ABCFT - YULEnionews - December 20, 2019
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ABCFT MEMBERS!
On behalf of Membership Coordinator, Tanya Golden and myself, we wish you a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!
Your UNION Dues at Work
by Ray Gaer
Your Input to ABCFT Strategic Plan?
When we return from winter break, the ABCFT Executive Board and ABCFT Rep Council will be approving a final version of the ABCFT Strategic Plan. At the January 9th Rep Council your site/program representatives will have an opportunity to give feedback on this document. The strategic plan is a snapshot of the priorities held by the ABC Federation of Teachers and specific actions describing how we are supporting the needs of the membership. We have prepared a two page summary of the YOUnion priorities. If you would like to see the draft summary click here. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve this summary we would appreciate it. My goal is to have a final version of the strategic plan out to members in January.
If you have thoughts or suggestions write to abcft@abcusd.us
What has the Union done in the first 85 days of school?
This is a follow-up YOUnionews article to one we featured on October 18th about what duties we perform at the ABCFT office. When I was in the classroom I often wondered about my dues and what happened at the union office. Membership Coordinator, Tanya Golden and I thought it would be helpful to give you another glimpse of what we have done over the first 85 days of this school year. This list is not complete and does not account for face to face meetings, text messages, emails, phone calls, or the YOUnionews publications. Here are the numbers:
67 Member Representations
42 Meetings with Administrators
19 Site visitations
8 Meetings for negotiations and planning
3 Grievances
6 Teacher Leaders Program meetings
7 Meetings with CSEA/AFSCME/PAL2 4 School of Choice Committee meetings
6 American Federation of Teachers meetings 4 Personal Learning Workshops
7 ABCUSD School Board Meetings 7 ABCFT Executive Board meetings
2 Union Social meetings 4 ABCFT Site Representative Councils
5 ABCFT/ABCFT-Retiree meetings 2 ABCFT Site Representative Trainings
12 Meeting with focus/program groups
17 PAL Council meetings planning for PAL Retreat and West Coast Institute
25 California Federation of Teacher events (Ex. Board, Division Council, CDE, Committees)
This list helps to illustrate how your dues money is going directly back into services and support to help teachers, nurses, and SLPs throughout the district. All of the above meetings are direct representations for ABCFT members and are tools used to both protect members and to enforce contract language. These meetings help ABCFT members be heard at the district, state and national levels about the reality of what teachers face in their classrooms while working for solutions to support our members.
We are grateful for you sharing your stories and allowing us to represent you whether we are meeting with an administrator, a school board member, or working with CFT at the state level. Although we both miss working with students, we get the same warm feeling of accomplishment when we help a member solve an issue while being treated with dignity and respect.
An Opportunity to be Activated - Mark Your Calendars
Equal treatment and equal pay are important rights that all women should have in America. On Saturday, January 18, 2020, the fourth annual Women’s March in Orange County will take place in downtown Santa Ana. ABCFT encourages you to participate in this empowering experience so that your voices are heard in support of women’s issues. Educators are predominantly female, so the issues of equal pay and rights directly impact all teachers. For example, did you know that elementary school districts get less money per pupil than high school districts? There are more men in secondary education. Our State’s funding systems are systematically discriminating against women who are predominantly teaching in our elementary schools. This inequity is problematic and to change it we encourage you to make your vote and voice count.
International Testing (PISA) Results - What Does it Mean?
You might find when you are reading educational literature there is often commentary comparing the American education system to other international systems. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment that measures 15-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years. First conducted in 2000, the major domain of study rotates between reading, mathematics, and science in each cycle.
The results of the last PISA examination were released earlier this December. ABCFT has collected some resources for those that are interested in learning more about the PISA test and how it impacts education policy in the United States and the World. Overall, the push for assessments and accountability is having almost no discernible change in the state of education as a profession. ABCFT is in agreement with AFT President Randi Weingarten who shared a press release on PISA testing stating that until we address both the academic and social-emotional needs of our students we will continue to see lackluster testing results.
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ABCFT 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. Throughout the year I find articles that are interesting and food for thought;
You can tell by all the memes this week that I’m also excited to go on Winter Break. Educators love people and a great conversation starter this week has been to ask someone what they were going to do over the break. Some people travel and some people stay locally but everyone I’ve spoken to this week has that far away gleam in their eyes and a crease of a smile on their faces when they answer. Whatever your answer is to that question, I hope that you are happy, healthy, and safe over the break.
When we come back from break expect YOUnionews updates on the Governor’s budget proposals, negotiation team surveys, and face to face visits as we gear up for the Master Contract negotiations in the Spring. (late update- Congrats to Carver and Elliott for becoming Distinguished Schools!)
But until that time,
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
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
- 12/19/2019
- 12/19/2019
- 12/19/2019
- 12/18/2019
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2020 California Distinguished Schools
SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that 323 elementary schools are being honored under the 2020 California Distinguished Schools Award Program. Sponsored by the California Department of Education and presented by California Casualty, the program recognizes outstanding education programs and practices. Schools are awarded for closing the achievement gap and for achieving exceptional student performance.
----- TEACHER STRIKES -----
Chicago Teachers Have Yet To Get Raises Promised In Contract
Chalkbeat (12/18) reports teachers in Chicago “have not received the retroactive pay and full raises they agreed upon after a bitter 11-day strike that ended Oct. 31, causing a fresh round of agitation from some rank-and-file members. just before winter break.” The piece quotes Chicago Teachers Union spokesperson Eric Ruder saying, “We have repeatedly asked for meetings to hash out final resolution.” Chicago Public Schools “said that implementing the pay changes for tens of thousands of teachers requires complicated changes to its data systems, and expected to have a timeline for implementing the raises before the new year.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
New report grades America’s pre-K programs
A report from the National Institute for Early Education Research on behalf of CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, has evaluated prekindergarten programs in 40 cities, rating them on 10 benchmarks that experts say are necessary for healthy and thriving students and communities. The findings show that more cities are hiring licensed pre-K teachers, providing health screenings and referral services for children, and conducting coaching and professional development for teachers, among other achievements. Thirty-four of the 40 cities won either a gold, silver or bronze medal; Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, Tenn., New York, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and San Francisco all received the top rating. Detroit was one of three, along with Seattle and San Antonio, to be given a perfect 10 out of 10 score, reflecting the success of its Great Start Readiness Program. Lead teachers in the program are required to have bachelor’s degrees; teacher-to-student ratios are among the best in the country; and providers are subject to a wide range of quality controls.
Bipartisan bill to fund minority-serving colleges, streamline student aid signed into law
President Donald Trump has signed into law bipartisan legislation restoring millions of dollars in federal funding to minority-serving colleges, and streamlining key parts of the federal student aid system. The move brings to an end months of political wrangling over the extension of $255m in spending for tribal colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities that expired at the end of September. The compromise bill also provides a more seamless sharing of tax data so students can speed through the financial aid application and borrowers can avoid having to verify their earnings every year. Streamlining those functions will save the federal government $2.8bn over 10 years, money that will be used to pay for the permanent funding for minority-serving institutions.
Education department in line for spending boost
The House approved a $1.4 trillion spending package on Tuesday that would fund the federal government through September and help to avoid any potential impact from the looming shutdown. The legislation would add almost $50 billion in new spending but could add more than $500 billion to deficits over the next decade. The Education Department will see a $1.3 billion boost and Democrats underlined $25 million in funding for gun violence research, the first of its kind in 20 years. The legislation passed would also remove three controversial taxes from the Affordable Care Act. The tax and spending package now moves to the Senate, which must act before midnight on Friday when existing funding for government agencies is set to expire.
Supreme Court Will Hear Church-State Separation Case Brought By Fired Catholic School Teachers
USA Today (12/18, Wolf) reports the Supreme Court has agreed “to consider the separation of church and state in a case testing the right of religious schools to fire teachers despite job discrimination claims.” Two religious school teachers from California “were fired by their respective Catholic schools.” Kristen Biel “was fired from St. James Catholic School after she revealed that she had breast cancer and needed medical leave to undergo chemotherapy. She sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act and has since passed away.” Agnes Morrissey-Berru, “who is not a practicing Catholic, taught for 16 years at Our Lady of Guadalupe School but was let go based on her performance. She claimed age discrimination.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the teachers, “prompting both schools to petition for Supreme Court review.”
The Washington Post (12/18, Barnes) reports the schools relied on Supreme Court precedent giving religious organizations “ministerial exceptions” from laws that apply to other employers. But attorneys for the women “said the religious groups are trying to expand the Supreme Court’s decision to mean that if an employee performs any religious function – even if she has not received any religious training – she is barred from filing suit.” The Los Angeles Times (12/18, Savage) also reports.
Bill would protect schools against cyber threats
A bill to enhance the cybersecurity of K–12 schools was introduced to the US House of Representatives this week. The K-12 Cybersecurity Act, introduced by Senators Rick Scott and Gary Peters, would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a list of cybersecurity recommendations and a "cybersecurity toolkit" for educational institutions to use when making improvements to their cyber-protections. Support for the bill, which would further require the DHS to research and report back on the overall cyber-risks faced by schools, has been expressed by the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Consortium for School Networking. According to data collected by Armor, over 1,000 U.S. schools have been affected by ransomware alone this year.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Ahead of election, California let teens preregister to vote at school
As the 2020 presidential election approaches, who young Americans will vote for, and whether they will vote at all, could play a big role in the outcome. California is one of 14 states allowing teens who will be 18 by Election Day to pre register once they turn 16. In California, the last two full weeks in April and September are designated as High School Voter Education Weeks. During these weeks, schools are encouraged to partner with county elections officials to get young people engaged in the voting process. Los Angeles USD recently passed a resolution to distribute voter registration cards to all high school seniors, and the city hosted a contest where schools that hosted voter registration drives could win a performance at the school by pop artist Billie Eilish.
----- CLASSROOM -----
California Middle Schools Will Not Be Able To Suspend Disruptive Students Next Year
The Sacramento (CA) Bee (12/17) reports it “will be illegal for California middle schools to suspend students for disruptive behavior” next year. Under the new law that goes into effect July 1, 2020, it will be “unlawful for both public and charter schools to suspend students from kindergarten through eighth grade for unruly or disruptive behavior. Previously, the ban was in place just for kindergarten through fifth grade.”
LA Unified’s Ban On Willful Defiance Suspensions Resulted In Dramatic Improvements In Campus Culture, Students Say
EdSource (12/13) reports “long before California banned suspensions for “willful defiance” or disruption of school activities in K-8 classrooms, Los Angeles Unified embarked on an even more ambitious goal: eliminate defiance suspensions entirely.” And six years later, L.A. Unified “officials, advocates and students say they’ve seen dramatic improvements in campus culture at many schools, providing lessons for California as it attempts to reshape school discipline across the state.” In fact, L.A. Unified has seen a “75 percent drop in suspensions across all categories and a narrowing of racial disparities among students who are suspended.”
Why are women underrepresented in science? The answer doesn't in fact lie in the fundamental misconception that girls are less successful in STEM fields than boys are, but instead may be related to the notion that girls are often conditioned to fear and avoid failure. In this article, one high school science teacher offers her insights on the divide between men and women in STEM, and how teachers can use failure to help foster a lifelong interest in science for both boys and girls alike. Read the article
AP program could stunt next generation
Annie Abrams, a teacher in New York, explores the College Board's decision to amend how educators grade Advanced Placement exam essays, its greatest source of revenue, moving from a nine-point holistic rubric to a new six-point analytic rubric that functions as a checklist - from next Spring. Civically responsible education requires an emphasis on meaningful interactions among teachers and students, she asserts, warning that the College Board’s economic power challenges and even undermines academic authority, which endangers "the social relationships at the heart of education."
----- LEGAL -----
North Carolina Resource Officer Fired After Body-Slamming Student In Viral Video
NBC Nightly News (12/16, story 9, 1:35, Holt) reported, “A school resource officer in North Carolina is out of a job tonight after video showed him body slamming and injuring a student.” The piece reports the video shows the officer “body-slamming an 11-year-old boy to the ground. Not once, but twice.” The piece shows Vance County Superintendent Anthony Jackson saying, “As a school system, as an administrator, as a district, we’re disappointed. As a community, we’re embarrassed.” ABC World News Tonight (12/16, story 12, 0:15, Muir) reported the officer may face criminal charges.
The CBS Evening News (12/16, story 7, 1:40, O'Donnell) also reported on the “disturbing” video, in which “a sheriff’s deputy escorting a middle school boy lifts and body-slams him. A student who weighed 70 pounds. Body slammed him twice, a school resource officer who is supposed to protect students.”
The Washington Post (12/16, Strauss) reports the officer “lost his job several days after a video went viral showing him slamming a student to the floor twice in a middle school hallway, the sheriff’s office said Monday. State law enforcement officials are investigating the incident at the school about 45 miles north of Raleigh.” The Hill (12/16, Coleman) reports the “unnamed” officer “was originally suspended after school surveillance footage showed him picking up a student and throwing him on the floor repeatedly.” Also reporting are the AP (12/16) and CBS News (12/16).
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
More kids vaping marijuana
Around one in five US high school students have vaped marijuana in the past year, according to a fresh survey by the University of Michigan, which asked students in grades 8, 10 and 12 about smoking, drinking and drugs. While vaping nicotine remains more popular, with about 25% of high schoolers indicating that they had done it at least once in the previous year, vaping marijuana grew more quickly, with 20% of high schoolers revealing that they had done it at least once the year before. “The speed at which kids are taking up this behavior is very worrisome,” said Dr. Nora Volkow of the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Survey: One In Seven Students Report Having Considered Suicide
Education Week (12/16, Prothero) reports that according to a new analysis of a survey from the nonprofit YouthTruth, “one in seven students between the ages of 10 and 18 report they had seriously considered attempting suicide. ... But for students who are in special education and those who do not identify as either male or female, those numbers were even higher. Twenty-two percent of special education students report having seriously considered attempting suicide while 21 percent of students who do not identify has either male or female said they had seriously contemplated taking their own lives in the year prior to responding to the survey.”
Survey Data Show Sharp Increase In Vaping Of Marijuana, Nicotine Among Teens
The New York Times (12/18, Richtel) reports, “Teenagers are drinking less alcohol, smoking fewer cigarettes and trying fewer hard drugs, new federal survey data” indicate, but “these public health gains have been offset by a sharp increase in vaping of marijuana and nicotine.” The data come from the Monitoring the Future survey, “a closely watched annual study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, of eighth, 10th and 12th graders.”
USA Today (12/18, O'Donnell) reports that the data “showed a ‘significant’ increase in the number of 8th through 12th grade students vaping marijuana, and a similarly high jump in daily cannabis use by 8th and 10th graders, while alcohol and opioid use continues to plummet.” In high school seniors, one in five “vaped marijuana in the last year and 14% vaped it in the last month, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported.” Those “numbers doubled in the past two years.”
The Washington Post (12/17, Bernstein) reports that when students were asked by researchers “why they vaped, nearly 61 percent said to experiment, nearly 42 percent said they enjoyed the flavor, nearly 38 percent said to have a good time with friends and more than 37 percent said to relax or relieve tension.”
Rate Of Antidepressant Prescriptions To Youth Increase Following Fatal School Shootings Near The Affected Schools, Research Suggests
The Los Angeles Times (12/16, Healy) reports that new research published by the National Bureau for Economic Research suggests that “in the two years after a fatal school shooting, the rate at which antidepressants were prescribed to children and teens rose by 21% within a tight ring around the affected school.” The rise “in antidepressants prescribed to kids grew more – to nearly 25% – three years after a school shooting, suggesting that survivors’ depression lingers long after the incident has begun to fade from a community’s memory.”
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
There is value in knowing the thoughts and arguments of those who are not supportive of unions. (ABCFT)
Commentary: Teacher Unions Prevent School Choice
In commentary for Fox News (12/17, Friedrichs), For Kids & Country founder Rebecca Friedrichs writes about having taken part in a recent White House roundtable in support of school choice. Friedrichs writes that she was invited because of her decades of experience as a classroom teacher, saying she took part to “share with the administration why teachers like me believe that school choice is essential for every child and for the health of our republic.” Friedrichs criticizes teachers unions and laments that her niece has suffered because “the anti-choice efforts of unions and others shuttered her high-performing school after its first year in operation.” She concludes, “Thank you, Mr. President and Secretary DeVos for having the moral courage to stand up to the brutality of unions for the sake of our kids and the teachers who love them.”
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Schools are collecting new data in new ways about students with cutting-edge high-tech
WESTON — Ask 16-year-old Jack Vanourny about his schedule at the Cambridge School of Weston, and he’ll admit that it sometimes leaves him “incredibly stressed.” So when he put on an electronic headband that reads brain activity one recent morning, he expected it to glow brighter than a firetruck’s flashing red lights.
“It was the polar opposite,” he said. His headband illuminated a mellow blue light, indicating calmness. He was surprised at how relaxed he actually was.
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT started 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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