SEA Update
November 2021
President’s Message:
In the spirit of solidarity I greet you in Peace, Joy and Love.
As we begin to gather together with family and friends approaching the holiday season I have begun to think about how to convey to each and every one of you how important and effective it is to have our voices unified in collective power.
We alone cannot accomplish this task however, together we can move this mountain that many of us face day to day. As the President of one of the largest locals in Massachusetts, many of your colleagues have been working extremely hard to get the work done and we definitely could use your help. There are many committees that one can become involved in to direct this moving ship into the right direction. Stay tuned for more information on how you can become more involved locally and on a state level.
I serve on the board of directors for the MTA as well and I have a personal relationship with our current MTA president and many others. We will be sending out a list of committees that can definitely use your help.
When I begin to think about how we as a collective body can come together as one I have been reminded of these tips I googled from the internet on why it is important for us to work together:
Unions allow us to come together in a powerful and collective voice to communicate to management our dissatisfaction and frustration´. We as a collective body need the protection of a union now more than ever.
When we come together for the common good we begin to naturally become more collaborative and this can lead to a more enjoyable work environment for everyone.
It has been noted that, “psychologists have long identified the desire to feel connected to others as a basic human need with interpersonal relationships having a significant impact on mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. (Umberson & Montez, 2010)”
“Dunbar and Dunbar (1998) suggested that when individuals experience social pain in the workplace from feeling isolated, for instance, the region of the brain which is activated is the same as if physical pain had been experienced”.
“Conversely, when relationships in the workplace are characterized by cooperation, trust, and fairness, the reward center of the brain is activated which encourages future interactions that promote employee trust, respect, and confidence, with employees believing the best in each other and inspiring each other in their performance. (Geue, 2017)”.
It is to that end that I take the time to remind us why being connected in our union is important:
1. There is strength in numbers
2. Better terms and working conditions
3. We won the right for paid holidays
4. Security and stability
5. Having someone in your corner
6. Equal opportunities
7. Health and safety
8. If you have a problem we can offer legal services and advice
As we move into the holiday season let us not just talk about self-care, let us be intentional in taking care of ourselves and our brothers and sisters in the trenches. When you see a fellow member stressed remind them that they are not alone “together we go far” and if nothing else take your 30 minute duty free lunch. It is a must!!!
“Be brave to stand for what you believe in even if you stand alone.”
― Roy T. Bennett
May you find peace and joy during this Thanksgiving season,
Tracy Little-Sasanecki MSW
SEA President
413-782-8300 (Office)
413- 654-7014 (Cell)
Know your Contract
A few things to keep in mind as the year unfolds.
Anyone who earns an advanced degree such as a Masters, must apply for advancement on the salary schedule. Per contract, there are 2 times to do this each year. Those times are prior to September 20 and then again prior to February 20th. Find the advancement form on the SPS website. Complete the form and make sure “official transcripts” are sent to HR as well. Follow up with an email to ensure your documents have been received.
For those of you who have an advanced degree, but were hired without a DESE license, would have been placed on the salary schedule on the Bachelors level. Upon receiving a license from DESE, notify HR. You will then be placed on the Masters level of the salary scale with pay retroactive to the beginning of the year.
Prep periods: unless you are working for the SEZP or are in a school with a turnaround plan that specifies otherwise, you are to have a daily prep of a minimum of 40 minutes per day. The only exception to note is Central High which has a unique schedule for educators that complies with contract language by guaranteeing a minimum of 200 minutes per week, but not a daily prep. The work done in these prep periods is solely “teacher determined”. You, as the educator, decide what you need to do to prepare for your responsibilities – no one else can decide for you.
Sick leave: Article 12 of the “standard” contract and Articles 43 & 44 for the ZONE contract both state the usage policy for taking sick time. Read the reasons and abide by them. For example, do not record the reason for your absence is “personal illness” and then go to the attorney’s office to close on your house. This is a violation of the CBA. Take a personal day. This is a pretty obvious example, but the point is to keep within the use policy or you could wind up in a disciplinary meeting claiming abuse of sick leave. Abuse of sick leave policy is written in both contracts. You are entitled to use sick days within the strictures of the contracts with no reprisals. Some principals seem to think that the appropriate use of sick leave becomes a matter for Standard IV of SEEDS – a certain percentage of absences becomes an issue. This is incorrect. To be penalized in SEEDS for exercising a contractual benefit is not allowed.
As always, if you need anything, please contact the union at:
Ph. 413-782-8300
Keep Smiling,
Peter J. Reese
Professional Relations Associate, SEA
“People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.”
We Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work!
Pay Equity Sought for Empowerment Zone Educators
The Zone Bargaining team continues to meet with the Empowerment Zone leadership. The issue that is keeping us from a settlement is ensuring pay equity for Zone educators.
Here is the Issue:
District educators work 7 hours a day for 188 days, plus approximately 26 more hours /year for extended days and evening meetings for a total of 1342 hours/ year. The salaries of current educators in the zone are based on them working 1500-1540 hours/year. The contractual year at 1540 hours is 14.7% longer than the district contractual year.
Here is our solution:
To ensure pay equity we proposed that Zone educators make 14.7% more than District educators since their year was that much longer.
Here is why we are still bargaining:
While it seemed that the zone leadership agreed in principle with our position, they have not been able to meet the union’s demand. The problem is that there is a third party to the Empowerment Zone negotiations with us, and that is the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). During the first two sets of negotiations with the Empowerment Zone, someone from DESE sat at the table. This time they are not at the table but DESE must approve the contract changes. Thus far, DESE is not willing to let the Empowerment Zone use the money that we won in the Student Opportunity Act for the increased salaries, and DESE must approve the contract.
The Zone has moved towards our position, but we are not at pay equity yet. They have proposed a 6.9% increase, a shortened contractual year (1475 hours down from 1540) and using extended learning time stipends for the additional hours. Extended learning Time stipends are always substantially less than regular salaries and this continues in their proposal.
By shortening the year to 1475 hours the zone educators would be working a 9.5% longer year, therefore the current 6.9% increase that is on the table does not bring us to pay equity.
We believe that this is the time to push for pay equity because there is currently an influx of money to the district and zone:
- The federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund is providing $264 million to be spent over the next three to four years and the state Student Opportunity Act money –will increase chapter 70 funding, bringing an estimated additional $74 million/year by 2024, which is the end of this contract and an estimated total of $180 million/ year by 2027.
Zone educators who work in the same building or down the street from district educators need to receive equal pay for equal work.
The SEA Zone bargaining team may be asking district educators to take action in support of Zone educators in the near future. In the meantime, if you would like to come to Zone bargaining as a silent observer, please contact the SEA office ([email protected] – put zone bargaining in the subject line) and we will get you the zoom link.
Fair Share – why should SEA members care?
Fair Share Amendment will help pay for the Student Opportunity Act
As mentioned in the previous article Springfield Public Schools are slated to receive an estimated $180million/ year increase by 2027 to deal with the chronic underfunding that has historically occurred in districts like ours.
To ensure that money will be there to pay the increase, the MTA and its allies have put forth a constitutional amendment that will be on next November’s ballot.
It is called the Fair Share amendment and it would amend the Massachusetts Constitution, creating an additional tax of 4 percentage points on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million. This new revenue would be invested into funding our public schools and colleges as well as the repair and maintenance of our roads, bridges, and public transportation infrastructure.
We will be providing more information about this at the Legislative Board this month and at your school after the new year. If you are willing to sign a pledge to vote yes on this now, please click here.
ALANA (African Latino Asian Native American) Committee
ALANA meets every 4th Tuesday at 4:15 (via Zoom until further notice) and is open to ALANA members and allies. Our next meeting is November 23, 2021. At this meeting we will be hearing form the President of the Cambridge Education Association about the anti-racist work the CEA has developed with their employer. Come hear about another local that has decided to take on racial justice in their local, district and city. We will also provide an update on the Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity work that ALANA members are involved in with the District. Contact the SEA office for the Zoom link [email protected] – put ALANA in the subject line).
DIRE (Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity)
The DIRE Team will be welcoming new members to their subcommittees at their December meeting (the 2nd Tuesday - December 14.) It is the DIRE team’s goal to have all of our subcommittees reflect the diversity of our students, so we encourage members of historically underrepresented groups to reach out to the SEA if you are interested in serving on one of our subcommittees whose goals are stated below:
Professional Development: Ensure all Springfield Educators and administrators and employees have initial and ongoing professional development whose purpose is to eliminate racial inequities and improve outcomes for all racial groups and making Springfield public schools a safe and equitable place to teach and learn.
Curriculum: Develop curriculum that promotes racial social justice, challenges bias, and engages students in discussions about diversity, inclusion and racial equity. The curriculum incorporates the history of racial oppression and adds texts by black, brown and ethnic minority authors and works from diverse perspectives.
Recruitment, Hiring and Retention of Educators of Color: Evaluate and change the way we interview and hire staff of color to ensure transparency in the process.
Policies and Procedures: All district employees, educators and administrators understand the historical and systemic racial injustices and inequities that exist in our society and ensure that they’re not replicated in the policies and procedures in their worksite, classroom, school, or the district.
If you are interested in being on one of the sub committees, email [email protected] put DIRE in the subject line and we will call you to discuss your interest.
Parent Portal Update:
Secondary educators: The most recent communication from YI is as follows:
Using the Schoology gradebook is not required and there are steps that need to be followed in order for grades to automatically sync to Power Teacher Pro. Please see the Service Desk for guidance documents outlining these steps.
Q: Do I have to sync the Schoology gradebook to PTP?
A: No. You do not have to sync the two gradebooks together. You can continue to manually place your grades into PTP. As an option, Schoology can be set up with gradebook categories and weights and then linked to Power Teacher Pro to allow grades to sync with Power Teacher Pro. Please see the Service Desk for guidance documents outlining these steps. Article - Setting up Schoology Gradebook. (teamdynamix.com)
Elementary Educators
Thank you to those who filled out the survey.
Here is the elementary grading policy proposed by the district:
“There should be a grade posted to the Schoology or PowerSchool gradebook for at least one assignment per week, per course. These assignment grades should be recorded within two weeks of students submitting the assignment. Per the District’s grading framework some of these assignments may contribute to the 80% for standards-based assessments and others may contribute to the 20% for academic habits.
80%
Standards Based Assessments
- Assessments of learning that align with the standards in the MA Curriculum Frameworks and Pacing Guides
- Assessments of learning that align with the standards in the MA Curriculum Frameworks and Pacing Guides
- Frequency: 1 per week or 8-10 per marking period
20%
Academic Habits
- Student work used to gauge understanding
- Examples: homework, small group work, participation, homework, journals, exit tickets
- Frequency: daily or weekly
49% of the educators who responded to the survey said that the proposed grading policy would force them to change the way they grade, 27% said it would not, and another 25% said it might.
Our Elementary Grading team will be meeting with the district about their proposal in the near future to share our survey results and discuss what changes, if any, are needed to what educators do. In the meantime, just keep doing what you have always done, and use the Parent Portal when appropriate!
