ABCFT - Week in Review - October 12, 2018
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(ABC Federation of Teachers)
In Unity
ABC Federation of Teachers
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Measure BB - Why did this come as a surprise? 
By Ray Gaer
Ernie Nishi who is a board trustee and the chair of the YES on Measure BB Committee spoke with the site representatives at their last meeting about measure BB and why people should get involved. After the meeting was over he was a little surprised about how the site reps were not as enthusiastic as he had hoped and he didn’t get as many volunteers as he had thought he would recruit. It was a teachable moment so I took the opportunity to inform Mr. Nishi that teachers have been surprised by the decision of the school board to pursue a bond and there is confusion and some resentment about how quick this was decided. Also, over half of the site reps have less than three years experience and have never been involved in a political campaign of any kind, it can be intimidating for some and training is crucial so people feel comfortable about their participation.
So what happened over the summer? ABCFT has representatives at every school board meeting and we have had input into most of the major items on the agenda. Unfortunately, ABCFT was getting mixed signals from board members about when a bond would be pursued. ABCFT was asked in the Spring of 2018 about when we thought was the best time for a bond to go on the ballot but there were few cohesive discussions with the board. Why? Let’s just say that with the trustee system of government there are more diverse personalities and everyone thinks they are the chief. As of the close of school in June it looked like the sensible timeframe for the bond was 2020 during the Presidential Election since the demographics for that election are favorable for bonds.
Over the Summer there is one meeting in July and most years it is just a budget overview for the coming year. At the July board meeting, ABCFT saw a sudden shift in the direction of the school board in favor of going out for a bond this November. We were surprised by this because prior to a bond you need to have your political action committees developed and ready at least six months ahead of the vote. Without the necessary committees already in place and the fact that teachers were on vacation truly made the ABCFT leadership nervous and we began scrambling to put a campaign together.
The scenario isn’t good, as teachers came back and were suddenly made aware that ABC was going after a bond in November. During the 2014 Measure AA bond campaign teachers and administrators carried the campaign to the finish line but unfortunately the community retaliated with a strong anti-bond movement. It was a crushing defeat for all involved and I think collectively we were still processing why it failed. In addition, this time ABCFT was being pressured to be at the forefront for the bond committee as we did in past bonds. I told the administration, board members and the ABCFT leadership that the teachers would not take the lead on this campaign especially because I was seeing a lack of cohesiveness in the board members. If a bond is going to succeed, the primary push for a bond should come from the community and it’s school board representatives. The ABCFT leadership made the decision to slow our campaign so that the responsibility for the bond was reflected in the actions of the school board trustees to work together. Did this strategy work? I would say yes and here is my evidence.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that Measure BB will be a success and that the ABC School Board Trustees have had a positive impact on the campaign. In 2014, not every board trustee was supportive of the bond and for Measure BB there is support from every board member. In 2014 there were many bond committee meetings that worked on the campaign but not every board member attended which caused confusion and division among the board trustees. For Measure BB, all school board trustees or a majority have attended the weekly bond committee meetings. At these bond committee meetings I have witnessed the creation of a strategic plan for community engagement in conjunction with a campaign consultant. In 2014, the support campaign did not put out a campaign mailer until the middle of October and the walking campaign was only active in October. For Measure BB, there have been five support Measure BB campaign flyers delivered and there are more planned for later in the month of October. Having mailers early is significant because over half of the voters use mail in ballots that are delivered during the first ten days of October. In addition to the success of the bond committee, the District has done a much better job at preparing and broadcasting the details about the changes in facilities and the cost to the taxpayer. There has been a systematic inclusion of the community in discussions on how ABC facilities can be modernized. Overall, the Measure BB campaign is doing well, there are far fewer anti bond advocates and there is general support for Measure BB in the ABC community.
We hope that you will consider donating a few hours to work to pass Measure BB. How we got here may not be as pretty as we’d of liked but the bond is here and there is a good chance that it will pass if we continue to reach out to the community. Help fix up our classrooms by supporting Measure BB.
All volunteer inquiries should be directed to Emily at volunteer4measurebb@gmail.com or 626-675-0116.
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MEET A MEMBER
We have begun a new section where you will have an opportunity to meet fellow ABCFT union members from across the district. So often, we work within our own bubble be it in our grade level, work site, or program so now you’ll get a chance to learn more about other hard working educators that make ABC a nationally recognized district as well as ABCFT known as a strong and innovative union.
Meet Will Napier an Artesia High School Special Education teacher for 20 years and Union Rep.
If you could give ”first year teacher you” advice what would it be?
Come in early or stay at school late if you have too, but leave your work at work.
Why did you get involved in the Union?
Honestly, no one else was volunteering to run, so I decided to try and I have been a Rep ever since. We’re going to guess there may be a lot of Reps that can relate to Will’s introduction to serving in the union!
Describe a day in the life of being a Rep at your site.
My day is probably not much different than any other teacher at my school, other than I probably have a few more interactions with school admin team. We think Will is being modest about his role as a Rep. In most cases, it’s the Rep that adds a teacher’s perspective to a program or process which ensures protecting our members rights.
What is your favorite movie/show, song, or book?
I love watching the NFL Redzone.
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter...MySpace?
Facebook and now Instagram. And we all thought Instagram was for Millenials.
What do you do for fun?
I love sports. When I was little I played many sports like baseball, soccer, and basketball. In high school and college I played football. I still like to compete but now it’s through fantasy football and baseball. Now I have the opportunity to watch and coach my boys as they play sports, I enjoy that more than when I played. Appreciate you keeping this a G rated.
Do you have a bucket list?
Going to the Super Bowl, visiting Washington D.C., and all the National Parks.
If you could have a superpower what would it be?
Not a superpower, but I would cure cancer. We can all agree with you on that Will.
Thank you Will for sharing your story with the ABCFT community. If you’d like to be featured in the Meet a Member Click this link here.
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TEACHER LEADER UPDATE -repeat
Last year ABCFT embarked on becoming the only AFT local on the West Coast to have a consistent Teacher Leader Program. This year, we have ten teachers who have committed to volunteer their time to do research for their classrooms, participate in political actions like going to Sacramento to talk to legislators, and to network with other educators to help advocate for teacher voice in ABC. Last year, Kelley Forsythe became a teacher leader and originally wasn’t sure what the program would encompass. We asked Kelley to write a short testimonial about what she discovered by being involved in the ABCFT Teacher Leader Program.
Last year, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be part of the first Teacher Leader program sponsored by ABCFT and our national organization, the American Federation of Teachers. During my time with this program, I met some wonderful people from other si tes who shared experiences about their time in our district and we all shared a common goal in learning more about our union and how we can get further involved. Since completing the program, I personally have accepted different roles within our union such as VP-At Large position on the executive board, Teacher Leader Co-facilitator with Tanya Golden for this year’s program, continued site rep as well as joining a few other committees that I believe will offer a teacher’s perspective. Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to mentor several new teachers with issues that have come up in their classrooms and assist with general support.
My experience has not only been rewarding in so many ways, but it’s given me a new respect for what our union does to support all of its members and continue to strive for a stronger relationship with the district. I look forward to the coming year and how we, as a union, can continue with the positive momentum put forth by all ABCFT members.
We hope that this testimonial offers you a glimpse into the professional development and leadership opportunities available to you when you become involved in the ABCFT YOUnion. Thank you Kelley for taking the time to share your experiences.
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EQUALITY AND JUSTICE
ABCFT is going to test out a new feature over the next couple of weeks by highlighting important social issues with resources and ways for members to get informed and active to exercise your voice. This week we are highlighting a page from the California Women’s Law Center website. Every week this organization sends out . Please let us know if you like this feature.
Women comprise half of the workforce in California and are the primary income-earners in many families. Despite that, many women are often forced into minimum wage or part-time jobs that stifle their earning capacity. Furthermore, many of these women lack affordable child care, often having to choose between their families and their job. In addition, over the next two decades, the older adult population in California will nearly double by more than 4 million people, which will have demonstrative effects on many of these same women, further complicating their economic challenges.
Equal Pay
More than 50 years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, requiring equal pay for equal work, the gender wage gap persists in nearly every industry and profession in the country. This gap varies by state and city, by education level and occupation, and is magnified for minority, disabled, and transgender women. In every state, the wage gap exists and will remain stagnant unless a serious effort is made to address the workplace barriers that leave women shortchanged.
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Contracts - Delivered! repeat
Last week at the ABCFT Site Representative meeting, we distributed the paper copies of the ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract. You should see the very bright and shiny contracts in your boxes shortly. 
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.
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KEEPING YOU INFORMED - repeat
When to bring a union representative
You have the right to have a union representative at any meeting or investigatory interview with a supervisor or administrator that you reasonably believe might lead to discipline. These are called your Weingarten Rights, named after a 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision. Your supervisor does not have to notify you of your right to union representation — you must assert your Weingarten Rights. This applies to everyone who works in a unionized child care center, school, college or university, whether public or private. 
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.
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.
Hold onto your hats everyone, October is flying past us! Hopefully your classes are balanced, if you’re being evaluated you’ve had your preliminary meeting, and you finally have a chance to catch your breath.
I was able to spend the first part of the week in the office calling and emailing members, having face to meetings with members board members, community members, and state and national officials. Days like this are like when I was teaching and I had to catch up on my grading so that I knew just where my students were in the curriculum. On Tuesday, I attended a meeting for local presidents in Burbank held by the California Federation of Teachers. At this meeting we discussed membership outreach, legal updates, and professional development opportunities for local officers on how to better serve their membership. One of the main discussions was how unions are communicating with their members and how often they receive information from CFT/AFT or the local. ABCFT communicates on a more regular basis than almost every CFT local in California and ABCFT is still evolving to create better content for the reading membership. We hope that you will enjoy our new feature articles called “Meet a Member” which will highlight one of our 1017 ABCFT members every week. We hope that this will spark conversation and interest each week as we highlight the different roles, interests, and bucket lists of individual members in our YOUnion.
I’m going to keep my comment short this week since there was so much to read at the top about Measure BB. I hope that my narrative about the bond helps to provide some clarity about how this bond has progressed. I’ve needed some processing time to get behind Measure BB but I’m fully committed to working hard to provide the funding to enhance and modernize your classrooms and schools. I hope that you will also take a leap of faith and pitch in to help out the campaign over the next few weeks. I’ll be walking this Saturday for the Artesia area with most of the ABCFT Executive Board, come and join us. You can find the information at this link.
Thank you for always making a difference.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
CFT recommends Thurmond for State Superintendent & Newsom for Governor
Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Instruction
The CFT endorses Richmond Assemblymember Tony Thurmond for state superintendent of public instruction. President Josh Pechthalt said Thurmond, a former social worker, has demonstrated “time and again he is a champion of public education. His policy positions solidly align him with the needs of students, parents, and educators.”
He recognizes the critical need to address California’s teacher shortage, and advocates for attracting and retaining qualified educators by providing affordable housing, recruitment bonuses, scholarships and higher wages. He supports raising California up from near the bottom of the states in per pupil funding through progressive tax reforms. He sponsored a bill to bolster early childhood education enrollment by taxing private prison corporations.
In comparison to the Trump/DeVos education agenda, Thurmond—a former school board member—opposes vouchers and other schemes to shift taxpayer dollars from public education to private hands. He believes charter schools should be held to the same standards of access, transparency and accountability as public schools, and firmly opposes for-profit charters.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Teachers bring lawsuit against Navient
Backed by the American Federation of Teachers, nine teachers have filed a lawsuit accusing student loan servicer Navient of ramping up their debts by blocking access to the troubled federal loan forgiveness program for public service workers. “We felt that we had an obligation to pursue this, to stop these predatory practices and get some compensatory relief,” said AFT president Randi Weingarten. Separately, the Education Department could be about to sever ties with private debt collection firms, like Performant Recovery and Windham Professionals, through its Next Generation Financial Services Environment initiative, which is intended to modernize and simplify the student loan repayment process.
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
EPI: Shortfall of nearly 390,000 teachers
According to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), there are 389,000 fewer teachers in the K-12 workforce than are needed to keep up with a growing student population. EPI senior economist Elise Gould said that compared to pre-recession years, there are 116,000 fewer jobs in public education and that these gaps are leading to larger class sizes and fewer teachers’ aides in the classroom. “State and local government austerity since the recession has contributed to a significant shortfall in education employment,” Ms. Gould added, noting strikes across the country in which teachers are protesting working conditions and the wage gap. Meanwhile, a separate report from the Learning Policy Institute noted that while shortages exist in most states, they predominantly affect schools and districts with the greatest needs. However, the report also noted the role principals play in creating positive working conditions, supporting collaborative environments, and implementing other measures that contribute to teacher recruitment and retention — even in high-needs schools.
Increase in amount of striking teachers
New analysis shows around 5% of all teachers in K-12 schools have walked off the job so far in 2018, marking the highest such level for work stoppages since 1992. The walk-outs have staged over long-stagnant wages caused by constraints on state and local budgets. The stoppages includes walkouts in North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma West Virginia, and Kentucky. The wave may not have completed yet, either. Los Angeles teachers are reportedly considering a walkout. The 5% figure does not include walkouts involving higher education, such as more than 53,000 University of California teachers walking off in May. Several of the protests have been successful in their aim. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a 19% pay increase over three years for teachers following April walkouts. Oklahoma teachers received average pay raises of $6,100 following strikes in April as well.
Teacher candidates shaking up midterms
Hundreds of current and former educators are on general election ballots, a lot of them linked to this year’s #RedForEd protests, illustrating the recent surge in teacher activism focused on increased educational funding and higher teacher pay. “What we might be seeing is the emergence of a number of individuals who will be an elected mainstream set of advocates for these teacher issues,” said Frederick Hess, director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute public policy think tank.
Investigation into whether school transgender bathroom policy lead to assault
The federal government is investigating whether a Georgia school district’s policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice led to the sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl by a student who identified as “gender fluid.” Education Department spokesman Nate Bailey said: “We do not comment on pending investigations - but to be clear, the investigation focuses on the school’s response to a report of sexual assault and the examination of any and all factors that may have contributed to a hostile environment.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
California's standardized test scores inch up
Over 3m students in third through eighth grade took the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress in the spring, with standardized test scores edging up on last year. Just under half the students met standards in English and fewer than 4 in 10 in math. The strongest gains were in reading scores in third grade (up 4.3 percentage points) and fourth grade (up 3.6 percentage points). The youngest students tested also made the biggest strides in math, although those gains were not as large. Schools have had 2018 results since May, but the public release was delayed because of a single eighth-grade math question that was incorrectly categorized, resulting in a “scoring anomaly.” About 30% of eighth-graders received the question, and the tests had to be rescored .
K-12 education top priority for parents of color
A poll has found that found that 9 out of 10 Black, Latinx and Asian Pacific Islander parents view improving K-12 education in California as a high priority for the next governor and superintendent of public instruction to address. The survey, which was commissioned by The Education Trust-West (ETW) and UnidosUS, also found that Latinx, Black and Asian Pacific Islander parents said improving education was a higher priority than improving access to health care and affordable housing. ETW and UnidosUS surveyed 600 parents throughout California, all of whom are a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in a state K-12 public school. According to ETW interim co-executive director Elisha Smith Arrillaga, in the past, California education polls have not prioritized surveying parents of color, Arrillaga said that seven out of 10 students in the California public school system are students of color and the ETW wanted to conduct a poll that accurately reflected this population.
California’s gubernatorial debate ignored education
California’s two gubernatorial candidates barely mentioned education in their first debate this week. Republican businessman John Cox just three times mentioned that the state’s schools are failing children, while Democrat and lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom brought up schools only as part of his defense of sanctuary cities - which he said offer protections that make parents “more likely to get their child an education and drop them off at school” and to get immunized.
Report questions California Department of Education
According to a report issued as part of the Getting Down to Facts research project, support for education reforms introduced during Gov. Jerry Brown’s tenure is constrained by the weakness of the California Department of Education. The report states that currently “conditions in the CDE constrain the agency’s ability to support frontline practice,” referring to the department’s ability to assist districts directly. It is claimed that the department finds itself caught between attempts to push more decision-making to the local level and away from sanctions-heavy mandates emanating from Sacramento and Washington, while also being called on to provide more support to districts and to exercise oversight over districts most in need of help.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Montebello Unified board candidates discuss district's problems
None of the three Montebello Unified school board incumbents are running for re-election. MUSD is currently under investigation by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission and a jury recently awarded $2.7m to two former administrators who had been fired. Nine candidates, including teachers, will now compete and Miki Moreno, who spoke of her experience as a retired special education teacher, said: "Our kids have been shortchanged."
----- SECURITY -----
School shooting database created by students
Two former postgraduate students in Monterey have created a new database with information on every school shooting in the last 50 years. The site was put together by David Riedman, a former student at the Naval Postgraduate School, while working on a project for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Riedman claims the database will be useful for school administrators building budgets and making plans for school security.
----- LEGAL -----
Teachers bring lawsuit against Navient
Backed by the American Federation of Teachers, nine teachers have filed a lawsuit accusing student loan servicer Navient of ramping up their debts by blocking access to the troubled federal loan forgiveness program for public service workers. “We felt that we had an obligation to pursue this, to stop these predatory practices and get some compensatory relief,” said AFT president Randi Weingarten. Separately, the Education Department could be about to sever ties with private debt collection firms, like Performant Recovery and Windham Professionals, through its Next Generation Financial Services Environment initiative, which is intended to modernize and simplify the student loan repayment process.
Sacramento schools facing $48m deficit
Sacramento City USD has estimated that it will have built up a structural deficit of $48m by 2020 if further cuts are not made, almost $12m more than announced in June, and $8m more than the district’s last estimate. Spokesperson Alex Barrios said the news was “not what we like to hear, but it’s the truth.” The district has estimated it will need to make $28.5m in cuts next school year, and cut another $19.5m next year, but has not yet released a plan as to where those cuts should fall. The district must submit a revised budget to the county by Monday, with the school board set to review the new estimates and potential cuts at a meeting today.
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
This is a scary story...
Could AI help fix education?
Michael Ashley suggests artificial intelligence (AI) could help to improve U.S. literacy through firms like Learning Ovations, which leverages big data to help students learn more effectively through an "individualized instruction" platform. Learning Ovations' founder explained that the project needed to have lots of human hours and vast amounts of data to make determinations: “The core starting point for us was the preceding research that pointed to the fact you need to individualize to a child’s needs to be successful,” he said.
Downey Unified hosting eSports tournament
Downey Unified has announced the Overwatch Downey Unified High School eSports Tournament, the first ever inner-district high school level eSports tournament in Los Angeles County. Part of Downey Unified’s College and Career Readiness Initiative, the program will show students how their interest in video gaming could turn into prospective careers opportunities while addressing a positive approach to competition - including teamwork, leadership, resilience and problem solving.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
California's best colleges for each major
Niche has listed the colleges in California that it deems best in some of the most popular majors. California's higher education options remain plentiful, the college-ranking website says, with UC Berkeley and UCLA, which rank among the best public universities in the U.S., offering relatively cheap tuition for in-state students. For small liberal arts colleges, Pomona and Claremont McKenna are well-regarded, and STEM majors can't do better than Caltech, Niche says.
.----- OTHER -----
Trump cuts development agency’s funding
Melania Trump has been in Africa promoting the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development, whose funding has twice been cut by nearly a third by President Trump. Mrs. Trump toured classrooms at Lilongwe’s Chipala Primary School, which gets textbooks and other education assistance from the international development agency. Officials said that a batch of 1.4m books donated this week brought to nearly 10m the total Malawi has received in recent years under USAID’s national reading program. Despite this, the Trump administration sought a roughly 30% cut in funding for the State Department and USAID in its first two budgets.
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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