K-12 education employees can now register for the COVID vaccine on the Arizona Department of Health Services website. Just visit podvaccine.azdhs.gov, register for an account, then schedule an appointment to receive your first vaccination (your second vaccination will be scheduled later).
CEA Statement – December 30, 2020
COVID numbers continue to rise in record-setting fashion in Arizona, and based on recommendations from county and state health officials, CEA is urging CUSD to:
- make available a live video stream of the CUSD COVID task force meeting on Monday, January 4
- convene a special session of the CUSD Governing Board immediately following this task force meeting to discuss and take potential action on recommendations of the task force
- shift to full-time virtual instruction until the new CUSD Governing Board has had time to consider and potentially implement the recommendations of the district task force
Please read our full statement for details, including data that supports these requests.
Congratulations Member to Member Grant Recipients!
After a record number of applications, our Member to Member grant recipients have been selected. Thanks to everyone who applied and reviewed applications, and congratulations to the following grant recipients:
- Maria Aguirre-Acedo (Chandler Online Academy)
- Alma Alvarado (Carlson Elementary School)
- Michelle Capriotti (Casteel High School)
- Rebecca Coplan (Weinberg Gifted Academy)
- Mary Davis (Sanborn Elementary School)
- Marisa Delci (Weinberg Gifted Academy)
- Shelley Dow (Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary School)
- Megan Driving Hawk (Perry High School)
- Donna Gustafson (Santan Junior High School)
- Vanessa LaRue (Patterson Elementary School)
- Katie Mercer (Ryan Elementary School)
- Peg Newendyke (Santan Junior High School)
- Janell Ochs (Shumway Elementary School)
- Jenny Ryskamp (Willis Junior High School)
- Anne Smith (Andersen Junior High School)
- Jessica Soyland (CTA – Liberty Campus)
- Kierstin Yamashita (Weinberg Gifted Academy)
Response to Recent COVID Developments
The CEA Executive Board has released a statement in response to recent developments in CUSD related to COVID.
American Education Week – Substitute Educators Day
This is the final day of American Education Week, and it’s our day to specifically honor our substitute educators. We have always appreciated our amazing substitutes, but as it has in so many ways, COVID has made it crystal clear just how important they are to our students and our schools. To all of our substitute educators who have stepped up in such challenging times … thank you!
To show just how much we appreciate our substitute educators, CEA has sent chocolates and thank you notes to each site’s substitutes. Below are some of the responses we received when we let administrative assistants know about this … they agree that our substitutes are fantastic!
American Education Week – ESP Day
Today is Education Support Professional (ESP) Day, which is a great opportunity to thank our amazing ESP staff! From bus drivers to who get thousands of students safely to and from schools, to custodians who keep our schools clean and sanitized, to technicians who help support the use of technology, to so many others in between … it has never been more obvious how important our ESP staff members are to the success of our district. To all of our fantastic ESP staff members: thank you for everything you do!
American Education Week – Family Day
American Education Week continues today with Family Day. So many different family members play a critical role in our students’ education and in the success of our schools. Whether you’re a parent, guardian, grandparent, aunt/uncle, sibling, cousin, or even just a special adult in the life of a student … thank you for all that you do to help them excel in school!
One of our teachers asked their students to think of a favorite book that their family members have read to them … see the slide show below for some of their responses.
Happy American Education Week!
This week (November 16-20) is American Education Week, and it’s a great time to thank everyone in our education community for everything they do to help our students get the education they deserve. Parents, support staff, substitutes, classsroom educators, certified specialists, administrators … all of us are working harder than ever before to support our students in the most challenging circumstances our schools have faced in recent memory. We salute everyone for their work in making Chandler such a great place to work and learn!
We encourage our Site Representatives to check out these resources from NEA and think about how they can recognize members of their school community during American Education Week. CEA will have more to share this week, but we’d like to kick things off with a short video:
CEA Member Sara Wyffels Named AZ Teacher of the Year
After being named one of five finalists for the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2021 Teacher of the Year, we are so proud to share that nationally board certified Chandler HS Spanish teacher (and CEA member) Sara Wyffels was named the 2021 Arizona Teacher of the Year! Congratulations, Sara!
In this role, Sara will travel across the state over the coming year to serve as an ambassador for the teaching profession, as well as travel to the White House (COVID restrictions permitting) to meet the President along with other Teachers of the Year from across the country. You can read more about Sara and this amazing honor at the Arizona Educational Foundation’s website. We are so proud of you, Sara!