Rocky Hill Teachers' Association (RHTA)

Stakeholders Meeting #1

CEA Meeting July 24 2020

RHTA Update July 23, 2020

July 21st RHTA Update

Families First Coronavirus Act

Memo To: RHTA Membership

From: Lori Cebelius and Michelle Bartha, Co-Presidents

Re: CLOSURE 2020; March 27, 2020; 4:53pm

Remember to continue to check our website for updates. We are in constant contact with our superintendent and having conversations regarding workloads, etc.

Stay tuned.

We hope you are all doing well. We have a couple of newsworthy items to share.

• First and foremost, effective immediately, all components of the Teacher Evaluation and Support Plan are waived.  This extends to teachers as well as administrators. The SDE continues to recommend that opportunities for professional learning should continue to whatever extent possible.
• If you hold a Professional Educator Certificate and it is up for renewal, remember it is your responsibility to apply for renewal prior to expiration. In ordinary times, it takes up to 6 weeks to process. You may expect that it will take longer under the current circumstances.  It is easy to do online and is cost free.
• If you hold an Initial or Provisional Certificate, or 5-year Coaching Permit with an expiration date falling between the dates of 3/15/20 and 12/31/20, the Bureau of Standards and Certification will extend the expiration date for 1-year from the date of its original expiration.
• Effective immediately, the Bureau of Educator Standards and Certification will extend the expiration date of all Initial and Provisional Certificates (including Interim) and 5-Year Coaching Permits with expiration dates between 3/15/20 and 12/31/20 for 1-year from the date of original expiration. This extension does not apply to 90-Day Certificates or Long-Term Substitute Authorizations. If you hold one of those certifications, you will need to apply for renewal at the time of expiration.
• TEAM now has additional time built into the program in light of the current circumstances. Deadline dates for teachers currently participating in TEAM are: the 9/1 dates will be extended to 2/15 of the following year and the 2/15 deadline will be extended to 8/1. It is important for teachers and their mentors to continue to work together virtually.  Teachers may continue to work on their modules where it makes sense to do so. It is not required that modules be completed during this time.
• Remember to treat Google Classroom/Chats/Hangouts as you would a district email.  Be aware that these methods of communication can be subpoenaed as part of the Freedom of Information Act. Keep all of your messages professional.
• Our buildings are closed.  At this time each building has a member of the custodial staff there during the daytime.  No one is allowed in. Administrators have limited access. After an administrator leaves, the areas visited are sterilized again.
• Having an administrator added to your classroom platform serves two purposes.  They are able to see that instruction is being delivered and will be able to support you should an issue be raised through the model of Interim Learning. They are very busy, and if they sporadically check into your classroom,  remember it is no different than if they were to stop into your physical classroom to visit (which is well within their right to do).   
• Our superintendent and the Board of Education are aware and appreciative of your extraordinary efforts to get Interim Learning off the ground.  

A couple of questions we were able to get answers to….

• I am using my own WIFI at home with a district device. How do I know that my personal information cannot be ‘hacked’?

WHILE USING YOUR SCHOOL-ISSUED DEVICE FOR SCHOOL-RELATED BUSINESS AND TEACHING ONLY, YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT AND CANNOT BE EXPOSED OR COMPROMISED. 

• 2. Will I have to pay additional charges when using my home WIFI?

THIS DEPENDS UPON THE AGREEMENT YOU HAVE WITH YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) AT HOME; HOWEVER, MOST ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS OFFER UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS. I RECOMMEND CONTACTING YOUR ISP TO CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE AN UNLIMITED SERVICE.

CEA.ORG has many resources related to COVID19 on its website including: 

• Guidance for learning at home
• Special Education and IEPs
• Student Privacy and Virtual Learning
• College Board: SAT and AP Exams
• Education apps
• Video tips
• Online citizenship
• CEA Coronavirus Information Center

Memo To: RHTA Membership

From: Lori Cebelius and Michelle Bartha, Co-Presidents

Re: Distance Learning 2020

March 20, 2020; noon

As we get closer to going to a distance learning model, we can expect to get new directives.  We will do our best to provide some clarity. Please keep in mind that once Monday comes around, more questions will occur to all of us.  The best thing is to always follow what your administrator tells you to do. It’s okay to let them know what your concerns are, and then share them with us as well.  Chances are, if you are concerned about the impact of any directive, someone else is as well.  

We learned today that the student’s chrome book cameras will be activated.  We also learned that their school email addresses will be activated. This is something new for the elementary faculty. Hopefully the district will lay out some parameters for students to abide by.  IF they do not, just as you would set up classroom expectations, you can set up distance learning expectations. In the long run, your own set of expectations will most likely be the ones that are most likely to stick in the minds of our parents/students. 

Some of our support people have been told to use google conferencing to provide services. We are still gathering answers on this. If your administrator gives you a directive, for right now you have to follow it. Luckily we do not begin any of this distance learning/servicing until Monday.That means changes will most likely come.  We were initially told that we would not be sitting at our kitchen tables delivering instruction via camera. However, google video conferencing is something different. We do recognize that. They can ask you to do a video conference via the platform we are using. What we know at this point is – you can block your camera. If you prefer, you can use *67 to make a call from your personal or district phone – incognito. Please stay tuned on this question. We still highly discourage the use of texting or calling from your personal cell phones.

More questions & answers….

Q.  I am using my own WiFi at home with a district device. How do I know that my personal information cannot be ‘hacked’?

WHILE USING YOUR SCHOOL-ISSUED DEVICE FOR SCHOOL-RELATED BUSINESS AND TEACHING ONLY, YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT AND CANNOT BE EXPOSED OR COMPROMISED. 

Q. Will I have to pay additional charges when using my home WiFi?

THIS DEPENDS UPON THE AGREEMENT YOU HAVE WITH YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) AT HOME; HOWEVER, MOST ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS OFFER UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS. I RECOMMEND CONTACTING YOUR ISP TO CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE AN UNLIMITED SERVICE.

Please continue to check our website for more updates. We are striving to keep up with the many questions that come our way. Take care and stay healthy.