Home2013Monthly Archives: January 2013

Monthly Archives: January 2013

Pressuring Teachers to change grades is not only wrong – it’s also illegal

January 26, 2013

Teachers need to know that if a site administrator approaches you about changing a grade, they are breaking the law. This can be very intimidating for newer teachers, but know that the law is on your side.

According to California Education Code 49066, it states:

(a) When grades are given for any course of instruction taught in a school district, the grade given to each pupil shall be the grade determined by the teacher of the course and the determination of the pupil’s grade by the teacher, in the absence of clerical or mechanical mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency, shall be final.
(b) The governing board of the school district and the superintendent of such district shall not order a pupil’s grade to be changed unless the teacher who determined such grade is, to the extent practicable, given an opportunity to state orally, in writing,or both, the reasons for which such grade was given and is, to the extent practicable, included in all discussions relating to the changing of such grade.

Teachers need to contact VEA immediately if your site administrator is pressuring you to change a grade.

Solano County Office of Education – Teacher of the Year nominations

January 26, 2013

Please see information provided below for the Solano County Office of Education’s Teacher of the Year and Classified School Employee of the Year. Ask to be part of the process at your school site and nominate deserving colleagues.

Dear District Superintendents:

I am pleased to invite your district to participate in the Solano County Educators of the Year Program. The program recognizes two wonderful groups of educators in one celebration; the Classified School Employee of the Year (CSEY) and the Teacher of the Year(TOY).

The program is designed to reflect the rich diversity of Solano County’s public school educators while paying tribute to Solano’s teaching force, the growing complexity of challenges that confront our schools, and the need to promote collaboration and teamwork among educators to meet those challenges.

The CSEY is designed to highlight the contributions of classified school employees who support the education of our public school students in preschool through grade twelve. The overall purpose is to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of outstanding classified school employees. They are vital members who play key roles in creating a school environment that promotes student achievement, safety, and health. It is our goal to recognize and honor an exemplary classified school employee from each school district throughout Solano County. School districts may select one classified school employee in the child nutrition, maintenance and operations, office and technical, paraeducator and instructional assistance, support services and security, or transportation department.

The TOY is designed to recognize outstanding teachers throughout Solano County. The TOY Program highlights educational innovation, student learning, and the rewards of teaching. Further, the program attracts public attention to the positive aspects of our educational system. The program pays tribute to Solano’s teaching force, the complexity of challenges that confront our schools, and the need to promote collaboration and teamwork to meet those challenges.

The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) encourages participation in both programs by all districts; however, district participation is on a voluntary basis. Each district is encouraged to submit one CSEY and one TOY nominee for consideration. Nominees are identified through a local selection process determined by each district. Nominations can only be submitted by a district. Nominations will not be accepted directly from schools or other organizational entities.

The CSEY and TOY Applications are available online at the Solano County Educators of the Year webpage. Applications must be received by Thursday,February21,2013.

The SCOE will convene a Blue Ribbon Selection Committee to evaluate the nominations and determine the winners. The Solano County CSEY and TOY winners will be announced at the Solano County Educators of the Year Celebration on May 1, 2013, in Suisun, California. At the celebration, the district nominees will be recognized and honored with a special presentation.

Below is additional information to assist you in selecting your district CSEY and TOY nominees. Please be patient when waiting for the link to open. The link may take extra time before completely opening for you.

TimelineforSolanoCounty’sEducatorsoftheYearProgram:

> Timeline

ClassifiedSchoolEmployeeoftheYear(CSEY)Information:

> CSEY Program Overview and Instructions

Application:

> District Cover Page

> Nominee Application

> Letter of Recommendation Form

TeacheroftheYear(TOY)Information:

> TOY Program Overview and Instructions

Application:

> District Cover Pages

> Essays

> Letter of Recommendation Form

Redwood Educators Conference – Free PD for VEA Members!

January 24, 2013

The Redwood Service Center Council (RSCC) is hosting the “Redwood Educators Conference 2013″ on April 26 & 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma. There is a required deposit of $50 to hold your place, which is returned upon your attendance at the conference. In other words, the conference is FREE!! This deposit covers the cost of the workshops, double occupancy room and meals.

The following sessions will be offered:

  • Human Rights
  • Women’s Issues
  • Ethnic Minority Leadership Development
  • Instruction & Professional Development
  • CalSTRS

Registration closes on Friday, March 8, 2013.

Please see the attached registration form for more information. Complete the form if you are interested in attending. VEA will not register members for this conference.

VCUSD Board approves calendar

January 23, 2013

VCUSD School Board Trustees voted unanimously tonight approving the calendar ratified by VEA members just last week. This means that the two days taken as furlough days in November 2012 will be added back into the remainder of the school year on February 15th and May 24th.

The District plans to send out the modified calendar showing all restored furlough days to parents and teachers.

The last day for students is now June 12th, 2013.

District retracts statement that it will “confiscate personal appliances”

January 17, 2013
VEA’s Bargaining team discussed the letter that was sent out by the District yesterday regarding personal appliances. Mel Jordan,  Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, was part of this discussion and in fact, released a revised letter, which is posted below. Please note that Mel Jordan did acknowledge that the tone of the original letter was not necessary. He took full responsibility for the tone and apologized stating that the message could have been better conveyed. NO personal appliances will be confiscated as stated in the original letter.

Operation Energy Sweep-Memo Revision

 

District seeks to ban and illegally confiscate teachers’ personal property

January 16, 2013

VEA has issued a demand to bargain on the letter that was sent today by VCUSD employee Denise Brogan-Whitford, most likely at the the direction of new District Administrator, Stephen Lane.

This letter was sent to all VEA members and issued the directive to stop immediate use of personal appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators, and coffee makers. This is supposedly due to an increase in energy usage.

No mention is made in this letter about the cold snap that has hit Vallejo and other parts of Northern California in the past couple of weeks.

Instead the blame for this increased energy use is placed on the usage of small appliances used by teachers in their classrooms.

The District has stated that if personal appliances are not removed by January 31st that they will “confiscate” these items.

VEA believes that perhaps the District has larger issues to address, such as the safety of their employees and the students of Vallejo, rather than the use of small appliances.

We also believes that in light of the fact that many teachers report having heaters that do not work in their classrooms, including VEA President Christal Watts’ 3rd grade classroom, that this District should spend more “energy” (no pun intended) on updating antiquated heating systems rather than seek to ban and illegally confiscate the personal property of VCUSD employees.

VEA’s Bargaining Team meets with the District’s bargaining team tomorrow. We will keep you posted!

Calendar Change Ratified

January 14, 2013

Voting was held today for VEA unit members on a proposed calendar change. This calendar change was necessary in order to fully restore the 2012-13 Student/Teacher calendar. Ninety-five percent of the members who voted were in support of the calendar change.

 

Two more conferences/workshops for VEA members

January 12, 2013

Save the date!

On February 5th and 7th, the CTA Office in Cordelia is offering Retirement Workshops for unit members who are considering retiring in the near future. If interested, contact Lynda Koning at 707-864-0305 to register. Do this ASAP as these workshops tend to fill up fast!

Save the date!

The Redwood Service Center Council (RSCC) is hosting the “Redwood Educators Conference 2013” on April 26 & 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma. There is a required deposit of $50 to hold your place, which is returned upon your attendance at the conference. In other words, the conference is FREE!! This deposit covers the cost of the workshops, double occupancy room and meals.

The following sessions will be offered:

  • Human Rights
  • Women’s Issues
  • Ethnic Minority Leadership Development
  • Instruction & Professional Development
  • CalSTRS

    • Registration closes on Friday, March 8, 2013. A registration form will be added to this post later. Contact [email protected] with any questions.

    VEA’s FAQ on restoration of 2012-13 furlough days

    January 6, 2013

    Right before the holiday break, Christal Watts, President of VEA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dr. Ramona Bishop, Superintendent of VCUSD. Below is the FAQ that has been developed for VEA members.

    Members will also see the proposed calendar change.  VEA has tentatively scheduled the vote to take place on Monday, January 14th at Jesse Bethel High School from 7 to 3 p.m. From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., voting will continue for VEA members at our January Social at Chevy’s.

    Questions from VEA members regarding the proposed MOU can be asked at our upcoming Site Rep meeting (open to VEA Site Reps, VEA E-Board members and VEA members only) on Thursday, January 10th at the VHS South Campus. Those wanting to ask questions should expect to arrive no later than 4:15 p.m., in which the floor will be open to answer questions on the MOU and is slated to last for no more than 30 minutes.