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ABCFT Week in Review – January 26, 2018
ABC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS THIS WEEK...
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.
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CURRICULUM LINK OF THE WEEK
One of ABC’s Transitional Kindergarten teachers wrote in and shared one of her favorite resources (your Starbucks card is on the way!)
She writes
“I'm so glad to have found Educational Software for Guiding Instruction (ESGI). It's the simplest, easiest way to assess one-on-one assessments for my non-readers. I create custom assessments that allow me to target and differentiate my instruction so I can meet the needs of my students. I learned about it at The So Cal Kindergarten Conference a few years back. I have saved so much time, energy, and reams of paper. There is a yearly cost but the time I save is worth every penny!” Here is the link: https://www.esgisoftware.com/
Sharing resources and ideas are what keeps our classrooms innovative, interesting, and organized. Each week, ABCFT will highlight an education resource that we heard was great for teachers. If you have a website, book, or training that you found helpful in your classroom let us know at abcft@abcusd.us so we can share it with everyone. If you send an idea or link and we use it in the Review, we will send you a Starbucks gift card for the helpful hint.
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ABCFT MEMBERS GET ACTIVE
On Thursday, ABCFT members honored Congresswoman, Linda Sanchez by celebrating in Quinceanera style, crown and all, her fifteenth year in Congress. Ms. Sanchez serves as the Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and is the highest ranking Latina. She is an ardent supporter of education and union workers. Appearing in the photo left to right is VP of Child Development, Arlene Riddick, ABCFT Teacher Leaders, Connie Nam and Rachel Jimenez, Ms. Sanchez, Executive VP, Tanya Golden, and VP of Elementary, Gaby Ibarra.
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45th ANNIVERSARY - WOMEN REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
1977 2017
This week marks the 45th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, recognizing a woman's constitutional right that once criminalized or restricted access to abortions.
While the historic Roe decision affirmed a woman's right to choose in the United States, not everyone has the ability to exercise this right as many states in this country continue to pass laws and use other mechanisms to block or restrict a woman's ability to access abortion and reproductive care.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Ever had one of those weeks where you had a lot to do but your body had a different idea and you got sick. That was me this week but, I did get two days in before the cold took me down.
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:
On Monday I attended the District’s preview of the Cultural Proficiency Institute which gave an overview of the training teachers can receive on this important topic. We got many calls at the Union office asking about how to get access to this training. There are a limited number of slots for this round of trainings, but I was assured that there will be more in the near future. On Tuesday and Thursday, the ABCFT Negotiation Team met with the District and we will have more to report on this shortly. The rest of the week I was out but ABCFT Membership Coordinator Tanya Golden kept the office going to take calls and answer questions. Thanks Tanya for all the help!
As always, 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
AFT Files Amicus Brief in Janus v. AFSCME
Brief lays out argument citing role of collective bargaining in improving public sector workplaces, repudiating plaintiff’s constitutionally flawed warping and weaponizing of the First Amendment
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WASHINGTON—The American Federation of Teachers today filed an amicus brief in support of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees against the corporate-backed plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.
AFT President Randi Weingarten says: “The fight for prosperity and opportunity for all, embodied by the labor movement, is an anathema to the corporate backers of this case—the people funding it are the same people attacking civil rights, attacking voting rights and attacking public education.
“This case warps and weaponizes the First Amendment by enabling one person’s complaint—without any record or evidence—to undermine the interests of millions of workers across the country who benefit from collective bargaining. And it suggests that collective bargaining, which operates just like any other workplace consultation process, should draw far more constitutional scrutiny than its equivalents.
“The current law has preserved labor peace for four decades by balancing the interests of workers and employers and fostering partnerships to improve school districts and other public sector workplaces. We argue that engaging in collective bargaining is constitutionally no different than the state paying a consultant to advise it on employment relations issues. Further, the plaintiff’s argument is a dishonest rejection of established legal precedent, reaffirmed many times, and therefore must fail.
“I am confident that if the nine justices of the Supreme Court consider this case on the merits, not ideologically, they would agree.”
The AFT brief argues that the government here is an employer, not a sovereign, and that the First Amendment places far less restrictions on the government when it acts as an employer, as opposed to the stricter scrutiny when it acts as a sovereign.
Accordingly, just as there are no constitutional issues when an employer makes workplace decisions relying on the advice of outside consultants, there should also be none when those same decisions arise from collective bargaining, particularly where the costs for both come from the same pot of money available for wages and benefits.
The brief further shows how fair share fees are central to an efficient and effective public sector and describes how labor-management partnerships have thrived under their use.
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AFT President Randi Weingarten on Senate Deal to Reopen the Government
WASHINGTON—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Senate deal to reopen the government:
“This is a temporary salve, not one that anyone likes but necessary under the circumstances. Democrats have been fighting for the Children’s Health Insurance Program; real relief to communities ravaged by hurricanes, fires and the opioid epidemic; funding for the military and domestic programs that help people, educate our youth, keep us safe and grow our economy; protecting and strengthening pensions; and averting the deportation of 800,000 Dreamers—young immigrants who were brought to America as children, many of whom now teach, serve and protect our communities.
“The Trump shutdown was completely avoidable if President Trump and Republican leaders had been willing to negotiate in good faith. But far from being a leader or the dealmaker he makes himself out to be, Trump’s erratic behavior, and his deference to his staffers and right-wing ideologues like Gen. John Kelly and senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, created chaos and caused this shutdown.
“As to the Dreamers, we have a moral obligation to avert their deportation. The clock is ticking. Already, 16,000 Dreamers have lost their protections and are at risk of deportation. The AFT will continue to do everything in our power, including engaging in civil disobedience, to protect Dreamers. But it’s up to the Congress and the president to pass and sign a bill now, since it was the president who ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in September.
“Now that Sen. Mitch McConnell has agreed to a vote, we ask the 34 House Republicans who say they support a permanent solution for Dreamers to get House Speaker Paul Ryan to do the same. The votes are there in both the House and the Senate for a DACA fix, and now is the time for the Republican leadership that controls Congress to allow a vote.”
AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Trump’s Immigration Proposal
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Washington—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Trump’s latest immigration proposal:
“Public sentiment is overwhelmingly for the U.S. government to find a way to avert the deportation of 1.8 million Dreamers—a problem that exists because President Trump revoked Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in September and gave Congress six months to fix it.
“Trump’s newest proposal is cruel and divisive. It uses people, including many now working as teachers, lawyers and doctors, as a bargaining chip for funding a border wall—money he needs since Mexico was never going to pay for it. Worse, he tells these young adults that, for them to stay in the only country they know, their parents will be deported and their families will be uprooted.
“It’s ‘fake news’ to pretend this is a deal to protect Dreamers. While Americans want the GOP to solve this humanitarian and economic crisis, the president once again has rejected a bipartisan immigration approach and caved to Stephen Miller and John Kelly, and other nativist and racist pressures. This isn’t a bill of love; it’s an act of contempt for people who have worked hard, built this nation and embodied the American dream.
“It is not humane to pit Dreamers against their families or to gut our legal immigration system by eliminating the diversity visa, ending most family reunification categories and emboldening Trump’s deportation force, which targets law-abiding immigrants who have contributed much to the communities they live in and sends children back to the violence they fled.
"We are a union of educators, nurses and health professionals, and public service workers. Not only are many AFT members immigrants, we also teach and care for immigrant children and their families. We reject this callous, racist proposal. Trump created this crisis when he ended DACA; it’s up to Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress to resolve this crisis by passing the Dream Act. Dreamers are Americans, and it’s time for Congress to formally recognize that fact in law and lift the shadow of insecurity and fear that consumes their daily lives. DACAmented teachers, lawyers, nurses, community organizers and others need to be celebrated for the work they are doing, not demonized and scapegoated.”
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Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Private schools to benefit from new tax law
The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has expanded the use of tax-advantaged investments for qualified education expenses to include private-school tuition and books from elementary through high school. Families now have the option to use up to $10,000 in annual tax-free 529 plan withdrawals to cover those early educational expenses. "That's a significant change to how 529 proceeds can be used and may affect both short- and long-term education budgeting decisions," Joe DePaulo, the CEO and co-founder of College Ave Student Loans, said. "With the new tax bill, families may want to reexamine their strategies to pay for college."
Trump launches National School Choice Week
President Trump has declared this week as "National School Choice Week," highlighting what the federal government has done over the past year to give American families more control over their children's educational options. "My administration is refocusing education policy on students. We are committed to empowering those most affected by school choice decisions and best suited to direct taxpayer resources, including states, local school boards, and families," Trump said, adding that the White House has taken several steps toward "a future of unprecedented educational attainment and freedom of choice." Trump declared that "29 of the 31 empirical studies on the topic find that freedom of school choice improves the performance of nearby public schools."
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U.S. opts out of fake news test
The Education Department has opted out of a new standardized test for students to determine whether children can spot and avoid fake news.Officials rejected the test from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), designed as a "global competence test" that would test students' ability to tell when data is being presented in a misleading way, and the difference between fact and opinion. "We consider it to be an important innovation, but we want to allow it time to develop and crystalize into an operationalized assessment with a solid empirical foundation to validate its technical stability," a department spokesman said.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Educators see positives and negatives in Brown’s budget
Long Beach educators have said they are happy that Gov. Jerry Brown's preliminary budget is heavy with school spending, but there are potential problems. “For K-12 schools, the Governor’s proposed budget provides the targeted level of funding ahead of schedule, based upon the Local Control Funding Formula. That’s a positive development for our schools," Long Beach USD superintendent Chris Steinhauser said. "On the other hand, like many California school districts, we continue to see declining enrollment, which reduces our revenue, and we are being required by the state to increase our contributions toward employee pensions."
Mandatory testing for lead at public school sites announced
The California Water Boards (CWB) has said water systems will this year be required to test the lead levels of drinking water at public school sites built before 2010 throughout the state of California. The bill states that testing is not mandatory for private schools, but they can contact the water system for free testing if they’d like. “Community water systems are required to sample for lead in drinking water at public, K-12 schools and daycare and preschools on public school properties and must complete this mandatory sampling by July 1, 2019,” the CWB said.
----- DISTRICTS -----
LAUSD reaches healthcare agreement with unions
Los Angeles USD and representatives of the eight labor unions representing district employees have announced they have reached a tentative deal on healthcare benefits for the next three years. As part of the agreement, the district would freeze the $1.1bn it pays each year to fully cover the healthcare premiums of nearly 60,000 district employees, 36,000 retirees and more than 92,000 of their dependents. Union representatives promised none of these beneficiaries would see their costs go up under the deal and instead, the eight unions agreed to dip into a reserve fund to cover any cost overruns. Meanwhile, the district would continue to pay the full healthcare premiums for employees and their dependents and would also continue to provide lifetime coverage for retirees. “After years of district threats to our healthcare it is a victory to have all unions remain steadfast against any concessions," the unions said in a joint statement
Elk Grove USD accused of racism
Five deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department are accusing Elk Grove USD of racism and discrimination. The deputies, who have worked in the district for more than a decade, say about six months ago, they realized they were banned from working certain jobs. “It just so happens the five African American deputies who work primarily at Sheldon High School were eliminated, that’s not a coincidence to me. It felt really humiliating to say we’ve served, we gave, and the only people you were going to eliminate were five African-American deputies,” said Dexter Poe, a recently retired school resource officer.
----- WORKFORCE -----
School bus drivers go on strike
Striking school bus drivers protested outside three Pasadena bus yards on Monday after a walkout began at the end of last week disrupting bus services in Alhambra USD , Glendale USD and Pasadena USD . Each district has a contract with First Student, a Cincinnati-based company that provides bus service for school districts nationwide. Drivers are asking for better pay and health benefits, a guaranteed hourly pay rate and safer conditions - both in the bus yard and on the buses themselves.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Kiddom now on 70% of U.S. school districts
Kiddom, a digital platform that helps teachers plan and track students' progress on an individual basis, is already in 70% of US school districts.The platform also gives students a way to see all their assignments and deadlines in one place and determines a student’s optimal learning style and pace of instruction, in order to best-design lesson plans.
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