KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The ABCFT negotiating team met with the district on Wednesday of this week. The district team presented their counteroffer to our proposal. We were able to ask clarifying questions about the district’s rationale for some of their positions as well as advocate for elements of our proposal that we know are important to our members. In some instances, this gave their team “homework” to research further data as our team prepares our latest proposal. The next session of negotiations for both master contract and compensation is scheduled for November 29.
This general outline is the degree of specificity we can offer at this stage of the negotiating process. Both sides are committed to confidentiality in order to achieve the best result. It may be satisfying in some senses to hear that “we asked for percentage X and the response was for percentage Y'' but that can be more limiting in the big picture. Negotiating in public makes it difficult for bargaining to be as successful as it needs to be. Each side has priorities when they enter into a negotiation. One of ABCFT’s consistent priorities is that our members are compensated in a manner appropriate to the high level of professionalism that is required of them and to be competitive with other districts’ salary schedules so that we can continue to attract and retain the best teachers and nurses here in ABCUSD.
Regarding local elections; congratulations to our ABCFT endorsed board members Nishii and Rios for winning reelection and thank you to the efforts of the COPE committee that helped make their victories possible. Current board president Yoo will be returning to ABCUSD as well. Positive statewide news includes another term for CFT endorsed Tony Thurmond as our State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the passage of ballot proposition 28. Prop. 28 increases funding for arts and music programs in public schools and I am excited about the new opportunities this can provide for our students.
I wish you all a happy and well deserved Thanksgiving break. I picked up one of my sons from LAX early this morning so the Mancillas empty nest is slowly being made whole again! My personal thanks go out to the negotiating team for all of the hours that they volunteer to serve their colleagues in ABCFT. Negotiating team members can understandably become the focus of the aspirations and, yes, even the frustrations of other members who look forward to a raise that matches that of a neighboring district or seeing a particular working condition addressed in the master contract. I am grateful for our negotiating team members and their willingness to represent all ABCFT members with such commitment and shared purpose.
In Unity,
MINI GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR TEACHERS/NURSES
The ABC Education Foundation is excited to bring back our annual Mini-Grant Program this year! We have a new set of dates and deadlines, with funding coming in mid-January 2023. This year, due to the generosity of Toyota of Cerritos, we are happy to announce the opportunity for you to apply for one of two larger grants. The Toyota of Cerritos Tundra Grant will fund two grants of up to $10,000. Please review all of the attached documents for all of the grant information, which includes:
Official Announcement,
Calendar/Timeline
Applications (general and special programs)
The ABC Education Foundation, along with our generous sponsors and donors who have contributed to this program, is excited to see all of the outstanding programs you will be submitting this year. While this is a competitive grant process, the ABC Education Foundation seeks to fund as many projects as possible to support our students.
The Mini-Grant submission deadline is December 9, 2022, by 4:00 p.m. and must be turned in to the Superintendent's Office.
If you have any questions regarding the 2022-23 ABC Education Foundation Mini-Grant Program, please contact either Scott Smith at scott.smith@abcusd.us / 562-229-7864 or Sasha Leonardo at sasha.leonardo@abcusd.us / 562-926-5566 X 21197.
Thank you!
MINI-GRANT APPLICATION PAPERWORK
SPECIAL MINI-GRANT APPLICATION PAPERWORK
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
ACADEMIC SERVICES UPDATE
This month’s academic service update is vital for all teachers. We hope you will take a moment to look at this monthly report which discusses changes in academic services. This document provides the union with a means of giving the District feedback on the many programs or changes they are proposing at any time. Without your feedback or questions on these changes, it is harder for ABCFT to slow down and modify the district’s neverending rollout of new projects. Please submit your comments and questions to the appropriate ABCFT liaison.
For Elementary curricular issues, please email Kelley at Kelley.Forsythe@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
For Secondary curricular issues, please email Catherine at Catherine.Pascual@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
Click Here For This Month’s Full Report
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.
“Pile more sand into the hourglass” Ruben Mancillas - If you haven’t spoken with Ruben, he is full of literary gymnastics and paints a vivid picture of the points he’s making, which is not only helpful in his teaching with his students but helps when he’s making his points at the negotiating table. In this comment, he was describing the ever-increasing amount of time and effort that our work demands to stay afloat in our classrooms and nurse stations. Pressing for adequate planning time for all teachers is a major concern that must be addressed if teachers and students are to set up to be successful in ABC classrooms. I had big plans for this president’s report today, but I’m fielding several phone calls and emails that are definitely putting more sand in my hourglass, so excuse the brevity of my report.
What’s most important work-wise is that you know we are at the negotiating table and making progress. We are closely monitoring what is happening in the surrounding districts and we use this as leverage to stress that ABC needs to continue to be competitive in all areas (compensation, benefits, working conditions, and support). Those are the values the members of ABCFT hold as being vital components to being successful educators.
Thank you the teachers at Gahr High School for your insights, questions and comments during the Monday YOUnion visit. If we didn’t get to see you this time I hope we get to spend time with you in the Spring. A special thanks to the GHS site representatives for their hospitality and for joining Tanya and I during our visit.
I hope next week will be a glorious time to reflect and enjoy our families, both past and present. I thank you for your efforts to make the ABC Federation of Teachers a national model for member engagement and teacher/nurse voice in education. YOU ARE VALUED and I thank you for working so hard and smart for ABC students….it does make a difference in their lives. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and I hope you find time to relax as you are having fun and stuffing your faces…with……TURKEY or ham or tamales or whatever is your favorite! Enjoy!
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
November election results show strong support for public schools
As results from the November election continue to come into focus, what is clear is that voters across the state and nation have spoken up for public schools.
At the national level voters throughout the country broadly rejected extremists, election deniers, and those seeking to inject fear and division into our public schools. “When public education was on the ballot, public education mainly won,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a statement. “These results show a deep reservoir of support for public schools and for the sustained investment that parents want to help their kids thrive.”
In California, voters overwhelmingly elected pro-public education champions like Governor Gavin Newsom and Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Instruction. And they affirmed CFT’s position on key ballot measures, including overwhelmingly voting in support of outlawing flavored tobacco products (62% Yes on Prop. 31), committing billions of dollars to art and music in public schools (62% Yes on Prop. 28), and affirming the constitutional right to reproductive freedom (65% Yes on Prop. 1).
While the outcome of many local races is still unclear, dozens of candidates and initiatives supported by CFT local unions are either ahead in the polls or within striking distance as votes continue to be counted.
According to CFT President Jeff Freitas, the success of union-endorsed candidates and initiatives is due in no small part to the incredible organizing at the ground level.
“While we appreciate every CFT member who voted their values and supported champions of public schools and working families at the ballot box, our greatest thanks go out to all those who knocked on doors and made phone calls over the course of the campaigns,” says Freitas. “We are at our best when we stand together for our professions, our students, and our communities, and that is exactly what we did during this election.”
The results of many state and local races may still take weeks yet to determine. That’s what real democracy looks like – counting every vote. Look for further analysis coming in the weeks ahead on cft.org.
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-----
Teachers experienced even more pandemic anxiety than healthcare workers
Teachers in the United States were 40% more likely to report anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic than healthcare workers, according to the U.S. COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey. The same elementary, middle and high school teachers were 20% more likely to report stress compared to office workers and 30% more likely to report anxiety than workers in other occupations. Researchers found that out of those teachers who taught remotely during the pandemic, 60% were more likely to report feelings of isolation than their peers in the classroom. Female teachers were 70% more likely to experience anxiety than male teachers. Joseph Kush, an assistant professor of graduate psychology at James Madison University, comments: "Our results demonstrate just how stressful the pandemic has been for teachers."
----- CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS LOOMING OVER DISTRICTS -----
California schools braced for 'precarious' budgeting
Driven by high inflation and the threat of a recession, California faces a potential $25bn budget deficit next year. The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) warned that, with lower enrollment in public schools, education spending could be impacted. Despite an estimated decline of more than $2bn in required funding, the state could still fully fund schools by making some adjustments, according to the LAO, and schools are better off than other programs if recession hits hard. The state Constitution guarantees that they typically receive about a 40% chunk of the total budget. Maintaining normalcy will be possible, in part, by reducing some spending to reflect dips in student attendance and by making withdrawals from a rainy-day fund specifically created for education — reserves that have grown because of required deposits thanks to the state’s good fortune in recent years. Any school funding shortfalls could be small and short term, according to the LAO, and “by historical standards, the school funding picture remains strong.” The report does warn however of “precarious” school budget balancing in the coming years, depending on the wider economic climate.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Homelessness in education 'largely invisible'
A Center for Public Integrity analysis of district-level federal education data suggests roughly 300,000 students entitled to essential rights reserved for homeless students have slipped through the cracks. Some 2,400 school districts did not report having even one homeless student, despite levels of financial need that make those figures improbable. Many more districts are likely undercounting the number of homeless students they do identify, the analysis warns. Nationwide, homeless students graduate at lower rates than average, blunting their opportunities for stable jobs and increasing the risk of continued housing insecurity in adulthood. The gap is often stark: In 18 states, graduation rates for students who experienced homelessness lagged more than 20 percentage points behind the overall rate in both 2017 and 2018. The academic cost is not equally shared either. Black and Latino children experience homelessness at disproportionate rates, while, nationally, American Indian or Alaska Native students are also over-represented. As are students with disabilities. “It’s a largely invisible population,” laments Barbara Duffield, executive director of the SchoolHouse Connection homeless education nonprofit. “The national conversation on homelessness is focused on single adults who are very visible in large urban areas. It is not focused on children, youth and families. It is not focused on education.”
Appeals Court blocks student-loan forgiveness program
A federal appeals court on Monday blocked the Biden administration from moving ahead with its mass student-debt cancellation program, which was also ruled unlawful by a federal judge in Texas last week. A three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction against President Biden’s plan to erase hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans, at the request of six states that sued to challenge the debt relief. Notably, the six-page ruling wasn’t a decision on the legal merits of the Biden plan and turned for now on the preliminary issue of whether any of the six states had legal standing to challenge it. The state of Missouri, at least, likely has a sound basis for bringing the case, the court said.
New York Times Wall Street Journal
----- STATE NEWS -----
Thurmond continues learning acceleration work
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a webinar Monday for local educational agencies (LEAs) to walk through the requirements of the new Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant and discuss data practices and resources. Nearly 1,000 school administrators, educators, and education partners participated, the second in a series of virtual webinars to update LEAs on learning acceleration and ways schools are using billions of dollars in state funding to address learning loss from the pandemic. He was joined by district and state education leaders, including Jennifer Cisneros, director of expanded learning at Santa Ana Unified, and Ana Applegate, assistant superintendent of educational services at San Bernardino City USD. The new state budget includes $7.9bn for learning recovery, specifically, one-time funds to be used through 2027–28 on strategies to support academic learning recovery, along with staff and student social and emotional well-being following two-and-a-half challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional resources for districts to support these efforts include an extra $3bn for Expanded Learning, for an ongoing total of $4bn, to increase the time during the school year, summer school, and intersessional programs, decreasing staff-to-pupil ratios, and $250m to develop literacy programs and hire and train reading and literacy coaches and specialists.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Youngest students show achievement declines post-pandemic
Students in grades 1-2 showed lower reading and math achievement in spring 2022 compared to pre-pandemic trends, according to newly released NWEA MAP Growth assessment results and analysis. Reading scores fell 6 to 7 percentile points behind spring 2019 results, while math scores dropped 3 to 8 percentile points, underlining the challenges school leaders face in recovering pandemic-related losses. For 1st grade students - who have only attended school during the COVID-19 years - 2021-22 assessment results showed 6% to 7% lower growth across their 1st grade year. Students in grades 2-5 had assessment results in 2021-22 that mostly paralleled those in the 2018-19 school year. NWEA said the results emphasize the need for targeted investments in early literacy and math programs to help the youngest students gain essential academic skills. “There’s no good time to have two years of school disrupted, but I do think those kids that were making a transition to a new school level at that time probably had it tougher than others,” laments report co-author Megan Kuhfeld.
Younger students benefit most from expanded instructional time
Academics Sarah Novicoff, a PhD Student at Stanford University Graduate School of Education, and Matthew A. Kraft, Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University, argue that expanding instructional time, particularly for schools with shorter days and years, can play an important role in ongoing efforts to accelerate student learning. Their research shows that both adding days to the year and lengthening the school day can be effective. Research from across the United States, Mexico and Sweden finds a small positive increase in math and English scores from the addition of 10 or more extra days. Even small increases in the length of the school day - 90 minutes or less, in Germany, Israel, and other contexts - have led to positive results. While the effects vary by grade level, they note, studies show younger students benefit the most from these strategies.
----- SECURITY -----
More to do on California school arrests
While California arrests far less than the national averages on elementary and middle school students, the state is above average when it comes to the chances of police arresting Black and Hispanic students, as well as students with disabilities. CBS News analysis of the most current U.S. Department of Education data shows that during the 2017-18 school year, California schools sent students to police 5,913 times and arrested 318 children in grades 8 and below. The vast majority of those were not in the core of the city of Los Angeles, where police arrested 119 students at L.A. Unified School District schools, but in the surrounding suburbs, where police arrested 199 students. The schools that tied with the highest number of arrests - 12 on each of their campuses - were suburban Marco Forster Middle School in San Juan Capistrano, McFadden Intermediate in Santa Ana, and La Mesa Junior High in Santa Clarita. In a case in Riverside County, police arrested nine students and were called in a total of 1,747 times. Specifically, at Landmark Middle School, where this case happened, police were involved 208 times. Moreno Valley Unified School District Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora comments: "Anytime that that's a response, we need to address it. We need to look into why."
----- LEGAL -----
Liability fears keep some schools from stocking asthma inhalers
Many U.S. schools aren't keeping life-saving albuterol asthma inhalers on hand because of legal uncertainties. When researchers as part of a new study interviewed 20 nurses, clinicians, and school administrators in Illinois, 35% of those surveyed said they had difficulty obtaining prescriptions for stock inhalers. The fear of being sued was a big reason cited for being unable to secure prescriptions. Study author Dr. Andrea Pappalardo, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and an American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) member, comments: "We need more education that enhances provider and pharmacist knowledge and comfort in prescribing stock medications, like asthma stock reliever inhalers, to schools. We also need to consider additional regulation and education of malpractice insurers to address potential liability concerns." As it stands, according to the Allergy & Asthma Network, just 16 states - Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Virginia - have laws or guidelines in place that aim to increase access to timely asthma treatment for kids when they are in school.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Later school start times could help teachers too
Researchers led by Kyla Wahlstrom, a senior research fellow for education and human development at the University of Minnesota, analyzed the sleep habits and teaching of more than 1,800 teachers in a large, unnamed suburban school district as it implemented a new school schedule that delayed start times for middle and high schools. They found that high school teachers slept on average 22 minutes longer and woke on average 28 minutes later than they had before the policy change. Moreover, they showed significantly less lethargy throughout the day. Prior studies have found more than 40% of teachers get inadequate sleep on weekdays, with high school teachers getting more than 40 minutes less rest on average than other workers. Research also suggests work start times play a significant role in sleep deprivation among teachers, particularly for women, who reported more disrupted sleep and more daytime sleepiness than their male peers. A study released in September, of more than 50,000 women in the California Teachers Study, found 75% reported having trouble sleeping at least once a week, while 20% had sleep problems at least three times a week.
----- CHILD DEVELOPMENT ----
First state to guarantee a right to early childhood education
New Mexico voters have overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that makes theirs the first state to guarantee a right to early childhood education, while directing substantial, steady funding to childcare and early education. Seventy percent of voters approved Amendment 1, which will devote a portion of money in the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund, which is linked to oil and gas development on public land, to early care and education. The money, which already funds K-12 education, won’t just be a one-time infusion, but a steady stream of about $150m a year for early childhood programs. It could even allow New Mexico to achieve a system of free childcare and preschool for all state residents.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Masks cut COVID spread in schools, study finds
Masking mandates are linked with significantly reduced numbers of Covid cases in schools in a study by scientists at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston University School of Public Health and Boston’s Public Health Commission. The research details a so-called natural experiment that occurred when all but two school districts in the greater Boston area lifted mask requirements in the spring. Researchers took that opportunity to make a direct comparison of the spread of Covid in masking and non-masking schools, and found that infection rates were lower among masked students than among unmasked students. "The data should help dispel misinformation about the effectiveness of universal masking requirements in stemming viral transmission in schools," comments Julia Raifman, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
University of California disrupted as 48,000 academic workers continue strike
Demanding better pay, more benefits and job security, 48,000 academic workers in the University of California system continued striking for a second day Tuesday, resulting in canceled classes and halted research.
Academic workers and their supporters formed picket lines across the university system that includes 10 campuses and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The strike is shuttering laboratories and canceling classes just ahead of midterm exams. Some disruptions were a result of teaching assistants’ absences, but some professors also canceled courses in solidarity with strikers.
The strike, which began Monday morning, involves postdoctoral scholars, academic student employees such as teaching assistants, graduate student researchers and academic researchers in California’s preeminent public research university system. Strikers teach many undergraduate classes and often lead discussion sections in courses.
University of California strike disrupts classes
Almost 50,000 academic workers across the University of California system walked off the job Monday. Staff represented by the United Auto Workers failed to reach a deal with the university system over the weekend as they demanded pay increases to match the rising cost of housing and inflation. The employees have demanded base salaries of $54,000 for all graduate-student workers, child-care subsidies, better healthcare benefits and public-transportation benefits. The UC, which serves nearly 300,000 students, has offered a salary increase of 7% in the first year and 3% in subsequent years. The university system has said its 10 campuses would remain open, but the strike has already caused disruption of some classes just weeks before final exams.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
International students returning to U.S. colleges
Enrollment by international students at U.S. college and university campuses rose by 3.8% to 948,519 in the 2021-2022 school year, compared with 914,095 the prior year, according to a new report by the nonprofit Institute of International Education and U.S. State Department. New-student enrollments jumped by 80%, to 261,961 in the 2021-2022 school year. An early snapshot from this school year, collected by IIE and nine partner higher-education associations, shows a continued uptick in enrollments from overseas, across all academic levels. Though the trend is positive for U.S. institutions, international-student enrollment is still far off pre-pandemic levels however. The U.S. had roughly 147,000 more students in undergraduate, graduate and nondegree courses or in postgraduate optional practical training programs in the 2018-2019 school year.
A favorite meme to sign off with……
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
