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#44
(2009-10), 05/24/10

Good Day. A few things...

Beginning on June 1st and lasting for potentially 3 days over a two week period the BTU and the BPS head to arbitration on a host of issues relating to Turnaround Schools. The process is mandated under the new state Ed Reform law. Boston is the first district in the Commonwealth to undergo this procedure. Why Boston? The State Comm. Of Education has decided that 'reform' cannot wait. The irony: reform it ain't. You be the judge.

At the arbitration, the school department will propose that staff in underperforming schools work 230 plus hours per year without compensation. We have agreed to the additional work provided that we agree on the compensation. Currently, we have approx. 25 schools that work an extended day WITH compensation. So we don't mind the extra work--we do mind being taken advantage of. So, is this real educational reform or is the school department trying to exploit our members?
The school department proposes to raise SEI/Bilingual Class Size by up to 9 students in a classroom. Is this educational reform?
The school department proposes to freeze teachers on salary steps if these teachers receive an interim negative evaluation, which is not subject to appeal. Is this reform?
The school department proposes to reduce P&Ds, to eliminate SEIMS periods, and to add other duties without any compensation. Is this reform?
The school department proposes to eliminate all seniority rights for those who work in underperforming schools. Reform?

The BTU's plan includes creating a team of people to work on developing social/emotional/academic support for children at each Turnaround School. The team would be composed of a social worker, an academic coach chosen by staff, a CFC parent liaison to do outreach, a part-time school attendance officer, and a part-time behavioral specialist. The team would provide needed (and often neglected) services to our schools. In addition, we proposed that each turnaround schools develop a reading intervention program and provide either physical education or a movement class to all children three times per week.

The three-person arbitration tribunal will decide the issues, and failing that, the state commissioner of education will step in. The school department calculates that public sentiment nationwide is so hostile to the public sector that it will be able to extract these mainly economic concessions under the guise of educational reform. We see this effort as cynical and these policies as harmful to children. After all, who can support increasing class size as a positive reform? Stay tuned.

On another note, Fed Ed Secretary Duncan toured the state last week and chose the Josiah Quincy Elementary, a traditional, non-pilot, non-turnaround school, to explain why collective bargaining is an impediment to good education. In a twist of irony, there is a banner in the school proclaiming the excellence of the Quincy--it is an excellent school--and the excellence has come about without the need of state intervention and without the relaxation of any union rules. An irony indeed. Too bad the secretary didn't walk around the school and ask if collective bargaining had impeded the school's move towards educational excellence. [Speaking of Mr. Duncan and Race to the Top, the Sunday New York Times has a detailed look at recent developments in the Dash for the Cash--I mean, Race to the Top--legislation.]

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Reminder on the summer paychecks. For those who receive 26 paychecks--the 26th and final paycheck for this school year will be transmitted on August 20th. That paycheck will complete the full salary due for the current school year. The next paycheck, the first of 2010-2011, will be received on September 17th. This means that all will have to go 4 weeks without a paycheck . Why? The next paycheck would normally come on September 3rd--but that is BEFORE the school year begins. So that pay cycle needs to be skipped. Because of the way the school year is laid out, starting after Labor Day, the issue of skipping a pay day happens every once in a while. This does not mean that we get less pay that what we are entitled to. It merely changes the pay dates so they coincide more appropriately with the start and end times of the school year.

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A few things you may have missed.

The Globe on Sunday published a few favorable letters to the editor on the topic of teachers working additional time without additipmal pay and other topics. We know all are busy, but if you have the time and the inclination you can email your own comments to the Globe.

Again, Boston did very well on the NAEP test. Congratulations to our hardworking students and our effective staff.

Last week, about 30 or 40 teachers and staff turned out at the mini-forum at the 12th Baptist Church with Dr. Carol Johnson, Union President Richard Stutman, a parent and a student. The forum was well-attended and enlightening. Thanks to all who attended.

Teacher Mock Pool-- correction!!!!!!!!!!

Teacher Mock Pool--Date set for May 25th , 4:00 - 6:00 PM PM. Questions, Caren or Michael at 617-288-2000.

Para Assignment Changes; Workshops Announced

Para Assignment Deadlines

* June 3--Mock Pool--Informational workshop for paras on the new rules on excess pools, at 4:00 PM
* June 8--Paras' excess pool to be held

Any questions on the above, call Jenna Fitzgerald at 617-288-2000.

Summer Pathway Programs for Moderate Disabilities Licensure and Professional Practice & ESL

SPED: All BPS staff are eligible to apply for admission. The program is especially targeted to teachers in inclusion schools and classrooms; teachers who want to expand their knowledge and instructional skills to better serve their students; and, individuals who seek to transition into SPED positions. Prospective applicants are required to attend one information session. These sessions are scheduled for May 20, 26, and 27. Interested individuals need to register for the information session on MyLearningPlan in the HR catalog section. For questions/add'l details, please contact .

ESL: Applications are now being accepted for the ESL Pathway Program to be held this summer. If interested, please access July activities in MyLearningPlan for the application. For questions/add'l details, please contact.

Citizens for Public Schools Speaks Out Against the Destabilizing Aspects of the Supt.'s Turnaround Plan

Dear Superintendent Johnson:

Out of concern for Boston schoolchildren and their teachers, Citizens for Public Schools strongly objects to the recent arbitrary removal of 150 hard working teachers and paraprofessionals from the Boston schools in which they had been teaching. Changes are in order, but these will be more likely to benefit Boston students if they are undertaken with respect and dignity toward those who work in these schools.

All parents want their children to have a high quality education that prepares them for a future education, career, and meaningful participation in a socially just, democratic society. Boston families want and deserve changes at all schools with a historic pattern of not providing this education to a significant percent of their students, especially when those schools disproportionately serve African American and Latino communities. Parents of English language learners and students with special needs have a right to adequate educational services for their children without delay.

The path to better schools, however, is to invest in them, not destabilize them. Tutoring and after school programs, for example, are needed. Teachers must be empowered to be leaders in the effort to improve schools, not scapegoats or victims. Moreover, we are concerned about a policy of giving complete discretion to principals who are brand new to a school and do not know the staff.

We recognize that these policies were enabled by the recent passage of the Massachusetts Education Reform bill, part of a misguided effort to compete for the federal Race to The Top funds. The federal priorities -- more standardized testing, privatization, and marginalizing of teachers -- represent a continuation of failed Bush administration education policies.

The record in cities like Chicago, Ill,. and Austin, TX shows that such policies do not bring improvement, but instead unravel school communities and demoralize teachers, students and parents. This can worsen the problems facing schools, even putting some schools on a path to closure. Instead of doing the hard work of investing in schools and providing the resources that they need to become better, such a policy scapegoats the very people who are on the frontlines.

In contrast, consider the work of Boston College Professor Dennis Shirley, who has studied a change network in England that raised the achievement of pupils in two-thirds of 300 schools at double the national rate in two years. Shirley says, "the key ideas are not so much shutting down struggling schools and using school choice and reconstitution to drive change, as they are bringing schools out of their isolation from one another." The successful schools he visited, he says, "combined a sense of urgency and a push for success with a culture of optimism and inspiration which leads educators to understand and appreciate that, with some outside assistance, the solutions to raising achievement lie within their own professional hands. [This approach] replaces the fear factor with the peer factor as the prime instigator and motivator of change."

Boston and Massachusetts need to move in the direction of using proven strategies to provide a strong, engaging, well-rounded education for all our public school students. Reassigning 150 staff, especially without any specific knowledge of the quality of their performance, in schools that need them the most will not achieve that goal.

Citizens for Public Schools is comprised of a variety of progressive, civic, pro-public education organizations . Its board members can be found here.

National Board Certified Teacher New Candidate Outreach

National Board Certified Teacher New Candidate Outreach will be held on June 3, Thursday, 4-6 PM, at the BTU. Check web site for qualifications. This is a change in date.
Questions ?

First Annual School Supplies Collection Drive for Haiti.

Ray of Hope Children Services sponsored by the Boston Teachers Union will be holding its First Annual School Supplies Collection Drive for Haiti.

When: June 19, 2010
Where: Boston Teachers Union
Time: 9:00 A M - 3:00 P M
Items needed: (backpacks, pencils, pens, notebooks, 1" binders, loose leaf paper, pocket folders, rulers, pencil sharpeners, erasers, colored pencils, crayons, markers, construction paper, protractors, compass, glue, math manipulative, alphabet/phonics/math flashcards etc.)

No BOOKS please unless the book is in French or Haitian Creole. Your donation is tax deductible. You will be able to see pictures of our work in Haiti during April vacation. ICE CREAM will be served.

Thank you.
Paula Sylvestre

Children Left Behind--A Documentary

"Children Left Behind: A Documentary on the Effects of High Stakes Testing" with Producer and Director Lou Kruger, Associate Professor and School Psychology Program Director at Northeastern University. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 25, 2010, from 4:00 - 6:00p.m. in the Terrace Room in Paige Hall at Tufts University, Medford Campus.

In 2003, Massachusetts began requiring students to pass a standardized test in order to receive a high school diploma. Now, seven years later, instead of improving academic achievement, the MCAS often punishes those students - racial minorities, learning disabled, non-English speakers, low income - who were intended to benefit from education reform.

The film, "Children Left Behind," is about the well-intended purposes that are driving this movement toward high stakes testing, and its unintended consequences. The social justice issues are palpable. Testing is a ubiquitous part of our global society. The documentary raises the important question of whether we are leaving too many children behind in our quest for higher test scores.

Two PDP's will be awarded to qualifying attendees. Please RSVP to Lori Jackson at 617-627-3244.

RTC Golf Tournament

Announcing the THIRD ANNUAL RTC/BTU GOLF OUTING scheduled forJune 17th. This year, the Charity we will be supporting will be Dana Farber Foundation & Jimmy Fund.More information will be forthcoming very shortly.

Retirement Dinners