Norfolk Federation of Teachers (NFT)

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Press Release

Educators Say COVID-19 Has Greatly Exacerbated the Grief Support Crisis in Schools, According to New Survey
Despite Feeling Unprepared to Address Students’ Growing Emotional Needs, Educators Remain Committed to Providing Grief Support, Express Strong Interest in Training


For Release: 
Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Contact:
Sarah Hager
202-393-5684
shager@aft.org
Lacey Siegel
New York Life
917-863-5205
Lacey_S_Siegel@newyorklife.com



NEW YORK and WASHINGTON– America’s educators see an urgent need to provide greater social-emotional support to students as COVID-19 amplifies the increasing prevalence of grief in our nation’s schools, according to a national survey of educators released today by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the New York Life Foundation.


Even before COVID-19, grief in the classroom was an all-too common occurrence, with an estimated one in 14 children in the U.S. experiencing the death of a parent or sibling by age 18[1]. Educators echo this experience: when asked how many students each year typically need their support due to the loss of a loved one, 87% said at least one and 25% said six or more. Now, as students return to the classroom, educators anticipate the potential for these numbers to increase. Of the educators surveyed, more than one in four (26%) report that a member of their school community (including direct family members of students, teachers or staff) had died from the coronavirus.


“COVID-19 is powerfully and poignantly illustrating the challenges our nation’s educators already faced in confronting grief in the classroom each and every day. As the need grows, we all have a critical role to play in providing greater bereavement support to students wherever and however our school communities come together,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders of childhood bereavement support.


Educators Prioritize Social-Emotional Support

The survey reveals the heightened focus on social-emotional learning as a mechanism to help students cope with grief, with 75% of educators in strong agreement that social and emotional support for students has never been more important. Despite this acknowledgment, educators feel under-prepared to tackle students’ growing social and emotional needs:

  • Only 15% of educators said they feel very comfortable addressing students’ emotional needs—including anxiety, grief, and/or trauma—that have been caused or intensified by the coronavirus outbreak.
  • Seventy-five percent of educators say that COVID-19 has opened their eyes to the immense impact of grief and loss.
  • Eighty-four percent of educators also say that the coronavirus has made them more aware of the impact of “non-death related losses.”

When asked about “non-death related losses,” educators said physical, mental health and financial challenges related to COVID-19 were areas where they felt least prepared to lend support.


“As people across the United States grapple with this crisis, grief and anxiety is at an all-time high. I hear this trauma every day from educators, parents and students. Their voices, and the voices of others on the front lines make abundantly clear that our students are struggling and need us now more than ever. Whether it’s remotely or in-person, we are working hard to make school a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. From organizing trainings on trauma, grief and loss; to delivering PPE that 90% of our educators are paying for now out of pocket; to negotiating safety protocols and procedures – we’re confident we can use this data to help inform our work to best support our kids. The AFT is committed to fighting for all educators to work in collaborative, healthy school environments that have the appropriate training and resources to help both students and educators thrive, and deal with the unique challenges we face today,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten


Support for Grieving Students is Critical and Educators Stand Ready to Help

Although educators have been tasked with addressing many pandemic-related challenges this academic year, most remain strongly committed to supporting grieving students and seeking additional training to do so:


  • 95% of educators say they would like to do more to help grieving students.
  • 91% of educators say they would be interested in participating in bereavement training offered through their school or district.

As schools across the U.S. grapple with the coronavirus, educators attest to the heightened challenges that they face, but also to the significant impact they can have as they help students cope.

“It is more crucial than ever that educators create safe, supportive classrooms because increased isolation and decreased social support caused by social distancing may intensify grieving students’ feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear and uncertainty. Grieving students need to know that you recognize their loss, that you care, and that you want to be supportive. Just a few simple words can make all the difference,” said Julie Taylor, a school counselor, AFT member and Ohio School Counselor Association Counselor of the Year.

In an effort to get critical grief resources into the hands of educators:

  • The New York Life Foundation launched the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (link is external) (GSSI) in 2018, which trains New York Life agents and employees as GSSI Ambassadors to present grief resources to local schools to help educators build a more robust culture of grief support and resiliency. Schools that agree to strive to become grief sensitive receive a $500 grant to help them enhance the grief support and resources available to their school community. To date, more than 2,300 GSSI presentations have been completed in local schools across 48 states. To continue to serve this need and in response to COVID-19, the program has gone virtual, allowing schools to request a remote presentation (link is external).
  • The New York Life Foundation partnered with the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement in the creation of new online materials (link is external) specific to COVID-19 including new modules for educators and parents on talking to kids about the coronavirus, tips for coping, sample scripts for classroom educators and guidelines for virtual memorials, among other topics.
  • The AFT coordinates professional learning for affiliates around student resilience and healing from grief, loss and trauma. In the last 5 years, the AFT has prepared over 50 trainers to serve over 550 educators in communities from coast to coast.
  • AFT also promotes the work of great partners via Share My Lesson. For example, nearly 10,000 educators have accessed self-paced professional learning supports via the Coalition to Support Grieving Students (link is external).

Hart Research Associates conducted the survey of 675 AFT members, including 458 classroom teachers as well as 217 paraprofessionals, school nurses, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other school staff members. Interviews were conducted online from July 26 through August 18, 2020.


 

About the New York Life Foundation

Inspired by New York Life’s tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided over $360 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement and childhood bereavement. The Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its Volunteers for Good program and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative. To learn more, please visit www.newyorklifefoundation.org (link is external).



About the American Federation of Teachers

The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do. To learn more, please visit www.aft.org.


[1] Statistic derived from the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (link is external) (CBEM) developed by leading grief center Judi's House/JAG Institute.

 

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The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.
















YES, WE ARE OPEN!!!!!

We hope that you are staying safe and excited about beginning the new school year.

The Norfolk Federation of Teachers will reopen with modified office hours beginning Monday, September 14, 2020.

Our office hours will be 12noon to 4pm Monday through Friday.
*Masks are required to enter the NFT office.*

*Meetings will be by appointment only so please call during our office hours to schedule an appointment.

***Member meetings can also be setup through Zoom.***











Teachers Aren’t Sacrificial Lambs. No Essential Worker Is.

By Sarah Jones

labor Aug. 4, 2020

In a pandemic, a new school year is a source of panic, not relief, for parents. There are no good options, no way for anything to feel truly normal again. Some school districts are moving ahead with plans to reopen as normal; others are going all remote; and some are implementing a hybrid model. Each option represents a burden for parents. In-person instruction carries a certain amount of risk, especially in communities with high levels of viral spread. Virtual learning can bore kids and demands a level of involvement that working parents may not be able to provide, and the hybrid model may just double a parent’s responsibilities.


Circumstances being what they are, teachers’ unions — and many school districts — largely favor a virtual start to the school year. That’s an irritant for President Trump, who is fixated on returning children to classrooms. But Trump isn’t alone in his frustration. For some parents, too, teachers’ unions are an obstacle to their children’s education, a view articulated at length in a new piece for The Atlantic. Kristen McConnell, who identifies herself as an intensive-care nurse married to a public-school teacher in New York City, writes that while she cared for COVID-19 patients in the spring, her husband “toggled between teaching on Zoom and helping our daughters through their own lessons.”


“He knows that I did my part for society, and that now he should, too,” she added.

The idea that remote work and home education don’t qualify as doing one’s part for society is so pernicious that it nearly distracts from McConnell’s core argument, which is both simple and widespread: If work is essential, it must also be sacrificial. That argument is worth examining, not least because it’s likely to reappear as parents cope with another semester at home. McConnell has taken a view expressed most commonly in the pandemic policies of certain large corporations and extended it to teachers. The same thread is visible both in Amazon’s failure to get enough masks to workers and to ensure social-distancing in warehouses and in the insistence that teachers should head back into classrooms, whatever the risk.


To press her case, McConnell embraces what she refers to as “military language.” The pandemic is a war, she writes, and teachers and nurses share an obligation to man the front lines. But she fundamentally mischaracterizes the nature of a pandemic and thrusts teachers — and essential workers as a category — into positions they were never meant to fill. In doing so, she gives voice to a perspective that various commentators feinted toward for weeks. “Can someone explain why teachers aren’t considered essential workers?” Bloomberg columnist Joe Nocera queried Twitter — the implication being, of course, that teachers ought to report to their job sites the way nurses and Amazon warehouse workers have done for months.


But the pandemic isn’t a war. When someone takes a job, they’re selling labor for profit, not enlisting to fight a deadly battle. Amazon workers, grocery-store cashiers, and fast-food cooks have all spent months protesting against that exact characterization of their pandemic-era lives. There have been walkouts, formal strikes, rallies, and whistle-blower cases — some involving nurses, members of McConnell’s own essential profession. In fact, nurses are among the loudest voices decrying a lack of working protective gear, unsanitary conditions, and even the inadequate storage of bodies in hospitals. Some paid for their boldness with their jobs. The story of essential work during the pandemic is one of exploitation and struggle, context McConnell ignores entirely in favor of urging teachers to fall into line. She doesn’t mention a single walkout or worker death and chooses instead to cast protesting teachers as victims of fear. The American Federation of Teachers, she writes, was wrong to threaten “safety strikes” over risky reopenings. “These threats run counter to the fact that, by and large, school districts are already fine-tuning social-distancing measures and mandating mask-wearing,” she asserts, citing no evidence whatsoever for her point.


In fact, mask mandates are far from universal, and precise guidelines vary from state to state and district to district. Social-distancing will be difficult to enforce inside schools, and poor ventilation systems could spread the virus among students and teachers alike, according to experts interviewed by The Atlantic itself. Over 200 school workers in Gwinnett County, Georgia, have already been excluded from work over exposure or a positive test for COVID-19. Teachers face real and potentially deadly risks and not just because of the innate threat posed by the coronavirus. Local and state decision-makers endangered them further by pushing ahead with traditional reopenings or hybrid models, despite high rates of community spread, and by providing them with inadequate levels of protective gear. Ironically, McConnell herself appears aware of that second threat, based on her own Twitter account:


McConnell goes on to assert that teachers “are not being asked to work without precautions, but some overlook this: The politics of mask-wearing have gotten so ridiculous that many seem to believe masks only protect other people, or are largely symbolic.” Once again she cites no evidence, and, indeed, she can’t: Throughout the pandemic, teachers’ unions have demanded masks for their members, an indication that they do actually believe masks work. Their protests for safer reopening strategies aren’t really about mask-wearing either. They’re asking a different sort of question altogether, and it’s one McConnell dodges: Can masks alone fully mitigate the risks posed by shambling school facilities or an inability to social distance? Teachers’ unions worry that the answer is no, and many have concluded that virtual learning, while flawed, is preferable to risking death in order to teach in person. At least teaching, unlike intensive-care nursing, can take place online.


That undermines McConnell’s last strategy, too, which is to draw a direct comparison from her own work as an ICU nurse to the work performed by teachers. In both professions, she argues, workers accept a certain amount of personal danger because society can’t function without them. “What do teachers think will happen if working parents cannot send their children to school? Life as we know it simply will not go on,” she said, which is true, and something teachers themselves have admitted in interview after interview after interview.


But the unsatisfying truth is that life can’t go on, not as it usually does, and teachers aren’t to blame for the situation. McConnell ignores this; so does Trump, and so do the politicians and commentators who co-sign his call for reopened classrooms. There are obvious incentives for Trump and his allies to pit essential workers against each other. Workers themselves shouldn’t fall for the bait. McConnell is right about this much: We’re in this together. What she doesn’t understand is that we have the same enemies, too. Legislators underfunded schools for decades, then failed, in many cases, to enforce safety measures that would have controlled the spread of the virus. They’re still failing parents — and teachers — now as Senate Republicans hold up rescue aid that schools desperately need. If parents want to know whom to blame for their plight, they should look to their own legislators.















American Federation of Teachers President on the challenges of returning to class

•Aug 5, 2020

Teachers strike for their lives


Norfolk Federation of Teachers has mixed reaction to virtual school this fall

by: Stephanie Harris

Posted: Jul 23, 2020 / 06:36 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 23, 2020 / 07:53 PM EDT



NFT SUPPORTS BLACK LIVES MATTER





In light of George Floyd's passing, the Norfolk Federation of Teachers would like to say that Black Lives Matter! It is sad that it has to be said at all. Our hope is that from here on it will not take the loss of another black life and worldwide protests for people to understand this fact. Now is the time to do more than just talk. We must stand together!!!




Thomas Calhoun
President
Norfolk Federation of Teachers











NFT OFFICE CLOSED BUT WE ARE WORKING
FROM HOME

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Governor closing schools for the remainder of the school year, our office will be closed until further notice. All upcoming meetings and workshops have been cancelled for the remainder of the school year.


However, we will be working from home Monday through Friday diligently checking emails, voicemails, and answering calls.


We thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.


Let's all stay home to protect each other!  Together we can and will get through this.


For immediate assistance please contact our Field Representatives:

GLORIA COLE
757.472.3620


LORETTA SCOTT
757.364.9894



#stayhometogether





Thank you.













WE APPRECIATE YOU!!!!

In the past, people have doubted the work that you put in.  Now during this time parents are  even more appreciative of the work that you do!!  

 

Although you’re not at school, you work from home preparing lesson plans, setting office hours, and weekly Zooms.  Even during this crisis you continue providing as much normalcy to teaching and learning as possible.  You give each and every student an opportunity to be their best whether working from home or sitting behind a desk. 


 

NFT APPRECIATES YOU 365 DAYS A YEAR!!!!








AFT MEMBERS ON THE FRONT LINE OF COVID-19


LISTEN TO THE TRUTH-TELLERS


by Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers


As the year draws to a close, I am so grateful to the educators, healthcare professionals and public employees we represent for the extraordinary work they do every day to make a difference in our lives. I’ve always encouraged others to thank them, but this year, I’m asking that we go further: Let’s also listen to the teachers and nurses in our lives. They are truth-tellers who can reveal things we need to know about our country.


Let’s listen to teachers about how they stretch themselves to fill the void left when schools lack counselors, nurses and librarians. And, as some politicians brag about “the best economy ever,” educators can tell us about the other side of an inequitable America (link is external): the more than 1.3 million homeless students (link is external) in our public schools, and the 40 percent of Americans who can’t put together $400 in an emergency (link is external).


Let’s listen to teachers about childhood hunger (link is external), which makes it difficult to concentrate and learn. Educators know that, for children who experience food insecurity, school meals should be as standard a school supply as paper and pencils, and the inability to afford school lunch should never be used to shame a child. Educators are outraged that, two years after the GOP gave away $2.3 trillion in tax cuts (link is external), mostly to the wealthiest Americans and corporations, the Trump administration is cutting SNAP (link is external) (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits for more than 700,000 people and free school meals for nearly 1 million children (link is external) living in poverty.

Many people marveled at the unprecedented “Red for Ed” movement—and then moved on. We should listen closely to the message that sparked this activism: that budget and policy choices like austerity and syphoning money from public schools fail our students and make teaching an even more draining and financially untenable profession. Educators are telling us what children need to thrive. In Los Angeles (link is external), striking teachers won class size limits, more librarians and a full-time nurse in every school. And in Chicago (link is external), educators secured a pledge that the district will hire more special education teachers and ensure every public school has a nurse and a social worker.

These activist educators know how essential nurses, therapists and other healthcare professionals are. Let’s listen to them, as well. They know that nearly half of America’s children experience trauma (link is external), that the high cost of healthcare forces many to delay care until they are severely ill, and that many families can’t afford the prescription drugs they need (link is external).


Let’s listen to educators who are speaking up against privatization cloaked as “reform.” In Houston, for example, the state’s Republican leadership wants to take over the school district, wresting democratic control from parents and the community. Houston’s public schools have close to an A rating from the state’s accountability system, but state officials have pointed to a single struggling school in their subterfuge to charterize and privatize the district’s public schools. Their ruse defies logic—when your house has a leaky faucet, you don’t put your home up for sale; you fix the things that need repair. Let’s listen to the educators, parents and community leaders who are fighting back and calling for the state to support public education, not sell it off.


Teachers have always had enormous responsibilities—to teach and nurture their students so they have the opportunity to live fulfilling lives; to help them develop judgment to be engaged citizens; and to make our classrooms and schools safe havens for students, especially now, as students fear mass shootings (link is external), and hate and bigotry (link is external) are on the rise.


Today, when many people believe we are in a war on truth, teachers are helping students to think independently and critically, to distinguish facts from falsehoods, and to make arguments in respectful ways. And as the very foundations of America are being undermined, our teachers are also called to be defenders of decency and guardians of democracy. That is why it is so crucial that teachers and all working people have voice at work, in our democracy and in our elections.


This weekend, the AFT and several other conveners hosted a forum on public education (link is external) in Pittsburgh. Eight candidates for president shared their values and thoughtful ideas for realizing public education’s role as a ladder of opportunity for all our children and as a foundation of our democracy. They understood that if you want to strengthen our country’s future, you must care about our children and listen to their parents, advocates and educators.


It often feels like we are living in an Alice in Wonderland moment. As some people claim that up is down and down is up, teachers are working to set things straight. Let’s listen to them, because they are educating America’s young people, who all deserve bright futures and on whom our hopes and aspirations rest. Teachers want what children need, and that is good for all of us.













TAKE ACTION NOW

Your Voice Matters

A Decade of Neglect

The AFT released a new report, “A Decade of Neglect,” describing how chronic underfunding and austerity measures have hurt our public schools. We have broken out funding, in both higher education and K-12, state by state. We want state legislators to see this report and understand how underfunding schools affects our students and educators. 

Make sure your legislators see the AFT's report on the underfunding of public education. Click here to send a letter. 

Families Belong Together

The AFT has taken steps to formally file a complaint with the United Nations. The zero tolerance policy that separates children from their families violates international law, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Families and their children separated at the border deserve justice Click here to add your name.

Tell DeVos: Arm schools with resources, not guns

Arming teachers is not a solution to school shootings. Educators want to teach, not be armed at school. Students and parents want schools to be safe and welcoming places. Click here to sign the petition.

Featured Video: "Hate Bleeds America" Rally and the First Book Program

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Half a million kids could lose access to lunch

Educators are united against President Trump’s proposal to undercut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which would take away food assistance from millions and deny access to free school lunches to half a million kids (link is external)

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  • NFT members at Easton Preschool stand with VA Educators United and UTLA for full funding for public schools!!!
    NFT members at Easton Preschool stand with VA Educators United and UTLA for full funding for public schools!!!
  • NFT solidarity at James Monroe Elementary School.
    NFT solidarity at James Monroe Elementary School.
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    NFT solidarity at Norview Middle School.
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    NFT solidarity at Ingleside Elementary School.
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    NFT Bookkeeper, Kenneth Potter
  • NFT welcomes NPS Superintendent, Dr. Melinda Boone, to our first General Membership Meeting for the 2018-2019 school year. Thank you for addressing our members Dr. Boone!!!
    NFT welcomes NPS Superintendent, Dr. Melinda Boone, to our first General Membership Meeting for the 2018-2019 school year. Thank you for addressing our members Dr. Boone!!!
  • NFT solidarity at Academy of Discovery at Lakewood.
    NFT solidarity at Academy of Discovery at Lakewood.
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    NFT Field Rep, Loretta Scott
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    NFT General Membership Meeting
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    NFT First Books Giveaway at Richard Bowling Elementary.
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    NFT Membership Service Specialist, Jessica Roberts.
  • Joshua Stone, NFT member at Norview High School
    Joshua Stone, NFT member at Norview High School
  • NPS Superintendent, Dr. Melinda Boone, and NPS School Board member, Tanya Bhasin, attend NFT's First Books Giveaway at Tidewater Park ES.
    NPS Superintendent, Dr. Melinda Boone, and NPS School Board member, Tanya Bhasin, attend NFT's First Books Giveaway at Tidewater Park ES.
  • NFT Spirit of Norfolk Cruise
    NFT Spirit of Norfolk Cruise
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    NFT PSRP committee meeting
  • NFT President, Thomas Calhoun with Congressman Bobby Scott.
    NFT President, Thomas Calhoun with Congressman Bobby Scott.
  • AFT President, Randi Weingarten, speaks at Hate Bleeds America Rally.
    AFT President, Randi Weingarten, speaks at Hate Bleeds America Rally.
  • Assistant to the President, Marcia Elsbery
    Assistant to the President, Marcia Elsbery

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