The latest news- ELA Benchmark, Special Ed, and Your Rights!

January 2019

President's Message

My Union Sisters and Brothers,

Today as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., many quotes emulate his passion and strength for the Civil Rights Movement, but one speaks to me more as an educator today than ever before:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become

silent about things that matter.”

In the thick of the UTLA teachers strike, I am reminded that earlier this school year, we were almost in their shoes. It was strength, unity, and passion for our students that allowed us to achieve our goal. We came to an agreement with contract language our members deserved.

Acknowledgement of our increasing workload; language to support Special Education, Enrichment Teachers, Preschool teachers, impact teachers, and support staff; common sense additions to our Catastrophic Leave, keeping Collaboration Thursday’s respective to grade level planning, and most importantly, counselors at every school!

But the work needs to continue in our union. We have the duty to continue to stand up for our rights as educators and speak out for our students in the classroom. We have to discipline ourselves to follow the contract language, and work together for future negotiations.

Dr. King fought the injustices of racism, by listening to the people who were being most affected by it. Now, we must listen to each other, and do what’s best for our students.

There are many uncertainties heading forward to the end of the school year, but one thing is for sure: the association is only as strong as each and every member. The settlement of our contract earlier this year does not mark the end of our struggles, it is merely a reminder that we must continue to advocate for our students.

This newsletter will provide you with an update of where we are and ways that you can do your part in the building a stronger union.

Yours in Solidarity,

Christina Benson

NCETA President

Here’s a link to view slides with brief notes on the contract settlement:

Achievements for 2018-2021 Contract NCETA Contract Agreement 2018- 2021

Benchmark Materials

It is the position of the association to remind members that the implementation, assessments, and rollout of the Benchmark materials are OPTIONAL. No principal, admin, or support staff should be requiring you to begin implementation of the Benchmark program (or the UCI Math). This is a time to trial materials and see what the programs have to offer. You are not required to plan for Benchmark during data teams, but you may do so at your discretion. Evaluations of your teaching while implementing the program should also be cautioned. Please contact your site rep if you are receiving a different message from anyone.

NCETA Demands to Bargain

What is a Demand to Bargain?

A union's bargaining demand is sufficient if it 'clearly identifies negotiable areas of impact.' I mpacts on a bargaining unit may include, but not limited to, workload, hours, need for professional development, accountability, and evaluation.

NCETA Demand to Bargain:

We have notified the district that they must negotiate the rollout of benchmark with us as there will be impacts and effects on our working conditions.

Note: Although the rollout has already occurred, the association will continue to demand to bargain those effects.

NCETA Organizing

As I sit down to write this request, I am thinking of all that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & those who stood with him did for our country by standing united. In 2018 NCETA members protected students, families, and educators by standing strong and approving 2 strike votes which led to closing our prior contract & ratifying a historic 2018-2021 agreement.

We must continue to speak up, stand united, be informed, and do our part. There has been a dramatic shift in National School District. NOW it is time to remain vigilant to protect what we worked for and to work to make National School District the best for our students and all stakeholders.

What can YOU do? I am asking for your help with NCETA Organizing. We have 3 events remaining this year:

Know Your Contract & Member Social Event February 27th
Parent event in April
Teacher Appreciation/ Retirement Celebration in May

If you would like to join the committee (or are already on the committee), fill out this Google Form: https://goo.gl/forms/0AJi4lDjl8RDr05y2 . I will contact you with committee details. Join us for the events and spread the word when you get NCETA Organizing emails. WE can make the world a better place by standing up for our students and our profession. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is quoted - “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”

Thanks in advance for doing your part to help,

Tamlyn McKean

NCETA Organizing/Social Chair

ncetaorgaining@gmail.com

Special Education Taskforce

NCETA leadership heard you in the previous bargaining when you asked for time to plan, the tools necessary in the classroom, and the professional development before initiatives are rolled out. The contract language requires that any programs being implemented for the classroom must go through the consultation committee.

NCETA leadership and bargaining also came to an agreement with a Special Education Memorandum of Understanding. (SpEd MOU). The highlights to this agreement are:

The taskforce shall be composed of seven NCETA bargaining unit members- an SDC upper and lower grade teacher, Speech, Psychologist, RSP, an upper and lower general education teacher, and six district administrators.
The task force will research and study best practices for inclusion, and make recommendations for future negotiations between NCETA & NSD.
This will not be the decision-making body, the task force will work in conjunction with our membership and the National School District on Least Restrictive Environments and make recommendations.
Memorandum of Understanding Special Education Task Force

NCETA Special Education Position Statement draft

In an effort to give our Special Ed TaskForce committee members a direction when consulting with the school district, we will create a position statement on the mainstream goals and efforts to support our Special Ed students. Please see your site representative to give your input on the goals. Your rep will have a copy and share the ideas and revisions at rep council. A final draft will be voted on by reps at the February Rep Council mtg.

Support our Union Families

Many of the educators in Chico, CA were affected by the Paradise camp fires. Many are either struggling to feed their families or pay their bills. NCETA will be making $500 donation to the CTA members who were victims of the fires. If you are able to contribute as well, please check out the flyer below and make a donation. Thanks!

Paradise Fires GoFundMe

Click to Join

California Educators Rising’s

Adopt-A-Striking-School Effort!

Reminders

It is the recommendation of the association to not use your school computer for personal use. If you are using the wifi network, on your personal phone or computer, know that the district reserves the right to monitor activity used on their network. You are allowed to conduct personal business during your duty free breaks, but we caution you against using district equipment and/or district wifi for personal business.

San Diego Gulls Game

The San Diego Service Center Human Rights and REAC Team is excited to announce our get together at the 2019 Everyone Plays Gulls Hockey game to celebrate inclusivity and diversity in the sport.

Tickets are only $10 for CTA members and $17 for non-members. Please e-mail Jessica at sdctahumanrights@gmail.com to request your tickets and get more information.