ABCFT - Week in Review - March 18, 2019
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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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YOU deserve a Break……...Spring Break!!!!!!!
MEET A MEMBER
The ABCFT YOUnion is made up of 1,100 great teachers and medical professionals and each one of us has a story to tell. Each week we will highlight a member of ABCFT.
Meet Catherine Pascual from Artesia High School, a Physics and Engineering Teacher in her 7th year teaching, 6th in ABC and ABCFT Teacher Leader.
If you could give ”first year teacher you” advice what would it be?
Don't reinvent the wheel, there are great resources out there, find them and utilize them. Make sure what you are using fits your teaching style, if not, change it so it does.
How did you get involved with the union?
I think that education policy needs the strong voice of educators. I have always been interested in education policy at a state and national level. The teacher leader program is a great way to learn more about policies locally and beyond that affect what happens in our classrooms. Since our local union is very involved and active, there are great opportunities to learn and have a voice.
Describe a day in the life of being a Rep at your site.
I am currently in the teacher leader program and not a rep, I hope to become a union rep in the next couple of years.
What is your favorite movie/show, song, or book?
My favorite TV shows were probably The West Wing, Friends, and Gilmore Girls. Guessing she is referred to her favorite TV shows in past tense is a result of her toddler twins!
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter...MySpace?
Mostly Facebook, there are so many useful groups and you can see friends' adventures and kids. I occasionally look at Instagram and Twitter too.
What do you do for fun?
Spend time with my 2.5 year old twins, go to Disneyland, and travel.
Do you have a bucket list?
Travel with the kids to countries of their heritage (Philippines, Greece, Italy...) and around the US.
If you could have a superpower what would it be?
The power to move things with my mind. Maybe if I could look around the room and move everything into its place my home and classroom would be more organized.
Thank you Catherine, for sharing your story with the ABCFT community.
School of Choice Update by Ray Gaer
The last School of Choice Committee meeting was Thursday, April 11th.. The previous three updates and information can be found here when you click this link. I’ll have a report to you the week we return from the break. This past meeting was more of an overview by the committee about what has been discussed thus far. In the next report I’ll upload the powerpoint that has some good visuals to help understand the process. Until we return, if you have any questions please write to me at abcft@abcusd.us.
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Free AFT Resources For Educators and Nurses
2019 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHT- ON DEMAND
You'll discover sessions filled with "use right now" strategies and tools for teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel, parents and community members. With 30+ FREE sessions, you're sure to find sessions on topics of interest.
Share My Lesson is known for our expansive library of science, math, social studies, English language arts and health-related resources; and this free professional learning webinar series will provide the professional support you're looking for in your instructional practice and resources to support for students and steps for implementing schoolwide programs. We also have many sessions that school staff, administrators and parents will find of interest. So, make some time for these worthwhile sessions filled with new content from education experts from across the country.
Note: If you can't make a session time, register anyway, and we'll send you a link to view it on-demand after it has aired live.
Only have time for the highlights? View a sampling of sessions available on demand now.
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APRIL ABCFT ACADEMIC SERVICES UPDATE
Each month Connie Nam and Rich Saldana work with Beth Bray and Carol Castro to provide teacher input about professional development, curriculum changes and testing changes. ABCFT believes that the biggest working condition impacting teachers are the key curriculum and the professional development being churned out of academic services. Many times the district is implementing changes that are coming from the State of California but rarely do unions get involved in those changes. ABCFT believes that teacher voice helps to provide the district office with classroom advice and input that helps to deliver better comprehensive changes. Each month at the ABCFT Representative Council Rich and Connie give reports and take questions on all things related to academic services. Here is the report for the month of April.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
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’m going to be honest. I’m out of gas and I need a week to regroup. The past couple of weeks Membership Coordinator, Tanya Golden and myself have been working on some major projects. We are working closely with the district-wide PTA leadership to have more engagement with community members. We have also started working with Kaiser to start planning our joint after school sessions on mental health, resilience, and wellness for teachers. We will also have a negotiation update and timeline, child development survey, and much much more.
I’m going to keep this report light but I’ll make up for it when we come back. Thankfully, this late Spring Break calendar only happens every 7 years. This one seemed particularly long.
Have a good Spring Break. Take some time to do some self care over the break. Be safe, enjoy Easter (if you celebrate it), and do something that isn’t about education that you can share when you come back.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
On April 10, over 80 CFT members took part in a successful Legislative Day of Action in Sacramento. Educators and classified professionals from throughout the state gathered at the capitol to push for more accountability for charter schools and full funding for public education. And despite aggressive tactics by charter backers, we were successful in moving several important bills through the Assembly Education Committee.
During the jam-packed day, CFT members took part in a press conference with legislative leaders, parents, educators, and labor partners in support of AB 1505, AB 1506, AB 1507, and SB 756, all aimed at fixing California’s broken charter school laws.
“It was invigorating as an educator to see the issues and challenges we face in the classroom being heard on a large scale. It makes me hopeful that our needs of the public school system can be addressed, heard, and then acted upon by our legislators.”
— Rachel Smith, ABC Federation of Teachers
CFT Secretary Treasurer and President Elect Jeff Freitas spoke at the press conference, urging California’s elected representatives to pass the package of legislation.
“The laws governing charters in California are like the wild west. With no real accountability to local school communities, charter schools have become a burden on school district finances, facilities, and academic programs,” said Freitas from the podium. “It’s time to fix California’s broken charter school laws and put power back in the hands of our local school boards and communities.”
At one point during the press conference, charter backers started chanting loudly just outside of the event, attempting to intimidate those taking part and to disrupt the presentation. CFT members also reported being physically intimidated later in the afternoon when trying to speak in favor of the bills.
Despite these rough tactics, CFT members were successful in reaching Assembly legislators and staff throughout the day, urging them to restore local control on the issue of charter schools. The Assembly Education Committee voted to pass each of the four charter accountability bills, which now move on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and to the full Assembly later in the spring. SB 756, which would put in place a moratorium on charter schools unless significant reforms are put in place, is making its way through the Senate and so was not discussed at the Assembly hearing.
CFT members also urged legislators to support AB 39 (Muratsuchi, D-TK), a bill that would significantly raise education funding by establishing a new, higher funding target under the Local Control Funding Formula. The bill was also passed out of the Assembly Education Committee.
Like so many of the CFT members who took part in the Legislative Day of Action, Rachel Smith was impressed with what 80-strong CFT contingent accomplished on April 10. A fourth grade teacher at Carver Elementary in Cerritos and a member of the ABC Federation of Teachers, Rachel said: “It was invigorating as an educator to see the issues and challenges we face in the classroom being heard on a large scale. It makes me hopeful that our needs of the public school system can be addressed, heard, and then acted upon by our legislators.”
More about the proposed charter reform legislation
AB 1505 by Assembly members Patrick O’Donnell and Rob Bonta would give control back to local elected school boards to decide whether a charter school is the right fit for their communities, instead of unelected officials who might be several hundred miles away. It would also allow local school boards to consider facilities, fiscal, and academic impacts on the district when considering new charter school petitions.
AB 1506 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty would establish a cap on the growth of charter schools, ensuring that unchecked charter growth will not destabilize another local school district.
AB 1507 by Assemblymember Christy Smith would close a loophole in the current law that allows a charter school to operate outside of its authorizing district.
SB 756 by Senator Durzo would create a moratorium on charter school expansion through 2024, bringing a much-needed pause to the poorly-regulated charter school industry. The pause will go into effect unless the critical reform elements from AB 1505, 1
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Report challenges states' ESSA plans
States' Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans vary significantly in their efforts to increase equity, according to a new report by the National Urban League (NUL), which grades the plans of 36 states and the District of Columbia using metrics including resource equity, educator equity, and supports and interventions for struggling schools. Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Rhode Island got "excellent" ratings, Washington, Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland got "sufficient" grades, while California, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri and Michigan were deemed "poor." Those states' plans were said to have "missed opportunities to further advance equity in a majority of areas with several areas needing urgent attention."
School shootings are declining, research claims
While a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most Americans believe schools and colleges have become less safe compared with 20 years ago, fresh data compiled by Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox indicates that school shootings were actually more frequent in the 1990s than they are today. From 1991 until the Columbine shooting, an average of 19 fatal school shootings happened each year, with about 22 people killed, Fox says, while over the past eight years an average of about six fatal school shootings happened each year, with about 14 killed. “First of all, schools are safe, and if you consider the over 50m schoolchildren and the over 100,000 schools that we have, the risk of a student or a faculty member being killed by gunfire, it’s extremely low,” he says.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Sacramento teacher union offers to meet with district
Just one day after a teachers strike alleging unfair labor practices by Sacramento City USD ended, the union that organized the action wrote to Superintendent Jorge Aguilar suggesting a meeting toward the end of the month. The Sacramento City Teachers Association proposed two dates, April 23rd or 24th, to meet with the district and their appointed state mediator, Joseph Rios. The letter stated: “A new direction begins with the district reaffirming its obligation to abide by our contract and to remedy the unlawful, unfair labor practices, including the unlawful layoffs of both certificated and classified staff.”
Berkeley announces Brent Stephens as Superintendent finalist
Brent Stephens is set to become the next superintendent of Berkeley USD, pending approval from the district board on May 8th. Mr Stephens, currently chief academic officer (CAO) at San Francisco USD, will succeed Donald Evans on his retirement at the end of July. As CAO, Mr Stephens played a key role in increasing the percentage of black students taking fourth year math classes in high school, and also developed a Pathway to Teaching program for district employees to become credentialed teachers
Ground broken on long-awaited Pajaro Valley High field
The groundbreaking ceremony has taken place on Pajaro Valley High’s long-awaited football field and track. The development has been planned since the school first opened 15 years ago. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2020. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, attended the ceremony, noting: “I learned a lot of good things on that field, as many of you will here on this field”.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Active shooter drills could be scaring children
Elizabeth Chuck explores how active shooter drills, which have become more common in response to school gun tragedies, are increasingly being challenged by stakeholders who fear that children are being emotionally psychologically by running through traumatic scenarios. Forty-two states now have laws requiring some sort of emergency or safety drills in schools, according to the nonprofit Education Commission of the States, however there is "little research" on the drills’ effectiveness and no standard template for schools to follow in terms of how to do them, how often to conduct them and how to explain them to students of different ages.
This comic goes out to Niemes!
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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