Unpredictable. Unprecedented. Unbelievable. Uncertain.

In the midst of a pandemic…in a forced economic recession…and having experienced the most meaningful peaceful protests in two decades, it’s remarkable that our faculty and students have persisted to ensure that education continued to take place. We had the right technology at the right time and we made sure these challenges did not get in the way of students’ education. (What would we have done without Zoom?)

The experiences of the past four months are a testament to our faculty, who rose to the occasion to provide academic consistency so that our students lives’, though interrupted and full of personal and economic challenges, could still move forward. Faculty’s devotion and our willingness and ability to adapt to new ways of educating students saved the semester for all of us.

Now that we have had a glimpse of what the foreseeable future may look like, we are more prepared to adapt to the changes. We learned that online education works for some but not all students, for some but not all faculty, and for some but not all courses. A District task force is looking at options for the “hard-to-convert” courses (labs, CTE).

Not only have classes continued but so did negotiations. We are making progress in health benefits negotiations with the District. Still under consideration in contract negotiations are enhanced working conditions. An energized and activated membership is showing up and speaking out to support the negotiators and provide context to support our demands.

The state budget is uncertain and at this time we are not sure what the District’s allocation will be. We are continuing to advocate for more funding. Click here to tell Governor Newsom to cut Calbright College.

Kudos to faculty for all your exceptional work in these challenging times!

Stay safe. Stay well.

In Unity,
Joanne Waddell
AFT 1521 President