plan on working conditions. We want to support our teachers by being responsive given the extraordinary conditions we are all facing, and we know our dedicated teacher workforce must feel safe and focused in order to deliver on our promise of excellence in teaching and learning. The district has agreed to this change with very clear expectations and guidelines to ensure the work from home option does not impact the quality of the programs we deliver during Phase One.
During these same negotiations about the work from home option, we also agreed to a rigorous and robust schedule that includes synchronous learning time and support for our students during the teacher workday. Our commitment to a dramatically improved distance learning model remains unwavering. We want to be open and transparent about our negotiations with our teachers’ union since we discussed this element of our plan in a public forum.
While we are in Phase One and all our students are participating in distance learning, our campuses will still be open with select staff present as well as those teachers who chose to work on campus.
Teachers who choose not to work from campus can work from home under specific conditions, some of which include being able to provide an appropriate and professional workspace, including equipment needs and access to the internet. They may still be required to report for meetings, meet with parents, and or students or provide instruction on site as long as such meetings or instruction meet the county or CDC guidelines for Covid-19. If working from home causes disruptions to the delivery of high quality instruction, teachers will be expected to report to the worksite. All teachers will be required to report to the worksite on campus as the district prepares to implement Phase Two of the reopening plan which includes hybrid in person instruction.
We are all working collectively to ensure the distance learning experience provides an exceptional learning environment for all our students while prioritizing safety and health, and we appreciate your ongoing patience as elements of our plan change and evolve. Collaboration and partnership between district leadership, our teacher workforce, and families remains a key component to a successful start of school while pandemic conditions persist.
Best Regards,
Dr. Rosanna Mucetti
Superintendent
We know there will be questions, many of which will be answered when the MOU and the supporting documents are sent out next week. In the meantime we hope you have a good weekend and that you and your families stay safe and healthy.
NVEA Leadership
Digits
Email: nvea.cta@gmail.com
Website: NVEA.ORG
Location: 2160 Jefferson Street, Napa, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 363-1828
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NapaValleyEA/?ref=hl
Twitter: @NapaValleyEA