Aug 25, 2021 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2021
Statement from Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), on the allocation of Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds by the Colorado State Board of Education:
“We want to thank the Colorado State Board of Education for listening to stakeholder input in deciding where to best allocate these federal funds. Commissioner Anthes recognizes that we are all in this together and the best way to ensure our students get what they need is to listen to parents, students, educators, and other stakeholders who want the best for our students. We look forward to continuing to partner and share the voices of educators, the professionals who serve students every day in the classrooms, as the federal dollars are received and implemented.
“While we’re excited about the additional funds our schools will receive in order to support students, it is a stark reminder that our state’s public schools have been drastically underfunded for the past decade. Having these additional federal funds would go much further for things like student and educator mental and emotional supports if our schools were fully funded to begin with. We can and must do better funding our public schools so that all students, and the educators who serve them, have the resources they need to succeed no matter the zip code in which they live.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Aug 12, 2021 | Legal Update
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Aug 11, 2021 | Legal Update
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Jul 21, 2021 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2021
CEA Statement on Updated Colorado COVID-19 School Guidance
DENVER, CO – On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) released updated COVID-19 guidelines for schools for the 2021-22 school year. The following statement can be attributed to Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association:
“It is our steadfast belief that the best way to educate students is through in-person instruction and our number one priority from day one of the pandemic has been to ensure that effective safety mitigation strategies are in place for students and educators to ensure safe and healthy working and learning conditions. While the CDPHE guidance recommends protocols to that end, it is now up to local county leaders to put those protocols and measures into place to help keep students, families, and education staff safe.
“It is our hope and expectation that when local county or school district leaders are crafting these mitigation protocols, they will seek the counsel of educators; the professionals who are with students all day, every day. Educators are on the front lines of this and their expertise is critical to any planning that will take place for the 2021-22 school year. We will continue to call on elected officials to provide every Colorado student and educator, no matter what zip code they live in, a safe and welcoming place to learn and work.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Jun 20, 2021 | Blog
I do not think that there is a single educator who does not deeply feel that this past school year was the most challenging year ever. This year marks my twenty-fourth year in education, and I think, like all of you, nothing would have ever prepared me for what this last year brought to us all. Educating students in the midst of a global pandemic while dealing with political, social and racial unrest is not something you learn about in your educator preparation courses in college.
Yet every single educator across Colorado did more than meet the challenge. As we look back on this past school year, there are many emotions that come to mind: triumph, exhaustion, sadness, joy, fear; you name it, we all felt it. There are many lessons learned and there are many ways that public education will be forever changed by the lessons of this past year. As we move forward, there will be time for deep reflection and analysis. But for now, it is time to rest and rejuvenate.
This also marks my seventh year experiencing education as a parent. My oldest daughter just completed sixth grade while my youngest completed third, and my middle fourth. Among the many things that happened this year, I got to experience them all not only from the lens of an educator or the president of the largest union in the state, but also as a mom. As a mom, my deep respect and passion for public education and educators only grew. I had a front row parent seat to the peaks, the valleys, and everything in between, of remote learning, quarantining, mask wearing, etc. There were days where I was amazed to the point of tears by what my childrens’ educators were doing to make learning happen. And learning definitely happened. I think my third grader sums it up best in her end of year letter to her teacher:
“Dear Mrs. B,
Thank you for being the best teacher ever! You have persevered the whole year. I’ve learned so much from you this school year. Challenging or not you can do it. I have enjoyed your class and (am) sad to leave it. I am going to miss you so much.”
“Challenging or not, you can do it.” Those words hit me hard. Perseverance. Whether you are an eight-year-old third grader, a first year teacher, a twenty-year bus driver, or a teacher about to retire, we all defined perseverance this past school year. Together we overcame the most challenging school year we will ever face. We are all changed by this past year.
After we all have some much-deserved rest, disconnection and down time, it will be our moment to define the future. While I hope that we will never have to experience a year like this past one, we know that every year holds challenges and obstacles to overcome. This next school year we will come back to the unknowns of moving forward after the most traumatic year our students and we have experienced. We will have critical school board elections. We may have challenges that we can’t even begin to think of right now, but what we know, what we have learned from this year, is that challenge or not, we can do it. I wish you a restful and rejuvenating summer. I look forward to continuing the fight for students and public education with you, the true champions. Be well. Take care. Rest. Get ready.
Amie Baca-Oehlert is a high school counselor and president of the CEA.
