Your students have a chance to be part of Utah history! 

"In honoring Dr. King’s legacy, the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission is hosting an art contest for the official state decal of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. license plate. With an accompanying slogan of “Many Voices, One Utah,” the selected artwork will promote diversity, equity and human rights. The winner will receive an official decal and be formally recognized in January 2021 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "

​To submit a design and find out more about the contest rules, please follow this link >>

Retirement
Road Map
 
 1.  Granite District Retirement Info
 2.  Utah Retirement System (URS)
 
 


​If you are close to the end of your career, smart planning is the key.
Join us to learn more about your retirement benefits.

​Thursday, January 7, 2021
Virtual via Zoom
5:00 – 7:30 p.m.

5:00-6:00       Granite District Retirement Information - by Doug Wagstaff
                                            (Negotiated for you by GEA)
 
6:00-7:00       Tier 1 Information from the URS - Kory Cox
                        (You are in Tier 1 if you began employment prior to July 1, 2011.)
 

GEA continues to receive questions and concerns regarding quarantine and isolation protocols. In August 2020, Granite School District Human Resources sent this memo to all principals and to GEA. The same protocols are still in place and posted here as information. If you have questions regarding how protocols are followed in your school building, be sure to contact the GEA Office by phone or email.

​Quarantine is for people who are not sick and don' t have any symptoms of COVID-19, but who may have been exposed to it.

Isolation is for people who are already sick or have tested positive for COVID-19.
 
 
Potential School Scenarios:

1. Several students in one class are quarantined.
   1. Teacher provides instruction in a variety of ways including but not limited to; paper-based materials, online instruction, streaming, etc.

 

1. Teacher is quarantined, but students are not.
   1. The teacher continues to plan for face-to-face instruction and participates remotely in other regular teacher responsibilities. A substitute will be assigned to the class.
   2. The teacher is working remotely during the quarantine, no leave is necessary.

 

1. Teacher and several students are quarantined.
   1. The teacher continues to provide plans for face-to-face instruction, online instruction, streaming, or paper-based materials for students, including those under quarantine. The teacher participates remotely in other regular teacher responsibilities. A substitute will be assigned to the class.
   2. The teacher is working remotely during the quarantine, no leave is necessary.

 

1. The teacher and the whole class or the whole school are quarantined.
   1. The teacher will teach online and/or create paper-based materials.
   2. The teacher is working remotely during the quarantine, no leave is necessary.

 

1. The teacher is isolated due to positive Covid-19 test but is asymptomatic (no symptoms).
   1. The teacher continues to plan for face-to-face instruction and participates remotely in other regular teacher responsibilities. A substitute will be assigned to the class.
   2. The teacher is working remotely during the isolation, no leave is necessary.

 

1. Teacher is isolated because the teacher has symptoms of COVID-19 and is waiting for test results.
   1. The teacher will not work and a substitute will be assigned to the class.
   2. Teacher may access available leave; FFCRA leave, sick leave , FMLA, STD leave, etc.
   3. Teachers should be directed to contact Berkley King, Benefits Manager.

 

1. Teacher is isolated because of a positive COVID-19 test, with symptoms.
   1. The teacher will not work and a substitute will be assigned to the class.
   2. Teacher may access available leave; FFCRA leave, sick leave, FMLA, STD leave, etc.
   3. Teachers should be directed to contact Berkley King, Benefits Manager.

 
 
*In all of these scenarios, principals should collaborate with SUDS to explore the best use of human capital in the building.

ACLU of Utah published an updated version of “Free Speech Rights of Public-School Teachers and Staff in Utah,” a Know Your Rights advisory guide for education professionals employed in K-12 settings.
 
This 4-page pamphlet, updated to address issues and trends relevant in 2020, is designed to help teachers, staff members, administration officials, and school board members navigate these complex First Amendment issues. Nothing in this document, however, should be construed as legal advice. If you have a specific concern, please reach out to GEA.
 
Like students, public school teachers and staff retain First Amendment rights both inside and outside school settings. However, because teachers and school staff are public employees, understanding the breadth of these rights can be complex.
 
This guide addresses questions like “Can I wear items conveying political or religious opinions in the classroom?” and “Is my speech to colleagues during breaks or casual conversations protected?”  It also provides context on how speech outside of school can be viewed differently than speech inside a school or classroom.
 
Please use and share this guide, "Free Speech Rights of Public-School Teachers and Staff in Utah," within your school or district, professional association, or union.
 
Brought to you by: Jason Stevenson, Strategic Communications Manager, ACLU of Utah

​As a member of GEA, you have an opportunity to be actively involved and be a voice for teachers and our Association. The Granite Education Association announces elections and encourages all interested members to run for office.

You may run for only one (1) Board position. Board members and officers elected by the general membership qualify as voting delegates at the NEA Representative Assembly* and the UEA House of Delegates.

If you are interested in being involved, but not on the Board of Directors, you can run for the Representative Assembly (RA) Delegate position. Members elected by the general member-ship to attend the RA qualify as voting delegates to the RA, the governing body of NEA. Elected delegates travel to the RA during the summer to make policy for the NEA.*

We will email your statement and picture (see below) to building reps with the elections materials. Please plan to attend the AR meeting on Weds., November 11th (virtually), prepared to make a short campaign speech.

*GEA board members’ travel to the RA is funded in the middle year of their term of office. Among members elected as delegates to the NEA RA, the top three vote-getters will have their travel funded.

If you or someone you know is experiencing stress, anxiety or depression because of COVID-19, talk to a crisis counselor seven days a week, 7a-7p. All information is confidential and free of charge.

Services include:

• Emotional support
• Crisis counseling
• Coping strategies
• Mental health education
• Referrals if more help is needed

Call/Text: 385-386-2289
Email (first name and phone number only): UtahStrong@utah.gov
For immediate response after hours:
1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Counseling in Spanish and other languages available.

Operated by the Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health through a FEMA grant, facilitated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

​Be Your Own Best Advocate

This is the time in an educator’s contract year when principals begin notifying them about observation scheduling. The question GEA is now receiving from members is “Why?! On top of everything else – why go through the observation/evaluation process?”

Educators are doing the very best they can just to keep their heads above water. Some days, it’s all you can do to get out of bed and off to work. Stress, anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion rule the day. Principals are not exempt from these same feelings and concerns, and they, by law and school policy, are required to observe and evaluate educators each year.

GEA has had ongoing conversations with the Granite School District Assistant Superintendents regarding observations and evaluations and expectations of teachers during the time of Covid-19.  Teaching strategies and lesson plans have changed to social distance for safety.  Administrators have been counseled to not expect to see what they would in a “normal” school year.  We have been assured that this fact has been discussed with principals and leniency in instructional strategies such as proximity, small group instruction, changes in lesson design, hands on activities, etc. will be considered.

If you are a provisional teacher or are in the ‘summative’ year of your evaluation cycle, your observation will become part of an evaluation score.  The time for you to make an appeal on an observation and/or evaluation score is BEFORE you sign and finalize the document. You are your own best advocate when it comes to a fair observation, and timing is everything. Your principal should email you a draft of your observation and schedule a debrief meeting with you to review the scores, sign, and finalize. When you receive this draft, review carefully with objectivity. If you note scores on some standards that are lower than normal due to the impact Covid-19 realities have on your classroom, now is the time to gather evidence to the fact that you have had to limit your teaching strategies and why. Once you have gathered the evidence you need, schedule to meet with your principal, present the evidence and work together to modify the scores appropriately.

If you need help with this process, call GEA and we will review the observation report with you and advocate on your behalf. 

Opinion posted in today’s Salt Lake Tribune written be GEA leader, Tayler Khater. Tayler teaches Social Studies to students enrolled at Skyline High School.  He has been a GEA building representative for several years and volunteers time to teach and live a life that is politically active and socially conscientious.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the “Next Greatest Generation”.

The Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake County Health Department, and the Granite School District have created an option for employees of the Granite School District to get free COVID-19 testing. 
​
Please follow the instructions on the letter attached below: