Congratulations to the following VEA members who will be representing Vallejo at the NEA Representative Assembly in Denver, Colorado this summer:
-Tiffany Jackson
-Scott Heinecke
-Lynette Henley
-Katherine Catanzarite
-Rajendra Shrivastava
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.
High standards pay off for Teacher of the Year Ainsley Harris
Posted: 03/08/2014 01:07:04 AM PST
Cooper Elementary School teacher Ainsley Harris, center, poses with a few of her fourth-grade students Friday in front of a school mural. Harris was named this week the Vallejo City Unified School District Teacher of the Year. (Lanz Christian Bañes/Times-Herald)
It’s a good thing Ainsley Harris’ principal waited until the end of the day to tell her the good news.
“I was a wreck,” said Harris, of the smiles and tears of joy she shed when she learned she was the Vallejo City Unified School District Teacher of the Year.
Harris formally accepted her plaque at Wednesday’s school board meeting.
A fourth-grade teacher, Harris has been at Cooper Elementary School for the last four years.
Harris didn’t always know whether she wanted to go into education. As a student at San Diego State University, a friend encouraged her to look into teaching.
“I just did it. I got my credentials and I never looked back,” said Harris, who grew up in Marin County and still lives there today.
Because at the time she was in her early 20s and herself not too far removed from high school, Harris decided to teach at the elementary level rather than the secondary schools.
Her first job after getting her credentials from Dominican University a decade ago was at Patterson Elementary School, where she was encouraged to apply by another friend and former teacher at that campus.
As an educator, she’s encouraged group work with her students and said her poster-festooned classroom — with little desks set up in fours — usually has a buzz of noise as students work together.
“Kids are talking, which to me is a good thing,” Harris said, adding that she makes sure the students stay on task and are talking about their assignments.
Harris holds both herself and her students to high standards.
“If you believe in your students and you give them high expectations and you put new opportunities for them, and they succeed at them, it makes them grow,” Harris said.
Achieving Teacher of the Year had always been something at the back of Harris’ mind, but nothing that really dominated her everyday life for the last 10 years in the classroom. But when Cooper Principal Susan Walls pulled Harris into her office, she was unable to hide her excitement.
“She just told me I was nominated, and I started crying,” Harris said.
Harris, a single mother, said most of her free time is spent raising her 3-year-old son. She loves to cook, but hates the precision of baking. Harris said she wasn’t sure whether she’d want to try working at a high school level — or even try her hand as an administrator.
Perhaps she’ll follow in the footsteps of Solano Middle School teacher Angelo Bracco, who last year was not only the Vallejo Teacher of the Year, but also Solano County’s and California’s top educator.
But Harris is sure of at least one thing.
“I love my classroom, and we’re in Room 24,” said a smiling Harris, whose students made sure to ask her for a shout-out in the newspaper.
Contact Lanz Christian Bañes at (707) 553-6833 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @LanzCBanes.
February 2014
- The VEA Bargaining Team met with the District on Thursday, February 27, 2014.
- We continued to bargain on the following articles: WAGES, HOURS, SAFETY, CLASS SIZE, EVALUATIONS, Clean-up Language, Outstanding MOUs, and MEMBERS’ RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS.
- We received a disappointing response to our wage proposal from the district.
- We have let the district know that we will only accept an increase in wages that honors your hard work and acknowledges your sacrifices.
- We will continue to keep our members up-dated. However, in order to comply with the tenants of bargaining, we cannot be specific with information.
- We have scheduled additional dates in order to move the process forward more quickly.
- Our goal is to present a proposed contract for ratification by the beginning of May.
- At this point it is critical that members get involved!
- VEA’s Action Team will be putting together a plan… please look for it at Rep Council.
For immediate bargaining updates, please send your personal email to your bargaining contact below:
Janny Latno– [email protected] : Loma Vista, Highland, Wardlaw, and Solano Middle
Marneé McKenzie– [email protected] : Cave, Cooper, Steffan, Pennycook and Hogan Middle.
Carol Bishop– [email protected] : Jesse Bethel, Vallejo High, Franklin Middle and Hogan Middle
Leanne Duden– [email protected] : Mare Island, Patterson, Federal Terrace, and Vallejo Charter
Diane Klinge– [email protected] : Glen Cove, Peoples, Beverly Hills, and Vallejo Charter
Kathy Hellfeier– [email protected] : Widenmann, Dan Mini, and Lincoln
Congratulations to Marneé McKenzie (Vice President) and Katie Vevoda (CTA State Council Representative).
Governor’s Budget Would Give Schools $10B in Additional Funding
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday unveiled his $106.8 billion general fund budget proposal for the 2014-2015 year, saying it is “very good news.” [Read the governor’s news release and full budget summary.]
The governor told reporters that the budget would provide an additional “$10 billion for the schools of California after years of drought, cuts, and pink slips for teachers.”
CTA President Dean E. Vogel praised the governor for the new spending plan, saying: “The governor’s proposed budget will help our public schools and colleges continue to heal after years of devastating cuts.”
The governor said his administration is convening meetings of stakeholders to address the issue of maintaining the financial stability of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Read more about CalSTRS’s unfunded liability.
The release of the budget proposal is the first step in a long process that ends in the adoption and signing of a state spending plan before the July 1 start of the 2014-15 budget year.
California Falls to 50th in School Funding in Education Week Survey
The newest Education Week survey of education funding finds that California has hit 50th among the states in per-pupil funding, a key measure of financial commitment to public schools. According to the report, California fell from 49th to 50th in per-student funding in the 2010-11 school year. According to the report, California spends $3,500 less per student than the national average and $11,000 less per child than the top-ranked state of Wyoming.
CTA Supports Proposed Regulations for Local Control Funding Formula: Educators to Testify Next Week
CTA members will be testifying on Thurs., Jan. 16, in Sacramento before the State Board of Education about the proposed regulations for implementing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The LCFF is boosting appropriations for all schools, with additional allocations to schools with large segments of English learners, children from low-income families, and foster children.
CTA has worked hard to encourage the SBE to adopt regulations that will provide schools, parents, and educators with the flexibility needed to implement the program effectively. These quick points explain how the proposed regulations improve education, help students who need it most, involve parents and the community, strike the right balance between accountability and flexibility, and support continuous transparency.
Read CTA’s letter urging the SBE’s support.
Contact the members of the State Board of Education and urge them to adopt the draft regulations that CTA is supporting. You can reach all of them by calling the State Board of Education at (916) 319-0827.
The members of the Board are:
- Dr. Michael Kirst, State Board President
- Dr. Ilene Straus, State Board Vice President
- Ms. Sue Burr
- Dr. Carl A. Cohn
- Mr. Bruce Holaday
- Dr. Aida Molina
- Ms. Patricia Ann Rucker
- Dr. Nicolasa Sandoval
- Ms. Trish Boyd Williams
- Jesse Zhang, Student Member
Education Committees to Hear CTA-opposed Bills
The Assembly Committee on Education on Wed., Jan. 15, is expected to hear CTA-opposed AB 815 by Assembly Member Connie Conway (R-Tulare) that would expand the universe of schools that could implement the parent trigger law. Current implementation of the deeply-flawed law has lacked transparency and led to many parents feeling lied to and deceived. There is growing evidence that parents are not actually the ones behind these parent trigger initiatives, but rather wealthy corporate special interests that want to push their agenda to privatize all schools in California.
Meanwhile, the Senate Education Committee is expected to vote on CTA-opposed SB 559 by Senator Bob Huff, Chair of the Republican Caucus. It would move the preliminary certificated layoff notification date from the current date of March 15 to May 15, and the final layoff notice deadline from May 15 to June 15. The changes create more uncertainty for students and would make it much harder for a laid-off teacher to apply for work in other districts in a timely manner.
Contact Your Lawmaker in Support of This One!
Assembly Member Pushes Bill to Protect Student Safety
The Assembly Committee on Education will also vote on AB 135, a CTA-supported bill by Assembly Education Chair Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), which would require all school districts to have a board policy about their child abuse and reporting responsibilities and to review it annually with their employees. It aims to help strengthen student safety. CTA believes local school districts and state agencies must take all necessary steps to prevent any type of child abuse and neglect.
Click through to CTA’s Legislative Action Page to get in touch with your lawmakers!
We met with the District on Friday 12/20/13 from 9:00-12:00. Although we discussed wages, there was no agreement. We will meet again on Thursday 1/23/14. As we continue with negotiations, VEA’s Organizing Team will let you know how you can support our bargaining efforts.