Member Call to Action: School Calendar Bargaining Prohibition

TAKE ACTION!!!   USE THE LINK IN THE ARTICLE BELOW!!!!
-----This article is from today's (April 19th) "Capitol Comments"

A bill to prohibit school calendar as a topic of bargaining could pass the House as soon as tomorrow. It’s urgent that school employees, parents, and other education stakeholders in communities across the state contact lawmakers on the issue immediately! 

Not only should MEA members call their legislators, but school employees should encourage community members, friends, and family to voice opposition to the loss of local control in educational decision-making represented by House Bill 5194. 

Educators are the experts on the front lines, and we know what our students need in terms of a calendar and schedule. Prohibiting calendar from bargaining is yet another example of the state overstepping its role and usurping local authority. 

As schools move forward with innovative programs and individualized learning plans, administration and educators need to jointly plan, prepare, and solve problems together to achieve best practices and create an effective learning environment for children

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CLICK HERE!

 Please call or email your state representative today to make that case, and encourage others in your community to contact lawmakers as well

Copy and Paste this message:

Educators are the experts on the front lines, and we know what our students need in terms of a calendar and schedule. Prohibiting calendar from bargaining is yet another example of the state overstepping its role and usurping local authority. 

As schools move forward with innovative programs and individualized learning plans, administration and educators need to jointly plan, prepare, and solve problems together to achieve best practices and create an effective learning environment for children

 

TAKE ACTION to keep Bargaining Rights for Calendar!

House Bill 5194 just passed out of the House Education committee.  This bill makes CALENDAR and SCHEDULES PROHIBITED subjects of bargaining!  If your bargaining unit nor any of your fellow union members have a voice in the creation of the calendar nor the schedule, can you imagine what might happen?   We ARE professionals.   We are on the front line every day and we know what works as we create programming and lessons for the students!  We MUST have a voice in these decisions.

Please contact your HOUSE representative and let them know that this HB 5194 should NOT be passed.

To make it simple, please COPY the message below and then go the MEA Legislative site!  Just put in your zip code and the site will let you send the message to your own House representative.

CLICK HERE for the MEA Legislative site: 

  http://capwiz.com/nea/mi/directory/statedir.tt?state=MI&lvl=state

COPY AND PASTE this message into the site’s message box:

“Teachers in our public schools do much planning to create new and innovative programs for students.   We work cooperatively with our administrators to create plans, schedules, and programming for our students.   We need to be able to plan with as much flexibility as possible.   The needs from district to district, and from school to school, vary greatly, and flexibility will allow us to create programs that best meet our communities’ needs.   Making this a prohibited topic of bargaining will not serve to improve education for children.  PLEASE VOTE NO on House Bill 5194.”

NCLB is gone! Is the new ESSA better????

Fourteen years of educational history ended when President Obama signed the new ESSA Act – Every Student Succeeds Act.  It will take the place of NCLB, or No Child Left Behind.

No Child Left Behind LEAVES behind a legacy of testing and of using those test scores to punish schools that do not meet the standards set by the federal government.  While accountability is desirable, NCLB has been behind the culture of testing that has taken over our schools.   

We aren’t done with tests under the new act. It still requires two tests, in reading and math, per child per year in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. It also requires science tests be given three times between grades 3 and 8.  States will have the power to decide how the tests are used in holding schools accountable for the performance of students.
 

The NEA reports in the most recent “Lily’s Blackboard” that, “ESSA empowers educators as trusted professionals to make school and classroom decisions while keeping the focus on students most in need. Educators who were shut out during the past decade are going to be heard again—not after the fact, but as participants in the policymaking process. The law also reduces the amount of standardized testing in schools and, most importantly, decouples high-stakes decision making and statewide standardized tests so that so students have more time to learn and teachers have more time to teach. Last, ESSA begins to close the opportunity gaps for students by providing a new accountability system that includes an “opportunity dashboard” with—for the first time—indicators of school success and student support.”

There are those out there who are reluctant to say the new program will be successful.  Alan Singer, Social Studies Professor at Hofstra University, warns that while repealing the annual federal yearly progress reports is good, there are weak spots in the law.  For instance individual states may design their own accountability systems.  States will be responsible for identifying and supporting struggling schools.  Singer questions whether all states will be able to implement systems that are reliable and can truly accomplish this task.  

Singer also warns that this new bill requires states to set aside funds for “equitable services” for eligible students who attend private and religious schools.  Plus, the states must create an ombudsman position to ensure that private and religious schools get what they consider a fair share of federal funds.  What else might this lead to?

Finally, Kenneth Zeichner, a professor of teacher education at the University of Washington in Seattle, believes this new law may very well lead to “fast track” teacher education programs provided by corporate interests.  He says the bill establishes “teacher prep academies” designed to promote “entrepreneurial programs”.

Leaving behind aspects of No Child Left Behind is certainly more than desirable.  However, as states begin to design their own programs for accountability systems and student support, the ability to allow educators to have input in the design is imperative.  In this state’s current culture of teacher and public school bashing, that might prove difficult.  Our best place to have input is most likely through the Michigan Department of Education and the State Superintendent’s office. 

Send an email to Brian Whiston, Michigan Superintendent of Schools;   carefootk@michigan.gov

UNION BUSTING Legislation - TAKE ACTION!!!

There are two bills that are of utmost importance set to be considered in the coming days in our Michigan House legislature.  Both bills passed the Senate prior to Thanksgiving.  Passage in the House, barring major changes from the Senate version, would mean they would quickly be forwarded to the governor for signing and into the law books.

These bills are UNION busting.  That’s all there is to it.  Read more!

Bill SB 280 would make it illegal to do any union work during work release time.  Those of you who have presidents that have some release time or perhaps are full time release will LOSE that representation.  All the work they do would have to be done AFTER hours.  But it is NOT just directed at presidents with release time!

Bill SB 280 would prohibit ANY kind of release time during work hours.  For instance;

·        District Talent Initiative

·        Professional Learning Communities

·        Professional Development and Design/Planning Committee

·        District Leadership Team

·        Teacher Evaluation-District Implementation Team

·        Quality Instructional Coaches Advisor Committee

·        High School Restructuring Steering Team

·        New Teacher Induction (professional development/mentors)

·        District Curriculum Participant

·        Bargaining and Grievances

ALL of these activities would always have to be done outside of school hours.  They are NOT political.  This is work that involves human resources, giving voice to educational workers in the decision making, and sharing our expertise.   Clearly, all are ways to deny employee voices!

 Bill SB 279 takes the prohibition even further.  It says that even if the union or individual reimburses MPSERS (the Michigan Retirement System & made mandatory this summer by the MPSERS Board), the person being released can ear NO CREDIT toward retirement.    So, people who are working in release time positions, or even those who might spend some days bargaining or any of the activities above, can earn nothing toward their retirement.   This is kind of like “hammering the nail” into the other bill, SB280.  How can people give up time toward retirement?  They can’t.

 Please CLICK below and follow the link the MEA’s LEGISLATIVE ACTION Center. 

When you click on the link it takes you to a HOUSE/SENATE page.  Do the following!

**Enter your zip code and it will give you the names of your House and Senate representatives.

***Click on the HOUSE representative in your area to contact; their page will pop up.

***Click on “Contact”, and you will have the choice to use their office telephone or a FORM to fill out that you can email from the site!

CLICK HERE!

Tell them this (copy and paste if you like): 

Vote against SB280 and SB279.  They deny local school districts the ability to determine how to best involve their unions in the important activities that must be completed.  This isn’t political work being done.  This time is spent on important activities like evaluation, leadership, employee mentoring, professional learning communities, professional development, district curriculum, etc.    To vote for these bills is denying employees the ability to make service to students BETTER!