KENTUCKY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

NEA Member Benefits has expedited the launch of a new discount program for NEA members with Office Depot/OfficeMax, one of the leading purveyors of school and office supplies. This is in response to NEA members’ expressed needs for computer equipment, peripherals, and associated supplies as many educators are required to set up remote teaching and communication capabilities while schools are closed due to COVID-19.

With over 1,300 retail locations nationwide and an online store, Office Depot/OfficeMax offers convenience, an exhaustive array of products and services, and best pricing for NEA members.

Key features of the Office Depot/OfficeMax discount program include:

• Discounts of up to 75% off on thousands of items purchased in-store and online
• Discounts on printing and copying services
• Free shipping for online orders over $50
• Best pricing: members receive the deepest discount available on their products—whether offered in-store or online
• Family members are also eligible to participate in this discount program

General Coronavirus Information and Resources

Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFRCA): paid leave requirements for employees impacted by COVID19

Kentucky Unemployment Benefits Information for Substitute Teachers and ESPs affected by COVID19

NEA Guidance and Resources

Coping With Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),

Handwashing and Hand Sanitizer Use at Home, at Play, and Out and About

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Resources for Teaching and Learning

ABCmouse - This is a subscription service.  There is a 1 month free trail.  Offers an online curriculum for ages 2 to 8 covering numerous core subjects including math, reading, and science. 

Adventure Academy - This is a subscription service.  There is a 1-month free trail.  From the creators of ABCmouse, this online curriculum is for ages 8 to 13 and features gamified learning for Math, Reading, and Science. 

Answer Pad - A free visual- and student-based response platform that allows educators to blend learning and flip classrooms in real-time on browser-based devices. Students can interact with teacher-developed resources from home.

BrainPop and BrainPop Jr - Free access for closed schools.  This site also has free family access.Delivers online learning opportunities in various subjects by showing animated videos and then following up with brief assessments and quizzes. 

Buncee - Subscription site with some free items. A versatile learning tool that provides a digital canvas for multiple educational needs. The Ideas Lab showcases learning resources to be used remotely. 

Classhook - Free access for teachers.  Chock full of educational videos and premade playlists that can be assigned to students to view from home.

DOGOnews - Create reading assignments for students in grades K-8 that can also be integrated into Google Classroom. Features a curated, COPPA-compliant database that provides assessment and language/speech options.

EDpuzzle - Useful for flipping a classroom or lesson. Educational videos can be viewed remotely and followed up with assessments to gauge learning.

Explania - Offers hundreds of animated explanation videos, on subjects from biology to social media, that can be embedded and shared. 

Glogster EDU - The Glogpedia features multimedia posters covering more than 80 topics across nine disciplines, such as math, social studies and science.

Home Safari – Students can join the Cincinnati Zoo for a home Safari each day.  The Cincinnati Zoo will share a Facebook Live segment each weekday at 3pm ET where they will highlight one of our amazing animals.  Includes an activity your students can do from home.  Miss the Facebook Live video or don’t have access to social media? No worries! All videos will be posted to the Cincinnati Zoom Home Safari webpage and to the zoos YouTube channel shortly after the Facebook Live ends.

iKnowIt - Interactive math practice for grades K-5 that offers an easy-to-use interface and tracks student data.

Kahoot - One of the most used game-based learning platforms that allows educators to create their own content-related quizzes and games.

Knoword - A fast-paced vocabulary game site that also allows teachers to choose from existing work packs or develop their own. You can also track student progress.

Nearpod - A mobile learning tool that supports student engagement and collaborative learning. Also recently posted how to use Nearpod at home during school closures.

NeoK12 - This is a subscription site.  A teacher-curated trove of educational videos, lessons, quizzes and games.

RoomRecess - More than 140 teacher-developed games for kids involving math, reading, literacy, typing, and more.

SuperTeacherWorksheets - Hundreds of worksheets and activities that can be printed for home use, ranging from math and science to literacy and phonics.

TeachVid - With this platform, ESL, ELL and foreign language teachers can flip a lesson and have students work at home with the help of numerous videos and activities.

Vocab Victor - A free mobile app for building vocabulary skills that assesses and adapts to a student’s vocabulary level in real-time.

Virtual Museum Tours - Get a little culture and education from home.  Tour over 2500 museums and galleries from around the world. 

WatchKnowLearn - A free site with an abundance of K-12 videos on a wide variety of subjects.

YouTube Teachers - Dozens of educational videos covering topics that range from vector quantities to plate tectonics. 

Other Resources

A comprehensive list of recommendations from NEA on digital learning. (PDF)

Resources for Online Learning During School Closures (NEA)

Interim Guidance for Administrators of US K-12 Schools and Childcare Programs (CDC)

Schools and Coronavirus: What You Should Know (from NEA)

How to Talk to Children About the Coronavirus - Resources for Parents

This can be a very stressful, confusing and uncertain time for everyone, but it can be an especially scary time for children. Here are great resources about how you can talk to kids about the virus and the response.

Talking with children about Coronavirus Disease 2019: Messages for parents, school staff, and others working with children (CDC)

Talking to Children About COVID-19 (NASP)

How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus (PBS)

Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus (NRP)

Talking With Children: TIPS FOR CAREGIVERS, PARENTS, AND TEACHERS DURING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS  (SAMHSA)

Kentucky COVID-19 resources: 

Kentucky COVID-19 homepage

Kentucky COVID-19 Hotline (800) 722-5725

ESP Members Register HERE for On-Line Learning Courses

ON-LINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ESP

Frequently Asked Questions

WHO IN PROVIDING THESE RESOURCES? 

Thanks to an organizing grant from NEA & KEA we have secured an agreement with a company called the Professional Learning Board.  They provide on-line learning courses that can be accessed remotely and completed at your own pace.  We have selected specific courses that will meet the needs of our ESP members in all job categories.

This investment on behalf of OUR organization is allowing FREE access to KEA’s 3400 ESP members across the state.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR ESP MEMBERS: 

We have the potential of keeping:

4 hour employees working for 18 days

6-8 hour employees working for 12 days

para-educators working for 20 days

HOW LONG DOES EACH COURSE TAKE TO COMPLETE?

Each course takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete. 

These are done in a format that includes reading passages and answering questions. 

HOW DO KEA- ESP MEMBERS GAIN ACCESS TO THESE COURSES?

1. Verify with the school district/ supervisor that you will allow the courses to qualify for time worked. 
2. Complete the registration link on our www.kea.org website or this link https://forms.gle/oHBer8qCaTFrvpP89

(This asks for your Name, email, job classification & school district)

KEA will verify your membership status and then send daily downloads to PLB so they can be invited to participate in the courses. 

1. You will receive an email from Prof. Learning Board to that email address with a link inviting you to log in and begin taking the courses. 
2. As you complete each course, you can download or print a certificate with your name and personal completion verification code that can be submitted to your school district or supervisor. 

WHAT ABOUT ESP’S THAT ARE NOT KEA MEMBERS?

1. What a great time to join the greatest public-school advocate organization in Kentucky!

KEA is the ONLY association in Kentucky making sure our ESP’s can have an alternative compensation option during these trying times. 

ONLY KEA- ESP Members can get their courses covered for FREE and meet their hourly work requirements. 

Join Now if you are not a member:https://www.kea.org/form.users.asp?q_stepid=2&q_areaprimaryid=7&q_areasecondaryid=0&q_areatertiaryid=0

1. School Districts can provide this option to employees at the cost of $100 per person to be paid through a Purchase Order directly to the Prof. Learning Board.

School Districts that decide to do this could ask for employees that would like to utilize this option and then pay for the number of employees that wish to participate. 

(Ultimately that is a cost of $8 per course for each ESP or $5 per course for para-educators.)

1. Individual nonmembers can purchase the courses at the discounted cost of $20 each on their own through the Professional Learning Board Website. 

HOW DO MEMBERS GET CREDIT FOR COMPLETING THESE COURSES?

This would require collaboration with individual school districts for prior approval to allow these courses to count as “time worked” but considering the circumstances I foresee many school districts being willing to do this.  We already know of many that are searching to find resources for their ESP’s during this time.    

Once the ESP complete the course you will receive a certificate of completion that can be downloaded or printed to submit personally or electronically to show completion of the course.  This should be all the district would need. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF AN ESP DOES NOT HAVE COMPUTER ACCESS?

Most school districts have at least one school or district work site that is remaining open to provide for the feeding programs, and other essential work that needs to take place. 

We advise IF you have absolutely NO ACCESS to a computer or internet, you request permission to come to a district location and use one of the school computers to complete these courses.  You would be able to exercise social distancing while still being able to complete your required hours. 

IS THIS A REQUIREMENT FOR ESP MEMBERS?

This is NOT a requirement; however, this resource is FREE to our KEA members and something you should consider taking advantage of if you are trying to find ways to meet your hourly work requirements.  This will also allow you to gain additional knowledge about the many types of children you assist every day. 

DO YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE COURSES?

ESP will have full access to all the courses listed and can use them as needed to supplement their school district work requirements.   You DO NOT have to complete all the identified courses, but you can if you choose to. 

Voting information for the NEA RA election is available in the February edition of the KEA Newsletter, however, if you need any assistance, please call 866-384-9978.  Please note, the phone number listed in the KEA newsletter regarding the election is not in service.

The website address for the election is keavotes.com

Note: This election does not apply to Aspiring Educators or Retired members

2020 RESPECT Conference 
Rising Education Support Professionals Excelling in Careers Together

Click here to register

Join us for Kentucky’s premier professional development academy for Education Support Professionals. 

KEA is excited to offer this opportunity to all of Kentucky’s Education Support Professionals (classified school employees).  There is a $25 registration fee but at the completion of the conference, KEA ESP members will receive a $75 reimbursement to cover registration and travel costs. For more information about becoming a KEA member, click here. Anyone who would like to register who does not have an email address should call 606-546-9211 or 877-893-1091 for assistance. 

Community service project: Donations will be accepted for a local Family Resource Center at to be accepted on the 13th and presented to a representative at lunch that day. 

Tentative schedule: Each professional development session at the RESPECT Conference will be approximately an hour long. Participants will be able to attend one session from the morning block and two sessions from the afternoon block. 

Overnight accommodations may be made for Friday, June 12th with the following hotel.  Hotel reservations will not be reimbursed by the KESPA/KEA District. Please contact the hotel directly to make reservations. The room block at Hilton Garden Inn is available until May 22^nd at a rate of $159 per room, king rooms only available. The address is: 

Hilton Garden Inn
203 Commerce Dr
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
270-900-4899

When:

June 13, 2020 8: 00 AM – 4: 45 PM

Where:

John Hardin High School

384 W A Jenkins Rd

Elizabethtown, KY 42701

Contact:

Heather Gibson

KEA

877-893-1091

Heather.gibson@kea.org

BCCEA members vote here

SB 7-Site Based Council Reform

Click here to vote: election2.kea.org

View the KEA Strong video by clicking the link below:

KEA Strong Video

Visit NEA Member Benefits today!

neamb.com

NEA has created a new way to engage with the Kentucky Education Association, designed to make managing your information with us even easier.

NEA is introducing a MyNEA360 Profile that will be accessible when you log into NEA edCommunities at www.mynea360.org that allows you to:

• Contact KEA for help or information
• Check your membership status and details
• Keep all your contact information up-to-date
  
  Nothing about how you access the site will change – we’ll still be at www.mynea360.org and your username and password will remain the same. All your bookmarks will still take you to the same collaboration group pages. We’ve just launched a new profile page called MyNEA360 Profile that you’ll see in the top navigation menu when you log in to edCommunities.