HomeTag: teachers

Tag: teachers

ATTENTION 2014-2015 RETIREES!!!

February 27, 2015

 

Happy RetirementVEA 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.


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

A special invitation from Diane Ravitch

October 6, 2012

Diane Ravitch has a blog post about a special action taking place on October 17th. The basic premise is requesting that teachers, parents and community members concerned about the attacks on public education send letters to the White House.

From Ravitch’s blog:

Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.

Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education

If you send a letter, let VEA know. You can include in your letter in the comments below, on our closed or open Facebook page, or send them to Christal Watts at [email protected].

Let’s send a message to the White House that enough damage has been done to public education. The so-called reforms are now the status-quo and we must start doing things differently.

Our flawed national policy on education

August 14, 2012

Diane Ravitch posted to a story in Education Week. This is what she had to say about the story she had linked to:

Every once in a while, I read something that rings as true as a perfectly pitched bell or a fine piece of crystal.

Every once in a while, a clear-headed thinker assembles all the pieces of what is happening around us and puts it all together into a sensible and compelling analysis.

Go over and read the article and then, share it with everyone you know. The easy answer to the crisis in education is to blame the teachers. It will take much more hard work and a willingness to examine our society to make a long-lasting impact to the challenges we face in public education.

There is a reason that we lose 50% of teachers in their first five years of teaching and money is very rarely listed as the reason for leaving. Rather, the top reasons for leaving are due to poor working conditions and lack of respect or support from administrators.

Vallejo Teachers back to school this week!

August 12, 2012

School may start back Monday August 20th for Vallejo students, but their teachers have been working hard all summer in order to best serve the students they teach.

Vallejo Teachers will be returning to work this week, starting with optional staff development days beginning tomorrow. However, for many teachers, the summer break meant an opportunity for them to become better at their craft. Teachers took a variety of professional development courses, including learning about the Common Core. While contractually Vallejo teachers only have one paid day of prepping their classrooms, most have been working the past few weeks in getting their classrooms ready for their students.

Katie V., a teacher at Cooper Elementary enjoyed her professional development opportunities which included training in Math as well as taking the “Emerging Leaders” track at CTA’s Summer Institute. Other teachers took part in “Positive Behavior, Interventions and Support” (PBIS) and “Guided Language Acquisition Design” (GLAD) trainings, such as teacher Kevin S. at Highland Elementary. Other teachers took trainings on Board Math, Differentiated Learning, Content Area Language and Literacy, such  as Jen Z. at Mare Island Physical Fitness Academy and Cheryl T at Vallejo High.

Other high school teachers, such as Scott H. and Rob R., participated in trainings that will help the District in its vision for Academy High Schools. Scott H., a teacher at Bethel, did a week long training at UC Davis’ History Project Technology Institute and Rob R., a teacher at VHS, participated in his school sites’ Engineering Academy Project.

As noted on this website, Vallejo teachers also attended several events this past summer in order to strengthen their union, which helps them to become better advocates for their students and their colleagues.

Teachers also worked this past summer developing new lesson plans or tweaking their lesson plans to make them better for the upcoming school year. While there is the misconception that teachers do not work during the summer months, many of Vallejo’s teachers would state that this is unequivocally not true for them.