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President Sheila Gradwohl
Vice President Marneé McKenzie
Secretary Katie Vevoda
High School Director Bruce S. Wilson
Elementary Director Kevin Steele
Child Dev./T-K Dir. Loree Tackmier
K-8 Director Charla Yakabe
Calendars for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years ratified with 83% approval.[/important]
VEA is pleased to announce that, Pending final approval by the school board, a $5,000. retirement bonus will be offered to the first 20 members who notify the District that they will retire at the end of the 2014-2015 school year. Notification must be received by the District Office by April 13, 2015. The incentive is a $5,000. bonus payable at the completion of the school year. Members who work less than full-time will receive a prorated amount.
FYI: This will NOT count toward your salary; it is a ONE-TIME bonus payment.
If you have any questions concerning this bonus, please email Sheila Gradwohl at [email protected] or call 707-552-8487.
Myths about Due Process
Current misconceptions regarding the law have created several myths about tenure, popularly held, but all false. Paramount among these are:
MYTH #1: “There is a tenure law in California for K-14.”
The truth is, California dismissal law doesn’t refer to tenure. The concept of tenure as it developed in the medieval university has no connection with current practice, which provides only dismissal procedures guaranteeing due process rights and pertinent reasons for dismissal actions. Tenure has become a popular term used as a scapegoat for the real problems, which are ineffective evaluation of instruction, poor administrative practices, and inadequate investment by the public schools in experimentation, research and development, and in-service education.
MYTH #2: “Tenure is a lifetime guarantee of employment.”
The truth is that teachers have permanent status, not tenure. Within permanent status there is a procedure for dismissing teachers which guarantees due process and impartial consideration of the facts when disagreement about the facts exists.
MYTH #3: “You can’t fire a tenured teacher in California.”
The truth is that teachers are fired every year under the dismissal laws in California. In addition, when difficulties in dismissing teachers arise under the law, it is inadequate application of the law by administrators, and not the law itself, that is at fault.
MYTH #4: “Tenure is designed to protect teachers.”
The truth is that due process was developed and exists primarily to protect pupils and schools from political, social and economic interference with pupils’ right to a continuing program of quality education. The major function of due process is to insist that decisions about the quality of instruction in the schools be based on educational reasons, rather than on prejudicial or inappropriate selfish reasons.
MYTH #5: “Tenure protects the incompetent teacher.”
The truth is that California Teachers Association policy for many years has insisted that “Evaluation Is the Key to Excellence.” Where sound evaluation practices exists, it is the teacher whose inadequacies are identified and who is most affected by the need to improve, or in the absence of improvement, will be dismissed under due process provisions. Therefore, due process is a mechanism for evaluation of instruction which exposes rather than protects incompetence.
MYTH #6: “A good teacher doesn’t need tenure.”
The truth is that teachers who perform satisfactorily need the protection of due process and it is the competent teacher who is most needed to maintain and improve the quality of education for pupils. Every educational employee is entitled to due process. The broad spectrum of instructional practices require that differing methodologies require equal protection guaranteed under California laws. The competent teacher needs the due process laws!
From CTA’s “Evaluation: Key to Excellence” (2005)
Teacher association dishes out school supplies, books
Click photo to enlarge
Parents help children select a free book Monday… (John Glidden — VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD)
All it took to enter the Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club gym Monday afternoon was a golden ticket.
Well, it wasn’t a ticket, just a golden piece of paper.
By 4:30 p.m. well over 100 Vallejo City Unified School District children had stopped by to pick up free school supplies during the “Helping Hands School Supply Outreach” hosted by the Vallejo Education Association.
“It’s great for the kids,” said A.J. Brock as he and his wife, Araceli, stopped by the event with their three children.
A.J. Brock said that he was impressed with the free book each child was able to pick out.
“The books will help kids learn about the fundamentals to reading,” he said.
The event, while helping with school supplies, also helped the family learn about the Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club, according to Araceli Brock.
“We came in the wrong way (into the building) and we had no idea about the club but it’s a good program,” she said, gesturing to a Continentals of Omega Boys & Girls Club packet held by her husband. “We were even given a tour.”
“It’s our way of giving back to the community,” said association president Sheila Gradwohl. “It shows that our teachers are part of the Vallejo community.”
Gradwohl said this was the sixth year the Vallejo Education Association had given away school supplies like paper, pencils, pens, highlighters and crayons.
Local Control Funding Formula
CTA believes the state and federal government should provide adequate funding for education in order for schools districts to fulfill the goals of providing a quality education and necessary resources to meet the individual needs of all students.
We agree with the Governor that we must make education in our state more equitable, “Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice.” CTA also agrees that students with the greatest needs (English language learners, foster youth and low-income students) require additional resources to achieve the state’s academic standards. That is why the CTA State Council of Education adopted its Budget Principles that define support for the Governor’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula as one that provides equal funding for students most in need, restoration of the deficit factor, an annual cost-of-living adjustment while the formula is being implemented over a period of several years, and full funding for K-3 Class Size Reduction Program. Additionally, CTA believes funding must be based on enrollment and that quantifiable data is consistently applied and publicly available. Funding for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards is of paramount importance to CTA, therefore, we commend the Governor for allocating $1 billion to do so.
Key Points
- CTA believes the LCFF addresses education funding on the basis of fairness and equity among all of California’s students. At a time when more than 50 percent of the state’s population is comprised of ELL students and others who require additional resources to educate, it’s our responsibility to stand behind a proposal that seeks to provide a fair and equal opportunity for all students to succeed.
- After years of drastic cuts, it is necessary for the future of our children and the future of California that money owed to students and public education begin to be restored. Funding for California schools and colleges has been cut by more than $20 billion over the last four years. It’s time our students had a chance to focus on learning instead of facing threats of larger class sizes, fewer classes to choose from, higher tuition and fewer teachers in the classroom.
- At the same time, CTA supports the re-distribution of these dollars so that equity and fairness can finally be established after all the years of major inequities with the current funding system. We applaud the Governor for taking on such a bold and historic proposal.
- Funding for the implementation of the CCSS is extremely important in order to give educators the proper training and professional development to make the transition as seamless and efficient for all, as well to provide students with textbooks and resources reflective of the new standards. While it will take a lot more than $1 billion the Governor has proposed, it will certainly help move in the right direction.
- CTA supports the Class Size Reduction program for grades K-3 within the LCFF, but maintain it should return to the 20 to 1 ratio as it was prior to 2007-08. Studies consistently demonstrate greater student achievement among students in smaller classes where educators can reach each student and provide individualized attention based on needs and strengths.
- The LCFF allocates resources to school districts, county offices and charter schools based on student needs by providing supplemental and concentration grants. The LCFF also provides schools with greater flexibility and greater authority over these resources and it requires each district to adopt a local accountability plan. CTA believes the accountability plan must assure that supplemental dollars are sent to local school districts and spent on disadvantaged students.
- California has dropped to 49th in the nation in per-pupil spending in the last year and has consistently hovered in that range during the last 20 years. While the LCFF does not provide sufficient funding to get California to at least the national average, it’s a proposal that will significantly increase overall state spending for all schools while providing additional resources to disadvantaged students.
- CTA welcomes the upturn in the economy as we move into better financial times as a state and funding is fully restored to our schools.