ABCFT - Week in Review - December 14, 2018
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In case you’ve missed previous Weeks in Review, you can find all of them here: ABCTeachernews To find previous editions, just click on “Blog Archive” which is the menu on the right and click on the specific week.
(ABC Federation of Teachers)
In Unity
ABC Federation of Teachers
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MEET OUR ABCFT Members- Teachers from Extended Day Program
The ABC Federation of Teachers is made up of members from thirty schools and a dozen other educational programs. One of our largest group of members work in the child development department. Having the opportunity to to learn about fellow members is one way to broaden our understanding of the membership who makes ABCFT strong. At the ABCFT Site Representative meeting this month, Extended Day teachers Patty Alcantar and Renee Navarro pictured on the right, were able to give the site reps a short presentation about their program. Here are some highlights from their talk:
- EDP opens at 7:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M (end of school day to 6:00 p.m.)
- EDP has 31 classrooms throughout 14 sites. 13 are Elementary and 1 Middle School (Tetzlaff).
- EDP is a fee based program that is paid by the community.
- Our EDP teachers hold a Child Development Credential and have to renew every 5 years with at least 105 clock hours of PD outside work hours. We also have teachers who have their BA in Multiple Subjects and have their Masters. Some of our teachers currently sub within our District as well.
- EDP teachers are responsible for supervision of children, daily schedule, lesson plans, homework and enrichment.
- When planning lessons the teachers use Mathematical Practice Standards and College and Career Readiness Standards.
- We have had limited training in Common Core and are pushing for more PD. Ideally we would like to follow the district suggested pacing guides. AFT reps visited us at Rep Council in October and will work with the district to offer PD for our teachers.
- We have PAL meetings monthly with our supervisor.
- We have staff meetings once a month and Union PAL Partnership information at the end of each meeting.
- Our Leadership Team consists of 5 EDP teachers (including Patty and myself) that meet once a month and a PAL Team that consists of all of Child Development Reps that meet monthly also.
Thank you so much for your support and giving us the opportunity to share about or program.
ABCFT ACADEMIC SERVICES UPDATE
Each month Connie Nam and Rich Saldana work with Beth Bray and Carol Castro to provide teacher input about professional development, curriculum changes and testing changes. ABCFT believes that the biggest working condition impacting teachers are the key curriculum and the professional development being churned out of academic services. Many times the district is implementing changes that are coming from the State of California but rarely do unions get involved in those changes. ABCFT believes that teacher voice helps to provide the district office with classroom advice and input that helps to deliver better comprehensive changes. Each month at the ABCFT Representative Council Rich and Connie give reports and take questions on all things related to academic services. Here is the report for the month of December:
Academic Services Update:
Elementary:
- Pacing Guide Update: The pacing guides were developed in response to concerns expressed about the last pacing guide and by teachers through a committee, and at the end of the year, the committees will reconvene to make adjustments. Because the Benchmarks are a part of the LCAP of the district, disregarding the pacing will make is disadvantageous for the students.
- GATE Update: Academic Services is in the process of making the process of recertification meaningful and accessible for everyone. Information will be forthcoming.
- Benchmark Testing: There were many schools what were notified before the end of the testing window as a reminder. When there are anomalies in the numbers of students tested on benchmarks at some school sites, it is a common protocol for Academic Services to send reminders to the principals. It is very cumbersome to have to reopen the window for the benchmarks, and the data set is required for the district LCAP, so reminders are sent before the window closes if it is very near and tests need to be taken.
- The state SSID numbers are more difficult to locate within the attendance data, so grades 3-6 do get cards. Academic Services can print cards for second grade by school request.
- Science Update: January first meeting. Academic Services will be reviewing the materials that have been state approved. Paul Kilian is working on gathering enough representatives from each site for the textbook committee. Make sure you have a representative from your site.
- Coaching Update: The intent of the coaching is truly to help all teachers improve best practices to help all children learn. The limitations of the budget didn’t allow all schools to receive coaching this year, but the hope is for the process to grow to make this resource available to all teachers.
- Direct coaching is the most effective method for professional learning and growth. This is why Academic Services (with AFT support) has implemented this tool.
Secondary:
- Science Textbook Committee: First Meeting Monday, December 10th(3:30-5:30) to review adoption process and approved publisher list. Please make sure your school is represented.
- Math & ELA Benchmarks are now closed. Departments are now analyzing data for areas of success and need. In short, “How can we use the results to help the students improve?” The next step is to search the SBAC database for their site and further disaggregate data by special populations and by question. Learning from the data analysis will be implemented by the start of the 2nd Semester. A 35 or 55-minute Powerpoint explaining the Data Analysis process has been provided to the school. This powerpoint has a screencast that will walk through the data analysis process. Please make sure that this data analysis is part of your department meetings. Some school sites have opted to take a sub day to analyze data.
The second benchmark window will open in March.
- ELA Performance Task was administered in October-November over 2-3 days. This SBAC writing assessment asks students to read and pull evidence from several documents as they create their response. ELA teachers are finishing their scores which will be uploaded to Illuminate. Data analysis is being completed with ELA teacher leader in December with Julie. Some school sites are doing a vertical articulation review of the performance task with 8th and 9th-grade teachers.
- Science & Health Teachers are asked to NOT deviate from the district adopted Positive Prevention Plus. The curriculum that was adopted per the California Healthy Youth Act (AB 329). Eight (8) parent meetings are currently being held throughout the district to inform parents about the curriculum and we need to make sure the exact curriculum is being administered with fidelity. For example, NO condom demonstrations until you clear this with your administrator and no distribution of condoms. Please note that training will take place on December 17 and 18 for anyone who has not received training, including special education teachers.
- Edmentum Ad Hoc Committee will meet December 18th from 12:30-3:30 PM. Some topics to be discussed include course offerings, class sizes, and course rigor/grading. A survey was sent out to Edmentum coordinators to gather information on site needs, access, and program structure.
MEET A MEMBER
The ABCFT YOUnion is made up of 1,050 great teachers and medical professionals and each one of us has a story to tell. Each week we will highlight a member of ABCFT.
Meet Tanya Golden in her 15th year as a Teacher and Union Activist.
If you could give ”first year teacher you” advice what would it be?
Teaching was my second career and in the private sector our mantra was do it right the first time. I brought that motto with me to teaching and quickly learned it may fit in a business model but not necessarily education. Instead, I reminded myself to focus on learning and reflecting. So as a first year teacher, don't be so hard on yourself and use your this year to learn about and from your students as well as yourself.
Why did you get involved in the Union?
Being a first time union member, I was interested in the dynamics of unionism. I attended my first CFT Convention about twelve years ago and I was hooked! I was fascinated by the democratic process at the convention. As the delegates directs the union leadership on educational and workplace issues by debating and passing resolutions which influence the governance of the union and possibly state legislation.
Describe a day in the life of being a Rep at your site.
As the membership coordinator, I get the chance to not only keep all of the union record keeping and office running smoothly, but listen to the needs of the members by answering their phone calls and responding to the ABCFT emails. Although the day to day union business is crucial, representing members is the most important work I do. Ensuring a member's rights are protected and resolving difficult issues with administrators makes me proud to be a part union leadership.
What is your favorite movie/show, song, or book?
Imagine by John Lennon is my hands down favorite song of all time. I enjoy watching romantic comedies and reading murder mysteries. 
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter...MySpace?
I have a talent for re-Tweeting political Tweets ;). What a time to be on Twitter, plenty of political fodder to be found.
What do you do for fun?
I enjoy baking, traveling and laughing with my girlfriends, and family time.
Do you have a bucket list?
Travel to the 6 states I haven't visited yet. Visit Disney Hong Kong and Shanghai. Spend my retirement living in France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and any other European country that catches my eye. No doubt, Tanya has the travel bug.
If you could have a superpower what would it be?
To fix the injustices in the world especially those that include women and girls. Power to you sister!
Thank you Tanya for sharing your story with the ABCFT community.
If you’d like to be featured in the Meet a Member
HEALTH BENEFITS UPDATE repeat
Every December starts the process for the district health committee to look at the health usage data from the previous year and preparations with the broker for anticipated changes from the health providers.
ABCFT has three representatives on this committee which is made up of all the bargaining groups and administration. Each group has equal representation which gives us a 25% stake when voting. For this reason, we work closely with our CSEA and AFSCME sisters and brother about possible changes or messaging to our members. This year we would like to recruit an ABCFT member who would be interested in becoming an alternate representative. If you think you would like to be on the ABCFT Health Committee team please contact us at abcft@abcusd.us and let us know.
Megan Harding who is the ABCFT Vice President of Secondary and ABCFT health committee point person has filed this report for the membership as we enter a new year of negotiations for health benefits. In Megan’s presentation to the ABCFT Rep Council this week she discussed how important it is for ABC to have a viable alternative to Kaiser since it give the the ABC Health Committee negotiating leverage when speaking with their representatives. If Kaiser has a monopoly on health plans in ABC then they can raise rates with impunity which would be bad for all employees. Therefore, the ABC Health Committee is working with the broker to improve the services offered by the Blue Shield Trio plan. At this time the coverage in Trio’s Orange County offerings is better than the Trio coverage in Los Angeles County and the committee is working to improve the Los Angeles County coverage.
Here are some other highlights from Megan’s report from the health committee.
- Rates for the last year are trending well- this means that there should be no need to increase rates.
- There were 20 people that left Blue Shield (largely due to retirements)
- 2 More people chose the Trio plan
- 7 People joined Kaiser
- New hires have not yet been calculated
- Open Enrollment went smooth
- This year we will continue to investigate the financial impact on richer vision benefits
SCHOOL BOARD REPORT - THIS YEAR’S REORGANIZATION repeat
Each December the School Board elects their own officers to lead the Board. At last night's Board of Education Reorganizational Meeting, the Board elected the following new Board Officers: Ernie Nishii, President, Dr. Olga Rios, Vice President, Sophia Tse, Clerk, Chris Apodaca, Board Member, Maynard Law, Board Member, Leticia Mendoza, Board Member, and Soo Yoo, Board Member.
Soo Yoo was also recognized for her efforts as the outgoing Board President. Ms. Yoo’s leadership skills, ability to bring stakeholders together, treats others with dignity, and her trustworthiness are some of her best qualities. Soo also played an instrumental role in getting Measure BB the bond passed.
the Board elected the following new Board Officers:
Ernie Nishii, President
Dr. Olga Rios, Vice President
Sophia Tse, Clerk
Chris Apodaca, Board Member
Maynard Law, Board Member
Leticia Mendoza, Board Member
Soo Yoo, Board Member
MEASURE BB PASSES and HERE ARE THE NUMBERS repeat
As mentioned at the Tuesday night Board Meeting, our
next steps regarding Measure BB will begin in January. On January 15, 2019 the Board of Education will
need to adopt a Resolution entering into the minutes the Certification of the Election Results. During that
meeting, we will also adopt the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee Bylaws. Our Bond Counsel,
Rob Anslow from AALRR will be with us during that meeting to go over the Bylaws of the Citizens’ Oversight
Committee. The purpose of the Committee shall be to inform the public concerning the expenditure of the
bond proceeds. We will also commence with the First Bond Issuance Process with Piper Jaffray.
The final votes for this years elections have been counted. Below are how the cities within the ABC School District voted on Measure BB. It should be noted that there was a +15% YES vote increase from four years ago when Measure AA was defeated. Bond Measure BB for $256 million dollars for ABC facilities will pass with just over 58%.
TOTAL VOTES CAST IN 2018 = 28,294
TOTAL VOTES CAST IN 2014 = 17,226
ARTESIA
2018. 55.60% YES
2014 44.49% YES
CERRITOS
2018. 53.66% YES
2014. 38.27% YES
HAWAIIAN GARDENS
2018. 72.74% YES
2014. 61.59% YES
LAKEWOOD
2018. 67.43% YES
2014. 64.44% YES
LONG BEACH
2018. 48.10% YES
2014. 46.67%. YES
NORWALK
2018. 65.21 % YES
2014. 50.37% YES
TOTAL VOTES CAST IN 2014 = 17,226
ARTESIA
2018. 55.60% YES
2014 44.49% YES
CERRITOS
2018. 53.66% YES
2014. 38.27% YES
HAWAIIAN GARDENS
2018. 72.74% YES
2014. 61.59% YES
LAKEWOOD
2018. 67.43% YES
2014. 64.44% YES
LONG BEACH
2018. 48.10% YES
2014. 46.67%. YES
NORWALK
2018. 65.21 % YES
2014. 50.37% YES
AFT Member Benefits repeat
As an AFT member, you belong to a community of colleagues -- with benefits that go beyond the workplace. AFT+ Member Benefits brings you the purchasing power of AFT’s 1.7 million members. With a union , you don't have to go it alone on or off the job --or in making financial decisions big and small. Need a great deal on your next car? A competitive mortgage rate? A choice of no-fee credit cards? A great wireless plan? The AFT+ Benefits program is just one more way that being a member has its benefits. Next week ABCFT site representatives will be placing a brochure for AFT benefits in your school mailbox but if you are curious now click the link below for more information.
Negotiations Update repeat
We wanted to update you on the timeline for the off schedule/one-time 2% monies that was a part of the two year deal from last year. We were told that this 2% off schedule extra check would be issued by February 15, 2019. We were getting a little bit of the run around from the district about when this would happen and when human resources hinted that it would by in April we decided that was too late and not what we negotiated. As an example of our power as a YOUnion, ABCFT told the District that we were considering having every teacher and classified employees in the district call to question the timeline for this check. Well, they didn’t really want all 3,600 employees calling the district office and very quickly thereafter we got a reasonable date when this check will be issued.
When do negotiations for salary raises start again?
The timeline for negotiations begins in January when the Governor proposes his preliminary budget for the 2019-2020 State fiscal year (July 1). The negotiating team will be attending a budget seminar that analyzes his proposed budget and its impact on the State's educational budget. Therefore, you can expect to see an update on the State’s funding and how it will impact ABCUSD sometime in late January. The final election results and the passage of Measure BB facilities bond will be external factors that will have influence on the District’s budget priorities.
Expect to see a summary of the Governor’s report in January from ABCFT and a timeline for salary negotiations for the 2019-2020 school year.
______________________________
Each week I work with unit members in representations, contract resolutions, email/text/phone call questions, site concerns, site visits, presentations, state/national representations and mediations. Here are some of the highlights of interest.
One more week to go……
I hope everyone had a good week and you are surviving the month of December. This Tuesday, I spent the day at Tetzlaff Middle School talking with teachers and support staff about how their year is going, personal challenges, curriculum questions, school climate comments and sometime just catching up with long time friends. Thank you Tetzlaff teachers and staff for taking a few precious minutes out of your day to speak candidly with me. This face to face time not only gives me new insights, but it provides me with the stories we need at the negotiation table to validate and push for our proposals.
On Tuesday, I attended the fourth annual ABC Technology Symposium at Tracy High School. About two hundred people attended this event that highlighted how ABC employees can use technology to save time or provide new ways to deliver and organize the curriculum. Thanks to all the presenting teachers that delivered interesting ideas and helpful ways to use technology in our classrooms. The turnout was about half of what is normal but I think that had a lot to do with the event being held in December. If you didn’t attend this year, I hope that you think about coming next year for the free food and the great professional development opportunities.
As Tanya Golden and I visit the sites, we hear about the positive impact the social workers have on the students and staff. At this time the ABC social workers are not members of ABCFT, but we wanted to find out the role of social workers as behavioral supports for teachers, parents, and students at our school sites. Over the past couple of years there seems to be an escalation in the number of extreme behaviors at schools and in many cases it is the social workers that become a critical support for these situations. I’ve learned a few facts about their jobs in ABC that are concerning. For example, the hours for our social workers were cut at the beginning of the year but the social workers were not notified over the summer of this change of hours and pay. Now they do forty hours of work but are only paid for thirty. Speaking of pay, these social workers who have Master's degrees are getting paid $37.00 an hour, they have no health benefits, and the district doesn’t give them sick days. Whenever they miss a day they work for personal business or sickness they are not paid. Furthermore, since the district considers them a temporary employees they are not allowed to get debt forgiveness for their student loans. Lastly, because the working benefits and pay are so pathetic we had a turnover of 40% of our social workers in one year which has direct consequences on the stability of our supports for teachers, parents, and students. I don’t know about you but I feel like the social workers are important to the success of our schools. Even though the social workers are not members, it is in our best interest to invest time and effort to stabilize the working conditions of these employees. I hope that you will all take a moment to thank your social workers and express solidarity with their desire for better working conditions.
Hang on to your hat, we have one more week and then we get a glorious break.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
CFT provides members important information about professional issues and workplace rights through numerous newsletters and publications. You can find a summary of each publication below and download the current issue of each newsletter. Click on the links to read some stories online, to get more information or contact the editor, and to access the archives.
As the CFT's flagship publication, California Teacher contains news and information that affects all members. It also contains news specific to each division of the CFT. California Teacher is published four times during the academic year. All members receive California Teacher.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
First charter strike resolution prompts wider considerations
The Chicago Teachers Union has reached a tentative agreement with Acero charter schools to end its strike, the first charter strike in the U.S., which should see teachers return to classes today. The deal would bring the salaries of teachers and para-professional workers in line with their peers at Chicago Public Schools, according to Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey, who hopes that the arrangement could "set a standard in the industry.” Gary Miron, professor of educational leadership at Western Michigan University, cautions against charters relying on hiring younger educators to keep costs down: "Young people going into the teaching profession is way down right now for many reasons. This is one more sign that something has to happen or the system is going to break,” he warns. Writing in the Washington Examiner, Kate Hardiman, who teaches English and religion at a high school i n Chicago, suggests that allying with the unions who have "publicly pledged to destroy" them will result in the demise of charters.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
School districts differing approaches to homework explored
With the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Education revealing that the average number of hours high-school students spent per week on homework increased from 6.8 in 2007 to 7.5 in 2016, school districts across the country are responding in different ways to parents complaining about homework policies. Kevin Fulton withdrew his daughter from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston after her school stopped giving homework: “In my house, we’re very hands-on and homework is a way to determine if our child is falling behind. I just think it takes parents out of the equation," he complained. Theresa Kauffman however, Superintendent at Kauffman Leadership Academy, a public charter school in Cleburne, Texas, has cut back on homework: “We just heard a lot of parents complaining about how much the homework was eating into their family life.” On a different tack - Marion County Public Schools in Florida has told its teachers to stop assigning “meaningless homework” for elementary students and instead substitute at least 20 minutes a night of reading, and district spokesman Kevin Christian says that more students are reading as a result.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Over 76m students enrolled in U.S. schools
The number of students enrolled in U.S. schools was 76.4m in 2017, according to the Current Population Survey, making up 24.7% of the population aged three and older. The percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds who graduated from high school increased from 83.9% in 2007 to 87.5% in 2017, the data reveals, while classrooms are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse - 56.7% of elementary school students, kindergarten through grade 8, and 66.1% of college students, undergraduate and graduate, non-Hispanic white in 2017.
Survey reveals falling Education Department morale
U.S. Education Department job satisfaction has fallen over the past year, according to an annual survey of federal employees, from 59.7% in 2017 to 47.3% in 2018 - one of the steepest declines among all federal agencies. Education Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill explained that changes had arisen on the back of the "new path" Betsy DeVos had taken the agency: "The Secretary challenged department leaders to rethink the way the Department of Education operates so that we can better serve students and use taxpayer funds more wisely. That has required a lot of change over the last year, which can be difficult for some."
Sex education linked to decrease in sexual assault
Students who received pre-college sex education that included training in refusing unwanted sexual attention (54%) are half as likely to be assaulted in college, according to researchers at Columbia University, who examined data from a survey of 2,500 students in 2016 as a part of the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation. A small minority of students (4%) who received "abstinence-only" sex education before college were not shown to have significantly reduced experiences of campus sexual assault. "This study has important implications for policy and further research. In the broadest sense, our findings point to the underexplored opportunities for pre-college sexual assault prevention," researchers said.
Education Department to erase teachers' debts
The U.S. Department of Education has announced its intention to erase the debts of teachers whose federal grants were erroneously converted into loans. FedLoan Servicing, the company that oversees the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program on behalf of the government, will reconsider the cases of grant recipients who believe their awards were incorrectly converted to loans, and the loans of those who are successful will revert to grants - with payments on those loans to be refunded. “The changes to the certification process are an important step, but it’s really important they aren’t perceived as a full fix to the program’s problems,” said Julie Murray, an attorney at consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. FedLoan has already identified more than 15,000 grants that it suspected were converted in error by ACS.< /span> Washington Post NPR
----- STATE NEWS -----
Lessons to learn from California’s class size reduction program
Louis Freedberg, executive director of EdSource, argues that the rapid rollout of a hugely ambitious plan to reduce elementary school class sizes in California over two decades ago should serve as a cautionary tale for how quickly the state should implement universal preschool. The state’s 1996 class size reduction program aimed to reduce class sizes to 20 students in kindergarten, based on the belief and some compelling research that smaller class sizes improve student academic outcomes. However, Mr Freedberg writes, the program’s dependence on annual infusions of extra funds saw it abolished in 2013, in the wake of the Great Recession. He advises the state legislators looking to introduce bills to implement universal preschool to fully assess the capacity of the state’s education system to implement change, allow flexibility to accommodate local differences, and to start small before creating a new, expensive statewide program.
----- DISTRICTS -----
More than half of Paradise students back in PUSD
Attendance rates at schools in Paradise USD are better than expected following the Camp Fire. 44% of students have yet to return since schools re-opened on December 3, significantly less than the two thirds of students expected to be absent after a disaster. At a special board meeting last week, trustees learned that PUSD is down to 1,481 out of 3,387 students – with 420 formally disenrolled into other districts and the remaining 1,061 unaccounted for.
----- FINANCE -----
State takeover threat hangs over Los Angeles USD
Los Angeles USD is facing a new deadline to demonstrate to the Los Angeles County Office of Education how it plans to address a structural deficit that could see it declared insolvent within three years. In a revised budget to be presented at a board meeting later today, LAUSD chief financial officer states that “the district continues to deficit spend, (and) a large portion of the reserves will be consumed in 2019-20,” with it being left $4m short by the end of the 2020-21 school year. To stave off insolvency, the district plans an ongoing 15% reduction of central office resources, saving $86m over two years, according to the revised budget. The county has given the district until December 17th to outline how it will reverse its march toward insolvency; if not satisfied, it could either send in a financial expert to collaborate with the district or install a fiscal adviser.
----- LEGAL -----
State issues new rule for showing farm animals at fairs
From next year, students who show farm animals at California fairs must receive certification in food safety, animal care and ethics, or will not be able to participate. Jay Carlson, Ag programs manager for the Fairs and Exhibition Branch, said the training is a way to provide another layer of preparedness for students who raise animals as part of a 4-H or FFA project, helping to reinforce good animal care practices. The requirement for FFA and 4-H students will cost $12 if they do it online, or $3 if they attend a Fairs and Exposition Branch approved Quality Assurance and Ethics Awareness training.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Oakland teachers stage ‘sickout’
Dozens of Oakland USD teachers, many wearing red clothes, marched from Oakland High, Fremont High and Madison Park Academy to City Hall on Monday, many calling out sick to take part, to protest an impasse in contract negotiations and the spending practices of a district that needs to make multimillion-dollar cuts or face another state takeover. The union and the district have been negotiating a contract over the past year and a half; the former is calling for a 12% salary increase over three years, while the district has offered 5%, which educators say is not enough to keep up with the city’s rising housing costs.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
NOT Sleepless in Seattle...
High school students in Seattle are benefitting in class from getting more sleep at night, say scientists studying later school start times. The Seattle School District changed from a 7:50 a.m. start time to 8:45 a.m. in the fall of 2016 as part of a study to help sleep-deprived teens. “Given all the pressures keeping our teenagers awake in the evening - screen time, social media - this is a great thing to see,” said Horacio de la Iglesia, a University of Washington biology professor who led the study.
