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focus

On educators

focus on educators is an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org

California Teachers Association


Statement of Mission
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of
teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity
and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

JANUARY 2016

Volume XXIV, Number 5

Dear PEA Members,


Were back from our winter break and in
the midst of January 2016. Happy New
Year! Well wishes that winter break gave
you the rest you needed to come back
strong for the continuation of the school
year. Youll probably even notice a little
increase in your pay check and a
separate check for retro pay. Thats sure
to give you a little smile.
Smiling, one of those things that can show
many types of emotion, though it is
usually associated with happiness. I hope
for more smiles in this new calendar year
of my own and all around me. There is
much to do and think on.

Noggin work ahead:


1.

district administrators. We need to


make sure that we see what has
happened over the last year under
the plan which has worked, needs to
be fixed, or gotten rid of. Also, voice
our opinions on what is needed. The
LCAP determines what is funded in
the PUSD budget. This includes
educators, materials, programs, and
many things that affect our work on a
daily bases. The AAA department is
heading these meetings. Here is a
list of dates I received for upcoming
LCAP Community Input Meetings
(held in school library at 7 p.m. at
each site below):

As you may know on January 11th


the Supreme Court started hearing
arguments for the Friedrichs v. CTA
case. This is something we should
all be well aware of and does not just
affect members of CTA, but stretches
out to all working men and women in
the United States. You can read
more at cta.org/friedrichs and be part
of the whole solution going forward.
Youll also find information in the
December 2015/January 2016
California Educator magazine.

2. On January 13th the PUSD School


Board was presented with the
Evaluation of Services Provided to
Students with Disabilities by Dr.
Frances Stetson. It is a
comprehensive evaluation of the
PUSD SPED program. All of us
should read it and understand the
findings. You can locate it through
the Board docs on PUSDs website.
3. The Local Control and Accountability
Plan (LCAP) meetings have started
and you need to be a part of them. I
recently went to the first meeting on
January 7th that included parents,
teachers, high school students,
community leaders, CSEA, and

Tuesday, February 2, Rancho


Medanos Jr. High
Thursday, February 4, Pittsburg High
School
Tuesday, February 9, Martin Luther
King Jr. Junior High School
Thursday, February 18, Hillview Jr.
High School

So smile! There is much to do and weve


got to see the end to our great work as a
positive for our students and our
profession.
Sincerely,
Tammy Carr
PEA President

PEA Leadership 2015-2016

Rep. Council Meeting Calendar (Tuesdays)

President

January 19

Tammy Carr

February 16

Highlands Elementary/PEA Office

March 15

Elementary Vice President

April 19

Chris Coan

May 17

Willow Cove Elementary

***********************************

Secondary Vice President


Bertha Ramos
Rancho Medanos

School Board Meeting Calendar

Secretary

January 13 & 27

Michell Redfoot

February 10 & 24

Willow Cove Elementary


Treasurer

March 16

Vacant

April 13 & 27

Committee Chairs:

May 11 & 25

Grievance Committee

June 15 & 29

John Kleinjans Pittsburg High

***********************************

Chris Coan Willow Cove Elementary


Negotiations Team
Mark Maselli - Chair

Are You Getting Your PEA Information?

Political Action Committee Chair

Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the monthly Rep

Chris Coan

meeting

Elections Chair

and

then

report

back

to

you

is

vital

in

the

communication chain of our Association.

Ruth Foster

Roll call at last December 15th Rep Council Meeting:

Human Rights & Womens Issues Chairs


Yvonne Burton

Adult Ed. present

Stoneman present

Najah Perkins

Foothill present

Willow Cove present

Heights present

MLK Jr. present

Highlands present

Hillview - present

O-Team Chairs
Marissa Young-Padilla
CTA State Council Representatives

Los Medanos present Rancho Medanos present

Mark Maselli PEA


Arthur Pruyn (Alt.) - PEA
Membership Chairs

Marina Vista present

PHS - present

Parkside present

Black Diamond present

Lisa Gunderson
Yvonne Burton
Technical Editor
Susan Harrison PEA Office Administrator

Focus on Educators
is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4th Street

Reminder:
Please send PEA any updated
information such as: change of home address;
home email; school site change; name change;
etc., so we have your correct information! Thank
you!

Pittsburg, CA 94565
Phone: (925) 432-0199
email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org

Announcements
Join us at Pittsburgs La Piata on
Thursday, January 28th at 4:30 p.m.
Celebrate with your fellow PEA Members
on the passing of the ratification.

************************************************

Chris Coan was elected Elementary Vice-President for PEA!

Announcing

************************************************

2016 CTA Scholarships

Read Across Pittsburg is


March 3rd

CTA is accepting applications for the following categories:

Dependent Children
Del A. Weber for Dependent Children Attending
Continuation High School/Alternative Education
Members
L. Gordon Bittle Memorial Scholarship for Student
CTA

We are seeking volunteers to read at


various preschool and Head Start locations
around Pittsburg! Slots are available!
If youre interested in reading to our future
students, please e-mail Chris Coan at
chriscoan123@comcast.net
by Friday, February 26

All applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on


February 5, 2016. For more information on the individual
categories, please go to: www.cta.org./scholarships

************************************************

************************************************

Thank you to all who


made the 5th Annual
Winter Drive a success!

Look Out!
Opportunities Ahead!

NEA State Delegate (NEA RA) candidacy forms due


January 29, 2016. Candidacy forms are in the current
December 2015/January 2016 California Educator
magazine as well as at www.cta.org/racandidacy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarships are due


February 19, 2016. Find information and applications at
www.cta.org/mlkscholarships.

Ratification: How Sweet it is!

Hello Wonderful Teachers,


Thank you so very much for the generous donation of
socks, scarves, gloves and other clothing items. I so
appreciated hearing about the student that sparked the
idea to begin gathering items for families in need. It
appears that our work is similar in some ways.

On the evening of December 15th the


official results were reported about the
ratification of the tentative agreement. The
PEA membership had ratified the tentative
agreement our bargaining team negotiated. A new
contract had been put in place for the 2015-2016 school
year that included a 5% raise with retro pay from July
2015. In addition was a District contribution increase to
employee benefits. Lastly, increases to specific signing
bonuses and a new type of bonus referred to as
Celebrating Local Success. Thank you PEA members,
community leaders, MDEA, CLCC, and parents for your
support during this bargaining session. We greatly
appreciate the PEA Bargaining Team for your continued
hard work on our behalf.

Educators and Homeless Service providers attempt to


create a valuable experience for every family that we
work with. However, sometimes the inability of
families to provide basic needs for their children, such
as socks, can be a distraction from the good work that
we are trying to do. Not only are you providing an
invaluable service to the community, you are also
making sure that their basic needs are tended to. Most
of the time when food, clothing and shelter are put into
place, the potential for that individual is limitless.

************************************************

This Month in Politics

Thank you for the countless hours that you pour out
into your students, their families and your community.
You are making a wonderful impact in the world
around you. We are honored to be the recipients of
your clothing drive and hope that the New Year
provides many opportunities for you to continue the
good work you are already doing.

By, Chris Coan


Political Action Chair
and Jim Vaughan
We are getting ready for the 2016 November School Board
election!
So far, Jim and I have received six (6) possible candidate
suggestions. We will be calling these individuals and seeing
if they are truly interested in running for the Pittsburg School
Board election in November. We will then meet personally
with each one, and give them a list of questions compiled by
PEA to get a better idea of where they stand in regards to
teachers and the teaching profession. We will then make our
determination as to which two (2) candidates we would like to
support. From there, we will move forward with our
campaign.

Kindest Regards,
Sophia Gavino
Transition Services Specialist
SHELTER, Inc.
1333 Willow Pass Road Suite 203, Concord, CA
94520
Mt. View House
P: (925) 313-0189
F: (925) 228-8697

We will continue to keep you updated!


***********************************

Know Your Contract


Pittsburg Family Center
P: (925) 439-8559
F: (925) 432-4150
sophiag@shelterincofccc.org
www.shelterincofccc.org

Who decides the content of our three


Professional Development days? We do.
Article 16.3.3
A. Content of Staff Development: It is the intent of the
parties to this Agreement that staff development
training opportunities be site-specific and delivered
at each school site. If however, there are
professional development issues, which would best

be delivered at the district level, then the


Association and the District shall plan accordingly.

able to represent his more than 325,000 colleagues and


members from California.
The current fair share system is a good compromise and
common sense solution, and thats part of the argument we
presented to the Supreme Court Justices today, said CTA
President Eric C. Heins. This case is about our students, our
public schools and our countrys economic future. Providing
a quality public education for every student starts with
educators having the ability to come together and make
decisions for their students, as well as negotiating fair wages
that attract the brightest minds into our profession.
Undermining the collective bargaining process undermines
the middle class.
Under the current system, every employee has the freedom
to join a union. However, unions are legally required to
represent all workers. Its not fair for some workers to pay
more than their fair share for the same services. This case is
attempting to undo nearly four decades of sound, common
sense law that has provided stability in the workplace and
allowed public employees to provide quality public services
to their communities.
More than 24 briefs by hundreds of amicirepresenting all
levels of government, public officials, civil rights
organizations, academic experts, and otherswere filed with
the court in support of the respondents. Weighing in on the
case have been 23 states and the District of Columbia,
dozens of cities, nearly 50 Republican lawmakers, school
districts and public hospitals in support of the value fair share
fees provide in terms of the effective management of public
services.
We are worried about our students, our communities and
our families, said Maya Walker, a library media technician in
Hayward, Calif. who also traveled to Washington, D.C.
representing Californias educators. If our union is
weakened, it will be harder for us to stand together to ensure
our students have critical programs and support like school
libraries. It will be harder for us to fight for the things our
students needwhich impacts families and local
communities.
Make no mistake about it, this case is an attempt to shift
the balance away from workers and in the favor of corporate
interests, said Heins. Thats apparent by the wealthy
special interests funding the lawsuit. This case has nothing to
do with whats good for students or working families. It only
hurts the middle class at a time when working Americans are
finding it harder to get by. For our students and our future,
we hope the Supreme Court upholds the current law.
For more information about the case, including links to friend
of the court briefs, columns by experts opposing the
deceptive lawsuit, and other data, go to
www.cta.org/friedrichs. For more on national impact and
background, see the America Works Together coalition site
at www.americaworkstogether.us.

B. Site Staff Development Days: The teaching staff


and the administration of the site shall determine
the content of site staff development days. The
District may provide guidance and assistance, if
requested.
There are many ways to collect information from your site as
to what you would like to have on your PD day. Here are a
few possible examples:
I.

II.
III.

Have members send their suggestions to the


principal via e-mail and cc the entire staff. The
Principal can prioritize these.
At a staff meeting, a poster can be put up and
members write their ideas or share out their ideas.
Members can tell their grade level leaders, and the
grade level leaders can share at their leadership
Meeting.

Dont forget about specialized folks: School psychologists;


librarians; counselors; speech therapists; and prep teachers
in elementary.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Coan, Elementary Grievance Chair
**********************************************

NEWS
SUPREME COURT HEARS HOW FRIEDRICHS
V. CTA THREATENS FAIRNESS, PUBLIC
SERVICES, MIDDLE CLASS
WASHINGTONThe U.S. Supreme Court today heard how
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association seeks to make
it harder for educators to come together to bargain for
smaller class sizes, safer schools, and better learning
environments for all students. The plaintiffs seek to overturn
common sense jurisprudence established in Abood v. Detroit
Board of Education in 1977, which allows states and
localities the freedom to choose whether all public
employees should pay their fair share for the employment
representation they receive.
As a classroom teacher, I see every day how collective
bargaining is benefiting my students, said Reagan Duncan,
a first grade teacher in Vista, Calif. who was in Washington,
D.C. today. Through my union, we have been able to
bargain contracts that provide smaller class sizes which
allows us to provide more one-on-one instruction time and
individualized attention to ensure our students succeed.
Witnessing the oral arguments first hand in the chambers
was CTA President Eric Heins who describes the
proceedings as intense, and a proud personal moment to be

Calendar
JANUARY 2016
1
5
13
15-17
17
18
19
23

New Years Day


PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
Issues Conference, Rio All-Suite Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day No School
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
School Board Breakfast, Double Tree Hotel, Pleasanton

FEBRUARY 2016
2
2
10
10
12
14
15
16
24

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Groundhog Day
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
Ash Wednesday
Lincolns Day (no school)
Valentines Day
Presidents Day (no school)
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
Next Deadline for Articles is Tuesday, February 9, 2016
STAY INFORMED @ peateachers.org
cta.org & nea.org

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