COVID-19 Legal FAQ Update – SPED Services **4.8.20**
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Press Release: Educators Turn to CEA Online Professional Learning During Coronavirus Crisis
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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CEA Statement on Decision to Close Schools for Remainder of Year
With Governor Polis’ announcement this week that all schools will stay closed through the end of April, many school districts are now making the prudent, but very sad decision to cancel in-person learning for the remainder of the school year. This is crushing news for Colorado’s public school educators. We so miss doing what we love most – spending quality time with our students and watching them experience the love of learning. We knew for weeks this day may come, but it’s heartbreaking to realize 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.
This somber action is taken with the utmost concern for the personal safety of you and your students. We must all abide by the social distancing rules that are helping stop the spread of the terrible coronavirus. The latest models tracking the disease currently show the impact of COVID-19 is likely to peak in the last week of April. Even when the spread reaches its peak in Colorado, the coronavirus will continue to pose a significant threat for some time afterward. The public health risk is too great for our students, educators, families and communities to go back to school.
There is no adequate way to console students and educators who will lose musicals, plays, proms, graduations, and just the daily gathering of students and educators in these wonderful places of learning and inspiration, our public schools. We will all struggle with this loss for some time, but know we are here to support you as you support your students during this unprecedented time. Together, we will get through this and continue our pursuit to help every student thrive.
– Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and CEA President
COVID-19 Legal Update: Governor EO 2020-021 **4.3.20**
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Press Release: Educator Survey Shows Distance Learning, Student Well-Being Top List of Concerns
CEA poll finds educator priorities include student needs beyond learning during COVID-19 pandemic
DENVER – Colorado educators demonstrated their commitment to support the physical and mental health needs of their students during the coronavirus crisis in a survey of more than 2,400 members conducted by the Colorado Education Association, March 19-23.
While educators agreed that continuing quality student learning during school closures is their top priority, they also want to take action to halt the evictions of families from their homes and to expand access to free, healthy food at food banks during the pandemic.
“We surveyed our members to understand the challenges educators are facing during this unprecedented disruption and to see what actions they are willing to take with their union to ensure the health and safety of their communities, students and themselves,” said CEA President Amie Baca-Oehlert, a high school counselor.“The high response rate tells us our members are clearly ready to lead in their communities to support students and their families under these most difficult circumstances.”
When licensed educators and education support professionals were asked about concerns that most weighed on their minds during school closures, they identified:
- Working through the challenges of distance learning with students;
- Ability of their students’ families to pay rent and afford essentials;
- Mental health supports for students;
- Students who lack access to nutritious meals at school.
“Education is important and I want the kids to still have some normalcy. I worry more about how their families are doing financially and health-wise,” remarked one licensed educator from the Adams 12 district in the survey comments.
“I worry that varying levels of access to technology will create a new kind of segregation for students,” responded an education support professional in Jefferson County.
CEA leaders and staff across the state will analyze the survey results and create opportunities to get members involved in advocating for the student-centered issues that ranked highest in the poll.
“We are a member-driven, member-led association of 39,000 members who will advocate for the issues that matter most to students, families and educators. With a proud collective voice, CEA members are ready to make bold demands and take action with their union for the schools all Colorado students deserve, even in this new reality,” Baca-Oehlert added.
Media may request a summary of the poll findings from Mike Wetzel, CEA public relations director, at mwetzel@coloradoea.org.
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