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| (L to R) Special Education Director Roshelle Chavez and EIP teacher Melissa Peterson |
ABC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS THIS WEEK...
ABCFT ACTIVISM - TEACHER LEADERS PROGRAM UPDATE
From across the district, fifteen educators have joined our pilot Teacher Leader program. Earlier in the week, the new TL’s met to discuss the expectations and how we will personalize the program to fit their busy schedule and needs. At this meeting, we shared who we were and identified the scope and impact that ABCFT hopes to achieve with the help the these Union Activists. Throughout the year, TL’s will have an opportunity to attend statewide union conferences, lobby legislators in Sacramento about educational issues that affect teachers and students in California, as well as develop and investigate an educational based research topic. Although the task may seem daunting, the TL’s are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work to make a positive impact in the fields of education and unionism. A big high five to all the TL's who came to the meeting!
ABCFT ACTIVISM - An Opportunity with Assemblymember Garcia
Here is an opportunity to engage with fellow local educators and to have a discussion with our Assemblymember Cristina Garcia. This meeting provides an opportunity for our legislators hear about the needs and status of education from ABC and other school districts.
Teacher’s Roundtable on Thursday, October 5th from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM in Room 4 at John S. Simms Park Recreation Building. If you have any other questions, you can contact their office (562) 861-5803 or at Evelyn.Nuno@asm.ca.gov.
ABCFT/ABCUSD NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
The negotiating team met with the District on September 25th with the ABCUSD Negotiating Team to discuss compensation, calendar, and master contract. The ABCFT Negotiating Team will continue to work on the ABCFT contract proposal and counter proposals in preparation for the next negotiating date set for late October.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Over this past week I attended/worked with unit members in representations, contract resolutions, email/text/phone call questions, site concerns, mediations and the"Keeping You Informed"flyers. Here are a couple of highlights from my week:
I had my weekly meeting with Dr. Sieu where we discussed various district-wide topics and continued to prepare for the October PAL Conference with ABCFT site reps and principals.
On Thursday, I met with Dr. Zietlow for our calendared monthly meeting where we discussed district trends, site reports, and personnel preplanning. These meetings between labor and management are crucial for the resolution of personnel and contractural issues. Without regular communications with distinct administrators we would have more grievances, write-ups, and more situations where teachers were not treated with dignity and support. It is our belief, the when teachers are treated with dignity by administrators this treatment is reflected in how teachers will then address discipline with their own students, with dignity.
This week the ABCFT Executive Board had a scheduled meeting where we discussed, budget, negotiations, preparation for the site rep meeting next month, and school board election progress. We will be posting more information on the election in the coming weeks.
Today, (Friday) I'm at an annual CFT EC/TK Retreat with Tanya Golden where we are networking with other CFT local leaders to share leadership best practices and organizing strategies that will help us to better serve the needs of the membership.
Have a great weekend and we will see you back here next week.
In Unity!
Ray Gaer
ABCFT President
or
(ABC Federation of Teachers)
Or
On our Blog Site @ http://abcteachernews.blogspot.com/
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
There is an election for Governor in November of 2018 and CFT is reaching out to the membership to hear what candidates resonate with members before the CFT Executive Board decides on who to endorse. ABCFT and other locals voiced our concern over the endorsement process in the last Presidential election so we are pleased to see the leadership take a new direction in how they assess membership needs and political direction.
Please take a moment to take this “straw poll” to so that CFT hears your voice on who to endorse for the next California Governor race. CFT STRAW POLL
CFT Legislative Update
Please find attached a Legislative Update summarizing the current status of our sponsored and priority legislation for the 2017 legislative year.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT President Randi Weingarten on GOP’s Decision to Withdraw
Graham-Cassidy
Bill failed in face of political activism, condemnation from the medical community, leadership from Senate Democrats and courage from a few Republicans. AFT President Randi Weingarten on GOP’s Decision to Withdraw
WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the failure of the Graham-Cassidy bill:
“Americans sent a message to Senate Republicans who thought a political win was more important than stripping millions of Americans of their health care: ‘Think again.’
“Americans across the political spectrum stood up for the most vulnerable among us—for patients with pre-existing conditions, students with special needs, and the elderly and disabled who live in nursing homes. They made sure Congress didn’t turn back the clock to a time when American families lived in fear that they would be one illness away from bankruptcy.
“We thank our members who contacted their senators, community allies who protested, and the brave senators who rejected this dangerous bill in spite of political pressure. The AFT couldn’t be prouder of the work we have done alongside our progressive allies to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare.
“But we must also be leery; this won’t be the last time that Trump and his allies will try to sabotage Obamacare. We cannot allow them to abandon our most vulnerable, just to reward the powerful. We urge the president to reach across the aisle, as he has done before, and work with Democrats to improve on the Affordable Care Act—starting with repealing the tax on high-quality health plans and then moving forward with expanding coverage and reducing prescription drug costs. This is the path forward, not dismantling the law that has brought health care—and hope—to millions of American families.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
NATIONAL NEWS
UC still committed to Title IV guidelines
The Trump administration has officially rescinded Obama-era campus sexual assault guidance, saying it was giving colleges more freedom to balance the rights of accused students with the need to crack down on serious misconduct. The move has long been called for by advocates for accused students, who had complained that campus judicial processes had become heavily biased in favor of female accusers. In response to the move, University of California (UC) president Janet Napolitano said: “I am deeply worried by the Department of Education announcement that will in effect weaken sexual violence protections … and unravel the progress that so many schools have made in ensuring fair, timely procedures for both survivors and the accused.” Meanwhile, UC Title IX coordinator Kathleen Salvaty said that the university’s system-wide policies and procedures on sexual violence and sexual harassment “remain in full effect.”
White House launches computer science push
The Trump administration has unveiled an effort to boost computer science training in U.S. classrooms, with the president signing a memo directing the Education Department to begin awarding more of its federal grants to schools that teach computer science to students in kindergarten through 12th grades, and fewer grants to those who don’t. "We need to create pathways for all our citizens to get jobs," Trump said. "When you get out of school, you're gonna get great jobs." The effort was spearheaded by Ivanka Trump, a senior adviser to the President, who said: "Our country has long been the leader in innovation fueled by the skills, creativity and grit of our workforce. In recent years with growing technological advancements, the nature of our workforce has increasingly shifted to jobs requiring a different skill set, specifically in coding and computer science."
Home schooling figures drop
According to a report on parent and family involvement in education from the National Center for Education Statistics, for the year 2015-16, 3.3% of students ages 5 to 17 were home-schooled, a slight decrease since 2012. Home schooling accounted for about 4% of these students in rural areas, compared to 3% in both cities and suburban areas, and around 4% in towns. The vast majority of U.S. schoolchildren attend traditional public schools, while the latest Education Department figures show that between fall 2004 and fall 2014, charter enrollment jumped from just 1m to 2.7m, increasing the percentage of students in the sector from 2% to 5 %.
Student loan default rate rises
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that for the first time since 2013, the overall three-year cohort default rate on federal student loans has risen. The percentage of borrowers defaulting on their student loans within the first three years of entering repayment went up fractionally, from 11.3% to 11.5%, for those who began repayment in 2013-14, while the default rate for public institutions remained steady, at 11.3%, and rose for private colleges, from 7.0% to 7.4%. The data shows that institutions with high cohort default rates are at risk of losing their access to federal student aid.
STATE NEWS
California faces $24bn in retiree health costs
According to a new state report, schools in California face $24bn in future health care costs for retirees, a debt that's forcing some districts to curb benefits or spend less on teacher salaries and classroom equipment. Los Angeles USD has a 56% share - or $13.5bn - of the unfunded liability, although it educates 9% of California's public school population. The district has historically provided some of the most generous retiree health benefits, including lifetime coverage for retirees and their spouses. "Districts have to pay our bills and our basic bills are employee costs," said Teri Burns, from the California School Boards Association. "As that goes up, there's just that much less that's available for everything else - books and modernization, computers, professional development."
Ventura County Star The Fresno Bee
Students fall short on standardized tests
California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test results released on Wednesday show that just over half of California students failed to meet English standards based on spring 2017 results, a performance that remained essentially flat compared to the previous year. According to the California Department of Education, students performed poorly on math tests, with nearly two-thirds falling short. In Los Angeles USD - the second-largest district in the nation - about 30% of students met math standards, with 26% “nearly” meeting them. Fifty-one percent of San Francisco USD students met or exceeded the standard - a 1% increase from last year and a 3% increase from the year before. The Ventura County Office of Education, which includes Las Virgenes USD, said its students are just above the average both in English and math, while San Diego USD said that 56% of students scored at or above the state English standard, and 46% scored at or above in math. State superintendent of public instruction, Tom Torlakson, said “I’m pleased we retained our gains, but we have much work to do. We need to work diligently to narrow achievement gaps and make sure students continue to make progress.”
The Los Angeles Times The Sacramento Bee Daily Breeze San Francisco Examiner Ventura County Star The San Diego Union-Tribune
DISTRICTS
New LAUSD board president elected
Monica Garcia has been named as the new president of Los Angeles ISD's school board, replacing Ref Rodriguez who resigned from the post after being charged with falsifying a campaign finance disclosure form. Rodriguez remains on the board, but stepped aside as its president, saying he did not want to be a distraction. “We took a step forward towards supporting our schools and our collective goal of 100% graduation,” said board member Kelly Gomez. “Garcia has the experience to lead our Board and run our meetings efficiently. Our students and families cannot afford for us to lose momentum. We will continue to work to ensure every LAUSD student receives a high-quality public education.”
CLASSROOM
H-SS framework rollout event today
A California Council for the Social Studies event takes place today at the Santa Clara Office of Education, to promote the rollout of the new history/social science (H-SS) framework, and provide attendees with an introduction to the key instructional shifts that will transform student learning. The meeting is co-sponsored by the California Department of Education, in conjunction with the California History–Social Science Project, the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, and other organizations, aligning history–social science instruction with the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework, and inquiry-based instruction across grade levels.
EMPLOYMENT
Pay negotiations his impasse
Pay talks between the San Mateo Elementary Teachers Association and San Mateo-Foster City Elementary SD administrators has reached a stalemate and a mediator has been called in. While officials are hopeful the intermediary will successfully resolve the standoff, a representative from the teachers’ union said plenty of work is ahead to address educators’ concerns. “As we keep going down this path, our frustration isn’t just about the salaries but also the way we’ve been treated,” said union president Julie MacArthur. District spokeswoman Amber Farinha said: “The San Mateo Elementary Teachers Association and the district jointly requested the support of a mediator to bring a positive resolution to our ongoing negotiations. We are hopeful that this process will result in a successful package.”
1% salary increase approved
Santa Maria Joint Union HSD has approved a retroactive 1% salary increase for all employees, effective July 1. The raise, according to assistant superintendent, Kevin Platt, could have been higher if it weren't for the rising costs of employee retirement pension payouts, which is expected to increase by $1m each year for the next several years.
TECHNOLOGY
Tech firms back government’s STEM education push
Tech firms including Amazon, Facebook and Google have pledged a total of $300m for computer science education, part of an alliance with the Trump administration to prepare students for careers in technology. The donations follow an effort to direct federal money toward teacher training and resources that bolster STEM education. “It’s essential that the public and private sectors work together to ensure all American students have the opportunity to learn computer science and take part in the fastest growing sector of our economy,” Michael Beckerman, the chief executive of the Internet Association, said.
SOCIAL & COMMUNITY
LGBTQ resource center set for October opening
A new resource center, which opened in October, will serve the San Benito-area LGBTQ community who are currently in high school and individuals up to 24-years-old.“The goal of this program is to identify opportunities to reach out to youth, create a welcoming environment within the community and offer support to help youth understand how their personal experiences affect their mental health,” San Benito County behavioral health clinical supervisor Veronica Gallacher said.
It’s OK to discuss suicide
According to a survey conducted by the Jason Foundation, a teacher is the first person a student turns to when looking to help a friend, and this statistic prompted the passing of a California Assembly Bill in 2016, which requires all California public schools that serve students in grades 7 to 12 to create suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies. While the legislation made it mandatory to have a policy in place and to inform staff members, students, and families, it has also helped suicide become a talking point at schools across the county. “What this assembly bill does is it really forces the conversation of suicide prevention,” said Jennifer Newell, director of Tulare County Office of Education’s Behavioral Health Services. “While many districts may have been addressing suicide prevention directly, some may not have, so I think that’s what this policy was intended to be is ‘we’re not going to work around it, we’re going to talk about it.’”
INTERNATIONAL
Unesco warns on worldwide quality of education
Six out of ten children and teenagers in the world are failing to reach basic levels of proficiency in learning, according to a report from the Unesco Institute for Statistics, which warns that more than 600m school-age children do not have basic skills in maths and reading. Institute director Silvia Montoya said the report was a "wake-up call for far greater investment in the quality of education".
