KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The ABCFT negotiating team met internally near the beginning of last week before holding a formal negotiating session with the district last Thursday. At one point, the situation got so contentious that both teams stood up and exited the building to the parking lot…actually we just complied with the Shakeout earthquake drill. I apologize for the dramatic embellishment! (Editorial note- actually the meeting was positive and productive. ~Ray) The district team has our proposal and is able to present it to the school board during their meeting on November 1. We have another session scheduled for mid November but the process is fluid and we will adjust with more meetings as needed.
The negotiating team is happy to announce the addition of our two newest members, Edith Corrales and David Hind. Edith teaches a first grade dual immersion class at Furgeson Elementary while David is an AP and Honors English teacher at Cerritos High School. Edith and David join Patty Alcantar, Ray Gaer, Tanya Golden, Daren Ham, Laura Lacar, Jill Yasutake, and myself to form a team that provides a wealth of experience and insights to help us achieve the best possible agreement at the bargaining table.
An overview as to the negotiating process; our team meets amongst ourselves to write the different elements of our proposal. We are bargaining for both salary and benefits as well as master contract language at this time. We then meet with the district team and present our proposal. This gives them the opportunity to ask clarifying questions so that they can properly assess what they are going to present to the school board during closed session. Both teams take notes during these sessions for reference. The district team would then present us with a counterproposal during our next meeting and our team would evaluate this latest proposal before making a new offer of our own. Once a tentative agreement is reached between the ABCFT team and the district team, we then take this agreement to the ABCFT executive board for approval. If the executive board votes yes, the agreement moves to the ABCFT representative council for a vote as to whether to take it out to the general membership for a ratification vote. If the rep council approves the tentative agreement we would schedule a general meeting to have an opportunity for all ABCFT members to ask questions regarding the agreement. If a majority of members approve of the tentative agreement it would then move to the school board for final approval. If a majority of the school board votes to approve, we then have a final binding agreement.
In addition to these steps, we will provide updates throughout the process. The actual negotiations themselves are confidential but ABCFT is committed to updates such as these, our YOUnion chats, and tools such as annotated documents to ensure that our members remain informed.
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED-Public Service Loan Forgiveness Application Deadline is October 31, 2022
The AFT settled a landmark court case last October that set in motion significant but temporary changes to the eligibility requirements for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Since then, hundreds of AFT members have had their entire loan balances wiped away thanks to our union’s efforts.
If you have student debt and work for a public employer, you could have your entire debt balance forgiven, but YOU MUST APPLY before Oct. 31, 2022, to benefit from the temporary PSLF waiver.
For more information, go to this helpful AFT PSLF web page. You can also go directly to the PSLF application page to begin the process.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Puts The Federal Student Loan Forgiveness on Temporary HOLD But Still Accepting Applications
Student loan forgiveness applications officially launched
President Joe Biden has officially launched the application for student loan relief. The rollout is a much-anticipated move to accomplish Biden's August announcement that individuals with student loans making less than $125,00 can apply for up to $10,000 of debt relief, or as much as $20,000 for eligible borrowers who were also Pell Grant recipients. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said that over 8m borrowers have already applied for loan forgiveness through the "beta" test version of the application, which was launched last Friday.
Federal Application Website (takes 5 minutes to fill out)
SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERS - Nixon EDP Teachers
Nixon Excels welcomed families to their Lights On Afterschool on Friday, October 21st. Lights On Afterschool is a nationwide event celebrating Afterschool Programs and the impact they have in our communities.
Nixon families came out to celebrate this event and parents joined their children in a variety of activities along with a photo area. Thanks to the had work of EDP teachers and students, this event was a wonderful success! Thank you to the Nixon families, Dr. Tom Tracy, Mrs. Chacon, and the marvelous Nixon staff for all your support.
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
New Tools to Engage and Energize Your Students
Looking to infuse new energy into your classroom? Want to supercharge creativity and ingenuity among your students? Join one, or all, of our fall mini-series webinars offered in collaboration with the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation's Quest Center, the premier professional development provider for Chicago’s public school educators.
Starting next week, each 90-minute deep-dive session is designed and delivered by one of the center’s highly experienced trainers. Register now!
New November Webinars
More than STEM: Minecraft as a Tool for Multidisciplinary Learning in Grades 3-12
Nov. 2 from 6-7:30 p.m. EDT
Games Literacy: Unlocking Learning Potential with Classroom Games in Grades K-12
Nov. 9 from 6-7:30 p.m. EST
Daily Creative Writing for Thriving Learning Communities in Grades K-12
Nov. 16 from 6–7:30 p.m. EST
If the times listed don't work for you, register anyway to be automatically emailed a link to the recorded webinar. Learn more.
ABC BOARD PRESIDENT IN THE NEWS
Once again, an ABC School Board member is in the local news for comments she has made on social media. These are questionable opinions coming from a public school board president. The November 1st ABCFT YOUnion Chat and school board meeting in the evening should be lively events.
Below is the news article that is running in the local Los Cerritos News so that you can have the latest information.
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.
The day after Halloween should be a national holiday for teachers and nurses…heck we should get the entire week off. It seems October is over before we even blinked and November is upon us next week. I’m a sucker for dressing up on Halloween and it's always fun to see the adults having as much fun as the students. Please send ABCFT@abcusd.us your school pictures so we can share them in next week’s YOUnionews.
Tanya and I continued on our ABC world tour of schools by visiting the fine staff of Willow Elementary, where many meaningful conversations took place about the universal topics of the challenges of student behaviors, the ever-changing paraeducators, and the impact that is having in classrooms. Willow was one of the many schools where the district provided additional support for the primary teachers by adding a kindergarten class to decrease the class sizes and to allow teachers to have more time to adopt strategies for their most challenging students.
Another topic of concern that has been universal as we visit schools is the mounting frustration that several temporary teachers feel about not being able to secure permanent teaching positions in ABC. Why is this happening? Here are some reasons why there are delays in going from temporary status to permanent status. The most important factor is that we are a district with declining enrollment. I’m not talking about pre-pandemic 100 or 200 students yearly, which was the typical average for most districts. No, the enrollment drop of 2000 students over a three-year period is significant and is being felt in schools across the district. This amounts to over 80+ fewer teachers in ABC over those three years. During the 2022-2023 school year, ABC has lost approximately 24 teaching positions, and the ABC school district enrollment is down 500 students.
Therefore, during times of enrollment uncertainty, the district has the right to delay giving tenure to teachers. However, ABCFT has strongly encouraged the district to keep a limited number of temporary teachers in favor of making as many teachers permanent status as possible. This is especially important in areas that are hard to staff since there is such a demand for their services in all districts, and we want to retain those teachers. Unfortunately, temporary teachers at the elementary and middle school levels are most anxious about their positions since these areas have been most impacted by declining enrollment. ABCFT will continue to find ways to encourage the district to reward and promote those temporary teachers who have been working hard in ABC in hopes of securing them a permanent position.
Lastly, I would like to thank the district band teachers for inviting me to their latest meeting. Now that the norm is to have instruction in person, band teachers are reporting that this positively impacts our district band programs. As a result, the band programs are full of talented ABC students led by dedicated band teachers. When I was a student teacher, my very wise master teacher, who would often have good nuggets of information and wisdom, once commented to me, “you can often tell the success of a school by the health of its band.” Now, I’m sure there are many other ways to rubric what goes into a “healthy school,” but the band program is definitely a guiding factor. Have a good weekend!
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Don’t forget to review CFT’s Educators Choice Voter Guide before casting your ballot
Before casting your ballot, make sure to review CFT’s Educators Choice Voter Guide, which has voting recommendations for local and statewide candidates and initiatives.
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
CFT statement on NAEP and Smarter Balanced test results
Sacramento, CA -- CFT – A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals President Jeff Freitas released the following statement on the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores and the California Smarter Balanced test scores today:
“The results of these tests show the profound impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our students’ lives and the pressing need to continue investing in our schools with a laser-like focus to help our students recover and thrive.
“California has shown a steadfast commitment to supporting schools during the pandemic and throughout the recovery, focusing the state’s efforts on raising record funding for education, including over $23 billion in targeted investments to help students succeed.
“It is essential that we continue supporting our students in the months and years to come by maintaining our commitment to their recovery – including expanding investments in mental health support, addressing educator staffing shortages, and expanding additional learning opportunities.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY OPINION HIGHLIGHT-----
Teachers Aren’t “Quiet Quitting,” They’re Saying No to Unpaid Labor
The term “quiet quitting” refers not to actually quitting a job, but refusing to go beyond what one is paid to do.
People who quiet-quit still perform their job duties, they’re simply rejecting hustle culture, doing tasks that fall outside of their job description or pay, and the notion of tying their work performance or achievements to their self-worth. I was especially intrigued by Business Insider’s article on teacher Maggie Perkins, who quiet-quit years ago and has never looked back. I applaud how she scaled back what she was spending on teaching both financially and emotionally. (We love boundaries!)
But something has been bothering me about the messaging around quiet quitting. As I read and thought about this trend, I couldn’t help feeling like I was ignoring something big. It felt like I was admiring my lovely new rain parka while hurricane clouds loomed in the distance. Quiet quitting is helping teachers take care of themselves, re-prioritize their values, and delay burnout—and I’m all for that.
But aren’t we ignoring something larger and more threatening here?
What about the glaring problem that K-12 education in America relies on the unpaid labor, kindness, and guilt teachers have to “do what’s best for kids”? What will happen if teachers (rightfully) scale back their work, but the powers who created and perpetuate this system are never made to reckon with their problematic arrangement: making underpaid, undersupported teachers carry this country on their backs?
I worry that the “market” will recognize the trend of quiet quitting and adapt.
I worry that states will simply extend teachers’ contract hours without paying them more. They’ll find some loophole of calling it “tutoring time” or “office hours.”
I worry that districts will start using contracts to quantify work that teachers previously did on their own time. They might require a certain number of bulletin board rotations per year for elementary teachers. Maybe secondary teachers will have to hit a parent contact quota.
I worry that our communities will continue to glorify the teachers who regularly work beyond their contract hours, prioritize school above family and self-care, and burn themselves into the ground for an institution that has a vested interest in them not demanding more.
Maybe quiet quitting is not the “end move” for teachers, but the starting move in a much larger game plan.
Perhaps quiet quitting is the final message before a nationwide teacher strike.
I said what I said.
https://www.weareteachers.com/are-teachers-quiet-quitting/
----- KIDS PAY THE PRICE FOR ADULTS -----
Private school funded by Kayne West shuts down following outrage to antisemitic remarks
The private Semi Valley school founded by the artist formally known as Kanye West abruptly closed Thursday in the aftermath of the rapper’s recent spate of antisemitic remarks, KTLA TV and other news outlets reported.
The school, Donda Academy’s closure “for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately” was sent in an email to parents late Wednesday, according to news outlets. The decision was made “at the direction of our founder.”
The unaccredited Christian school requires parents to sign non-disclosure agreements before students join. It has about 100 students, with half attending on scholarships funded by the artist, now known as Ye, and others, Insider reported. Students wear uniforms made by the rapper’s brand, Yeezy, and other high-end designers. The school’s basketball team has recruited some of the top high school players from around the U.S.
Earlier this month, Ye tweeted he intends to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON. The French athletic wear company Adidas ended its relationship with Ye’s companies on Wednesday amidst global outrage.
His comments have spurred other outbursts of antisemitism Last weekend white supremacists were photographed on a highway overpass in Los Angeles waiving a sign that read “Kanye is right about Jews” while doing the Nazi salute.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Federal funding to support school infrastructure and green transportation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the first tranche of $500m in funding from the Renew America’s Schools grant program, which aims to lower utility costs, improve indoor air quality, and reduce carbon emissions in schools across the country. The initial $80m, which comes as part of President Biden’s wider Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is the first of its kind from the DOE. Eligible projects will include energy improvements that reduce building operating costs, like new HVAC and ventilation systems, building envelope and lighting projects, and alternative fuel and renewable energy technologies. Additionally, a new DOE prize program will help resource 25 high-need school districts with the training and tools needed to improve how their schools consume energy. Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secretary, said in a statement: “These major investments will lead to healthier learning environments and lower energy costs so school districts can equitably lead on the clean energy transition.” Applications for the first round of this grant will open November 2022 and close January 2023. Separately, the Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled nearly $1bn in awards to U.S. school districts to replace aging, gas-fueled school buses with cleaner, mainly electric models. The funding is the first tranche of $5bn that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hand out over five years through a clean school bus program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. The awards will support the purchase of 2,463 buses, 95% of which will be electric. In California, Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein announced the EPA awarded over $68.2m to 21 California schools and school districts, to replace 177 existing school buses with zero-emission models. The EPA has nearly doubled its planned $500m in clean bus awards for this year due to overwhelming demand from school districts, and plans to disburse another $1bn under the program next year.
CBS News Reuters The White House
Public Student Loan Forgiveness program deadline nears
With a temporary expansion of the popular debt-relief program for public servants set to end October 31, the Education Department on Tuesday said it is working to extend loan forgiveness to more borrowers. A year-long waiver of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program gave teachers, social workers and other public servants credit for payments that previously did not qualify for relief. The reprieve, which ends Monday, resulted in more than 236,000 people receiving $14bn in debt cancellation. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said last week that the Student Loan Ombudsman at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking has already helped D.C. residents eliminate more than $1m in federal student loan debt through the PSLF program. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Tuesday: “We’re focused on making this program work for the long haul … to reduce the red tape and the confusing rules that riddled the pilot program in the past.” An overhaul of the complex PSLF program is set to take effect in July.
Business Insider Washington Post
----- STATE NEWS -----
State assessment data further underlines pandemic impact
The California Department of Education (CDE) has published assessment data that provides further evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on student academic achievement and underscores the urgency of continuing to address student needs. Statewide, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards on the 2022 Smarter Balanced summative assessments declined by 4 percentage points (from 51% to 47%) for English language arts (ELA) and 7 percentage points (from 40% to 33%) for mathematics when compared to students who took the tests in 2018–19—before the pandemic. The results include California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) data. “These baseline data underscore what many of us know: that the road to recovery is long and our students will need sustained support over many years,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond comments. A comparison with data from the state’s 2020–21 ELA and mathematics assessments suggests that recovery may already be underway however. In the spring of 2021, about 25% of students in grades three through eight and eleven (about 740,000 students) participated in the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics. An analysis of that cohort, looking at the same students who took the test in 2021 and comparing their results to 2022, showed steeper-than-normal achievement gains at most grade levels, a hopeful sign that the state’s robust investments in accelerating learning are paying off.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Migrant crisis playing out in N.Y.C. schools
Madina Touré explores how New York City Public Schools, the nation’s largest public school system, is managing an influx of young Latin American asylees. Many of the asylum seekers were sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, amid a fight with the Biden administration over U.S. border policy, but it's New York, which was already struggling to teach immigrant students, that has to figure out how best integrate kids with varying educational backgrounds, significant language barriers and unstable personal lives into an education system that’s already under significant stress. Mayor Eric Adams estimates that the city will spend $1bn by the end of the fiscal year on the larger migrant situation. The DOE couldn’t say how much of that it might need, but city Comptroller Brad Lander says the city needs to allocate at least $49m more to educate the newcomers, when accounting for pre-K and special needs. “We need a new plan that goes beyond enrollment and that touches more on the 'What happens now that the kids are in schools?' piece,” says Andrea Ortiz of the New York Immigration Coalition. “How are the schools supposed to support these students? What expectations are there in terms of what additional monetary supports those schools can expect to be able to meet the needs?”
Sacramento teachers backing school board candidates
Sacramento's teachers' union is putting its weight behind three newcomers this election, aiming to flip seats on the city school board months after an eight-day strike ground the district to a halt. The union, which held out in the strike for better compensation and a package of issues related to COVID-19 spending , is not supporting either of the incumbents — Leticia Garcia and Darrell Woo — on the ballot. The strike was the most dramatic event in a series of labor disputes between the teachers union and the administration dating back to 2017. It was the union's fourth vote to strike since that year, and its second walkout following a one-day demonstration in 2019.
One in ten of New York City students is homeless
There were more than 104,000 students in the New York City public school system who were homeless last year, nearly one in 10 students. Despite overall enrollment declines, the number was up 3% from the year prior. There are 350 or so staff members in the Department of Education who work specifically on issues for students with homelessness, while city Schools Chancellor David Banks has said that 100 more people will be hired this year to work in shelters. Tackling the issue is especially important because more than six in 10 homeless children living in shelters were defined as “chronically absent” last year, which means they missed at least 10% of school days, more than double the rate of students in permanent housing.
--- CLASSROOM -----
Teachers Are Sharing Their “Other Duties As Assigned” & Some of Them Are Truly Bonkers
Whether we’re teaching first grade in Florida or middle school in Maine, there’s one phrase slipped into all of our contracts: “Other duties as assigned.” While it may seem innocuous to new teachers, longtime teachers know this intentionally vague phrase is a loophole for almost anything, from performing unpaid labor outside of contract hours to acting as human shields.
We asked teachers for the strangest things they’ve been expected to do on the clock. Here are some wild “other duties as assigned” you may have never considered.
“Take a one-hour training class so that we can have permission to use Lysol wipes in our classrooms.”
“Seriously.”
“Take daily photographs of dead mice and roaches to prove to administrators that they are, in fact, *there* in order to get help with the issue.”
“A parent asked me to unpack and pack their second grade child’s backpack every day. … Nope!”
Why universal screening is a more equitable identifier of gifted and talented students
Universal screening with both ability and achievement tests allows each student to highlight both their potential and their performance
School districts have historically relied on a referral-based process to identify students for gifted and talented programming. This means that teachers or parents nominate their students to take selected achievement and/or cognitive aptitude tests, frequently used as a screener for gifted and talented placement.
Unfortunately, relying on referrals alone results in overly homogenous gifted and talented programs that are predominantly white, middle class, and male. Research shows that referral-based identification excludes too many students from enrichment and advanced academic opportunities.
But districts are slowly starting to change their identification processes. Instead of using referrals to determine which students take the specified tests, districts have begun universally screening every child to make the identification process more equitable, especially when districts use cognitive aptitude tests for all students, not just a select subset.
A Serious Look at Game-Based Learning
“I've always thought games were good models for everything—how to learn, but also how to be,” says Arana Shapiro.
She has dedicated much of her career to helping educators integrate technology with purpose into their curriculum. Now the Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer at Games for Change, Shapiro stands at the vanguard of a movement to both normalize and prioritize game-based instruction in schools.
I've always thought games were good models for everything.
Here, she discusses the challenges involved in getting adults to take play seriously, as well the many life lessons that may be imparted through effective educational gaming.
----- WORKFORCE ----
School districts looking overseas to fill teacher shortages
An increasing number of school districts in the Unites States have turned to hiring international teachers in recent years. Meeting two of the biggest recruiting challenges at present, officials are successfully filling teacher vacancies with qualified educators and, in the process, boosting staff diversity. The nine international teachers at Denison Middle School are just a fraction of the 140 working in Florida's Polk County Public Schools for example. To coordinate the hires, the district contracts with Educational Partners International, LLC and TPG Cultural Exchange. Both organizations are State Department-designated K-12 visa sponsors for its cultural exchange visa program. The U.S. Department of State tracked the number of international teachers granted J-1 visas between 2015 to 2021. Considered “cultural exchange visas,” J-1 visas allow qualified international educators to teach in the nation’s K-12 schools for up to five years. The number of international teachers employed by U.S. districts jumped by 69%, from 2,517 in 2015 to 4,271 in 2021. Among the 19,491 teachers from 114 countries who taught in the United States within that six-year period, the greatest numbers have come from the Philippines (4,338), Spain (3,614), Jamaica (2,213), China (1,816) and France (1,431.)
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Schools battling worsening opioid crisis with wealth of strategies
An increase in illicit fentanyl is the likely driver of teen drug overdose deaths in recent years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among teens aged 14-18, the CDC data showed a 169% increase in deaths from illicit fentanyl and synthetics from 2019 to 2020 and a nearly 30% increase from 2020 to 2021. Schools are banding together to communicate the dangers of opioids and erase the stigma of substance abuse treatment, while in classrooms, educators are using social-emotional learning to strengthen students’ self-reliance, coping skills and positive relationships so they are empowered to reject offers of drugs and alcohol and to seek help when they need it. Schools are also moving away from punitive measures against students suffering with addiction or struggling academically and behaviorally because of addiction in their families, and taking more trauma-informed approaches of restorative practices, therapy, wraparound services, and treatment. Many schools are also now stocking the anti-overdose drug naloxone, which is sprayed into the nostrils or injected under the skin to quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
-----CHARTER/PRIVATE SCHOOLS -----
Catholic schools outperformed by public schools in pandemic period
Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the “Nation’s Report Card,” support the idea that Catholic schools were outperformers in the pandemic period. Catholic schools lost ground between 2019 and 2022 on 8th grade math and 4th grade reading, though not statistically significant, and the declines were less than what public schools saw. Catholic schools showed an increase in performance on 8th grade reading, and held steady in 4th grade math, at achievement levels that were already higher than public schools.
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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