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Update on Saturday Classroom Setup, Refund of 11th Dues Deduction and More

posted August 8, 2020
DoDEA shows some flexibility on Saturday classroom setup requirement and says it will soon complete repayment of erroneous dues deduction. FSIP decision on Overseas contract expected soon; call for remote opening of school. Read the update here.

RICHARD TARR NAMED FEA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/GENERAL COUNSEL

posted August 5, 2020
After serving in an interim position since January, 2020, longtime FEA attorney Richard Tarr was unanimously appointed by the Board of Directors this week to the position of FEA Executive Director/General Counsel.

TELL CONGRESS TO CALL FOR REMOTE OPENING

posted August 2, 2020

IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE THE LINK BELOW WHILE YOU ARE ON DUTY, ON GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, OR WHILE USING ANY GOVERNMENT-PROVIDED COMPUTER OR OTHER EQUIPMENT.

Visit this page to find out how you can write your elected representatives and urge them to call for a remote opening of all DoDEA schools this year, due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19 threatening the health and safety of students and employees.

DoDEA Announcement on Saturday Duty Time

posted July 24, 2020
DoDEA failed to negotiate with FEA on its intention to have Overseas bargaining unit members work on a Saturday prior to releasing that information to the field. We clearly hear -- and share -- our members' anger over this development.

SUGGESTIONS WHEN APPLYING FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

posted July 23, 2020
FEA suggests adding factors such as your age and any health conditions for your household members when you submit your request for Reasonable Accommodations. Read FEA's update here

FEA, FEA-SR JOINTLY CALL FOR REMOTE OPENING

posted July 21, 2020
In a joint letter to DoDEA Director Tom Brady, FEA and FEA-Stateside Region jointly called for a remote opening of all DoDEA schools this year, due to the ongoing COVID threat. Read the update from FEA here.

REVISED ACCOMMODATION FORM; INFO FOR MEMBERS ON AUTHORIZED DEPARTURE

posted July 21, 2020
DoDEA has revised its Reasonable Accommodation request form to include cancer as an underlying condition that could put employees at heightened risk from COVID, and FEA posts information for those on Authorized Departure who are interested in Reasonable Accommodations or Virtual Schools.

FEA ADVOCATING FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY

posted July 14, 2020
The July 15 FEA President's Report discusses some of the health and safety concerns the Association has been raising with management as plans for SY 20-21 proceed.

DoDEA Delays Reopen of Southeast Schools

posted July 10, 2020
DoDEA has announced the reopening of schools in its Southeast District will be delayed from one to three weeks, depending upon location, due to COVID. Read FEA's update.

Authorized Departure Extended to August 10

posted July 10, 2020
DoDEA employees and/or their eligible family members who evacuated to safe haven locations under the Authorized Departure permission granted this past spring may remain at their safe haven until August 10, under new guidance issued by DOD and DOS. Get more information here

HAVE I BEEN PAID CORRECTLY?

posted June 24, 2020
Overseas bargaining unit members are encouraged to track their pay for the just-concluded school year by using one of the salary organizers posted on the FEA website. Read FEA's Update and link to pay organizers here.

DOD Approves RAT Travel Exception

posted June 11, 2020
DOD has approved an exception from its travel ban to allow DoDEA and other civilian employees to take RAT travel. FEA has been lobbying DoDEA for this exception for several weeks.
Read the full update here

DFAS BEGINS REPAYING OVERSEAS DUES DEDUCT ERROR

posted June 11, 2020

DFAS has begun the process of rectifying the error by management that resulted in many Overseas members incorrectly being assessed an 11th payment of Association dues this year. Read the full update here.

MEMBERS ELECT AREA OFFICERS

Congratulations to the following FEA members who were elected by their peers to represent them on the FEA Board of Directors. Each will begin a three-year term on the Board on August 2.

FEA Director for DDESS -- Diane Gibbs

FEA Pacific Area Director -- Amy Sweeney

FEA Europe Area Director -- Terry McClain

Thank you and congratulations to all the candidates and thank you to all FEA members who took time to vote. The full election tally report is available here.

May 2020 Journal Now Online

COVID-19; Stateside and Overseas contract updates; New e-Dues option for 20-21; Read Across America.
Read the May FEA Journal in PDF format

INCREASES POSTED FOR OVERSEAS SALARIES

posted April 27, 2020

Overseas salary schedules for the current school year have been released by the DOD Wage & Salary Division. The AVERAGE percentages of increase in the 2019-2029 salary schedules (across all steps and all pay lanes) for each position in the Overseas bargaining unit are as follows:

Classroom teachers -- 3.22 percent
Speech Pathologists -- 3.10 percent
Guidance Counselors -- 2.68 percent
School Psychologists -- 3.05 percent

Read FEA's update here

DODEA SEEKS TO IMPOSE HARMFUL OVERSEAS CONTRACT

posted April 17, 2020
At a time employees are working frantically to educate students despite school shutdowns, DoDEA is moving forward with its effort to impose an incredibly harmful and punitive contract on Overseas employees. Read FEA's Bargaining Update #7 for details.

CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION

Find information from FEA about how coronavirus is impacting Association members at this page

NEA DIGITAL LEARNING RESOURCES

NEA has put out an info paper with critical tips and considerations for educators tasked with developing and implementing digital learning environments in reaction to COVID-19.

These are great resources. There are also links to educational resources. Those resources may or may not all be approved by DoDEA. If you have questions please check with your ET (Educational Technologist) and the approved digital resources.

Remember that the Information Specialist at your local school has a wealth of digital resources available in the DoDEA purchased databases. The Information Specialist can recommend items to support your digital delivery of lessons.

DoDEA Updates Info on RITA Reimbursement

posted March 18, 2020
In response to requests from FEA, DoDEA has added some information to its site about expansion of moving tax reimbursements to incoming and departing feds, including contact information for applicants and those with questions. Learn more here

DATA-DRIVEN AGENCY CONTINUES TO IGNORE DATA

posted December 17, 2019
Once again, DoDEA has dropped in the government's annual survey of "Best Places To Work", slipping from 357 in 2018 to 366 in 2019. Expect the rankings to get worse in the years ahead as a result of management's labor-relations practices. Read more here

STATESIDE MEMBERS: BE SURE TO LOG UNPAID TIME

FEA-Stateside members are reminded to use the Association-provided tracking sheet to log the unpaid hours they were required to work this school year and submit the tracking sheets to FEA-SR, for use in the Association's upcoming arbitration. Read the full update and access the tracking form here.

WE ARE NOT ALONE IN OUR FIGHT

NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia recorded this fantastic message of support and thanks to FEA members worldwide and reminds us that we are not alone in our fight against DoDEA and the federal government for better working and learning conditions. Visit this page (when you are off duty, off government property and not using government equipment) to voice your opposition to DoDEA's unilateral and illegal contract actions in Stateside schools and look for more opportunities to take action in the months ahead.

Hatch Act Information

Visit this page to learn more about the Hatch Act and find examples of activities allowed and prohibited under the law.
Hatch Act Do's and Don'ts

FEA HCR Newsletter and other HCR Info

View the latest issue of The Advocate, the monthly newsletter of FEA's Human and Civil Rights Program, and find other resources by clicking here.

FEA Social Media

FEA members (and anyone else) can follow FEA on Facebook and Twitter. We remind members these are public forums and should not be used to solicit or share legal advice. Members should always begin the process of seeking legal advice and services by contacting their local association representative and not share or reveal any personal information, particularly information pertaining to legal situations, on any public forum or social media site.

As always, we encourage our members to use these resources courteously and professionally.

Follow FEA on Twitter (#fededassoc)

Like FEA on Facebook

Teaching Channel: Videos that Inspire Teaching

The Teaching Channel website offers a growing library of short videos to inspire K-12 teaching. These video lessons - in English language arts, math, science, and history/social sciences - include lesson objectives, questions to consider, homework ideas, and more.

Free registration provides access to:

Highlights of skilled teachers teaching a lesson, such as Kick Me: Making Vocabulary Interactive

Tips and tricks for new teachers, such as Attention Getting Signals: One Spot and Planning Full Days & Practicing Fast Facts

Featured "Amazing Classrooms," such as Building Community in a Multi-Language Classroom

See the Welcome to Teaching Channel video.

Updates for our Members

Read the FEA President's Report and link to other updates for FEA members here.