President's Update April 11, 2023

Happy April TEA!

As we find ourselves with less than 40 days left in the school year, and deep in testing mode, or almost to testing mode. I hope that this finds you with time to reflect and realize how much of a difference you continue to make daily. Thank you for all that you continue to do day in and day out, rain, hail, sleet, or sun (all of which we have had on our campuses at one time this year), you have done the amazing and filled students with wonder and inspiration. You inspire me!! 

• Teacher of the Year Dinner -

• Would you like to attend the Teacher of the Year Dinner, but you haven’t purchased your ticket yet? TEA has sponsored the event, along with purchasing additional tickets and will be raffling off seven tickets to members. Please fill out this form if you are interested. Names will be pulled on Tuesday, April 18th before 5p.m. Winners will be notified by email.
• Temp. vs. Prob. vs. Perm - 
  • This information is still the same as last month. We currently have not heard if they will move members over to probationary or permanent status, we also do not know if they were to do that, what number of people they would intend to move. As of today, we know that the district has many temp employees. By law they do not have to move anyone to permanent status nor do they have to even let temporary teachers know about their status. While all of that part stinks, we are working with them to try and provide more information as it is available to us at TEA. As Temp. employees your contract runs out on the last day of school (but you should be covered with health benefits through August). TUSD is currently working on the projected numbers and more than likely will repeat what they did last year, they will officially lay off all temporary contracted educators at the next School Board meeting. What they are hoping to do is to start rehiring as soon as possible and numbers allow. If it also goes like last year, that means by the end of the year, some of you will also have contracts for next year. We cannot predict what order or what deadlines the district is keeping. We are trying to work for clarification, but I will honestly say TEA does not know who will be hired back or when. We hope to know more in the next week or so. TEA is also looking and watching how many years people have been in temporary positions.
  • If you are probationary (Prob. 1 or Prob. 2) then the timeline period where you would have been notified of any differences has passed. The Ed. Code deadline they had to inform you if they did not plan on hiring you back was March 15th. That means if you are Prob. 1 - you will automatically be Prob. 2 next year and if you are Prob. 2 then you will automatically be Permanent on the second day of employment next year.  
• Induction Update - 
  • If you are currently in induction and are a TEA member and did not get your $300 TEA reimbursement “Thank You” for waiting while we negotiated please fill out the following google form so that we can expedite that process.
• Retirement - 

• Are you planning on retiring this year? Or anytime soon? 
• Please check out the NEA/NEA Retired information. You may sign up for lifetime at any time preretirement. The lifetime amount goes up $50 next September from $550 to $600. Please check out their flyer HERE. 
• The CTA site for CTA Retired is HERE. 
• Websites to access retirement information include:  www.mycalstrs.com,  www.cta.org,  www.leginfo.ca.gov,  www.calpers.ca.gov, www.nea.org,  www.403bcompare.com,  www.nirsonline.org,  www.ssfairness.com, www.letstalkpensions.com
• TEA Spring Fling is Coming - 
  • TEA is planning another soiree May 18th, from 4-7 at Rock & Brews in Tustin. Mark your calendars and make sure to join us there. More information will be coming soon.

• April Is: 

• National Poetry Month: 
  • The 2023 poster was designed by Marc Brown, creator of the popular Arthur book and PBS television series. The artwork incorporates an excerpted line from the poem “Carrying” by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. Brown was selected by Scholastic—the global children’s publishing, education, and media company—to create the artwork for this year’s poster as part of anew National Poetry Month initiative between the publisher and the Academy of American Poets. 
  • Download a copy of the 2023 Poster HERE.
  • Read about 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month in the classroom.
  • Poetry & the Creative Mind — a National Poetry Month gala fundraiser. Join the Academy of American Poets for an annual reading of favorite poems by luminaries from across the arts and culture. Register for Free Online EventHERE.

• Autism Acceptance Month:
  • During Autism Acceptance Month, the focus is on increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism — learning more about their experiences directly from them and building more welcoming and inclusive classrooms and communities to support them. Find information and resources at Autismspeaks.org
• Community Schools: 
  • Community Schools are meant to be driven by all stakeholders and educators are one of the primary stakeholders that should have a voice in how the process is carried out at each site. Our district has chosen to take a different approach than those that are already implementing Community Schools and those that the state uses for examples. Each site that is currently working towards being a community school must have input from teachers, parents and students so that each school is unique and fits that culture and needs of that community. With the amount of impact that educators have on students, and the work teachers will be asked to do and work towards at community schools it is imperative that we have a voice in the decisions at each site. That does not mean that all sites will look the same. TEA will continue to work to try to ensure that teachers have a voice at those sites. If you currently work at a site with a community specialist you are a school that TUSD has put in a grant for and you should be asked to be an active part of all decisions. One of the questions I was asked repeatedly, when I was allowed to join for a day event, was how to get teachers involved. None of this should be added or mandated, all of it should be driven by the community and you as teachers are one of the primary stakeholders that must be in on all areas of the decisions. This is more than just a quick committee meeting and a survey. 
    • RESOURCES
      • 5 Steps To Community Schools
      • CS One-Pager
        • Did you know that $4.3 Billion dollars in grants for Community Schools was approved in our state budget? This means that there are funds available to support the work needed to plan and successfully implement.
        • Community Schools embody how education should function in a healthy democracy – they’re public schools that provide services and support which fit each neighborhood’s needs, created and run by the people who know our children best, - families, educators, community organizations, local governments, and the students themselves – all working together.
        • Community schools provide not only tremendous opportunities for learning and success for students, but they also offer hope, opportunity, and transformation to entire communities. They also:
          • Higher graduation rates
          • Higher enrollment in college preparatory classes
          • Better work habits, grades, test scores, and behaviors
          • Lower rates of absenteeism
• Special Education -
  • TEA continues to have conversations with the district regarding our main issues compiled at our Special Education meeting last month. While progress is slow, we will continue to have these conversations and work towards those issues as goals. 
  • SAI - Caseloads - SAI Teachers please remember that there are caseload numbers by Ed. Code that needs to be adhered to. TEA has heard that some sites have had numbers on SEIS that are different from what they are servicing. If you are servicing a student, they are part of your caseload, if you have them on your SEIS and you aren’t servicing them, then they are not on your caseload. Please refer to the following Ed. Code. 

•  
  • TEA Special Ed. Committee meets Wednesday, April 19th. Anyone who would like to attend is more than welcome. 
• CTA Information:
  • State Council - 
    • CTA’s top policy-making body is the State Council of Education. Meeting four times a year, the council’s nearly 800 delegates sets forth CTA policy, develops legislation, and makes recommendations in general elections.
    • March State Council Minutes from TEA State Council Representatives may be found- HERE The Next State Council will be during May 19-21, 2023. 
  • Commission on Professional Competence: 
    • CTA is looking for successful educators who are willing to serve on the California's Commission on Professional Competence panel. This panel serves to evaluate the merit of an accusation of unprofessional conduct by a California teacher which may lead to validating or ceasing a district's effort to dismiss an employee.  While this is not a paid opportunity, expenses and travel are paid for, if called to serve. This is analogous to jury duty in a way. A more comprehensive explanation is attached HERE. If you are interested in being considered and added to the pool of accomplished educators, please let me know by email. 
  • Member Benefits: 
    • The Standard: 
      • Effective July 1, all CTA members enrolled in the CTA-endorsed Disability Insurance will automatically get a new, lower rate.  This change is automatic, and there is nothing you or your members need to do. The Standard is working directly with the districts on this change.
        If you would like to talk more about these valued benefits and rates, please schedule a time at your convenience with our The Standard Rep: Theresa Vaughn here: https://calendly.com/theresa-vaughn
      • Additionally there are newer Summer benefits for those members who in need of disability that continue over the months of June and July.