Greetings!

Good morning,

Two weeks ago at the monthly membership meeting Supt. Carol Johnson addressed the membership to discuss her reorganization plan . Dr. Johnson was warmly received and received a standing ovation from the 350+ in attendance for her candor and what many called her 'connection' with the membership. Dr. Johnson also received spontaneous applause when she mentioned her long-standing commitment to the visual and performing arts, a commitment recently consumed by the NCLB-directed burdens of a mandated curriculum and excessive testing.

Speaking of NCLB...The AFT convenes a thrice yearly meeting of AFT presidents from major locals. At last week's meeting, the results of a recently conducted  independent survey of 708 AFT members were released, and they showed that nationwide 64% of our teachers believe that NCLB has had a negative effect on public education. 21% of our members felt that NCLB has had a neutral effect, and only 10% felt it has had a positive effect. The entire survey will shortly be available on line, and when it is, will be announced. See the charts below to see the increasingly negative feelings about NCLB held by our membership.

To listen to presidents from any major city describe their membership's concerns is to listen to our own membership--too much testing, too much reliance on a scripted curriculum, too much emphasis on preparing students for state accountability tests, and not enough emphasis on teaching the whole child. This information is both comforting as well as disconcerting. On the one hand, most teachers in urban areas do have similar complaints, and with that,  there is somehow a validation of our own concerns: We are not alone.  On the other hand, the widespread--almost universal--reality of these concerns makes it even more imperative that we come up with a universal solution to our problems. One small step to help better understand the concerns of our membership as well as the conditions we work under is to complete the TeLLs Survey . See below explanation as well.

• Feb 28, 4 PM, Paraprofessional Informational Meeting
• March 6, 9:00 AM, Surround Care Paraprofessionals Meeting
  
• March 14, BTU night at the Celtics. Go Celts
  
• March 14, March 15--BEAM Conference--see below
• March 28, Rosie's Place Fundraiser
  
• April 16, Group Insurance Meeting. Save the Date.
• May 13, BTU Retirees Day on the Hill
  
• May 29, BTU Annual Blood Drive-- Sign up here.
  • When emailing, please remember to give your name and phone number.

BTU DEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

 This year there will be 16 scholarships in the amount of $1,000 awarded to high school seniors who are dependents of BTU members. To apply, please obtain an application from Jeanne Turner in the Union office or download the form from the BTU website and return with: a transcript of the dependent's last two years of academic work; 2) evidence of acceptance by an accredited college, junior college, vocational school or equivalent institution; 3) member's notarized federal tax return for the year 2007; and 4) a one-page statement of the dependent's professional goals. The application and the four supporting documents must be received in the Union office no later than Wednesday, April 9, 2008. The recipients of the scholarships will be notified by May, 16, 2008.

RETIRED TEACHERS CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP

Each year the Retired Teachers Chapter of the Boston Teachers Union awards three scholarships to deserving high school seniors who are children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews of RTC members. One of these scholarships is earmarked for a student who might choose to attend a vocational school or equivalent institution. Applications for these scholarships may be picked up at the RTC/BTU offices at 180 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125 or they can be downloaded from the BTU website.

Hundreds of students from Boston, Somerville and other urban communities came to the State House a few weeks ago.  Parents and other education activists also spilled out of the hearing room which was not large enough to hold the crowd.

The attendees surprised the Governor's office when they came en masse to deliver post cards with our message:

"State standardized tests should not be a barrier to graduation for students who can demonstrate they have met the state standards in other ways. Students are suffering from the unintended consequences of MCAS. We must reduce the weight of MCAS and use a range of evidence to determine graduation, as has been done successfully in other states."  The "lobbyists" then fanned out and met with legislators.

Information above courtesy of the State House News Service and Citizens for Public Schools an organization to which the BTU proudly belongs.

• Update your home address, emergency contact information, and federal tax withholdings;
• View past and current pay stubs, as well as health benefits information;
• Confirm or report changes to your professional licensure, languages, and educational degrees;
• Enroll or change payroll direct deposit;
• and much more.

Retirement Parties