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| Palms Staff showing off their Back to School Cake (featuring 4th grade teacher Aileen Azucenas, third grade team Michelle Radmanesh and Charla Irish, Kinder teacher Shelly Sikma and psychologist Sabrina Collado) |
Week in Review – September 15, 2017
ABC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS THIS WEEK...
ABCFT Site Representative Training
Every school year the ABC Federation of Teachers provides the ABCFT Site Reps with the opportunity for them to spend a day at the Union Hall learning about how to be an effective ABCFT site representative. This past Thursday, eighteen new and veteran site representatives participated in our annual ABCFT site rep boot camp. This training is crucial for site reps because it provides them with the tools to understand how to navigate the complicated intricacies of how to represent teachers/nurses and how to engage the principal in a solution driven mindset. I big thank you to ALL site reps for what you do every day to advocate for teachers and students at your schools and programs.
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| Richard Hathaway leading us all through the ABCFT History Wall |
Visit our Facebook page for an exclusive video on the history of the ABCFT 1993 Strike that ultimately was the catalyst for the Administration/Labor Partnership.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Over this past week I attended/worked with members on representations, contract resolutions, email questions, site concerns and mediations. Here are a couple of highlights of my week:
This week I met with Child Development Site Reps Patty Alcantar and Jessica Sandoval to continue to work on improving the current working conditions for EDP (before and after school program teachers). Over the past three weeks in conjunction with the EDP leadership team we have met with district administrators to provide crucial feedback and solutions to system challenges that are impacting the working conditions for the teachers and most importantly the students in our ABC EDP classrooms. I’m happy to report that over the last week the enrollment in these programs has increased by one hundred students and there are continued improvements being promised on how to provide adequate supplies and food for these classrooms. All ABCFT members need to understand the importance of this program and that the students in these programs are ABC students. The EDP program is an extension of our school sites and the perception of ABC parents of these programs reflects on all ABC teachers. It is vital that our EDP program be a shinning star where students get not only the support of our excellent teachers but also the supplies and food snacks that are the tools of making sure parents and students know that WE CARE.
On Wednesday, I met with Dr. Mary Sieu in our weekly 1pm meeting where we discussed district issues and strategic solutions. We also continued planning for the 9th annual ABC West Coast Institute and PAL Retreat to be held in October. I’ll have more to say about the PAL Retreat in a future post but for now I’ll describe the West Coast Institute. The WCI was started by ABCFT past president Laura Rico as a way to network with other districts and to share the successful Labor/Management strategies implemented in ABC after the 1993 strike. This year we will have over 135 district and union representatives from over a dozen school districts from around the country to come to ABC to learn and share best Labor/Management practices. If you didn’t know already, the ABC School District and the ABC Federation of Teachers are “rock stars” in the national field of education. The work that teachers and nurses do in ABC is not only groundbreaking, but also a shining example of how public education can be successful when educators and administrators work together. I’ll have more updates on the WCI and the PAL Retreat in future posts.
Also on Wednesday, I met with CTE teachers (Career Tech Education) from two high schools to discuss working conditions and possible solutions to their current classroom challenges. CTE teachers are ABCFT’s newest members and come from the ranks of the R.O.P. program that was discontinued in ABC at the conclusion of last school year. ABCFT is committed to working on specific contract language and compensation that address the needs of these newest members.
Lastly, on Thursday I participated in the annual ABCFT Site Rep training and on Friday I attended a meeting of the PAL Council to continue to plan the upcoming West Coast Institute and PAL Retreat in October.
Have a great weekend and we will see you back here next week.
In Unity!
Ray Gaer
ABCFT President
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(ABC Federation of Teachers)
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AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
National Poll Finds Parents Want Safe, Welcoming, Well-Funded Neighborhood Public Schools; Overwhelmingly Support Public Schools
Parents Reject Agenda to Defund Public Education and Divert Money from Public Schools to Charters and Vouchers
WASHINGTON—Three in four public school parents say the public schools their children attend provide them with an excellent or good education, and 79 percent of parents are satisfied with their children’s public schools when it comes to helping their children achieve their full potential, according to a nationwide poll of parents released today by the AFT.
Parents’ highest priorities for their schools are providing a safe and secure environment, developing their children’s knowledge and skills, and ensuring equal opportunity for all kids, and they are deeply concerned by efforts to cut education funding. And parents favor a high-quality neighborhood public school over having more choices of schools for their children by 71 to 29 percent, with majorities of major-city parents, low-income parents, African-American parents and Latino parents favoring a neighborhood public school over more choice.
“These results match what I hear from parents and communities across the country,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “There is zero ambiguity when it comes to what parents want for their children’s education: safe and welcoming, well-funded neighborhood public schools that help children develop their knowledge and skills and ensure equal opportunity for all kids. Parents deeply support the public schools their children attend and are happy with the job public schools are doing. And while we will never be satisfied until every public school is a place parents want to send their children, educators want to work, and kids are engaged and happy, these results confirm the sentiment we’ve seen in other recent polls that show support for public education continuing to rise.
Weingarten continued, “It’s striking that the agenda being pushed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to defund public education and divert resources to vouchers and other privatization schemes—even when they are cloaked as ‘choice’—is completely at odds with parents’ educational priorities. This is true across every race, political persuasion and area of the country. These results should serve as a clarion call to policymakers to stop defunding our schools and instead deliver on the priorities parents want, to reclaim the promise of public education for all children.”
The survey, conducted by Hart Research Associates for the AFT, consisted of interviews with 1,200 public school parents and included subsamples of 233 African-American parents, 371 Latino parents, and 196 parents in major U.S. cities including Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and San Francisco. The interviews were conducted online from July 24 to Aug. 3, 2017.
The results are the latest in a series of polls released this summer and fall on people’s priorities for public education. Gallup released a survey last week showing support for public schools was up by 7 points compared with 2012. PDK’s annual poll showed deep support for public schools and investments in wraparound services, such as mental health services and after-school programs, and resources to prepare students for successful lives and careers; it also showed strong opposition to funding vouchers for religious schools. And an Education Next poll showed public support for charter schools fell by 12 percentage points over the past year.
· Three in four parents (73 percent) say that the public schools their children attend provide them with an excellent or good quality education. Parents across the demographic spectrum give high marks to public schools, including African-Americans (70 percent excellent or good), Latinos (74 percent), parents in major cities (73 percent), and low-income parents (71 percent).
· Seventy-nine percent of parents are satisfied with their children’s public schools when it comes to helping their child or children achieve their full potential. This includes 82 percent of parents in major cities, 77 percent of African-American parents, 80 percent of Latino parents, 79 percent of low-income parents and 82 percent of parents who have a child with a disability.
· Parents favor “a good quality neighborhood public school” (71 percent) over “more choices of which schools I can send my children to” (29 percent), with major-city parents (64 percent) and low-income parents (68 percent) supporting neighborhood public schools as well as majorities of both African-American (60 percent) and Latino (66 percent) parents.
· When asked about the priorities for the schools their children attend, parents’ top responses were providing a safe and secure environment for children (68 percent said extremely important); making sure students graduate with the knowledge and academic skills to succeed in college (63 percent); ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to succeed (62 percent, and the top goal for African-American parents and low-income parents); and developing students’ critical-thinking and reasoning abilities (62 percent).
· By a clear margin, parents identify two central challenges facing public schools today: inadequate funding (36 percent selected this as one of the top two problems), and too much standardized testing (35 percent). Parents also register concern over large class sizes (28 percent, and the highest concern for Latino and major-city parents) and lack of support for teachers (22 percent).
· When asked about trends in education they had concerns about, parents voice especially deep concern about education budget cuts at both the local (87 percent) and federal (85 percent) levels. Eight in 10 (78 percent) also register concern about shifts in funding away from traditional public schools to vouchers and charter schools. Other significant concerns among the nation’s parents include increased class sizes (80 percent); layoffs of teachers (75 percent) and staff (74 percent); high teacher turnover rates (78 percent); and cutbacks in art, music, libraries and physical education to focus more on reading and math (78 percent).
· Only 23 percent approve of the job DeVos is doing, with African-American parents disapproving of DeVos’ performance by 60 percent to 16 percent, and Latino parents disapproving by a 2-1 ratio (46 percent to 23 percent).
· When parents are asked about the competing ways to address schooling, the results are equally decisive. Given the choice of the following approaches, just 20 percent endorse the DeVos agenda of vouchers and charter schools (choice A below), while fully 80 percent of parents prefer a focus on good neighborhood public schools (choice B below). This includes African-American parents (76 percent), lower-income parents (80 percent), parents who live in big cities (72 percent) and Republican parents (76 percent).
o A) We should open more public charter schools and provide more vouchers that allow parents to send their children to private schools if they make that choice. Children will receive the best education if we give families the freedom to attend the schools that best meet their needs. (20 percent agree, 13 percent strongly)
o B) We should focus on ensuring that every child has access to a good public school in their community. We need to make the investments needed to ensure all schools provide safe conditions, focus on children’s well-being, create powerful learning environments, build teacher capacity, and foster cultures of collaboration. (80 percent agree, 60 percent strongly)
· Parents were equally clear when it came to their children’s educators: Parents express the greatest confidence in educators—both teachers (79 percent said they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence) and principals (71 percent)—and parent organizations (71 percent) to have the best ideas for public schools.
· When it comes to investments to strengthen public schools, parents favor expanding access to career and technical education and other vocational programs that prepare students for jobs (94 percent approve), reducing class sizes (93 percent), providing extra resources and support to turn around struggling neighborhood schools (93 percent), making sure school curriculums include art and music (91 percent), and providing health and nutrition services to low-income children through their public school (90 percent). Parents also voice strong support for improving mentoring for new or struggling teachers (89 percent), increasing the number of community schools (87 percent), and providing high- quality preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds (86 percent).
Go here to see the transcript: Full transcript from Randi Weingarten
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
NATIONAL NEWS
College rankings: UCLA and UC Berkeley tie for best public university
According to U.S. News and World Report’s latest college rankings, UCLA has caught up with UC Berkeley, with both heading the top spot for best public university in the U.S. Last year, UCLA came in second to Cal. The newly-released 2018 rankings were calculated based on student retention, graduation rates, class sizes, faculty resources, expert opinions and other factors. While both UC institutions scored higher than any other public schools, neither made the top 5 list of universities overall. Stanford University came in a three-way tie for fifth place with Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
American Teachers Lag in Salary
According to the report, Education at a Glance 2017, US teachers, on average, earn less than 60% of the salaries of similarly-educated workers. They have among the lowest relative earnings across all OECD countries with data. This is what teachers’ salaries, relative to that of other college-educated adults looks like in 24 of the OECD’s 35 countries:
U.S. teachers paid 60% less than other professionals
According to the 2017 Education at a Glance report, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. pays its teachers, on average, nearly 60% less than other professionals in its 35 member countries with similar education levels. The study also notes that “teachers are the backbone of the education system,” but that their salaries have decreased on average in OECD countries, making the profession “increasingly unattractive to young students.” American teachers also work longer hours than counterparts in other researched countries, the report said.
DeVos says school can be a ‘mundane malaise’
During a trip to Wyoming to begin a six-state ‘Rethink School’ tour, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called school a “mundane malaise” for too many kids and said that it must be reinvented so that the country can get out of “the mess we’re in.” Speaking at the Woods Learning Center in Casper, she criticised the traditional public school system by insisting that there is no such thing as an “education system.” Mrs DeVos praised Natrona County School District, which allowed Woods to operate as it does, and told the students they were in good hands, but then said that too many other children are not. The program at the school allows teachers and staff to work collaboratively without a principal as part of a small group of ‘Teacher-Powered Schools’ around the country.
STATE NEWS
Delayed school start time bill defeated
The California Assembly has defeated a bill that would have required middle and high schools to start school at 8:30 a.m. or later. Democratic Assemblyman Todd Gloria said later school start times improve students' energy levels and performance, but opponents said such a mandatory statewide requirement restricts a district’s ability to set start times that are best for it. The proposal would have given school districts several years to implement the change.
California teachers could soon get paid maternity leave
California teachers could soon receive maternity leave for the first time. Assembly Bill 568 would require school districts, charter schools and community colleges to provide at least six weeks of paid leave to academic employees before or after giving birth. Supporters argue the measure will help address a teacher shortage crisis in California by providing a benefit that makes the job more accessible to women who start a family.
Bill to provide free menstrual products in schools set for approval
A bill authored by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia that would provide free menstrual products in public schools with low-income students is heading to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. The bill requires Title I-funded schools with students in grades six through 12 to stock restrooms with feminine hygiene products. "We hear stories about young girls who miss school on a daily basis or extend the use of their menstrual products and get infected," Garcia said.
Education plan affirms local control
In an opinion piece, Michael Kirst, the president of the California State Board of Education, says the state will soon submit its draft Every Student Succeeds Act plan to the federal government, which allows it to make its case for utilizing federal funds to assist low-income students. He says the plan meets the government’s requirements while affirming California’s commitment to local control allowing teachers, principals and superintendents to meet the needs of its diverse students.
Obama-era campus sexual assault guidelines enshrined in state law
Following the announcement by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that she is to review Obama-era guidelines on campus sexual assault, the California Legislature has voted to enshrine the former president's rules into state law. A measure by state Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson codifies in state law existing Title IX regulations, which require schools to treat students equally, regardless of sex. Jackson said the secretary's decision to review the guidelines "puts women and girls at grave risk."
DISTRICTS
LAUSD announced highest ever graduation rate
Los Angeles USD has reported a preliminary graduation rate of 80.2% for the class of 2017, breaking its all-time record. Superintendent Michelle King has been pushing for 100% graduation rate since the start of the 2015-16 school year, and the district has committed at least $45m to efforts including ‘credit recovery’ courses to help students make up classes quickly and graduate on time. Some question the rigor of these courses and whether the students who take them truly are mastering the subject matter.
New superintendent appointed amid strike vote proposal
Robert "Bob" Nelson, who has been serving as interim superintendent, has been appointed Fresno USD’s new superintendent. The district and the Fresno Teachers Association have been in mediation and contract talks for more than a year, and on October 3rd, the union will have a strike vote. "The teachers do not want a strike, but we want smaller class sizes, we want safety and discipline policies we can work with,” union spokesman Jon Bath said.
LAUSD board president charged
The district attorney's office has said the new president of Los Angeles USD’s school board has been charged with three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument. Prosecutors have accused Ref Rodriguez of giving more than $24,000 to his own campaign, while illegally representing that the donations had been made by more than two dozen other contributors. LAUSD said the “allegations are not connected to any district business” and pledged cooperation with the investigation.
HIGHER EDUCATION
GAO says colleges have to do more to help students transfer credits
According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), students lose nearly half of the college credits they earn transferring from one school to another, placing them at risk of exhausting federal grants and loans to repeat courses. The GAO estimates that students who transferred from 2004 to 2009 lost on average 43% of their credits. “Students need more information to navigate this process,” said Melissa Emrey-Arras, director of the GAO’s Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues division. “Their money is at stake here. The federal government’s money is at stake here. And students run the real risk of having to repeat courses and take longer to graduate from college.”
OTHER
Care bear robots lending a helping hand
Care bear robots designed to interact with children have been introduced to ease staff shortages in Japanese nurseries. Global Bridge Holdings, a Tokyo-based childcare start-up, designed the robots with Gunma University. The bears have been designed to interact with children and to monitor their health, with the ability to notify a care worker of any issues.
Bannon to address UC Berkeley
Stephen Bannon, the right-wing media executive and former chief strategist to President Trump, has agreed to speak at the University of California, Berkeley this month as part of Free Speech Week, an event organized by The Berkeley Patriot, a conservative student publication. “It’s a valuable opportunity to have such a high-profile figure, who rarely speaks in public, come to our university,” Bryce Kasamoto, a spokesman for the group, said. Meanwhile, university authorities anticipate demonstrations at a speech by conservative commentator and former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro this week.
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