MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES: Election 2022By Tanya Golden
In a democracy, it is our civic duty to participate in each election by casting our vote. The midterm election on November 8th is important at the national level regarding which party will hold the majority. In California, voters will be deciding our future governor, other top state elected officials as well as some hotly debated ballot measures known as propositions.
Yesterday at the monthly Rep Council meeting, site reps received information about the endorsements from our state affiliate, CFT on the state wide elections. Be on the lookout for the CFT Endorsement flyer which should be soon posted on your site’s union bulletin board.
Below are important election deadlines CFT has posted on their website.
ELECTION DEADLINES
Last day to register to vote: October 24. Register to vote online.
Vote-by-mail ballots: All California active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot. Your county elections office will begin mailing ballots no later than October 10.
Mailed ballots: Must be postmarked on or before November 8 and received by your county elections office no later than November 15.
Personally delivered ballots: Must be delivered by close of polls on November 8 to your local polling place or a ballot drop-off box. Find your local polling place here.
On November 8, polls are open: 7 am to 8 pm.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
Teaching Indigenous Peoples Day
Looking for a helpful guide on teaching the history of Indigenous peoples? These engaging videos feature key historical figures, such as Lozen, Zitkala-Sa and Sacagawea, and include discussion questions.
CERRITOS COLLEGE CANDIDATE OPPORTUNITY
Hello Union Brothers and Sisters,
Cerritos College has a vacancy for our trustee area 2, which includes South Gate, Downey and Bellflower.
Cerritos College Faculty Federation is looking for candidates who may be interested in applying. Please help us spread the word, and forward it to your local membership.
Application information can be found here https://www.cerritos.edu/board/Board_Member_Vacancy.htm
In Solidarity!
Lynn Wang, Ed.D.
CCFF President
Cell 562-412-5094
president@ccffcerritos.org
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Consistent and regular communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with members is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and well-being of ALL ABCFT members. The goal of this weekly report is to keep members informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Our work as a Union is a larger conversation, and together we make the YOUnion.
Thank you to those of you who joined us for the ABCFT 50th Anniversary Celebration - It was a blast!
“Students must Maslow before they Bloom.”
This is so true but I think that is also true for the adults and for the first time in my career I feel like there are finally meaningful discussions about the stress of being a teacher or nurse in today’s schools. In last week’s YOUnionews we included a survey that had a battery of questions that focused on the pressures of being an educator. Once again, thank you to all you participated in this survey. ABCFT hopes that this survey data will not only drive conversations at the state and national level but it will also serve as a springboard for a deeper dive into what we can do locally in ABC for all of you working hard but feeling the mounting pressures of your professional responsibilities. It can be overwhelming, to say the least.
If you are experiencing a situation where you are feeling overwhelmed by the stress and pressures of the situation I have this small piece of advice for you. Take it slow. By taking it slow I’m hoping that you will reach out to others who you can talk with about your situation. Don’t stay in your head alone for too long. Reach out to your administrator or your site representatives about what you are experiencing. I often get a common comment “I’ve never had to go to the union for help” from members when they call or email their union for the first time. There is no shame is reaching out for help to process what you are experiencing. ABCFT is a service organization and our most important service for members is guiding teachers and nurse through often overwhelming situations.
Solutions often take a team effort and your site representatives, your administrators, and your colleagues have solutions that we can use to help your situation. Don’t take on the world alone. We are a YOUnion and that means that each of you are valued member of a collective support system. I’ve been doing the job of president for a decade but I am very concerned about the number of members who reach out when they are clearly in distress and are contemplating career and life-changing choices. Before you find yourself in such a situation I ask that you take a moment to slow down and reach out for support. We are there for you.
In other ABCFT news, the ABCFT negotiating team is putting together a comprehensive proposal for the Master Contract and compensation for this school year. We expect to be at the table at the end of the month. Next week, ABCFT will share the results of the TK-1st grade teachers survey with a list of supports and changes that the district has planned or implemented over the past seven weeks since school began. I think it is vital that you see the correlation between your survey results and how they have driven the narrative of change and support this school year. We will share this information next week with the details of the survey for you to examine.
Lastly, I was in need of a hair cut so I drove over to Cabrillo Lane and got a haircut from one of the students in our Adult School Cosmetology Program. I was able to see firsthand the detailed teaching of Marta Ortega who was guiding her student through the hair-cutting process. It was fantastic to see how the student learned and how Marta engaged her students along the way. I’m telling you, teaching is teaching no matter what the subject is and it takes a guiding steady voice to coach a student through the “hair raising” and challenging process of cutting someone's hair. Drop by during your lunch or duty-free period to get a haircut. They are open for hair services on Monday and Tuesday from 10:30 -12:00 and 1-3 p.m. I’m looking forward to my touch-up!
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-----
Half of school nurses report being harassed
Nearly half of school nurses say they have felt bullied, threatened, or harassed since the beginning of the pandemic, according to he preliminary findings of a survey of 8,000 school nurses, representing all 50 states, tribal nations, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants. In the survey, 39% of nurses said they had also felt stigmatized or discriminated against and a quarter said they had received job-related threats. Thirty percent reported experiencing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, in the two weeks prior to taking the survey, which was administered in March of this year. A quarter said they had felt symptoms of moderate to severe depression, and 22% said they had felt symptoms of anxiety. The pandemic was uniquely challenging for school nurses for a few different reasons, said NASN executive director Donna Mazyck. Because they were often overseeing the implementation of mitigation strategies, people frequently directed their frustrations with those policies at school nurses, said Mazyck, even though school nurses weren’t necessarily setting those policies. In addition to that extra work and stress, Ms. Mazyck said, nurses also found their expertise, and commitment to the health and well-being of students, challenged to an extent it never has been before, which was demoralizing.
----- NEW HEALTH GUIDANCE-----
New guidance for head lice in schools
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued new guidance warning that costly in-school screening programs haven't been shown to reduce cases of head lice in children. Instead, the AAP suggests, schools should be offering educational programs for families “to help increase understanding and management of head lice in the community.” The full clinical report asserts that, though uncomfortable, head lice don't spread disease and are not a sign of poor hygiene, but sending a child into quarantine may cause “significant stigma and psychological stress.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already recommends that students diagnosed with live head lice not be dismissed from school early and should return the following day after starting treatment to kill the lice. A 2006 study found that up to eight million children were treated unnecessarily for lice and kept out of school annually, forcing parents to miss millions of work days.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Schools cautioned over student surveillance
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Tuesday urged school districts nationwide to refrain from subjecting students to “continuous surveillance” if the use of digital monitoring tools is likely to impede students’ rights. In an in-depth but non-binding white paper, dubbed the “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” officials want to rein in the potential harms of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technologies, from smart speakers featuring voice assistants to campus surveillance cameras with facial recognition capabilities. The White House also indicated that the Department of Education would by early 2023 release recommendations on schools’ use of artificial intelligence that “define specifications for the safety, fairness and efficacy of AI models used within education” and introduce “guardrails that build on existing education data privacy regulations.”
Rising temperatures testing U.S. school infrastructure
Rising temperatures are increasingly challenging U.S. school infrastructure. In Denver, more than 30 schools shortened the school day when temperatures hit the 90s in early September. In Philadelphia, more than 100 schools dismissed students early in late August. Even in parts of the country that historically didn’t have to worry about hot classrooms, education officials are having to address and update air-conditioning systems. An estimated 41% of districts needed to update heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in at least half of their schools, according to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. That's around 36,000 schools nationwide. Several studies have shown that heat makes it harder to learn. A 2020 peer-reviewed study by researchers from Stanford University, Boston University and the University of California, Los Angeles, found that children learned less as the number of hot school days increased.
States must uphold special education teaching credentials
In a letter to state directors of special education this week, the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) emphasized that federal special education law requires elementary, middle and high school special education teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree and be fully certified to teach special education. OSEP warned that, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, states must ensure special educators are adequately prepared and trained. Special education teachers and related services personnel may not have their certification or license requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis, the letter said, while Teachers participating in alternate routes to obtain a special education certificate must do so in compliance with federal rules. In a survey of 904 schools released last month by the National Center for Education Statistics, respondents said special educators were among the top understaffed positions in schools. Nationally, there were 7.2m students ages 3–21 who received special education services under the IDEA in 2020-21, representing 15% of all public school students, according to NCES.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Drugs education too often 'optional' in California schools
Even as fentanyl overdoses among young people have skyrocketed in recent years, health education remains optional in most California schools. Only two-thirds of middle and high schools in California offer a dedicated class in health education, according to the California Department of Education, and in most cases the course is optional. Affluent areas tend to have higher rates of alcohol and drug use among youth, according to the California Healthy Kids Survey, a confidential, anonymous survey the state Department of Education gives to students annually. In Marin County, about half of 11th graders said they'd used drugs or alcohol in the past month and 80% say drugs and alcohol are easy to obtain, according to the most recent survey. In Piedmont Unified, another wealthy enclave in the Bay Area, drug and alcohol use among 11th graders neared 60%. The state average is 19%. An exception is Redondo Beach in Los Angeles County, which has one of the state's lowest rates of youth drug and alcohol use. In Redondo Beach Unified, all seventh graders get 16 lessons on drugs and alcohol prevention and four “booster lessons” in eighth grade. In ninth grade, they learn more about the topic in biology class. Every Thursday the district sends out emails with social-emotional tips, including information about avoiding drugs and alcohol. The district regularly sends advice to parents and hosts information nights on the topic. Notably, Long Beach Unified recently expanded its substance use counseling services, opening wellness centers at every middle and high school in the district. The centers offer general social-emotional support as well as referrals to outside agencies for help with drugs and alcohol use. In addition, the district offers comprehensive health education starting in kindergarten.
Newsom vetoes CSU staff salary hike bill
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required the California State University system to give staff increases over the next 10 years that would have cost $878 million.
Senate Bill 410 passed the Legislature in August and would have forced the CSU to create a nine-step merit salary system for all non-faculty employees. It included annual salary increases of 5% for the first five years, three separate 5% increases every two years, and a final increase three years later for a total of 15 years.
CSU Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester had warned that the 23-campus system could not afford the full cost of increasing salaries at those rates, which were determined by a staff salary study released earlier this year. That study confirmed that CSU staff employees were underfunded.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Superintendents want more K-12 data tools
A recent survey by the Harris Poll on behalf of the Data Quality Campaign reveals that 99% of the 253 district superintendents polled feel that state data could be more useful to them and their schools. Almost all (98%) say better access to information would make them more confident in their abilities to make decisions for their district. The top answer from 49% of superintendents was that they need more useful tools or technology that lets them see patterns and changes in their data. Another 45% of superintendents say having data linked across agencies would make it more useful, while 44% say they need more training and ongoing support about how to interpret and use data well. Superintendents also cited funding (42%) and time available (41%) as factors that affect how useful data is for them. “Superintendents are asking for insights,” said Brennan Parton, vice president of the Data Quality Campaign nonprofit. “They feel like they have a lot of information. But what they want was just more insights to help them make decisions.”
Schools experiencing increases in gun crime
More guns have appeared in U.S. schools during the first two months of this school year compared with recent years, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks news accounts and police reports. The archive documented more than 220 gun seizures in August and September across 35 states, up from 128 in the same period last year and 132 in 2019. Reports of gun violence are also up this calendar year. Through Tuesday, the nonprofit K-12 School Shooting Database listed 224 incidents, compared with 182 at the same point in 2021. Nearly half of this year’s incidents, 103, had at least one shooting victim, according to the database. Adding insult to injury, schools nationwide are also contending with a rash of hoax 911 calls about bogus active shooters. Since September 9, the National Association of School Resource Officers has tracked reports of "swatting" incidents in at least 17 states and the District of Columbia. A wave of hoax emergency calls about school shootings across South Carolina sent hundreds of police officers into schools on Wednesday, as scared students hid behind locked classroom doors.
----- WORKFORCE ----
California to require teacher exit survey
California will soon collect data from teachers who plan to resign from their districts under a law newly signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The measure requires the state’s Department of Education and its Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a survey by July 1, 2023 asking departing teachers whether they are planning to exit the profession altogether. The law encourages districts to administer the survey within 15 days of a teacher’s resignation starting in the 2023-24 school year. Data from these surveys will be published annually by the commission and used by the state legislature in considering statewide investments for teacher recruitment and retention efforts. Relatedly, a September survey of 4,632 California Teachers Association members found four out of 10 educators polled saying they’ve considered leaving the classroom. Some 76% of respondents recommended improving educator pay as the top priority for state and local officials in the state.
Better data needed to research claims of teacher shortages
New research from Brown University suggests "a lack of information" about national teacher shortages at all levels of government. The authors, Tuan Nguyen and Chanh Lam from Kansas State University and Paul Bruno from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, reviewed data from all 50 states and found just 11 states with "clear vacancy." Those states were Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah. It further found 26 states plus Washington D.C. with less clear vacancy and 13 states with unknown vacancy. "Some back-of-the-envelope math implies teaching vacancies amount to 1.67% of positions nationwide and about 5.16% of positions are held by underqualified teachers," according to the working paper, which also underlined inconsistencies in the ways teacher vacancies were defined.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Funding to boost school-based mental health provisions
The U.S. Department of Education is inviting applications for two grant programs, totaling $280m, to increase access to mental health services for students and young people. Issued via the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations, it's the first installment of $1bn in BSCA funds over the next five years that the department will award for this purpose. The first grant program, School-Based Mental Health Services, provides funding to schools to increase the number of credentialed school-based mental health professionals. The second program, the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grants, will support districts in hiring additional school-based mental health service providers in high-need districts by boosting the mental health profession pipeline. This includes investing in innovative partnerships between school districts and higher education institutions to prepare qualified school-based mental health services providers for employment in schools. Separately, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced awards of nearly $27m to help improve and expand mental health care for children by training pediatricians and other children’s health care providers in treating mental health conditions and by providing tele-consultation to bring mental health expert support directly to pediatric primary care providers.
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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