Less than 24 hours before teachers were scheduled to give their first lessons of the new school year from their empty classrooms, the San Jose Unified School District decided to give them the choice to work from home.
San Jose Unified was one of only a handful of districts in the region, including Morgan Hill Unified, that planned to send teachers back to campuses, even without students there. Most of the teachers at Morgan Hill Unified appeared Monday.
“We received a promise from the union that those who teach at home would provide the same quality of instruction as those who teach from the classroom,” Jacqueline Murphy, director of human resources, said in an interview Tuesday. “That made us feel comfortable expanding the opportunity for all teachers to work from home.”
The last-minute reversal comes just two weeks after it and the San Jose Teachers Association reached an agreement requiring the majority of teachers to return to campus to deliver their virtual lessons. The deal was negotiated by the board of the union without a full vote of all the lecturers represented.
Prior to the new agreement, San Jose Unified had approved about 150 applications for employees to work from home for various health and personal reasons, but others were denied or discouraged from making the request, according to teachers.
In the last few weeks, teachers and parents have criticized the district’s demand, saying it was unnecessary to put teachers in the way by exposing them to more people, and potentially their chances of becoming infected. with COVID-19.
Most San Jose teachers have been on campus since late last week, prepping their classrooms, preparing lessons and taking various online training and professional development sessions.
At the time, one elementary school teacher said she had to report her principal to the district for not wearing a mask during conversations with teachers and staff and for having meetings with various staff around a small table in her office.
“I see things that make me uncomfortable,” said the teacher. “This is exactly why I did not want to be on campus because of these irresponsible practices.”
While many of the district’s teachers quit for the option to work from home, some say the last-minute decision is an example of his lack of communication and caution.
“It feels like it’s terribly late in the game and that this could have been a lot easier for everyone,” said a high school teacher in the neighborhood who asked not to be named out of concern for revenge. “But it’s still a win and that’s something to feel good about.”
Teachers received a dismissal from President Patrick Bernhardt of the San Jose Teachers Association at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to inform them that they can now choose where to work. The district’s new school year begins Wednesday morning.
Under the new agreement, all teachers are eligible to work from home, as long as they submit a form to the ward that registers their decision in advance. Teachers can go to campus to pick up materials, but once they make a decision to work from home, they will not be allowed to change their minds and go back. Any weekend agent who chooses to work from home and does not perform his duties responsibly will have disciplinary consequences, such as a dock in pay. Teachers will have this option at least until the Memorandum of Understanding of the district and the union on 26 September.
Kathy Hesse, a parent of a student at River Glen School, said she was happy to hear about the new agreement, but “wanted the neighborhood to be proactive, rather than reactive.”
“We need to treat our teachers with respect and (for teachers) not to ruin the confidence of the neighborhood,” Hesse said. “I would like the neighborhood to be able to do that without having to whore parents and teachers whore.”
Beginning Wednesday, San Jose Unified students will begin the 2020-2021 school year with a full school day of distance education – unlike most districts in the Bay Area that shorten schedules. The school day will be as long as ever, but is to take longer breaks so that students and teachers can save their eyes from computer screens.
After some confusion last semester, the district is using a new online learning platform called CANVAS.
Although district leaders say they are working closely with the company to get students and staff as soon as possible, the platform was not extended to students and parents until late Monday night. And since Tuesday, many parents and teachers have been having trouble signing up, getting several required codes and lessons uploaded.
An elementary school teacher said she found her crying in her classroom Tuesday morning after she could not locate any work she had uploaded to the platform for the next day’s lesson.
‘Why is this happening? I should spend time on curriculum and content, not technical issues, ”she said. “It’s just awful for everyone involved.”
Still, neighborhood officials say their top priority for Wednesday is to ensure students and faculty can – and will – get connected.
“We would like to get everyone sooner, but if you try to move a massive amount of data through the education bureau, there are a lot of moving parts,” said Jodi Lax, assistant superintendent of instruction for the ward. “This is a different reality than we ever had, but our staff has been positive and we look forward to the new year.”
