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Boston Teachers Union

Boston Teachers Union
e-Bulletin

#37
(2007-08), 05/04/08

Good Morning:

Teacher and Para Excess Pools were held last week. In the teacher pools, depending on the subject area, teaching vacancies available to our 'excessed' members ranged from 'scarce' to 'tight' to 'sufficient.' There should be ample positions to go around in just about all subject areas. Why aren't there? Some principals insist on 'open posting' vacancies which in effect gives them the right to refuse anyone from the pool reassignment process. While this is a contractually-legal procedure as long as a stipend of $1250 or more is attached to a position, the abuse of the process shows a disrespect for many of our members.

Open posting a position removes that position from both the transfer process and the excess pool process. Principals can open post quite easily by attaching a stipend or getting a faculty vote. They seldom get the vote, so they attach the stipend. By doing so, this gives principals the 'flexibility' to hire anyone--and not take someone from either the transfer list or the excess pool list. Why do some principals do this? Presumably some of them feel that they can always recruit someone who is better or more qualified, or perhaps, someone who will be beholden or obligated to the principal. Either way, it is disrespectful to our current membership. Consider this. Most of the people in the excess pool were recruited by the colleagues of the principals now rejecting them. That makes no sense. If one's good enough one year to work for Principal A, one ought to be good enough the next year to work for Principal B. Here's another irony: Many of the principals open post many of the same positions each and every year, a grand testimony to their inability to run and maintain a stable educational program.

The social and educational costs of having some ineffective principals manipulate the teacher assignment process are great. The manipulation of these vacancies is counter-productive to a well-run school. It's something that ought to be examined and it will be at the top of our list of negotiating items next time around.

Dates--Blood Drive, Group Ins. etc.

New Dates

6/12 B Reps Banquet
6/16 softball Banquet
6/14 Scholarship Ceremony
6/20 End-of-Year Party
6/23 Educator of the Year Celebration

Previously-Announced dates

May 13, BTU Retirees Day on the Hill
May 29, BTU Annual Blood Drive --mail to blooddrive@btu.org
- When emailing, please remember to give your name and phone number.
June 17-- Golf Tournament

BTU Co-Sponsors Teen Empowerment's Peace Conference and Unity Rally for Education

Dear BTU Member,

This year the Boston Teacher's Union is co-sponsoring Teen Empowerment's 16th annual Youth Peace Conference. We are writing to ask you to attend and to encourage your students to come. The conference is on Saturday, May 10, from 1-5 PM at the historic Strand Theater in Dorchester. The theme-Step Up To Change: From the Strand to The State House-sums up the movement that Teen Empowerment youth are starting with this year's conference.

The day will focus on the very different educational opportunities available to youth in the inner city compared with youth in the suburbs. The young people will be using theater, rap, poetry, speeches, and song, to highlight the need for everyone, from every community and every racial group, to speak out for equal educational opportunity for all. Furthermore, the conference will be the jump-off point for a Unity Rally for Education at the State House , which the BTU is also co-sponsoring. The rally is on Wednesday, May 21, at 3:30 at the Grand Staircase at the State House. We expect that a large number of people will be there to express their concerns about what is happening to public education. I hope that many BTU members will be there.

The Peace Conference and the Unity Rally are also being co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and Citizens for Public Schools.

$15,000 for Nat'l Certification in Selected Fields

Under a new provision in our contract, educators in the following fields (OT, PT, SLP, School Psych, Adaptive PE, Nursing, Vision and Social Work) share in an overall stipend of $15,000 for attainment of National Board Certification. It isn't a lot of money, but it's a start. A committee has been formed to award the funds, and a letter from the committee will be out shortly to all members in the above fields. The letter will go into greater detail.

Double Deductions for Health Ins. for Those Who Do NOT Receive Summer Paychecks

Attn: For those who do NOT get Summer paycheck , there will be double deductions on the following dates, so as to keep your health insurance active through September. For all of the rest, there is NO CHANGE.

Double deductions will occur in the paychecks issued below:

On 5/02/08 for June's Health Insurance Coverage
On 5/16/08 for July's Health Insurance Coverage
On 6/13/08 for August's Health Insurance Coverage
On 6/27/08 for September's Health Insurance Coverage

Black Caucus Hosts NY Trip to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Black Caucus is hosting a trip to New York City to see the acclaimed Broadway play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". There are 100 tickets available and the cost for each is $87.00. We have 100 tickets in the mezzanine sections beginning row A thru L for Friday, May 30th and the show begins at 8:00 PM. We are in the process of securing a coach bus for those of us who do not want to drive to New York, so please expect the final price to be about $120.00 (pending we can fill the bus). Please note, if you are planning to ride on the coach bus, we will depart Boston about 10:00AM, so please make arrangements at work. I am arranging a date and time that those interested can meet me at the Union hall to drop off money so please read your emails from the union. Questions, please email : sthomas@boston.k12.ma.us

Sarita Thomas
Chair--Black Caucus BTU

NBCT Candidate Outreach

All are invited to an NBCT Candidate Outreach on May 7 at the BTU from 4-6. RSVP to Maggie Hoyt.

Simmons CAGS

Here's a wonderful opportunity to earn a master's degree or CAGS in Educational Leadership with generous scholarships for Boston teachers!

When: Wednesday, May 7, 5:30pm
Where: Simmons College
What: Educational Leadership Program Open House
Who: Roberta Kelly, Program Director

RSVP (617) 521-2915

Questions: Christopher Carron, ETF or Caitlin Gaffny.

Good Year for Boston HS Debate Teams
	Boston High School debate teams have been active and well-accomplished this season. Students from APS at Dorchester and from Chas. HS participated in the Chase Urban Debate Nat'l Championships in Chicago. Boston also has teams from the Quincy Upper, BCLA, Brook Farm (WRox), New Mission, and USA (WRox). What a great activity! We congratulate these teams and thank their coaches.

Latin School Club to Host Environmental Summit at MIT for 7-12 Students and Teachers

Cate Arnold, Faculty Advisor at BLS for the Youth Climate Action Network, announces that the club is hosting their 2nd Annual Global Climate Change Summit at MIT for students grade 7-12 and teachers grades 7-12. The Summit will take place on Saturday, May 10th, in the MIT Stata Center (Building 32) at 32 Vassar Street in Cambridge. One can register online here .

Last year, 225 students from 47 different schools attended the Summit. This year they expect more than 400 students and educators to participate. They have been given a grant from the National Wildlife Federation to give out ten $1,000 separate Climate Action Grants! People who come to the Summit will be able to pick up an application for a grant. Grant awards will be announced by the Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network by June 20th 2008.

We're having an hour-long networking session to work on building a coalition of students and educators who will work together next year to hold a public hearing about the need for climate change education in our schools in Massachusetts. Students from the Hyde Square Task Force, who held a successful public hearing about the need for civics education in their curriculum, will present briefly to the group before they break into working groups.

The Summit will offer 19 different workshops, with wide ranging topics from green architecture and design, led by Ted Landsmark, the President of Boston Architectural College, to workshops about why the food we eat has an impact on climate change, as well as workshops specifically for educators.

The entire day, including food, is free. There'll also be music.

Questions, to Cate Arnold

Unity for the Community Invitation!

The seniors at New Mission High School in Roxbury have been working hard all year on a series of Environmental Justice Community Service Learning projects. On Friday, May 9 they will all come together as "Unity for the Community: A Forum of Environmental Justice Service."

WHERE: Tobin Community Center 1481 Tremont St. Roxbury, MA 02120 (outside and in the basement)
WHEN: Friday, May 9, 2008 (it's free!)
- Opening Barbecue: 3:00-5:00
- Exhibition of Student Work: 4:00-5:30 - Student work will include: videos, workshops, poems, and information booths covering topics such as the Boston University Bio-terror Lab, Affordable Housing in Boston, Transportation, and much more!
- Panel Discussion: 5:30-8:00 - The panel discussion will include a moderated conversation between Seniors from New Mission and representatives from the Boston Police Department.
WHO: All are welcome! Bring parents, grandparents, friends, family, guardians, colleagues, peers, neighbors. Stay for some of it, stay for all of it!
WHY: Because Environmental Injustice is a fact, especially for people of color and folks that live in urban communities. Our Grads have worked so hard all year to put this forum together and they have grown as leaders in our community. Come support them! Please feel free to spread this invitation to all who might be interested and please plan to come support our seniors, our school, and our community.

Paul Calvert and Sarah Benis-Scheier Dolberg (faculty advisors)
The seniors of New Mission High School unityforthecommunity@gmail.com

Article Headline
	Flo Kiggins is retiring and her party is on Friday, May 30 at the Apollo Restaurant on 615 Washington St. in Norwood Mass. Cocktails 6:30, Dinner at 7:30 $50 to Summer Sunshine Fund See you there!