ABCFT - Week in Review - September 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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Our apologies for the lateness of the Week in Review this week. We like to get these out every Friday between 1pm and 3pm but sometimes circumstances can cause a delay. This week has been exceptionally busy but we expect that next week we will able to post at our usual time and place. Thank you for your understanding.
Contracts have been printed!
This Wednesday, ABCFT received a pallet of freshly printed contracts. Due to the ABCFT Site Rep training going on for new and veteran site reps on Thursday we were unable to get one thousand contracts sorted and ready for site reps for the the Thursday meeting. ABCFT will be distributing the hard copy contract to your site reps at the October 4th rep council. 
In the meantime, here are the links to the Human Resources page on the remodeled ABC website for the new ABCFT Master Contract as well as the link to the new 2018-2019 Salary Schedules.
ABCFT TOSA’s Get their welcome back cake!
September is a busy month for all of us which includes Back to School nights. ABCFT has been delivering cakes to the schools to acknowledge our members and staff hard work and celebrate the special night which kicks off the new school year. Be sure to check your staff lounge for your slice of cake!
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE - repeat
All members should have seen the 2% increase to the salary schedule on their September 1 checks. In addition, the majority of teachers and health professionals who chose to participate in the August 22nd professional development day bargained for by your ABCFT negotiating team should have received their checks on September 5. Members who are brand new or hired after the original June requisition will see their check on October 5.
We have been working with the district to clarify exactly when members can expect the distribution of this year's 2% off schedule check. We currently have a tentative window of around the new year at this point but will firm up this date in coming weeks.
Here are some time sensitive highlights from your new contract:
1) October 1 is the new date by which administrators have to get classes adjusted. This was a priority noted on a number of member surveys and is a change from the longstanding date of October 15.
2) TK-Kindergarten teachers have no fewer than 20 minimum days for the purpose of assessing students. These days are exclusive of any other minimum days the site may choose to have.
These contracts, though new, will not reflect the most recent pay increases. Please see the links below or on the district website for the updated schedules.
ABCFT will have more information about negotiations in future weeks but here is an update on current projects:
- Stipend committee members are will be solicited for discussions about the use of stipends at school sites.
- The Negotiating team is looking at the updating the current STULL evaluation form with updated language from the California Standards for Teaching.
- Evaluation handbook is being updated to reflect the language changes in the evaluation.
Know your Weingarten Rights
In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court held that employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement have a right to be represented during investigatory interviews. The case was National Labor Relations Board v. Weingarten. Below, you will learn how to assert your “Weingarten Rights.”
To assert your Weingarten Rights, say:
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated, or could affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present.”
> If you have a problem on the job or you see a violation of your union contract, contact your site representative or local grievance officer. If you think you have a legal problem, contact ABCFT at Ext. 21500 or ABCFT@ABCUSD.us or ABCFT2317@gmail.com immediately.
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KEEPING YOU INFORMED
Each week, we will highlight a communications flyer that will help keep you informed about your rights and responsibilities as an educational professional. 
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.
I’ll admit I’m feeling a little under the weather so my apologies for the lateness of the posting. This week, ABCFT has been delivering more cakes to hard working teachers and medical professionals across the district. When we first did our cakes last year for school sites, we immediately realized that those smiling faces weren’t just teachers but also principals and their support staff. Everyone likes to be recognized for what they do and we hope that the cake deliveries recognize you all for what you do day in and day out. You are appreciated.
Back by popular demand, you should see the ABCFT welcome back package in your box shortly. The magnetic erasers from two years ago were such a hit that we brought them back for another run. If you would like an extra eraser or two we still have some extras, so drop by the Union Hall and pick them up. Keep your eye out for an announcement for the ABCFT Back to School Night at the Union Hall. We’d like members to stop by, sit and chat and become familiar with the Union Hall.
One of the things that ABCFT does that not all unions do is that we have good communications with many of the ABC principals, directors, and supervisors. Sometimes we receive just as many calls in a day from principals as we do from members. They call for the same reason that members call, often to get clarification on a part of the contract, talk about solutions to an issue, troubleshoot potential issues before they become problems. Someone at a new site representative training asked me this week how many grievances do we get in a year? Over the last seven years we have had about ten grievances which is astonishingly low for a over 1,000 member teacher force and thirty school sites.
How do we do it in ABC? Every district including ABC has issues that come up between employer and employee but the resolution of these issues is the key. ABCFT will get emails or phone calls from ABCFT members who are at the end of their rope, frustrated with their situation and in desperate need for resolution. I understand firsthand how frustrating things can be if you have a supervisor who is being unfair or you have a working condition that is unacceptable. A grievance is the best legal means for a member to get resolution on an issue but it takes time. If you look in the contract under grievances you will see that there are long timelines for resolutions of a grievance. What is different in ABC is that ABCFT will begin working on a grievance with a member and before we can complete the paperwork (a narrative, contract violation language, evidence, and solutions) ABCFT is able to work with the member and the needed supervisors to find solutions to the situation. Getting quick resolution to problems is good for the employee and allows the employee to focus on their main job of teaching and learning with students. The ABCFT leadership team and the representative council work tirelessly with administrators behind the scenes problem solving and providing teacher voice with their principals and supervisors. Throughout the school year, I’ll do my best to give you examples of how the YOUnion is working on solutions that impact your classrooms and how your voice is crucial to those discussions.
Just quickly let me tell you that there was a Measure BB kickoff this past Wednesday and there was a good turn out of elected officials and community activists. At this thursday’s rep council we discussed the Measure BB Bond and provided the site reps with additional information about how the funds would directly impact your schools. ABCFT is working on an informational email to inform you about Measure BB and why ABCFT teachers and medical professionals would benefit from its passing.
Again, thank you for taking the time to read the Week in Review. Thank you for all you do!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
Gahr HS!!!!!!!
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
National Teacher Union Leader Stands with LA Members in Strike Vote
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued her full-throated support for the members of United Teachers Los Angeles, who voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike earlier this week:
“In one of the wealthiest cities in the country, students are being crowded into classrooms and schools don’t have enough counselors or nurses to meet their kids’ health and safety needs. The city’s budget is being balanced on the backs of students and teachers, and the members of UTLA have had enough.
“After 17 months of the union negotiating in good faith and making repeated requests for mediation, the district’s refusal to sit down with teachers until late September is an insult to educators and a disservice to every family in the Los Angeles Unified School District. And the proposals the district has offered fail to fund community schools, fail to put accountability measures in place for charter schools, and fail to address the overtesting issues that have left UTLA’s teachers completely out of the discussion on how to assess student performance. “What’s happened in Los Angeles is what we’ve seen in too many cities around the country: the dismantling of public education through disinvestment and privatization schemes, prompting teachers to take on this fight. We stand with UTLA every step of the way.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Teachers paid much less than other professionals
Teachers' weekly wages lag by more than 25% compared to similarly educated professionals in 16 U.S. states, according to new research by nonpartisan think tank the Economic Policy Institute, which reveals that there are no states at all where teacher pay is equal to or better than that of other college graduates. "The opportunity cost of becoming a teacher and remaining in the profession becomes more and more important as relative teacher pay falls further behind that of other professions," write report authors Lawrence Mishel and Sylvia Allegretto. Compared to other college graduates, they note, teachers in 2017 were paid almost $350 less than their peers per week, and since 1996 teacher pay has actually decreased $27 per week, adjusted for inflation, while college graduates' average weekly wages have increased over that same time period.
Proposed rules would reduce misconduct inquiries for schools
A internal report by the Education Department says its proposed new rules for handling allegations of sexual misconduct on campus would “substantially decrease the number of investigations by colleges and school districts into complaints of sexual harassment, assault and rape, and save educational institutions millions of dollars over the next decade”. While Elizabeth Hill, a spokeswoman for the department, stressed that: “Secretary DeVos has been clear that the rule must be built on protecting all students from unfair deprivation of their education,” the department’s report suggests new rules could drive down complaints and generate savings to the tune of $54m for school districts and $19m for colleges and universities.
Even striking teachers enjoy public support
The public backs school teachers' right to strike by almost three to one, according to a survey by USA Today and Ipsos Public Affairs, which also reveals that six in ten agree that teachers are not paid fairly. Almost eight in ten said teachers have to spend too much of their own money on school supplies. Respondent Daniel Galluppi said: “They’re not just child care for children, but they’re teaching these kids how to be successful and productive members of society,” while Frederick Wendt III added: “I basically think that athletes are overpaid and teachers are underpaid.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
California’s school dashboard in line for makeover
The state Board of Education is set to roll out an updated version of the California school dashboard in December, a more user-friendly version of the website that made its debut in spring 2017. Changes include the introduction of a simple gauge, with an arrow pointing to one of five performance levels, in place of the current “pie” icons, and an 80% reduction in the number of pages, achieved by new links to relevant pages on the Department of Education website. Additionally, the language used has been simplified, and web translating tools have been replaced by experienced Spanish translators. Collaborative Communications, the Washington, D.C., firm behind the overhaul, based its work on findings from a half-dozen meetings with parents who shared what they liked and disliked about the current dashboard.
California lawmakers send nine gun-control bills to Gov. Brown
Nine new gun control bills have been sent to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, further tightening up the strictest firearm laws in the U.S. Among the legislation waiting approval by Brown are proposals to lift the age for buying rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21, and to prohibit the purchase of more than one long gun a month. The bill that would prohibit purchases in any 30-day period drew opposition from groups including the National Rifle Assn. and Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition, which argued the move “will not solve crime and mental health problems.” Legislators have also approved bills that would create lifetime bans on gun ownership for those convicted of domestic violence, or who are involuntarily hospitalized for mental illness twice in a year, make it harder to be given a concealed-carry license, and to allow teachers to petition courts to have guns confiscated from people deemed a danger to themselves and others. Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the author of the latter bill, said “Prior to February’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, teachers and administrators expressed increasing concern about the gunman’s behavior at school. We need to give California schools more tools to prevent another campus tragedy.”
California K-12 students need more investment
California’s 6m K-12 students are underperforming compared to students in other states, according to testing by the National Assessment of Academic Progress. That’s despite a 50% increase in spending per student, although spending still lags behind many other states. At the top end of the scale, New York spends $25,730 per student, while California spends $13,923. The candidates for state schools superintendent, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, a Richmond Democrat, and charter school and reform advocate Marshall Tuck, agree that more money would help. Thurmond told a recent candidate forum that if elected, he wants California to reach the “top 10 in the first four years and No. 1 in eight years.” With 6 million students, increasing spending by $1,000 per pupil would cost $6 billion a year. Therefore, either pushing California into the top 10 states, as Thurmond proposes, or reaching Tuck’s goal of a 30% increase would boost spending, and the taxes to pay for it, by over $25bn a year.
Tuck and Thurmond debate charter growth
The two remaining candidates to take over as chief of California’s state schools took part in a debate Tuesday night that revealed a fundamental disagreement over the growth of charter schools in the state. Former charter school executive Marshall Tuck criticized Assemblyman Tony Thurmond when he called for a pause on new charters. The dispute should help voters decide.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Governor to sign off on later starts
California State Bill 328, which dictates the school day should not start any earlier than 8.30am in Californian middle and high schools, is awaiting Governor Brown’s signature. Parents in favour of the bill think early start times are limiting children’s sleep, while some working parents oppose the change, as early start times enable them to drop the kids off before work.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Teacher diversity impacts students’ learning, study claims
Students do tend to benefit from having teachers who look like them, especially nonwhite students, according to researchers at American University (AU). Seth Gershenson, an economist studying education policy at AU, said: “In the elementary school setting, for black children and especially disadvantaged black children, the effect of having even just one black teacher is fairly big and robust and a real thing.” Some 77% percent of teachers in public and private elementary and high schools are women, up from 71% 30 years ago, Claire Cain Miller notes, and though the teaching force has grown more racially diverse in that period - it’s still 80% white.
More U.S. pupils than ever in school uniform
Some 21.5% of U.S. public schools required students to wear uniforms in the school year ended 2016, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, up from 13.8% in 2006. Anne Michaud, a spokesperson for Success Academy, the largest free public charter school network in New York City, said: “If children are dressed in same or similar fashion, they aren’t distracted by each other’s’ clothing and judgments about what others are wearing. Uniforms are an equalizer.”
----- WORKFORCE ----
Some teacher unions make it difficult to leave
Though teachers are overwhelmingly standing by their unions, writes Mike Antonucci, some unions are making it hard for teachers to leave. In New York, he notes, the United Federation of Teachers’ union has a two-week resignation window only each year, which runs from June 15 to June 30. The United Teachers Los Angeles union requires between 30 and 60 days before the anniversary of the date you signed the membership form.
FYI - ABCFT Teachers Federation: Resignation and cessation of dues payments is immediate upon a signed written notice to the union and the district payroll office.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
AI identifies children with writing disorders
Finland is taking part in the international pilot of a new video game environment using artificial intelligence that could make it easier to diagnose and treat children with learning disabilities at a younger age. The platform aims to diagnose and treat dysgraphia, a condition which sees affected people have problems with writing , and also difficulties with coherence. "The new application is a playful environment, where pupils can carry out easy writing and drawing tasks. There's no intention to do anything difficult, said Hanna Pernu, rector at the Torkinmäki comprehensive school in the western coastal city of Kokkola, which has been chosen to supply the pilot program with data.
Virtual reality is virtually here...
The International Society for Technology in Education's new book Learning Transported: Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality for All Classrooms, offers practical insights, lesson plans, and classroom examples for educators to make the most of virtual and augmented reality. Jaime Donally, a former teacher who now trains staff on technology, says: “The truth is that many resources are available now on the devices already in the classroom”.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Long Beach schools and colleges target women in STEM
Cal State Long Beach has been granted $35,000 by Google to boost the enrolment of female students in computer science. The grant adds to an increasing number of similar initiatives supporting women in STEM fields. In recent years, Cabrillo High School in Long Beach USD has increased the female population of its engineering and design course from 12% from 2012-14 to 25-28% now, yet despite a “strong effort to recruit girls” via its Girls in Engineering, Math and Science program and positive results, AP Calculus teacher Ken Fisher observes that while “about 50% of” the AP Calculus class are girls, his female students “are more prone to go into fields other than STEM” at college.
Harvard tops college rankings again
Harvard University has again topped this year’s Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Columbia University and the California Institute of Technology, notable for its relative small size compared to the regular names. While public schools made big gains across the rankings, states are spending nearly $2,000 less per student on average than they did in 2000, after adjusting for inflation, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
Education degrees among least valuable
Financial advice firm Bankrate.com has ranked the most and least valuable college degrees. Business, science and math degrees topped the list, including many in engineering fields, while public policy and agricultural economics also ranked high. Mass media, music, social work and several education degrees made up the bottom.
Latest college rankings reflect inclusion data changes
U.S. News & World Report's college-ranking report has changed its formula this year to place greater emphasis on social mobility and less on exclusivity in admissions. Princeton ranked top for the eighth straight year, Harvard ranked second, followed by four schools tied for third - Columbia and Yale universities, the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two that moved up the most, on the back of the new data criteria, were the University of California at Riverside and Howard University, which both serve high numbers of disadvantaged students.
Tuition fees soaking up student loan borrowing
As the cost of education has steadily risen, since 2009 the amount that Americans owe in education loans has more than doubled to $1.53tn, according to the Federal Reserve. After examining 20 years of tuition increases, Farran Powell says tuition at public National Universities, out-of-state tuition and fees rose 200%, while in-state tuition and fees rocketed 243%. “Increasing loan and grant programs has largely resulted in corresponding tuition increases, with little net benefit to students and seemingly small increases in enrollment,” said Mark Warshawsky, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT stated a working relationship with National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company. Throughout our partnership, NTA has been supportive of ABCFT activities by sponsorship and prizes for our various events. This organization specializes in providing insurance for educators across the nation. We have been provided both data and member testimonials about how pleased they have been with the NTA products and the opportunity to look at alternatives to the district insurance choice.
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