This is the 28th Year the United States has recognized and celebrated March as National Disability Awareness Month!
On February 26, 1987 President Ronald Reagan officially declared Proclamation 5613 making March National Disabilities Awareness Month. The proclamation called for people to provide understanding, encouragement and opportunities to help persons with disabilities to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - LOCK DOWN AT WHITNEY - STUDENTS SAFELY LEAVE SCHOOL FOR THE DAY
ABCFT was in contact with ABCUSD District Administration on Thursday as the events after a bomb threat earlier in the day. We are happy to report that nobody was hurt during this scary situation but it is unfortunate that both students and staff werre subjected to such a senseless threat.
According to a communication from the City of Cerritos, a male caller threatened the school unless they received $10,000. The school was immediately put into lockdown and students were safely released into the custody of their parents as Cerritos Deputies did a full sweep of the school facilities. A command post and family reunification was established at Cerritos Park East. Communication between the school administration and the City of Cerritos were helpful in providing the community and staff with the necessary information to resolve the situation in an orderly manner. ABCFT appreciates and supports the safety measures taken to protect the well-being of both students and staff.
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.
"Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together." - Marilyn Monroe
ABCFT was given notice by the district administration that throughout the week there would be staff meeting announcements informing teachers, nurses, and support staff about the administration's decision to realign school site administrators. The movement of principals in earnest has not happened in ABC for over a decade and the last great shake-up that I remember was during the tenures of Superintendents Dr. Ron Barnes and Dr. Gary Smuts. Since their leadership, many ABC school site administrators have enjoyed a long tenure at their current schools and this stability is both a source of strength but can also be seen as a limiting leadership development factor. The Interim Superintendent, Toan Nguyen with the approval of the ABC School Board has decided to assess and realign the district administration as well as changes at the site administration level.
What can ABCFT do about these changes? The movement of employees falls only under the oversight of district administration in conjunction with the school board. This administration right is reflected in CA Ed Code and can also be found in the ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract under Article VI: District Rights/Administrative Rights. As with all major decisions that are made that impact ABCFT members, we always look for opportunities to have input in the decision-making process. For example, in typical changes of district and site administrators, there are representatives from all of the ABC labor unions so that the employees of ABC have a voice in major district decisions. When there are site administrator decisions ABCFT will typically recruit the site representative(s) or key leadership teachers to participate in the interview process. In some cases, ABCFT has worked with the district to produce school site surveys that would provide clarity about the needs and expectations of the staff.
Unfortunately, in this current round of major administrative decisions ABCFT and staff were not given a chance to provide meaningful feedback. This may be for a number of reasons we are unaware of but it does feel like ABCFT, CSEA, and AFSCME were not included in the decision-making process. We hope that in the future that there will be opportunities to be part of these important choices. ABCFT is not currently aware of which administrators will be moving nor the final decisions on the placement of ABC administrators.
The realignment and movement of administrators feels a lot like what happens at our school sites or district programs. At the school site principals have the right to make decisions about which grade levels a teacher will be assigned. There are many factors that go into these decisions such as a teacher having asked to move grade levels as part of their professional growth, a grade level team may need changing for whatever reason, or teachers being placed in positions that highlight their strengths. As teachers, we are used to these changes and although these changes are ultimately decided by the administrators, the ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract does give teachers the opportunity to provide their preferences or the opportunity to volunteer for a position that is open. I don’t know if ABC Administrators were provided with the opportunity to provide this information but I do know that they do not have a union to negotiate a contract that guarantees this input. This is a good example of how ABCFT has used the collective bargaining process as a means to provide the opportunity for ABCFT members to have a voice in making decisions that impact them directly.
How is it going to shake out and who’s going where, I don’t know. Together, we will all adjust to the new reality. However, ABCFT will be talking to district administrators about how we as a district can support ABC employees during these major transitions. These decisions, although necessary as a function of reorganization are very personal to many teachers and nurses. Our district's strength is built on the engagement and relationships between teachers/nurses and administrators. ABCFT will work with the district to provide the supports you need to make these changes. If I’ve learned anything over my career, it's that teachers/nurses are resilient and together we will work through these changes.
Thanks for all you do. Every. Day.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
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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 - LOOMING STRIKE IN LAUSD -----
LAUSD unions announce timing for 3-day strike to shut down schools
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, March 15
Los Angeles education workers confirm strike
More than 60,000 bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria employees, campus security, teaching assistants and educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District will strike from March 21 to 23. The labor unions representing the support staff announced move, which will likely shut hundreds of schools, during a rally Wednesday at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. Represented by labor union SEIU Local 99, about 30,000 school support staff are demanding LAUSD pay for a 30% raise and $2 per hour equity wage increase. About 35,000 teachers represented by the United Teachers of Los Angeles plan to join them. The school district has offered, in part, more than a 15% raise, retention bonuses and to bring its minimum wage up to $20. L.A. schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday urged union leadership to negotiate “around the clock” to avert the strike, which he said would further harm more than 420,000 students trying to recover academically and emotionally from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced them into remote learning for more than year.
LAUSD superintendent tells families to prepare for school closures from worker strike
Los Angeles Unified Schools will likely close if union workers in the district go through with a three-day strike, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in an email to families, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It’s not yet clear what days the potential strike would be, but that will be announced Wednesday at a rally in downtown Los Angeles. The strike would be led led by Local 99 of Service Employees International, whose 30,000 workers include bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers. The union representing teachers in the district, United Teachers Los Angeles, has also told its members they should walk out in solidarity with those employees, the Times reported.
“If this strike does occur, despite our best efforts to avoid it, due to the anticipated lack of both teachers and school staff, it is likely we would have to close schools — without virtual education — until the strike ends,” Carvalho said in the email, according to the Times. “We would simply have no way of ensuring a safe and secure environment where teaching can take place. We will give you as much advance notice as possible, but we encourage you to begin discussions with your employer, child care providers and others now.”
Local 99 workers would be striking in protest of what they allege are illegal actions by L.A. Unified during bargaining, the Times reported. Unlike an indefinite strike, this strike would likely be for a fixed amount of time, three days. L.A. Unified officials have denied wrongdoing.
Los Angeles schools' labor woes explode
The Los Angeles teachers union plans to join an anticipated three-day strike — possibly within two weeks — with thousands of L.A. Unified's non-teaching workers, actions that would likely shut down schools in an explosion of labor discontent. Local 99 — which represents more than 25,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants and others — has reached an impasse in its monthslong negotiations with the district over demands for an across-the-board 30% raise, with more for the lowest wage earners. The union is expected to announce the timing of its three-day walkout at a joint rally with the teachers' union as soon as Wednesday. UTLA is also in the throes of labor negotiations, seeking a 20% wage increase over two years and a long list of school initiatives. On Friday the union sent a letter to Superintendent Alberto Carvalho stating it was terminating its contract with the district, a legal maneuver that would allow its members to join Local 99's strike, according to information posted online by the teachers union. Teachers are seeking a 10% raise each of the next two years. The district has offered a raise of 5% per year plus two one-time bonuses of 5%. L.A. USD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has also indicated there is some room to offer more but suggested the union must compromise on some other issues.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Some states' dropout rates increasing
Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, and several other states have reported spikes in their dropout rates this past year. This month, officials in North Carolina revealed that the state’s dropout numbers were 17% higher than pre-pandemic. While the scale of the problem is hard to define - many states use different methods for calculating dropout rates and experts caution such metrics can lag "years behind" more reliable measures, many agree that our attention should be on earlier indicators of academic struggle. Russell Rumberger, a former professor at the University of California Santa Barbara who has studied school dropouts for decades, says indicators of students falling off course are more helpful. "The story is really about enrollment over time and attending school over time," he asserts. “We don’t really have a handle on the post-pandemic story yet,” adds Robert Balfanz, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. “A little bit of this comes down to how much administrative effort a school puts into keeping their data up to date.” Notably, America’s high school graduation rates have for years trended up. Between 2010 and 2019, the nation’s average graduation rate rose from 79% to 86%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Meanwhile, the share of young people who were not in school and didn’t have a high school credential fell.
State teacher pension funds shedding investments over fossil fuel laws
Texas' largest biggest pension fund shed more than $500m worth of investments in BlackRock to comply with the new state law meant to punish companies that snub fossil fuels. The Teacher Retirement System of Texas also shed positions in BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse Group, Danske Bank, Nordea Bank, Schroders, Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank and UBS Group worth a combined $112m as of last August, records show. Records of the divestments, released by TRS this week in response to an open records request, provide the first details on how state pensions are affected by the 2021 law passed by the GOP-led Legislature. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has become a popular punching bag for Republicans nationwide who are critical of the push toward environmentally and socially conscious investing. At least 16 other states have enacted or proposed similar legislation. In Florida for example, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has campaigned against “woke” capitalism, the state planned to pull $2bn of investment from BlackRock in December over the company's policies. The TRS has not yet indicated how the funds have been reinvested.
Female remuneration inequity adds 'another layer' to raising teacher pay
New research published this week by the Brookings Institution indicates that female teachers, who make up roughly three-fourths of K-12 teaching jobs, typically make thousands less than their male counterparts. When considering all sources of school-based income, researchers found that male teachers make $4,000 more than women annually, so women would need a 7% bonus "to fully equalize pay between genders." Even when the researchers controlled for observable teacher and school characteristics – such as the subject taught and the demographics of their students – men made $2,200 more. Michael Hansen, a senior fellow at Brookings' Brown Center on Education Policy, who co-wrote the brief, comments: Ultimately, the gender pay gap isn't as glaring in K-12 education as it is other sectors. But the findings add another layer to discussions about raising teacher pay. What's not part of these conversations is a spotlight on the uncompensated work women do in these schools."
----- STATE NEWS -----
California budget deficit could delay childcare funding
California has an estimated $22.5bn budget deficit at present. Delaying funding for the state's 20,000 new childcare slots, which appears increasingly attractive, would save $134m but could have significant consequences. Any delay would put Gov. Gavin Newsom firmly at odds with California's newly-unionized childcare workforce just months before their first contract is set to expire. It would also upset the Legislative Women’s Caucus, who, after gains in the November elections, now make up nearly half of the Legislature. Their support will be key to advancing Newsom’s agenda during his second term. The California Department of Finance has said that the administration “remains committed to expanding access to childcare that’s consistent with the budget agreements,” however the Legislative Analyst’s Office has said that delaying “seems reasonable.” Childcare providers themselves say the bigger problem is that there aren’t enough workers available to fill the slots. California lost one-third of its childcare jobs in the first two months of the pandemic, compared to the state’s overall loss of 15% of jobs, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
More funding for California’s community schools mission
California has approved another $45m for community schools across the state, the latest phase of a $4.1bn initiative to expand education, health and social services for students and their families. A decades-old model, community schools offer expanded support for not just students, but families and communities around the campus. That could include before and after school programs, learning opportunities for parents, extended food support, or other initiatives that fit the specific needs of a neighborhood. The new funding will provide $200,000 to 226 school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. With this third round of grant funding, the state is providing more than $700m to nearly 460 schools throughout the state, with a focus on high-need communities. Once all $4.1bn has been rolled out, California is hoping one in every three schools will become a community school.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Salinas teachers demand action from their district
Last Saturday dozens of members of the Salinas Valley Federation of Teachers, students, and supporters rallied in front of the Salinas Union High School District’s job fair. According to SVFT President Kati Bassler the rally was called to draw attention to unscrupulous evaluation practices by administrators, unsafe school sites, and lack of responsiveness to serious issues within the district office.
SVFT is challenging the district’s desire to offer signing bonuses to new teachers, while not properly supporting current educators.
“There is a reason why you, the district, (don’t) have signing bonuses for this hiring fair,” Bassler said at a school board meeting last week, as reported by the Monterey Herald. “Why would SVFT agree to incentivizing brand new teachers or veteran teachers to come work in this district when those who have endured this year and last year – the hardest years of education in the United States – are being dismissed?”
Leaders from the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, and the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council also took part in the rally, to show their support for safer schools for all staff and all students.
Ojai Unified superintendent voted out amid wider pressures
Following a closed session meeting March 13, Ojai Unified School District Board President Rebecca Chandler has a unanimous vote by the Board approving a separation agreement with Superintendent Tiffany Morse. Morse has been under pressure since November, when it came to light that the Ventura County Office of Education had notified the school board that “immediate corrective action” was required to avoid fiscal insolvency.
----- SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE ----
School infrastructure gets poor grades from educators
A large percentage of the nationwide education community aren’t satisfied with the state of their school infrastructure. A nationally-representative survey of 296 district officials, 284 principals, and 478 teachers conducted by the EdWeek Research Center indicates that 45% of teachers, principals, and district leaders gave their buildings a “C” grade or lower in the survey, while only 14% gave their building the highest marks. Seven percent said their buildings fail to comply with federal Americans With Disabilities Act requirements for accessibility, more than 30 years after the law was enacted, slightly more than half of school and district leaders said one major facilities challenge is navigating the skyrocketing cost of labor and materials for construction and renovation projects, and for many, finding enough workers to keep school buildings humming is a challenge that’s only grown more difficult since the pandemic began. Thirteen percent said a major barrier to maintaining strong school facilities is keeping up with constantly changing best practices around safety and modern technology.
----- FINANCE -----
Public school pension funds vulnerable to Silicon Valley Bank collapse
Teacher and school employee pension funds in multiple states could lose millions of dollars with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank over the weekend. At least 26 public pension funds managing money for about 80 pension plans directly held stock, which tanked alongside the bank, in the SVB Financial Group, which is the parent of Silicon Valley Bank. The Ohio State Teachers’ Retirement System was one of the largest investors among public school pension funds, at approximately $40m worth of SVB shares. There’s also an indirect impact on pension funds that hold shares in other public and private companies affected by SVB’s failure. For example, Kentucky, California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania teacher or public school employee retirement systems are all listed as shareholders for Etsy, which had funds tied to SVB and was struggling to pay vendors on its platform as a result. Many teacher pension fund managers have been silent on the issue so far, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact exposure from the incident, which also highlights both the increasing volatility of teacher pension plans in recent years and the resulting burden on district and local finances.
----- LEGAL -----
Bill would force schools to tell parents if their child is transgender
A new bill would require California schools to tell parents that their child is transgender in the name of bolstering parents' rights and helping children. While critics argue that such legislation would threaten LGBTQ students' safety, AB 1314, which is sponsored by Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, would give school districts three days to notify parents in writing once a school employee learns a student is identifying as a gender that doesn't align with their birth certificate or other official records. This could include asking to be identified by a different gender or participating in sports of the opposite gender.
----- EDUCATION -----
ChatGPT will fundamentally change how we teach writing; that's a good thing
COMMENTARY
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT has forced educators to confront foundational questions about what we teach and why. One of the most important questions is: in the age of AI, what types of writing will students still need to master to be successful in life?
To answer this, we must scrutinize the high-stakes, standardized writing assessments like the ACT/SAT and AP exams. Because of the outsized influence they have traditionally had on students’ access to college, many teachers align their writing instruction to mimic them, reducing the art of writing to generic, five-paragraph essays.
The fact that ChatGPT can churn out a standardized essay in seconds calls into question whether it is actually the best assessment of writing or critical thought. For example, a writing prompt from the ACT college entrance exam asks students to write an essay on the relative risks and benefits of artificial intelligence. It provides students with 2-3 sentence summaries of three contrasting perspectives and asks students to write a “unified, coherent essay” and to “develop and support your ideas with reasoning and examples.” (The AP English & Composition exam and SAT use similar structures.)
----- OTHER -----
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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