Week in Review – September 22, 2017
ABCFT Finalizing Teacher Leader Preparations
At last count, we have a dozen member interested in the ABCFT-AFT Teacher Leaders Program. We decided to forgo the interviews and instead conduct an informational meeting. At this meeting, we will explore the educational interests of the participants. Our hope is that these areas of interest will become the focus of TL participants research. This research will supplement the ABCFT Negotiating Team information gathering and Teacher Leaders will attend monthly trainings and State and National advocacy opportunities in their field of interest. The Teacher Leader Program is modeled after successful activist programs in large teacher unions across the country (Toledo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York, and Austin to name a few)
Our meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 26th from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Union Hall - 19444 Norwalk Blvd. Cerritos. If you are still interested in becoming a ABCFT Teacher Leader please complete the TL application that was previously emailed form abcft@abcusd.us.
ABCFT SCHOOL BOARD REPORT (Tuesday, Sept 19th)
This weeks school board meeting agenda was relatively light, but there are two highlights that will be the focus of this report.
First, is the introduction of the High School Student Representatives for this school year. Each year, two selected ASB students from each high school become student representatives. Throughout the school year the school board rotates which student representative team will report on their school’s activities and accomplishments. This practice is important for a couple of reasons. One, it gives students the opportunity to engage in the administrative process at the school board level. The school board gets to hear directly from students as to what the students see as vital events and activities at their schools. Furthermore, it allow the school board members and opportunity to ask student representatives questions about their experiences. The second reason student representatives are important is that it gives ABC students leadership opportunities that go beyond their classrooms. We have witnessed the leadership and confidence growth in those students who became school site student representatives.
The other noteworthy topic at the school board meeting was centered around the controversy surrounding a lesson plan at Whitney High School. Only three community members and one student commented on the topic. ABCFT would like to thank Superintendent Dr. Mary Sieu and ABCUSD School Board President Chris Apodaca for their guiding and constructive comments that night.
ABCFT/ABCUSD NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
The next negotiating session will be on September 25th. The ABCFT Negotiating Team will also be working throughout the next few weeks on the ABCFT contract proposal.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Over this past week I attended/worked with unit members in representations, contract resolutions, email/text/phone call questions, site concerns and mediations. Here are a couple of highlights from my week:
This week only a handful of cakes were delivered to staffs for their back to school nights. We here at the Union Hall have greatly enjoyed connecting with staffs throughout the district with our Back To School Cake Campaign. Thank you for all the good feedback and side conversations as we continue to find new ways to show teacher and nurse appreciation. The campaign is starting to wind down but we still have the high schools/Artesia Center/ EDP and a couple others to go.
This week only a handful of cakes were delivered to staffs for their back to school nights. We here at the Union Hall have greatly enjoyed connecting with staffs throughout the district with our Back To School Cake Campaign. Thank you for all the good feedback and side conversations as we continue to find new ways to show teacher and nurse appreciation. The campaign is starting to wind down but we still have the high schools/Artesia Center/ EDP and a couple others to go.
On Wednesday, Membership Coordinator, Tanya Golden and I met with Fedde Middle School teachers during their lunch time. Thank you to the Fedde teachers who stopped by to be a part of an important conversation. As we have been visiting schools throughout the school district, we have been hearing concerns about school of choice and the impact it is having on lower enrollment school sites with shrinking teacher staffs. Many members have expressed concerns about the process, it’s impact on neighborhood schools, and community perceptions of their schools. ABCFT is concerned about this issue and over the next couple of months we will do our best to provide historical context, data, school board process and other information related to school of choice. The ABCUSD District Administration is aware of these concerns and is working to address these growing concerns about school of choice and declining enrollment. Teacher voice is and should always be a part of this important conversation. Thank you to all of those teachers that have stopped us in the halls to let us know that this concern is of importance at many school sites. Also on Wednesday, I had my weekly meeting with Dr. Sieu where we discussed various district-wide topics.
This Friday and Saturday, ABCFT will be in attendance at the CFT EC/TK12 State Division Council and the CFT State Council in Sacramento. At this meeting we learn about statewide issues, campaigns, concerns, and politics from other state and local union leaders. The CFT State Council is the representative body comprised of CFT Union locals from all of the California Federation of Teachers affiliates. The information presented at these meetings is then shared with the ABCFT Executive Board, ABCFT Site Reps and ABCFT Unit Members. ABCFT will have a full report in next week's’ Week in Review.
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
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT President Randi Weingarten: ‘We Are All Puerto Ricans Today; We Are All Virgin Islanders Today”
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WASHINGTON—AFT Statement on the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria:
“We are all Puerto Ricans today. We are all Virgin Islanders today. We've been in touch with people in Puerto Rico, who tell us Hurricane Maria has absolutely devastated the island. And the Virgin Islands, already hit hard by Hurricane Irma, face even more destruction from Maria.
“The AFT is here for our members, their families and the tens of thousands of students and others we serve on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. We are here for our many family members who make these islands their home. We are praying for your safety. And just as we are doing in Texas, Florida and the other areas hit by these hurricanes, we will help you rebuild. As I said when Puerto Rico’s teachers’ union joined the AFT, tu lucha es mi lucha, and we will be with you every step of the way to ensure you recover after this devastating storm.”
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Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
NATIONAL NEWS
U.S. spends less than others on education
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), U.S. spending on elementary and high school education declined 3% from 2010 to 2014 even as its economy prospered and its student population grew slightly by 1%. Over the same period, education spending, on average, rose 5% per student across the 35 countries in the OECD. "Overall (U.S.) education spending has been cut quite severely in the last few years," said Andreas Schleicher, from the OECD. "That clearly puts constraints on the environment you have for learning."
STATE NEWS
Bill to keep ICE out of schools advances
A bill seeking to limit the ability of California educators having to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers or other authorities involved in immigration enforcement has advanced to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. “Allowing ICE officers on school grounds threatens the peace of mind that students need in order to grow and succeed. Students cannot learn when they are afraid,” Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, the bill’s author, said.
Schools turning off bell systems
Many California schools are turning off their bell systems and are letting students figure out when a class starts by looking at a clock. The purpose is to teach students how to manage their own time and create a more relaxed campus. “The only places that have bells any more are prisons and schools,” said Chris Calderwood, assistant principal atRancho Mirage High School. “Every kid has a cell phone in their pocket. Why not trust the kids to manage their own time?”
Long Beach Press Telegram
Tests scores delayed again
Three weeks ago, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress results were delayed after the California Department of Education found that 25,000 special education students' scores had wound up in the wrong districts. The target date was moved to this week, but as of Monday, spokesperson Bill Ainsworth said, "It's just taking longer to put everything together than we expected." The priority, he said, was making sure all the information is accurate; he added “that the scores won't come out this week.”
California sues Trump administration
California's attorney general Xavier Becerra is suing the Trump administration over its plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing it is overstepping its authority by waiving environmental reviews and other laws. The federal government recently waived environmental reviews on a 15-mile stretch of border in San Diego. In April, San Diego USD’s board of education unanimously approved a resolution that supported a bill in the state Legislature that would prohibit California from doing business with contractors who help build a wall.
California’s high school athletes ‘at risk’
California is the only state in the U.S. that does not require its high school athletic trainers to be certified in any way, and the state doesn’t even require schools to have trainers at games. According to a recent study conducted by the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute, California ranks second to last in the nation when it comes to implementing policies that help prevent the leading causes of sudden death in high school athletes. “California is the only state in the nation that does not regulate athletic trainers,” said Samantha Scarneo, director of sports safety for the Stringer Institute. “There’s been a lot of push to get licensure (legislation), but the governor keeps blocking it.”
DISTRICTS
District using flexible seating for student comfort
Corona Ranch Elementary School is among a growing number of schools in Corona-Norco USD and across the region which are using alternative or flexible seating. Kids can sit where they feel most comfortable, whether it be a rug on the floor, a soft chair, futon, table or somewhere else. More than half the students at Corona Ranch qualify for free and discounted meals, principal Jeane Trevino said, and many don’t have a quiet place at home to study. “One kid said, I don’t have a room like this, so when I come here, that’s what matters the most,” Trevino said.
LAUSD board president steps down
Los Angeles USD board member Ref Rodriguez, who faces felony charges over the financing of his first board campaign, has stepped down as the board’s president. “When I was elected board president, I committed to highlighting the Kids First agenda for L.A. Unified,” Rodriguez said. “I remain committed to putting kids first, and so, in order to allow the board to remain focused on the hard work ahead of us, I have decided to step aside as board president.” The District Attorney’s office alleges Rodriguez hid the source of nearly $25,000 in campaign contributions that he claimed on campaign finance reports.
High school under fire over slavery lesson
Whitney High School in Cerritos has been criticized by parents for allegedly taping students' wrists together and having them lie down in a dark room for a slavery lesson. One parent said: "As the mother of a black child, I feared that my son's participation would lead him to experience trauma, perhaps at the cellular level, and have a visceral reaction of anger and fear during the exercise itself."
District superintendent Mary Sieu told local new agencies that the exercise was developed years ago "to enable students to understand what Africans experienced when they were enslaved." She said that Whitney High Principal John Briquelet "recognizes that the times have changed since these exercises were developed" and will work with his teachers "to discontinue this exercise in the future and look for more updated lessons in regards to the slave history."
INTERNATIONAL
Tenth of children in forced labour
More than 150m children, or nearly one in 10 globally, are victims of forced labour, a report by the U.N. labour agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO), says. More than a third of these children do not go to school, and although the number of child labourers has fallen by 94m since 2000, the decline slowed from 2012 to 2016, the report added.
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