Jan 4, 2021 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2021
TODAY: Colorado Educators and Education Support Professionals Appreciation Day
Gov. Jared Polis proclamation expresses respect and gratitude for school staffs
This statement may be attributed to Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA):
“We thank Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. Nancy Todd for recognizing Colorado educators’ hard work under the most dire of circumstances this school year. We are grateful for the proclamation honoring Colorado educators and education support professionals. We would also like to thank Sen. Todd for her lifelong service to students as an educator and legislator.
“Starting the new year with this proclamation provides momentum to ensure every public school is a place with exceptional teaching and learning, no matter what neighborhood it serves. We look forward to working with the governor’s office and the state legislature to turn the powerful words in this proclamation into meaningful legislation that gives Colorado educators the resources they need to provide our students the public education they deserve. We will continue to work to increase public education funding in our state after a decade of more than $10 billion in cuts. We will fiercely advocate for policies that promote justice and equity for our students, improve an evaluation system that places importance on professional development rather than punishment, find creative ways to address educator workload, and keep our students and educators healthy and safe in the midst of this COVID-19 global pandemic.”
State of Colorado Proclamation: Educators and Education Support Professionals Appreciation Day
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Dec 17, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2020
Colorado education, public health and medical coalition release “Take the Pledge for Colorado Students” campaign
Statewide organizations implore Coloradans to wear masks and minimize contact to battle the rise of COVID-19
DENVER – The Colorado Education Association (CEA), along with a coalition of medical and public health professionals and other education experts, has announced a “Take the Pledge for Colorado Students” campaign to combat the rise of COVID-19 in the state. The pledge asks people to diligently wear masks, refrain from holiday gatherings, and stay home except when there is no other option in order to minimize community spread, which will in turn help Colorado students return to safe, in-person learning as soon as possible.
You can see and take the pledge here: https://takethepledgecolorado.org/
“We have come so far in this pandemic but we need to be doing a lot more in order to get this under control,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association.“Committing ourselves to do everything we can now will help us be able to get back into schools, open our small businesses and restaurants, and live a more normal life in the nearer term.”
“Consistent mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing will go a long way to getting our state healthy and thriving again,” said Rusha Lev, MD, FAAP, American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Chapter.
“This will take all of us and by pledging to do these things, we can rally together and show our commitment for Colorado’s children.”
Coalition partners endorsing the pledge include the Colorado Education Association, Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Academy of Family Physicians, Colorado Medical Society, Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care, Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials, Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado Association of School Nurses, Support Jeffco Kids, and the American Federation of Teachers – Colorado.
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Dec 3, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2020
Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), on adjournment of the 2020 special Legislative Session:
“The special session convened this week is a step toward helping Colorado students, educators, families, and small businesses deal with the challenges and realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colorado lawmakers have given some relief to many Coloradans.
“Bills that lift up Colorado’s students, families, and educators like the CEA-supported House Bill 20B-1001 “Grants to Improve Internet Access in P-12 Ed” are helpful yet there is still significant work that needs to be done to address equity and access beyond this bill. Inequities all across the state, sadly, are the norm and the COVID-19 pandemic has not only shone a spotlight on these inequities but has made them worse.
“We applaud the demise of several school voucher scheme bills that were attempted during this brief, special legislative session. Vouchers have never been proven to be effective in supporting student opportunity and these bills would have reduced public school funding at a time when our public schools need more, not less to address the COVID-19 pandemic and learning overall.
“Finally, we want to make it abundantly clear about our priorities in the Legislature moving forward: we will work with Colorado legislators to take meaningful, creative, and bold action to address the chronic underfunding of our public schools, particularly focusing on addressing the major budget cuts made in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to being able to lift up and champion legislators who prioritize educators, parents, and students by ensuring that public education is restored to pre-COVID-19 level funding in the upcoming legislative session.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Nov 19, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2020
Colorado’s education unions introduce recommended COVID-19 thresholds & metrics for schools
Update to Colorado’s COVID-19 dial aims to help guide school district decision-making
DENVER – Colorado educators from across the state released their own version of the Colorado state COVID-19 dial today, adding metrics and thresholds to help guide school district decision-making about when student learning should occur in person, remote or in a hybrid learning environment. With positive COVID-19 cases on the rise in Colorado, school districts, educators, students and parents are struggling with how to keep students and educators safe while providing the best learning experience for students. School district leaders are not able to provide the clear, easy-to-navigate criteria that is required in order to keep everyone safe.
“When I asked my district leadership what the threshold is for going remote in Poudre schools, my superintendent told me, ‚Äòit’s complicated’,” said John Robinson, high school civics teacher and president of Poudre Education Association.“When student and educator lives are on the line, we need a simple answer with clear direction to keep everyone safe.”
Educators from Academy Education Association, Aurora Education Association, Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Falcon Teachers Education Association, Jefferson County Education Association, Jefferson County Education Support Professionals Association, Poudre Education Association, Pueblo Education Association, Roaring Fork Education Community Association and Widefield Education Association have signed on to this initiative to present a clear path forward for school districts.
“We are calling for clear thresholds now, so that we can get back to in-person learning as quickly as possible,” said Brooke Williams, secondary visual arts teacher and president of the Jefferson County Education Association.
“We negotiated a memorandum of agreement about thresholds, but they were never developed or followed, so now we are coming together with other unions to call on and hold our districts accountable to implement clear, safe metrics,” said Tiffany Choi, high school French teacher and president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.“The reality is that because of community spread, we’ve been forced to go remote. So what these thresholds mean to us is that we want to know when we can go back to in-person learning. Clear thresholds will do that.”
The CEA represents over 39,000 educators across Colorado and the local affiliates present at the press conference today represent more than half the educators in Colorado. Internal polling conducted said that while members want to be in person with their students, they demand safety.
- 90% of educators agree that student and educator safety is their number one priority.
- 73% of educators do not trust their school district to accurately report COVID-19 case information.
- Only 23% of educators feel safe at school.
- 70% of educators say that as things currently stand, their district should move to 100% remote learning until they can follow clear and safe metrics to allow for in-person learning to resume.
“The state has put superintendents in the extremely difficult position of having to make almost arbitrary decisions on when to shift learning environments and this has placed great strain on educators,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association.
“Students and parents are also significantly impacted by the lack of clarity. Students are experiencing significant disruption to their education and parents are faced with the challenges of balancing work and supporting their students at home with no predictability for when they might return to in person learning and vice versa. As a parent of three school-aged children, I can relate.
“School districts need clear metrics and thresholds to drive their decision-making. Parents, students and educators need to be able to quickly and easily navigate the dial to be able to prepare for and understand when our schools will be fully or partially re-opened and when they’ll be closed and why.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Proposed Colorado COVID-19 dial for public schools
- Level Green – Protect Our Neighbors – A vaccine is widely available and there have been no new cases of COVID-19 within 14 days in the county(ies) in which the school district is located. All schools open and all students attend in-person learning.
- Level Blue – Safer at Home Cautious – 1% percent positivity in the county(ies) in which the school district is located. All schools can open and remote learning available for students who opt in.
- Level Yellow – Safer at Concern – 3% percent positivity in the county(ies) in which the school district is located. All schools can open and remote learning available for students who opt in.
- Level Orange – Safer at Home – High Risk – 5% percent positivity in the county(ies) in which the school district is located. All schools closed and all students learn remotely.
- Level Red – Stay at Home – 6+% percent positivity in the county(ies) in which the school district is located. All schools closed and all students learn remotely.
Link to CO COVID-19 Dial for Public Schools Infographics for districts and community:
https://coloradoea.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Dial-for-Schools.pdf
Letter sent to local school districts:
We, the presidents of Academy Education Association (AEA), Aurora Education Association (AEA), Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA), Jefferson County Education Support Professionals Association (JESPA), Poudre Education Association (PEA), Pueblo Education Association (PEA), and Roaring Fork Education Community Association (RFCEA), are coming to together to present a clear path forward and call on our local school boards to take bold action to keep our communities safe.
Local school boards need to adopt a new COVID dial with clear percent positivity metrics to be used as thresholds to move between levels, with details about when and how our schools will be open. We also call on our local school boards and superintendents to implement the new COVID dial for public schools in all future email communications to parents and staff as well as the district’s social media outlets. Our districts must update our local COVID dial for public schools daily and present them clearly on district websites so that all parents, staff, and even students can quickly and easily navigate the dial to be able to prepare and understand when our schools will be fully or partially opened and when they’ll be closed and why. These updates must be implemented by January 4, 2021.
Signed,
Cari Fox
Sociology Teacher
Academy EA President
Bruce Wilcox
Kindergarten Teacher
Aurora EA President
Tiffany Choi
French Teacher
Denver Classroom Teachers Association President
Brooke Williams
Visual Art Teacher
Jefferson County Education Association President
Lara Center
Paraprofessional
Jefferson County Education Support Professional Association President
John Robinson
Civics Teacher
Poudre EA Teacher
Mike Maes
Media Teacher
Pueblo EA President
Rhonda Tatham
SPED Teacher
Roaring Forke Community EA President
Angela Bird
French and Science Teacher
Widefield EA
Matt Blomquist
English Teacher
Sheridan EA President
Angie Reid and Lisa Cross
Art Teachers
Falcon TEA Co-Presidents
Nov 17, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2020
Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), on Gov. Jared Polis COVID-19 update:
“We applaud Gov. Polis’ decision to call a special session of the legislature in order to provide COVID-19 relief to the people of Colorado. COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated the chronic underfunding of our schools for more than a decade. We call on the legislature to prioritize funding to school districts where health and safety measures are desperately needed, educator workloads have more than doubled due to the constant and ever-changing in-person/online/hybrid transitions, and where substitute shortages are crippling schools all across the state.
“We are disappointed, however, that at the same time Gov. Polis describes dangerous levels of exponential growth of the virus, he says that K-5 students should attend class in person. Most counties have no specific community mitigation strategies in place to slow the community spread so that schools can open safely for students and educators. As community spread increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for schools to maintain appropriate staffing levels to remain open. School districts across Colorado are putting forth valiant efforts to safely remain open for in-person learning, but they are facing tremendous barriers on a daily basis. Overcoming these barriers requires collaboration and partnership with local health departments, businesses and citizens to exhibit personal responsibility in order to have the necessary conditions for schools to be open to in person learning.
“We appreciate local health departments and local leaders who are finally taking steps to limit community spread. We continue to call on Gov. Polis to provide more state-level leadership by providing clear and specific thresholds and metrics that will help school districts make decisions and provide transparency and predictability for parents and families about how decisions regarding safe in person or remote learning are made. The lack of clear and consistent guidance from the state creates confusion in a time when clarity is essential.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Nov 7, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2020
Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), on the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president of the United States:
“The 39,000 members of the Colorado Education Association are proud to have helped elect former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris share in our values for equal opportunity for all students, regardless of their ZIP code, and an unwavering commitment to educators everywhere. After four years of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ failed leadership and policy decisions, we look forward to President-elect Biden selecting a Secretary of Education who has the best interests of students at heart.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is a membership-based organization that represents 39,000 Colorado educators. The CEA promise to our students and communities is that the members of the Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education. By working collectively with all education stakeholders, we will provide the best public education for every student and assure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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