Teachers Donate Money & Food

Wow!  Thank you so much!

Over 60 cans of food were donated by MDUSD teachers at October's Mt. Diablo Education Association (MDEA) meeting.  In addition, a teacher donated $50.  All food and monetary donations go directly to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County.

At September's Mt. Diablo Education Association (MDEA) meeting, teacher representatives from every school in the district voted to make monthly donations of non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County.  Often times canned food drives are focused around the holidays.  However, hunger happens all year long.  By donating food, teachers can have a positive impact on the community.

History
Mrs. Linda Ortega, a teacher at El Monte Elementary and a delegate on the MDEA Executive Board had a transformative experience in July, 2009.  While attending the National Representative Assembly for the National Education Association, Linda was inspired by stories of educators who had had monumental positive impacts in their communities.  Often times, these educator's contributions started out in small ways, such as volunteering time at a local food bank, or mentoring families.  Over the years, those small contributions outside of the classroom translated into big changes that have had a positive affect on thousands of lives.

A teacher has a public, influential position in the community.  So how, Linda wondered, could she and other teachers in the Mt. Diablo district use that influence to have the same kind of positive impact as other educators around the country?  One way is through donating food and money to a local food bank year round, not just during the holidays.

Future     
Every month, teachers are to give donations to the site rep to bring to the MDEA representative assembly (the 1st Monday of every month).  This October, teachers donated over 60 cans, and $50.  We are shooting for double that amount for the November meeting.  Our theme for November is SOUP, however any non-perishable, non-expired food items are welcome!

If there are too many items to transport to the MDEA meeting, call MDEA and we will figure out a way to pick up the items.


Click the link to learn more information on the Food Bank and make a monetary donation.

Abuse of the Teachers

The district has informed teachers at Oak Grove Middle School that they will provide an additional two and a half hours of instruction every week next year with no additional pay. They are being ordered to provide more instructional time than teachers at any other middle school, more than than they spent this year, and more time than required by the contract. This additional instructional time has been imposed on top of the excessive amount of time required for meetings, reports, and observations that are demanded at a much higher level from Oak Grove teachers than at any other middle school.

We cannot stand by and allow this abuse to happen. Does anyone have any ideas about how we can support our colleagues at Oak Grove?

The Beginning of Class Size Swellling

Last night, the School Board reacted to massive State Budget Cuts by agreeing to increase class size in grades 1 - 3 to 30 students. There are about a million reasons why this is a bad idea and about a million bad things that will happen as a result. One fact, however, is most important: they had no choice.

Education funding decisions in California are made by three or four people who probably have not seen in the inside of a public school classroom in their entire lives. The system is broken and we need to be part of the solution. Please:

Tell everyone you talk with - and call people you haven't talked with in a long time. Tell them:

We need a return to democracy: All budgetary and revenue matters should be decided by a majority.

We need to end the 2/3 vote requirement.

We need to make sure that every person and every corporation is paying their fair share of the state budget.

We need to make sure the state budget process is not manipulated, but is clear and fair.

We need a Democratic governor.

We need community member who understand the bigger picture - how the state governement works, how the election process works, how education works, and what the results could be if every child really received a free and appropriate education.

Please educate adults about why children are important - every chance you get!

Thanks.

RIF Hearing Suggestions

I wanted to pass on some suggestions that I've heard people mention:

1) Many teachers have asked if they have to attend the RIF hearings for the full two days. The answer is that as soon as your ranking (or issue) is reviewed, your are expected to return to school. If you are done on Thursday, cancel the sub for Friday. If you are done in the middle of the day (or morning) on either Thursday or Friday, ask your site manager if you should cancel the sub. You are still required to return to your teaching assignment, but the school may want to use the sub for the remainder of the day on a different assignment.

2) Come early to find a parking space. Over 600 teachers received pink slips. Assuming that many of those teachers will show up for the hearings, parking will be difficult.

3) Bring something to keep yourself entertained as there will be a lot of waiting around.

4) Bring lunch/snacks/something to drink. Lunch is not provided.

Attend Reduction in Force Hearings!

If you received a Reduction in Force notice (a pink slip), the Education Code gives you the right to attend hearings to make sure that your position is secure. Sub days to attend RIF hearings are not deducted from your pay. If you do not have the sub code, the easiest way to get it is to ask your site rep or to call the MDEA office at 925-676-4664.

The meetings are as follows:

April 23, 2009 - Starting at 9:30AM - 5:00PM

April 24, 2009 - Starting at 9:30AM - 5:00PM

April 27, 2009 - Starting at 9:30AM - 5:00PM

We (MDEA) are recommending that all noticed teachers call for a sub for the first two (2) scheduled hearing days, April 23 & 24th, If any unresolved issues remain beyond April 24, we will ask specific teachers to call for a sub for April 27th.

Please note that if there are not enough subs, you still have the right to attend the RIF hearings and it is responsibility of the school site to provide coverage for the students.

If you or teachers at your site have additional questions/concerns around impacts precipitated by the RIF hearing, please don't hesitate to call the MDEA office or to leave a comment here.

Hundreds at Rally 'Stand Up for Schools'

This e-mail went out today from Mike Noce, MDEA president.

"I want to thank everyone that attended yesterday’s “Stand Up for Our Schools” Rally. In our estimates we had close to 500 people attend. Everyone was wearing stickers and pink arm bands to show support for over 600 teachers in our district that will be receiving pink slips tomorrow. Many were also holding signs with a variety of messages. There were a number of television news cameras there as well as a hovering helicopter from Channel 7. Print media was also well represented.
We had a variety of speakers that shared their perspectives of the current crisis public education is facing. These speakers represented Elected Officials, the County of Education, School Boards, Superintendents, Teachers, Labor and Parents. The key point speaker was Dean Vogel, our CTA Vice President, who urged us to let Sacramento know “Enough is Enough.” It was nice having such a broad coalition working together for our students. I especially want to thank Gary Eberhart, Sherry Whitmarsh, Dick Nicoll, and the number of site administrators that came out to participate.
The highlight of the afternoon was the march to Ygnacio Valley Rd. to inform the thousands of commuters about the crisis. It was awesome seeing our ranks stretched over 6-7 blocks as we paraded with our signs and chanted “Save Our Schools” and “Enough is Enough.” The chant leaders did a great job in keeping everyone involved and motivated. It’s also always nice to hear the honking cars and waves from the commuters as well to keep spirits high.
This was a kickoff event, we need to individually keep informing friends, families, and neighbors of how these massive cuts are affecting not only teachers, but our students as well. We need to reach those members of our community that don’t have kids in our schools. We need their support to pass Measure D, our parcel tax, and to remind their state legislators that enough is enough.
Ask your reps when your site is scheduled to phone bank so you can schedule it into your calendar. We also need you to write a check for $20-$89 to the MDEA PAC to help fund the Measure D campaign. It’s going to be a busy two months, but passing Measure D is our best local option.

Thank you,
Mike"

Teacher Lay-Offs & Stand Up for Schools

I'm in my 9th year of teaching.  I remember that for the first two years, I received lay-off notices.  Everyone told me not to worry.  Yes, the California budget was not great, there were some cutbacks, but all in all, teachers for required subjects need not worry about their job.

This round of lay-offs is different.  At least, that is the message I've been hearing from the media, from the California Teachers Association, and from following what has been happening with budget cuts in our own district.  Essentially, the California budget is a mess due to the recession and it's difficult to predict when things will improve.  My understanding is that there could be even more cuts down the road.  In other words, this past round of budget cuts that the MDUSD Board had to make might not be the last.

In my opinion, these budget reductions are a crime against our students.  Even when the California budget improves, it could take years to rebuild successful programs that were decimated.  

So what can we do?  We can Stand Up for Schools!

This week, CTA mounted a campaign called Stand Up for Schools.  The mailer I received on Saturday highlights that thousands of teachers will be receiving pink slips this year.  According to the CTA website www. pinkfriday09.org, over 20,000 California teachers have already received their Reduction in Force notices (pink slips).

  

Yes, teachers (not to mention administrators and support personnel) will lose their jobs, but what is the REAL impact of these RIF's?  Class size increases, cuts to support programs helping students to pass high school, the loss of librarians, elementary music, sports, ultimately fewer opportunities for students to go to college. 

The real purpose of the campaign is to raise public awareness of the devastating impact the budget reductions will have on California public schools.  

So, wear your pink armbands all week (if you're a MDEA teacher your rep should have some to give you).

Attend the rally at Civic Park in Walnut Creek on Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm.

Wear pink on Friday, March 13th.

Help pass Measure D (the parcel tax) that will be on the May 19th election.  This will raise 7 million dollars for the Mt. Diablo School District that helps fund some of the programs that had to be eliminated.

Tell everyone you know that California is destroying our children's future by placing them last in per pupil spending compared to all the other states (we were 47th before the budget revise was completed--now I've read that we are 50th). 

Math Teacher at YVHS Passes Away

Sadly, our friend and MDEA representative, Carmel Westcoat passed away over the weekend. Carmel was a wonderful friend and could always be relied on to not only listen, but to share her insight without hesitation. Carmel was an inspiration to me through her dedication to both students and teachers.

Besides missing a friend, teachers have also been struggling to fill in the gaping whole of all that Carmel did. She was an integral part of the math department, running the CAHSEE math prep for YVHS students, doing after school tutoring, and organizing summer math programs for students with DVC.

Carmel will always be loved and missed.

Below is a link to her obituary in the Contra Costa Times, along with details of the funeral service this Friday, February 25th.

Carmel Westcoat Obituary

State Budget Crisis & Parcel Tax Reality

This e-mail went out to members on Friday, January 30. If you are not receiving these e-mails from MDEA, please let us know and give us your e-mail address so that we can include you in future communication.

Dear Members,

As you know, we still don’t have a settled State budget, and if the Governor’s proposed budget is passed as is, public education will be taking catastrophic cuts. His plan would reduce funding midyear for 2008-09 by 2.1 billion dollars. His plan would reduce funding in 2009-10 by 2.8 billion dollars, for an overall cumulative revenue limit deficit that will climb to over 16%.

We also are anticipating a significant increase in the number of layoff notices this year with the strong possibility that tens of thousands of May 15 layoff letters will be sent out by districts statewide. In past years, Mt. Diablo has had a lot of March 15, notifications go out, but relatively few actual layoffs. That may not be the case this year. MDEA will be holding informational meetings for our members who receive a layoff notices to inform them about the process and their right to a hearing.

There is a statewide campaign being developed to educate our members and to plan actions to publicize the devastating impact of the state budget on public schools and the students we serve. Attached are names and contact numbers of state legislators we need to lobby, and talking points on what to say. These legislators need to hear teachers’ stories of the effects these cuts would have on our students and our families. Please make some calls. You will also be receiving a hard copy of the contact information next week.

A lot of our members don’t believe there is a real crisis. There is! The solutions our legislators have used in the past, won’t work anymore. We have a revenue problem. The massive cuts to education are real. We need to act now; we have not faced a situation like this since the 70’s when Prop 13 was passed.

Parcel Tax in MDUSD

There is a committee looking into the possibility of putting a parcel tax on the special election ballot when the Governor calls one, possibly in June. MDEA’s Executive Board has already recommended that the Rep Assembly endorse a parcel tax, if one is brought forward.

Currently, polling is being done to help identify for which purposes, and in what amount, MDUSD's communities would support a parcel tax. After analyzing this data, a specific proposal will be prepared. This process requires completion by Feb 15; therefore, we will not be considering whether to endorse a parcel tax at the February Rep Assembly. MDEA doesn’t want to rush this issue until we know the specifics. We want all our members to fully understand the proposal, because it will require everyone’s hard work and support to pass a parcel tax.

MDEA will ensure that our members are fully informed of any new information on the parcel tax, as we receive it. Discussion of a parcel tax will be on the agenda for the February Rep Assembly. We will be asking our Reps to listen to any concerns or questions that come up from sites, and report out at our March R.A. MDEA has been highly involved and included in all aspects of the parcel tax process thus far, and that involvement will continue if the R.A. votes to endorse a parcel tax effort. Attend your site’s MDEA meeting next month to learn the latest.

Mt. Diablo has not had a parcel tax in many years but, in the current economic crisis, we will need one to preserve a quality education for our students.

Mike

Great Rresources from Conferences

I spent the past two weekends at conferences, paid for by MDEA. The first conference was the Good Teaching Conference (also attending was Lisa Caballero, math teacher from Mt. Diablo High School) and the second was the annual conference of the California League of High Schools (also attending was Liane Cismowski, English teachers, from Olympic High School). Both conferences were excellent, and served to rejuvenate and motivate. I appreciated the opportunity to hear what other schools and districts around the state are doing to exit Program Improvement, motivate and support their teachers, and truly work as a team to provide a 'successful' learning environment for their students.

I've listed some resources below. Some of the resources are for tools to help in the classroom. Others are for inspiring change on campuses. Some of these EVERYONE knows about, some are completely new. Please add more suggestions of resources that you have found helpful.

1) www.zamzar.com those awesome video clips on youtube or google video that our district blocks? Copy the URL to the zamzar site, it will convert it for free, and then you can drop it into your powerpoint.

2) http://guerrillalearning.wetpaint.com/ great resource for overview of internet tools out there, PLUS explanations on how to use them. Gems are hidden on left side of the home page under ‘site pages’.

3) ‘In Plain English’ are quick videos on YouTube that plainly explain things like blogging, RSS feeds, social networking, google documents, etc. Just go to YouTube and type in “In Plain English”.

4) www.edublogs.tv apparently not blocked by district filters. A moderated video sharing site of stuff submitted by educators

5) www.cooliris.com it’s a free download. Not sure how to describe what it does, but it has to do with displaying pictures differently and it looked really cool when the presenter used it.

6) www.nextvista.org a moderated video sharing site—I like the way this is organized better than edublogs, but not as much stuff on there (as of now).

7) www.280slides.com and www.sliderocket.com students ever say that can’t do a powerpoint because they don’t have the program? Both these sites have free powerpoint type programs. Students build the presentation online. Sliderocket is more commercial than 280slides, but it still gives you a free option.

8) Richard DuFour's handout on his presentation on Professional Learning Communities at the CLHS conference Transforming The High School.

9) A Powerpoint to Regina Owens' presentation on Collaboration can be found at the CLHS website.

10) Do you like Facebook? Here's a professional network just for high school teachers.

Parcel Tax

We need a parcel tax to improve funding for our schools. As teachers, we know that we don't have the resources we need to do our jobs properly. Now is the time to ask voters to approve a parcel tax so that local businesses and residents can support schools in our community. I'm willing to do what it takes to develop a sensible parcel tax and get it approved by voters. The key is identifying the critical components that will make our schools more effective for our children. I think that means more funding for music and art, more counselors, and more programs where high school students can learn marketable skills if they are not going to college.