Wednesday, March 31, 2021

NEA Campaign #CancelTheTests

 

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Saturday, March 20, 2021

CMAE March 2021 Culinary Creations Social Event was a Success!



Tonight's CMAE Social Committee Event "Culinary Creations" was a huge success! We had a great time conversing as we cooked our pasta dishes. Tips were shared to make our dishes better. Special thanks to all participants!

The CMAE aprons look really great!

Hopefully, more members will be able to participate in our April CMAE Social Committee Event. Keep your eyes and ears open for details!

 


Reminder: The CMAE Culinary Creations March Social Event is TONIGHT!

 


FOR CMAE MEMBERS WHO HAVE REGISTERED:

Hello and Happy Saturday,

This is a message from your CMAE Social Committee. We look forward to our time together today 3/20/2021 from 5-7 pm. We will have fun cooking up some delicious food and share in a great time together. See you later on today. Below is the information for the Zoom link for the event. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Tonya Waldschmidt is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Culinary Creation 
Time: Mar 20, 2021 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 928 0676 3755
Passcode: 228853
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Meeting ID: 928 0676 3755


Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Latest Updates from the NCGA Concerning Education - Sen. Natasha Marcus

 




Hello CMAE,

 

Please find below the bills I filed as first primary sponsor related to CMS's and CMAE’s legislative priorities:

  • S189, School Calendar Flexibility/Mecklenburg County
  • S236, Require Consent/Early Voting/Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
  • S242, Save Spring Break Act
  • S287, Delay CMS Board Elections/Census Delay
  • I have also requested a bill draft to reduce the funds going to private school vouchers, but it has not been filed yet. I will be sure to keep you updated on that bill.  

 

Additional bills that have been filed by other members of the delegation related to your legislative priorities, listed below.  Please note that the House deadline to file bills has not yet passed, so more bills will be filed in the coming weeks.

  • HB5, $15/hour wage
  • HB79, to address digital divide
  • HB147, restoration of state health benefits
  • S154, fund social workers & psychologists
  • S218, restore educator longevity pay
  • S274, restore master's pay

COVID-19 Economic Relief Updates
Last week, the North Carolina Senate passed S172/H196, 2021 COVID-19 Response & Relief which provides $1.7 billion in relief for the state from federal relief funds. The bill includes many good things and passed unanimously. However, it was rushed through and Democrats were not consulted on any specifics. Therefore, it left out some important things and creates some problems. I raised my concerns on the Senate floor -- these are the topics I spoke about:

• The Senate version removed the extension of the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse claims. Civil courts were essentially out of reach for a year due to the pandemic. The extension that the House included would have simply added the year that was lost, so those victims can get their justice. We should have kept that extension in the bill.

• Within the DHHS Child Care Block Grant funds, the House made a change to the bill to allow hazard pay bonuses for childcare workers, but the Senate majority removed it . Why are we so hard on childcare workers, some of the worst paid essential workers in the State? Their average wage is $12/hour statewide (much less in many counties), even though many have degrees in early education. Working parents rely on having safe childcare. We have the funds to pay these workers better and we should. More information on my remarks regarding childcare workers can be found here.

• The bill provides no hazard bonus pay for K-12 Educators who are literally putting their health at risk in order to return to in-person instruction, as required by their LEAs. More information on my remarks regarding teacher pay can be found here.

• The bill strays from the focus of a COVID relief bill to increase enrollment at the State’s two D-Grade virtual charter schools, without any indication that they are improving. At a time when NCGA leadership has had harsh words for virtual learning options, why are we expanding enrollment in failing virtual charter schools?

• Changes to the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program will slow down the program, make it less efficient, result in more frustration for renters and landlords, and will cause some counties to have insufficient funds to meet the need, while others have too much which will revert back to the US Treasury. DPS is currently providing rental assistance with these funds. We should not change the whole system in the middle of the pandemic. This is the NCGA trying to wrestle control of a program because of politics and I’m concerned for all the folks who need help, not political fights over control.

• This bill ignores the fact that NC remains among the worst states for unemployment benefits. I hear frequently from constituents who are struggling and cannot find a job. Jobs are coming back, but we’re not where we were before the pandemic hit. We should use some the funds at our disposal, which is the taxpayers’ money that we are empowered to appropriate, to help people who are struggling without their income.

 I hope that in the future, leadership will not exclude our Democratic caucus from the drafting process on bills of this importance. My colleagues and I would have liked the opportunity to raise these concerns when there was time and opportunity to address them.

(Note that when speaking into a microphone on the Senate floor, members remove masks so everyone can hear.)
A Call to Return to Safe, In-Person Learning
Over the past few months, I have heard from constituents about their frustrations with remote learning and the desire to return to in-person instruction. I've also heard from constituents who prefer remote-only and/or a slower change while covid cases remain above 5% in Mecklenburg County.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a tug of war in Raleigh about who should decide when and how schools reopen. Republicans offered Senate Bill 37, but that was unsuccessful because it didn't follow CDC and DHHS safety guidelines and did not include a safety switch to reverse course if outbreaks happen. Senate Democrats held firm in rejecting S37 and laid out in a letter to the NC State Board of Education what we wanted to see in a school reopening plan.

In the end, we were able to reach a compromiseSB220, which passed unanimously through the House and Senate this week. It keeps the full-remote option for families who want that and requires all districts to offer in-person classes to those who want that option, following all safety guidelines. It has a safety provision in case we experience unexpected spikes. SB220 was a rare example of bipartisan compromise and ultimately puts NC in a good position to move forward safely.
Meeting with
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators
One of the main responsibilities of representing Mecklenburg County in the NCGA is seeking policy changes that improve public education by giving CMS calendar flexibility, budget flexibility, school safety legislation, sufficient funding and more. Last weekend, the delegation had a check-in with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators to discuss their priorities and our work. Thank you to the 30+ local educators, county commissioners, and school board members who joined us.

We also announced a new initiative I'm launching: a pool of local educators who are willing to advise us on policy. If you are a CMS educator and are willing to share your opinions with us, please join the Education Advisors by sending your name and school to me at Natasha.Marcus@ncleg.gov.

 

Thank you for your cooperation in pursuing these priorities to improve public education and our state generally.



 


Senator Natasha Marcus

NC Senate District 41

300 N. Salisbury Street, Rm. 519

Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Natasha.Marcus@ncleg.net

Office: (919) 715-3050

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Friday, March 12, 2021

Congratulations to the New NBCTs!

 



Congratulations to all of the new 
National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs)! 

Also, CMAE would like to give an ENORMOUS shout out to North Carolina becoming #1 in the total number of NBCTs!



Friday, March 5, 2021

CMAE Mecklenburg County Elected Officials Check-In This Saturday!


Hi CMAE Members,

You are invited to a Virtual Legislative Check-In Zoom webinar. 
When: Mar 6, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 
Topic: CMAE Legislative CHECK-IN

Register in advance for this webinar:


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Also, here is the Google Form for CMAE Members to complete, if have questions you would like to ask.


We look forward to your participation.

Randolph Frierson and Winifred Muhammad, CMAE GRC Co-Chairpersons
Lawrence Brinson, CMAE President
Margueritta Brown, CMAE Vice President
Lakisha Mills, CMAE Secretary
Brenda Iyonmahan, CMAE Treasurer