Friday, April 24th Coronavirus / COVID-19 Update

Friday, April 24, Update

Greetings USEP members,

Here are some of our latest concerns addressed with District staff:

BEST & BRIGHTEST PAY-OUT

Payments for the Best & Brightest bonus awards will be processed on May 8, 2020. If you have questions regarding your status, please refer to http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5306/urlt/bestandbrightest-rp.xls

READING ENDORSEMENT

This is still being required by the DOE for next year. Flexibility will be given with assignment due dates to work with participant completion. Participants that have completed Modules 1-4 can and should enroll in Module 5 and begin the course. Courses may be taken out of order if necessary, to complete all assignments. The District is working to support employees. Please reach out to readingendorsement@pasco.k12.fl.us if you have questions or concerns.

SPEED GRADER

We discussed concerns regarding student scamming the system by repeating assessments to gain knowledge of answers and the time concerns for grading by teachers. We were told that there is a large bank of questions for each assessment and questions are rarely repeated in the retakes. Speed Grader is available for most courses not using short answer or essay type questions. Technical assistance for Speed Grader is available. If you have concerns, please contact your LDC, administrator or e-School teacher/mentor for help.

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTINUITY PLAN

Initial conversation was had yesterday with District staff to address what happens after June 1, 2020, including:

• ESY (Instructional, SRP, Transportation, school staff)
• Summer Food Service
• VPK program
• Summer Camp
• 245 day employees

Changes from current status back to “Brick & Mortar” status are largely dependent upon State and Federal guidelines which include social distancing and limits on number of people in a gathering. More will be known as the Governor looks to “open up” our state.

CERTIFICATIONS

CLARIFICATION – Only exam fees for certification tests which add an area to your certificate have been waived. The renewal fee of $75 has not been waived at this time.

FEA TOWN HALL (ZOOM MEETING

This was held Wednesday night for the central part of the state. Presidents reported out regarding the status of their locals. We in Pasco are doing vey well compared to most of the other districts in our area. Our concerns are being addressed as they are brought forth and we try to communicate them back to our members in a timely manner.

Stay safe and healthy and enjoy your weekend.

Yours in Solidarity,

Don Peace, USEP President