Portland Teachers’ Union Proposes Self-Taught Fridays to Reduce Teacher Burnout

Amid staffing shortage in schools across Oregon, Portland’s teachers’ union is seeking to turn one of the five school days into an “asynchronous instructional day,” in which high school students would stay at home and do school work while receiving limited online instructions.

Citing an “unprecedented staffing crisis,” the Portland Association of Teachers on Monday proposed (pdf) that any eight-period day, which typically falls on the fifth school day of the week, should be converted into an asynchronous instruction day. During those days, teachers can use three hours to help students online, and use the remainder of the day as “educator directed planning time.”.. (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)