Welcome to FEA Online!

New on FEAONLINE

BARGAINING ON OVERSEAS CONTRACT NOT COMPLETE

posted September 17, 2020
FEA has requested DoDEA return to the bargaining table to complete bargaining of a new Overseas contract, following a decision issued earlier this month by a federal impasses panel.
Read FEA's update on the Overseas contract bargaining here.

OVERSEAS PAY PROBLEMS

posted September 3, 2020

As if DoDEA employees don't have enough to worry about this year, Overseas members are reporting a variety of issues with pay and deductions. Read FEA's update on the issue to learn about resources to help you track your pay and what to do if you spot a problem.

DoDEA COMPLETES REFUND OF ERRONEOUS 11TH DUES DEDUCTION

posted August 19, 2020

DoDEA has informed us it has completed the process of refunding an 11th deduction for Association dues that was applied in error by DFAS to some Overseas bargaining unit members during SY 19-20. Read the update here

REMOTE OPENING IS BEST, SAFEST OPTION

posted August 18, 2020
FEA and FEA-Stateside Region -- citing difficulties DoDEA is having staffing in-person and Virtual Schools adequately and other shortcomings in planning -- continue to urge the Agency to open all schools remotely for the start of SY 20-21.
Go to this page to read more about the joint call from FEA and FEA-SR for a remote opening of ALL DoDEA schools this year.

August 2020 Journal Now Online

Members lack faith in DoDEA's opening plans; Election and Constitutional Amendment; Overseas Contract update; virtual summer meetings
Read the August FEA Journal in PDF format

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.

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.

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.