ABCFT YOUnionews for May 6, 2022
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The negotiating team met with the district yesterday to propose our changes to the master contract. ABCFT is proposing a master contract that would be in place from 2022 to 2025. Both sides have elected to extend our current 2017-2020 contract during these pandemic years but are now prepared to update this crucial governing document. We have negotiated some language during these past years via MOU’s or Memorandum of Understanding, which has the practical effect of being contract language but is often limited to a specific time frame. Some of the issues that have been negotiated in MOU’s are thus no longer relevant but the pertinent language will be imported into our updated master contract.
Other elements of our comprehensive proposal presented by the team are the results of our surveys, meetings with particular groups, the hard work of your site representatives, our YOUnion chats, and the direct communication of your ideas for how to better the working conditions for all of our members. We are aware that there is a great deal of pent-up expectation regarding a master contract that has not been updated for quite some time. Now that the district team has received our proposal we are waiting to hear back from them regarding scheduling our next steps.
The timeline for a master contract ratification is just like that of the salary and benefits tentative agreement we recently agreed upon. The negotiating team will bargain directly with the district team until a tentative agreement is reached. The executive board would then vote to move it to the rep council. The rep council would then vote to move it to the full membership for a vote. A general meeting would be held to discuss the details and answer any questions regarding the master contract. A ratification vote would then take place. If ratified, it would then be taken to the school board for final approval.
The district timeline regarding our upcoming compensation remains the same. In June, we should receive one check that combines the retro for the 5% and the 1% off schedule as well as any retro for those members who teach an additional period option.
I hope everyone had a good spring break. My week off included a visit to Langer’s Deli on the corner of 7th and Alvarado in Los Angeles to enjoy the finest pastrami sandwich in the world. And yes, that is a bold claim but it is not for lack of research! If you have any other nominations for superior pastrami please let me know.
In Unity,
TEACHER LEADERS SHOWCASE
ABCFT Teacher Leaders Showcase on Tuesday, May 10th from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.
Please join us for the virtual showcase and support your amazing and resilient colleagues, Linda Baas, LaMonica Bryson, and Izabela Lewis as they share the results of their action research and recommendations.
The action research topics are based on educational related issues here in ABC: English Language Development instruction in ABC classrooms, the effects of Ethnic Studies curriculum on middle school students, and the best practices to support students using the SST process.
Click here to register for the Showcase
MEMBER VOICE MATTERS: Sign Up - Earn Money by Participating in Focus Groups For - EDUCATORS THRIVING - Only Three Short Virtual Meetings
The ABC Federation of Teachers has been selected by the American Federation of Teachers to participate in the groundbreaking research focus group for the AFT’s partnership with Educators Thriving. Only four locals in the nation have been asked to participate in this Focus Group activity. Your input in these focus groups will provide Educators Thriving with data that will help them develop and define a national wellness program that will be made available to all 1.7 million AFT members. ABCFT members, this is your opportunity to MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN EDUCATION!
Here is more information from Educators Thriving
We have an exciting opportunity to define educator well-being with fellow educators from across the country. You are invited to share your perspective on educator well-being with Educators Thriving, who have been brought in by the American Federation of Teachers.
A few logistics…
You choose a series of 3, 90-minute focus groups held on Zoom (form below).
We value your time, and pay you $225 upon completion of all three 90-minute sessions.
We will not record these conversations, but we will take notes.
You would stay with the same 5-8 educators for all three focus groups.
To be a part of equipping leaders with your definition of well-being at work, share your interest and availability here. Feel free to email Laura and Hallie of Educators Thriving if you have any questions.
We look forward to learning what structures and support you seek to be well at work.
Educators Thriving offers research-based personal development to help educators achieve well-being.
Through the program, participants learn concrete strategies to help them avoid and manage the most common pitfalls of the educator experience: being overwhelmed, personal neglect, struggling with a fixed mindset, unexpected challenges, and isolation. Through evaluation and consultation, partners learn bright spots and areas for strategic improvement to create the conditions in which every educator can thrive.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, there are a variety of webinars that KP members and non-members can access at no cost.
· Stress Management
· Workplace Stress
· Navigating Anger
· Anxiety to Calm (Adults and Teens)
· Understanding Depression
· One Day at a Time (Substance use related)
· Mindfulness
Click this link to access the free Mental Health Webinars
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with the membership is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and well-being of ABCFT members. This weekly report aims to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Together we make the YOUnion.
“Lower the bar and widen the gate” - researcher Dr. Richard Ingersoll at the Teacher Shortage Taskforce (his comment on what we don’t want the government to do to address the current teacher shortage by letting a flood of untrained people become teachers to cheapen our professionalism).
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week and thank you every day for the work that you do. I hope that someone in our orbit recognized your efforts and said nice things to you. I’m not trying to put a damper on things but saying nice things is………just….nice, right? It doesn’t pay the bills and it doesn’t make the ever-increasing working conditions any better at the moment. I hope that this appreciation for teachers continues to spill over into the coming weeks as we begin our Master Contract negotiations in preparation for the coming year.
I mentioned last week that I was one of 25 AFT leaders to have the honor of participating in the historic Teacher Shortage Task Force which is working on an organization guiding white paper (strategic plan) that will outline the efforts of the American Federation of Teachers at the Federal level, the State level, and the local Union level. When this paper is made available to the public you will be among the first to see this important document. Teacher pay is a top priority in discussion in the Teacher Shortage Task Force but the working conditions of teachers, nurses, and staff are also major reasons why we see many leaving the education community. I think that the contents of this document are progressive, bold, and are pointing education in a different direction that better meets the needs of teachers, staff, the students, and the families we educate.
My apologies to those who might have written to me this week. I’ve been slow to get to my emails and I’ll make sure to get back to you over the weekend. I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of work and the long meetings that AFT has put me in this week. When I’m in Washington D.C. for AFT we keep long hours so I think I need a union to fight my union for some duty-free time. But, the work is valuable and important because as your representative it is my duty to drive the needs of our ABCFT members. One of those areas that I have been concerned about and have written about extensively is the issue of mental health and wellness support for teachers, nurses, and staff. PLEASE sign up to become part of the EDUCATORS THRIVING focus group opportunity.
Next week, we will focus on Student Debt Forgiveness opportunities that ABCFT is lining up for you later this month. In the meantime, I hope you have had a great week and that you take a moment to thank yourself for all you have done throughout the year for your school site, classroom, individual students, and their families. THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
In YOUnity,
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
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Lawmakers in 19 states want legal refuge for trans youth
Democratic lawmakers in more than a dozen states are following California’s lead in seeking to offer legal refuge to displaced transgender youth and their families. The coordinated effort being announced Tuesday by the LGBTQ Victory Institute and other advocates comes in response to recent actions taken in conservative states. In Texas, for example, Gov. Gregg Abbott has directed state agencies to consider placing transgender children in foster care, though a judge has temporarily blocked such investigations. And multiple states have approved measures prohibiting gender-affirming health care treatments for transgender youth. To combat such moves, lawmakers in both Minnesota and New York recently filed refuge state legislation modeled after the bill proposed in March by state Sen. Scott Wiener in California. Democrats in 16 other states plan to follow suit, though about half of their legislatures are out of session or not currently accepting new bills. Annise Parker, president and CEO of the Victory Institute, acknowledged that the legislation likely will fail in some states but said it was time to stand against the onslaught of bills targeting the LGBTQ community. “This is our opportunity to drive the conversation and the debate, and to call on our allies proactively to step up instead of allowing ourselves to be targeted,” said Parker, who was the first openly LGBTQ mayor of a major American city when she led Houston for six years.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
LGBTQ students face increasing access barriers to counseling
Nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ youth could not get the mental health counseling they sought in the past year, up from just under half the year before, according to The Trevor Project’s annual National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. The increase, from 48% in 2021 to 60% in 2022, comes despite a majority of schools offering in-person learning and mental health services this school year. It also comes after 70% of LGBTQ youth stated last year that their mental health was “poor” most of the time or always during COVID-19, a percentage that improved to 56% this year. Students cited multiple barriers to accessing mental healthcare in schools, the top three being fear of discussing mental health, concerns with obtaining parent or guardian permission, and worry of not being taken seriously. “These factors reinforce the notion that the most critical and overwhelming barrier that is preventing LGBTQ young people from accessing the care they need is the stigma that surrounds issues of mental health,” said Myeshia Price, senior research scientist at The Trevor Project, adding that districts should work to tailor mental health services toward LGBTQ youth, especially in states debating or enacting limiting legislation.
School support workers still not being paid a living wage
There no states in the U.S. where an education support professional such as a paraprofessional or a school cafeteria worker earns enough, on average, to support themselves and one child while living in the state’s most affordable metropolitan area, a new analysis finds. The National Education Association (NEA) looked at federal data to provide a picture of all 2.2m support staff working in public schools. Almost 80% of K-12 education support professionals work full-time, defined as 30 or more hours per week. The average full-time K-12 support professional earned $32,837 in the 2020-21 school year. Delaware had the highest salary for full-time K-12 support staff ($44,738), while Idaho had the lowest ($25,830). The NEA used the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator to determine whether support staff make a living wage and found that on average, these employees would not be able to live in a metropolitan area and support themselves and one child without government assistance or another adult’s income. In at least four states - Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Oregon - and the District of Columbia the gap between the average salary and this measure of a living wage is more than $25,000.
----- STATE NEWS -----
California offers warm welcome to Ukrainian students
As Ukrainian families begin arriving in California, they will find some of the country’s most well-prepared schools for helping children who’ve fled violence abroad and are trying to adapt to life in a new country. School districts throughout California, from urban centers to rural outposts, have long been serving immigrant students from war-torn regions and have well-established programs to help those students thrive. That includes mental health counseling, help learning English, summer programs, assistance with college and financial aid applications and other services aimed at helping refugee students and their families. Some districts, including Oakland and San Francisco, even have schools specially designed for newcomers. The number of Ukrainians who’ve come to California since the Russian invasion is unknown, but more than 60,000 Ukrainian immigrants lived in California in 2020, the second-largest population after New York, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. “Traditionally, Los Angeles USD has been a gatekeeper — and a mirror — to what’s happening in the rest of the world. We see arrivals from wherever strife is happening,” said Pia Escudero, the district’s executive director of the division of student health and human services. “Many have seen atrocious things at home, or in their journey, but trauma does not define them. We strive to stabilize factors so children can thrive and be all they can be.”
----- CLASSROOM -----
Nearly 90% of adults support high school personal finance education
Most adults in the U.S. support guaranteed access to personal finance education for high school students. Eighty-eight percent of adults surveyed by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFA) said their state should require either a semester or year long personal finance course for graduation. In addition, 80% of those surveyed said that they wish they had been required to take a personal finance course to graduate high school. “Americans overwhelmingly recognize the importance of learning money skills at an early age, and this poll reinforces there is demonstrated national support for personal finance to be a part of learning in all schools,” said Billy Hensley, NEFA president and CEO. The survey of 1,030 adults was conducted in March. The number of states that mandate a personal finance course for high schoolers has grown in recent years. In March, Florida became the largest state to require personal finance in high school, and Georgia’s governor is set to sign a similar bill into law this week. Currently, 25% of high school students in the U.S. have guaranteed access to a personal finance course, according to a recent report from nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance.
----- FINANCE -----
Inflation, shortages make districts pivot on ESSER spending plans
As the first Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund spending deadline nears this September, education finance experts have noticed districts are spending federal aid differently than originally planned. Those familiar with district spending habits are attributing the changes primarily to a scarce labor market with widespread shortages, hastily assembled spending plans, inflation and supply chain delays. So instead of investing in the same number of new hires as originally planned or making headway with construction projects, districts may be shifting to plug budget holes or fulfill other needs. “Basically, the real world is messy and will actually end up manifesting in a different way than the exact black-and-white plan you would have at the beginning of the year,” said Elleka Yost, director of advocacy for the Association of School Business Officials International. Staff shortages in areas like mental health, special education, paraprofessionals and substitutes have challenged districts’ priorities for spending federal aid. “I now call it the shortage of everything,” said David Lewis, executive director of ASBO International. Construction projects have also been impacted by inflation and scarcity of supplies. Inflation, combined with the unavailability of some materials, has led to postponed district construction projects originally included in spending plans, said Mr. Lewis.
----- LEGAL -----
Sacramento teacher who used racial slur chooses to resign
A seventh-grade teacher who reportedly used a racial slur in front of students at a school in East Sacramento chose to resign rather than challenge her termination, school district officials announced Monday. Sacramento City USD announced in a news release that the “teacher who used racist language” in a classroom at Kit Carson International Academy last June no longer works for the district. Officials said the teacher chose to resign, effective April 30, rather than move forward with termination proceedings. Civil rights attorney Mark Harris, the school district's community liaison, announced earlier this year that Katherine Sanders, the school teacher at the focus of the investigation, was set be fired after the district determined her conduct was severe enough to call for her dismissal. “To prevent incidents involving racism and to make our schools more supportive and welcoming to all, the district has implemented mandatory anti-racism training for all staff,” said Superintendent Jorge Aguilar said. “But the work cannot end there. We must continue to confront and interrupt racism so our schools can stay focused on creating equitable learning opportunities for all students.” The teacher initially was removed from the classroom following the incident and placed on administrative leave during an investigation. On Monday, school district officials said the investigation determined the teacher used racist language during a lesson and continued to use it during the investigative process.
Lawsuit claims Yorba Linda High junior ‘expelled’ over mesh facemask
The parent of a student at Yorba Linda High School has filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior
Court saying that his son was “specifically targeted” for wearing a mesh facemask rather than a blue surgical-style covering. The school’s actions are described in the lawsuit as “targeted harassment and discrimination” which led to an “expulsion” into the home-based study program. Placentia-Yorba Linda USD spokeswoman Alyssa Griffiths declined to comment on the lawsuit. She said no students have been expelled from the district for failure to comply with the face mask rules. District officials could not determine how many students were switched to the online program due to non-compliance or whether any were suspended for similar reasons.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Merit pay program for Texas teachers pushes salaries past $100,000
Teacher pay in Texas lags the national average by about $7,500, adding to a longstanding teacher shortage, making around $59,000 on average, according to an analysis of public data by Hearst Newspapers. The minimum teacher salary set by the state is $33,660. However, the Teacher Incentive Allotment Program, which was created in 2019 for high-performing teachers, means some could earn six-figure salaries. School districts that set up systems to evaluate their teachers and rank the best ones can access state funds to give those teachers raises, with the goal of encouraging them to stick with teaching and giving other teachers something to strive for. “Our effective goal is to keep teachers in the classroom, period,” said Grace Wu, director of strategic compensation with the Texas Education Agency. “Having a strong system helps teachers know where they’re strong, what are their areas of growth, and what they have to do to improve.” Critics, including some academic experts, say it’s too difficult to measure the mix of what makes a good teacher and that creating measures of success encourages teachers to focus on those measures rather than their students. They say across-the-board pay increases should be prioritized over targeting a select few. “Teaching is an art that requires skill, pedagogical knowledge, compassion and creativity,” said Catherine Elisabeth Robert, a professor at the University of Texas Arlington who specializes in education policy. “An incentive system that pits one teacher against another and assigns value to one subject over another — when we’re there to educate the whole child — negates the broader mission of why we teach." The rollout of the program has been slow — of roughly 1,200 school districts in Texas, only 127 were enrolled in the 2020-2021 school year, up from just under 50 the year before.
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Senators from both parties warn Cardona on proposed charter school rule
A bipartisan group led by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called on Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to revise a proposed regulation restricting eligibility for federal funding for public charter schools. The letter, whose signatories also include Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), expresses concerns that the regulation "could restrict access to new high-quality public charter schools," and consequently "does not prioritize the needs of students and limits high quality choices to certain families." The regulation, which was proposed in March, has drawn heavy criticism from politicians and education experts on both sides of the aisle, who have expressed concerns that the regulations could force numerous charter schools to close as well as make it difficult for new ones to open.
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
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.
To All Members of the ABC Federation of Teachers,
National Teacher Associates (NTA) is committed in our efforts to helping educators through tough times. It’s what we do. After all…in our eyes, you are the heart and soul of our communities.
Protecting you and your families has been our goal for over 45 years. Despite the current global pandemic, we are not about to slow down now. We know that many of you have had our programs for years and sometimes forget the intricacies of how they work. NTA wants to help facilitate any possible claims for now and in the future. Fortunately, all claims and reviews can be done by phone and online. I personally want to offer my services to guide you in the right direction with your NTA benefits.
We also apologize for not being able to finish the open enrollment for those of you who wanted to get our protection. We are still able to help by extending our enrollment window for the near future. Again, this can be done over the phone, email, or online.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
Leann.Blaisdell@horacemann.com
Click here to schedule an appointment
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