SAVE THE DATE! 

Friday, September 12th, 4:00-7:30 pm

La Estrellita Restaurant at the corner of E. 12th Street and 5th Avenue in Oakland

Bring your colleagues and spend an evening relaxing and socializing!

Great food, drinks, and company! 

The OEA Executive Board voted unanimously last week to OPPOSE this latest form of taxation without representation and outright support for encouraging more charters and eroding our district public schools even further. For many reasons, some of which are listed below, we cannot support this tax. However, because it was rushed through days before the registrar’s August deadline, before our members were back to work, we haven’t been able to have a full and open discussion about the pros and cons this measure with all of you. We want to invite you to share your views — for, against, or neutral — in preparation for a full discussion and vote of the Representative Council on September 8th. We will send more information to all Reps this coming week, and urge every one of you to engage your colleagues in debating this issue. It’s crucial that we fully educate ourselves about the implications of this measure, especially since we’ve already heard from O’Connell’s office that "he’s not worried about labor." In other words, they’re looking to split the rank and file from leadership around the very legitimate need for higher compensation for teachers.

Some of the reasons the Executive Board took a unanimous position against Measure N:

1) It’s taxation without representation. NO ONE in OEA, the Central Labor Council, the Board of Education, Sandre Swanson’s office, etc. was consulted about the particulars of this measure. It was delivered as a mandate from O’Connell’s office.

2) The Board of Education voted 6-1 against it (only Noel Gallo supported it), calling instead for a committee to be formed of stakeholders to develop a measure for a future ballot; this was vetoed.

3) Oakland already has over 15% of its students attending  charter schools, schools which can and do discriminate in accepting and keeping students. There is virtually no public oversight over what happens in these schools. Although public in name, they are essentially privately-run schools receiving public funding. And under state administration, the number of charters has multiplied. This measure would encourage even more charter operators to petition for charters.

4) Only teacher salaries are included in this measure. What about all the other employees of the district? This looks suspiciously like an attempt to divide teachers from the rest of the district’s workers.

5) Only last February, Oakland taxpayers generously approved a permanent parcel tax of $195/parcel to support public schools. Why is O’Connell asking for yet another flat parcel tax, instead of looking to corporate Oakland to pay their fair share? Why didn’t he even consider a tax on square footage? As it stands now, a homeowner of a 1000 square foot dwelling will pay the exact same amount as the owner of a 20,000 square foot business. This is regressive taxation: the tax burden is shouldered by working people who are already being hit hard by the economic "downturn".  More money for education is badly needed, and it should come from those who have it: corporations and the wealthy.

6) Under the last five years of state receivership, there has been virtually no accountability for how money has been spent. Are we really willing to support something that has very little specifics on how the money would be allocated? What if O’Connell decides the money to teacher salaries will be linked to student performance? Who gets to decide what constitutes a "sound educational program" in charter schools? And what is to prevent a bait-and-switch, in which any parcel tax money used toward teachers’ salaries is considered "savings" to be redirected toward more outside contractors and consultants?  What reason do we have to expect good faith implementation by the State Administration of any new funding? Again, we invite you to share your views on this measure — pro, con, or neutral. We need to have the most democratic and extensive discussion possible in the next few weeks so we are ready for the spin that is sure to come our way.

Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful first week back in school!

In unity,
Betty Olson-Jones
OEA President

HOW WILL THE OEA/OUSD CONTRACT LANGUAGE ON

HEALTH BENEFITS AFFECT ME?    

                 WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT?                         

The 2005-2008 OEA/OUSD contract defines how any increased costs in Health Benefits are covered.  Effective June 30, 2008, the OEA/OUSD contract, Section 24.8.1.11, establishes the following for the 2008-09 school year contribution:

• The OUSD will pay 86% of the cost of medical benefit premiums;
• Measure E shall contribute 10% of the cost of medical benefit premiums; and,
• OEA Bargaining Unit members (collectively) will pay 4% of the total medical benefit premiums.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME?

1. OEA unit members’ dollar contributions are capped at $700. OEA Bargaining Unit members can pay no more than $70 per month and much less based on the negotiated calculation indicated below.
2. OEA Member Health Benefit contributions can be paid as part of the IRS 125 plan.
3. The health benefit calculation is reached by using this process:

The district and OEA agree on the exact dollar cost of Health Benefit Premiums for 2008-2009 benefit year.

The cost to the total OEA Bargaining Unit is 4% of the exact dollar cost calculated.

OEA and the District determine the percent of total salary cost needed to generate the 4% dollar amount.   This year that figure is .0066

This percentage figure is applied to each unit member’s annual compensation (does not include extra duty pay).

That amount is divided by 10 months to establish a monthly dollar premium contribution.

The monthly figure is the unit member’s contribution for health benefits.

It can be deducted through the IRS 125 plan option for a potential tax savings.

Examples:     

Unit members working less than full time will contribute prorated amounts as per contract.

Through negotiations with the district, OEA has maintained quality Health Benefit coverage and has kept the cost to our members manageable, fair and eligible to be paid with pre-tax dollars.

President’s Remarks to Representative Council

June 2, 2008

Update on the District

In the past few weeks, the District has revealed their Multi-Year Fiscal Sustainability Plan, alluding to the possibility of 11-17 school closures; they have unveiled their response to the Governor’s May Revise, raising the probability of further cuts to the classroom; they have threatened Paul Robeson School of Performing Arts with the loss of their principal, counselor, drama and dance teachers; they have allowed a scandalous lack of a fire alarm system to continue at Tilden School.

We are heading into the summer months not having a full picture of what changes we might find when we come back. Because of Results Based Budgeting, each school site has made its own consolidations and cuts but they haven’t yet been made public. We’ve heard from a number of sites that they are not replacing retiring teachers, and that primary grades are going to increase in size due to cuts in Class Size Reduction money. At the next School Board meeting on June 11 we are expecting to hear more specifics, and on June 18 – after school is out! – the District will present the first reading of its budget for 2008-2009. We urge any of you who are around to attend one or both of these meetings – all kinds of interesting and outrageous information comes to light during them. For instance, at last week’s School Board meeting we learned that the District can’t say for sure if all high schools in Oakland offer A-G classes; we also learned that last week in the Consent Calendar, there were two items totaling $600,000 for audits, taking money directly from the General Fund.

Update on OEA Actions

Thank you to all of you who came out on May 14 to protest budget cuts and stand in solidarity with your colleagues in defense of quality public education! The weather was gorgeous, the three bands were a wonderful reminder of the critical importance of art and music in our students’ and our own lives, and it was inspiring to hear from so many teachers, parents and students. We will need to step it up in the months to come, and we will need all of your energy, enthusiasm, and motivation as leaders of this union to make that happen. The following day thousands of students, many from Oakland high schools, converged on Sacramento for a spirited rally in opposition to budget cuts.

Plans for a “Big 3” Action June 13, bringing Oakland, Richmond, and Vallejo together, have gone through some changes; we are now looking at some local actions, culminating in a press conference with the “Big 3” Presidents June 13. Our First Vice-President will give more details.

The Executive Board met over the weekend to begin planning for next year’s continuing campaign for a new contract, reaching consensus that we need to focus on one clear message: “Create Success – Quality Public Education is a Civil Right!” We are beginning to lay the groundwork for reaching out further into the community through house meetings, but before we do that in a major way, we have to focus on getting our own internal structure more prepared. I plan to spend the first 6-8 weeks of the new school year going to sites at lunchtime, visiting our members and hearing their concerns and issues. Hopefully I will be joined by another member of our Executive Board. Over the summer we will be calling on interested members to help out: through mailings to members, packets for new members, volunteering to go to summer school and professional development sessions to pass out information and sign up new members, and making specific plans for strengthening our committee system. Please sign up on the volunteer form in your packet if you will be able to help out at any time this summer, even if only for a few hours.

Last week I was asked to participate in a roundtable panel discussion on the pros and cons of charter schools, sponsored and moderated by the Marcus Foster Institute, and held at the James Moore Theater of the Oakland Museum. As a highly controversial subject, this was a cordial beginning to a dialogue. I represented the OEA position that the proliferation of charter schools is a move toward further privatization of the school district, that charters drain students and money from the district, and that because charters use public funds but have private boards and very little oversight from the school district, they are in essence able to exercise enormous flexibility with who they accept and who they keep. I also emphasized that because none of the charters in Oakland is unionized, teachers have no protection against being fired at will, and the turnover among charter school teachers is at least twice that of the district. The panel discussion was followed by a fairly disappointing question and answer session with local School Board candidates, showing that most of them are not well-educated on the subject of charters, Eli Broad’s influence in this district, and other so-called “reform” efforts that are in reality attacks on public education. 

Bargaining/HBIC

You have Bargaining Updates #6 and #7 in your packet.

HBIC Representatives have scheduled the first of many school site meetings to answer questions and hear input from all OUSD employees. Morris Tatum of AFSCME and I went to Franklin Elementary and Oakland Tech last week and met with OEA, SEIU, and AFSCME members; we have visits scheduled for next week at Fremont Federation and Westlake Middle School.

CTA Proposed Dues Increase

I hope all of you shared with your colleagues the proposed dues increase from CTA. In your packet is a letter from another local President and some talking points from CTA on this issue. The proposal was first presented at the April State Council and will be voted on at the June State Council. We discussed this at our last Executive Board meeting and voted to oppose any CTA dues increase that is not restricted to funds for local and statewide organizing. 

Recognition of Retirees and Reps

Yesterday OEA held our annual Retiree Reception, there will be more details under the Second Vice-President’s report. I just want to take a moment now to thank all of our retirees and all of you site Reps for your hard work in fighting for public education for hundreds of years, when taken collectively!

I wish all of you a relaxing, rejuvenating summer. You have all earned it. Come back ready to fight in the fall; we’re in for a tough and challenging time, but we will have the support of the community if we organize smartly and strategically!

In Unity,

Betty

IT’S TIME TO LEAVE "NO CHIILD" BEHIND

Jacksonville (NC) Daily News Editorial July 26, 2008

No Child Left Behind, the massive education program enacted by U.S. Congress in 2001, is one of those well-intended initiatives that has turned into a train wreck. It is time to admit that it simply doesn’t work. Onslow County Schools, like many other educational systems, have struggled with the stringent goals set by NCLB since its inception. In addition to what, on paper, appears an admirable objective - to improve the performance of the nation’s public schools - NCLB has probably done less to foster actual learning and more to tie teachers’ hands than any program before it. Once criticized for "teaching to the tests," educators have now been saddled with goals that are next to impossible to reach and draconian sanctions that are supposed to raise the quality of instruction. Instead, NCLB has sent many excellent teachers scrambling for the door. At a time when educators’ salaries are losing ground along with the rest of America, why would anyone want to enforce a provision that does little but drive good teachers from the profession? It makes no sense, but that is what is happening. The rural, lower-wealth counties and inner-city schools can barely keep enough teachers on staff to meet their needs, yet NCLB, which purports to raise the qualifications of those who teach, discourages the ones they do have, forcing many fine teachers to rethink their personal career objectives. Although NCLB is designed to raise the reading and writing levels of America’s children and provide measurable means of testing those abilities, what it is really doing is forcing teachers to "teach to the test" with a whole new desperation. The Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, goals that schools are required to meet are often impossible, turning the process into a shell game played between school and program administrators. Recently, Onslow County’s latest AYP report card revealed Onslow did not do very well in its latest assessment. Overall, the number of schools meeting their AYP goals in the county declined. What does that mean in terms of students actually learning something useful? How do parents make any sense of these numbers? They are the forgotten component of the NCLB Act. In truth, the only provision of NCLB designed to benefit parents and students allows those at low-performing schools to move to other schools in the district.No matter which candidate carries the day in November, it is hoped he will take seriously the business of teaching, limit Congress’ input into education and, finally, kick the NCLB Act to the curb. It’s an expensive, complicated program that delivers little but red tape and bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo, something the American people already have in abundance.

If you were the Site Rep last year, are planning to continue this year, or are new to this but interested, please join us September 8th for Rep Council! You’ll be the first to hear the latest on what to expect as we head into a challenging year of contract negotiations, budget cuts, and continued efforts to get rid of No Child Left Behind!

When? September 8th, 4:00-6:30pm

Where? Oakland International High School, 4521 Webster Street

                              May 5, 2008

This past week was historic in many different ways, from the May 1^st ILWU shutdown of 29 West Coast ports in opposition to the war in Iraq, to the immigrants’ rights rallies held that same day. It was a week that saw growing opposition to the Governor’s proposed budget cuts, including a budget cuts rally co-sponsored by the Board of Education, OEA, and elected officials, and a Town Hall meeting convened by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson.  And it was capped by a turnout of over 400 for the first Alcosta Service Center “Teacher Appreciation Day” at the Oakland A’s game, preceded by a fantastic tailgate party featuring the Angry, Tired Teachers Band of Hayward.

Now we have another chance to make some history – by showing up thousands strong at City Hall on May 14^th to protest the proposed budget cuts, and to demand the right to a quality public education for all students.

 We need each and every one of you to bring your colleagues, bring parents and students, take signs around to businesses so the entire city of Oakland knows we are serious about growing the green and changing the conversation to one of what our students need in order to be successful!

More details on OEA’s actions this week (in addition to our day-to-day advocacy, assisting members, meetings with the district, filing grievances):

• Tuesday, April 29: OEA held a joint press conference at the OEA Center with ILWU, United Transportation Union, UPTE, and Cindy Sheehan to publicize the May 1 ILWU port shutdown and underscore the unity between our demand to end the war and bring the troops home, and the need for more funding for schools, health care and social services. To see the press conference in full, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw8lwKTguoo

• Wednesday, April 30: We co-sponsored and participated in the Board of Education’s Budget Cuts rally in Hunter Hall. While there was unity among the audience that “cuts to education are not an option” and that it was important to make our voices heard to our legislators, I pointed out the irony in the fact that we were standing together on this issue and yet at the very same time the district unions are negotiating with the very same state that is set to cut our resources. In fact, I found out just before speaking that 55 SEIU positions had just been cut!

After the rally, several OEA members attended the School Board meeting to support the teachers, students and parents of Life Academy, which is slated to be moved while the district does earthquake compliance work. All who spoke from Life Academy were passionate, compelling, and persuasive, but in the end the Board voted to move them instead of allowing them to stay on the grounds, either in the building itself or in portables, while repair work is done,

I spoke at the Board meeting about the recent incident at Piedmont Avenue Elementary, making the connection between the Expect Success Wave 2 reorganization last year and incidents such as this one, in which a first grader was seriously injured after school. Wave 2 dismantled the Department of Family, Community and Student Services and thereby effectively undermined the district’s internal support for positive school climate, bully prevention, conflict resolution, Tribes, Second Step, etc. Despite the district’s rhetoric about safety being their number one priority, we know that their real priority is increasing test scores, whatever it takes. Schools not under as much pressure to “raise performance” are more likely to have the time to focus on other than test scores, whereas those that are afraid of sinking further into Program Improvement are urged to spend any additional time on test preparation and intervention. This is a question of equity, a question of values. What are we trying to teach our children if not how to get along in a complex world, and learn the tools to navigate it successfully? A child is more than a test score!

At the School Board meeting, BayTech Charter School was granted the use of space at Oakland International High next year as allowed under Proposition 39, which requires school districts to make space available to charters. Even after being granted this space, their director had the gall to request that the rental fee of $2.71/square foot be lowered… it’s not enough to bleed our schools of their funding, now they want us to give them the facilities as well!

• Thursday, May 1: May Day has long been celebrated around the world as International Workers’ Day, but this tradition has been lost in the US for decades. This year changed that in a big way as 25,000 longshore workers all along the West Coast shut down 29 ports and called for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thousands rallied in their support. About a dozen OEA members took the day off work, and we marched from the Longshore Hall to Justin Hermann Plaza, where speakers included members of the ILWU, Cindy Sheehan, Danny Glover, Cynthia McKinney, and me. I was so proud to be able to represent you before this crowd, and to underscore our message that while war profiteers are spending billions on a war of aggression, here at home we are told we need to make further cuts to an already scarce budget.

Throughout the day, OEA members taught using the anti-war curriculum prepared by some of our members (see below re: New York Times coverage); members held signs and passed out leaflets and signs before and after school both in front of their schools and at several big intersections; Kris Welch interviewed me for her show on KPFA, and Channel 2 provided coverage of our actions in support of the ILWU shutdown.

Later that same day, thousands rallied at the Fruitvale Village for the Immigrant Rights rally and then marched 5 ½ miles to City Hall. It was spirited, loud, and stretched for blocks. At City Hall Native drummers and singers joined a series of speakers, and once again I was proud to represent OEA by speaking on your behalf on the importance of solidarity in the face of attacks and repression of immigrant people.

You should know that on Friday, May 2^nd, ­ the day after the marches for immigrants’ rights, ­ ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents conducted a large-scale raid
at taquerias across San Francisco and the East Bay. Agents arrested about 60 employees at several locations of the El Balazo chain. Some of the workers have been released, but forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets while they await deportation hearings. Others are still imprisoned. Many were interrogated without legal representation

• Friday, May 2: The New York Times published a story on their visit on May 1^st to Craig Gordon’s class at Paul Robeson and Ben Visnick’s at Oakland High, focusing on the anti-war curriculum developed by several OEA members around May 1^st actions.

• Saturday, May 3: Assemblymember Sandré Swanson convened a Town Hall meeting focused on budget cuts at Encinal High School in Alameda. About 200 attended, including Loni Hancock and Mary Hayashi. I spoke on behalf of OEA and reiterated that the conversation needs to be changed from one of where to cut to one of who to tax.

That afternoon, over 400 teachers from the Alcosta Service Center Council converged on the Coliseum for the Oakland A’s “Teacher Appreciation Day” game against the Texas Rangers. Hundreds came early for a fabulous tailgate party, with electric live music from the Angry, Tired Teachers Band, a group of teachers who got together during the Hayward strike. Under sunny skies we danced, sang along, ate and drank, made signs, and then went to the game. Though the A’s didn’t win, we did – we broke down some of the artificial barriers between locals, got our message across with signs (“Strike Out Budget Cuts!” and “Budget Cuts Make Me Nuts!”), on the Jumbotron (“Step up to the Plate for Public Education!), and on KTVU Channel 2. I received this message from the Alcosta Service Center Council Chair the next day:

     Betty:

     I did not have an opportunity to connect with you last night at the

     game, but I wanted to thank you for your advocacy on behalf of all of us.

     I especially liked your interview on the Channel 2 news story.

     I also really liked how this event transformed us from individual

     chapters to a collective group of chapters focused on one common goal.  It

     is certainly a vision of the Service Center Council that I have long

     held was possible.  Thank you!

     Sincerely,

     Greg Bonaccorsi

     Chair, ALCOSTA Service Center Council/CTA/NEA

CTA Proposed Dues Increase

Please share with your colleagues the proposed dues increase 

from CTA outlined on the reverse of this report. 

It was presented at the April State Council and will be 

voted on at the June State Council. We will ask for 

your vote on this at the June Rep Council. 

Finally, PLEASE take seriously the crucial importance of 

getting every member out for May 14th. We are faced with 

impossible choices if these cuts are allowed to go through, 

and we need to show the Governor and the district that we 

are prepared to fight back!

In Unity,

Betty

For PDF click here: Bargaining Update #5: A Waste of Time?

OEA bargaining team members spent a frustrating and ultimately fruitless day today waiting for the OUSD / State Administration (SA) team to give us their proposed contract language for Article 12 (transfers and consolidations). We wasted a day—and bargaining team members were unable to teach their students all day—because the SA team wasn’t prepared. Here are the details:

Last month, as reported in OEA Bargaining Update Issue 3, the State Administration (SA) bargaining team proposed cutting salaries, eliminating staffed elementary enrichment prep, and increasing workload in secondary schools.  In last week’s bargaining they continued down that road. While they may say that quality public education is a civil right, their number one priority and their main concern is cutting public education spending–at the expense of students, staff, and the community. Any lingering doubts we had were dispelled in last week’s exchange on staffed preparation periods for student and program enrichment.

We asked the State Administration team how they could justify their demand to eliminate staffed enrichment preparation periods, when this would be doubly harmful to students:

By eliminating preparation time elementary school teachers need to prepare lessons and to go over student work.

By eliminating vital enrichment programs such as physical education and sports; computer activities; art; music; and other academic support and intervention programs.

How did the State Administration team defend their position? They chanted the mantra we will hear throughout bargaining: “Sorry, can’t afford that!” 

Let’s be clear.  The elimination of enrichment programs and activities is especially harmful to low-performing schools serving low-income students. Schools serving more affluent students may be able to raise funds from parents and other community members for supplementary staff and enrichment activities–but schools serving low-income areas can’t. That’s why the January 2006 report issued by the neutral Fact-Finder in the last contract round said that the district’s elimination of staffed enrichment preparation gave “the appearance and perception of discrimination”. We agree. Far from assuring Oakland students their right to a quality public education, the district and the state are trying to deny students this fundamental civil right.

Additional Areas in Article 10 Discussed (we agreed to discuss Article 10 first)

Compensation for Additional Hours Worked:  To limit the seemingly endless administrative demands on OEA members’ time, and to guarantee that time worked is compensated fairly, we proposed that any hours worked outside the regular work day (above the five additional monthly hours specified in the contract) must be voluntary and must be paid at the member’s per diem rate. The SA team would not agree. (“Sorry, can’t afford that!”)

Kindergarten school day: We proposed an extended day schedule (4 hours 30 minutes) for kindergarten students. (It’s currently a full day, which means kindergartners must go through a full 6-hour instructional day with no naps and no down time). The district has asked for additional time to consider and respond.

Speech and language therapists; social workers: OEA and OUSD signed a memorandum of understanding last year, which put Speech and Language Therapists on the Psychologists salary schedule; both teams therefore agreed to incorporate this into the new contract.  The OEA proposed that Social Workers have a similar extended work day and work year and be placed on this same salary schedule.  The OUSD team would agree to lengthen the work day to seven hours, but wants to base the salary on the K12 teacher schedule.

Voluntary Transfer Page 1

Voluntary Transfer Page 2

The Oakland Unified School District has yet another idea for something that will solve all of the
problems in our public schools. The good news is that this time they are on to something beneficial and substantive—something that’s even supported by the California Teachers Association. That something is the principle of “professional learning communities,” or groups of teachers working together to improve their practice. The bad news is that, once again, the state-run District is not willing to put its money where its mouth is.

In professional learning communities, or PLCs, teams of teachers are grouped together, usually by grade level. These teams meet at least once a week to look at the state curricu-lum standards, take input from the District, and decide the most important skills that they want their students to learn. Each group of colleagues then decides how they will teach these skills, how they will track student progress, and how they will intervene with students who are not learning the skills that they’ve been teaching.

The issue is that all this takes time. Most teachers already work many unpaid hours a week to plan lessons, give feedback to students, fill out paperwork, and maintain and organize their classrooms. That’s why the creators of the PLC model advocate for time to be given teacher teams to meet during the contract day. Instead of taking responsibility for finding this time themselves, the head office of OUSD has foisted the program onto schools, telling principals to figure it out. Of course at some sites with PTA funds or other sources of revenue teachers have been given an hour a week to meet and collaborate during the school
day.

The District now needs to put the “professsional” in professsional learning communities at schools all across Oakland by putting its money where its mouth is. What’s the point of owning a flatscreen TV if you don’t pay your electric bill? Even a beneficial, well-researched reform is useless if it is not adequately supported. OUSD needs to fund time for teachers to meet at least once a week or not have the expectation that PLCs will take root.

Fund it or drop it. Period.

Teachers and parents from Eureka to San Diego will come together at hundreds of locations on May 14.  They will protest the budget cuts that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing, cuts that would mean larger class sizes, less enrichment for students, and laid-off teachers across the state.

The governor’s proposed $4.8 billion cut to public education would affect students across the
state. The cut would reduce funding by $800 per student for the year 2008-09. California already spends $1900 less per student per year than the national average. In trying to anticipate the effects of the proposed cuts, school districts have already handed out 18,000 pink slips to teachers and educational support staff. How can schools succeed in such an atmosphere? What kind of future are we trying to help the children of California build?

Of course the cuts would also hurt at the local level. A $4.8 billion school funding cut in Sacramento means a cut of $23 million in OUSD. Thankfully,Oakland Public Schools did not lay off teachers in the hundreds or thousands like many other school districts. If the proposed cuts go ahead, however, the money will have to come from somewhere. Will sports programs be cut? Will vital support staff like counselors, speech therapists, and resource teachers be cut? Will class sizes be increased? California is so wealthy that it would be one of the ten richest countries in the world if it was an independent nation. Yet a small group of
Assemblymembers and State Senators have refused to consider increasing revenue rather than cutting public schools. Measures like closing a tax loophole taken advantage of by yacht owners and levying a tax on oil coming out the ground in California have recently failed in the legislature.  Unfortunately, as budgetary bills they need a two-thirds vote to pass. Even if these measures did get out of the legislature, would Schwarzenegger sign them into law?

The people of California need to send a strong message to our elected leaders on May 14. We need to make it clear that we are against tax breaks for the super-wealthy. We need to make it clear that we are against gas companies charging $4 a gallon and taking California’s oil for nothing. We need to make it clear that public education and the future of our children is our top priority, and that it needs to be their top priority too.

OEA is celebrating the Day of the Teacher by supporting public education and opposing the budget cuts at City Hall from 4pm to 6pm TODAY! 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing cuts in education of up to 10%, or $4.8 billion. These cuts would mean larger class sizes, less enrichment for students, and continued lay-offs for teachers across the state.  We need to keep up the pressure on the governor and Democrats in the state legislature whom we expect to fight for education. 

No Statewide Cuts to Public Education!

By Marijke Conklin

(Oakland, January 15 2007) When I testified at the Oakland Board of Education meeting last November, I was nervous.

The last time I testified at a public meeting was over ten years ago.  As a student in District of Columbia Public Schools (D.C.P.S), I asked if Mayor Marion Barry could provide us with textbooks.  And permanent teachers.  And potable water.  I had lived and traveled abroad and I knew that some conditions in D.C.P.S  (like some in O.U.S.D.) resembled those of exploited countries.  A self-important teenager, I didn’t notice who else was there.  I just knew what private schools across the land already know: students need materials and services to learn.           

Flash forward to Oakland.  This time, I was a school employee.  The new State Administrator and the Executive Director of Special Education were present.  I saw board members and press.  As an intern,  I felt vulnerable.  Would there be repercussions for speaking publicly? Would my competence be questioned?  Would speaking out turn the bureaucracy against me, and affect my ability to raise student achievement?     

As I stood in line pondering these questions, I began to think about what my students were missing.  Mario(*) excelled with sustained individual attention.  In a small group, Adil performed above grade level.  Huong sits and listens with an adult seated by him on the rug.  These are students designated as having special needs.  According to academic research and the law, they need more than an overachieving teacher to achieve high expectations.  They need services. 

In short, I stopped thinking about district politics and myself.  I started thinking about my students.     

I imagined workshop time, center activities and 1:1 opportunities.  I imagined one adult calming excitable students while I continued instruction uninterrupted.  I imagined recess working with small groups while the assistant helped with paperwork.  I imagined eating lunch.

Just before I reached the microphone, I remembered the phrase coined by teacher and activist Audre Lorde: “Your silence will not protect you.”  I realized my silence could never protect my students — only hurt their academic achievement.  

Whether our students need clean rooms, a caring adult, heat, appropriate curriculum, computers, a custodian, an Instructional Assistant, speech therapy, psychological services or other educational scaffolds guaranteed by IDEA and the Williams suit, teachers must be responsible for reaching beyond our classrooms to get those things.  After my turn to speak, Phyllis Harris, the Executive Director of Programs for Exceptional Children, approached me.  She said she had no idea we didn’t have an Instructional Assistant.  She said PEC wants to hear about it when our students need something.    

The next week, both vacant positions at my school were filled by qualified assistants. I heard from others who spoke that Instructional Assistants had come to their classrooms too. 

Coincidence or consequence?  I’ll never know.  But I believe there are repercussions to speaking out.  Really excellent ones.  And my students are now reaping the benefits. 

*All students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy

DON’T BOTHER TO READ THIS LETTER!

To:       All OEA Members

From:   Betty Olson-Jones, OEA President

Date:    April 21, 2008

I don’t usually start letters this way, but these are not ordinary times and I want to get your attention.

Won’t you please join other teachers and educators to show that we do care about making sure that every child has the right to a quality education? Come to at least one (and preferably all) of the events we have scheduled, and give us your feedback on other actions you would support: 

·       

Grow the Green! Cover Oakland with signs that read “No Cuts: Support Oakland Teachers, Public                   Schools” (pick them up at OEA or ask your Rep)

·        April 30^th: Rally with the School Board against Budget Cuts at Hunter Hall, 4:00 pm

·        May 1^st: Support Longshore Workers as they shut down West Coast ports; Rally for Immigrant Rights at City Hall

·        May 3^rd: “Teacher Appreciation Day” at the Oakland A’s Game; tailgate at 4:00 pm, game time 6:05 pm

(For more information on each of these events, watch school mail, call OEA at 763-4020, or check the OEA website at oaklandea.org. And give us feedback – what other ideas do you have that will get others excited about standing up for quality public education?)

We just held our OEA general elections. I want to thank all of you who voted for me; you have given me a clear mandate to be OEA’s spokesperson for another two years, and I am honored by your confidence in me. At the same time, I am worried. We are an organization of nearly 3,000 members, and yet fewer than 900 voted in this election! Complacency? Inertia? Despair? Apathy? Whatever the reason, it doesn’t bode well for our ability to not only defend our members’ rights but to make bold proposals for what it takes to truly educate our students.

And bold is the word for the proposals we’ve made in bargaining to the district. We’ve set out to change the conversation and talk about what students and teachers need to create success. But it won’t happen without the support of each and every one of us. I visited a school last week where a teacher asked me if I thought the district would cut our health benefits. “Without a doubt,” I replied. “As long as they don’t see our members coming out in force to support the union’s demands, they’ll do what they’re already doing – they’ll talk publicly about opposing budget cuts, while meanwhile at the bargaining table they’re proposing to freeze our salaries and increase our work load.”

Our profession is being attacked like never before, and if we don’t find a way to make our voices heard loud and clear, we could be witnessing the death of quality public education. How much longer are we willing to continue being complicit in the insanity of high stakes testing? How much longer are we willing to put up with the disrespect that we feel every day? How much longer are we willing to accept the threat of budget cuts in one of the world’s wealthiest economies? If we are not to be pushed even further down the road of data-driven drivel and top-down mandates, I challenge each and every one of us to get active!

A teacher at Franklin said recently, “What if we are test subjects of some national study to see just how many assessments teachers will give before they crack? What if every time we administer yet another assessment the researchers are sitting in a room, shaking their heads, incredulous, ‘Wow, I can’t believe they are actually doing this. That’s the third one this week!’”

The next few months are crucial. I know we’re all overworked, underpaid, and we don’t begin to get the respect we deserve. But if the district and the state don’t hear from us, they are left to keep doing what they’ve been doing.

Each of us can make a difference – and the time to do so is now!

In hope for the future of all the many children who depend on us to be their advocates,

Betty

No Cuts—Full Funding for Quality Public Education
On this DAY OF THE TEACHER we will testify demonstrate for quality teaching and learning
conditions for all.

Download a petition to support public education here: Support OEA Petition
En espanol: Peticion para apoyar OEA

From a Teacher’s Perspective #50 

Monday, April 14, 2008

Quality Public Education is a Civil Right

District Contract Proposals Don’t Create Success