Every Student Deserves an A - EA Business Item/Resolution

The following new business item or meeting resolution comes from StrikeReadySF.

As many districts are reviewing OSPI grading policies and determining their own, we are seeing district and building leadership clash with staff and EAs over the use of punitive marks and seemingly no-harm grades like "not pass" and "incomplete" that can have harmful impacts on students with lack the access and privilege to earn a Pass or A mark.

This resolution stresses the importance of acknowledging the inequities that were present before the pandemic and persist, if not have been amplified through it, and demands all students receive an A.

• For districts and EAs still determining policies, we encourage you to begin the conversation with a resolution like this one.
• For districts and EAs who have already received policies, we encourage you to present a business item to shift the focus of the inequity of the policy your board and district may have adopted

Every Student Deserves and A

emphasis and text color given in the original text

Whereas an educator’s highest priority during a global pandemic must be the health and well-being of themselves, their families, their students, and their students’ families; and

Whereas our current working conditions and students’ learning conditions are chaotic, stressful, and varied; and 

Whereas an educator’s job during a crisis is to meet the diverse and shifting needs of students and teachers, which starts with eliminating the undue pressures of grading and grades; and

Whereas online learning without a concrete plan to support students who speak English as a second language, students who have IEPs, and students who have limited experience with digital technology is inherently inequitable; and

Whereas the rush to online learning only benefits corporate interests that seek to private public education while profiting from this crisis (e.g. Pearson OR RELEVANT OR LOCAL PRODUCERS/CORPORATION); and

Whereas online learning dramatically heightens existing inequalities at a time when we need to be coming together; and

Whereas, educators best show solidarity with students, families, and fellow educators by trusting in our collecting judgement to determine community needs.

Therefore, be it resolved that we, [LOCAL EA], deem it both unfair and punitive to ‘assess’ students and educators on their capacity to adapt to online learning and believe doing so harms our goals of equity and universal access in public education; and

Finally, be it resolved that we, [LOCAL EA], pledge to grade all students [APPROPRIATE TO LOCAL DISTRICT - ORIGINAL TEXT OFFERED GRADES EQUIVALENT TO ‘EXCEEDS STANDARDS’ OR A’S] for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, as long as schools remain closed.