ABCFT - Week in Review - May 18, 2018
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(ABC Federation of Teachers)
In Unity
ABC Federation of Teachers
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 49 NEWLY TENURED TEACHERS
This Tuesday night at the ABC School Board meeting forty-nine teachers in ABC were granted tenure. As you see in the picture above there were a lot of big smiles to go around. Congratulations to all of these newly tenured teachers!! Getting tenure in a district is not taken for granted and the work put into showing and proving your skills as a teacher are hard won. On behalf of the ABC Federation of Teachers, we would like to wish you a long, productive, and rewarding career here in ABC.
CURRICULUM UPDATE
Elementary Curriculum Update:
Professional Learning Survey
Thank you to the over 140 teachers that participated in the survey. The primary topics of interest are reading of informational text, science, and math problem solving, communicating and reasoning. Teachers also identified the desire to continue with instructional round to receive their PL. Academic Services is using the information to build their 2018-19 Professional Learning curriculum and schedule.
August 22 Professional Learning Day- known as Teaching and Learning Institute
If you haven’t heard already, Wednesday August 22 is an optional PL day for all teachers including Adult School and CTE, nurses and children’s center permit teachers to earn additional compensation and training to support your area of work. Registration is required and will be available in the next few weeks. Once the registration is open, you will have until June 13th to sign up. More information will follow regarding the session topics as well.
Summer Opportunities
The purple paper process is coming to your email soon. All TK-6th grade teachers will have an opportunity to apply for summer hours to work on Math and ELA pacing and assessments, pulling writing anchor papers, and NGS example lessons. The Report Card Committee will also convene to work on the Report Card Maker GradeBook. Academic Services is looking for teachers to work on these important summer tasks.
Please email Tanya Golden at Tanya.golden@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns regarding elementary curriculum.
Secondary Curriculum Update:
August 22 Professional Learning Day (See Above)
Professional Learning Survey
The Professional learning survey for the 2018-19 school year closed on May 4th. About ⅔ of ELA Teachers and ⅓ of all other teachers responded...THANK YOU! These surveys will be used to develop the 2018-19 PL Plan. We will have results for you at our next meeting. Special Ed Teachers will receive their survey by Friday, May 11th.
Math & ELA Benchmark Data Analysis Days & Vertical Teaming
-Math & ELA Teachers met on April 17th(Math) & 18th(ELA) after school to analyze Benchmark 2 data. Schools shared what worked for them to raise student achievement.
-ELA & Math teachers from CHS hosted teachers from CMS & TMS to learn each others curriculum & discuss best practices. Fedde MS Math Teachers have also hosted Melbourne, Hawaiian, Ferguson & Aloha teachers. Sites voluntarily choose whether they want to be involved. Contact Carol Castro, Julianne Gray or Lena Bradshaw if you want to participate.
Social Science Textbook Adoption
-High School Teacher Leaders have chosen McGraw Hill Impact for World History & U.S. History, and Pearson for Civics & Econ.. Their publisher decision will be brought to the ABCUSD School Board for approval on May 15 after the required 30 day display period. High school teacher training will be on June 4, 5, or 6. Teachers will receive an invitation for one of those days. Some teachers may opt to attend two days if they teach US or World History AND Civics/Econ (these are different publishers).
-Middle School Teacher Leaders have evaluated three (3) publishers- McGraw Hill & Discovery(on-line) and Cengage National Geographic. They met on April 19th and chose Cengage National Geographic. The Middle School Publisher decision will be brought to the ABCUSD School Board for approval later on n June 19. Training will take place August 22.
-An email with the high school textbook training dates was sent out by Julianne Gray on May 4, 2017 as follows: (All trainings are from 8AM-2:30PM)
June 4th- World History (McGraw Hill) Conference Room A
June 5th- US History (McGraw Hill) Conference Room A
June 6th- Civics and Economics (Pearson) Conference Room A
-Middle schools will not be trained until Summer of 2018.
Edmentum
A New Edmentum Handbook has been created that guides the application of Edmentum throughout the district. Content Teacher Leads have been hired to oversee the work of students in their respective subjects. The Edmentum Ad Hoc Committee will meet on May 29th to plan for Summer School and the 2018-19 school year. Ross Teacher, Richard Velasco is serving as Edmentum Interim Coordinator.
Please email Rich @ Richard.Saldana@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns regarding secondary curriculum.
NEGOTIATION UPDATE
Voting window for master contract remains open until Monday, May 21st at 4:00 pm. Thank you to those members that have already voted. For those still need to vote, let your voice be heard by casting your ballot today.
Extended Day Program (EDP) BOOST
BOOST- May 1-4 2018
Four EDP Teachers had the opportunity to attend the BOOST (Best Out Of School Time) conference in Palm Springs, CA. The conference offers a wide variety of workshops and classes focused on working with students in grades TK - 12th grade. Attendees were able to learn about students and adults social and emotional health, both STEM and STEAM based learning, creating safe and engaging environments for learning, and positive behavior management skills. This is also an amazing opportunity to network with other Out Of School Time programs from all 50 states.
A special thank you to all of the before and after school teachers who work with ABC students to support what is going on in our classrooms. EDP teachers are a vital link for schools with parents and the communities they serve.
EDUCATION NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
Most teachers spend own money on school supplies
According to a study by the National Center of Education Statistics, nearly all public school teachers spend their own money to pay for school supplies, spending nearly $480 a year, far more than the federal $250 tax deduction available to teachers. 94%of public school teachers say they spent their own money to pay for supplies in the 2014-15 school year without reimbursement, with the average amount spent being $479, while spending was found to be more common in high-poverty schools than in wealthier ones. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said walkouts by teachers should not be necessary to address lack of spending on public education. “There is no other job I know of where the workers subsidize what should be a cost borne by an employer as a necessary ingredient of the job,” she said.
ABCFT Community Leadership Academy Workshop
Interested in becoming more involved in your community and making a positive impact on the lives of your neighbors? ABCFT will be hosting a free seminar at the Union Hall where you can learn how to become a City Council member, serve on a Parks Commission, Planning Commission, School Board, Neighborhood Board, or an Advisory Board in your community.
Date: Tuesday, May 29th
Time: 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Place: Union Hall at 19444 Norwalk Blvd. Cerritos
Need more information?
KNOW YOUR CONTRACT - Temporary Teachers and
Involuntary Transfers (repeated message )
Temporary Teachers:
Last week ABCFT received a few questions about the status of Temporary teachers and their contracts. This year we have a little over 60+ teachers on temporary teachers in ABC. During good economic times and steady/growing student enrollment ABC averages about 50 temporary contracts. With declining enrollment hitting ABC and the mediacore monies coming from the State there are more temporary teachers. During the recession we averaged about 75 temporary assignments so the the district had flexibility for positions which kept layoffs from hitting any permanent teachers.
Due to Education Code, on March 15th, the 60+ teachers that we have in ABC are annually given a notice that their temporary contract will end with ABC. This process is distressing for temporary teachers but it is part of the layoff protections put in the California Education Code. Typically in ABC, ninety percent of these temporary teachers will be asked to return the following year to either an additional year on a temporary contract or in many cases a permanent position that has been vacated by a retirement or change of placement.
The question asked was, “When will temporary teachers know if they will be asked to return?”
The District is in the middle of sorting out the school of choice and district of choice assignments to schools. This is typically done during the first two weeks of May. With those numbers the final staffing numbers are set for the following year (adjusted during the summer months). Many temporary teachers can find out if they will be asked back by the end of May after the schools of choice tallys are complete. There are of course exceptions to this timeline. Your principals/supervisors should be able to answer many of the questions about status for next year but if you have specific questions please contact ABCFT so we can assist you.
Involuntary Transfers:
Each year we get hundreds of questions about the language in the ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract. This Summer a team of Teacher Leaders and ABCFT leaders will work on creating an easy to access Frequently Asked Questions document to help answer many of common questions members may have about the contract or other district concerns. We would like to highlight a small section of the contract on a regular basis here in the Week in Review to help the process of informing members about the language and protections in the contract.
This week, we would like to highlight the language on Involuntary Transfers which can be found in Article XIII Transfer on pages 35-40 of our current Master Contract. Involuntary transfers can be triggered when there is a reduction of staff due to the enrollment and the staff is overstaffed according to Article I: Class Size. The first and often overlook step in this process is that the administrator/supervisor is required to ask for volunteers who would transfer out of the school. If there are no volunteers than the administration/supervisor would work with Human Resources to figure out who would be involuntarily transferred using the following criteria:
- The certification qualifications of the unit member.
- The seniority status of the unit member with the District. The unit member with the least seniority will be transferred unless there is good reason for bypassing such unit member. Such reasons include the maintenance of a well‑balanced staff in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, subject qualifications, and in extraordinary circumstances, age.
Often there is the misconception that seniority is the only qualification used when figuring out who is picked. In this age of program specialist and niche programs seniority is sometimes overridden by the importance of a specific program or curricular speciality. For example, a highly trained TIP coordinator for a school who doesn’t have seniority may in fact bump when there is nobody who is willing to be the TIP coordinator for the school. Since the TIP Coordinator is crucial for curricular delivery this might be a case where the lower seniority person would be bypassed. What is critical and who is replaceable is closely monitored.
In the end, involuntary transfers are handled with Human Resources in a case by case basis and each choice is highly scrutinized by both ABCFT and ABCUSD. It should noted that the above language is different than the language used for RSP/SDC and itinerant teachers. Please contact is at ABCFT@abcusd.us if you have any contract questions or if you have any contract questions that you think we should highlight in these weekly articles.
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:
I don’t have to tell you this is a exceptionally busy month for teachers and nurses as we speed to through testing windows and prepare for the final month of school. For some of you, there is the specter of changing schools or programs which is an added worry that keeps you up at night. I get how scary changes are and at times it doesn’t like things will work out. All I can say is trust the process. I’m happy to report that no permanent or probationary teacher or nurse will lose their job. ABCFT is working with Human Resources to make sure that the contract language on transfers are followed and that the entire process is done with dignity.
I just got off the phone with wonderful ABC teacher who is possibly going to be impacted by some of the teacher movement this year and what was most important to our conversation is that this teacher had a sounding board for concerns, questions, and support. As I reported at the School Board meeting this last Tuesday, being in a position to make decisions is very deceptive. Rarely do I or anyone with perceived decision making power ever really makes choices. Most of my day is spent doing my one most important job, which is listening to others. Think about how much you listen to the students in your classroom as you are constantly assessing the environment, understanding, mood, questions, and humor of your classroom. Yes, teachers are leaders in their classrooms and I would say every single teacher I have met is constantly modeling leadership techniques and strengths with their students. But what teachers really do best of all is listen and then use that information to walk students through routines, new concepts and sometimes the fear of changes.
The teacher I spoke about earlier and many countless teachers I speak with throughout the year hopefully walked away from our conversation being heard. There is no worse feeling in the world than the feeling that you are not being heard, so it's important that we all listen to each other as a learning community. As I mentioned in my speech to the board, the “secret ingredient in ABC is that we listen” and that is no exaggeration. I’m proud to be a part the ABC teachers and nurses that are locally, nationally and internationally known for listening to each other to make our District a great place for kids. That is the main thing after all.
Thank you for taking the time to read what is going on in your YOUnion. We hope that you will continue to provide us with guiding feedback on the value of what we present and what topics you would like to see us tackle in the future.
We hope you have a good weekend. See you here next week!
In Unity!
Ray Gaer
ABCFT President
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Click in the Educators Choice Picture below to get your CFT voter guide for your area.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT’s Weingarten on Teacher Spending on School Supplies
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement responding to a new National Center for Education Statistics report showing teachers spend an average of $479 a year on school supplies out of their own pockets:
“Teachers go into the profession because they care deeply about kids’ learning and well-being. When their classrooms lack basic supplies like chalk, tissues and textbooks, and when kids’ families are struggling to provide necessities, the immediate solution is for teachers to buy these things themselves. It’s telling that teachers spent the most—some spent well over $1,000—in poverty-stricken schools where kids are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. That is why, years ago in New York City, we started Teachers Choice as a way for the New York City Council to help defray the amounts educators spent on their students’ classroom needs. And it’s why we established the AFT First Book partnership to deliver over 5 million books to kids. Another way to mitigate the cost is the federal tax deduction for supplies, although the $250 dedication only really means teachers save between $30 and $60. And even that measure was under attack by Republicans in Congress before teachers mobilized to save it.
“Educators want to help children; that is why, as long as their students lack the essentials, educators will continue to dig deep, while fighting the defunding and underinvestment that created this crisis in the first place. There is no other job I know of where the workers subsidize what should be a cost borne by an employer as a necessary ingredient of the job. But that is who teachers are, and that is why it shouldn’t take nationwide educator walkouts to address the lack of investment in schools.”
American Federation of Teachers Supports Workplace Democracy Act
- 05/16/2018
Arbitrator Finds Cornell Broke Federal Law During Union Election
- 05/16/2018
Maier Foundation Funds College Scholarships for Four McDowell County, W.Va., Students
- 05/16/2018
Thousands Expected for Saturday Rally in Houston for More Public Education Funding
- 05/12/2018
American Federation of Teachers and Texas AFT on Firing of Texas Teacher
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
Civic Leadership Academy
If you belong to a union at work or live in a community at home, you can be a leader and the LA Fed can help prepare you. Become a City Council member, serve on a Parks Commission, Planning Commission, School Board, Neighborhood Board, or an Advisory Board.
Take action now to improve your community by applying to our Civic Leadership Academy and bring union values to public service. We are currently taking applications from union members for CLA’s Cohort #2, and attendance is required for at least four of the five Saturday sessions.
Interested in becoming more involved in your community?
ABCFT will be hosting a free seminar at the Union Hall where you can learn how to become a City Council member, serve on a Parks Commission, Planning Commission, School Board, Neighborhood Board, or an Advisory Board in your community.
Date: May 29th
Time: 3:30-5:00 pm
Stamp Out Hunger!
LABOR COMMUNITY SERVICES NEEDS YOU TO HELP SORT FOOD FOR COMMUNITY PANTRIES!
Join ABCFT union members on either day for a few hours of sorting out food. Lunch will be provided.
Please respond to ABCFT email to let us know if you are interested in helping.
Saturdays, May 26th and/or June 9th
8:00am – 12:00pm
Food Drive Location:
Where: The Salvation Army
5600 Rickenbacker Rd.
Bell, CA 90201, Bldg. 1D
*Enter/Park in back on Mansfield Way/K St.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Concerns over new approach to school discipline
Oklahoma teachers and administrators have been using new policies to ensure their discipline codes don’t land disproportionately on black and Hispanic students. The changes center on a new discipline code with prescribed penalties for specific infractions, like disrespecting a teacher, and rewards for good behavior, and administrators say the changes help curtail negative behavior before they spiral into offenses warranting punishment. However, some teachers say it has handcuffed them by imposing what amounts to discipline quotas and forcing schools to keep troubled students inside classrooms, and now Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is weighing whether to scrap the Obama-era policy, a decision is expected within weeks.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Unfunded debts for California teacher pensions up $11bn
California’s unfunded debt for teacher pensions has grown by nearly $11bn, according to the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), which said it is facing a $107bn gap between the cost of pensions promised to teachers, and the money currently set aside to pay for them. As of June 30th2017, the pension system was 62.6% funded, down from 63.7% a year earlier, with $209bn in assets.
School districts using foreign teachers to fill vacancies
School districts in the U.S. are increasingly hiring teachers from abroad to fill vacancies across the country, and states increasingly using the program include Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Nevada. The teachers are brought in through a cultural exchange visa program offered by the U.S. State Department, known as the J-1 visa, but the program has come under criticism for pushing down teacher wages and displacing American educators.Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the visas are not in the best interest of teachers and called the program an abuse of an exchange program. “Every classroom in America needs a well-supported, well-trained, well-paid educator helping students learn and thrive,” she said.
California Assembly rejects bill allowing school districts to observe socialist holiday
California’s lawmakers have rejected a bill introduced by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), which would have allowed school districts to consolidate President George Washington’s and President Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays into a single “President’s Day” in order to then recognize May 1st as a paid holiday in recognition of “International Workers’ Day.” Mr Santiago’s office explained the reasoning behind the legislation, to highlight the attacks labor unions face in protecting collective bargaining rights, and fighting for better wages. Twenty-seven voted against the measure, 22 in favor, while 29 chose not to vote.
Mick Zais confirmed as deputy U.S. education secretary
South Carolina Education superintendent Mick Zais has this week been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the nation's new deputy education secretary after President Trump picked him to be Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' second-in-command last October. During his time as South Carolina Education Superintendent, Zais rejected federal funds when he felt there were too many strings attached, lambasting what he viewed as federal overreach. "Excited to have Gen. Mick Zais joining the team as Deputy Secretary of Education," Mrs DeVos tweeted. "His experience in higher education and leading schools in South Carolina has uniquely equipped him to serve students as we work to expand educational opportunities across the country."
----- DISTRICTS -----
LA board member resigns from teachers commission
Embattled Los Angeles USD school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned “with a heavy heart” from the Californian Commission on Teacher Credentialing – the body that oversees the integrity and quality of state teachers. Rodriguez currently faces felony and misdemeanour charges for political money laundering, as well as accusations from his former charter group employer of improperly authorizing checks of a non-profit under his supervision. Speculation remains as to whether he will hold onto his school board position amid the challenges.
Four out of five Poway high schools in nation’s top 1,000
Four of Poway USD’s five high schools ranked in the top 1,000 schools in the country in the U.S News & World Report Rankings last week. Del Norte High came 41st in state and 256th nationwide, out of 20,500 public high schools. Meanwhile, Westview High School (425), Mt. Carmel High (812) and Ranch Bernardo High (957) also fared well – all earning either gold or silver awards for graduation rate and college readiness. Poway High alone did not rank or receive any award.
New LA super prioritizes racial achievement gap
In an interview with The Argonaut, new Los Angeles USD superintendent Austin Beutner says turning around the district is “not optional” and acknowledges of his business background: “I’m an unconventional choice, but…these are unconventional times.” Beutner cites closing the “consistent and stubborn achievement gap” between students of color and white students as a top priority. On the subject of his reputation as a “charter school ally,” Mr Beutner says that both public and charter models must be “held accountable” and supported, adding that the universal “answer…lies in good schools.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO WHITNEY!
Gretchen Whitney High rated California’s best school
According to the U.S. News & World Report's Best High School Rankings for 2018, BASIS Scottsdale, a charter school in Arizona, took the top spot in the nation while seven of the top 10 gold medal schools are also charter schools. “Top-ranked schools succeed in three main areas: exceeding expectations on state proficiency tests, offering challenging coursework and graduating their students,” Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said of the survey, which evaluated over 20,500 public high schools based on Common Core data and graduation rates, as well as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exam scores. California came in second to Massachusetts for the number of top-performing schools in the nation;Gretchen Whitney High School in ABC USD was the highest-ranked in the state, and 33rd in the national rankings, followed by Anaheim Union High’s Oxford Academy (36th), Stockton Collegiate International Secondary(37th), KIPP San Jose Collegiate (60th), and University High School (Fresno)(74th).
----- LEGAL -----
California teen faces 14 felony counts in school district phishing attack
Sixteen-year-old David Rotaro, who attends Ygnacio Valley High School in Mt. Diablo USD, has been arrested for targeting teachers with a phishing scam in order to change his and other students’ grades. The student was taken into custody last Wednesday after authorities discovered that he was responsible for hacking into the school district’s computer systems; he allegedly set up a webpage that looked identical to the school’s teacher portal. He then sent out emails to several teachers with links to the page in an attempt to gain their access credentials. Mr Rotaro said: “[Accessing the network was] very easy, it was like beginner level. It was like stealing candy from a baby. I’m very sorry for all the people that I put grades up and grades down. And I’m sorry for the teacher that I hacked. I kind of want to give awareness to cybersecur ity.”
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Apple teaches blind and deaf students to code
Apple has announced a partnership with the California School for the Blindand California School for the Deaf in a new initiative to teach blind and deaf children how to code. The scheme is part of Apple’s nationwide effort to teach millions of children to use its custom coding language, Swift. Deaf students will be able to use Type to Siri to use the company’s voice assistant, whilst blind students will use VoiceOver to control and get feedback from their computers auditorily.
----- INTERNET -----
Social media apps used for sexting and cyberbullying
A study by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has revealed that 94% of children age 13 to 17 use social media. Meanwhile, the same study found that about 75% of teens use Snapchat and Instagram, which are the apps causing the most problems, according to school resources officers in Greendale, Greenfield, Franklin and Whitnall school districts. When group messages are involved, inappropriate photos and threatening or bullying remarks can be shared on a mass scale, as was the case last year in Greenfield High School, according to resource officer Mark Thoreson, when hundreds of students began sharing content in one large group. Mr. Thoreson said he's seeing more and more middle school students sending each other inappropriate photos. Meanwhile, Instagram is sometimes used to create fake accounts for bullying, a practice known as “Finsta.” Facebook can also be an outlet for cyberbullying and even grooming, according to Matthew Joy, the commander for the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
----- FINANCE -----
CalSTRS lobbying gun retailers
The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), the world’s largest teacher-only pension fund, will pressure retail companies it is invested in to stop selling firearms and parts that are outlawed by the state, and will consider divestment from firms that refuse to make changes. The group’s Investment Committee voted yesterday to lobby gun retailers to stop selling weapons and accessories such as rapid-fire bump stocks. The new policy was drafted in the wake of a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. CalSTRS’ $225bn investment portfolio includes over $400m in firms such as Walmart and Kroger.
.----- OTHER -----
Parent designs bulletproof desk
Following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida, an Arizona parent John Birdsell set up a company called School Security Solutions and has designed a school desk made with bullet-resistant fiberglass.Birdsell said that in the unfortunate event kids need to take cover, they can flip the desk on its side and use the table to shield themselves. Birdsell built the $1,650 desk using bullet-resistant fiberglass by Armorcore, which can provide protection against multiple shots from a military assault rifle. “This is a lot better than nothing,” Birdsell says.
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