May 19, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2020
DENVER – Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, on Gov. Polis’ announcement of prioritizing $500 million in federal funding for K-12 public education:
“Educators are encouraged by today’s news that Gov. Polis has prioritized $500 million in federal funding to shore up public education during the COVID-19 crisis. This one-time funding is a positive step forward in ensuring all students can succeed in school, whether they are learning in-person, at home or a combination of both. Districts were planning to make draconian budget cuts and this money will help cushion the blow to keep educators in their jobs and keep students learning. When school begins in August, these funds will be crucial in providing educators the necessary resources and supports to help students catch up due to distance learning this spring. These funds will address the increased mental health needs of students recovering from trauma and prepare schools to operate under the potential of new social distancing requirements.
“We appreciate the governor’s powerful investment in our students and educators, and we also still need long-term solutions to fix a broken funding structure that has taken vast opportunities away from our students over the last decade. The Budget Stabilization Factor has amounted to $8 billion in cuts to public education over the last decade, and we are still a long way from recovering from those cuts. Educators call on the Colorado legislature to explore the emergency tax provision in TABOR for immediate school revenue and tax relief, demand our senators in Washington pass the HEROES Act for state relief, and encourage all Coloradans to support Initiative #271 during the 2020 election to properly fund our public schools through a fair tax policy for all.”
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May 12, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2020
DENVER – Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, on the May state budget forecast and funding for the 2020-21 school year:
“Public school students and educators are worthy of public support and investment, even during a crisis. While difficult budget decisions are required, they can’t continue to be made on the backs of students and educators. The legislature did that 10 years ago and public education has never recovered. More than $8 billion in debt from the Great Recession is still carried by students and educators. We cannot dig the hole even deeper for our students and expect they will overcome this burden and thrive as adults.
“School funding is crucial to fixing the disparities and inequities that divide our students into haves and have-nots, disproportionately affecting communities of color and lower income. Our reaction to this crisis must ensure that we don’t leave our most vulnerable students behind. Students are experiencing trauma now and their needs will be far greater when they return to school than when they left. Mental health supports and distance learning capabilities are today’s wise investments.
“Colorado needs to treat this downturn differently and prioritize public schools, students and educators. A crisis is not the time to cut public school investment and deny our students opportunity. The last thing anybody wants is further disruption in the lives of students. We can’t afford to repeat the mistakes of the past that rob students of their love for learning.”
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May 7, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2020
DENVER – During National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8), Colorado educators are pleased to know that parents overwhelmingly approve of the job they are doing to transition from in-person instruction to distance learning and meet student needs during the coronavirus outbreak.
A National Education Association survey released April 30 found 88 percent of parents approve of how their children’s teachers are handling the coronavirus pandemic. They also overwhelmingly (81 percent) approve of school support staff, such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers. Educators received more support than parents showed for their governor (71 percent) and their mayor or local government (73 percent).
“These poll results are so encouraging. Educators in Colorado have admirably embraced a whole new way of teaching to deliver a quality distance learning experience to students and families in an incredibly short span of time. It’s wonderful to see our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, a high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association.
“Colorado legislators in particular need to see the deep appreciation parents have for educators at this moment and do everything in their power to keep budget cuts far away from the classroom,” Baca-Oehlert added.
When asked to rank the issues their children were experiencing during distance learning, many parents responded that their students missed seeing their teachers in person (45 percent), trailing only behind students who missed being with their classmates (55 percent). The parents and guardians polled also said they believe educators are working hard to communicate with them, to connect with students who don’t have internet access and to give students one-on-one assistance.
Click here for a survey summary from GBAO Strategies, which conducted the national survey from April 3-7 of 800 parents and guardians of school-aged children who attend a public school.
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Apr 21, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2020
DENVER – Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, on Gov. Polis’ announcement today to keep all school buildings closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year:
“We support Gov. Polis’ difficult, yet necessary decision to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic school year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Many school districts had already made the prudent decision to cancel in-person learning for the remainder of the school year so this announcement is not unexpected. Still, it is crushing news to know with finality that we will not see the daily gathering of students and educators in these wonderful places of learning and inspiration, our public schools.
“Although our 39,000 members very much miss being with their students, we appreciate that this decision was made with the utmost concern for the health, safety and well-being of Colorado’s students and educators. At this time, the public health risk is far too great for our students and educators to return to school.
“Colorado’s educators are committed to finishing the school year strong and we remain focused on making distance learning a success for our students through the remainder of the school year. Distance learning isn’t a direct replacement for the effectiveness of in-person learning and we know many of our students and families are missing the critical services that our public schools provide.
“Together, we will get through this unprecedented disruption to ensure that every student thrives. We are committed to doing all that we can to comply with the safety measures in hopes that our schools will reopen in the fall and we can do what we do best, educate Colorado’s children.”
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Apr 9, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2020
DENVER – The 39,000 members of the Colorado Education Association have formally asked Gov. Polis to do more to help vulnerable Coloradans, students and educators during the coronavirus pandemic.
CEA delivered a petition to the governor, signed by more than 3,200 members, calling on Gov. Polis to prioritize educators, workers and students by taking additional actions for Colorado communities.
“We readily acknowledge the governor has shown brave and decisive leadership through this crisis,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, a high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association. Baca-Oehlert pointed to the state’s actions to close schools, cancel standardized testing for students and waive requirements for educator evaluations as positive developments that have reduced the level of anxiety for students and educators.
“Now we are calling on the Governor to do more. Our state’s lower income and vulnerable populations need more. Our educators and students need more,” stated Baca-Oehlert during a virtual press conference held to address the issues raised in the petition.
CEA members joined the call to talk with the media about the needs of their communities. Kelly Osuna, a high school Spanish teacher in the Cherry Creek School District, said immigration policies impact her school, where students speak 60 languages and come from 80 countries. The CEA petition requests the governor’s assistance in imploring the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to cease all arrests and release nonviolent offenders.
“Even before the threat of COVID-19, many of my students were living in fear for the safety and well-being of themselves and their families,” said Osuna.“As this pandemic continues to take over our society, our young people need to feel secure in the fact that their parents will come home from the essential jobs they are working, the jobs that are currently keeping our state afloat.
“Everyone in our state needs to feel safe, not fearful and harassed. Restricting ICE actions will allow Colorado’s mix-status families to feel more valued and secure as they do the essential work that benefits us all,” Osuna added.
Another piece in the petition asks the governor to provide firm direction to school districts that, in normal times, are accustomed to having a great amount of local control in making decisions. One example of necessary state direction is moving districts to reimburse educators for additional expenses they have incurred during the rush to distance learning. Carlos Meikel, an elementary school art teacher in the Poudre School District, told reporters he has spent about $200 out of his own pocket so far with more items still to purchase.
“We weren’t prepared to leave school. For remote learning, I needed to get supplies, technology and software on my own,” said Meikel.“It would be very nice to have some direction from the state to have our districts reimburse us. Our family budgets are crunched as well, we have spouses who are out of work now. We need to be reimbursed for those extra things we’re having to get at this time.”
“Employees need to know they are going to be paid and their benefits will continue during this critical time. We need to know we can support our families,” said Monte Hollander, a school bus driver in Jeffco Public Schools, on the stress and uncertainty school support staff are feeling across the state. In another curbing of local control in extraordinary times, the petition calls on Gov. Polis to mandate that school districts continue to pay all employees for the entire school year.
Hollander is receiving pay and benefits now, but he knows school districts can layoff employees. Even having a collective bargaining agreement in place between a district and employees doesn’t prevent a layoff from happening with devastating effects to the local and state economy.“We need the strong support of our governor, school boards and legislators to do the right thing regarding compensation and benefits for all education support professionals. Don’t forget us.”
Baca-Oehlert shared the heartbreak educators are feeling with the sudden end to in-person learning at school, when they“realized with finality that we won’t stand in front of our classes or see our students’ smiles on the school bus or in the lunch line.” She challenged the state and its school districts to rise up to meet the people’s needs and lend great comfort and care at this critical time.
“The coronavirus will test our school communities to be at their best for students and employees,” Baca-Oehlert observed.“In the wake of these uncertain and difficult times, strong leadership from our state is crucial. Together, we will get through this crisis and continue our collective pursuit to help every student thrive.”
Media may request a copy of the petition from Mike Wetzel, CEA public relations director, at mwetzel@coloradoea.org.
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Apr 7, 2020 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2020
Enrollment in COpilot surges for free, peer-to-peer distance learning coursework to enhance student outcomes during school closures
DENVER – For three years, the Colorado Education Association’s online professional learning platform, COpilot, has proven educators can soar when given the chance to learn from one another to help every student thrive. With school buildings now closed due to coronavirus, educators have made COpilot the go-to source in Colorado to get up-to-speed on distance learning quickly.
“Teaching is a team experience and educators have always turned to one another for advice and guidance to improve their practice and meet student needs. It’s so much more critical for educators to do that now, and fortunately, we have wonderful technology in place that’s bringing educators together to take on today’s immense challenges with distance learning,” said CEA President Amie Baca-Oehlert.
Featuring courses and lesson plans designed and taught by CEA members, COpilot offers educators resources and support in one convenient place that can be accessed at any time. In response to the coronavirus crisis, CEA has offered special, abbreviated sections of some of the most useful technology classes to help educators who are having to quickly shift their content from the classroom to digital platforms.
Google Classroom is one example of the technology courses taught on COpilot. The free web service simplifies the process of sharing files between teachers and students. Elisabeth Frank, a teacher in the Cherry Creek School District, learned how to use this service to create, distribute and grade assignments in a remote learning environment.
“I am not a tech person at all, and I learned an incredible amount from my COpilot course. Kids have already started to work on assignments and turn them in,” said Frank in her course feedback.“Only because of this class, I am able to grade, comment, and send back work to a student. I am able to use the various functions in Google Classroom because of COpilot. Thank you so much for helping me prepare for remote learning.”
Teacher Becky Roup took the same COpilot course in the rural town of Holly, just miles from the Kansas border.“I didn’t feel 100 percent confident about making a Google Classroom, but I jumped right in with what I learned from my COpilot class. This has proven to be the BEST professional decision I have ever made. Gaining these skills through COpilot helped me to make the remote learning shift for my students more bearable. Thank you for that!”
The response to COpilot’s special course offerings was astounding. In just 48 hours, 287 educators signed up for more than 450 course enrollments. CEA is working through a waiting list to support many more educators who want the training.
CEA broke new ground with COpilot in 2017, becoming the first association of educators in the country to launch a statewide, interactive tool delivering peer-to-peer teaching support. COpilot celebrated eclipsing the 10,000-enrollment milestone this spring.
“I am so proud of our respected teaching experts who are taking the lead even during this pandemic to share their knowledge on COpilot with educators who need quality, relevant professional learning now more than ever,” added Baca-Oehlert.“We are at our best for students when educators step forward to lead the profession and share the wisdom they’ve gained. COpilot’s continued popularity tells us these courses will make a difference for many more educators to impact their students’ success.”
COpilot’s course facilitators earn money for teaching their courses, which can help an educator afford to live in the state with the least competitive teacher pay in the country. COpilot is available to all educators in Colorado. Media wishing to connect with a COpilot participant should contact Mike Wetzel, CEA public relations director, at mwetzel@coloradoea.org or 720-454-5729.
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