Carnival of Education!

Carnival of Education

Howdy folks, hope your week so far has gone well. Without further ado, I direct you to the midway, where all of the exhibits reside. There are quite a few out there, and I had a great time reading all of 'em.

Restrictions on what you can and can't read? Threatening the livelihood of an individual and perhaps their family? Single-handedly voting as a bloc and changing the election cycle? Sound like life in a dictatorship in the axis of evil? Think again, that's life in Yucaipa-Calimesa as a teacher. Check out their blog, and their union website has a ULP that was filed with PERP and is well worth reading. I've got to hand it to them, they're patient-- over 565 days without a contract.

NYC Educator's post on why bad teachers deserve union protection tugs at the heartstrings. Well, at least my heartstrings.

That's followed up by ChemJerk's conclusions on the effects of bad teachers on schools.

Ryan imagines that his state's school funding issues are fixed and now he's getting an additional $1 million at his elementary school and he spends it. Kind of reminds me of Brewster's Millions from waaay back, you know? Except in this case, he's doing it for the kids instead of more money.

I can adequately do three of the five things listed over at Three Standard Deviations to the Left. How many can you do?

Mamacita has a great blog post that all comes together at the end over at Scheiss Weekly. Full of wisdom, and metaphors and a great one liner at the end...

Coach Brown has a post about teaching economics with some great resources that makes me wish I was teaching the class (or taking it).

Don't you love it when administrators don't give you any support? Mr. Chips tells the tale so many of us are familiar with.

The Education Wonks highlights the ongoing (eternal) debate of homework or no homework...and the school he highlights in SF doesn't do homework after school. So I guess it's a "work to the rule school".

Ms. Cornelius comes at us with a great post about a teacher's body language and how it totally sets the tone in the classroom. I completely agree...make sure to read her caveat, as this activity could completely blow up in your face if you don't.

I wish I had Miss Profe as my Spanish teacher in high school. Her deep thoughts in this post make me want to get to school a little early tomorrow morning.

TeacherInsight is designed to weed out the "substandard" teachers...based on a multiple choice test. Mister Teacher dreams up a few questions and what they might look like. I seriously laughed out loud on this one, folks.

Mrs. Bluebird's just found out that discipline referrals in her school have gone up by 85% this school year alone. She asks the question "Are we creating monsters?"

The Virgin Mary on a cafeteria tray? Who owns it? Can we display it? What about separation of church and state?

Need to find a good online graphing program? Techie Mike Curtin bares all...or maybe it's graphs all.

Higher ed folks: are your freshman college students narcissistic? Kneon Transitt seems to think so.

Henry over at Why Homeschool asks the question "What good are teachers' unions in public education?" Note to self: hold tongue.

Terrell shows off some pictures of his fabulous elementary school campus (I am dead serious about it) and shares his latest project.

Alexander Russo has pronounced local control over education dead.

What would you do (and how would you respond) if your first grader said their nipple was broken? Enter the world of the Median Sib.

The Science Goddess says we all need badges for our teaching accomplishments, like those in the science scouts. I am first in line to be awarded the "Just Push Play" badge.

Hey elementary school teachers!! You know those uh, "100 day" projects you give your students and their parents? Dad has a few comments about 'em.

Muse laments about the "dumbing down" of tests and curriculum.

Dana doesn't think that our curriculum are being dumbed down so much as the kids are, uh, getting...uh, less motivated than their predecessors.

Right on the Left Coast gives his take on a new math discovery.

Right Wing Prof posits that the majority of the things wrong with education today are not pedagogical.

Consider the case and plight of Adam, a young man who cares very much about his education but is met by indifference perpetuated by the system, says Joanne Jacobs.

Science fair participation is down in Florida, says this blog. Hey, don't look at me, my project went all the way to regional and I got a superior but never made state. I'm going to find that judge some day....

Trivium Pursuit writes a serious(not) thank-you letter to a homeschooling family.

Ian over at the Agonist recounts how the New Orleans charter experiment will be a success, at the expense of the public schools and those students not cherry-picked.

'Allo guvnah, this bloke across the pond posts in his cracking blog about what it's like to teach. Yes, the colour of the blog is grey.

Mr. Meyer exposes the flaws in Freedom Writers. He even had time to start thinking about a freedom writers' drinking game. It inspired an administrator (yes, they're allowed to blog, too) to post about Meyer's post.

Steph over at Life Without School discusses her decision to homeschool in this post.

Direct Instruction is bemoaned by teachers as, uh, turning us into robots. This piece highlights a book that actually says DI is worthwhile and valuable!

Another blogger joins their voice into the din making noise about the contradictory reports put forth with the release of the recent NAEP scores.

What's more important to your adult career-- the college you go to or what you do at the college you go to? Barry tackles this pithy question.

Chanman reminds us that for high stakes tests, sometimes you've gotta get a higher power involved. No, that's not the superintendent or the executive director.

The Tempered Radical reminds us that there are liars, damn liars and statistics. Or something like that.

I know what open source software is. I don't think I use it, but if that interests you check out Greg's blog post.

8 Baltimore schools are being restructured, hopefully that is being done thoughtfully; if not the end result will be like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Well, it was bound to happen. Citing the "well known liberal bias of Webster's dictionary" (I am not making that up) you are now witness the unveiling of Conservipedia, yin to the yang of Wikipedia.

That's it folks!!! Don't worry, there's more next week, and the Science Goddess is going to be hosting it. So feel free to email her at her blog, "What It's Like on the Inside" the_science_goddess[at]yahoo[dot]com by 6 p.m. PT (9 PT Eastern), March 6, 2007. Or you can always use this wonderful submission form.

Hey, I saw that! Pass your RSS reader to the front, please.

I'm finally back into the 'sphere. I didn't even blog for, uh....let's see here, six days? That's pretty good for me.

Anyhow, I will be hosting the next Carnival o' Education on Wednesday. However, it's not up yet hence the tongue-in-cheek post title.

I skipped last week's NNU (National Negotiations Update) so let me throw you a picket sign, er bone. Did you know there are more strikes in Pennysylvania than any other state? This Pittsburg Tribune article is great...they posit that strikes do not speed up the bargaining process.

By the way, I did update the StrikeWatch! as a result of the article.

As always, shout out to my Wayne State homie(s).

Strike in PA/ Alaska Heating Up/ They Gave Up What?

Well, it's Tuesday and for the first time in 32 years, Baldwin-Whitehall teachers in PA are on strike.

Anchorage Education Association is training it's strike captains. They have to give a 72 hour notice for a strike, but nothing's been firmed up yet.

Okay, Simpsons fans out there...do you remember the episode where Homer negotiates away the plant workers' health benefits for a keg of beer? Thought it wouldn't happen, right? Uh...

So it's not a keg of beer, but....7 years ago Contra Costa teachers voted away ALL of their health care in return for more pay. Yes, you read that right. They pay all health care costs out of pocket, and some are paying more that $10,000 for it. Idiots! Now they're trying to negotiate it back. Good luck. I'm not one for revolution, but I hope there's been a complete turnover on the executive board and the officers and staff of the union since that stupid decision.

I'm going to be away from the computer 'till Friday, so no one go on strike or start a job action 'till I get back, 'kay?

Imminent PA Strike/ Lee County Strike Over/ Hempfield Strike Notice Withdrawn

PA
Come Tuesday morning, Baldwin-Whitehall teachers will be on strike. They've been without a contract since June of '06 and rejected fact finding from earlier. When the district said they would come back to the table on 3/8, the union got the message that the board didn't take the negotiations seriously. So they gave their 48 hour notice.

Lee County
The two week old Lee County teacher strike ended, despite parent's best efforts to persuade the Governor that teachers in the small district really did deserve a raise. They were only asking for $1000, but the board said they had no money. After two weeks, the two thirds of teachers who went on strike decided to go back to the classroom. The district promised to look for money next year (but I think they'll have as much luck finding it as we did with the Iraq WMD hunt) and striking teachers have to make up the days they missed or face being docked pay.

That means 1/3 of teachers scabbed and crossed the picket line; I'm glad I don't work in that district. I think there will be quite a bit of friction there when the striking teachers return.

Hempfield Area School District
In other related StrikeWatch! news, Hempfield Area School District's Strike Notice for this Friday was withdrawn, as the union and the school board have agreed to fact-finding to resolve negotiation issues.

In solidarity,

Doc.

HQET is a four-letter word: Part 1

(This post is the first of several in an ongoing series where Dr. Homeslice will examine the recommendations of the Aspen Report in regards to the idea of HQET. This post discusses the first recommendation.)

I’ve finally printed out and read parts of the Aspen report. What follows is my dissection of the tome (it clocks in at over 200 pages).

Material excerpted from the report will appear in italicized print. Responses and commentary will appear in regular print.

The AR (my abbreviation henceforth for the Aspen Report) shortly before their recommendation for HQET leads with this quote:

"It’s astonishing to me to have a system that doesn’t allow us to pay more for someone with scarce abilities, that doesn’t allow us to pay more to reward strong performance. That is tantamount to saying teacher talent and performance don’t matter and that’s basically saying students don’t matter. "
—Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder, in a November 13, 2006, interview with the associated Press

The above quote makes sense, coming from an individual who is used to free markets, globalization and private industrial competition in a world largely unfettered (in Gates’ view) by the reality of collective bargaining. The reality is simply that this is not reality when it comes to public education and despite the past, present and future efforts of the legislative deregulation of education and myriad attempts of the private sector to “improve” education, teacher unions are here to stay. This is why Bill Gates has enormous success in the private sector, but his Foundation’s attempt at reforming public education is meeting with limited success despite the vast sums of money being thrown around.

What is an HQET? In short, it stands for Highly Qualified Effective Teacher.

The Recommendation

The Commission believes it is time for a sea change in how we assess the quality of our teachers by focusing on teacher effectiveness. Therefore, we recommend requiring all teachers to be Highly Qualified Effective Teachers (HQET)—teachers who demonstrate effectiveness in the classroom. Under HQET, states would be required to put in place systems for measuring the learning gains of a teacher’s students through a “value-added” methodology, using three years of student achievement data, as well as principal evaluations or teacher peer reviews. Under this system, teachers would need to produce learning gains and receive positive principal or teacher peer review evaluations. Student achievement can count for no less than 50 percent of the determination of HQET status. Teachers who fall in the top 75 percent of producing learning gains in the state and receive positive evaluations would achieve HQET status.

First to value-added methodology.

I have nothing against value-added. The system is largely proprietary and school systems must contract out with private entities to provide that service for their constituents-- further consuming the scarce resources they already have. Rather, the idea and benefit of value added is that it measures the effectiveness of a school, or a system rather than an individual teacher. Value added should not be used to measure the effectiveness of an individual teacher. It should be used to make school or system-wide decisions that increase the learning of students everywhere. Some states are already ahead of this potential federal mandate, requiring value-added to be implemented now or in the near future.

"Student achievement can count for no less than 50 percent of the determination of HQET status. "

The achievement that will be measured is performance on state achievement tests, not district created short-cycle assessment that while contentious at best, is better focused on the needs of individual school systems. Without going into a long diatribe about this (I'm sure you all know the basics of what I'm about to opine) student achievement is tied to high-stakes, one size fits all achievement testing that does not take into account student mobility, the "home life" factor, the economics or demographics of a particular district, faulty assessment or even snow days.

Furthermore, this requirement through value added is more advantageous to urban districts. I say that simply because they will be able to show through value-added that their teachers are able to start with students many of which are various ranges of deficient in academic skills and bring them (admittedly not all or enough despite the best efforts of teachers) to meet state standards and graduate. These districts will show the gains, and these gains will be phenomenal. I would suspect that the rural schools will be able to do the same as well.

This leaves the suburban districts out in the cold. This is simply because many of their students are already high-performing and academically advanced to begin with, often times passing their state achievement tests on the first attempt. With this in mind, these districts that are performing at a high level, say 95% passage of 9th grade math tests on the first try do not have much further to go to 100%. That is the glass ceiling that they will be unable to make it though; should they be able to improve over that the next year, perhaps they will hit 96% or 97.3% passage rate, but a handful of students failing, moved away or in some other negative situation will skew a teachers' pass rate, showing no gains or a negative decline. This is not their fault. They're working just as hard as urban and rural teachers.

"Teachers who fall in the top 75 percent of producing learning gains in the state and receive positive evaluations would achieve HQET status."

The teachers that will receive the HQET status will be the urban and rural teachers, not the suburban ones. I think this sentence has been misinterpreted in the blogosphere from what I've read. I say this because they take ALL the teachers that have made gains and then reward the top 75% of teachers that make these gains. This does not start out assuming that 25% of all teachers are inferior; it simply takes all teachers that have shown gains through value-added.

Overwhelmingly, this group will be the urban and rural teachers, not the suburban ones, despite their best effort. This will put a spotlight on the suburban districts as having a sub-standard teaching force compared to urban districts (imagine that) and could potentially worsen the attrition (and intensify suburban recruitment) of experienced and talented teachers from urban districts to suburban ones simply because of four letters: HQET. Once again, the urban districts could be left out in the cold.

"...and receive positive evaluations would achieve HQET status."

This is unacceptable. This means that a teacher's conflict with an administrator despite the teacher's hard work and student gains could prevent said teacher from being HQET. Those of you reading this who may not be in the classroom, or haven't been in the classroom for long may be saying "Oh no, there's not an administrator out there who would torpedo someone's evaluation when they had that much to gain from all of their hard work" are wrong. There are principals out there who would do such a thing, and who engage in such unsavory practices. Don't believe me? Just ask your friendly neighborhood union representative.

The Carrot and the Stick

The new HQET measure will, for the first time, trigger guaranteed, quality professional development for teachers who need it most. Teachers who, after two years, are at risk of not attaining HQET status will receive high-quality professional development specifically designed to address their needs for up to three years. If a teacher after three years of professional development still has not obtained HQET status, principals and school districts that choose to continue to employ such a teacher in a Title I school would be required to notify parents of students taught by these teachers of their HQET status. After this two-year period, if such a teacher has not achieved HQET status, that individual can no longer teach in a school receiving Title I funds.

"The new HQET measure will, for the first time, trigger guaranteed, quality professional development for teachers who need it most."

Quality professional development is nothing to laugh at; it's admirable that the AR mentions the importance of such a thing, something that teacher unions have been struggling to get through years of collective bargaining.

"Teachers who, after two years, are at risk of not attaining HQET status will receive high-quality professional development specifically designed to address their needs for up to three years."

You do realize that this will require more manpower from districts and more resources that will more than likely be unfunded, diverting vital dollars from the front lines of classrooms, don't you?

"If a teacher after three years of professional development still has not obtained HQET status, principals and school districts that choose to continue to employ such a teacher in a Title I school would be required to notify parents of students taught by these teachers of their HQET status."

Ugh. A teacher friend of mind recounted his experiences of teaching at a different level in his district (different from mine) and not being highly qualified at that level. Letters were sent home to the parents of his students and they began to call in, concerned that their children were being taught by a sub-standard teacher. I would never, not in a million years use the words sub-standard to describe this professional. This was several years after the fact, but he felt violated by this letter that was sent home to his students' families; he still spoke of it with venom and hurt in his voice. He moved on to a different level, partially as a result and those students lost a great teacher.

There are so many different factors that contribute to student achievement on standardized testing, I won't even try to write about them. Remember, 25% of teachers who create student achievement gains won't be HQET according to the AR. What happens if the letters go out and only a handful of suburban teachers get HQET, but the neighboring large urban district has a plethora? (Yes Jefe, a plethora.) Will you see droves of suburban parents removing their students from these districts and moving back to urban areas and placing their students in the urban schools? Probably not, but if it did happen imagine the urban revitalization that would happen as a result, not to mention the increased resources and support large urban districts would become flushed with. The the suburbs would be in decline. Heh. A dream, but a bit humorous, eh?

"After this two-year period, if such a teacher has not achieved HQET status, that individual can no longer teach in a school receiving Title I funds."

Ahh, the stick behind the dollar. No cash-strapped urban district (or any urban district for that matter) will refuse federal funds simply because of this provision. The end result is increased teacher mobility, something that the report decries earlier on. Whither will they go? Let's say District X has 10 elementary schools, all of which receive Title I. Teacher A cannot teach in any of these schools now because they are not HQET. Their certification is only at the elementary level-- um....now what?

National Negotiations Update #3 Week ending 2/16/07

California
Ventura County-- California State University employees protested again this past Wednesday, wearing shirts that said "I don't want to strike but I will". I've worn that button before.

Victorville-- Read about it here.

Colton-- Colton Teachers' Association just voted in a 14% 3 year contract retroactive to the 2005-2006 school year. 95% of the membership favored it. I'd like to find the other 5% and slap them for voting no on a 14% contract raise.

Carlsbad Unified Teachers Association and CUSD have declared impasse; the state will cocme in and mediate soon. The union wants 6.9%, the board is offering 2%.

Paradise-- Working to the rule no longer! The teachers' union still has to vote, but the board has approved a tentative raise of 11%.

Banning-- BUSD (Banning Unified School District) and its union reach a settlement on their contract, a 9% raise over three years retroactive to the beginning of the '06 school year.

Burbank-- The Burbank Teachers Association and BUSD have reached an impasse after 5 months of negotiations. A mediator will come into the picture in a few weeks. It turns out it was the board who broke confidentiality at the public section of the meeting by disclosing negotiation terms that were supposed to be secret.

Everywhere-- The California Faculty Association is getting closer to rolling strikes on 23 California State University campuses.

Santa Barbara-- Teachers want 6%, board offers 1.5%, negotiations go to fact finding, but the word strike buzzes around the board meeting attended by 400 Santa Barbara teachers. They now go to fact-finding/ arbitration phase, which could take a while. Well written article.

Conneticut
Stafford-- The Stafford Education Association got a 3 year contract with a 6.8% raise spread out through the 3 years of the contract. Interestingly enough, they got it in arbitration.

Florida

295 charter school teachers have voted to be represented by the United Teachers of Dade. Way to go, but it's a right to work state.

Illinois

Round Lake-- 95% of Round Lake Education Association members are ready to strike, says the President. Negotiating since June, the Chicago suburb's local is disappointed with offers by the board whose offers top out at almost $110,000.

Iowa

Fort Dodge-- Iowa Central Community College and the Iowa Community College Education Association have begun contract negotiations. Initial offer by the college was a 3.52% raise, the union wanted 5.75%. Future sessions will be in private.

Indiana

Bluffton-Harrison Teachers Association and the Bluffton-Harrison M.S.D. School Corporation came to an agreement over a contract after 16 months of negotiation-- and only one arbitration session. Way to go!

Maine

Wiscasset Teachers Association sat silently at a recent school board meeting to show their disapproval with the fact that their contract is going to mediation, something that's never happened before in the small Maine burg.

Massachusetts

Southwick-- Southwick's teachers' union approved a 4 year contract with retroactive raises after 2 years of negotiations.

Newton-- Newton Teachers' Association ratified a 3 year contract containing an 8% raise.

Michigan

Lansing-- The sickout that I wrote about in earlier editions of the NNU have some lingering effects. The Lansing State Journal wrote an editorial this past weekend chastising both administrators and teachers for their reactive bargaining techniques. The local has had meetings to introduce the teachers to the new contract (closed door, of course) and they have been voting on whether or not to ratify it. An announcement will not be made until after President's Day. UPDATE 2/17: Over 90% of teachers ratified the contract which will include a 3% raise over three years. Read about it here.

Gaylord-- A one year, half-percent contract was approved by the Johannesburg-Lewiston School Board and Education Association for the 2006-2007 school year.


New Jersey

Philipsburg-- Their contract expired in July, negotiations are not going well, and now the teachers union has begun to picket.


New Hampshire

Allentown-- Residents of Allentown have to vote to accept the proposed 4 year, 4.25% teacher contract.

Tennessee

The teachers' union says one member of the school board is negotiating through the media. She's requesting public information and then sending it to the media. I think they can do that on their own, thank you very much. The Board President says 'Yep, she's doing it and I can't stop her..."

Architects of the UTLA victory...

This is a great LA times piece about Joel Jordan and Joshua Pechthalt, behind the scenes UTLA movers and shakers whose tactics have helped shape and create UTLA's recent victory.

KIPP

The Knowledge Is Power Program is the "miracle" cure coming out to help America's urban students. I came across this great blog post thanks to Mike Klonsky; it shows the other side of KIPP. I distrust anyone who says they have the golden ticket to fixing the ed system.

Breaking BTU news!

The strike vote has been postponed 2 weeks.

Boston/ Los Angeles/ Alaska (Yes, Alaska) Update!

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

Boston
In Boston, this CBS channel is predicting that the weather will not affect the turnout for or scheduling of the strike vote. A quick check of the union's web page indicates the vote is still on, same bat time, same bat channel. The Bostonist claims the National Weather Service and the Boston Administration are in bed together. Heh.

Last night there was a debate between President Stutman and the Boston Superintendent over the contract issues/ deadlock. You can read about it in the Boston Herald. Just a few days before the strike, previously linked Steve explores the issues he has with his participation of the strike from a Christian perspective, one that I never thought of.

Jeff Stutman of the Cabot Institute speaks out against the potential strike, warning of the public good being trampled upon by organized labor. Whether he's right or not, you should know he is a labor lawyer who represents Fortune 500 companies with a wide array of labor-related services. Included in his repetoire is strike planning, tactics to make sure a company realizes there's "life after a walkout".

Los Angeles
This article from the LA Daily news has a great rundown on some of the issues with the UTLA contract settlement. It raises the issue about David Brewer, the former Navy Admiral turned LAUSD Superintendent-- what effect will this have on him? I think he's earned some political capital with this settlement, even though we all know that Superintendents aren't the ones who do the negotiating and are merely mouthpieces for board negotiatiors when they are allowed to speak.

Alaska
I don't know how I missed this, but the Anchorage Education Association, led by the uh, interestingly named President Ron Fuhrer had taken a strike vote back in December and it appears that a strike is "imminent". My one question is if they do strike, do they have to picket?

Breaking news for UTLA/ BTU/ Lee County

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

Looks like the machinations worked. Last minute agreement on Monday set the raise at 6% (retroactive to July 1, 2006) and a reduction of class sizes at the high school level to 41, middle school to 42. However, UTLA AJ Duffy promised to walk out on anything less that a 9% raise...so who won this one? You can read about it here, but this LA Times article is better. UPDATE: Here's the PDF contract highlights off of UTLA's website. Keep in mind this contract is tentative, their executive board and legislative assembly has to vote on it, then the membership has to ratify it.

The strike drums are beating even louder in Boston. BTU has been running a "smaller is better" TV spot since 2/3, you can see it on the BTU page here. News agencies are touting a one-day strike as happening on Thursday (the membership is assembling tomorrow night), though it will be interesting to see if the weather does anything to re-schedule the strike. UPDATE: Looks like the weather may play a role in delaying the strike vote.

BTU hasn't struck since 1993 and has been without a new contract since 2005. Boston is opening community centers, opening libraries early to warehouse the students who are not able to stay home and is going to pay $400,000 for this effort, simply because the board is unable to effectively negotiate. Read more about it here. Of course, the Mass conservatives weigh in here, and while I want to dismiss them, they do have a good point about the safety of students with the weather. Darren at Right on the Left Coast has a "can't we all just get along" post on the subject that tugs at the heartstrings a bit.

On a side note, Lee County teachers are still on strike. Most recently, concerned parents went to the state capitol to fight for teacher pay raises. THIS JUST IN: Union and board reps are meeting with a mediator today. Read about it here, though the article incorrectly states they've been on strike for 13 weeks-- it's actually 13 days folks.

Union Bouquet #10

Ladies and gentlement, I present to you Union Bouquet #10. I can't believe it made it to double digits!

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

Principal to teachers: You Suck! Teachers' Union to Principal: Kiss our a$$!

Retiring due to a medical problem, Mrs. Principal? We wish you well, but we still need our grievances resolved!

Another giant sucking sound, it's the administrators again.

Your humble servant (not me) has narrowed down to the two reasons as to why he would never return to the suburban classroom he once occupied.

Florida charter school teachers unionize.

UTLA is taking a strike authorization vote the week of the 12th, here is a really well written FAQ about it. (In PDF)

Hey, uh, (looks around) did you know we (unions) created a sewer out of the public school system? I believe it b/c Grizzly Mama says so. Why does she have so many flags on her blog? It's like she's overcompensating or something....

What do you do when Satan walks into your classroom? (Turn up the air conditioning would be my first guess.)

Joanne Jacobs sticks up for teacher unions.

Annekle muses if teacher unions really are worth all the....hoopla. You folks know what my answer would be.

This local cut ties with their state and national affiliate.

So what would you do to get the copies you needed for your class?

A potential school board member (i.e. candidate) gives her take on the negotiations for a new teacher contract in her district.

Jules the Crazy blogs about the change of the seasons and its effects on us.

Interesting post about the excercise of the First Amendment in and around and immediatley before a teacher strike was supposed to start.

What would your high school administration do if you ran a class called Interdisciplinary Poetics: Hop Hop 101? Would they support you? What about the school board-- would they support you? Well, Deviant Synapse is getting it done (in Wisconsin, no less), and has the support of the muckety-mucks of the administration (district-wise, that is) but the local paper came out with an editorial against it.

Thinking about teaching in China? Check out One Man Bandwith's experiences. True, it's at the college level...but why not?

UFT's (New York City) elections are nearing. ICE says get out the vote, but don't vote Unity or New Action. TJC (Teachers for a Just Contract) says a TJC/ ICE leadership slate would change the union forever, for good. Here is TJC's election platform, along with ICE's (even though the document dates from 2004). Don't forget Take Back the UFT, the blog of blogs among the NYC school union scene. It'll always give you an alternative to what Weingarten and the Unity Caucus is putting out.

Whitney Tilson argues that teachers unions' do not represent the best interest of our students by representing the best interests of teachers.

Collier County School District wants its teachers' union to say yes to their state-mandated merit pay system or kiss the $2.5 million from the Florida state government goodbye. The union wants the district to come up with a better system, one that isn't politically motivated and isn't completely connected to just standardized test scores.

Denver is redesigning 3 more schools...Denver Classroom Teacher Association President Kim Ursetta speaks her mind in this opinion piece. My personal opinion? Top-down reform of failing schools all too often excludes administration and the end result is akin re-arranging the deck chairs of the Titanic. (I can't claim to have created that nifty quote, but I do use it.)

From the "wearing too many hats" file: A teacher of a district (who is also a school board member) fires back at the superintendent for visiting their classroom in an attempt to intimidate them after the teacher/ board member has been publicly disagreeing with the superintendent. The superintendent could put a letter in the teacher's file, but then the teacher could hold a vote to fire the superintendent. Where's the problem?

A Somewhat Common Man says to the Michigan government "Don't touch teacher union benefits."

Strike Update: Rochester PA, Lee County AK

Rochester teachers saw day 5 of the strike come and go. Their students joined them on the picket lines.

Lee County teachers are still on strike, and things don't seem to be going anywhere. Student attendance is at 10%, a good sign. Great article about it here. Here's another one, but it is a bit older than the first. (Those are Lee County folks on the left).

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

This just in from a Boston Teacher Union bunker meeting....

Steve blogs about a secret meeting at his school where he and other concerned teachers asked the question "What now?" and "What if we...". He had a thoughtful earlier post about striking from almost a month ago. I can't believe I didn't see it. Read it here.

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

National Negotiations Update for the Week Ending 2/9/07

Not as much this week, but some interesting stuff. I will be posting the next edition of the Union Bouquet in the next few days.

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

California
San Francisco-- This district near San Francisco has been negotiating for 19 months with the same board that precipitated a 2001 strike that caused 15-20% of the district's teachers to leave.

Paradise-- Paradise teachers are without a contract, they've been working to the rule for a while. Interestingly enough, this student has a blog in support of the teachers!

Michigan
Lansing-- over 700 teachers sicked out on Monday. They're planning to do it during count week too. More about it here. Wait, HOLD THE PHONE! Apparently they've reached a tentative agreement. Read about it here.

Nevada
Tahoe-- Tahoe Truckee Education Association pulled out a 7% raise retroactive to July, 2006, plus another 2% raise next year. Read more about it from the local's President here.

Pennsylvania
Chesterfield-- What do you do when your contract talks have stalled after almost a year and a half? Take Abraham Lincoln's birthday off as a holiday! (Yes, I'm serious about this.) Talk about creative bargaining techniques!

Boston: Tick Tock! France: Ooh Lah Lah!

BTU members are meeting on Valentine's Day for what appears to be a strike vote. I didn't see anything about the executive board authorizing a strike vote by the membership and the media doesn't seem to know anything when it comes to collective bargaining. In fact, I think they do know one word, and one word only-- strike. You know, one thing that bugs me to no end is when the local media just calls the local the "teacher's union". There's a reason we are an Association or a Federation. All teachers' unions are not alike.

On an even less serious note, it appears that French teachers are now on strike. Well, uh, that is unless they work in this school. But according to this account, the Bordeaux region seemed to be a ghost town. They also talk a lot about dog poo in this blog entry.

I know I should be fully supporting the French in their strike and stuff, but when you only have a 6.5 hour workweek, 6 weeks of paid vacation and cradle to the grave everything that there really isn't all that much to strike for. (Yes, I know I'm being a bit over the top with these descriptions, but so was Homer Simpson when he called the French "cheese eating surrender monkeys" but that was still funny, too.) Though missteacher does have a bit of a poignant post about why she went out into the streets today. So you've made me feel bad, 'an I take back most of the crappy things I just said. Most, not all. :)

Viva La Revolution! (or something like that)

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

"These people are very tough and look out for each other."

Says Butch Santicola, Organizing Director for the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Rochester Area School District teachers' union is on strike as of today. Talks are scheduled for tomorrow, but there's no expectation of a deal.

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

National Negotiations Update for the week ending 2/2/07

This is an update from the past week regarding negotiations all over the nation. My district's not negotiating this year, but all of this job action type stuff makes me want to join a march or something.

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

California
In at CSU (California State University) Monterey Bay, profs shouldered their pickets and marched the quad this past Wednesday. Union Librarian has more here.

San Mateo Teacher's Association picketed their schools and district office after they reached an impasse in negotiations. The district also tried to increase teachers' medical costs prior to the official reach of impasse. The union filed an unfair labor practice and won and PERB declared in favor of the teacher's union. More on the ULP/ PERB ruling here.

Indiana
West Lafayette teachers didn't think their negotiations were going well, so they put an ad out in their local paper.

Massachusetts
In Watertown, Massachusetts the teacher's union marched on their town hall. In true New England fashion, they didn't start chanting slogans or shoulder their pickets until they could see the whites of their opponents' eyes. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Michigan
In Lansing, Michigan the teachers are out in full force. They're picketing the administration building after voting down a contract proposal last week.

Pennsylvania
Negotiations are certainly going on Pennsylvania right now. There are 2 on strikewatch as we speak. This one seems to be going a bit better.

(2/4) Rochester Area School district teachers, cafeteria workers and the like will be going on strike on Monday at 12:01 AM. Read about it here. Change in plan, read more about it here.

What is up with Pennsylvania? It seems as if every district and their mother is in negotiations right now. Perhaps it's regulated by state law. Anyhow, this union in this district wants negotiations open to the public, while the school board says "No, we don't negotiate in public."


Wisconsin
Orfordville's Parkview Schools Education Association is currently working to the rule due to the fact that negotiations have failed and they have been without a contract for three years.

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Negotiation House of Horrors!

Whew....I'm glad I don't have to deal with the frustration King City Joint Union HSD is causing their teachers' association.

What do I mean?



First, if you go to their website it looks like one school district, but is actually two: one for the high school and one for the elementary.


So anyhow, the KCHSTA (High School Teacher's Association) started salary negotiations in 2000.

1. The union began to negotiatiate in good faith.


2. Despite setbacks, they kept negotiations going.


3. The negotiations stalled.


4. The union started working to the rule.


5. Back to the bargaining table, but then the negotiations stall again.


6. The Union alleges to PERB (Public Employees Relations Board) and PERB (gasp) agrees. In fact, PERB believed that the district owed the union $5 million in back pay over the past 5 years (the ruling was reached in the fall of 2005).


7. Awarding that amount to teachers would have automatically paved the way for the state to take over the district (only a $15 million budget per year) so the teacher's union generously agreed to lower their compensation to $1.2 million. (Keep in mind that if the district were negotiating in good faith and committed to resolving these issues amicably, that they wouldn't have to deal with 3 years of back pay and retroactive raises.)


8. Shortly after the agreement was reached, someone in the district office provided the names of the highest paid teachers and what they would get retroactively. Keep in mind that much of that information is wrong. Some might call the release of that information "leaking", but it is public information. Of course, we know that it was done simply to make teachers look overpaid; something I don't think is possible.
   

The teachers of KCJUHSD (man, what an acronym) should be getting their retroactive money in about two months or so, but are you ready for the kicker?

All this is only good through the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Then they have to start negotiations all over again.

Patience, thy name is King City High School Teachers Association.

(Words by Dr. Homeslice, Artwork above "Negotiation" by David Ross.)

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

What would Phil do? WWPD?

As the little town of PUNXSUTAWNEY fades into static of post-groundhog day lamentations, the teachers will not go away. The teachers have rescheduled their strike, originally slated for yesterday to Monday, February 5th. I have made the necessary corrections on Strikewatch!

One interesting bit that I didn't know about PA law is this:

"The state education department will determine the length of the strike. State law requires the district must have 180 days of instruction by June 15."

Huh. Who woulda thunk?