ABCFT - Week in Review - March 29, 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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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:
Let me first apologize about the briefness of this Week in Review. From last Thursday till last Sunday ABCFT leadership and delegates attended the CFT annual Convention for 2018. We will have a full report ready for the Review when we return. We just haven’t had the time to debrief and share about this years convention, but we think it is critical that the ABCFT membership read about and see what transpired at the convention. A special thank you to all those ABCFT members who were delegates to this year’s convention.
Much of this week for both Tanya and I has been consumed by representations and problem solving with teachers and principals. Typically the couple of weeks prior to a break are busy here in the office as people’s tensions build prior to a vacation break. It’s a familiar pattern and this week has been no exception. Everybody needs a break from the overwhelming pressure and pace of our education system. A week might not feel like it is long enough but it sure will help to sustain us till the end of the school year.
Thank you for all you do with our students and for supporting each other as a YOUnion.
Have a great Spring Break and we will see you back here after the break.
In Unity!
Ray Gaer
ABCFT President
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT Statement on the Passing of Linda Brown
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WASHINGTON—Statement of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the death of Linda Brown, whose enrollment in an all-white Kansas school was blocked, inspiring the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education:
“At a moment in history when young students are leading fights for safe schools with incredible moral courage, we are reminded of a young Linda Brown, who also stood at the epicenter of a movement for moral justice. She did so with immense courage, and her story changed the definition of equality in our country forever.
“On the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, I was in Topeka, Kansas, Brown’s hometown, to support the fight against Gov. Sam Brownback’s draconian disinvestment from public education, the same way the AFT was there in the 1960s, sending supplies and resources to the schools, and opening them to serve African-American students who were still being locked out, despite the court’s decision in the Brown case. We were there fighting for something that Brown had set in motion decades before.
“With the right support, we can continue to make America’s public schools the thriving communities of learning that Brown and her family fought for. Let that be her legacy.”
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AFT Statement on Immigration Status Question Added to 2020 Census
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WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the news that the 2020 census would include a question on citizenship status:
“This is a hateful and bigoted attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate immigrant communities using taxpayer money. The census helps determine where government resources are directed and how congressional representation is divided, and any attempts to undermine that process point to a racist, elitist government hell-bent on excluding certain voices from our democracy.
“A citizenship status question will have a chilling effect on census participation and will re-create the long shadows that noncitizens will once again move into. That hurts the economy and hamstrings local and state services, which sadly seems to be what this White House wants. But a nation built by immigrants should welcome the engagement of those in pursuit of the American dream, not kick the ladder out from under them.”
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Statement by OK City AFT on House Bill to Raise Teacher Salaries
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—Statement by Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers which represents 2,600 Oklahoma City public school teachers, on the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ bill to raise teacher salaries by an average of $6,000, which would be paid by, among other sources, raising the gross production tax on oil and gas to 5 percent, a 3 cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline purchases, and a $5-per-night tax on hotel and motel stays.
“We’re gratified that legislators listened to teachers’ voices and their stories about how their salaries were not a livable wage and don’t reflect the important and hard work they do every day. The House bill, which still needs Senate approval, shows a lot of progress towards valuing educators and the need to raise revenue in a responsible way to pay for the raises and more investment in education. We want to thank the supermajority of legislators who put aside partisan politics to provide a bipartisan solution for a significant teacher pay raise.”
“Tonight, the Oklahoma City AFT will hold a telephone town hall meeting with educators to discuss the legislation, answer questions and get a sense of their wishes. Starting tomorrow, we will survey Oklahoma City AFT members formally about the legislation.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Students across the U.S. rally for gun control
Students across the U.S., including survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, held a number of demonstrations across the country over the weekend under the “March for our Lives” banner, vowing that their grief over gun violence and their frustration with inaction would power a new generation of political activism. Police officers estimated that at least 40,000 people marched in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, with other marches taking place in Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Pico Rivera, Long Beach and Santa Clarita. Two students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Mia Freeman and Hayley Licata, addressed the gathering. "This should never, ever happen again," Ms Freeman said. "We have sacrificed enough lives. This world needs to see a change." Ms Licata told the crowd, "Any is too many," when it comes to gun violence and urged everyone to vote on the issue. The main demonstration, in Washington, D.C., saw over 200,000 demonstrators, though organizers put the number at closer to 800,000.
Legislation to fund school vouchers for military families unpopular
Legislation has been introduced in Congress to set up such a voucher program for military families that would direct federal tax dollars from public schools to allow these families to use the funds for religious schools, private schools, online schools, college tuition and other educational services. However, the bills are moving forward in the face of significant military family opposition, with the Military Child Education Coalition, the Military Impacted Schools Association, the Military Officers Association of America, and the National Military Family Association (NMFA) all opposing the idea of taking money from the public schools that over 80% of all military families use. “ If a military family can’t afford the full cost of private tuition, their child is left in a school that no longer has the resources to provide a quality education,” the NMFA says.
Most U.S. teachers don’t want to carry firearms
According to a new Gallup poll of K-12 educators, 73% of U.S. teachers do not want to carry guns in school and they overwhelmingly favor gun control measures, while 7 in 10 teachers said arming teachers would not be effective in limiting casualties in a school shooting. When asked which specific measures would be most effective at preventing school shootings, 57% favored universal background checks, and the same number favored banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons such as the one used in the Florida attack.
----- STATE NEWS -----
California investment in poorer students is paying off
A UC Berkeley public policy professor says that positive results from Californian investment in lower income students are dispelling orthodox opinions that school funding cannot make up for background-based disadvantage. California’s Local Control Funding Formula, established by law-makers in 2013, raises investment per student in poorer school districts and those with higher rates of enrolled English language learners and foster children, whilst giving districts more local power over funds. This has led to a shrinking rich-poor gap for California students’ graduation rates and high school math achievement (which has narrowed by 37%).
Los Angeles Times
State sues government over 2020 census question
Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, has filed a lawsuit against the Commerce Department over its plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census, claiming it is unlawful, and could jeopardize billions of dollars in federal funding for education, healthcare and transportation, with many immigrants likely to be deterred from participation. In its lawsuit, California noted that it "has more foreign-born residents (over 10 million) and non-citizens (over 5 million) than any other state." It also cited a study that shows the state "has the highest number of U.S.-born citizens who live with at least one undocumented family member." The last time all U.S. residents were asked about their citizenship was in 1950, when census respondents were asked, “If foreign born, is the person naturalized?”
CNBC Times-Herald
Californians support increased school security
A new survey has found that Californians support increased security measures at the state’s schools – but in the form of metal detectors and armed personnel, rather than giving firearms to teachers. The Eyewitness News-Southern California News Group poll conducted by Survey USA found that 52% of respondents believe that arming teachers would reduce student safety, while 31% said it would improve it. Seventy-three per cent said that metal detectors could improve safety, while 72% were in favor of having armed, active-duty police officers on campuses. Arming teachers was twice as popular in the Inland Empire and the Central Valley as in the Bay Area .
----- DISTRICTS -----
Four-fifths of San Francisco USD students placed at schools of their choice
San Francisco USD reports that more K-12 students were offered their first choice school this year, after school assignment letters were sent out this week. First choice assignments were granted to 63% of kindergarteners, up from 59% last year, and to 67% of 9th graders, up from 58%. 81% of all SFUSD students were assigned to one of their choices, with dissatisfied families given three chances to re-apply. SFUSD spokesperson Gentle Blythe said of the district’s lottery system: “The system aims to maximize parent choice and use tie-breakers to achieve more school diversity and give preference to students who live in the district.”
Chico teachers receive pay rise
Chico USD trustees have approved what was described as an “almost unprecedented” three-year deal with the Chico Unified Teachers Association, that will see educators granted a 2.46% pay rise, with the potential for future salary increases based on enrollment growth.
Fremont parents object to sex ed curriculum
Fremont USD’s board meeting heard from concerned parents yesterday, protesting a new sex education curriculum they say is too graphic for young students in 4th grade. Associate Superintendent for Instruction Denise Herrmann said that the plans had been vetted by experts, and are in line with state law; however, parents at the meeting said it is still too sexually explicit, while also claiming there had been a lack of parental involvement in the process.
----- LEGAL -----
California Supreme Court Rules Colleges Have Duty to Protect Students.
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the University of California can be held liable for failing to protect a student from an attack by a classmate. The decision overturned a ruling by a lower court in 2015 that UCLA had no duty to protect the student. The case involves a former UCLA student who was stabbed by a classmate in 2009 during a chemistry class; Katherine Rosen, the victim, said school officials failed to warn students that her attacker, then-20-year-old Damon Thompson, was potentially violent despite months of reports about his paranoid and threatening behavior. The unanimous decision, among the first of its kind in the nation, put California's colleges on notice that they may be held responsible if they know a student is dangerous and fail to take steps to control him and protect others.
San Francisco Chronicle Los Angeles Times Wall Street Journal
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Sport ads promote unhealthy eating
Research from the New York University School of Medicine suggests sports leagues are promoting child obesity, with around three-quarters of food and drink sports sponsorship coming from firms making unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks. Marie Bragg, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU SM said: “It sort of sends the message to people that physical fitness is important or sports is part of this country’s landscape and that junk food fits right in there. That mixed message I think is problematic for diseases like obesity and diabetes, especially among young people who are watching these programs.”
US News & World Report Bloomberg
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Apple makes push for education market
Apple has unveiled new offerings aimed at the education market. The tech giant showcased a new, free curriculum called Everyone Can Create that enables teachers to integrate drawing, music and photography into their lessons, and Schoolwork, a new app that helps teachers create assignments. Apple also unveiled a discounted iPad tablet, which offers support for the Apple Pencil that can be used for sketching and handwritten notes.
----- International -----
France to lower school starting age from six to three
Children in France will start school at the age of three instead of six, under new reforms. But it will only affect a small number of children, as only 2.4% of children are not enrolled at that age. President Emmanuel Macron said the change was intended to reduce inequality in education, as parents in poorer areas are less likely to send their children to school at an early age.
Newsweek USA Today
.----- OTHER -----
LA parent’s book praises success of special education IEP
A parent in Los Angeles USD has written a book on the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) system used in special education, praising it for helping her son with Attention Deficit Disorder advance from two grades behind in school to a year ahead in English and Maths. Lia Martin says the success story of her son, Taylor, proves that “a good IEP can make the difference.” By evaluating a child’s individual challenges and strengths, an IEP, which is formulated between teachers, parents, counsellors and the student, can offer targeted guidance to help children with special education needs learn effectively.
