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Award-Winning Newspaper of United Teachers Los Angeles •
www.utla.net Volume XLIV, Number 7, March 20, 2015
UTLA boycotts faculty meetings
Members’ fire fueled by layoff notices sent to 609 colleagues.
UTLA members are building on the
major success of our February 26 Stand
at Grand Rally by taking new action for
the Schools L.A. Students Deserve. With
contract talks in mediation, educators are
stepping up the fight by implementing a
faculty boycott plan, organizing class-size
caravans with the community, volunteering
for the School Board campaigns, and more.
Alexandria Elementary chapter chair
Carla Mcnellis says that 100% of her faculty
will be honoring the faculty meeting boy-
cotts, which are scheduled for March 24,
April 7, and April 14.
“We took a vote at school on who would
participate, and everybody raised their
hands,” she said. “We have been preparing and building up to this. We feel the
District’s offer is still unacceptable and the
foot-dragging has to stop. We are ready
to move forward with stronger action.”
UTLA members have a new outrage to
protest: This month LAUSD sent prelimi-
nary layoff notices to 609 UTLA bargaining
unit members, even though state funding
per student is going to significantly increase in 2015-16. UTLA President Alex
Caputo-Pearl questioned the motivation
behind the RIF notices in a speech before
the LAUSD School Board on March 10.
“I would hate to think these are being
put forward as a way to push back against
the righteous anger, passion, and frus(continued on page 6)
UTLA action calendar
March 24, April 7, and April 14: Faculty meeting boycotts
Stand at
Grand Rally
15,000-plus people in Downtown L.A.
February 26, 2015
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Standing together for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve:
• Smaller class sizes
• Fully staffed schools, with nurses,
librarians, counselors, psychologists,
and more
• Fair pay for educators
• A stronger voice for parents and
educators in school decisions
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UTLA members will boycott faculty meetings during the scheduled mediation period for contract negotiations (mediation sessions are scheduled
for March 26, April 6, and April 15). By compellingly demonstrating our
ability to act collectively when we need to, we will maximize the pressure
on LAUSD to come to an agreement. For more info, read the Q&A on page
4. Chapters may be planning alternative actions on meeting day; see your
chapter chair for details.
April 6: Cesar Chavez Day action during mediation
Members can honor Cesar Chavez by attending an action supporting
UTLA’s bargaining team on this holiday.
April: Community caravans to schools and the School Board
Member/parent/community/media caravans will travel to schools and to
the April 14 School Board meeting to expose damaging class sizes and unacceptable health and human services staffing ratios in our schools.
April 14: Pack the School Board meeting at Beaudry
This action will be tied to the caravans and the third mediation session
on April 15.
April & May: Volunteering for School Board campaigns
See more information on page 7 on how you can play a role in the May
19 elections.
Key member steps for faculty meeting boycotts
• Sign the public petition. Schools are circulating petitions for members to
sign to commit with their colleagues to honor the boycotts.
• Wear the “boycott” sticker all day on boycott days. Chapter chairs will
have boycott stickers for members to wear from the very beginning of the
school day to after the boycott.
• Boycott the faculty meeting and be sure to check in with your chapter chair.
Instead of attending the faculty meeting, members will be holding their own
short meetings in the school parking lot or on the sidewalk. Be sure to check in
with your chapter chair so you can be counted as having honored the boycott.
Cortines threat letter: We won’t back down
Superintendent Ramon Cortines recently communicated directly to UTLA members in an apparent attempt to stop our boycott of faculty meetings. UTLA members have boycotted faculty meetings many times in past years, and we have no
intention of backing down now because of threats by Cortines. We are fighting
for smaller class sizes, fully staffed schools, clean and safe sites, improved
learning and working conditions, and fair compensation. These issues are too
important to give up on.
United Teacher • for the latest news: www.utla.net
United Teacher
PRESIDENT
Alex Caputo-Pearl
NEA AFFILIATE VP
Cecily Myart-Cruz
AFT AFFILIATE VP
Betty Forrester
ELEMENTARY VP
Juan Ramirez
SECONDARY VP
Colleen Schwab
TREASURER
Arlene Inouye
SECRETARY
Daniel Barnhart
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jeff Good
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NORTH AREA: Interim: Kirk Thomas, Chair (Eagle
Rock ES), Blanca Mejia (EEC Center),
Rebecca Solomon (RFK UCLA Comm.
School), Julie Van Winkle (Logan Span School)
SOUTH AREA: Ingrid Villeda, Chair (93rd Street ES),
Ayde Bravo (Maywood ES), Ayesha Brooks
(Markham MS), Maria Miranda (Miramonte ES)
EAST AREA: Gillian Russom, Chair (ESP Academy),
Ingrid Gunnell (Lane ES), Gloria Martinez (Rowan ES),
Adrian Tamayo (Lorena ES)
WEST AREA: Erika Jones Crawford, Chair (Angeles
Mesa), Noah Lippe-Klein (Dorsey HS), Rodney Lusain
(Los Angeles HS), Jennifer Villaryo (Grand View ES)
CENTRAL AREA: José Lara, Chair (Santee EC),
Kelly Flores (Maya Angelou), Paul Ngwoke (Bethune
MS), Zulma Tobar (Harmony ES)
VALLEY EAST AREA: Scott Mandel, Chair (Pacoima
Magnet), Oleetha Mae Arnold (Grant HS),
Victoria (Martha) Casas (Beachy ES),
Alex (David) Orozco (Madison MS)
VALLEY WEST AREA: Bruce Newborn, Chair,
Melodie Bitter (Lorne ES), Wendi Davis
(Henry MS), Javier Romo (Mulholland MS)
HARBOR AREA: Aaron Bruhnke, Chair (San Pedro
HS), Elgin Scott (Avalon Gardens ES), Steve Seal
(Eshelman ES), Mary Tello (De La Torre Jr. ES)
ADULT & OCCUP ED: Ernest Kettenring (Roosevelt CAS)
BILINGUAL EDUCATION: Cheryl L. Ortega (Sub Unit)
ECE: Juanita C. Garcia (San Fernando EEC)
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Linda Gordon
SPECIAL ED: Darrell Jones (Byrd MS)
SUBSTITUTES: Fredrick Bertz
PACE CHAIR: Marco Flores
UTLA RETIRED: John Perez
AFFILIATIONS
American Federation of Teachers
National Education Association
STATE & NATIONAL OFFICERS
NEA DIRECTOR: Sue Cirillo
CFT PRESIDENT: Joshua Pechthalt
CTA PRESIDENT: Dean Vogel
CTA DIRECTOR: David Goldberg
CFT VICE PRESIDENT: Betty Forrester
NEA PRESDIENT: Lily Eskelsen Garcia
AFT PRESIDENT: Randi Weingarten
UTLA COMMUNICATIONS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Alex Caputo-Pearl
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Suzanne Spurgeon
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALISTS:
Kim Turner, Carolina Barreiro, Tammy Lynn Gann
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Laura Aldana
EDITORIAL INFORMATION
UNITED TEACHER
3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Fl., LA, CA 90010
Email: [email protected]
UTLA main line: (213) 487-5560
ADVERTISING
Senders Communications Group
Bruce Loria: (818) 884-8966, ext. 1107
UNITED TEACHER accepts paid advertisements from
outside companies and organizations, including UTLA
sponsors and vendors with no relationship with UTLA. Only
approved vendors can use the UTLA logo in their ads. The
content of an advertisement is the responsibility of the
advertiser alone, and UTLA cannot be held responsible
for its accuracy, veracity, or reliability. Appearance of an
advertisement should not be viewed as an endorsement
or recommendation by United Teachers Los Angeles.
United Teacher (ISSN # 0745-4163) is published
monthly (except for a combined June/July issue) by
United Teachers Los Angeles, 3303 Wilshire Blvd.,
10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Subscriptions:
$20.00 per year. (Price included in dues/agency
fee of UTLA bargaining unit members.) Periodical
postage paid at Los Angeles, California. POSTMASTER:
Please send address changes to United Teachers Los
Angeles, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los Angeles,
CA 90010. Telephone (213) 487-5560.
2
March 20, 2015
President’s perspective
Building our boycotts and our movement
By Alex Caputo-Pearl
UTLA President
What’s the money
situation at LAUSD?
100% participation at all work sites, accomplish all of these—without even remotely
After four years with an expired contract, affecting student learning. The boycotts touch
In the late 1990s, I was part of a boycott five years without a restoration of cuts that each of our members, with an “ask” to each
targeting the L.A. Metropolitan Transpor- hurt students, eight years without a pay of them to be involved. They show collective
tation Authority (MTA). I was organizing increase, and three years under one of the action across the city. They surface members
with the Bus Riders Union (BRU) and was most top-down, corporate superintendents who do not participate, who then need to
fortunate enough to be working side by side in the country, we have been aggressively be approached by colleagues with a firm,
with some of the best community organizers bargaining and organizing since July—our diplomatic demand that they take part in the
I have ever come across—Kikanza Ramsey, students, our schools, and our profession collective action. They ask members to take a
Martin Hernandez, and Rita Burgos. All can’t wait any longer. The demands we have slight risk, which is empowering and a critical
three had grown up in L.A. and on MTA in our Schools L.A. Students Deserve cam- learning experience. They lend themselves to
buses, attended LAUSD schools, and, after paign are fundamentally reasonable and being organized systematically, with chapter
chairs using public petitions, “sticker
college, decided to devote their
up” days, and systematic tracking and
lives to community organizing
reporting to build them. They provide
around social justice issues.
the opportunity to have our own 10The BRU launched its “No
minute meetings on the sidewalk or in
Seat, No Fare” boycott action
the parking lot where we can do a roll
because, even under a civil rights
call to check participation, and discuss
court order and massive comdevelopments. All schools must do
munity pressure, the MTA had
these 10-minute meetings after school
refused to divert monies from
on those Tuesdays, whether they have
rail projects to buy new buses,
a faculty meeting to boycott or not,
leaving L.A. with the most overbecause it shows solidarity and cocrowded urban bus system in the
ordination very powerfully across
country (94% of public transit
the city. Perhaps most importantly,
users depended on the bus, less
they show our ability to withhold
than 6% on the rail). Students,
grandmothers, hotel workers, Alex Caputo-Pearl addresses the 15,000-strong crowd rallying in front labor across the city if we need to in
a disciplined, collective way. Faculty
garment workers, toddlers, and of City Hall on February 26 for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
meeting boycotts simply make sense
more—overwhelmingly low-income people of color—often got passed common sense. Beginning to meet them as the next step in our struggle.
The week before the boycott start date,
up by buses that were too crowded to would simply be a down payment for a
accept more or they had to stand for entire bigger plan to move LAUSD in a direction Superintendent Cortines sent a letter to
bus rides across town, while suburban that improves the quality of education, re- employees threatening repercussions for
rail commuters, with subsidies per pas- cruits and retains educators, meets the needs honoring the boycotts. This was an unforsenger several times that of the bus, often of the whole child, and strengthens truly tunate response by a District that has failed
got padded seats and spacious places to public education by expanding enrollment to offer a fair agreement to educators who
have been without a renewed contract for
work on their rides.
in the District.
Six years of organizing and a major
From Big Red Tuesday in September to almost four years. UTLA members have
federal lawsuit had preceded the boycott the regional actions on November 20, to the boycotted faculty meetings many times
action—all attempting to push the MTA to massive Grand Park Rally on February 26, in past years, and we have no intention of
do the right thing and buy more buses. At we’ve made clear that we want an agreement backing down now. Our collective effort is
a certain point, an escalation of pressure this academic year, but that we are preparing our greatest defense against any possible
repercussions. LAUSD will not want to,
was necessary, and we launched the “No to strike if necessary.
Seat, No Fare” boycott. We prepared for
Now at impasse because of a lack of Dis- and wouldn’t have the capacity to, dock
weeks, riding buses and talking to pas- trict counter-proposals, heading into the late- or reprimand 35,000 people at once. In this
sengers about the launch of the boycott. March/early-April mediation period, we environment, individual administrators who
When the day came, we intensified our need to state our message to Ramon Cortines attempt to retaliate would be isolated and
organizing and took risks, talking with and the School Board again. They’ve issued would have “no case” because they would
passengers at crowded bus stops and then 609 layoff notices, in a clear tactic to stoke fear. have to retaliate selectively, and therefore
entering the buses, en masse, without They’ve accepted that there is a $47 million inequitably, at one school, rather than across
paying. We were amazed. The passion, hole in the budget for next year because of the District. UTLA has been through this
anger, and thirst for justice that bus riders MiSiS errors and haven’t said anything about before, and has come out victorious. In fact,
had been feeling for years crystallized attempting to recoup that money from the in the past, educators have worn buttons
quickly, and boycott actions multiplied state. They’ve issued the layoff notices even that stated proudly, “Make My Day, Dock
exponentially across the city, putting the though their own projections show a more My Pay” during struggles that led to key
pressure on the MTA.
optimistic budget picture: LAUSD Chief Fi- victories for students and educators.
Moreover, our boycotts sit within a broader
The “No Seat, No Fare” boycott action nancial Officer Megan Reilly has shifted from
ended up being a key event in winning an saying that the District will end this year with mediation period action plan. UTLA is
entirely new and expanded bus fleet in L.A., a $165 million deficit to saying that it will working with parents, community organiall clean fuel (the first in the country). It end the year with a $45 million surplus. She zations, and the media to create caravans to
took a long time, it took escalating actions, projects that 2015-16 will bring $210 million schools with outrageous class sizes and outraand ultimately, it took people taking risks, in additional revenue, and the following year geous student-to-nurse, student-to-counselor,
but we won something very important and will bring $109 million in additional revenue. or student-to-other-HHS-professional ratios.
historic, and Kikanza, Martin, Rita, and I
LAUSD’s current behavior doesn’t make This will highlight the need for class size
and HHS ratio components in any agreedeveloped a whole new set of leaders who sense.
ment we reach, support the site organizing
would carry the Bus Riders Union forward
of chapter parent action liaisons (CPALs), and
in the coming years.
Faculty meeting boycotts: It’s time
strengthen relationships with community
We, in UTLA, find ourselves in a similar to escalate again
situation right now—in a righteous fight
It is critical that we apply maximum organizations. The caravans will culminate
for the things that are unambiguously pressure right now, during the mediation at the April 14 School Board meeting, the day
needed in schools and for our students, period, in our attempt to get an agreement, before the third mediation session.
Moreover, another component of the meagainst an LAUSD that has appeared in- and that we do it in a way that continues
transigent, and in need of escalated pres- to build our school, work site, cluster, area, diation period action plan is a Cesar Chavez
sure to move forward the Schools L.A. and citywide structures in preparation for Day event in support of the bargaining team
at the Monday, April 6, mediation session (the
Students Deserve initiative. It is time to a strike, if necessary.
boycott faculty meetings.
(continued on next page)
Faculty meeting boycotts, where we need
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
(continued from previous page)
second session). Educators have that day off
from school—please place a hold on 9 a.m.
Huge opportunities in
the School Board runoffs
As we organize pressure during the mediation period to get an agreement, while
further preparing to strike if necessary, we
are asking all current School Board members
and candidates running for School Board to
support the Schools L.A. Students Deserve
and to press the District to come to the table
with new proposals.
In this context, we did exactly what we
needed to do in round one of the School
Board elections on March 3—we helped
George McKenna clear the field to run and
win unopposed in Board District 1, helped
destabilize Tamar Galatzan and force her
into a runoff with Scott Schmerelson in Board
District 3, and helped Bennett Kayser have
a strong showing in Board District 5 while
staying even with a massively funded corporate charter candidate. Now, we have to
double-down for Kayser and against Galatzan to win in the May 19 general election.
You must be involved in this.
Board District 7 also went into a runoff,
with Richard Vladovic facing Lydia Gutierrez.
We must insist that all School Board
members press the District bargaining team
to bring new proposals to the table before
and during the mediation period. Only in
this way will the Board be able to move on to
what is arguably its biggest task—choosing a
permanent superintendent. Board members
do not want to play a role in forcing UTLA
on strike in the middle of that process.
The fight for the future
of public education
As we initiate the faculty meeting boycotts
and other components of the action plan in
pressing for an agreement, as we mobilize
thousands into the build for the May 19
School Board elections, as we engage School
Board members and Superintendent Ramon
Cortines, and as we continue preparing for a
strike if necessary, we can also get a glimpse
of the struggle that continues beyond that.
Seventy courageous educators at the Alliance charter schools, the biggest charter
school in Los Angeles, recently declared
their intent to organize a union, with UTLA’s
support. When we see educators like Elana
Goldbaum in the lead of that—a widely
awarded educator, hugely popular with
parents and students—stating firmly that
they need the union to advocate for students,
stability, and the profession, it shows us what
part of the struggle for educational justice
will look like in the next few years. UTLA is
thrilled to support these educators.
Then we have Sharonne Hapuarachy, UTLA
chapter chair at Dorsey High School, and
another widely awarded classroom teacher,
working with students like Beverly’anne
Ogarro to build a school site movement for
more electives, ethnic studies courses, and
more college counselors. When we see this
kind of student/community/union partnership, it, again, shows us what an incredibly encouraging part of the struggle for educational
justice will look like in the next few years.
Leaders like Kikanza, Martin, and Rita
have moved things forward in years past,
and leaders like Elana, Sharonne, and
Beverly’anne are continuing to move things
forward today. Let’s do this, let’s build 100%
participation in the faculty meeting boycotts, let’s build this movement together,
and let’s win a victory on the path to the
Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
March 20, 2015
Letters to the editor
We welcome letters to the editor and will
print as many as possible in the space
available. Letters may be edited for length
and clarity, and they do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of UTLA or its officers.
By mail: Editor,
UNITED TEACHER
3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor,
Los Angeles, CA 90010
By fax: (213) 487-3319
By e-mail: [email protected]
Don’t forget the psychologists
All the UTLA signs, messages, and
emails indicate wanting lower class sizes
and more teacher librarians, nurses, and
counselors . . . but there’s NO mention
of school psychologists. Please include
us as we are UTLA and I feel that UTLA
is lumping us in with “counselors,” and
the two jobs are not the same! The signs
mention mental health but do not mention
psychologists. Psychologists are licensed
to assess and determine special education
eligibility. Without us, there would be no
special education assessments and many
other services.
—Janet L. Robertson
Retired
Substitute psychologist
As part of our contract demand for “full
staffing,” UTLA is calling for more health
and human services professionals of every category—including psychologists—at school
sites. The key student supports provided by
HHS professionals suffered severe cuts during
the recession that have not been restored. Please
see page 12 for a column on the many specialties that make up health and human services.
1872 versus 2015
Something hit me the other day when I
was reading this poster listing the “Rules
for Teachers” in 1872. As No. 9 on the
list shows, it seems a teacher back then
received more of a raise that we LAUSD
educators have had in eight years! It’s
high time we end the salary drought
and get a fair raise that is commensurate
with the work we do every day for our
students.
—Maia Manley
GATE Teacher
Blythe Elementary
Adult school teachers
deserve a matrix
When I started at a new school, I saw
transparency in scheduling for the first time
in nearly 15 years of teaching adult education. At my new site, I was able to see the
classes for the new semester posted online.
There were three classes (equaling my 30
hours a week for a tenured adult ed teacher)
that I wanted that would have permitted
me to spend time with my two-year-old
daughter. I wrote to the principal asking
if I could get these hours. She said no. She
gave me a morning, late afternoon, and
evening class, with the break in the day
coming at a time when my daughter takes
a nap. It is not that the administrator gave the hours I wanted to
someone with more seniority and
experience. Those questions are
not considered in adult education.
Administrators get to choose the time
I work and the levels I teach regardless
of my seniority. Adult school teachers,
unlike K-12 and early education teachers, have no matrix. It is written into our
(separate and unequal) part of the contract that our administrators are allowed
to make all staffing decisions behind
closed doors.
For me, this means I barely see my
daughter for four days a week. For some
teachers who have worked more than 20
years in adult education, it means living
in your car for five hours of the workday,
working an arduous multi-level class,
while other teachers with less seniority
get a better schedule.
This has been a problem for decades,
but now that we continue to struggle
year after year, with our budget down
nearly 75%, obtaining a matrix has
become an even more critical issue in
contract negotiations. No one wants to
continue in a profession where 25 years
of hard work can be devalued by one
administrator. It’s time for LAUSD to tell
us that our hard work means something.
It is time for adult school teachers to
have a matrix.
—Natasha Urias
Adult Educator
In this issue
4 Faculty meeting boycott Q&A
Standing together for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
5 The parent-community connection
Educators build deeper relationships with our natural allies.
7 School Board focus shifts to May
Kayser heads into runoff with UTLA support.
4 Unity in red
9Milestones
24 Practical matters
27 Union dues for tax purposes
27 STRS workshops
30 Classified ads
31 Grapevine
Get connected to UTLA
Facebook: facebook.com/UTLAnow
Twitter: @utlanow
YouTube: youtube.com/UTLAnow
Big groups of colleagues traveled to the February 26 rally together in
solidarity for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve. See more shots from
the rally on our pullout poster on page 16.
3
March 20, 2015
Faculty meeting boycotts Q&A
Standing together for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
Why are we launching boycotts?
We are launching boycotts to protest
LAUSD’s failure to make bargaining proposals that include a fair pay raise and
improvements to teaching and learning
conditions. By compellingly demonstrating our ability to act collectively when
we need to, we maximize the pressure on
LAUSD to come to an agreement.
councils. UTLA is NOT calling for boycotts of period-by-period faculty meetings (which occur in secondary schools)
or other meetings that occur within the
traditional school day.
What should we do in place
of the faculty meetings
we are boycotting?
UTLA members will boycott all afterschool faculty meetings (and similar meetings held after the instructional day) on
March 24, April 7, and April 14, during the
scheduled mediation period for contract
negotiations (mediation sessions are scheduled for March 26, April 6, and April 15).
The boycott must have 100% participation
to compellingly demonstrate our unity and
commitment to achieving a fair contract.
Hold ten-minute meetings in the school
parking lot or on the sidewalk—a highly
visible location where you will be seen
by parents and probably administrators.
Check in with your chapter chair at that
meeting so you are certain to be counted
as honoring the boycotts. If your school is
holding parent conferences on those days,
you and your coworkers should hold a
meeting in the parking lot or on the sidewalk before the conferences and all walk
in together—wearing red.
What type of meetings
are we boycotting?
Won’t these kinds of
actions hurt my students?
When are the boycotts?
We are boycotting all after-school meetings, including faculty, grade level, department, and SLC, on March 24, April 7, and
April 14. At this time, UTLA is excluding from the boycott after-school parent
conferences and participation by elected
UTLA members on various site-governing
No, our students are currently being hurt
by a bureaucracy that will not offer competitive pay, lower class sizes, fully staffed
schools, due process rights for educators,
and a strong voice for parents and educators
in school decision making. If there is something really important that the principal has
to tell you in a meeting that is boycotted, the
principal will find another way to replay
the information to you.
I have a good relationship with my
administrators. Won’t these actions
harm our relationship?
The boycotts are not actions against
any individual principal or administrator;
they are a demonstration of our power to
LAUSD.
What are the risks of participating
in the boycotts?
As boycott activities intensify, it is possible that you could be subject to discipline,
such as a letter of reprimand. Sometimes
risks need to be taken for progress to occur.
Our greatest protection comes from every
one of us participating in the boycotts. If
the District does issue discipline, we need
to ensure that they have to do it to 35,000
UTLA members.
As an out-of-classroom member,
should I join the boycotts?
Absolutely! You are a member of UTLA
and we need every member to join the
effort to send a strong message to LAUSD
that the District needs to offer us a fair
contract.
I am a probationary teacher. Can I
participate in the boycotts?
Yes. You have the same rights as all
other UTLA members in this contract
campaign and you have the same responsibilities to your colleagues in your
union. No UTLA member has ever been
terminated or not rehired for participating in high-profile UTLA actions like
these.
What should we do if some faculty
members don’t observe the afterschool meeting boycotts?
Talk with them and explain that they are
undermining you and your coworkers and
weakening our chances of achieving a fair
contract and encourage them to participate
in the next boycott.
What key points should
I make with parents?
We urge you to have discussions with
parents about why UTLA members are
undertaking boycotts and how we hope
the boycotts will ultimately benefit student
learning. Talk with parents about the need
for LAUSD to send more resources to schools
so that we can have smaller class sizes, more
nurses, more librarians, more counselors,
and other crucial supports for students.
Unity in red
Thanks to the 300-plus
schools that have sent in
their red T-shirt pics since
the first Big Red Tuesday on
September 30. The input has
been amazing. We will keep
using as many as we can in
the coming months.
When we wear red on
Tuesdays, we tell the District
that we are united behind our
bargaining demands and the
Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
Keep the red growing!
RED
North Hollywood High
4
135th Street Elementary
Hart Elementary
Montara Elementary
Marvin Elementary
Orthopaedic Medical Magnet High
March 20, 2015
The parent-community connection
Alta Loma Elementary is one of many sites where educators are
building deeper relationships with our natural allies.
L.A. Students Deserve.
The parent-educator work has been
bolstered by UTLA’s chapter parent action
liaison (CPAL) program, which aims to have
one UTLA member at every site leading
the work of building relationships between
parents and educators. When UTLA created
COURTESY UCLA LABOR CENTER/DREAM SUMMER PROGRAM
One of the largest parent-educator
groups at the February 26 UTLA rally—
and there were many among the 15,000plus crowd—was from Alta Loma Elementary, where the teaching force and engaged
parents are connecting with each other on
new levels to build support for the Schools
UTLA and community/union
partnerships support
undocumented students
Educators can become immigrant allies.
By Arlene Inouye
UTLA Treasurer
President Barack Obama’s recent
executive orders on immigration offer
Administrative Relief for qualified undocumented youth and parents, providing a temporary remedy while the
need for comprehensive immigration
reform continues. This progress was
made possible after undocumented
activists and allies started a grassroots
movement in 2012. They courageously brought the youths’ plight to the
public, legislators, and media, expressing what it is like to be separated from
family members, to be faced with deportation, uncertainty, and barriers.
Through the partnerships that UTLA
has formed with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles and the
Miguel Contreras Foundation, families
and students can also receive free legal
advice in Spanish, English, Chinese,
Khmer, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese about DACA (Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals). DACA allows
certain undocumented immigrants to
receive a work permit, protection from
deportation, a Social Security number,
and the ability to apply for California
driver’s license or ID card.
Become an immigrant justice ally
UTLA members can help support
students, parents, and community
members to obtain benefits from these
programs. We know there are a high
number of undocumented students in
our classrooms who need services (one
estimate is that one out of every six
students in LAUSD is undocumented).
We are looking for educators who want
to support undocumented students in
the following ways:
1. Attend no-cost trainings to learn
how to refer youth and families for free
legal services for DACA and DAPA
(Deferred Action for Parents of Americans—another program available for
parents of undocumented students).
2. Offer to host a free classroom presentation (flexible time frame) or parent
center presentation from one of our
partners.
3. Host an undocumented students’
club or engage in other immigrant
justice activities.
Contact Arlene Inouye at ainouye@
utla.net or (213) 368-6218 if you are
interested in the above. Other partners who are providing resources and
support include the California Faculty Association (CFA), the Alhambra
Teachers Association, and the NEA,
which has provided a $50,000 Minority Community Organizing and Partnerships Grant to support this work.
Students can receive information
from www.weownthedream.org and
educators can secure NEA-supported
resources at [email protected]
or (855) DREAM-31.
the CPAL position, Alta
Loma chapter chair Tony
Gatel welcomed a deeper
focus on parent-community organizing on the
school-site level.
“Parents share our
concerns,” Gatel says.
“They don’t like the way
the District is spending
resources and unilaterally implementing policies that aren’t beneficial
to students. Parents are
supposed to have input
into District decisions,
but the policies are thrust
down their throats, just
like they are for the teachers, whether it’s the iPad
fiasco, the MiSiS crisis, or
the horrible implementation of Breakfast in the Families from Alta Loma Elementary joined UTLA members at
Classroom.”
the February 26 rally in downtown L.A.
Gatel sees the work of
the CPAL as a way to make schools more with Cedars Sinai to offer CPR training,
welcoming to parents, create a space to Healthy Habits workshops, and more.
hear parents’ concerns and needs, and
“It’s so important for parents to get inconnect those needs to the vision and volved,” Ramirez says. “The District has
demands of the Schools L.A. Students been cutting and cutting—there are no TAs,
Deserve campaign, such as lower class not enough materials, not enough room.
sizes and fully staffed schools.
Parents and teachers together have more
“When you talk with parents, you power, and together we can do much better.”
realize that we agree on 80% of the
It is clear that there are many UTLA
issues,” Gatel says.
members who have prioritized building
Alta Loma teacher Imran Syed stepped this natural alliance between parents and
up to be a CPAL for his school because he educators. UTLA’s CPAL program is exsees the work as a natural progression in panding on those models and best praceducators’ advocacy for student rights and tices to create a District-wide organizing
better schools.
program to build real power. To support
“Parents need to be empowered,” Syed CPALs, UTLA is holding regular trainings
says. “LAUSD has very poor communica- on techniques such as having one-on-one
tion with parents, and the dysfunctional conversations, holding parent meetings to
District culture has to change. The financial build authentic partnerships, and identifyspecial interests are overriding our stu- ing active and potentially active parents
dents’ priorities and needs, and the parents and how to engage them. The CPALs’ work
are realizing what’s going on. They want also is being supported by the Parent Comwhat we want: a clean and safe school, a munity Organizing Committee (PCOC),
nurse five days a week, more counselors, composed of representatives from all the
and a community-based school library that UTLA Areas and special employment catserves parents, students, and teachers.”
egories (such as health and human services
Alta Loma formed a PTA two years ago, professionals).
and its president, Glenda Ramirez, has
Syed sees the potential in a network
been part of an active group of parents across LAUSD of engaged schools where
who have been working with school staff parents, community, and UTLA members
to bring new community resources to the are working together on both local issues
school. Without any District support, the and shared big-picture concerns.
school planned beautification programs
“On the micro level, more schools need
and fundraisers, and the parents partnered to do this work so that on a macro level we
have the ability to
make the changes
we need for our
schools,” Syed says.
Parents and educators at Alta Loma are working together for better
schools. From left: Alta Loma parent Glenda Ramirez, CPAL Imran
Syed, and chapter chair Tony Gatel.
If your school
does not have a
CPAL, your chapter
can hold a meeting
to choose one. For
more info, contact
UTLA parent-community organizer
Esperanza Martinez at (213) 4400977 or [email protected].
5
March 20, 2015
ESCALATING ACTIONS
$109 million in 2016-17.
• Nine months ago, the District was
projecting a $165.9 million ending deficit
for 2014-2015. Today the District says it
will have a surplus of $45.8 million at the
end of 2014-2015.
LAUSD is an outlier among school districts in warning of potential layoffs for
next year. The vast majority of California school districts are not issuing layoff
notices for 2015-16, including San Diego,
Long Beach, Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, and Stockton school districts.
“There’s a national civil rights movement to curb the school-to-prison pipeline,
yet LAUSD is cutting counselors and social
workers,” Caputo-Pearl said. “There’s
huge income inequality and a tremendous need for job training for adults, yet
LAUSD is cutting adult education. There
are 3,000 classes in the city with more
than 45 students, yet LAUSD is cutting
educators to raise class size. There’s a national movement to provide support to our
most vulnerable and youngest children,
yet LAUSD is threatening to cut SRLDP.
LAUSD is simply out of step with the
needs of schools.” (continued from cover)
tration that were coming out at the rally
downtown at Grand Park,” Caputo-Pearl
said. “I fear if that’s the case, it will be
kicking a hornet’s nest rather than moving
toward a solution.”
As part of our ongoing investigation
of the District’s budget, UTLA has been
digging into LAUSD documents as well as
filing Freedom of Information Act requests
to get access to additional reports. Our
research has revealed the extent to which
LAUSD’s technology blunders have had an
impact on the District’s budget, including
these details on MiSiS:
• Mistakes caused by the new attendance
system may lead to a one-time decrease in
average daily attendance (ADA), resulting in
a $47 million loss in revenue next school year.
• The District already sent $10.2 million to
school sites to address the problems created
by the MiSiS Crisis and admits it does not
know how or if the money was spent.
• Together, this money is more than
enough to pay for all 609 educators who
were issued RIF notices.
In spite of the money misspent on MiSiS
and other ill-conceived projects, the District has the funding to support the Schools
L.A. Students Deserve: • LAUSD’s revenue is projected to increase by $201.2 million in 2015-16 and by
Front row at the February 26 Stand at Grand.
Member actions more important than
ever: Receiving a reduction-in-force (RIF)
notice does not mean a job loss is certain. Forcing LAUSD to rescind these layoff notices is a top priority of our ongoing organizing and contract campaign for
the Schools L.A. Students Deserve. See
the calendar for more details on upcoming actions and make a commitment to
participate.
Stages of bargaining
a re
We
h e re
ASSE
IMP
OT
I
NE
G
SUNSHI
NIN
G
A state-appointed
mediator tries to
get the two sides
to reconcile their
differences. If
not successful,
A fact-finding panel
the mediator
will issue a report
will send the
with recommended
parties to
terms of settlement,
fact-finding.
but the parties do
not have to
If no agreement is
agree to
reached, LAUSD can
it.
legally and unilaterally
impose its last, best, and final
proposals. UTLA can legally hold
a job action, including a strike.
DIS
UTLA and LAUSD
present the topics
they intend to
bargain.
FA
CT
-F
STRIKE
CAN IMPOSE
N
LA
UT TRICT CA
Both sides sit down,
with a legal obligation
to bargain in good faith
to attempt to reach
an agreement.
N
G
IN
Either side can
declare that talks
are deadlocked,
which leads to
mediation.
Unity on display:
Colleagues stand
together.
D
IN
IO
AT
NS
MEDIA
TI O
A tentative agreement can be reached at any time in the process.
A closer look at the negotiation process
Collective bargaining is a step-bystep process governed by the EERA
(Educational Employment Relations
Act). So far UTLA and LAUSD have
already been through the stages of
sunshining (at a public meeting UTLA
and LAUSD present the topics they
intend to bargain), negotiations (both
sides sit down, with a legal obligation
to bargain in good faith to attempt to
reach an agreement), and the declaration of impasse. Here are the next
stages:
Mediation: A state-appointed mediator tries to get the two sides to rec-
6
oncile their differences. The role of the
PERB-appointed mediator is to bring the
parties together for a mediated settlement
agreement. The mediator has sole discretion to send the parties to fact-finding if
an agreement can’t be reached through
mediation.
Fact-finding: A fact-finding panel (one
representative appointed by the union,
one representative appointed by the District, and one neutral representative appointed by PERB) will listen to evidence
from both sides and issue a report with
recommended terms of settlement. The
parties have no obligation to agree to the
terms of the report.
After fact-finding: UTLA can legally
strike and LAUSD can unilaterally
impose its last, best, and final offer.
A strike authorization vote by UTLA
members must be held before a strike.
Negotiations can continue during all
of these stages, and a tentative agreement can be reached at any time.
UTLA will continue our aggressive
organizing campaign through every
stage of bargaining and beyond. Any
movement so far at the table has been
because LAUSD sees our unity and determination.
UTLA organizing
by the numbers
443
Schools visited in first
School Site Visit Blitz
18,991
UTLA members who
participated in contract
priority survey in the fall
350+
Schools that sent in red T pics
since Big Red Tuesday
518
Schools visited in second
School Site Visit Blitz
700+
Chapters that picketed
in front of schools on
February 12
15,000+
People at the February 26
“Stand at Grand” rally
March 20, 2015
Politics & the classroom
The fight for public education
Three out of four School Board incumbents face runoffs.
By Oraiu Amoni
UTLA Political Director
UTLA continues to play a vital role in
LAUSD School Board races, as reflected in
the results of the March 3 primary election,
As part of the “Galatzan Be Gone” campaign,
Brian Simily and David Feldman join other
UTLA members in protesting during rush hour
at the busy intersection of Tampa and Nordhoff
the night before the School Board election.
where seats in four of the seven School
Board districts were on the ballot.
Dr. George McKenna, our endorsed candidate whom we worked to get elected in
the summer of 2014, faced no opposition
in District 1. In District 7, where UTLA
made no endorsement, incumbent Richard
Vladovic was not able to overcome the 50%
+ 1 threshold to win his seat outright. In
District 3 Tamar Galatzan, who received the
early endorsement of Mayor Eric Garcetti, is
now in a runoff because of UTLA member
engagement and investment in a “Galatzan
Be Gone” campaign. In District 5 our earlyendorsed candidate, Bennett Kayser, ran
a tight race and now faces a tough runoff
against a charter school executive supported by the business interests who want to
redefine public education.
As an educator you know the obstacles
you face every day to provide a quality
education to your students: Lack of resources, your input not being respected,
overgrown bureaucracy, and the children
in your classrooms not being valued. The
fight for public education is at our doorstep. Will public education be controlled
by the top 1% of income earners? Or will
working families, teachers, counselors,
School Board member Bennett Kayser with volunteers during the primary campaign.
nurses, firefighters, homecare workers, and
many others be able to have input into the
education of our children?
Privitization supporters and the corporate “reformers” gave us costly topdown mandates such as the iPads fiasco
and the MiSiS crisis. They tried to circumvent UTLA members’ contractual
rights with the TGDC evaluation system,
and they try to pit us against parents
by spreading false propaganda about
their children’s education. We know
what happens when we don’t engage
in politics—we lose and our students
suffer. Elected officials are not perfect,
and they at times let us down, but when
we have such a clear advocate as Bennett
Kayser and such a clear adversary as
Tamar Galatzan, we must engage.
There are several ways to get involved
in the campaigns, such as adopting a
phone-banking night. Invite your colleagues to one of our field offices (locations
will be given at the April 8 Area meetings)
or host a phone bank in a box (PBIB) at a
local restaurant. Walk your communities
where School Board elections are happening and talk to your neighbors about the
importance of the upcoming elections. Get
involved and let’s show the other side that
our school boards are not for sale.
To get involved: Call UTLA Political Organizer Juan Parrino at (213) 368-6216.
Thanks to our campaign volunteers
Thanks to the following UTLA members, community members, family, and friends
who volunteered as part of UTLA’s political action in the March primary elections.
Brandon Abraham
Ricardo Abreu
Lydia Acosta
Bodin Adler
Gloria Alhadeff
Javier Alvarez
Elizabeth Amaral
Gissela Anaya
Jada Anderson
Maria Aragon
Sylvia Arias
Jocielly Aure
Gwendolyn Baker
Daniel Barnhart
Ebony L. Batiste
Angela Beltran
Frederick Bertz
Lynette Bickham
Melodie Bitter
Michael Blasi
Robert Richard Bon
Ayde Bravo
Ayesha Brooks
Alicia Brossy de Dios
Jose Buenabad
Marisol Cabrera
Ericka Camajeil
Susan Campodonico
Alyce Cantu
Alex Caputo-Pearl
Laura Carls
Julie Carson
Traci Carter
Susan Casas
Emilia Casilllas
Guadalupe Castillo
Victor Castillo
Andrew Casvilles
Juan Catolan
Jerrell Cebrales Jr.
Lucia Cerda
Isabel Cervantes
Marciela Chagoya
Susie Chow
Sue Cirrillo
Mauricio Cortez
Michael Daniel Czyk
Marcia Dade
Nicholas D’Amico
Walter Tony Davison
Norma Delgado
Paul H. Des Mavais
Star Dixon
Jennie Duggan
Ralph Duran
David Earhart
Chaplin Early
Stephen Early
Angel Escobedo
David Feldman
Tony Ferguson
William Fernandez
Kelly Flores
Marco Flores
Tomas Flores
Gabriela L. Flores
Betty Forrester
Barbara Foster
Jack Fris
Fidel Fuentes
Mike Fuoroli
Brenda Garb
Leticia Garcia
Steve Garcia
Alma Garcia
Trina Gasaway
Tracy Godfrey
David Goldberg
Arturo Gomez
Jeff Good
Dorcas Green
Ingrid Gunnell
Maria Elena Guzman
Kathy Ham
Ted Hampton
John Hamrick
Leo Haragreaves
Constantin Haramis
Anthony Haz
Fredy Hernandez
Sergio Hernandez
Tanya Hildreth
L. Hirata
Raymond Hongo
Mel House
Barbara Hupp
Arlene Inouye
Erika Jones
Ani Kazazian
Matthew Kogan
Luli Koza
Wade Kyle
R.M. Lacarc
Jose Lara
Kathy Leckie
Wayne Leslie
John Lincoln
Mike Lloyd
Art Lopez
Dennis Lopez
Carol Lum
Stuart Lutz
Benny Madera
Abel Mala
Scott Mandel
G. Marroquin
Ana Martin
Gloria Martinez
Maria G. Martinez
Angie Mata
Judi Mauss
Brian McNamara
Carla Mcnellis
Roshni Mejia
Julian Mendez
Maria Menendez
Patrick Meyer
Alam Mijango
Leonor Miramontes
Maria Miranda
Buckley Mitchell
Cynthia Mitthers
Jeremy Mohr
Dan Moran
Brian Muller
Eda Munoz
Cecily Myart-Cruz
Manny Nana
Chuck Narcho
Lisett Nevarez
Bruce Newborn
Linda Nutile
Linda Okamoto
Yemi Orija
Alex Orozco
Mary Rose Ortega
Teri Osborn
Jennifer Owens
Adelaida Padilla
William Page
William Pasderin
Gary Pearlson
Carmeliene Pingtella
Sandra Perez Pizano
Dan Perryman
Max Phillips
Cat Proctor
Maria C. Quitegui
Kennon B. Raines
Alma Ramos
Juan Rauz
Shane Riddle
Argentina Rodriguez
Claudia Rodriguez
Narcisco Rodriguez
Pedro Rodriguez
Rene Rowland
Arturo R. Romo
Ana M. Rubio
Gillian Russom
Mirka Rhyne
Henry Said
Francisco Salazar
Lorena Salazar
Judy Ann Sanchez
Mardo Sando
Cristina Sanzur
Lisa Sawai
Greg Schiller
Jorge Serrato
Yolanda Serrato Jonian
Alma Servato
Andrea Shaffer
Joy Shiraishi
Veronica Silva
Susan Singh
Maria Smith
Cheryl Smith-Vincent
Colleen Stewart
Britt Storrs
Yolanda Tamayo
Adrian Tamayo
Anita Thomas
Zulma Tobar
Jean Torre
Barbara Torres
Carla Tott
Michael Towner
Sinh Trinh
Malinda Troy
Edwin Umana
Arturo Valdez
Tomiko Varga
Norma Vasquez
Silvio Vidal
Cristina Vieiwbano
Socorro Vilches
Ingrid Villeda
Bobby Vinas
Kristen Walker
Kate Weber
Jimmie Woods-Gray
Ronel Wright
Susan Wright
Marc Wutschke
Rafael Zamora
Anne Zerrien-Lee
Lorena Zorrilla
Names are compiled
from sign-in sheets.
Did we miss or misspell
your name? Send it to
[email protected].
7
Your state of mind has a big impact on how old you feel, so live a little — and live a little healthier.
Celebrate heart health
This month, choose a habit (or all 5) to add to your life for a happy heart.
3. Aim to lose
Make it your goal to get and
keep your BMI (body mass
index) to less than 25.
2. Move that body
150 minutes a week
of exercise (like brisk
walking) is all you need.
4. Watch the pressure
Maintain a healthy
blood pressure —120/80
or lower is ideal.
5. Break up with a bad habit
If you smoke, quit. Your
heart will heart you.
Visit kp.org/heart to learn more about heart health.
Services covered under a Kaiser Permanente health plan are provided and/or arranged by Kaiser Permanente health plans: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan,
Inc., in Northern and Southern California and Hawaii • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., Nine
Piedmont Center, 3495 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30305, 404-364-7000 • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., in Maryland,
Virginia, and Washington, D.C., 2101 E. Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20852 • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, 500 NE Multnomah St., Suite
100, Portland, OR 97232. Self-insured plans are administered by Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company, One Kaiser Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612.
Please recycle. 60245308 November 2014
1. Eat to your heart’s content
50% fruits and veggies
25% lean protein
25% whole grains
March 20, 2015
Getting involved in your school community
UTLA member finds a warm welcome for educators.
By Stacey Michaels
232nd Place School Teacher
Last summer I attended the American
Federation of Teachers National Convention in downtown Los Angeles as a firsttime national delegate. While at the convention, I was inspired by AFT President
Randi Weingarten’s call for educators to
get involved and to be actively engaged
with educational issues on behalf of their
school community. After her speech I
found myself outside the Staples Center
and heard what sounded like a parent
calling my name, “Ms. Michaels, Ms. Michaels . . . ” I turned around, and to my
surprise met face to face with a family from
my school in Carson, who were visiting the
circus that was performing there.
“What are you doing here, Ms. Michaels?” they asked, so we chatted for 15
minutes on the sidewalk about what Ms.
Michaels was doing at the convention. I
walked away from that exchange inspired
to get more involved.
Over the past year, I have joined various
Democratic clubs in my area and have vol-
unteered with local elections. I am amazed
at how welcoming community members
are to teachers who get involved. As a new
member to the San Pedro Democratic Club, I
was asked by Club President Robert Brandin
if I could arrange for UTLA President Alex
Caputo-Pearl to speak at the February
meeting. I emailed their formal request to
UTLA’s new political director, Oraiu Amoni,
and within a week, we had a commitment
from Alex to be the keynote speaker.
I couldn’t believe it. Alex didn’t say
no, I am too busy; he committed to being
there, even though he had a speaking
engagement before and after our meeting.
The venue was the San Pedro Omelet &
Waffle Restaurant on busy Gaffey Street
in San Pedro. The night of our event,
February 23, the waitresses gladly put
up our UTLA protest posters on the restaurant walls, and community members,
including 25 teachers from area schools,
filled up the restaurant venue. San Pedro
High School seniors met and greeted
community members as they took their
seats and ordered dinner specials. Gulf
Avenue teacher Linda Bassett began the
UTLA bulletin board
Upcoming meetings
MARCH 25 & APRIL 29
UTLA House of Representatives: 6
p.m., UTLA building.
The following committees also meet
on the same day as the House of Representatives from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
(unless noted) in the UTLA building:
Arts Education Committee, Asian-Pacific Education, Bilingual Education
Committee, Chicano/Latino Education, Gay & Lesbian Issues, Health
& Human Services, Human Rights,
Inner City, Instructional Coaches, Kindergarten Teachers, Library Professionals (4:45-6 p.m.), Middle Schools,
Multi-Track/Year-Round Schools, NonClassroom/Non-School Site, Options
Committee, Physical Education Action
and Dance, Professional Rights & Responsibilities, Pre-Retirement Issues,
Salary & Finance, School/ Community
Relations, School Readiness Language
Development Program, Secondary
School Counselors, Special Education, Substitutes, Violence Prevention
& School Safety, Women’s Education.
The National Board Certified Teachers
Standing Committee: For meeting dates
please check calendar at www.utla.net.
Substitute Committee General
Meeting: UTLA building.
APRIL 7
UTLA/NEA Service Center Council
Membership Meeting: UTLA building.
APRIL 8
UTLA Area Meetings: See times and
locations at utla.net.
Early Childhood Education Committee:
7 p.m., UTLA building.
APRIL 10
Adult and Occupational Education:
5:30 p.m., UTLA building.
APRIL 14
Unjustly Housed Teachers Committee:
3:05 p.m., UTLA building.
APRIL 15
Elementary Committee: 4 p.m., UTLA
building.
Secondary Committee: 4 p.m., UTLA
building.
African-American Education Committee: 4 p.m., UTLA building.
Capably Disabled Teachers Committee: 4 p.m., UTLA building.
PACE Committee: 6:30 p.m., UTLA
building.
APRIL 16
UTLA/AFT General Membership
Meeting: UTLA building.
MAY 11
UTLA/NEA Service Center Council
Membership Meeting: UTLA building.
A chance meeting outside the AFT Convention with a family from Stacey Michaels’ school
helped cement Michaels’ determination to get involved with her community. Above: Michaels
(upper left) with Claudia and Cesar Cancino and their children, Delyah and Azereth, from
232nd Place School in Carson.
program and spoke passionately about
the importance of restoring full staffing
of nurses, counselors, and librarians to
our schools.
Alex arrived on time and gave us the
one hour he promised, taking questions
from the audience before beginning his
talk, carefully jotting down and respectfully repeating back the audience’s questions. He immediately engaged the audience as he spoke passionately about the
Schools L.A. Students Deserve Campaign,
reiterating the importance of building relationships with community organizations.
Among those in the audience was influential workers rights’ lawyer and San Pedro
Milestones
community activist Diane Middleton. The
following day she sent out a detailed email
message to a multitude of community
members outlining the issues Alex spoke
about and inviting people to the Stand at
Grand rally on February 26.
Randi Weingarten’s call for action continues to resonate real meaning to me,
whether it’s when I am building new connections with my community or experiencing the collective body of 15,000-plus
attendees at the Stand at Grand rally. It
does make a difference to get involved
in your school community . . . one UTLA
teacher at a time, one school community
member at a time. Your voice does matter.
UTLA has learned that two longtime
members, Lupe Callero and Theressa Sams,
have passed away. Look for their obituaries
in the April UNITED TEACHER.
To submit an item: Send details
to Milestones, UNITED TEACHER,
3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los
Angeles, CA 90010 or [email protected]. Material must arrive
at least three weeks before publication date, and please include a
daytime phone number. Photos welcomed. We reserve the right to edit
text for length and clarity.
Theressa Sams
Lupe Callero
Passings
MAY 13
UTLA Area Meetings: See times and
locations at utla.net.
Early Childhood Education Committee:
7 p.m., UTLA building.
Upcoming conferences
APRIL 20 & APRIL 25
Pilgrimage to Manzanar: Info at www.
utla.net/apconference031415 . See flyer
in this issue.
APRIL 25
Investment Workshop: See flyer in
this issue.
9
March 20, 2015
NEA & AFT affiliate actions
Connecting with the classroom
Programs like Read Across America and Share My Lesson help inspire teachers.
NEA’s Read Across America:
Oh, the Places We’ll Go
Ime Hackman’s class at De La Torre Elementary held a Lorax party.
Mercedes Robles’s students at 68th Street get
in the Read Across America spirit.
By Cecily Myart-Cruz
UTLA/NEA Vice President
Every year as March approaches, educators start combing through Pinterest and
resource books and doing Google searches
to find the perfect activities to celebrate
Read Across America Day. In my classroom,
I used to look forward to coming up with
the most creative ideas to spark, rekindle,
and celebrate the love of reading for Read
Across America. I remember making green
eggs and ham (kosher turkey), creating
Oobleck, and designing hats and bookmarks. We would even wear our pajamas
while we dedicated our day to literacy.
This was my first year not doing these
activities with my own class because I’m
a UTLA officer. Frankly, it had me feeling
down—until I received several calls from
Area chairs, chapter chairs, and rank-andfile members to come and share the love
of reading with their students.
My first stop was Santee High School at
the invitation of Central Area Chair Jose
Lara. Santee puts on a remarkable Read
Across America Day, which it plans one
UTLA/NEA VP Cecily Myart-Cruz reads to
Yolanda-Spencer Tamayo’s class at Lorena Street.
year in advance. The students are at the
center of creating and implementing the
day’s activities. Fourteen kindergarten
classes walked over to Santee for the day
(from San Pedro Elementary, Dolores Huerta
Elementary, and 28th Street Elementary).
The Santee band and drill team welcomed
them with a performance. It was a sight to see.
The students were broken into groups and
enjoyed different reading-related stations. I
was at the Hop on Pop Station. I read the story
“Hop on Pop” and afterward the students
partook in a rhyming game of hopscotch.
The next stop brought me to Angeles
Mesa Elementary (invited by West Area
Chair Erika Jones and kindergarten teacher
Elvia Cruz). Angeles Mesa is my former
school, and I was eager to go back to see
my students. I was led by two students
who sent me to six different classes. I read
my new favorite book, Dragons Love Tacos
by Adam Rubin. I read to Megan Kemp
and Judy Ngyuen’s third-grade classes,
Ashley Poplawski’s special education
preschool class, and my former teaching
partner Erick Valdez’s fifth-grade class,
and I ended the day reading to Erika Jones
and Elvia Cruz’s kindergarten classes.
My last stop took me to Lorena Street
Elementary (invited by Yolanda SpencerTamayo and joined by East Area Board of
Director Adrian Tamayo’s special education class). I read Dragons Love Tacos to her
first graders, and they loved it so much,
they asked me to read another book: Wacky
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Wednesday by Dr. Seuss. It was a wonderful
way to end my Read Across America Day.
Thanks to all the schools that hosted me
and to the UTLA members who shared their
stories of how their sites celebrated Read
Across America Day. At 68th Elementary,
Mercedes Robles reports that preschool
classes made Thing 1 and Thing 2 wigs
and Dr. Seuss hats. Ime Hackman at George
De La Torre Jr. Elementary held a Lorax
Party for kindergarten students, during
which they read The Lorax and discussed
the importance of saving trees and how
one person can make a world of difference. Teacher Yvonne Acosta reports that
at Caroldale Learning Center, the Room
49 third-graders read to eight classes on
March 1: five kinder, one TK, and two
pre-K classes. Wilshire Crest teacher Eileen
Washington made word wheels for her
preschool students and the children read
short Seuss-related words. At Crescent
Heights Language Arts Social Justice
School, teacher Amy Owen says that the
students made Horton Hears a Who hats.
Burbank Boulevard Elementary celebrated
with guest readers from the Screen Actors
Guild foundation’s BookPALs program,
including actress Enisha Brewster.
All of these stories show the imagination
that our members bring to their classrooms.
When District mandates are lifted, creativity is encouraged. There is no doubt that
educators can deliver on the promise of
the Schools Los Angeles Students Deserve.
The National Education Association is building a nation of readers through its signature
program, NEA’s Read Across America. Now in
its 18th year, this year-round program focuses
on motivating children and teens to read through
events, partnerships, and reading resources.
March 20, 2015
AFT: Helping you
help your students
Sign up for First Book
& Share My Lesson
sharemylesson.com
By Betty Forrester
UTLA/AFT Vice President
Teaching is hard work; it’s complicated,
challenging, and rewarding. Hours of discussions in classrooms and lunchrooms,
in homes and restaurants, happen with all
of you around the question of how teaching and learning works. The experts are
in the room: YOU are the experts on the
Schools L.A. Students Deserve. Individually and collectively, you know your stuff
and you care about getting better. UTLA
is your union, and UTLA is a professional
organization that is trying to get better at
providing resources and support as you
struggle and plan for your students.
“AFT: A Union of Professionals” is the
slogan of one of our national affiliates, the
American Federation of Teachers. As your
UTLA/AFT vice president and AFT 1021
Added Authorization
Offered Entirely Online!
ship brings high-quality, low-cost books
(sometimes for only the cost of shipping)
to the kids you teach. We understand
that “the readers today are the leaders
tomorrow” and that many of our students do not have access to books in
their homes or communities. I know that
there are other programs that many of
you order from, but please check out the
site firstbook.org/aft for the offers that
can help you put a new book in every
one of your students’ hands and homes
this year. Register for free and check out
the range of books and series at every
grade level and in multiple languages.
Many of your colleagues (and whole
school sites) have participated in this
program. A foundation grant last year
provided $25,000 worth of books for 13
elementary schools in L.A.
The high costs of overtesting: “Do What
It Takes Before High Stakes” is the AFT
campaign calling for a moratorium on the
consequences connected to high-stakes
testing as districts and states transition to
Common Core standards. AFT’s position
is also outlined in the recently released
report “The High Cost of Over Testing.”
Please check out the “Tools for Teachers
and Healthcare Professionals” on these
issues at aft.org.
Colorín Colorado: Colorín Colorado,
a decade-old partnership project of the
AFT and the PBS station WETA, is the
largest, most comprehensive, free online
resource for educators and parents of
English language learners: The site has
tip sheets, videos of classroom instruction,
and lesson ideas for language arts, math,
social studies and the arts—all aligned
with teaching language skills, articles and
other “what really works” information.
UTLA is making efforts to improve
student achievement by making a difference in our professional learning through
affiliate trainings. AFT is also active in
national and global issues. AFT’s international affairs office participates in partnerships that support early education, AIDS
education, and the fight against child labor
in countries around the world.
As we continue to organize and grow,
we need to have sustained, ongoing conversations with each other about our work
as professionals and how our union and
our affiliates can support us. Open Your Own Learning
Center or Reading Clinic!
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Learn more. Visit uclaextension.edu/AA, call (310) 206-5107
or email [email protected]
explore. experience. expand. ®
15808-14
15808.indd 3
president, I am the liaison with our state
affiliate, the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the national AFT. Both these
organizations bring support and resources
that can help YOU in the job you do for
your students and their families.
I am proud that the AFT also believes
that your work is important and that you
actively seek ways to get better. The union
takes its responsibility to you seriously
enough to fund research and professional learning departments and to develop
partnerships that will advance the work
you do.
I encourage you to go to aft.org to see
all that is available to you, but right now
I want to bring to your attention some of
the AFT campaigns and supports.
Share My Lesson: The AFT and Britain’s
TES Connect have come together to create
Share My Lesson, a new digital platform
(sharemylesson.com) for U.S. educators to
collaborate and share teaching resources
and innovative ideas, with a significant
emphasis on implementing Common Core
State Standards.
“We know that when teachers share
and collaborate—whether it is about the
content of their lessons or their strategies
for reaching students—students benefit,”
AFT President Randi Weingarten says.
Share My Lesson is by teachers, for
teachers. It’s an easy-to-use source for
classroom resources—and it’s free. Any
educator or parent from preschool to
college can register.
On the AFT website (www.aft.org/
yourwork/tools4teachers) you can find
other resources and research to help you
make changes in classroom practice and
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March 20, 2015
From the treasurer
Health and human services professionals are UTLA
Our schools are stronger when we provide the resources and support our students deserve.
By Arlene Inouye (UTLA Treasurer),
Susan Turner-McMullen, P.P.S. (UTLA
Secondary Counselors Co-Chair), and
Linda Gordon (UTLA Board Member
for Health and Human Services)
The bell rings and most of your students are in their seats ready to go. Then
you notice Felipe, a shy ninth-grader
who is always late for school, sneak into
the room and drop into an open desk.
While students are starting the warm up,
Felipe looks tired, distracted, and lethargic. Once again, he has no materials and
is not making any progress to borrow a
pencil from you or another student. Felipe
School nurses volunteered to staff the first-aid station at UTLA’s Stand
at Grand rally on February 26.
is never an overt behavior problem, but
he doesn’t participate in class and usually
fails to complete his work assignments. In
fact, you aren’t really sure of his skill level
because his work sample size is too small.
Just as you start to prompt him again, for
the third time, your students are finished
with the warmup and ready to move on.
You turn your attention back to the other
37 students in your class . . . .
Teachers are on the front lines of education. With increasingly large class sizes,
the introduction of Common Core State
More than 75 people attended a dinner for counselors at UTLA on
February 19 to discuss counselor-specific issues and hear from guest
speakers. At the dinner (above from left): California Association of
Schools Counselors Executive Director Loretta Whitson, School Board
Member Steve Zimmer, UTLA Board Member for Health and Human
Services Linda Gordon, School Board Member Bennett Kayser, UTLA
Treasurer Arlene Inouye, and UTLA Secondary Counselors Committee
Co-Chair Susan Turner-McMullen.
Standards, disruptive classroom
behavior, and the
burdens of MiSiS
attendance, students like Felipe are just one more challenge in the day of the life of a teacher.
For many, the initial reaction is to send
a student like Felipe to the dean or other
out-of-classroom staff for discipline, even
though that doesn’t address his needs.
There are other options. Did you know
there are health and human services (HHS)
professionals on campuses to help you
with students like Felipe?
While United Teachers Los Angeles, as
the name implies, represents teachers, our
union also includes the health and human
services professionals in the challenge box
on this page. As you can see, the range and
specialties of HHS is expansive. We also
comprise itinerant teachers who travel
(continued on page 29)
Health and human services
challenge: Do you know your . . . ?
Take a look at the list below. Do you have these UTLA HHS professionals at your
school? How many can you name? How can you use them as part of a team to support
student learning and success?
Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor (PSA)
Psychiatric Social Worker (PSW)
School Nurse
School Psychologist
Dist. Office of Transition Services Counselor (DOTS)
Language and Speech Therapist (LAS)
School Counselor
Adaptive P.E. Teacher (APE)
Bonus: Other HHS providers:
Educational Occupational Therapy (OT)
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Itinerant (DHH)
Visually Impaired Itinerant (VI)
Educational Audiologist (AUD)
Educational Audiometrist
Elementary Arts Itinerant
Orientation and Mobility Instructor (O&M)
Physical Therapist (PT)
Assistive Technology (AT)
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
We are here to support you—and we want to know you too!
12
March 20, 2015
From the secondary VP
Counting to four on the School Board
Politics matters when it comes to the Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
By Colleen Schwab
UTLA Secondary Vice President
Let’s all take a moment to reflect back
on the past few weeks. We had more
than 15,000 members in attendance at
the February 26 rally, and UTLA is on the
move to reelect Bennett Kayser in School
Board District 5 as well as playing a role
in the other campaigns.
UTLA members ask, What will
these efforts do? What was and will
be achieved for our educators and the
schools we serve?
The answers are simple but the details
complicated. We must recognize the
need to be political by first building a
strong union. The rally is the beginning
of demonstrating our growing educator power in the union. This needs to
be followed by electing School Board
members who will work in support of
the Schools L.A. Students Deserve and
will strive to sustain our public schools
and bring authentic reforms in unison
with labor partners.
UTLA will need our boots on the
ground in the School Board campaigns.
Can you imagine if 35,000 educators
walked just two blocks, talking to voters
about the upcoming elections? Our communities love educators, and people will
listen to what we have to say. When I
precinct walk, I always bring along Yogi,
my four-year-old golden retriever, who
surely gets people to talk to me! Knocking on doors can only take an hour or
so, and it reaches our voting public in a
personal yet positive way. If all 35,000
educators walked two blocks to bring
forth UTLA’s message, I would venture
to say that this would give cause for
politicians to rethink the power of UTLA.
We must be able to count to four on
the Board of Education to accomplish
the Schools L.A. Students Deserve. It is
crucial that the anti-teacher culture is
turned around. We cannot continue to
allow the corporate reformers to define
our profession or the LAUSD bureaucrats
to make decisions that harm our schools.
Recently, a “housed” educator (she
fought her dismissal and won) wanted
to attend a professional development on
Common Core. Having been housed for
more than a year and still assigned to
home waiting for reassignment, the educator (I will call her Nanette) requested
permission to attend the conference,
which was from Thursday to Sunday.
She paid the conference fee herself and
was not requesting reimbursement.
Nanette just wanted to go to the conference and learn more about Common
Core to strengthen her practice instead
of sitting at home all day.
Okay, who can guess what the District
response was? Yes, at first her request
was denied because she would need a
sub. After she clarified her work assignment several times, including the fact
that no sub was needed, the new reason
LAUSD gave for denial was that she did
not submit the request in writing! Well,
how could she do that when assigned
to home? And maybe the District could
have emailed her the form? Bottom line,
as I stated in an email to the District,
“Let me get this straight. The educator
is waiting for reassignment, having won
her case. She wants to go to a self-paid
Common Core workshop, but the District
prefers that she sit at home.” Even with
common sense on our side, the District
did not back off its ludicrous stance.
Part of the way we bring sanity back
to LAUSD is to elect a School Board that
gets it. Be part of the School Board elections and our organizing action plan:
walk and talk, join the actions, and let’s
get the Schools L.A. Students Deserve!
Colleen can be reached at [email protected].
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13
March 20, 2015
Keeping track
UTLA voting online
How not to botch a big technology change.
We have to make sure that access to voting
is secure; that votes can’t be faked, stolen,
or lost; and that only active members can
vote. We need to make sure that the process
of voting is simple, straightforward, and as
easy as eBay. And most importantly, we need
to make sure that our online votes can be
counted seamlessly with our paper votes.
So how will this work?
By Daniel Barnhart
UTLA Secretary
Almost a year ago, after many petitions
were signed, an initiative was passed by the
membership of UTLA to “provide online
voting.” But setting up an election for a union
with a membership as large and diverse as
ours requires more than Google Doc or SurveyMonkey. As UTLA secretary, I’ve taken
up the challenge of trying to implement the
online voting initiative in a way that protects the integrity and validity of our election process, whether we will be voting to
authorize a strike or to ratify a new contract.
First of all, if you are not interested in
voting online at this time, almost nothing
will change for you. If you are interested
in becoming a “registered online voter,”
you will need to register in writing. As
a registered online voter, you will not be
able to vote in the same way that others
vote with paper ballots; you will be voting
from your home computer or even smartphone. (Note: We will actively discourage voting on union issues using LAUSD
equipment, including the LAUSD network
or devices. The District reserves the right
to snoop through your email, internet
browsing, and online voting when you
use their stuff.) We need this registration
process so that we can capture your intent
to vote online. In addition to confirming
your membership status, we will also
need to verify your non-LAUSD email
address and your cell phone number.
We’re with you
all the way
Look elsewhere on this page for the online
voter registration form. It can be mailed
or faxed in to UTLA, or you can even
take a high-resolution cell phone picture
of the completed form and email it to
[email protected]. Your registration
will need to be confirmed by the UTLA
Membership Department.
After you have registered and responded
to our email, you’ll be all set to vote online.
When an issue is to be brought before the
membership for a vote, the UTLA Board of
Directors will set a timeline for the process.
For the first election including an online
component, we will really want to make
sure that only the most serious online voters
use the online process. If there is one thing
we have learned from watching the District
botch the BTS rollout in 2007 and mess up
the MiSIS rollout this year, it’s that doing
new technology things with everybody, all
at once, really isn’t a good idea.
The registration window will need to
close in advance of the election to make sure
we have time to flag all of our “registered
online voters” on the rosters that we will
distribute to chapter chairs for traditional
school-site voting. As the traditional voting
cycle begins with three days of school-site
voting, the online window will open as well.
When the school-site voting ends, so will the
online voting. (Note: The exact calendar for
an election is set by the Board of Directors.)
While the online voting company tallies up
the votes, the voting packets will be collected in Area reverse drops and returned
to UTLA for counting. Challenge ballots
will be set aside for verification with the
Membership Department, while the regular
paper ballots will be counted.
One member, one vote
To ensure that only one vote is counted
per member, UTLA staff members will
enter the employee number of each
member who has voted by paper into
a list. This list will be sent to the online
voting company, who will make sure to
pull out and not count any online vote
from a member on the “paper voting” list.
By following the simple rule “paper beats
online,” we can protect the principle of one
member, one vote. The unique online votes
will be added to the paper votes, and the
results of the election will be published.
What about the future?
While almost everyone I’ve discussed
online voting with talks about how it represents the future and is a logical next step,
to many people it also represents a step
away from the sense of community we feel
when we vote together at school sites. With
the added convenience of voting from the
comfort of your own home, on your own
screen, comes the worry that voting won’t
be taken seriously or that our members
will start to see voting as a disconnected
exercise. This is a challenge that we can
face as a union together.
It is up to us to continue to have onsite
meetings and discussions in our chapters
about what is at stake in the issues we vote
on. As UTLA secretary, I will look for ways
to empower chapter chairs to make sure
that all their members vote on issues—
online or on paper. Engaging each other
in discussion and digging into the issues
at hand can happen face to face, as well
as online. Voting on a contract or voting
to authorize a strike really isn’t simply an
individual choice for each member; voting
is an exercise in collective power that
generations before us had to struggle to
build and sacrifice to wield. Every member
vote, every member ballot, on paper or
on the screen, is a democratic right that
our enemies would love to see disappear.
UTLA online voter registration form
To sign up to vote online for UTLA balloting, please
fill out and submit the below information.
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Name
Employee number
Non-LAUSD email (required)
Cell phone (required)
I wish to register for online voting for UTLA elections.
Signature and date
To submit: Mail it to UTLA Membership Dept., 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th
Floor, L.A., CA 90010; fax it to (213) 368-6231; or send a high-resolution
cell phone picture of the completed form to [email protected].
March 20, 2015
Supporting the profession
Uniform staffing procedures for a stable matrix process
Schools should begin the process now.
By Juan Ramirez
UTLA Elementary Vice President
One of the most important—and most
complicated—sections of the UTLA-
LAUSD contract is Article IX-A, which
covers the matrix and uniform staffing
procedures for K-12 schools. I encourage
all UTLA members to become familiar with
the text in this section, if you aren’t already.
Schools should begin the process for
creating the matrix now, based on expected
enrollment and their site budget.
There is no reason to wait to complete
most of the steps on the “UTLA Chapter
Chair Checklist: Uniform Staffing Procedures” on this page. Most schools are not
year-round any longer, but if your school
is still on that calendar for this year, notify
off-track teachers of the scheduled dates
for your site.
Make sure all staff is aware of the dates
when your school will:
• Finalize the budget.
• Determine the method for requesting
grade levels (#2 on the checklist).
• Elect, confirm, or select full-time outof-classroom positions if needed (#5).
As soon as possible the chapter chairs
should:
• Meet with the principal after staff
has determined the method for selecting
grade levels (#3).
• Request the exact copy of the seniority
list from the principal as soon as possible (#4).
• Consult with the principal to determine the percentage of permanent and
non-permanent teachers for the coming
year (#6).
Chapter chairs must help determine which
method is used to receive assignments. There
STAFFING PROCEDURES
SUGGESTED TIME SEQUENCE – SPRING 2015
TASKS
UTLA chapter chair checklist:
Uniform Staffing Procedures
1. Read UTLA/LAUSD Contract (CBA), Article IX-A, Section 2.0-9.0.
2. Hold meeting or survey teachers to determine which locally determined
method they wish to use for requesting grade levels, classes within a
department, and/or tracks.
b. Selection process:
Coordinator(s)
Dean(s)
4. Request an exact copy of the seniority list from the principal.
Chapter Chair
9. Give preference forms to the principal in case of vacancies and adjustments.
Filling Vacancies After Initial Selection
ASAP
Month of April or prior
to posting of matrix
Mid-April or prior to
posting of matrix
April—prior to selection Prior to C-Track going
of classes
off track for school year
by Principal
Mid-March—no later
than four weeks before
classes are selected
Early March—no later
than four weeks before
classes are selected
IV.Teachers request
track, grade
level (elem), classes
(sec); request class
assignment
10.Fill vacant positions after selection and before norm day consistent with
the CBA, Article IX-A, Section 2.1.
Month of April or
earlier if a local site
determines to use an
earlier date
Mid-April or earlier if
local site determines to
use an earlier date
21 calendar days prior
to the end of teachers’
work year
21 calendar days prior
to the end of teachers’
work year
Notify teachers who are off-track or on leave in writing (mail, email, website, etc.) of date
and time of the matrix selection process.
V. Contractual date for
teacher notification
of tentative
assignment
Refer to Article IX-A, Sections 4.0 through 7.0 and
9.0 through 10.0
Chapter Chair elections
are to be conducted
using UTLA procedures –
any disputes should be
referred directly to UTLA
Refer to Article IX-A,
Section 2.0 (Matrix must
be posted approximately
four weeks prior to the day
teachers on any track or
schedule finish service for
the year or four weeks prior
to requesting
assignments)
Principal and Chapter
Chair may jointly develop
alternate dates
11.Fill vacant positions subsequent to norm day consistent with the CBA,
Article IX-A, Section 2.1.
(If the classes were not filled according to the CBA, call your UTLA
Area Representative)
COMMENTS
Principal and Chapter
Chair may jointly develop
alternate dates
III.Posting of Matrix
7. Elementary permanent teachers request and are assigned positions
based on the matrix; non-permanent teachers fill out preference forms
and are assigned positions by principal. Secondary permanent teachers request tracks; classes requested and assigned as per CBA, Article
IX-A, Section 2.0.
8. Principal assigns tentative classes consistent with CBA, Article IX-A,
Section 2.0 by May 16, or date as negotiated with LAUSD. (If classes
were not assigned consistent with Article IX-A, Section 2.0, immediately
initiate the Dispute Resolution Procedure.)
THREE TRACK
II. Election of UTLA
5. Follow process for electing, confirming, or selecting full-time coordinator and/
or dean positions; chapter chair; released time for chapter chair, if applicable.
6. Principal, in conjunction with chapter chair, determines percentage of
permanent to non-permanent teachers for the coming year. Principal posts
matrix, which includes type of class, track, credentials and/or qualifications necessary, and differentials, four weeks prior to the day any track
or schedule ends for school year or two weeks before class selection. (If
the matrix did not contain the appropriate information, if “qualifications”
posted are not reasonable or valid, etc., call your UTLA Area Rep.)
SINGLE TRACK
I. a. Decision:
Coordinator
position(s) in your
school plan? Dean
position(s)?
3. Meet with principal to agree on the locally determined method to request
classes and the timeline for the process. (If the principal and chapter chair
cannot agree, call your UTLA Area Representative.)
are three typical types, although schools can
use any method agreed to by the chapter
chair and principal. The three types are:
• Preference forms.
• One by one in the principal’s office
with the chapter chair present.
• In a meeting with all the teachers present (this is the UTLA-preferred
method).
Elementary schools should be sure to
refer to the updated version of REF 3666.1,
“Elementary Master Plan Program Class
Organization and Staffing for English
Learners,” dated May 31, 2013, which replaced the one issued in 2007.
Refer to Article XXVII,
Section 2.8(d) for specific
dates of the Local School
Leadership Council
election
See UTLA – LAUSD side
letter agreement dated
March 21, 2013 – date
adjustment for Early Start
Calendar
15
• Fair pay for educators
• A stronger voice for
parents and educators
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• Smaller class sizes
• Fully staffed schools, with
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March 20, 2015
Peer Assistance and Review
program: Teachers supporting
teachers
By Dr. Brian Muller
UTLA PAR Panel Member
Thinking about picking up some new
teaching ideas? Wondering how you can
get confidential one-on-one support from
an experienced teacher? Since its inception
almost 15 years ago, the PAR program
has provided support to more than 10,000
participants. Read on to find out about
what services PAR’s consulting teachers
and staff can provide to you.
One-day professional
development workshops
The consulting teachers and staff of the
PAR program offer more than 15 different workshops several times each year.
They cover a wide range of strategies to
strengthen and refine your instructional
practice, from writing instructional objectives to using instructional notebooks, and
from classroom management to Common
Core techniques.
PAR workshops are always free to
teachers who work for LAUSD and can
be used toward a salary point (if you need
it). The schedule for the year is located
at http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/5156.
Consulting teacher one-on-one
classroom feedback and support
Have you ever wanted feedback from
another teacher about how your instruc-
The Support Network Free Orientations
tion is going? The PAR program has
always had consulting teachers available
to provide one-on-one support, referred to
as Component 3 in Article X-A of the contract. However, PAR can now fulfill more
voluntary requests because we have more
CTs available. A trained CT will meet with
you to identify what you want to focus on,
provide observation feedback, and help you
think through the refinements you want to
make. The discussions you have with the
CT are strictly confidential, and you can
have their support for up to eight weeks.
One-on-one support is also always
free to teachers who work for LAUSD.
To request voluntary CT support, call the
PAR Office at (213) 241-5501.
Who are the PAR
consulting teachers?
PAR consulting teachers are highly
skilled classroom teachers and recent retirees who are selected by the PAR Panel
(which is made up of five UTLA and four
AALA members), based on their ability to
provide meaningful feedback to others in
the classroom. When providing one-onone support, CTs maintain strict confidentiality, which means that their discussions
are never shared with site administration.
Are you interested in National Board Certification for 2015-16?
Monday, April 20, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday, April 23, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Saturday, April 25, 2015, 7:30 am – 12:00 noon
Monday, May 11, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday, May 14, 2015, 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Saturday, May 16, 2015, 7:30 am – 12:00 noon
United Teachers Los Angeles
3303 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010
(Validated parking in rear of building, off Berendo Street)
Please sign up by going to www.thesupportnetwork.net and filling out the online survey. You
will receive a confirmation by email from Michael de la Torre, NBCT, program coordinator.
Please remove filters or add to your address book to accept emails. Signing up by phone will
not be accepted. Walk-ins and late comers will not be admitted. RSVP will only be accepted
up to 48 hours prior to an orientation. 75 participants is the maximum for each orientation.
Please encourage your colleagues to attend a meeting.
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SUPPORT NETWORK, CANDIDATES
MUST ATTEND AN ENTIRE ORIENTATION MEETING.
All information is tentative and subject to change.
You do not need to join TSN to pursue NBPTS certification.
Salary points can be earned for The Support Network program..
NBPTS info: www.nbpts.org or call 1-800-22-TEACH
TSN info: www.thesupportnetwork.net or call 213-251-1444
Questions? Call the PAR Office at
(213) 241-5501 or email us at [email protected].
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19
March 20, 2015
Chapter chair elections
Time to choose your site’s chapter chair
Members will vote to fill positions for the 2015-16 school year.
By Daniel Barnhart
UTLA Secretary
The annual election of a Chapter Chair
is a vitally important piece of ensuring that
UTLA is a member-driven union, with
democratically elected representatives in
every chapter. Besides helping organize
their chapter, Chapter Chairs also defend
professional rights, resolve conflicts with
administration, and keep their members
connected with UTLA.
In the next few issues, UNITED
TEACHER is publishing the rules for
Chapter Chair elections to help clarify
and guide this important election process.
UTLA requests that each site make every
effort to complete the election process no
later than May 12, 2015, so that incoming
Chapter Chairs can attend the May 13
Area Meetings.
Invitations to the newly elected Chairs
and Co-Chairs for the UTLA Leadership
Conference can only be extended if the
election is held and the form provided to
the current Chair is returned to UTLA no
later than May 14, 2015.
UTLA chapter chair election
rules and duties
The following are the rules for the election of UTLA Chapter Chair and Co-Chair.
In accordance with the UTLA Constitution, each UTLA chapter shall hold
an election of chapter officers, including
Chapter Chair, each spring, and shall
notify UTLA of the results no later than
May 16. If a chapter has a local constitution, which lists term of office as two
years, the chapter must still submit the
name of the Chapter Chair to UTLA each
spring, indicating that the Chapter Chair
is serving in the first or second year of
the term.
Multi-track year-round chapters are to
elect, on separate ballots, a Chapter Chair
and Co-Chair from a different track, so
that all tracks are serviced by one of the
chairs at all times. Single-track chapters with more than 80 UTLA members
are also entitled to elect a Co-Chair. All
schools may elect up to two Vice Chairs
who serve as assistants to the Chair and/
or Co-Chair without regard to track assignment.
Multi-track schools are mandated by
the House of Representatives to conduct
the election of the Chair & Co-Chair over
a track change, if possible. (There may be
a run-off for the Chapter Chair running
beyond the track change.) Please prepare
well in advance to complete the entire
election at that time! Rule 3 letter (i) still
applies to year round schools.
1. Qualifications for Office, Voting
and Challenged Ballots
To be eligible to run for office, a person
shall have to have been a member of UTLA
and at the same school site for at least two
calendar months prior to balloting.
To be eligible to vote a person shall have
to have been a member of UTLA, at the
same school site, and spend the majority of
his/her work time at that site, for at least
two calendar months prior to balloting,
A member who spends an equal amount
of time at two schools shall choose one
of the schools and will be entitled to one
full vote.
Local Chapter Constitutions may increase the qualifications for office after a
secret ballot vote of all site members and
approval by the Board of Directors.
Magnet Schools, which share a site and
a principal, and wish to have a separate
UTLA chapter, must hold a secret ballot
vote to do so before the beginning of the
nomination process for the election of the
Chapter Chair at the regular site begins.
The secret ballot election shall include all
UTLA members of the proposed chapter.
Chapters that have been separated through
a vote shall annually notify UTLA, through
their Chapter Chair, of their desire to
remain a separate chapter. In general,
UTLA recognizes chapters based on the
“Organizing for Power”
La Quinta, July 31 to August 2
All chapter chairs, co-chairs, and vice chairs
are strongly encouraged to attend.
Want to avoid probate?
Meet the Authors! They will present
at the UTLA Investment Workshop
on Saturday, April 25. To register for
this popular event, please contact
Evy Vaughn UTLA Conference
Secretary (213) 487-5560.
Don’t do it yourself. Let a fellow teacher be
your lawyer. Sheila Bayne is a full time
teacher with LAUSD and has been an active
member of the California Bar for over 25 years.
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student assistance programs.
The Chapter Chair shall appoint a threemember election committee, the members
of which must be UTLA members (not fee
payers) and must not be candidates for office.
If there is no current Chapter Chair
at the site, the election committee shall
consist of three volunteers who are UTLA
members (not fee payers) and not candidates for office.
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policy “one principal, one chapter chair,
one chapter.”
Any person who requests a ballot
but whose name does not appear on
the UTLA-provided list, or whose code
indicates that that person is not a full
dues paying member of UTLA, or whose
eligibility is challenged for any other
reason, shall vote a Challenged Ballot.
Said ballot shall be placed in a sealed
envelope with the person’s name and
employee number on the outside of the
envelope. The election committee shall
call the UTLA Membership Department
to verify the status of any individual who
votes a challenged ballot. Only those
ballots cast by members who are verified
as eligible to vote shall be counted. No
ballot shall be counted until all ballots
have been verified.
(A-B trust for spouses: $ 895)
Contact the Law Office of Sheila Bayne
at 310-435-8710
or e-mail: [email protected]
The Chapter Chair shall request of
UTLA the most current list of UTLA
members at the site. If there is no Chapter
Chair, a member of the election committee
shall make the request.
The Chapter Chair shall give this list
of members to the election committee for
their use.
If a site has six or fewer UTLA members,
the Chapter Chair shall appoint an election committee of at least one member. In
the absence of a Chapter Chair, the entire
membership shall meet and decide who
shall conduct the election (preferably at
least two teachers).
The Chapter Chair shall give a copy of
these rules to the election committee and
review all parts of it with them to make
certain they understand their responsibilities. That ends the Chapter Chair’s
involvement in the process.
3. Duties of the Election Committee
The election committee shall do the following:
(a) Select a chairperson
(b) Prepare a self-nominating form to
be distributed to all eligible active UTLA
members assigned to that site. (Mail to
those off track). Nominations by a second
party in writing or orally are not to be accepted. All nominations or withdrawals of
a submitted nomination must be in writing
by the nominee.
(c) Publicize, in writing, to all members
the election timeline. The timeline shall
include the date and time upon which the
self-nominating forms must be returned,
the date, time, location of the election and
the procedures for counting the ballots.
The timeline shall be sufficient to allow
for mailed ballots.
{See (i)}
(d) Make the polling site accessible to all
eligible voters, and ensure that there is no
attempt to solicit votes in any form in the
immediate vicinity of the balloting area.
(e) Verify membership status (03) of all
nominated candidates.
(f) Prepare a written ballot for contested
elections, with the names of the self-nominated candidates. A candidate must win by a
majority of the votes cast. (This may require a
runoff between the top two vote getters). If the
election is not contested, the self-nominated
candidate shall be declared elected.
(g) Prepare a sealed secret ballot box to
receive voted ballots.
(h) Indicate, on the UTLA-provided list
of members, those members who received
a ballot, to insure that only one ballot is
given per member and only eligible active
UTLA members receive a ballot.
(i) Permit voting for at least three
school days to insure ample opportunity for all members to vote. Year-round
schools vote over a track change. This can
be done during “Buy-back” and Pupil
Free days. Ballots shall be kept in the
sealed secret ballot box, which shall be
secured each day by the chair of the election committee. If all eligible members
vote in fewer days than the number of
days set aside for voting, the committee may declare the election completed
and count the ballots, after notifying
members of the time and location where
the count will take place.
(j) Mail a ballot to the address of
record of any person who maintains
active UTLA membership and is regularly assigned to the site in question,
but who is absent from the site during
the balloting period. (maternity leave,
March 20, 2015
etc.). Those members who are absent
due to extended illness, must request
an absentee ballot in sufficient time to
be voted and received back at the site
by the last day of balloting.
Adult schools, with multiple sites, may
conduct the voting by mail using the secret
ballot double-envelope return procedure.
(k) Count the ballots at the time and
place indicated in the election timeline.
Any active UTLA member may witness
the count. In case of a tie vote there shall
be a flip of a coin.
(l) Publish the results of the election and
notify UTLA immediately on the official
form provided by UTLA of those results
(no later than May 16).
(m) At this point, the election committee
repeats steps a - j to elect a Co-Chair (multitrack year round schools and chapters with
more than 80 members) or vice chair at any
school. If the candidates for co-chair or vice
chair are not also candidates for Chapter
Chair both elections may be conducted at
the same time.
(n) Secure all election materials for six
months to insure their availability in case
of a challenge to the election.
(o) In secondary schools - within ten
working days following the completion
of the Chapter Chair election, the chapter
shall vote on the Chapter Chair release
time as described in Article IV, section 8.1 b
& c of the current contract, in order to give
the site an opportunity to adjust the master
schedule for the following school year.
In elementary schools - the release time
election, pursuant to Article IV, section 8.1
a, b & c, shall take place within ten working
days after it is known which specific teachers’ work load will be directly affected by
the operation of the plan.
4. Election Challenge
Any active UTLA member at the site
who believes that any of these election
procedures has been violated, shall have
15 working days after the election results
are known to send a written challenge by
US mail to the Chair of the UTLA Constitution Committee, c/o UTLA Headquarters.
Challenges may also instead be submitted
via email if done so within 15 working
days after the election results are known.
However, the member must first present
the challenge to the site election committee
within five calendar days. If the rules were
violated, the election committee should
correct the errors, even if that requires
starting the election process over from the
beginning. Only those challenges that are
not satisfactorily handled at the work site
should be forwarded to the Constitution
Committee.
As a result of any challenge to the election of a Chapter Chair, the UTLA Constitution Committee may authorize the
election committee at the school site or the
Board of Directors’ members representing
the area in which the chapter is located, to
conduct a new election at the site.
5. Special Categories
Election of Chapter Chairs for special
categories pursuant to Article IV, Sec. 8.3
of the UTLA/LAUSD contract, and the
list of itinerant groups entitled to their
own Shared Decision Making councils,
shall be overseen by the UTLA Constitution Committee. Said Committee shall
notice the election and its timeline in
an article in the UNITED TEACHER.
A self-nominating coupon shall be included with the article. The election
21
CHAPTER CHAIR ELECTIONS
(continued from page 21)
shall be conducted by mailed ballot.
All categories with more than 80 UTLA
members are entitled to elect a Co-Chair
to assist the Chair in his or her duties.
The self-nominating coupon for Chair
shall include Co-Chair.
The categories are: Article IV 8.3
Adapted PE
Audiometrists
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Educational Audiologists
Elementary Counselors
Elementary Literacy Coaches
Non-Public Schools
Occupational and Physical Therapy
PH/PHH/LRE Counselors
Psychiatric Social Workers
Pupil Service & Attendance Counselors
School Nurses
School Psychologists
Secondary Counselors
Speech and Language
Substitutes
-Central Calling Area
-North Calling Area
-South Calling Area
Traveling Art, Dance, Music Teachers
Visually Handicapped
Vocational Education
Members of these special categories
who are assigned the majority of their
workweek to one site are also eligible to
be voters at that site. If they are assigned
fulltime they are also eligible to be candidates for office at that site. (See #1 line 3
for members who spend an equal amount
of time at two schools.)
6. Term of Office
Unless otherwise indicated in the chapter’s own constitution and by-laws, the
term of office of Chapter Chairs shall be
one school year and shall begin on July
1 or when the election is completed, if
after July 1.
March 20, 2015
7. Recall
The local chapter shall have the right
to conduct a recall election of the elected
Chapter Chair after a petition for cause by
40% of the chapter members (see #1 Qualifications for Office, Voting and Challenged
Ballots) has been sent to the Constitution
Committee and verified. The petition
needs to include: Members’ printed names,
employee numbers and signatures. The
petition must state the reason for the recall.
The recall election itself will require an
affirmative vote of 50% plus one of the
members voting. If the Chapter Chair is
recalled, a new election would then be conducted. Both elections will follow UTLA’s
election rules. The recall vote and the vote
for a new Chapter Chair may be conducted
at the same time.
The Chapter Chair who is the subject of
the proposed recall shall have the right to
challenge the sufficiency of the recall petition prior to the conducting of any recall
vote. The Chapter Chair must exercise this
right within five (5) school days of his/her
receipt of the petition.
8. Duties & Responsibilities of
Elected Chair and Co-Chair
As the local legal representative of
UTLA, the Chapter Chair shall be responsible for seeing to it that all UTLA business
at the local site is properly conducted according to the contract, the UTLA Constitution, official UTLA policy as determined
by the UTLA House of Representatives,
and any site-based management plans.
The UTLA Co-Chair (multi-track schools
or large schools) takes over all Chapter
Chair duties only when the elected Chapter
Chair is off track and unavailable, absent, or
at the request of the Chapter Chair. UTLA
encourages all schools to elect a Vice Chair
to help the Chapter Chair and/or Co-Chair
to carry out the numerous responsibilities
assigned to them. This is an elected office.
We also encourage each chapter to elect
other chapter officers to assist the Chair
and/or Co-Chair such as Secretary, Treasurer, Social Chair, PACE Chair, etc.
9. Reserved UTLA Rights
Inasmuch as the Chapter Chair is the
local legal representative of the union, the
UTLA Board of Directors retains the right
to remove Chapter Chairs for cause or
malfeasance in office (i.e., failure to carry
out their legal duties and responsibilities
as outlined in the contract, the UTLA Constitution, or any site-based management
plans). If UTLA removes a Chapter Chair
as outlined above, the UTLA Board of Directors’ members representing the area in
which the chapter is located, shall assist
the chapter in the process of conducting
a new election. Any chair removed from
office for cause, may appeal the decision
to the UTLA House of Representatives
subsequent to an investigation and recommendation by the Constitution Committee.
Revised March 2015.
Special category chapter chair election
Article IV, Section 8.3 of the UTLA/LAUSD Agreement provides for a chapter chair Districtwide for each major
employment category that is not school-site based (one each except Substitutes, which may elect one per
calling area for a total of three). These chapter chair categories are as listed: Adapted P.E., Audiometrists,
Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Educational Audiologists, Elementary Counselors, Non-Public Schools, Elementary
Literacy Coaches, Occupational and Physical Therapy, PH/PHH/LRE Counselors, Psychiatric Social Workers,
Pupil Service and Attendance Counselors, School Nurses, School Psychologists, Secondary Counselors,
Speech and Language, Substitutes Central Calling Area, Substitutes North Calling Area, Substitutes South
Calling Area, Traveling Elementary Arts Teachers, Visually Handicapped, Vocational Education.
Candidates for these chapter chair positions must be a current member of the non-school-based employment category listed and must self-nominate with this form; otherwise the positions will go unfilled.
Self-nomination forms must be returned to Daniel Barnhart @ UTLA, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor,
Los Angeles, CA 90010, Attention: Constitution Committee, no later than April 24, 2015, at 5 p.m. If
more than one person is nominated for a category, the election then will be carried out by ballot, mailed
to the homes of all members of that category. The ballots shall be mailed on May 8, 2015, and must be
received no later than 5 p.m., May 22, 2015. Anyone who is eligible to vote (i.e., a UTLA member of that
category) but has not received a ballot must call Daniel Barnhart at UTLA at (213) 368-6244 by May 15,
2015, to request one. Please see UTLA Chapter Chair Elections and Duties in this UNITED TEACHER for
further information regarding qualifications for this office, duties of the chapter chair, term of office, etc.
Groups of 80 or more members may elect a co-chair to assist the chair as needed.
The NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence
Call for Nominations
Here’s your chance to nominate an excellent educator for The NEA Foundation
Awards for Teaching Excellence. We’re looking for educators with outstanding
professional practice who advocate for the association, engage the community,
exhibit professional development leadership, and pay attention to diversity.
All affiliate awardees receive expenses-paid travel to the NEA Foundation’s Salute to
Excellence in Education Gala in Washington, DC. Five awardees are selected for
The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence and receive $10,000 each
plus expenses-paid travel for themselves and a guest. The NEA Member Benefits
Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, selected from the five, receives $25,000
in cash and a personalized commemorative gift.
Name Employee Number
Address
City Zip
Home Phone District Position
(Circle One) Candidate For: Chair Co-Chair
Special category you would represent
Substitutes Only: Calling Area
Visit
neafoundation.org to view the guidelines and application information.
Nominations must be submitted to the NEA Foundation by May 1, 2015.
22
Check out the Grapevine page:
Workshops, exhibits, and more
March 20, 2015
SOPHOMORES, JUNIORS, SENIORS or
GRADUATING STUDENTS,
are you looking for MONEY to
further your EDUCATION and FUTURE...
Program
Cocktails
Dancing
Dinner
Twentieth Annual
Stonewall Scholarship
Saturday, May 16, 2015
The Center at Cathedral Plaza
“20 Years of PRIDE!”
Do You...
...believe in equality for all people?
...find inspiration in members of the
LGBT community?
...give your time and talents to others?
...excel in artistic expression?
If so, see your College
Counselor or go to
www.utla.net/scholarships
for scholarship application and
guidelines
All entries must be mailed or delivered
no later than 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 5, 2015 to
United Teachers
Los Angeles Stonewall Scholarship
Program
Attn: Evy Vaughn
3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Fl
Los Angeles, CA 90010-1794
For more Information please
contact
Evy Vaughn, Scholarship Secretary
(213) 637-5148
Donald Willis, Committee Chair
(909) 240-7364
Request for additional information may also be
sent by email to [email protected]
Winners will be notified by May 11,
2015
Los Angeles
Retirees and one guest compliments of UTLA
If you are retiring between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, request a formal invitation online at
www.utla.net/2015retirementdinnerinvite or complete coupon below and mail before April 3, 2015
to UTLA, Attn: Rosa Beasley, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
For more information, contact Rosa Beasley at [email protected] or (213) 637-5146
FORMAL INVITATION REQUEST FORM
Limited Seating. Reservations Required
Name_________________________________________________________Emp.#_____________
Address _________________________________________________________________________
City __________________________________________________State________ Zip___________
Phone (
)_______________________________Retirement Date:______________ / ________
(month)
(year)
School/Retiring Site _______________________________________________________________
Email address (non-LAUSD)________________________________________________________
23
March 20, 2015
Practical matters
What am I REALLY supposed to be paid?
By Judith Bruner
Compensation and
Benefits Specialist
Sometimes, there is confusion about
what certificated employees are paid for
various types of service. I’ve put together
a little cheat sheet to help figure it out. I
hope you find it helpful.
Calculating your monthly pay
Employees who are annualized have
their pay spread out over 12 months.
To determine your monthly pay, divide
your annual salary for your schedule
and step (at the proper pay basis: C, B,
A, etc.) by 12. Most certificated employees are paid on C basis, so let’s look at
Jane McDoe, a C-basis employee paid
on Schedule 25 at Step 5 on the salary
schedule. Jane’s fiscal year annual pay
is $54,666. Dividing that figure by 12
equals monthly pay of $4,555.50.
However, Jane does some extra assignments for which she is paid differently.
Those extra assignments are noted on
the stub.
Figuring in extra assignments
If Jane has an auxiliary period, she is paid
at her contract hourly rate (also known as Z
time), as noted in Article XIV, Section 25.0.
To determine Jane’s contract hourly rate,
divide the fiscal year pay of $54,666 by 1,224,
the contract hours required for a C-basis as-
signment. Dividing $54,666 by 1,224 equals
$44.66. That is Jane’s contract hourly rate.
This is the same rate at which unpaid time,
such as a furlough day, is docked.
Now, maybe Jane does some replacement time; she is also paid at her contract hourly rate, as noted in Article XIV,
Section 28.0.
If Jane works in the Beyond the Bell
program (extended learning) she will be
paid at her contract hourly rate multiplied
by 1.09224, as noted in Article XX, Section
13.0 (for elementary) and Section 14.0 (for
secondary) of the contract. Multiplying her
contract hourly rate of $44.66 by 1.09224
equals $48.78 (rounded off).
She will also be paid at that rate working
summer session/intersession, as noted in
Article XX, Section 7.0.
Get connected to UTLA
All LAUSD teachers are invited to take ANY of the
6-hour workshops that cover a variety of topics:
ABCs of Student Engagement
June 11
Building Strong Connections
June 23
Classroom Management
June 16
Classroom Management Plus
June 25
Designing Instruction for the English Learner
June 15
Interactive Student Notebooks Grades 4-12
June 17
Literacy Strategies in the Common Core
May 16
The Power of Presence
June 26
Writing Instructional Objectives
June 24
1
All workshops can be applied
toward Salary Point Credit!
Facebook:
facebook.com/UTLAnow
Twitter: @utlanow
YouTube:
youtube.com/UTLAnow
*unless noted, all PAR classes are held at the
Beaudry Building
333 S Beaudry Ave, LA, CA 90017
Sign Up Through Learning Zone @ lz.lausd.net
1. Enter your Single Sign-On
2. Click on the “Courses Tab”
3. Click on the “Class Offerings” link
4. Choose “Peer Assistance and Review” in the Programs box
Investment
Workshop
All LAUSD employees are
invited!
Meet
Rick Rodgers, AIFA, Vice President, Director,
Innovest Portfolio Solutions
25 National awards for retirement plan design, participant education and investment education
Barbara Healy, AIF, CFP, CFS, Consultant
Learn about LAUSD sponsored 457 (b) plan, 403 (b), investment products and how to
evaluate them, mutual funds, annuities, active vs. passive investments, asset allocation,
and much more.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Auditorium, second floor
3303 Wilshire Blvd.
(Parking structure is off of Berendo St;
(Parking and access for the disabled is through the elevators under the UTLA building)
8 am to 3 pm
(Check in begins at 7 am; light breakfast and lunch will be provided)
Pre-Registration is Required
Go to www.utla.net/investworkshopregistration042515 to register
$5.00 per person (exact change preferred) will be collected at the door
For more information, please contact Evy Vaughn
UTLA Conference Secretary, 213-487-5560
Sponsored by UTLA’s Pre-Retirement Issues Committee and
LAUSD’s Retirement Investment Advisory Committee
24
March 20, 2015
Bilingual education issues
Uniform staffing and EL directives.
Equal access to the curriculum. That
is the overriding concern in regard to the
organizing of students into classes and to
the assigning of teachers.
When organizing classes in a Structured English Immersion Program, the
fewest number of ELD levels of students
should comprise a class (LAUSD Ref.
Guide 3661.2, April 2014). This is to
ensure that the curriculum is differentiated so as to be comprehensible to 100%
of the students. This model of organization must be accompanied by mixing for
curricular areas outside of ELA, ELD,
and math, so as to provide opportunities for integration of all the students.
It is very important to remember that
learning English is not the only goal in
school—students should also be learning
everything else by means of comprehensible instruction.
In regard to assigning teachers to work
with English learners, the goal is, again,
to make the curriculum comprehensible
to 100% of the students, so the following
chart directs the order of assignments.
Priorities for Assignment of
BCC/BCLAD teachers to
Structured English Immersion
Program (Ref. Guide 3661.2)
Priority One: Grades K, 1, and 2 and/or
ELD Levels 1-2 Priority Two: Grades 2, 3, and 4 and/or
ELD Level 3
Priority Three: Grades 4 and 5/6 and/or
ELD Level 4 (when all classes with ELD
levels 1-3 have been staffed appropriately)
When there is a decision to be made
whether to assign teachers in seniority
order or by language qualifications, the
site administrator should remember that
all students must be guaranteed equal
access to a comprehensible curriculum.
If a school is fortunate enough to have
bilingual paraprofessionals, they should
be utilized in EL classes with monolingual teachers.
Regarding displacements, Article IX 6.0
(g) of the CBA states, “Bilingual teachers
teaching in Bilingual (EL) Master Plan
programs are exempted from displacement provided they possess a Bilingual
Certificate of Competency (or BCLAD) or
‘A’ or ‘B’ level proficiency.”
Regarding reduction-in-force (RIF),
Board Resolution of June 14, 2011, states
“that the District may for the 2011-2012
school year and henceforth, deviate
from terminating certificated employees in order of seniority to retain the
services of those certificated employees
who (i) have specialized central districtapproved training and experience in
providing instruction in multiple subject
dual language immersion programs, (ii)
are assigned to teach in such programs
during the current school year, and (iii)
will be assigned and agree to teach in
those programs during the subsequent
school year.”
Please do not hesitate to direct questions
and concerns to me at [email protected].
Next Bilingual Ed Committee meeting:
The next meetings are March 25 and April
29 at 4:30 p.m. in the UTLA building (Room
828). We would really like to see teachers
who want to work on the passage of the
Lara bill, “Multilingual Education for All,”
coming on the November 2016 ballot.
—Cheryl Ortega
Director of Bilingual Education
[email protected]
Resources for Women’s
History Month
Looking for resources to help inspire lesson plans for Women’s History
Month? Here are some sites to check out, courtesy of the UTLA Women’s
Education Committee:
Library of Congress:
www.womenshistorymonth.gov
National Women’s History Project:
www.nwhp.org
National Education Association:
www.nea.org/tools/lessons/womens-history-month.html
Teacher Vision:
www.teachervision.com/womens-history/teacher-resources/6678.html
About.com website:
http://womenshistory.about.com
List of women inventors:
http://inventors.about.com/od/womeninventors/a/women_inventors.htm
Scholastic:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/women
. com
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25
March 20, 2015
Note from UTLA-R President
By John Perez
UTLA-Retired President
Our present and shadows of our past:
Today, we as retirees are standing shoulder
to shoulder with our active colleagues
in UTLA’s campaign to bring about the
Schools L.A. Students Deserve. At every
UTLA activity I see many of our UTLARetired members. Our active colleagues
are fighting for the things we fought for
since the union began: better working conditions for themselves and better learning
conditions for their students. At the UTLA
“Stand at Grand” rally, I was standing next
to my friend and former UTLA President
Day Higuchi when current UTLA Harbor
Area Chair Aaron Bruhnke turned to us
and said, “We demonstrated at that building, and that building, and that building,”
pointing to sites of past UTLA rallies. Since
July 1, 2014, UTLA has gone “back to the
future” and has been engaged in good
old-fashioned Unionism 101, something
we retirees are familiar with. On February
12 I was at my old school, Roosevelt High,
along with five other former Roosevelt
teachers, including former principal Henry
Ronquillo (who along with me had been
on the 23-day 1970 strike). We were all
warmly received by our active Roughrider
colleagues. In 1989 as Roosevelt principal,
Henry made sure that the restrooms in the
building nearest our major picketing site
were open to all Roosevelt teachers.
A walk down memory lane: My first
memory of a mass UTLA action was the
26
1970 strike. For me the strike was a lot of
fun. I was 23, a first-year teacher, I was not
married, and my hair was jet black. You
should hear some of the things my two
daughters say when they see pictures of
me and my clothes circa 1970! But the strike
was deadly serious to the teachers who had
become my mentors at Roosevelt High. They
wanted the best for their students and were
fed up with the nonsense of the LAUSD. We
won a good contract and a good package
of reforms for schools in poverty neighborhoods—remember, in 1970 the District was
overwhelmingly white and middle class.
UTLA’s “Inner City” package included
class-size reduction; more nurses, counselors, librarians, and so on; and a major
reading program for our students who were
living in poverty areas.* Sound familiar? As
part of the Reed settlement, UTLA recently
negotiated for more health and human services professionals in schools that had a
high percentage of their members RIFed.
The first time I heard “chop from the
top!” was at a mass rally at the old School
Board headquarters back when Judy
Solkovits was UTLA president. We were
fighting to preserve our health benefits
and then-UTLA/AFT VP Mike Bennett
had unrolled, on butcher paper, from the
second floor balcony a list of the administrators who worked at 450 N. Grand.
When President Solkovits said that the
District could pay for health benefits by
“chopping from the top,” Bennett cut off
the list with a hedge clipper. One of the
great UTLA visuals of the rally against the
Retired teachers stand with active colleagues in the Schools L.A. Students Deserve campaign.
Above, retired UTLA members join the February 12 picketing at Roosevelt High school, where
they all once taught. From left: Ron and Phoebe Ozuna, Henry Ronquillo, Will Adams, John
Perez, and Ron Baca.
17.5% pay cut taken from a media helicopter showing thousands of UTLA members
totally surrounding the District headquarters and spilling onto the overpass above
the 101 Freeway. Remember the August
2000 march that led thousands of UTLA
members past the Democratic National
Convention and up to the Hill Street fortress as we demonstrated for a 10% pay
raise and against a voucher initiative that
was on the ballot that year? I have been in
just about every UTLA march/rally since
our union was formed but I never saw
as many policemen monitoring a UTLA
activity as I saw that August afternoon.
UTLA members were, and are, dedicated
educators—not armed revolutionaries.
There was a lot of LAPD overtime that day.
Today our active members are doing
what we did and for the same reasons—
justice for their members and a better
education for their students. Si se puede!
*The 1970 contract was defeated in court
because at that time we did not have collective bargaining, which came about because of
UTLA-sponsored legislation in 1975.
Perez can be reached at [email protected].
STRS preretirement workshops
Schools should begin the process now.
All UTLA members are encouraged
to attend a preretirement workshop at
least three times during their career in
order to plan for retirement security:
early in their career, again just prior to
age 50, and one year prior to retirement.
CalSTRS (the California State Teachers’ Retirement System) and the District
are sponsoring a series of preretirement
workshops for this school year. Information
will be provided regarding the calculation
of retirement allowance, LAUSD 457(b)
supplemental savings plan, post-retirement
information, and more. Time will be provided at the end of the workshop presentation
for questions and answers. See reservation
information below. The workshops are individual meetings (not a series).
Dates and locations
All workshops are from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
March 26
Woodland Hills (Auditorium)
22201 San Miguel St.
Woodland Hills CA 91364
April 30
Broad Elementary (Auditorium)
24815 Broad Ave.
Wilmington, CA 90744
April 23
Weemes Elementary (Auditorium)
1260 West 36th Place
May 7
Noble Elementary (Auditorium)
8329 Noble Ave.
North Hills, CA 9134
How to register: This year CalSTRS is asking that you register for the workshop you wish to attend through their website
http://resources.calstrs.com/workshop_registration/index.aspx.
Moving? Changing addresses?
Keep UTLA updated by sending your new
information to the Membership Department by email
to [email protected] or by fax to (213) 368-6231.
March 20, 2015
GRAPEVINE
Low-cost tech salary point workshops
QuikiTech.com is offering eight classes,
with each class being only $50 per salary
point. Classes include Microsoft Office, Excel,
Word, Gmail and Google Tools, Teaching Students 21st Century Technology Skills, Technology for Math, the iPad Enabled Classroom,
and Keynote. Go now to http://quikitech.
com. For any questions, contact Donny Wise,
instructor at QuikiTech, at (424) 256-9789.
Evenings for Educators at LACMA
For more than 30 years LACMA’s Evenings for Educators series has provided K-12
teachers with opportunities to talk about,
discover, and create works of art. On April
14, join us again as we learn about the exhibition “Nature and the American Vision: The
Hudson River School.” The artists from the
Hudson River School, together with 19thcentury writers, helped forge a uniquely
American voice that has come to define
national identity. Explore the relationship
between art and civics through realistic and
romantic depictions of the Americas from the
exhibition. Tickets are $15 per person for the
evening, which runs from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.
lacma.org/programs/education/eveningseducators or call (323) 857-6093.
Summer seminar on Korean
history and culture
Explore Korean history, culture, contemporary issues, and Korean Americans at the
USC-KAFE Summer Seminar for K-12 Teachers, July 12 to 17. This collaborative program
of the Korea Academy for Educators (KAFE)
and USC Korean Studies Institute is sponsored by the Korea Foundation and held
on the USC campus. Successful applicants
will demonstrate interest in learning about
Korean history and culture and the ability to
create lessons based on what they learn. One
or two LAUSD salary points available. For
more information, visit www.koreaacademy.
org or email [email protected].
2014 union dues tax deduction information
The following are deductions for union dues that you may be qualified to make
on your 2014 federal income tax return. These figures are meant as a guideline
and may not reflect the actual deductions that were taken. Always consult your tax
adviser before taking any of these deductions.
$689.04 Full-time UTLA member and agency fee
$347.04 Part-time substitute member and agency fee
$590.04 Children’s center member and agency fee
$484.20 Full-time fair share
$243.84 Part-time substitute fair share
$414.60 Children’s center fair share
$1,495.08 Dual full-time UTLA member
$171.00 Associate member
East & North Areas
Announce their
Ruben Salazar Memorial
Scholarship Contest 2015
Ruben Salazar was a journalist for the Los Angeles Times. He was killed in 1970 while
covering the National Chicano Moratorium Against the War in Vietnam and the ensuing riot
through the streets of East Los Angeles. In 1971, UTLA’s East Area initiated a scholarship fund in
his memory. It is now sponsored by UTLA’s East and North Areas.
This is the 44th year that UTLA awards scholarships to Graduating Seniors enrolled at any
LAUSD High School, Continuation School, or High School Completion Program at a LAUSD
Community Adult School.
Scholarship Applications & Information may be :
- downloaded at www.utla.net/scholarships
- requested by email at: [email protected]
- requested via phone 800/ 556-8852 ext. 206
Applicant Form & Essay or a Poem must be :
- received by 5:00 PM — Friday, April 10, 2015.
-received via mail or can be dropped off to:
c/o: Ruben Salazar Scholarship Committee Eric Barrientos
3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor,
Los Angeles, CA 90010-1794
Winners will be notified by April 24, 2015
Scholarships will be presented at the 44th Annual Awards Dinner held on Thursday, May 7, 2015
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27
March 20, 2015
UTLA CALENDAR
Wednesday, March 25
United Teachers
Los Angeles
African American
Education Committee
April 10-12
House of Reps Meeting
CTA State Council (Westin Bonaventure)
Substitute Committee General Meeting
March 30-April 3
will be hosting the
Spring Recess
40th ANNUAL
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Scholarship Awards Dinner
Friday, April 3
Pay Day
Good Friday
on
Passover (Sundown)
Friday, April 24, 2015
UTLA Offices Closed
at
The L. Ron Hubbard Community Center
8039 South Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90044
Saturday, April 4
Passover
Sunday, April 5
(corner of 81st & Vermont)
(310) 419-8230
Social Hour 6:00 pm
Dinner: 7:00 pm
Program 8:00 pm
If you are interested in attending this event,
please secure your reservation by
April 22, 2015
with Debbie Reid Scholarship Secretary
at UTLA 800/556-8852 Ext. 232 (9-4)
Easter
Monday, April 6
Cesar Chavez Birthday
LAUSD Unassigned Day
Tuesday, April 7
UTLA/NEA/CTA Service Center
Council Meeting
Wednesday, April 8
Area Meetings (in the Eight UTLA Areas)
Earn Salary Points
LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE
You are cordially invited
21st Century Learning
Completely Online
Buy Now – Take Course Anytime In
2015!
to the
th
16 Annual
UTLA Platinum Apple
Awards Dinner
25 Courses Available
Friday, May 15, 2015
(1, 2 and 3 Salary Point courses available)
5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Taix Restaurant
1911 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles (213) 484-1265
-------------------------------------------------------------------Tear-off------------------------------------------------------------------
Winner and one guest compliments of UTLA, all others $40 each. Please RSVP by mailing this form and a
check payable to UTLA Platinum Apple Awards to United Teachers Los Angeles, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th
Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010, Attn: Princess Sykes by May 1, 2015.
Name: ____________________________________________ Phone # (________) ___________________
For more information and to enroll
Visit
www.cecreditsonline.org/LAUSD
School Site/Company: ___________________________________________ Number of tickets: __________
Meal selection (specify how many): _____ Pot Roast of Beef _____ Salmon _____Penne Pasta (Veg.)
List all guests’ names (including yourself) and meal selection.
Name (First and last)
___________________________
2.
_______________________________________________
___________________________
3. _______________________________________________
___________________________
4. _______________________________________________
Online • Anytime • Anywhere
28
Meal selection
1. _______________________________________________
Continue on the back, if necessary
___________________________
Amount enclosed $_________________
FROM THE TREASURER
from school to school. The list is so long
that we most likely left out some professionals (please let us know!).
As a group, the HHS professionals have
had some tough years; like teachers, our
numbers have been drastically cut and, as
a result, our caseloads have skyrocketed.
Our services have been pitted against each
other as Local School Leadership Councils
have had to choose between purchasing a
nurse, psychologist, counselor, librarian, or
other needed professional. Three years ago
the health and human services professionals initiated a Williams Complaint Form
campaign to highlight the large numbers
of schools without adequate services. Anecdotally 313 schools were identified as
not having enough HHS staff for health
and safety concerns. With the state funding
Local Control and Accountability Plans,
student subgroups of poverty, English
Language Learners, and foster students
have been identified for funding—the very
students that HHS professionals are trained
to serve. For example, the typical LAUSD
secondary school counselor carries, on
average, double the caseload recommended
by the American Counseling Association
(250 students to 1 counselor). In addition,
the budget crisis has profoundly impacted
professionals serving students with special
needs as they are asked to do more with
less. In some schools, this has created a
crisis situation where the physical, mental,
emotional, and interpersonal needs of our
students are neglected. Finally, MiSiS, Welligent, and Medi-Cal reporting are technical
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March 20, 2015
dragons we fight with daily. In short, we
need more hands on deck to better serve
the students of Los Angeles and prepare
them to be ready to learn in the classroom.
The Schools L.A. Students Deserve contract demands bring visibility to all members
and what we contribute to the UTLA family.
It wasn’t long ago that you could hear in
the hallways of our schools: “I didn’t know
nurses [or counselors, speech therapists, fill
in here with other HHS professionals] were
members of UTLA.” But times are changing. We are UTLA; we are vital members of
the school community who serve students,
teachers, and parents. We are with you in the
fight for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve.
Like teachers, our members are concerned
about their working conditions and student
learning conditions.
HHS professionals are also concerned
about low wages, and, like teachers, our
salary is not commensurate with our high
educational attainment, degrees, and
special licenses (which require continuous
coursework). Some of us have experienced
disproportionate layoffs during the economic recession related to the outsourcing
and privatization of HHS services.
UTLA has brought health and human
support services ratios to the negotiations
table, but LAUSD has not responded with
a proposal. Not only are the health and
human services professionals’ needs front
and center in our bargaining, but we have
also organized HHS by bringing chapter
chairs together. These meetings, cochaired
by Linda Gordon and Arlene Inouye, are
providing the opportunity to listen to each
other and understand the challenges that we
all are facing. Some of the issues are the same,
with other unique challenges for specific sub
groups. We have developed strategies and
contract demands to strengthen our position. We have presented our needs through
Article XXX subcommittee meetings with
LAUSD (as supported by the collective bargaining agreement) and we have developed
a process for resolving HHS member issues.
Sometimes it feels like the results are slow in
coming, but we know that we are addressing
serious issues that have been years in the
making and that are connected to the larger
context of the privatization of our profession.
As for Felipe, we want to be there for him,
and we know teachers already have a full
plate. A good first step would be to talk to
your HHS professionals about your concerns.
He or she can discreetly summon Felipe in for
a chat. LAUSD offers a variety of resources
that counselors can access; a school counselor
is a trained professional that can triage the
situation and connect Felipe and his family
to services if needed. Felipe may have some
medical issue and bringing the situation to
the school nurse will add another professional
to the team supporting the student. School
nurses can screen for vision and hearing;
what if Felipe just can’t see the board or find
a pencil in his backpack? If he is often late,
a PSA counselor can make a home visit and
work with Felipe and his family to reduce his
tardiness. Whatever the solution, no UTLA
member needs to resolve this situation alone.
Reach out to your school’s HHS professionals
and let’s work together; after all, we are all
in this together for the Schools L.A. Students
Deserve.
The above is an introduction to health and
human services professionals. Next month we
will hear more about what these professionals
do day to day and the challenges they face.
Arlene can be reached at [email protected].
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29
March 20, 2015
UTLA Classifieds
CLASSIFIED AND DISPLAY AD POLICY: UNITED TEACHER will not accept ads for legal services in the areas of worker’s compensation or personal injury; nor
advertising for tobacco or alcoholic beverages; nor advertising deemed misleading or offensive to members; nor advertising inconsistent with the programs and
purposes of United Teachers Los Angeles.
HOME BUYERS FREE WEBINAR
LAUSD EMPLOYMENT
hance our math, science, technology magnet and
heaven! Work on the campus in lovely setting with
develop 21st-century learners.
outpatient middle and high schoolers. Have all the
Thinking of buying a home in 2015? Join us for a
Job share/employment
available ads in LAUSD
employment section are FREE.
Application process: Interested candidates, please
perks of being at UCLA and working alongside their
send a letter of interest, a current resume, and two
faculty. It’s truly a “dream job” with much staff sup-
letters of recommendation to Patrick Henry Middle
port, rarely any discipline problems, high-functioning,
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polite, academic kids. Never do an IEP—really! Only
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register at www.freerealtywebinars.com or call (562)
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to do the reduced workload (my partner retired). But
DEADLINE: Friday, March 27, 2015, at 3:00 p.m.
this could get your foot in the door for Carlson (best
Visit the school website to view flyers detailing job
special ed school around!). Looking to do semester
description and desirable skills for each position:
on, off for 2015-16 year. Email or call Patrick Mc-
https://www.edline.net/pages/Patrick_Henry_Mid-
Guire, [email protected], or (310) 581-1973.
FREE webinar- Wednesday April 8th 6pm-6:30pm.
“How to Avoid the 5 Biggest Mistakes SMART First
LAUSD POSITIONS
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338-2883.
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Patrick Henry Middle School and Patrick Henry
Math, Science, Technology Magnet are expanding
in the 2015-2016 academic year. We are accepting
TEACHERS—Primerica is expanding locally looking
applications for the following positions:
for teachers who want part-time and summertime
Magnet Coordinator/Targeted Student Population
work. Put your skills to work. No experience need-
(TSP) Program Adviser: The position will include re-
ed, set your own hrs. Only need to be ambitious.
sponsibilities associated with being the magnet co-
Call and ask for Mr. Pratt at (310) 641-1566.
ordinator of our math, science, technology magnet
and TSP Program Advisor.
Multiple Subject 6th-Grade Teacher: Candidate
TRAVEL
needs to have a strong science background and
BLACK PARIS—TEACHERS & OTHERS—See How
ects to enhance our magnet and develop scientifi-
Josephine Baker, Miles Davis, Paul Robeson, etc.,
cally literate students.
enriched French Culture— July 6 -15, 2015...CODE:
Single Subject in History and English Teacher: Can-
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didate needs one of the following credentials:
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supplemental to teach history. Candidate needs an
tor3Tours.com (212) 348-5449.
engaging history and English program that will en-
dle_School/openings. Video of our magnet program can be found on YouTube: https://www.you-
Job share partner wanted for 2015-16 school year.
tube.com/watch?v=iZNZoaAYi2g.
Elementary school in Eagle Rock. Position is for the
mornings. Please call/text Heidi at (818) 400-7260.
South Shores Elementary Magnet School for the
Visual and Performing Arts (located in San Pedro,
Looking to job share for 2015-16 school year in an
ESC S) is seeking highly qualified applicants for
RSP program in District 1. I have experience in co-
teaching positions for the 2015/2016 school year.
teaching, a special education credential, masters
Candidates must be knowledgeable in teaching
in SPED and fluent with Welligent. Please email
Common Core curriculum, as well as demonstrate
[email protected].
initiative in applying the new standards in creative
and engaging ways in the classroom to reach all
learning abilities and modalities. Extensive experience working with children in the visual and performing arts, with a strong emphasis in dramatic
performance, directing, or vocal music instruction,
is required. Experience in integrating technology
into the classroom is favored. Please email a cover
letter with your resume to Please email a cover letter with your Please email a cover letter with your
resume to [email protected].
Looking to job share at your school for the 2015-16
school year. I have experience in primary and upper
grades and have taught gifted, ELD, and students
with special needs. I prefer to teach the afternoons
in the West or North Valley areas. If you are looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, please
contact Angineh Andreas at (818) 515-9477 or
[email protected]. Thank you.
Job share partner wanted as soon as possible at
your school or mine. My school is on Westside.
Third grade. I have 20 years’ experience teach-
TORS!
A
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D
E
N
IO
T
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A
O
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, or Advanced
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ucators
Earn
for California Ed
d
e
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g
si
e
D
te
ca
Certifi
¡ Master of Arts with a
Concentration in Dual Language
¡ Doctor of Education
¡ Preliminary Administrative Services
Credential Preparation
¡ Certificate in Evidence Based
Coaching for Educational Leadership
LEARN MORE TODAY
¡ Register for an info session:
www.fielding.edu/infosess
¡ Contact an admission advisor:
805.898.4026
[email protected]
www.fielding.edu/UTLA
ucation and
and online ed
er in blended
ad
le
al
ges (WASC).
ob
lle
gl
nprofit
hools and Co
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of
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io
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Fielding is a no
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30
LAUSD JOB SHARE
ing and I’m very flexible, responsible, and open to
learning new things. Please call or text for more information. Thanks. Adrienne (310) 494-8422.
Job share for 2015-2016 with an experienced, enthusiastic, bilingual teacher on the Westside in our
Enthusiastic and experienced elementary school
Spanish Immersion school. Must be fluent in Span-
job share partner wanted for the 2015-2016 school
ish, and a team player. There is lots of collaboration
year. Location must be at their school. Preferred lo-
along the grade level and among the Spanish Im-
cations include West L.A./Mid-City. Please contact
mersion teachers at our school. Wonderful parent
me at [email protected].
community. Please be open to lots of volunteering
and support. Contact me at [email protected].
Job share partner wanted for 2015-2016 for a RSP K-4
Thank you!
program at a traditional school in Local District 4. My
partner teacher went back to full time. Position is for
Job share partner needed for the 2015-2016 school
the afternoons, split days. Great program, assistant,
year for a wonderful elementary school in the Tu-
and school! Must have a special education credential.
junga area. I am an experienced teacher working
Thanks! Contact M. Abraham at [email protected].
at a California Distinguished School with an API of
900+. Supportive principal and great staff. Please
Job share partner needed for the 2014-2015 school
contact Laura at (818) 400-6069.
year to share my RSP position. I am at a wonderful school in Highland Park (East Area). I would like
Job share partner wanted for 2015-2016 school
to split days. Must have experience with Special
year. I teach upper elementary at a wonderful school
Education, have a clear Special Education Creden-
in North Hollywood, near the 101 and Universal
tial and knowledge of Welligent to complete IEP’s.
Studios. This elementary school is rated 9 out of 10
Forms must be submitted by April of 2015. Please
on greatschools.org. Split day partner wanted, but
contact Leandra at (323) 304-8045.
would consider split year. Please contact Jude at
(818) 941-0223 or email me at [email protected].
Job share partner needed. I teach Social Studies
at a Southside high school. Looking for a partner
Dear colleagues, I am looking for an elementary
to teach in the spring of 2015 and possibly longer.
school teacher to job share with for the 2015-2016
Please contact Sarah at [email protected].
school year, and hopefully for longer if possible. I
have taught first, second and fifth grade. I would
The mathematics department at Downtown Magnets
have to job share at your school. I have job shared
High school is seeking a job-share candidate for the
before. I am looking to job share in the West Valley
2015-16 school year. We are a high-functioning, estab-
area if possible. Please call or text me. Thank you
lished, collaborative department and we are looking for
for your consideration. Natalie at (818) 309-3993.
a candidate who loves to be in the classroom and is
primarily focused on student learning! If you’re interest-
Reduced workload special ed position at Carlson
Hospital School: wonderful position at UCLA—it’s
ed, please email your resume to: [email protected].
U N I T E D
March 20, 2015
T E A C H E R
GRAPEVINE
Salary point class on
how to look at art
Teachers of all subjects and levels are
welcome to expand their knowledge of
art and museums by enrolling in “How to
Look at Art.” The class will visit the Getty
Villa (the one near Malibu), the Norton
Simon Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The District-approved class
is worth two salary points and will expose
participants to exciting resources that can
supplement their teaching in all content
areas. The class will meet at Francis Polytechnic High on May 2, 9, 16, and 30, at
8 a.m. From Poly High, participants will
commute to the three locations (one each
class day, except for the last day). The course
fee is $175, preregistered ($185 on the first
day), which includes materials, breakfast,
and museum admissions. Enrollments will
be accepted until—and including—the
first day of class (May 2), or until the cap
is reached, whichever happens first. For
further information, email: [email protected], visit www.en4ed.com, or call Larry
Carstens at (818) 645-4259.
Natural History Museum
workshop on squirrels
The Natural History Museum is offering
a free workshop, “The Study of Squirrels,”
on Saturday, April 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A ubiquitous L.A. neighbor with a unique
local history, squirrels are animals we
can easily observe. Increase your squirrel
smarts and learn about activities to facilitate
student inquiry in the classroom. Discuss
how to study squirrels with students to
meet Common Core and Next Generation
Science Standards. Register at nhm.org/
for-teachers/professional-development.
Summer workshops by
CSULB’s History Project
The History Project at CSULB has announced its lineup of summer workshops,
including sessions on “The Modern Presidency” and “Common Core and World
History.” Some of its offerings, such as
“The Cold War: Teaching With Primary
Sources” are free, while others carry a $500
fee. To find out more about these programs
and to RSVP, go to www.csulb.edu/colleges/cla/projects/historyproject/programs/current-programs.
Art Center offers 2015 Summer
Institute in Design-Based Learning
Art Center College of Design is offering
its 2015 Summer Institute on July 22 to 24
and 27 to 28. The Summer Institute for
Teachers is an intensive five-day interac-
tive workshop based on a methodology
called Design-Based Learning. DesignBased Learning taps students’ natural
creativity to develop higher-level thinking and enhance comprehension of the
K-12 curriculum. The institute offers four
salary credits, and this course is open to
K-12 educators, principals, administrators, college instructors, and after-school
program directors and staff. Scholarships
available. For more information, please
visit www.artcenter.edu/teachers or
contact Paula Goodman, director K-12
programs, at (626) 396-2347 or paula.
[email protected].
history, media and societal impacts, and
effective communications. The salary point
workshop covers the important role your
own culture plays in day-to-day interactions and includes interactive exercises in
which participants review various issues
from a variety of viewpoints. The next
session for “Valuing Difference” is April
25 and 26 (Saturday and Sunday). The
workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
fee is $75. Location: 8339 W. 3rd Street,
L.A., CA 90048. One multicultural salary
point available. For more information or to
register, call Kari Bower at (323) 653-3332
or email [email protected].
Workshop on visual literacy
Salary point class on yoga
The Film Foundation’s visual literacy
program, The Story of Movies (storyofmovies.org), presents a professional development workshop on “The Animation
Universe,” for educators grades 5-12. The
workshop will take place March 30 to
April 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Pickford Center, 1313 Vine Street, Hollywood.
Educators will be introduced to an interdisciplinary curriculum exploring the
science, art, and historical significance
of animated films. Presentations include
teaching strategies on how to read moving
images, to analyze cultural representations of people and events, and to think
beyond the literal. Workshops focus on
both cinema literacy/film language, and
film as historical/cultural document.
Handouts include primary source documents, graphic organizers, and activities
to challenge students’ critical-thinking
skills. Afternoon and optional evening
screenings feature classic animated shorts
and full-length films. Registration is free
and includes lunch. Salary point credits
pending. For more information or to register, please contact Julia Wayne at jwayne@
film-foundation.org or (323) 436-5095.
Skirball looking for docents
The Skirball Cultural Center is currently
seeking individuals interested in connecting
people across cultures and communities to
join the Skirball’s volunteer docent corps.
Skirball docents facilitate morning school
programs in the Skirball’s galleries and
classrooms, work with students and adults,
and serve as ambassadors for the institution
and its programs. The ideal candidate will
be open to new educational programs and
techniques and have an interest in archaeology, architecture, immigration, and Jewish
culture. New training classes begin in the
summer and then on days throughout the
fall and spring. To request an application,
visit skirball.org (click on “Docent Opportunities” under “Get Involved”) to download the form. For more information, email
[email protected]. The application
deadline is May 15, 2015.
Salary point class on
cultural competency
“Valuing Difference” is an interactive
seminar on cultural diversity, family
SCHOOL Kids Yoga has two upcoming
teacher trainings. The spring course runs
April 25 and 26 and May 2 and 3 (two
Saturdays and two Sundays) from 8:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (last Sunday is 8:30
to 11:30 a.m.). The summer course runs
July 13 to 16 (Monday to Wednesday,
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30
a.m. to 11:30 a.m.). The fee is $200, and
one salary point is available. Learn the
calming techniques of yoga and meditation, designed specifically for public
school classrooms. Public school teachers learn methods to enhance listening,
focus, and pause within their students.
The course reaches all elementary-aged
children. No prior yoga experience required. The workshop will take place at
VIP (1721 Griffin Avenue, Los Angeles,
CA 90031). Please email Kelly Wood for
details at [email protected] or call
(323) 240-8711. View details at www.
school-yoga.org/about-teacher-training.
Free professional development
at the Museum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance is offering
grant-funded professional development
programs for teachers. Educators can sign
up for Tools for Tolerance for Educators, an
interactive, experiential program designed
to advance anti-bias education and the creation of inclusive and equitable schools.
Programs are offered in one- or two-day
formats in the immersive, high-tech learning
environment of the Museum of Tolerance.
Lunch and materials are included. Individuals may register for special open
enrollment institutes. Groups of 25 participants or more may register for a customized program. Register now at www.
museumoftolerance.com/edgrant. Eligible
for one LAUSD salary point credit and
graduate-level extension credit from the
University of San Diego.
Free tours of City Hall
The office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti provides free tours of the 1928
City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. While
touring the Art Deco building, students
learn about the history of the city, visit the
council chambers, and see the view from
the observation deck. To arrange for a tour,
contact the docent desk at (213) 978-1995.
31
Build Your Savings
18-month Share Certificate
1.25
%
APY*
Open a Share Certificate today!
Apply by phone, in branch, or online.
(800) 334-8788 · californiacu.org
Federally Insured
*APY = Annual Percentage Yield. Rate as of 2/24/15.
Rate subject to change without notice. Fees will reduce
earnings; substantial early closure fees may apply.
Minimum opening balance of $1000 must be maintained
for the entire term. Dividends are paid monthly. For current
rates visit californiacu.org.

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