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Panorama | January 2009 |
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Panorama | January 2009 |
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President's View by Marisa Hanson
I
still cannot believe that next week will be the end of the 2009-2010
school year. I feel like
there is still so much to do. I have been extremely busy these past few
months and the long hours have taken a toll on me. I am very disappointed that so
many teachers are still on the layoff list. I do expect more to be rescinded,
but at this time, the master schedules are not showing a need for more
staff and are actually showing a surplus. I have a hard time believing it
since 29 people have retired or resigned, 39 were non re-elected, and 77
are still laid off. It is important for all laid off
teachers to continue to check your district email all summer, as the
district will be bringing people back based on the seniority list and will
try to contact each member by phone, but for those on vacation, email may
be the best way to contact them.
Also, if an additional layoff arises
during the summer, more notices will be mailed home, and my office and I
will make sure to contact people by email or phone to make sure the
necessary paperwork is filled out. This
past month I was able to attend two press conferences. At the first one, I was invited to
speak at the PTA Press Conference downtown in support of the propositions,
along with a few other local chapter Presidents. I have always been invited to
attend the Press Conference that had both our CTA President and our
Governor speak out in support of the propositions that was held at the
Headquarters for the San Jose Police Officers with several
firefighters. The
Governor had hopes that the propositions would pass with the vote from the
people who had not planned to vote.
As you all know, the turn out for the special election was very low
and only one proposition passed.
Unfortunately, most people didn’t really understand how important
it was for all of the propositions to pass and simply did not vote at
all. So now that leaves us all waiting
to see what the Governor proposes next, which will more than likely be a
continuation of bad news. The
ESTA Bargaining Team will be bargaining the impact of Sports being
reinstated and what that means for Athletic Directors. At this time, the bargaining team
is preparing to give finals because they are all classroom teachers as
well, but will meet with the district as soon as they have a free
moment. The team is prepared to bargain
during the summer if needed. I
did hear some good news last Friday.
Assemblyman Joe Coto, spoke at La Raza Round Table about the
current budget crisis. He
said a group of democrats are working with some republicans on a plan to
give to the Governor this week.
He said their plan includes new revenue by increasing taxes on the
wealthy, without more cuts to the rest of us. He said, “Cutting doesn’t
stimulate job development...” “…We need more people employed, so people
will consume.” Hopefully the Governor will be opening the new plan up for
consideration.
For
now, I will continue to fight to get the laid off teachers back and I hope
to see more teachers rescinded as the summer progresses. I will continue to have weekly
meetings with the district until I go to the Representative Assembly in
San Diego at the end of June. There are two board meetings this
month, June 4 and June 18.
It is really important for as many ESTA members as possible to
attend the June 4 meeting as the board begins to hear the Superintendent’s
recommendations for the 2009-2010 school years. I will make sure the district does
the best they can do with the information they know so far. I won’t expect an adopted state
budget this summer, but who knows, maybe we will all be surprised now that
the legislature is working together to solve the budget problem. For
those of who are retiring, thank you for your many years of service to the
district and for all the students you have taught. Each ESTA site President will have
a gift to give you to use to remind you of ESTA when you travel. Enjoy your future adventures as I
am sure they are well deserved.
Have a safe and relaxing summer! Enjoy time with family and friends, and remember to wear sunscreen!
For First Year
Teachers By
Jesse Griffin Drama
Director, EVHS
I love me a first-year teacher, fresh from the
program. Bright-eyed and ready to take on the world, save every kid.
I remember those days, like through an opaque lens. The new teachers
breathe life into embers that become dim due to a lack of support, concern
and care. New teachers see every student anew, not a student similar
to a student from a few years ago. New teachers smile for no reason,
lose sleep over failing students and observations. Lessons are
exciting each day, and each day ends with an exhausted teacher.
Veteran teachers seem amazing because they do not get rattled, they know
how to handle the kid who falls asleep in the back. The music at the
dance is the same stuff on their iPod. When the confiscate a cell phone,
they know how to turn it off. Thank you new teachers. Thank
you for teaching me what you just learned, for sharing a new perspective
on what I thought I already figured out, for fighting an uphill
battle.
Andrew
Hill Takes High Honors Michael
Winsatt, AHS Each year Newsweek magazine
publishes a list of "America's Top High Schools" based on an index
measuring the number of AP and IB exams given at a school in a particular
year. I'm happy to announce that for the third year in a row, Andrew Hill
High School is the number one academic high school in San Jose according
to Newsweek's Index. Broken down further, we are third in the county
(behind Gunn and Monte Vista), and sixth in the Bay Area. We ranked 202
nationally; the closest ESUHSD school on the list is Evergreen (ranked
#669), then Silver Creek (#910). We are the only PI school
locally to rank on the Challenge Index.
You
can check out the list for yourself here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/201160/?s=California&q=2009/rank/1 or you can read below. I would like to personally
thank all of the IB teachers at Andrew Hill whose dedication and
commitment to this program have made it a success. I'd also like to thank
Superintendent Nunez, Board President Patricia Martinez-Roach, Board
Member Manuel Herrera, Board Member Frank Biehl, Board Member Eddie
Garcia, and Board Member Lan Nguyen for their continued support. Finally,
thanks to all the staff at Andrew Hill, the parents and students in the IB
program, and the Andrew Hill community for believing in our
program.
Sick
Leave Bank Update
Rob Suhr, The Sick Leave Bank Committee would like to extend an invitation to all those members of ESTA that have not already joined. The time to join the Bank will be during the first month of the 2009-2010 school year. It takes two years to be fully vested in the Bank. Simply stated, you donate one of your sick leave days for two years and you are fully vested. There is a simple form to fill out to get started. Ask your site President for the form. This year we were able to distribute over 170 days from the SLB to our fellow members due to the generosity of our members that have given days. The Committee does want to remind you that you are limited to a maximum of 30 days from the Bank. On a final note, two of our Committee members are retiring from teaching at the end of this school year. If you would be interested in serving on the SLB Committee please let Marisa Hanson know of your interest. Have a great summer and please consider joining the Sick Leave Bank next year. Not only may it make a difference in your own life, but it may well make a difference in another of our member’s lives. |
“The
Wheels on the Bus…”
Wendy
L. Stegeman,
is the ESTA PAC Chair, parent, teacher, M.S., doctoral candidate, and a
heartbroken observer. Who
among us does not know that “The Wheels on the Bus go round and
round???” What we did not know is that those wheels are going “round
and round” right over all but a tiny fraction of ESUHSD students, their
teachers, their support staff and their educations! On
Thursday, May 21st,
another day which may “live in infamy” in our district history, four male
board members who covet higher office ordered a silent admin to bring back
sports for a vocal minority. Did they decide to carry through on
agreements to have the vocal minority fund raise for this amount if they
wanted sports? No – that might cost votes down the road. Did they agree to
put on an emergency parcel tax vote using the cheaper mail-in method to
line up some funds to keep staff, programs AND SPORTS? No. They
simply directed Superintendent Nunez to pull white rabbits and green money
out of an empty magic hat.
One
Board member refused to participate in the fiduciary irresponsibility and
asked that, if sports was coming back, so might the laid off professionals
who provide educations and services for the minority of sports kids AND
the majority of district who are not sports kids. She was voted down by
the vote hungry majority, one of whom suggested there might be “300”
lay-offs – a substantial increase over the current disaster.
Programs for the neediest and for the most successful are being trimmed
back or curtailed to pay for sports for the minority. Only Patricia
Martinez-Roach had the courage to stand up to the Boys of the Board and
vote NO on the insanity. A
few points that the Sports instead of education
group (who call Alan Garofalo their leader and chief athletic
supporter): There are probably not 6300 kids
playing sports in this district as many of the athletes involved play 2 or
3 sports and are being double and triple counted in the estimate.
Pay to Play at $200 per head of the 1/3 to 1/2 of the number they claim
cannot be required under ed code. Some may CHOOSE to pay. Last
estimate was that only about $200,000 of $2 million required has been
raised. AP classes not running at capacity will be canceled, as they
aren’t for everyone; sports teams for a small minority will be funded.
One of the arguments is that kids need
sports to get scholarships. According to sports people in the know, almost
no sports scholarships go to kids who aren’t club level players (clubs are
elite teams outside
of school). Many kids in AP classes get academic scholarships directly to
college from high school. Using the Reserves that the district got a
waiver for to keep itself afloat during emergency times, for sports only
is an abomination. People forget that that has to be paid back in 18
months and this economy from the state is expected to be awful for at
least two more years. Parents who are threatening to move their
children to districts that have sports should check ed code about whether
a district is required to release students for other than academic
programs not offered in the home district or to private school placements.
These are things that the vocal minority does not want you to know or
share with parents.
The
Board Report
Wendy
Stegeman, IHS
This was a pretty low key meeting considering all of the huge
issues facing us. Public Section: One student spoke and asked for her teachers and her future
back. Krystal Chase extolled the import of ROTC in her life and that of
so many kids looking for The Path. She also mentioned that Shari Corbett
was a major positive influence in her life. Ms. Lair from WCO spoke of all the things that she, as a teacher
who goes above and beyond, does. And the district answer to everything
seems to be: any certificated person can do [fill in the blank] that. She
is worried about not enough females to supervise girl children with the
layoffs - among other things. She sounded as busy and involved as most of
us!!! One dad requested a bi-lingual principal for his
school. Presentation on solar power: Doing it NOW saves money and puts
about $2M back in the pot for jobs this 09/10 year - and puts some of our
electrician and labor brethren and parents back to work. Pat is skeptical.
Eddie wants us to know that his father is always with him and wonders
about hidden costs, Frank wants to read the fine print, Manuel listened,
Admin is putting together a deal to bring back to the board, and the
audience grew impatient with posing and posturing when this so clearly
makes good sense and would already have been in place for free if Garofalo
had had vision a few years ago when another plan was offered. Now it is a
bandwagon issue, but it still needs to get
done. Pat has contacted Sacto to see about legislation to get waivers on
using some capital funds for jobs. This is a journey not an action
probably. The board voted to allow Valdes to use their portables at EVCC this
summer. Thanks for that, Frank! The board voted to also proclaim the proclamation passed by larger
school board groups asking for the elimination of the 2/3 super-majority
in Sacto. Your ESTA Assembly
was not as politically astute.
Good job, Board, and I will be the first to step up and offer my
participation in any planned action. The budget is a mess. Money coming in from stimulus may offset some
cuts, but only in maybe preventing MORE lay-offs, not so much in backing
off current ones. Jerry Kurr and company are in state budget trainings
today. The budget will be
presented on the 18th to the board and there will be a special budget mtg
the next week to vote on it. Marisa did the safety survey report and the board liked the color
and format. Overall boil down - YB is feeling safe and happy and serviced
and communicated with, MP is unsafe and miserable and there is a perceived
lack of communication and services. Marisa
asked the DO to instruct principals and APEDS to quit anti-contractually
and non-common-sensically loading master schedules at two over the
up-to-three
over (not 3 over
required)
we agreed to. Loading every class at 5 over creates artificial excesses in
FTE, and prevents the necessary rescinding of pink
slips. Smart boards are very cool!!!
Dennis Barbata presented the 21st Century technology that the
district plans to implement in February. Pat asked questions. It is
approved as part of the Master Plan.
Being paid for out of the $27M set aside in the bond for that. This
was listed in the bond measure.
Frank noted that EV had about 1 1/2 kids per computer and SC has
about 7 1/2 kids per computer. He asked that there be equity in technology
allotments. Dennis used good
teaching methods to show us the comparison of current cabling capacity
compared to what is needed in the future. With virtual desktops, you might
upgrade one computer in a lab instead of all, making the tech we have last
longer. The savings are expected to save jobs. Pat had questions so it will be
brought back for approval. Foundation update and construction update moved to
6/18. No mention of sports funding sources beyond Pat reporting that the
Raider link will be active on the DO webpage about 6/20(?). Details were being worked out with
Ticketmaster so ESUHSD got its cut. Foothill and Independence did their School Review and they are
making great progress in the achievement gap-API-AYP-PI struggles. Nicely done Lynne and Team
Grettel. Summer school, being put together by Former Falcon Tim Nguyen, will
be running about 3,000 kids less this year in an attempt to balance cost
against the reduced amount of ADA from the state. ADA is significantly
reduced for the regular year, too, in changing amounts according to the
weather in Sacto. The
Downtown Prep Charter School was denied due to paragraph 8 of the regs as
they were opening a 6-12 campus and all of the kids they were starting
with the first year would be from Alum Rock and one district can't decide
the fate of students in another. Their director was surprised and angry.
They have two existing campuses. All
the news that's fit to print.
This meeting seeeemed to be much more in tune with doing the best
for the kids and staff than the last. | |
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