EdNews CDC Reports Vast Majority of Educators, Childcare Providers at Least Partially Vaccinated
O
n March 8, President Biden directed all states to prioritize vaccination efforts to K-12 educators and childcare workers. He also announced that a federal pharmacy program would be immediately available to them. Already, 34 states had extended vaccine eligibility to educators at that time, but the directive opened up appointments for millions more. According to the CDC tracking data, the pharmacy program has administered over two million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to educators and childcare workers. In total, nearly 80 of this group has received at least one shot. As many of the nation’s schools have begun to resume inperson learning, state and federal health officials have been counting on this increased effort to keep schools open. CDC Director Rochelle says it’s working. “Our push to ensure that teachers, school staff, and child care workers were vaccinated during March has paid off and paved the way for safer in-person learning,” she says.
In a survey of members, OEA's Social Studies Task Force found that there has been a 60 percent decline in social studies instruction time.
Oregon Civics Education at the Forefront this Session
O
EA and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators have taken opposition with Senate Bill 513, which would require all high school students to take .5 credit of civics education in order to graduate, beginning in 2026. While OEA supports prioritizing civics instruction, this particular Bill would create an unfunded mandate. The OEA Social Studies Task Force believes requiring just a single semester of Civics instruction would lead to a less
thorough understanding of the subject. Currently, Civics education is embedded in the Oregon Social Studies Standards in grades K-12. A recent survey by OEA's Task Force finds that 80 percent of social studies teachers believe they do not have enough time to effectively teach the standards. OEA supports Senate Bill 702, which will create a task force to review Social Studies standards in Oregon schools by enlisting the help of educators with expertise in the subject, who will then propose ideas to fill the gaps in instructional areas.
TSPC UPDATE! » COVID PDU reductions are currently in place until July 1, 2021. If you are renewing a license between March 23, 2020 and July 1, 2021, there is a reduction of the total number of Professional Development Units (PDUs) that must be completed in order to renew your license. If you are renewing a three-year license (Preliminary, Legacy or Limited) AND are renewing within the time range above, you will owe 38 PDUs. If you are renewing a five year license (Professional, Teacher Leader) AND are renewing within the time range above, you will owe 88 PDUs. If you are renewing OUTSIDE of this time range, you will owe the usual amount of PDUs according to your license (3-year license owes 75 PDUs and 5-year license owes 125 PDUs). If you have questions about this or other licensure issues, please contact Teresa Ferrer at teresa.ferrer@oregoned.org.
Credits: Thomas Patterson
TODAY’S OEA | SPRING/SUMMER 2021
7
