GEA Update - March 17, 2021. Full return to school MOU.

 Dear Colleagues:


The Negotiating Team met yesterday (3/16) with Superintendent Jacobs and the School Committee to finalize the "Full All In" MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).  This MOU has the full endorsement of the Negotiating Team and we are looking to have a ratification vote conducted electronically next Thursday, March 25th.  An electronic ballot will be sent to your personal email accounts next Thursday morning and voting will remain open until 5:00 PM.  If ratified, the MOU will go into effect on April 5th.


Please keep in mind that there are always unforeseen and unknown components or factors that will always occur once an MOU is ratified.  The Superintendent, School Committee and the GEA are committed to keeping the lines of communication open to discuss and address those issues in a collaborative manner.


I want to thank the members of the Negotiating Team for all their hard work, for attending numerous meetings and their leadership.  The Negotiating Team members are:


Meg Johnson

Veronica Schaefer

Corey Chenette

Patrick Corr

Chris Difranco and

Tim Larson 


As always, if you have any questions please forward them to me.

 




                                                    Full All In Proposals


 District will continue to supply all PPE equipment, including to but not limited to, masks, gloves, gowns, lights, air ventilation machines, etc. at no additional cost to a member.

 If any grade level at the elementary school has 15 or more students that choose to remain remote for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, regardless of who’s class each student is in, a teacher at that grade level will have the option of becoming a remote learning teacher for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. Preferential priority will be forwarded to those members at each grade level with diagnosed health issues to be the remote teacher, if they so choose.   

 Mask wearing will remain mandatory for all people inside the building at all times, except for snacks, lunch or breaks at teacher discretion.

 The district will continue to honor the quarantining language for all members from the hybrid MOU and allow members that need to quarantine without any loss of their sick time for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers will be able to teach from home if they are quarantined or if they must be home to care for a child that is quarantining.

 The district will suspend all duties for members for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, other than study halls, including recess duty at the elementary school and bathroom duty and hall sweeps at the middle/high school to make up for lost planning times that were set aside on Monday afternoons.  Study halls at the middle/high school will be redistributed evenly amongst members.

 The district will suspend all future staff, GLM, department and department head meetings for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year to make up for loss planning time that were set aside on Monday afternoons. Team time at the middle/high school will be at the team discretion. April grade level meetings at Penn Brook will be held.

Student and staff desks, tables and work stations can be set up with 3 - 6 feet social distancing, with 6 feet being preferable, but not required according to DESE guidelines. These distancing measures will apply in the hallways and common areas as well.

The School Committee is committed to pooled testing through April 18, 2021. If the participation rate increases to 70% by April 8, 2021 and there are state funds available,  the district will continue with pooled testing for the rest of the year.  

The district will continue to monitor weekly COVID numbers and consider them in decisions such as returning to the hybrid.  

 If a teacher chooses to conduct their classes outside in nicer weather, appropriate asynchronous work will be left for students learning remotely and live streaming/zooming classes outside for students learning remotely will be at the teacher discretion. Remote students will have access to the core instruction, assignments and teachers for clarifying questions. Teachers will alert the administration when they leave the building for class. 

 If an in-person student is not able to come to school due to receiving a positive COVID test result or being identified and quarantined as a close contact the student may attend class virtually.

 The items contained in this MOU will expire on the last day of the school year in June 2021.

This is not part of the MOU, however, both schools will have tents set up to handle all lunches at Penn Brook and at GMHS.  

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