Colleagues, With the Omicron variant raging ((Monroe County reporting over 4,000 new COVID cases today) and the Rochester City School District woefully unprepared and plagued by transportation problems and spiking absences of students and staff, the Superintendent finally announced that the District will revert to remote learning for at least the next three school days. You should know that this was neither negotiated with us nor with any input from teachers or their union. Our proposal was, and remains, that remote learning should last as long as the surge does and that teachers should have the option to teach remotely from their homes. Thus far, the District has not agreed. With virtually no advance notice, they are requiring teachers to report to school for remote teaching. While this is a matter of management prerogative, it neither makes sense nor is it necessary. Teachers can teach remotely just as effectively, if not more, from home. Teachers, too, have concerns about their...