PDF for October 2014

CSA Endorses Candidates for the Nov. 4
Election. Don’t Forget to Vote! PAGE 5
NEWS
COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS
October 2014*
Volume 48, Number 2
American Federation
of School Administrators,
AFL-CIO Local 1
Contract: Retro
Pay and Other
Issues At Stake
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
Contract negotiations continued throughout the early fall
and found CSA’s officers and staff
at loggerheads with the city over
retro pay for teachers who
became, or will become, Assistant
Principals during the years covered by the new UFT contract.
But that’s not the only issue
under discussion. “We know
your workload is brutal,” said
CSA Executive Vice President
Mark Cannizzaro, who is the
lead negotiator for the union.
“We have been determined to
find ways to lighten your load
and have successfully reached an
agreement to reduce the number
of teacher observations.” (See
related story, Page 6.)
The majority of members
who have contacted the union,
either through email, telephone
or on Facebook, have expressed
support for the union’s strong
position on behalf of all its
members and understand that
the union represents different
constituencies.
Continued on Page 6
Union Files Grievance
Over Extended Work Day
CSA has filed a grievance over the longer Mondays and
Tuesdays many of you are now working.
"Regrettably, since the DOE has taken the position that it has
the right to unilaterally change your work day as a result of the new
contract with UFT, we have filed a grievance to protect your rights
under the collective bargaining agreement," said CSA President
Ernest Logan. We’ll keep you posted.
Smooth Sailing on
First Day of School
n Principal
Alonta Wrighton
introduces CSA
President Ernest
Logan to members of the parents’ asociation
at PS 184,
Brooklyn on
Sept. 4. The parents were selling
items and collecting contact
information of
parents.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
SA officers and staff visited
schools throughout the five
boroughs on Sept. 4, as the
city opened schools for the 201415 year.
This year marked the vast
expansion of pre-kindergarten,
one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature projects for 2014. As of
Oct. 1, more than 51,500 chil-
C
dren were enrolled in full-day
prekindergarten in the city’s public schools and in communitybased organization centers,
according to the DOE; half-day
programs continue to be offered
in some districts as well.
The city plans to provide fullday pre-k to more than 73,000
eligible children next year.
Last year, about 23,000 chilContinued on Page 4
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n More than 360 people marched in the CSA contingent at the 2014 Labor Day Parade. Above: CSA waits on West
47th Street before joining the parade.
Braving the Heat
On Labor Day
Story and Pictures PAGE 8-9
Labor Families PAGE 10
2
CSA NEWS
October 2014
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
Council of School
Supervisors & Administrators
American Federation of School
Administrators, AFL-CIO, Local 1
40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006
Phone: (212) 823-2020
Fax: (212) 962-6130
www.csa-nyc.org
President
Ernest A. Logan
Executive Vice President
Mark Cannizzaro
First Vice President
Randi Herman, Ed.D
Treasurer
Henry Rubio
Secretary
Sandy DiTrapani
Vice Presidents
Rajinder Kaur
Lois Lee
Chris Ogno
Myrna Walters
Ronald Williams
Nancy Russo, Retiree Chapter
Executive Director Operations
Erminia Claudio
General Counsel
David Grandwetter
Counsel
Charity Guerra
Comptroller
Phil Fodera
Executive Director Field Services
Sana Q. Nasser
Field Directors
Juanita Bass, Stephen Bennett,
Mildred Boyce, Phyliss Bullion,
James Harrigan, Christine Martin,
Daisy O’Gorman, Mercedes Qualls
Assistant Field Directors
Mary Aloisio, Eleanor Andrew,
Mauro Bressi, Laverne Burrowes (Special
Projects), Joseph Costa, Rosalie David,
Charles Dluzniewski, Nancy Esposito,
Martin Fiasconaro, Aura Gangemi,
Ellie Greenberg, Ray Gregory,
Robert Jeanette, Kate Leonard,
Monica McDonald, Dorothy Morris,
Ralph Santiago, Shelli Sklar, Fran Walters
Contract for a Flawed
Educational Policy
City Plans to Penalize New and Future Leaders By Ernest A. Logan
W
hat if I told you your
boss wanted to promote you, but if you
took the position
you’d lose $50,000?
That’s what the city plans to tell
those of you who became Assistant
Principals in recent years. That’s what
it also plans to tell teachers who want
to become Assistant Principals in the
next few years. The city’s labor and
education departments have decided
that teachers who become Assistant
Principals have not worked “continuously” and therefore are not eligible
for the lump-sum payments earned during their
many years without a contract. Teachers will receive
these payments through the new UFT contract.
Putting aside the illogical construct that working
for the same city, for the same department and, very
The city is trying to change the rules
for teachers who choose to become
Assistant Principals.
you’ll have to take a hit to your pocketbook to do so.”
We've all heard Mayor de Blasio
and Schools Chancellor Carmen
Fariña on the subject as well: They
both believe that school leaders
should come from the ranks of experienced NYC teachers. Most CSA
members were delighted when
Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor
Fariña expressed their beliefs, because
they were so obvious and important
to anyone who’s ever worked in a
school.
Why are we punishing those of
you who wished to stay in the city’s
schools but move into a new and more challenging
role? Why should a teacher, who’s been working
years in a classroom, have to decide between a new
position and up to $50,000 in lump sum payments?
Why would we ask them to leave behind earned
income that could take care of the down payment
on a home or a year or two of college tuition for a
child?
• • •
T
State Director, Governmental Affairs
Alithia Rodriguez-Rolon
he city claims that once a teacher becomes an
Assistant Principal, he or she will have the
chance to make up the money because APs
make more than teachers. Huh? Of course they will
and should make more in their supervisory role.
They have more responsibilities and accountability.
Second, it’s not a matter of making it up – this is
money these educators have already earned. Lump
sum payouts are another name for retroactive pay,
raises that are given retroactively for past service.
That’s how we do business in NYC. Contracts
expire and we, school employees and others, keep
working knowing that past raises will be given to us
eventually. It’s been like this for decades, and never
before has it been an issue.
Director of IT
Egal Sanchez
• • •
Grievance Director
Robert J. Reich
Assistant Directors
Carol Atkins, Robert Colon,
Jermaine Garden, Marlene Lazar, Ph.D,
Steve Rosen
Director of Communications
Chiara Coletti
Assistant Director
Corey Bachman
often, in the same school is not “continuous
employment,” what kind of educational philosophy
is this?
“We want those teachers who show leadership
skills to enter the supervisory pipeline, but sorry –
School Leadership
Director of Political Affairs
Herman Merritt
Assistant Directors
Jaquelin Febrillet
John Khani
Special Assistant to President
Gary Goldstein
B
CSA Conference Chair
Pierre Lehmuller
CSA Historian
Manfred Korman
CSA Retiree Chapter
Gayle Lockett, Chair
Mark Brodsky, Director
CSA NEWS
Editor Anne Silverstein
Associate Editor Maria Smith
Production Consultant Michele Pacheco
Production Assistant Christine Altman
CSA News (004-532) is published
monthly except July and August for
$35 per year per member by CSA, 40
Rector St., NY, NY 10006. Periodical
postage paid at Manhattan, NY, and
additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CSA
News, 40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n CSA President Ernest Logan visited PS11 and PS 184 in Brooklyn
on the first day of school. (See story page 1.) Above, at PS 11, school
leaders greeted parents and children in the schoolyard. From left:
Assistant Principal Abidemi Hope, CSA President Ernest Logan,
Principal Alonta Wrighton, and Assistant Principal Alain Beugoms.
ut the city is changing the rules for teachers
who want to become Assistant Principals and
then in many cases rise to the rank of
Principal. We’re going to penalize them instead. The
city’s unreasonable stance creates flawed educational
policy. It will discourage teachers through the life of
the new UFT contract from looking beyond the
classroom to, perhaps, leading a school. It will make
the job of Principals harder as they search for seasoned educators to fill open Assistant Principal positions. It will further decrease the pool of qualified
supervisory talent. It's a policy that we, in NYC, cannot afford if we’re serious about reinvigorating our
schools as collaborative partnerships with our communities and with each other.
October 2014
CSA NEWS
3
Arguing About Argument
The World Needs Its Poets, Playwrights and Novelists
BY MAURO BRESSI
I
have an argument with argument.
The argumentative essay, which has
become the predominant writing
exercise in our high schools because
it is assessed by the Common Core
test, is not the only, or even the best,
exercise to use when teaching writing. I
disagree with David Coleman, president
of the College Board, who, in a New York
Times magazine article bluntly revealed
his bias against narrative writing.
Bemoaning the emphasis on
personal narrative writing in
high school, he [Coleman] said
about the reality of adulthood,
‘People really don’t give a [expletive] about what you feel or what
you think’.
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
M ARCH 9, 2014
P
utting aside, for a minute, Mr.
Coleman’s comment about feelings
and opinions, consider the way he
summarily dismisses creative writing –
which includes novels, plays, and
poetry – one of the most venerable,
forms of human expression. He denies
the power of narrative as a means of
The power of creative
writing in our schools
should not be denied.
expression in its own right, and as a
means of developing one’s skills as a
writer generally.
And he is not alone. Mr. Coleman’s
view is symptomatic of a pedagogical fallacy that is rife throughout our education system. It is the notion that just one
method or one skill or one test will
transform education and propel every
student to high achievement. The current silver bullet is getting our students
to write effective arguments. This is a
myopic approach to how to teach stu-
dents to write.
Teaching writing is typically about literature (and life!) as much as it is about
writing. My students wrote about literature and life, subjects of diverse and
broad scope, and therefore needed a
broad palette of writing tools – description, narration, exposition, and persuasion.
Sure, students should be able to write
a well-researched argument by the time
they get to college.
But is that the only type of writing
they should do during four years of high
school? There is more
to life than college
and career readiness!
What if a student
loves poetry or has a
talent for writing
short stories? What of
students who dream
of becoming novelists, playwrights or
screenwriters? Are we
not to encourage such
dreams? Won’t our
world be poorer without their poems, novels and films?
T
o subsume
everything under the rubric of
argument is to impose a crippling
limitation, as if there is but one way of
thinking and writing.
Ideas are conveyed in many ways.
Just read Macbeth and you may be persuaded that vaulting ambition is dangerous. Read The Grapes of Wrath and
you may be persuaded that the poor
deserve a better society. Or read the
poem Love Is Not All by Edna St.
Vincent Millay and you may be persuaded that love is indeed all.
I once taught an essay by Loren
Eiseley entitled The Bird and the
Machine. In the essay, Eiseley argues by
means of narration, exposition, and
description that machines will never
replace living beings. He transports us
to the desert, where he captured a sparrow hawk, which he ultimately set free
to rejoin its mate. “The machine does
not bleed, ache, hang for hours in the
empty sky in a torment of hope to learn
the fate of another machine.” The
appeal to pathos wrenches the reader
into agreement using the imagery in
poetry.
C
an’t we have poetry? Must we still
be admonished by Plato, who said
that poetry doesn’t reflect the real
reality? Is that where the myopia originates, with Plato’s dictum against the
creative muse?
Creative writing should not be for-
)
(
Events are at CSA’s Manhattan
Headquarters, 40 Rector Street
unless otherwise noted.
OCT. 9, 4 PM: High School
Assistant Principals
Association
OCT 11, 8:30 AM: NYSFSA
Executive Board
OCT. 15, 5 PM: CSA
Executive Board
OCT. 16, 9 AM: CSA
Retiree Chapter
Executive Board
OCT. 20, 11:30 AM:
DCC/CSA Welfare Fund
Trustees
OCT. 21, 9 AM: ELI Board
of Directors
OCT. 21, NOON: NYC
Association of
Assistant Principals
Supervision
OCT. 22, 5 PM: CSA Black
Caucus
saken just because college demands
research and argument. College also
demands, or should demand, individuals who are expressive, visionary, and
sensitive. Indeed, the world needs all
kinds of individuals. Insisting students
confine their writing to argument is
limiting and exclusionary. Furthermore,
contrary to Mr. Coleman’s view, people
(especially teachers) do care about what
students feel and think.
Let us be true to the complex nature
of writing, and of the world. Let us
teach all of the great modes of writing
for the sake of our budding students, as
well as for argument’s sake.
A former English teacher, Mauro Bressi
recently retired as an Assistant Principal
Supervision from Edward R. Murrow High
School, Brooklyn, and now works as an
Assistant Director Field Services for CSA.
OCT. 27, 3:30 PM: CSA
Welfare Fund Trustees,
In-Service and Retirees
NOV. 5, 4:30 PM: CSA
District Chairs
Confirm the above meeting
times and dates with the event
coordinator before attending.
Teachers’
Retirement
System
September 2014 Unit Values
Diversified Equity
Fund: 81.499
Bond Fund: 18.027
International Equity
Fund: 10.731
Inflation Protection
Fund: 11.796
Association of Assistant
Principals Annual
Educational Conference
Socially Responsive
Equity Fund: 14.533
www.trsnyc.org
CORRECTIONS
Oct. 18 | LaGuardia Airport Marriott
Registration is underway for AAP’s 72nd Annual
Conference. The theme this year is “Collaborating to
Improve Our Schools.” AAP is delighted to welcome as
keynote speaker NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.
In addition, the AAP will honor former Vice President
Laverne Burrowes, who recently retired. Download a
registration form from the AAP website, www. aapny.org.
For more information, call Sandy DiTrapani: (718) 533-3007.
COMING
EVENTS
ANTIONETTE ISABLE-JONES
n Conference guests review materials in the vendor exhibit
hall at last year’s conference.
nAssistant Principal Kristin
McHugh of the Richard H.
Hungerford High School on Staten
Island was misidentified in a photograph on Page 15 of the September
2014 CSA News.
n A Retiree Chapter Regional
Unit brief under the heading Staten
Island that ran in the September
2014 CSA News was incorrectly
labeled. The label should have been
Georgia; the unit leader is Georgia
Harrison.
The electronic edition online has
been corrected.
4
CSA NEWS
October 2014
If You Need Help, Who Ya Gonna Call?
Like the Ghostbusters, SSP is the Go-To Team for CSA Members
BY MARIA SMITH
In a world where downsizing and outsourcing is commonplace, CSA’s Supervisory Support Program (SSP) is unique,
helping educators keep their jobs and providing members with professional assistance.
The program has been part of the
union’s contract with the city since 1987.
Non-tenured Department of Education
members have the right to participate in
SSP for a minimum of 90 days to a maximum of one year to improve their performance, with the approval from a rating
supervisor.
Tenured employees also may participate
from 90 days to a year but they do not
need approval from a rating officer. Tenured
employees are also exempt from a letter to
the file for performance within their first
three months’ participation in the program.
According to Program Coordinator Dr.
Nancy Westerband, many CSA members
avail themselves of SSP when they need
help in areas like compliance issues, ELL
guidelines or changing from one school,
or one title, to another.
“We mentor our clients to save their
careers but we offer individual guidance in
many areas that help educators to become
better in both their professional and personal lives,” said Dr. Westerband.
SSP is a free, completely confidential
service. Five staff members, all former
Principals and Assistant Principals currently
on leave from the DOE, serve as intervenors. They visit clients in the field, getting to know the work environment. SSP
staff attend training sessions throughout
the year to stay abreast on curriculum, policy, and professional responsibilities.
The key to forming a successful men-
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n From left: Laverne Nimmons, Dr. Nancy Westerband, Henry
Rubio, Sonia Nieves, and Kim Wanliss of SSP. Dr. Westerband
is the coordinator; the others are intervenors. Inset: Assistant
Principal Richard Dixon received support from SSP.
tor/client relationship, according to
Intervenor Henry Rubio, is knowing the
individual.
“I need to find out what their goal is,”
said Mr. Rubio. “Does the person ultimately
want to stay in the current position? Leave?
Where do they want to be? That’s the nut
we have to crack.”
Mentors often deal with personnel
issues, which can be contentious, and the
outcome is never a guaranteed success.
Natter Calendar
Corrections
After the Natter Bluebook Calendar went to press the
DOE changed the dates for the Parent Teacher Conferences
for the 2014-15 school year. The corrected dates are as follows. Please make note on your calendar to reflect these
revised dates.
FALL 2014
ELEMENTARY: Tues. Evening Sept. 16; Wed. Evening Nov.
12; Thurs. Afternoon Nov.13
IS/JHS: Thurs. Evening Septl 18; Wed; Evening Nov.
19 Thurs. Afternoon Nov. 20
HS: Wed. Evening Sept. 17; Wed. Evening Nov. 5; Fri.
Afternoon Nov. 7
DIST 75: Mon. Evening Nov. 17; Tues. Afternoon Nov. 18
SPRING 2015
ELEMENTARY: Wed. Evening March 18; Thurs. Afternoon
March 19; Wed. Evening May 13
IS/JHS: Wed. Evening March 11; Thurs. Afternoon March
12; Wed. Evening May 6
HS: Thurs. Evening March 26; Fri. Afternoon March
27; Thurs. Evening May 7
DIST 75: Mon. Evening March 2; Tues. Afternoon March 3
For example, Mr. Rubio worked with
two APs having a difficult time transitioning to the leadership style of a new
Principal. After intensive coaching, the APs
“reframed” their thoughts and approaches,
and ultimately adapted to the new administration. The Principal, however, did not
share the same understanding. Mr. Rubio
offered to work with the Principal but it
was agreed upon that a new mentor with
a “fresh pair of eyes” should step in.
But most members have a successful
experience with SSP. For example, Assistant
Principal Richard Dixon became an expert
organizer under the guidance of Intervenor
Sonia Nieves.
“Supervisors are swamped with paperwork and have heavy workloads,” said Ms.
Nieves. “Richard needed some tips and
guidelines on how to get his office and
daily work schedule organized.” An AP at
Bronx Engineer Technology Academy, Mr.
Dixon said the skills he learned from SSP
have improved his work performance.
“SSP was there for me. In a large system like this one, it feels good to know that
there are people who care, who listen to
you, and offer you support when you need
it,” Mr. Dixon said.
For Dolores Joseph-Pauline, AP, PS 243,
Brooklyn, moving up the ladder was a hard
transition. She credits SSP for making it
smoother. “I knew a lot as a teacher but as
a supervisor it’s a whole new world,” she
said. “The program made me feel that I
wasn’t alone. I was given wisdom and guidance. Most importantly, I was taught to do
things the right way.”
The program is unique to most school
systems, said Dr. James Hennessy of the
Graduate School of Education, Fordham
University. In the continually changing
world of education, it makes sense to
retrain and help seasoned educators, he
said.
“These people already have credentials.
They have experience,” he said. “This program makes great sense [in that it helps]
administrators improve in a non-punitive,
non-judgmental way.”
For information about SSP, call Dr. Nancy
Westerband at 212-823-2091, or email the
program at [email protected].
Smooth First Day of School
Continued from Page 1
dren attended full and half-day programs in NYC.
CSA President Ernest Logan visited P.S. 11 and
P.S. 184, both in Brooklyn.
The night before, P.S. 11 parents and staff had
worked until 9 p.m. preparing informational folders
for parents, said Assistant Principal Abidemi Hope,
who was racing back and forth between the school
office and the yard, helping parents and children.
Principal Alonta Wrighton was there until after
dark as well, making sure that the construction
crews were finished with a construction project in
the yard as well.
The day before school was also spent with teachers having professional development. “I told them,
‘You have the most important job in the school system. Parents depend upon you, children depend
upon you’ “ Ms. Wrighton told Mr. Logan.
“She’s the best Principal in the city, hands
down,” confided one staff member to Mr. Logan as
he toured the school.
Mr. Logan then headed to P.S. 184, Brownsville,
in District 23, his old stomping grounds where he
served as an Assistant Principal and Principal. At
P.S. 184, he visited with newly appointed Principal
Lisa Caldwell Linder, who had arrived only a week
before.
P.S. 184 is one of the new community learning
schools, and Ms. Linder is looking for a resource
coordinator. (More on community learning schools,
Page 13.) Her vision: “To really make us a community school,” she said, adding that she wants to
bring arts into the building as well as upgrade the
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n At PS 184, Brownsville, on the first day of school.
From left, Assistant Principal Andy Anderson,
Assistant Principal Daliah Singh Gurdon, CSA
President Ernest Logan and Principal Lisa Caldwell
Linder.
facility’s technology.
She also needs more support staff - she only has
one guidance counselor for her 560 students and
has no attendance coordinator, a serious problem
with attendance hovering at 88 percent.
Her longterm goal is to make the school so
attractive that it becomes the top choice for the
neighborhood, she said with confidence: “I have
to figure out from the parents what they want.”
5
CSA NEWS
October 2014
ENDORSEMENTS
CSA’s Picks for the Nov. 4 General Election
Seats Are Open in Congress and the Legislature; Don’t Forget to Vote!
CSA STAFF
Each year, CSA’s staff and a committee of in-service and retired members interview dozens of candidates for office and then make a recommendation to the
union’s Executive Board to endorse. (The union’s policy is that candidates must
request an interview to be considered.)
The following candidates have been endorsed by the union. CSA is not endorsing a candidate for governor.
CD 10
CD 11
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CD 13
CD 14
CD 18
CD 19
CD 20
CD 21
STATE WIDE
Jerrold Nadler, (D-WF)
Domenic M. Recchia Jr., (D-WF)
CarolynMaloney, (D-WF)
Charles Rangel, (D-WF)
Joe Crowley, (D-WF)
Sean Patrick Maloney,(D-WF-I)
Sean Eldridge, (D-WF)
Paul Tonko,(D-WF-I)
Aaron Woolf, (D-WF)
Senate
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
Eric
Schneiderman
(D-WF)
COMPTROLLER
Tom DiNapoli
(D-WF)
Congressional
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CD 3
CD 4
CD 5
CD 6
CD 7
CD 8
CD 9
Timothy Bishop, D-I-WF
Steve Israel, (D-WF-I)
Kathleen Rice (D-WF)
Gregory Meeks, (D)
Grace Meng, (D-WF)
Nydia Velazquez, (D-WF)
Hakeem Jefferies, (D-WF)
Yvette Clarke, (D-WF)
SD 2
SD 9
SD 10
SD 12
SD 13
SD 14
SD 15
SD 16
SD 18
SD 19
SD 20
SD 21
SD 23
SD 24
SD 25
SD 27
John Flanagan, (R-C-I)
Dean Skelos, (R)
James Sanders, Jr., (D)
Michael Gianaris, (D-WF)
Jose Peralta, (D-WF)
Leroy Comrie, (D)
Joseph Addabbo, (D-WF)
Toby Ann Stavisky, (D-I-WF)
Martin Malave Dilan, (D)
John Sampson, (D-WF)
Jesse Hamilton,(D)
Kevin Parker, (D-WF)
Diane Savino, (D-WF-I)
Andrew Lanza, (R-C-I)
Velmanette Montgomery, (D-WF)
Brad Hoylman (D-WF)
SD 28
SD 30
SD 33
SD 35
SD 36
SD 37
SD 38
SD 40
SD 41
SD 46
SD 55
SD 60
SD 63
Liz Krueger, (D-WF)
Bill Perkins, (D-WF)
Gustavo Rivera, (D-WF)
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, (D-I-WF)
Ruth Hassel-Thompson, (D)
George Latimer, (D-WF)
David Carlucci, (D-I-WF)
Justin Wagner (D-WF
Terry Gipson, (D-WF)
Cecilia Tkaczyk, (D-WF)
TedO’Brien, (D-WF)
Marc Panepinto, (D)
Tim Kennedy, (D-I-WF)
Assembly
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Michaelle Solages, (D)
Nily Rozic, (D-WF)
Edward Braunstein, (D-I-WF)
Michael Simanowitz, (D-C)
Vivian Cook, (D)
Michael DenDekker, (D-WF)
Catherine Nolan, (D-WF)
Michael Miller, (D-WF)
Ronald Kim, (D-I-WF)
Helene Weinstein, (D-I-WF)
Rodneyese Bichotte, (D-I)
James Brennan, (D-L-WF)
William Colton, (D-WF)
Peter Abbate Jr., (D-I-WF)
Felix Ortiz, (D)
JoAnn Simon, (D)
Maritza Davila, (D)
Erik Dilan, (D)
Latrice Walker, (D)
Annette Robinson, (D)
Legislative Agenda
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Walter Mosley, (D)
Nick Perry, (D)
Roxanne Persaud, (D)
Charles Baron, (D)
Nicole Malliotakis, (R-C-I)
Sheldon Silver, (D-WF)
Robert Rodriguez, (D-WF)
Daniel O’Donnell, (D)
Keith Wright, (D-WF)
Herman (Denny)Farrell, (D)
Guillermo Linares, (D)
Dan Quart, (D-WF)
Brian Kavanagh, (D-WF)
Richard Gottfried, (D-WF)
Rebecca Seawright, (D)
Latoya Joyner, (D)
Jose Rivera, (D)
Michael Blake, (D)
Mark Gjonai, (D)
Michael Benedetto, (D-WF)
Carl Heastie, (D-WF)
Marcos Crespo, (D-WF)
Luis Sepulveda, (D-WF)
Amy Paulin, (D-I-WF)
Shelley Mayer, (D-I-WF)
Steve Otis, (D-I)
Ellen Jaffee, (D)
Addie Russell, (D-WF)
Barbara Lifton, (D-WF)
NEW JERSEY
Aimee Belgard
3rd Congressional District
Bonnie Watson Coleman
12th Congressional District
Herman Merritt
For the System to Work, We Must Get Citizens to Vote
n the words of Yogi Berra: “It’s like dejavu all over again.” On Sept. 9, New York
State held primaries for all state offices.
Polling sites were open in every election
district. But only 9.7 percent of eligible
voters voted in this election.
We have one of the lowest voting rates of
any industrialized country in the world. In
countries like Italy and Sweden, the voting
rate routinely approaches 70 percent while
here in the states, the norm is 40 percent and
increases to the mid 50s in a Presidential election. Why do so few people vote in our society? Can apathy be the primary reason or do
many circumstances make it difficult for the
average person to vote?
I
Why do
so few
people
vote in our
society?
xperts say that the NYS government is
dysfunctional. The number of elected
officials under indictment as well as the
number of party officials and lobbyists implicated in corruption make some people
believe that all politicians are corrupt and
their vote doesn’t make a difference. People
who are not doing well in society realize that
it may not matter who wins an election, they
will still be in the underclass. So traditionally,
a small group of the same voters vote every
E
We should have voter
registration in high
schools, adopt early
voting laws and have
non-partisan elections.
year. Political consultants track these people
and target them before the election with
mailers, door knocks and phone calls. Unless
there is a massive voter registration drive, we
have the same people electing the same candidates every year. To get different leadership,
some areas have limited how many terms an
elected official may serve. In NYC, for example, elected officers may serve only two
terms. To circumvent this system, elected
officials run for one another’s seats after
they’ve been term-limited out. And when
they run, they have funds to conduct an
effective race since they are established in the
community.
"The definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over and expecting it to
come out different,” is a quote often attributed to Ben Franklin. We need to change how
we do things. The CSA PAC has to aggressively pursue innovative remedies to combat
apathy. Why not implement the bill introduced by City Councilman Ben Kallos that
calls for an aggressive voter registration drive
in the high schools? Why can’t New York
State adopt early voting laws so that people
can have multiple opportunities to vote?
Why not have non-partisan elections with
instant runoff provisions to break the hold of
the two party systems?
f we want to increase voter participation,
we have to do things differently. We will be
working with good government groups and
Mr. Kallos to publicize these initiatives and
give our members and the community-atlarge an opportunity to have some input.
In order to have a democracy, we cannot
have 10 percent of the eligible voters participating.
I
Herman Merritt is the Director of Political
Affairs. You may email him at [email protected].
6
CSA NEWS
October 2014
Negotiations Ongoing
Continued from Page 1
“I’ve been really happy to hear
from members that they want us
to hang tough,” said CSA
Executive Vice President Mark
Cannizzaro, who has been the
lead negotiator.
“As soon as the UFT’s contract
with the city was signed, we
began asking about our members
who had been teachers. We
wanted to know if they’d get their
back pay. We also wanted to
know about future Assistant
Principals. The city didn’t answer
us for weeks, and when the
answer finally came, we were
upset to find out that the city is
taking the position that our members, and future members, are
ineligible for retro pay as are the
members who remain in the UFT,
” Mr. Cannizzaro said.
“We
have
successfully
explained this issue to our members and have their support.
That’s the basic premise of a
union. Together, we stand. Apart,
we fall,” he said. “Fortunately, as
we heard at the Labor Day Parade
and as we hear from our
Executive Board and District
CSA Negotiates Fourth Option for
Number of Teacher Observations
In response to member feedback about a punishing workload involved with teacher observations, CSA has negotiated
an agreement with the city that allows teachers rated “effective” to chose four rather than six informal evaluations of their
classroom work.
CSA is aware that initial planning conferences are well underway at this point in the school year, and the union has conveyed to the DOE the critical importance of delivering timely
guidance on the implementation of this agreement. CSA has
asked the city to immediately put a process in place so that
members do not need to reconvene any IPCs that have already
taken place.
Leadership
Chairs, we their support.”
This was clear at the Oct. 1
CSA District Chair meeting where
members applauded after CSA
President Ernest Logan, Mr.
Cannizzaro and General Counsel
David Grandwetter provided an
update about negotiations.
Still, some members have
expressed anxiety about the
length of time contract negotiations are taking. The contract
expired in spring 2010.
Mr. Logan has urged members
to be patient and to remember
that in 2012 Mayor Bloom-berg’s
administration refused to negotiate, instead issuing a unilateral
pronouncement that no retro pay
would be given.
CSA filed impasse papers with
PERB, but with the dawn of the
de Blasio administration, and the
mayor’s public promise to settle
the 150 outstanding municipal
contracts, CSA and the city
opened negotiations at the beginning of summer once the city settled with the UFT.
The UFT’s contract raised a
number of issues including that
of continuous or “retro” pay for
current APs and future APs.
“When we sign a contract,” said
Mr. Logan, “we want to be able to
answer all your questions.”
Grievance Corner
Cornell Labor
Certificates
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n From left: SSP Intervenor Sonia Nieves, CSA Executive Vice
President Mark Cannizzaro and CSA Executive Director of
Field Services Sana Nasser display their certificates from
Cornell’s Union Leadership Institute in July. The year-long
program provides advanced training for union leaders. CSA
has sent staff and officers since 2010. The current year’s participants are Assistant Director Grievances Jermaine Garden
and CSA News Editor Anne Silverstein.
Bob Reich
Responding to the Professional Performance Review
eptember brought with it the first
APPR-generated ratings for Principals.
The long-in-coming, controversial
Annual Professional Performance
Review was put into place in 2013 in
a down-to-the-wire negotiating session with
city and state officials.
The ratings were based on the new HEDI
system; Highly effective, Effective,
Developing or Ineffective. CSA called and
emailed members who received a developing
or ineffective to ensure that they understood
the appeals process and their rights.
In addition, I sent each of those members
a letter explaining the process and a sample
appeal form. The advocates who initially
contacted members will meet with them at
their schools or offices, or at CSA, whichever
is more convenient for them.
If you are one of these people, please
email me so that I can schedule this meeting.
Please bring to that meeting: a copy of the
PPO Feedback Form, if you received it; your
schools Quality Review; all letters from your
superintendent or other supervisors from
school year 2013-14; letters you wrote asking
for assistance from school year 2013-14; and
a copy of both the Measures of Leadership
Practice (MOLP) and Measures of Student
Learning (MOSL) you received.
The superintendent should have given a
Principal Improvement Plan (PIP) to those
Principals who received an ineffective or
developing. If you did 1) not receive a PIP, 2)
received the PIP from someone other than
your Superintendent, 3) were asked to write
your own PIP, or 4) have any questions please
immediately contact me by email at
[email protected].
For those rated ineffective: Your superintendent must meet with you in person to dis-
S
If you
received
an adverse
rating,
contact us
asap!
Do not hesitate to insist
upon assistance from your
network; they should help.
cuss your PIP. You will receive continuing
oversight of your PIP by your network and
superintendent in the form of four additional
meetings, two with your superintendent and
two with network staff. Upon completion of
the PIP, the superintendent must provide
written feedback and a preliminary rating
after the first visit.
For those rated developing: The same
steps as outlined above apply EXCEPT you
must request a meeting with your superintendent and that meeting can be in person or
by telephone
For those rated either ineffective or developing: If you have concerns any time during
the year, put your concerns into writing and
send them to your superintendent. Do not
hesitate to insist upon assistance from your
network; you pay the network for help and
they should provide it.
If your Superintendent repeatedly denies
your requests for help, makes no suggestions
or recommendations to assist you or to
address your concerns, contact the CSA field
staff member assigned to your school, office
or district. (Field staff are listed on the CSA
website.) You should also email me.
ou can also contact the Supervisory
Support Program (SSP) or the Executive
Leadership Program at CSA for confidential help and professional development. (See
Y
story on SSP on page 4 in this issue.)
Last, but not least, please review the Field
Guide for the 2013-2014 Annual Principal
Performance Review to understand the
process. Should you have any questions about
any of this, email me at [email protected].
Odds and Ends
n Any 12-month Assistant Principal
who was not properly paid this summer should now have received a payroll adjustment. If you have not
received arrears or are still being paid at
the wrong salary, email Bob Reich at
[email protected].
n It is imperative that each CSA
member take ownership of their career.
Review the days in your “CAR” to see if
there are any errors. Know that no one
can exceed two hundred (200) days in
their “CAR.” Review what is in your
official file. If you are an ATR, ask the
HR person where your personal file is
maintained. If you are an EA be certain
that you do not exceed two years of
unused annual leave days unless you
have a waiver signed by your supervisor.
The waiver must be signed annually.
n Please take the time to read your
contract. Concerns about your rights,
per session, assignments, and programs
must be addressed in a timely manner.
And of course, do not speak with an
investigator without representation
present.
7
CSA NEWS
October 2014
AWARDS/HONORS
‘Hometown Heroes’: Two
Principals Receive Honor
BY CSA STAFF
School 189 in Queens, who
adopted an immigrant girl in
Two CSA members were
her class who had no family;
among the 11 honorees at The
Robert Zwieg, who helps
Daily News Hometown Heroes
oversee some of the city’s
in Education celebration at the
toughest schools as Deputy
Edison Ballroom off Times
Superintendent of District 79,
Square on Sept. 17.
the cohort of alternative
The Daily News honored
schools; Thomas Porton, a
Fred Tudda, Principal, PS 188,
teacher at the Monroe
Brooklyn, who runs a comAcademy for Visual Arts and
munity school offering services
Design, Bronx, who created
to students and parents and
the first AIDS education proBeth Rudolph, Principal, John
gram in a U.S. public school
F. Kennedy Jr. School, Queens,
with his classes at the
who overhauled the programs
Monroe Academy for Visual
at her school to better serve
Arts and Design; Ramil
autistic kids.The Principals were
Buenaventura, an innovative
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
featured in a special section of n Beth Rudolph, Principal of John F. Kennedy Jr. School in Queens and teacher at Renaissance
The Daily News on Sept. 17.
Charter School in Queens
Fred Tudda, Principal of PS 188 in Brooklyn.
NY1 News Anchor Pat
who realized his American
Kiernan emceed the morning event in the Brooklyn for elected office.
dream by coming to New York from the
“You may not see results immediately Philippines; Geoffrey Tulloch, who instills
beautiful art deco venue. Among the
award presenters were TV star Cynthia but be patient – you will. You are doing his students with a love for culinary arts
Nixon, chef and television personality God’s work,” he said.
at Food and Finance High School; Vallerie
A panel of 13 judges selected the 11 Cleveland, a counselor at Passages
Marc Murphy, former Mets star Mookie
Wilson and Run-DMC rapper Darryl winners from more than 200 candidates. Academy, who changes the lives of at-risk
The panelists included Mr. Logan, Schools students; and Carla Bentley, a dedicated
McDaniels.
“You don’t have capes or masks, but Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Tricia special education teacher at PS 84 in
you are superheroes,” said Mr. Wilson to Moses, a teacher who was among last Queens who also tutors kids in homeless
the packed audience of educators. “I know year’s Heroes. Ms Moses also presented an shelters.
that you all have hearts of gold to do what award this year.
A special judges award was presented
The other honorees are Tom Sangiorgi, to Sister Mary Elizabeth Mooney, a prinyou do everyday.”
CSA President Ernest Logan relayed the a chemistry teacher with a theatrical flair cipal at St. John Chrysostom’s School who
story of how one of his former students at Townsend Harris High School, Queens; has spent decades making her South
recently won the Democratic Primary in Adrienne Albera, a teacher at Junior High Bronx school a safe haven for kids.
Integrated
Security
Planning
BY COREY BACHMAN
“School resource officers should
have the heart and soul of a teddy
bear, but be able to react like a grizzly bear.” That’s how Critical
Intervention Services Consultant
Craig Gundry describes the perfect
candidate for school safety officer
positions.
On Aug.19, John Jay’s Center for
Private Security and Safety held a seminar and invited NYC school leaders.
The full-day workshop outlined ways
to manage the risks of school violence.
One DOE employee attended, and the
rest were from charter and private
schools.
Gundry traveled from Tampa,
Florida to speak about threat assessment and management, lockdown
response and safe school culture.
Warning against implementing highprofile security measures, Gundry
proposed subtle changes.
"Security measures should be
designed to create invisible layers of
protection that should go unnoticed
by students,” he said.
Gundry examined the Sandy
Hook and Columbine shooting cases
and how the security at both schools
might have been improved. He said
an integrated use of detection, delay
and response elements are the key to
protecting students.
For more information, email Craig
at [email protected]
Professional Development for School Leaders
ELI Program Offers Early Childhood Workshops
Documenting For The Personnel
File
BY CSA STAFF
The Executive Leadership Institute’s
programs are well underway at this point,
offering professional development opportunities to all CSA members.
This year, to support the mayor’s initiative on full-day universal pre-kindergarten, ELI has created a year of workshops
to help early childhood educators hone
their skills. Full descriptions of these workshops and all dates can be found on CSA’s
website, www.csa-nyc.org. Sections of each
topic will be offered in ELI’s Educational
Leadership Centers in each borough.
Please register online. If you have any questions, please contact ELI at (212) 823-2329.
Below is a brief description and the 2014 dates.
For 2015 dates, please visit the website.
Making Parental Involvement a
Part of School Culture
Oct. 29 at the Staten Island ELC; and
Nov. 3 at the Queens ELC
Explore opportunities to provide quality parental engagement for early childhood programs.
Thinking Beyond the Writing
Dec. 2 Bronx ELC
This workshop provides supervisors
with strategies to support teachers to
understand how to get children to become
successful writers at an early age.
Oct.16, CSA Headquarters
This hands-on workshop addresses the
processes and procedures for successfully
documenting for the personnel file of
school staff members.
School Law Part 1: Problems and
Challenges Facing School Leaders
Nov. 12, CSA Headquarters
This presentation introduces school
leaders to the major topics of law as they
relate to public schools and public education in a “nuts and bolts” format.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n Hundreds of CSA members took advantage of ELI’s workshops last summer during three
weeks of professional development programs.
Engaging with EngageNY
Oct.15, CSA Headquarters; Oct.16, Bronx
ELC; Oct. 23, Queens ELC; and Oct. 28,
Brooklyn ELC
This workshop enables participants to
take a deeper dive into the resources available on the EngageNY website, and to
explore each of the sections.
Advance/APPR: A Guide for School
Leaders
Oct.21, Brooklyn ELC; Nov. 6, Bronx ELC;
Nov.19, CSA Headquarters; and Nov. 20,
Queens ELC
This workshop provides updates for
the coming year, time to reflect on what
has worked and what is needed to support teacher development.
Quality Review 2014-15: Overview
Sept. 30, CSA Headquarters; Oct.10,
CSA Headquarters
This workshop offers all school leaders and supervisors an opportunity to
learn the up-to-date 2014-15 Quality
Review process from start to finish.
School Law Part 2: More Problems
and Challenges Facing School
Leaders
Dec. 10, CSA Headquarters
The presentation continues to focus
on the legal issues that school leaders face
in a very litigious society.
LEGO Education Seminar
Oct. 22, CSA Headquarters
LEGO Education solutions offers
open-ended, project-based programs
from language arts to our renowned
STEM platforms.
Our curriculum is correlated to
Common Core standards and is easily
implemented into existing learning
programs.
8
CSA NEWS
October 2014
Optimism, Solidarity, Determin
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
n CSA President Ernest Logan and CSA Executive Vice President Mark Cannizzaro lead members up Fifth Avenue.
Band director David La Morte, an Assistant
Principal Supervision at the school who
managed to look cool despite the 91degree day.)
CSA President Ernest Logan, Executive
Vice President Mark Cannizzaro and First
Vice President Randi Herman led the
200-strong contingent up the avenue,
from the staging area on West 47th
Street to East 63rd Street. On the way,
the parade passed St. Patrick’s Church,
where the traditional Labor Day mass
had been celebrated earlier in the day.
RSTEIN
ANNE SILVE
nd
) marches behi
rman (far right
He
i
nd
Ra
t
en
Presid
n CSA First Vice
er.
nn
ba
n’s
io
the un
•••
BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
espite temperatures in the 90s and a 70
percent relative humidity, CSA members, their spouses, sisters, brothers,
partners, children and grandchildren,
happily withstood the heat to march
during the 2014 Labor Day Parade.
With sweat dripping from their foreheads and
t-shirts clinging to their bodies, CSA-ers carried
signs high and chanted, “What do we want?
Contract! When do we want it? Now!”
“It says something that despite the heat, so
many people showed up,” said one observer.
D
•••
andwiched in between the in-service members
and the Retiree Chapter members, marched
the 150-member Tottenville High School
Band, playing patriotic songs and waving their
banners in time to the music. (A shoutout to
S
fter the parade, Mr. Logan said, “Once again
you made me so proud to be the leader of
this great union. As we marched up Fifth
Avenue, I looked back and tears came to my eyes
as I realized how we have grown and become a
force in this city.” He also thanked the CSA staff
“for doing all you do.”
A
“What do we want?
CONTRACT!
When do we want it?
NOW!”
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
nt Principal and Band
n David La Morte, Assista
h School, Staten Island.
Director at Tottenville Hig
9
CSA NEWS
October 2014
N AT I O N
nation and Old Friends
Labor
CALIFORNIA:
ELLs Not Served
Unionists Marched for More Than Five Hours in a
Show of Strength During the 2014 Labor Day Parade
A Los Angeles Superior Court
judge ruled that California education officials failed to provide
English language instruction to
thousands of eligible students. The
ACLU of Southern California
brought the suit on behalf of three
English Language Learners; 20,000
students in 251 school districts
were determined to have not
received adequate services in the
public schools. California has more
than 1.4 million ELLs. (edweek.org)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
Wage Theft
IN
ANNE SILVERSTE
est Logan,
, Kathy McNally, Ern
ey, Frank De Sario
ark
Sh
ion of School
ian
rat
Br
de
t:
Fe
lef
S
n From
rch behind the NY
ma
lly
Na
ation.
Mc
ter
statewide organiz
Chris Ogno, and Pe
er. NYSFSA is CSA’s
nn
ba
A)
FS
YS
(N
Administrators
n IBEW members provide support
An increasing number of wage theft
cases are being filed across the
country. Workers have encountered
situations involving violation of
minimum wage, not being paid for
overtime or having their tips taken.
While federal and state officials
claim some employers have been
flouting wage laws, business groups
criticize government officials for
imposing wage enforcement
actions which they say are politically
motivated. (The New York Times)
PENNSYLVANIA:
AFL-CIO Renews
Commitment
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
as CSA passes by.
This Labor Day, the Pennsylvania
AFL-CIO renewed its commitment
to “creating good jobs, restoring
retirement security, improving
educational and job training, and
restoring the bargaining strength”
of workers. In his Labor Day post,
state AFL-CIO President Richard
Bloomingdale stated his intention
to expand the middle class and
rebuild “main street” communities.
He cited numerous instances in
which workers have recently chosen unions as a means to improve
their lives. (timesonline)
OHIO:
ALEX GLEASON
H
n The Tottenville High School Band
performed a rousing
selection including American Pride,
American Tribute, Irving
Berlin’s There’s No Business Like Show
Business and an
arrangement of Dvorak’s New World
Symphony.
MARIA SMIT
President
Weprin with CSA
Crowley and Mark
Liz
ers
mb
me
cil
n Queens coun
Ernest Logan.
Unions Preparing
As the state’s gubernatorial election
approaches, union leaders and
members of the Democratic party
are watching closely to gauge the
reaction of Gov. John Kasich to any
efforts to make Ohio a “right-towork” state, should the incumbent
governor win re-election. Though
Kasich has said that this is not on his
agenda, workers remain skeptical
and are concerned about pressure
Kasich might face from fellow
Republicans. Organized labor is
working to have campaign teams in
place if this happens. (The Blade)
WEST VIRGINIA:
Ratified Agreement
MARIA SMITH
n Vinny Alvarez, President NY City
Central Labor Council
(left) and Mario Cilento, President of
NYS AFL-CIO.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
, CSA. They took a
support their union
to
t
ou
me
ca
rs
educato
n Early childhood
up Fifth Avenue.
other unions march
tch
wa
to
tes
nu
few mi
Nearly 1,500 West Virginia employees are covered by a recently ratified labor agreement between
Frontier Communications and CWA
union. Frontier has reached agreement with unions representing its
workers in Nebraska, New York,
California, Nevada, Oregon and
Washington. (fiercetelecom.com)
— COMPILED BY
CHRISTINE ALTMAN
10
CSA NEWS
October 2014
Labor Families
Children, Husbands, Grandchildren, Aunts,
Uncles, Cousins...All Together in United Front
n Four-year-old Kevin
Flowers is surrounded
by family
and friends including his
grandmother, Principal
Vangela
Kirton, far right. From the
left, Lori Fairclough-Lesl
ie and
her mother, Sylvia, an Ass
istant Principal. Sylvia’s
son,
Ishmael, is in the rear. Beh
ind Kevin is his grandpa,
Barney
Kirton. Sunglasses in han
d, is his mother, Tyeshia.
PHOTOS BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
t, Shawn and Danika Rux, left,
i Singh and her three grandsons. Righ
n Left, Education Administrator Nalin
n is an Assistant Principal and
Shaw
cellor,”“ said the proud father.
Chan
re
futu
“the
Zoe,
,
hter
daug
with their
nd from left, and Joyce E. Bush
r. Principals Anthony Armstrong, seco
Danika is an Education Administrato
fill out the photo.
n Assistant Principal Ray
Basilotta and his family
take
a moment near the par
ade’s end to pose for CSA
.
GARY GOLDSTEIN
Travel Desk
Next Summer, Head Down Under!
Mysteries of India
Caribbean Paradise
Nov. 4–19, 2014
Feb. 14-21, 2015/Winter Break
Collette Vacations has assembled
an all-inclusive program to visit India.
Depart from NYC Nov. 4 and India on
Nov. 18 – land in NYC Nov. 19. Tour
Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ranthambore
(game drive), Agra (Taj Mahal), Jhansi,
Orchha, Khajuraho, Varanasi (River
Ganges) and return from Delhi.
RATES for this 15-day land tour
include 26 meals, airfare, taxes, sightseeing and hotels. Optional insurance
is available. CALL Gary Goldstein
for rates at (732) 786-0314.
Sail the Royal Caribbean Oasis of
the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale visiting
Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica;
and Cozumel, Mexico. Enjoy world
class amenities including themed
areas. CALL Gary Goldstein for rates
at (732) 786-0314. Airfare not
included.
Tropical Costa Rica
Jan. 8-16, 2015
Visit lush forests, exotic wildlife,
stunning waterfalls and beaches. Tour
Tamarindo Beach, Monteverde Cloud
Forest, Arenal Volcano/Lake, Cano
Negro and San Jose. Nine days, 14
meals, transfers, sightseeing and
hotels. Three-night optional jungle
extension is available.
RATES: $2,249 per person/double
room; single $2,749. Rate includes airfare. Discount for Collette frequent
travelers!
Back to Asia!
Depart Hong Kong March 1-15, 2015
board Viking River Cruise’s new ship,
the Kvasir in Amsterdam. We’ll cruise
through Holland, Germany, France
and Switzerland. (You may extend
your stay in Lucerne for two nights.)
Free wine and guided trips included.
RATES: standard, $2,330.50;
French balcony, $2,930.50; verandah,
$3,280.50; verandah suite, $5,130.50.
Save $200 per person if you sailed
Viking within the year; $100 if you
sailed more than a year ago. Lucerne
extension is $599 including hotel,
breakfast and one transfer.
Sail from Hong Kong on the
Celebrity Millennium to Taiwan’s ports
of Taipei, Hualien, and Kaohsiung,
and then head to Vietnam where
we’ll visit Ho Chi Minh City,
Hue/Danang and Hanoi. Take advantage of deep discounts for cruise and
air. Disembark on March 15 after
spending the evening in Hong Kong.
RATES begin at $1,836.72 per person for double occupancy including
port fees and taxes.
Depart July 5 from Bayonne, NJ,
and sail to Bermuda aboard the
Celebrity Summit. BOOK BY OCT. 31
and gratuities are pre-paid PLUS you’ll
get a free beverage package. Rates
begin at $1,274.30 per person/double
room. Call for rates for three or four
passengers per room.
European River Cruise
CSA Summer Sail 2
April 4 –11, 2015/Spring Break
Fly from the US on April 3 and
For more information, contact Gary Goldstein at [email protected] or call
him at (732) 786-0314.
CSA Summer Sail 1
Bermuda, July 5-12, 2015
Northern Europe, Aug. 9-20, 2015
Depart U.S Aug. 8 to Copenhagen
and board the elegant Princess Regal
on Aug. 9. Sail to Sweden, Germany,
Russia and Finland. Two night
optional stay available in Copenhagen.
Book now for introductory group rates
and additional early bird discount.
RATES: Inside, $2,524 per person;
verandah, $3,324 –3,724 per person;
mini-suite, $4,024 –$4,424 per person
(best value). Save an additional $100
per person if booked and deposited
by Nov. 30. Air and insurance not
included. Air will be available after
Sept. 9, 2014.
Explore Australia and
Indonesia
Oct. 22-Nov. 6, 2015
The Diamond of Princess Cruise
Lines will sail on Oct. 22 from Sydney
for Port Douglas, Darwin, Bali
(Indonesia), Geraldton and dock in
Perth (Fremantle) on Nov. 6. This program combines the beauty of Australia
with elegance by sea. Airfare and extensions will be available to book after Dec.
6 of this year. (This is a great destination for using air miles.)
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deposit of $100 per person to hold
space! These are introductory rates and
will not last! (Additional discounts
and/or onboard credits if qualified.)
October 2014
11
CSA NEWS
40 RECTOR STREET
N AT I O N
Communications Director Coletti
Says Adieu, but not Goodbye!
n Ms. Coletti,
second from
right, wants to
spend more time
with her granddaughters. Also
pictured, her sonin-law, his
mother, right and
his aunt.
Daughter Lucia
Brawley took the
picture.
BY MARIA SMITH
Chiara Coletti, CSA’s director of communications, may be leaving her full-time
position at CSA but she will continue as a
special adviser for public affairs to CSA
President Ernest Logan and the cabinet. Ms.
Coletti is leaving to teach writing to underserved youths and work with other education organizations.
She also wants to spend more time with
her grandchildren, Bianca, 4, and Aria, 2,
who live in Miami.
“My job at CSA was a perfect fit because
I care passionately about education, organized labor and politics and I love working
with the media and writing about public
issues,” said Ms. Coletti. “CSA staff, leadership and members have been unusually
generous to me and Ernie has made my
work rewarding and fun.”
When she arrived at CSA in 2008, Ms.
Coletti was tapped by President Logan to
build a fully integrated communications
department. She successfully merged pub-
lications, media, special events and branding under one umbrella. Ms. Coletti also
oversaw the union’s website design and
formed partnerships with other organizations including The Children’s Health Fund
and the IBM Foundation.
She also introduced and moderated the
respected “Reporters’ Roundtable,” which
is held twice yearly allowing members of
the press to speak to CSA members “off the
New Assistant Field Directors
BY MARIA SMITH
Two former Assistant Principals are
joining CSA as assistant field directors:
Mauro Bressi and Ralph Santiago.
“These gentlemen bring years of
supervisory experience and expertise
to the CSA team. I know they are going
to be valuable assets helping our inservice members with day-to-day
issues,” said Sana Nasser, executive
director field services.
Mr. Bressi, a former Assistant
Principal of Edward R. Murrow High
School, retired last month having
worked for the city’s schools for 25
years. Mr. Bressi will serve members in
Manhattan’s Districts 4, 5, and 6.
Mr. Santiago, a former Assistant
Principal at Aviation High School,
retired in June after 29 years of service.
Mr. Santiago graduated from Aviation
in 1975 and served four years in the
U.S. Air Force. He returned to Aviation
in 1985 initially as a shop teacher. He
was promoted to Assistant Principal in
1999. Mr. Santiago will work in
Districts 9 and 10, Bronx.
record,” about their experiences in the city’s
schools system. In doing so, she gave CSA
members and reporters access to each other
in a non-threatening environment where
an open conversation could take place.
“Chiara raised the bar for CSA. She
introduced us to the media and made this
union a “go-to” when reporters need quotes
or information about education,” said Mr.
Logan. “I’m happy to say that we’ll still be
able to avail ourselves of her insight and
sage advice.”
Ms. Coletti came to CSA with a comprehensive communications background.
She worked at Newsday as vice president of
public affairs and special assistant to the
publisher. At the Board of Education, she
was Chancellor Rudy Crew’s executive
director ofpublic affairs and created the
Chancellor’s Literary Campaign, a multimedia awareness program that raised funds
for classroom libraries. Ms. Coletti also was
corporate communications adviser to NBA
Commissioner David Stern and served as
vice president of communications and public affairs at the College Board.
Ms. Coletti holds a master’s degree from
the Writer’s Program at San Francisco State
University; she serves as a board member
of The National Writing Project and is a
member of The Education Writers
Association.
To Learn Mandarin and More
Queens High School Hosts Chinese Exchange Teacher
BY COREY BACHMAN
Like most educators, Yang Ruirui,
known as “Maria,” has been busy. Ms. Yang
is one of 22 teachers selected from China
and Egypt for participation in the 2014
Teachers of Critical Languages Program
(TCLP).
For a full academic year, Ms. Yang, along
with co-teacher Mei-Chin Chang, will teach
Mandarin Chinese to 11th graders and junior high students at the East-West School of
International Studies in Queens.
In addition to teaching their native languages, TCLP exchange teachers establish
strong ties with teachers, students, parents
and community members, and share information about their home countries and
cultures. At the same time, these teachers
gain firsthand knowledge of the United
States to share with students and fellow
teachers in their home countries.
Upon return, Ms. Yang hopes to establish a lasting East-West bond. “I’m mostly
looking forward to sharing information
with students about my home country and
seeing historic landmarks like
the Statue of Liberty and
Central Park, and experiencing all the great food the city
has to offer. Ms. Yang also
plans to visit California and
Washington D.C. to spend
some weekends with her fellow exchange teachers.
The founding Principal of
East-West School, Ben
Sherman, said his school has
hosted exchange teachers
COREY BACHMAN
before, for periods of one to
n Yang Ruirui (left) will teach at the East-West School of
two weeks to three months.
International Studies. Ben Sherman (right) is Principal.
He says they knew this year
culture and I also hope to draw the best that the school was ready to host a teacher
practices from here and use them back for a longer period of time.
home,” she said.
“We, as a student body, have so much
One factor that sets Chinese students that we can learn from Maria. We know
apart from their American peers is the that through her experiences and perspeclength of the school day. Ms. Yang says her tive, she can open up our eyes and really
biggest adjustment will be to forego a two- diversify our curriculum,” he said.
hour nap during the day, standard throughThe CSA News hopes to run a follow-up
out the smaller provinces in China.
early next year on Ms. Yang and her experience
Outside of school, she is excited about at Mr. Sherman’s school.
Education
COLORADO:
STEM Classes
Denver Public Schools are investing
$7 million in STEM classes that will
benefit 1,000 students in the first
year. The classes will include manufacturing, pre-engineering, health
biotechnology and game-design
coding. The rigorous programs are
being offered across eight high
schools, located primarily in lowincome areas. (The Denver Post)
OKLAHOMA:
Sanctions Imposed
In response to Oklahoma’s abandonment of the Common Core
Standards, the Obama administration stripped the state of its right to
decide how to spend $29 million in
funding. The reason behind the
sanction was that Oklahoma could
not demonstrate that its school
standards were preparing children
for college and careers. The decision could lead to teacher layoffs.
Over 40 states have been granted
waivers by the Department of
Education, allowing for flexibility in
Federal spending. Those states had
to submit plans detailing how they
intended to prepare students for
college and careers. (StarTribune)
ALABAMA:
Grant For AP Tests
Alabama is the recipient of a $40
thousand grant that will help pay
for students to take AP tests.
Alabama was recently recognized
for its ranking as number one in
improvements on AP exams. With a
218% increase in the number of
students taking the exams, the
state hopes the infusion of funds
will allow for more minority students to take and pass the exams.
To date, Alabama students have
saved the equivalent of $12 million
in tuition costs via the AP program.
(montgomeryadvertiser)
NEW YORK:
Culinary School
Adds Bakery
Emerson School of Hospitality in
Buffalo, which offers a premier
career education program, recently
added a bakery. At Emerson, students take classes for professional
skills along with traditional courses.
Students operate a restaurant on
the first floor of the school, which
provides them with valuable life
experience. The school is inclusive
of all students; 23% have disabilities. (buffalonews)
TENNESSEE:
Enrichment Time
In order to ease the transition to the
Common Core Standards, enrichment periods are being added. The
program aims to identify areas of
weakness as early as kindergarten.
Schools in one county added Power
Learning Blocks to its elementary
schools, whereby students are
grouped by skill and given literacy
intervention, remediation or enrichment. (tennessean.com)
— COMPILED BY
CHRISTINE ALTMAN
12
CSA NEWS
The Welfare Fund
October 2014
Douglas V.
Hathaway, Ph.D.
Preparing for Difficult Transitions
ne of the hardest transitions anyone faces in his or her life is the
death of a spouse or life partner.
Among the many services the
Welfare Fund provides is helping a
surviving spouse navigate the maze of agencies that need to be notified. We also provide
guidance on what benefits to expect – some
change, some continue for a specified period
of time, some cease.
We work closely with the CSA Retiree
Chapter to prepare our Survivor’s Information
Packet, which is available on the Welfare Fund
website at www.csawf.org (under the Forms
and Booklets section). We also regularly
inform our members during meetings to take
care of this onerous task. Our goal is to make
this painful process as easy as possible.
O
Guidance
and help
when you
have a
death in
the family.
espite this effort, my staff still often hears
that the deceased spouse or partner was
the primary record keeper. And too often,
the surviving spouse tells us, “I have no idea
what investments we have or where we bank
because Joan (or John) did everything.”
The Survivors Information Packet provides
a list of important organizations (and phone
numbers) you will have to call and what documents you must send to each agency. The
forms also provide an organizational scheme –
a way to list your attorneys, the location of
your will, your banks, your insurance policies
and other important information such as the
location of the off-shore bank accounts and
which book has the hidden supply of cash.
D
We also encourage you to add items your
survivors need to know. For example, my
mother had a family heirloom that was to go
to a specific cousin, and she put aside other
items for her grandchildren. We would not
have known about these requests if she hadn’t written them down. (She also wrote down
her instructions for a memorial service, with
and without a choir!)
We encourage every one of our members
to download and print this form. Please complete it with your spouse, significant other,
children, or your estate executor and put it in
a safe place. This does not have to be a
depressing thing to do – approach it methodically like you do your taxes or a mortgage
application. Keep your emotions out of it and
the task will be easier.
Last: Please make sure your survivors
know to call the CSA Welfare Fund and the
CSA Retiree Chapter. We have experienced
staff who can help you with COBRA continuation of health benefits, assist in dealing with
the Teachers Retirement System and help
with many other concerns.
• • •
And now a request: If you are using
your optical voucher at a participating optical
provider and elect to get a second pair of
glasses using a “second pair voucher,” you
must submit the forms to the store at the
same time. If the “second pair voucher” is
submitted at a later date, the Welfare Fund
will not honor it.
Notebook
Latino Caucus
The Latino Caucus will hold its fall dinner meeting on Oct. 24 at Frankie and
Johnnie’s Pine Restaurant, Bronx. The midwinter dinner is at Moran’s in Manhattan on
Feb. 27, 2015. Contact Winnie Bracco or
William Woods at [email protected].
The CSA Latino Caucus will host its second
annual free Professional Development Day on
April 25 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the
Manhattan Center for Math and Science at 260
Pleasant Ave. All adult members of school communities are invited. Limited to 500 registrants.
For information, contact Caucus President
Robert Flores, at [email protected]; or Bernard
Lopez, at [email protected] or Dr. Nancy
Westerband at [email protected]. (Dr. Westerband
is the Coordinator of the Supervisory Support
Program at CSA.)
ABENY Meetings
and Essay Contest
ABENY's October meeting will be Oct.19,
from 3 to 6 p.m. at the YMCA, 1121 Bedford
Ave., in Brooklyn. Professional development
will be provided and refreshments will be
served. For information, contact Dr. Laverne
Nimmons at [email protected].
ABENY’s Fall Education Conference is on
Nov. 8 at Frederick Douglass Academy in
Harlem. The keynote speaker is Dr. Rudolph
Crew, president, Medgar Evers College, CUNY,
and the former NYC schools chancellor. He
will discuss his “Cradle to College Pipeline
Initiative.” Six workshops will also be offered
and a vendors exhibit area.
For information, contact Dr. Sheilah Bobo at
[email protected].
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Drug Coverage and Medicare
BY DOUGLAS V. HATHAWAY
Read this carefully and keep it where
you can find it. This notice has information for CSA in-service members concerning their prescription drug plan with
the CSA Welfare Fund in relation to
Medicare Part D. This information does
not pertain to retirees.
nderstanding your options for prescription drug coverage through
Medicare can help you decide whether
to enroll in a Medicare drug program. If you
are considering enrollment, compare your
current coverage, including which drugs are
covered at what cost, with the coverage and
costs of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage in your area. At the
end of this article, we’ll tell you where you can
find information to make informed decisions
about your prescription drug coverage.
There are two things you need to know
about your current coverage and Medicare’s
prescription drug coverage:
1. Medicare prescription drug coverage
became available in 2006 to everyone with
Medicare. You can get this coverage if you join
a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or join a
Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or
PPO) that offers prescription drug coverage.
All Medicare drug plans provide at least a
standard level of coverage set by Medicare.
Some plans may also offer more coverage for
a higher monthly premium.
2. The CSA Welfare Fund has determined
that the prescription drug coverage it offers
is (on average for all in-service plan participants) expected to pay out as much as the
standard Medicare prescription drug coverage will pay and is therefore considered “cred-
U
itable coverage.” Creditable coverage means
you do not have to switch plans to enroll in
a Medicare drug plan to avoid penalties for
late enrollment.
than the Medicare-base beneficiary premium
for the rest of your life. You may also have to
wait until the next October to join.
For More Information
Enrolling in a Medicare plan
You may enroll in a Medicare prescription
drug plan when you first become eligible for
Medicare as well as every year from Oct. 15
through Dec. 7. If you lose your current creditable coverage prescription drug plan through
no fault of your own, you become eligible for a
two-month Special Enrollment Period to join
a Medicare drug plan.
Impact on Welfare Fund benefits
If you, as an in-service CSA member,
decide to join a Medicare drug plan, your current CSA Welfare Fund coverage will not be
affected.
If you decide to join a Medicare drug plan
and drop your current CSA Welfare Fund, you
and your dependents can get Welfare Fund
coverage back at a later date if you want to.
Understand the Risks
If you, as an in-service CSA member, drop
or lose your current coverage with the CSA
Welfare Fund and don’t join a Medicare drug
plan within 63 continuous days after your current coverage ends, you may pay a higher premium – a penalty – to join a Medicare drug
plan later.
If you go 63 continuous days or more without creditable prescription drug coverage,
your monthly premium will rise by at least 1
percent of the Medicare-baseline beneficiary
premium per month for every month you did
not have that coverage. For example, if you go
19 months without creditable coverage, your
premium may be at least 19 percent higher
Medicare offers detailed information
about its plans in its Medicare & You handbook. You get a copy of this handbook in the
mail every year from Medicare; it is also available for download on the Medicare website.
Medicare prescription drug plans may also
contact you directly.
For more information about Medicare prescription drug plans:
• Visit www.medicare.gov
• Call your State Health Insurance
Assistance Program (see the inside back cover
of the Medicare & You handbook for the telephone number) for personalized help,
• Call (1-800) MEDICARE. TTY users should
call (1-877) 486-2048.
For people with limited income, extra help
paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage is available. For information, visit Social
Security at www.socialsecurity.gov, or call 1800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
NOTE: If you enroll in one of the drug
plans approved by Medicare, you may have
to provide a copy of this article to prove that
you are not required to pay a higher premium.
You will receive this notice annually and at
other times in the future such as before the
next period you may enroll in Medicare prescription drug coverage or if this coverage
through the CSA Welfare Fund changes. You
also may request a copy.
Questions? Contact Welfare Fund
Administrator Douglas Hathaway at [email protected]
Upcoming
Events
Each year, the Welfare Fund offers a
number of workshops and presentations for
its in-service and Retiree Chapter members.
Generally, these include a pre-retirement
workshop for members who are considering
retiring from their jobs as well as presentations about benefits. The following presentations will be held at CSA’s Rector Street
headquarters.
Pre-Retirement Workshops
on Health Benefits
Oct. 29 | Nov. 17 | Sessions begin at 4 p.m.
Due to unprecedented demand, the
Fund has scheduled two sessions for
those planning to retire by the end of
December. Sessions usually last two to 2 12⁄
hours.
Refresher: Everything I Forgot
About My Benefits Since I Retired
Nov. 14, 10 a.m.
This presentation is for retirees who
are not yet Medicare-eligible and would
like a refresher on benefits. City and
Welfare Fund benefits will be discussed in
a highly interactive presentation.
How to Register: Visit our website at
www.csawf.org. Go to the calendar at the
bottom left-hand side and click on the date.
Click the link to register. If you do not have
computer access, call (212) 962-6061
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business
days. Registrations will be processed in the
order they are received. Each session is limited
to a maximum of 100 participants.
October 2014
13
CSA NEWS
Community Schools Serve
Needs Beyond Education
BY COREY BACHMAN
Principal at P.S. 188.
(Editor’s Note: Mr. Tudda
With much hype surroundrecently received a Daily
ing the positive impact that
News Hometown Heroes
community schools have, CSA
Award, Page 7.)
executive staff members toured
Since 2010, Curtis
selected schools to get a
High School in Staten
glimpse of the program
Island has operated a
through the eyes of Principals.
state-of-the-art dental
Rolled out by the UFT in
and wellness clinic for
2012*, these 16 innovative
students and commumodels are designed to provide
nity members.
beneficial neighborhood reHowever,
CSA
sources from eye exams to
found that most of the
COREY BACHMAN
immunizations inside high- n A treatment room at Staten Island’s Curtis HS.
original community
need public schools across the
schools are still in the
five boroughs.
early stages of development.
Some of these schools, included in the UFT iniSome Principals cite the difficulty of finding a
tiative, had adopted this model prior to this recent community partner and the lack of direction from
push. The success of these schools is largely due to a governing body as the main hurdles to estabthe work of the Principal and the school commu- lishing a strong school foundation. “I thought this
nity in raising funds and developing partnerships. program would be the pulse of the community and
For a few years, PS 188 in Coney Island has pro- it isn’t,” said one CSA member. “The intent is good,
but the practice isn’t here.”
To assist these Principals, CSA invited all of the
16 Community School Principals to CSA’s
Headquarters on Aug. 5, where Principals shared
best practices and brainstormed resource ideas with
one another. They also were able to share their concerns with CSA President Ernest Logan and First
vided mental health, dental care and other med- Vice President Randi Herman.
ical services to the surrounding community that
CSA hopes to bring the Principals back together
was severely affected by Superstorm Sandy.
along with their resource coordinators for a larger
“We have removed barriers to students’ learn- discussion later this school year.
ing and healthy development so that they can
*Retirees will recognize the school model as collabthrive academically and socially,” added Fred Tudda, orative services in the 1970s.
CREATIVITY
Serious Writing
and Serious Fun
BY COREY BACHMAN AND MARIA SMITH
This past July, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and
Usdan, a summer arts program based in Long Island, joined
forces and offered an intensive creative writing program culminating in a live performance of student work.
Running for two weeks in July, the BAM Youth Summer
Program, taught 25 youths – 10 from Usdan and 15 from BAM
– the skills and discipline needed to be a professional writer.
PS 188: Medical services in a
Sandy-ravaged neighborhood
In Memoriam
n ANTONIO ASSENSO, husband of CSA member
Rosemary Assenso, died May 1. Mrs. Assenso retired in
2005 as Principal of Lafayette High School, Brooklyn.
n MODESTO ARRAYA, 92, died on July 10. He retired in
1995 as an Education Administrator from the
Automotive Diesel Training Center, Brooklyn. His spouse
Annie survives him.
n BARBARA CHRISTEN, 85 died Feb. 7. Mrs. Christen
was the Principal of Murry Bergtraum High School for
Business Careers. She retired in 1989.
n HOWARD FRITSCH, 80, of Yonkers, passed away on
Aug. 22. A former district supervisor of Manhattan’s
District 3, Mr. Fritsch retired in 1989. He is survived by
his wife, Judith.
n DR. ELEANOR GREIG UKOLI, 69, a Manhattan resident, died July 22. Ms. Graig Ukoli was formerly the
Department of Education’s director of early childhood
and elementary education. She is survived by her husband Olorogun A.A. Ukoli.
n JAMES REED, 78, of Manhattan died July 14. He
retired in 2010 as Assistant Principal of MS 575,
Manhattan.
n JOHN MORONEY, 73, of Port Washington, NY, died
on Aug. 26. He is survived by his wife, Penelope, a former Principal of PS 194, Brooklyn.
n JANE BURRUS ORRY, 81, of Grand Island, NY, died
Aug. 6. A native of Georgetown, SC. Ms. Burrus Orry
received her degree from Allen University in Columbia,
SC. She moved to New York in 1945 and began working
for the city’s school system. She obtained a master’s
degree from Teachers College. Ms. Burrus Orry worked
for the Board of Education for 31 years before retiring in
1979 as a supervisor at the Bronx Occupational Training
Center. Her husband, Thomas, predeceased her.
n MINTA SPAIN, 78, died April 1. A resident of Queens,
she retired as a Brooklyn superintendent in 1991.
n MAX WEINSTEIN, 94, a World
War II veteran, a former elementary school Principal and a former
CSA officer, died on Aug. 22. He
retired in 1984 from PS 180,
Manhattan. An active unionist, he
served as an Executive Board
member for four years and as a
vice president of CSA from 1978
to 1984 under President Ted
Max Weinstein
Elsberg. Condolences may be
sent to his wife of 67 years, Jacqueline, and the family at
255 Treetop Circle, Nanuet, NY 10954.
n GEORGINA WILLIAMS, 63 of White Plains, NY died
on April 10. Ms. Williams was an elementary and junior
high school Principal. She served at Harlem
Renaissance High School and at the Empowerment
Network. Ms. Williams retired in 2012.
n JACK WILLIKY, 87, of Studio City, CA, died May 11.
He retired in 1991 as an Assistant Principal from CS
102, Bronx. A WW II Veteran, Mr. Williky served in the
Philippines and Japan. He recounted his experiences
for the CSA News for its ongoing series on veteran
members in the March 2014 issue. He is survived by his
wife, Rhonda. Condolences may be sent to 12045
Hoffman Street, #203, Studio City, CA, 91604.
n MYRNA WULFSON, 73, of Monsey, NY, died July 8.
Myrna was the wife of Stephen Wulfson who retired as
an Assistant Principal from IS 174 in 1991. Mrs.
Wulfson, taught for 20 years as a professor at Rockland
Community College. Condolences may be sent to Mr.
Wulfson at 14 Eleanor Place, Monsey, NY 10952.
n RUTH ZIMMERMAN, 80, the wife of the late Jules
Zimmerman, died on Aug. 24. She worked in the Great
Neck school system as a teacher in the North Middle
School. Mr. Zimmerman, who died in 2013, retired as
the Assistant Principal of John Adams High School in
2001. Condolences may be sent to their sons, Peter and
Cory, at 32 Avondale Rd., White Plains, NY 10605.
Obituaries run as space permits. Send obituaries to
CSA News Editor Anne Silverstein at [email protected],
or mail her at CSA, 40 Rector St., NY NY 10006. You
may also fax the information to her at (212) 962-6130
VERUSHKA WRAY
n Youngsters participate in an exercise to get creative juices flowing.
Students ranged in age from 12 through 16.
“There is a different feeling about creative writing outside
of school,” said Verushka Wray, program manager at BAM.
“This program engages and encourages these students in art
rather than forcing them to participate. Writing allows students to open up themselves to the world around them.”
Writers travelled between BAM’s Brooklyn loft and USDAN’s
suburban setting twice, getting to know each other, doing creative exercises and writing for the final project. They also
worked via video-conferencing.
“Writing is hard work. It’s very solitary work,” said BAM
Teacher Judy Taylor. “We mix it up with physical exercises that
get the creative juices flowing and we make the process fun.”
“It’s all about getting students to use their imaginations,”
said Usdan teacher David Surface. “And once they get going, to
push it to the next level.”
BAM and USDAN plan to offer the program again next summer but will provide even more opportunities for the two groups to
meet and collaborate. For information on BAM and Usdan, visit
these sites: www.bam.org and www.usdan.com.
Retirement
n Dr. Yvonne Angelastro, the Principal of P.S. 13,
Queens, the Clement C. Moore School, will retire after 30
years of service. Dr. Angelastro served as Principal of P.S. 13
for 10 years. Prior to that she was an Assistant Principal for 13
years and also taught at P.S. 153, Queens, for six years. She
also taught parochial school for five years.
A party in her honor will be held on Nov. 20 at Vetro
located in Howard Beach, NY. The price per person is $95.
RSVP to Melissa Sheehan at [email protected] or telephone her at (917)754-7246.
n Lily Din Woo, the longtime Principal of P.S. 130
Manhattan, is now the Director of the Cahn Fellows Program
for Distinguished Principals at Teachers College, Columbia
University - a leadership development program for Principals.
Ms. Woo retired on Aug. 8 after serving 25 years as a Principal
and 40 years in public education. P.S. 130 was recognized as a
2014 NYS Education Department Reward School – the top
five percent of schools statewide. She also teaches at the
Principals Institute at Bank Street College.
A party in her honor will be held on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. with
a 10-course Chinese banquet at the Jing Fong Restaurant, 20
Elizabeth St., Manhattan. To RSVP, contact the PS 130 Parents
Association at (212) 226-8072.
14
CSA NEWS
October 2014
RETIREE
CHAIR’S MESSAGE
Gayle Lockett
Show of Strength
Begins New Year
T
hank you to those who participated in the Labor Day Parade.
What a turnout! This year, 90
retirees marched behind the CSA
Retiree Chapter banner while others rode
in buses. Thousands of unionists from
municipal and private unions marched
on Sept. 6 in a show of strength to let
New Yorkers know that we’re still a
union town. (See story on pages 8-9 for full
parade coverage.)
To continue our show of strength, we
must now focus our efforts on the
upcoming November elections. See page
five for CSA’s list of endorsements and
most of all remember to vote!
A big thank you also to our members
who filled out the RC Satisfaction
Survey. The great news is that overall, RC
members are satisfied with the services
provided. (See story on this page.) We also
contacted the 147 members who
requested that we contact them. The RC
planning committee, which is working
on a five-year plan, will use the results to
tweak, enhance or create benefits for our
members.
One of the goals of our planning
committee is to find ways to increase our
Regional Unit memberships. It’s important that all retirees stay in touch with
the union, and, of course, one way is to get involved with a
local Regional Unit. (We also want you to read the CSA News
and check in with the website periodically!) Always remember:
The Chapter is here to serve YOU!
Unionists
let New
Yorkers
know:
“We’re
still a
union
town!”
• • •
O
ur RC General Meeting on Dec. 6 at the NY Hilton
Midtown, will once again coincide with the CSA
Educational Leadership Conference. Come and have
breakfast with us, socialize with friends and colleagues and get
updates from the union. (For more information on CSA’s
Conference, see the back page.)
The Fall Education/Cultural program is off to a wonderful
start with nearly 45 classes, lectures and trips and nearly 350
participants. Some popular trips and events have waiting lists,
but we are working to add classes and tours to accommodate
everyone.
Bits and Pieces
n If you requested a Natter’s calendar, you should have
received it by now. More than 1,570 of us still use the calendar and, like myself, cannot do without it.
n This year we are supporting the March of Dimes, an organization that strives to improve the health of babies by providing information to mothers before, during and after
pregnancy as well as supporting much needed research.
Besides donations, please get involved centrally.
n Some retirees may have noticed a slight increase in their
pensions due to a cost of living increase (COLA) on Sept. 1.
n As I said in prior columns, we will be celebrating our 10th
Anniversary at the United Nations on May 17, 2015. More
information will be provided shortly.
I look forward to all of us enjoying a wonderful and invigorating fall!
Chapter
SURVEY RESULTS
You Like Us!
You Really Like Us!
A Sampling of Survey Responses
Political
Affairs
SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED: 583
NEUTRAL: 206
23 VERY DISSATISFIED
TOTAL RESPONDENTS: 846
Educational
and Cultural
Activities
Courteous
Timely
Professional
Overall
Performance
SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED: 648
14 VERY DISSATISFIED
TOTAL RESPONDENTS: 855
SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED: 630
7 VERY DISSATISFIED
TOTAL RESPONDENTS: 746
SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED: 744
7
VERY
DISSATISFIED
TOTAL RESPONDENTS: 873
BY MARK BRODSKY
As part of our upcoming 10th year anniversary activities, the CSA Retiree Chapter emailed
its members a survey to determine what works
and where we need to improve. After all, our
goal is to serve you to the best of our abilities.
Hundreds of you responded – 917 to be exact.
We received responses from all over the
country though mainly residents of New York,
Florida, and New Jersey, followed by the
Carolinas, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania,
Georgia and Connecticut.
We thought you’d be interested in the
results. Here they are:
• The Chapter now has more than 10,000
members including spouses and partners.
Our members live in 40 states and nine
foreign countries.
• We tend to live longer and are healthier.
More than 3,700 members are between the
ages of 70-79. About 2,400 members are
between the ages of 80-89. More than 600
members are between the ages of 90-99 and
we have 55 members who are over 100.
• Sixty percent of our members are fully
retired, 30 percent work part time and 10
percent work fulltime.
• The majority of you retired in the last 20
years: 24 percent retired less than five years
ago, 30 percent retired between five and
10 years ago, and 31 percent retired 11 to
20 years ago. The remainder has been
retired more than 21 years.
• Your job titles are varied as we’d expect:
17 percent were elementary school
Principals, 15 percent were Education
Administrators, 14 percent were elementary school Assistant Principals, 10 percent
were AP-Supervision, 9 percent were middle school APs, 8 percent were APAdministration, 8 percent were middle
school Principals, 7 percent were high
school Principals, 4 percent were supervisors of…, 3 percent were special school
Principals, and 5 percent held a variety of
titles.
• Seven hundred and 44 members
responded that they were satisfied or very
satisfied with the performance of the
Retiree Chapter. Seven percent were very
dissatisfied.
• Seven hundred and 88 members were satisfied or very satisfied with the Chapter’s
benefits. Seven hundred and 87 members
were satisfied or very satisfied with the dissemination of information, i.e. email, the
CSA News, other media.
We also received suggestions from 272 members as to how we can improve. Members said
the Cultural/Educational program events closed
out too quickly. Others wanted more types of
‘The world may not be
perfect but I like the work
and service of the CSA.’
activities and to bring in guest lecturers.
Members also want us to announce employment and/or volunteer opportunities.
This information has been given to the
Chapter’s officers, of course. We’ll keep you
posted as we develop new benefits, activities
and services. And we thank you for your feedback.
Many of you expressed satisfaction with us,
and we are glad about that. “The world may
not be perfect but I like the work and service
of the CSA,” said one member.
Special thanks to Stanley Wilson, who
headed the survey committee and committee
members John Oricchio, Eathelle Clay, DeeDee Goidel, Janice Imundi, Al Nilsen and Irma
Schonhaut. Also, a shout-out to CSA staff
members Chiara Coletti, Edward Torres and
Anne Silverstein.
October 2014
CSA NEWS
15
Felice Hannah Retires from Staff
But Will Still Run Workshops
Members
in the
News
BY MARIA SMITH
MARIA SMITH
n A floral thank-you: On Sept. 18, the Retiree
Chapter said adieu to staffer Felice Hannah. From
left: Ms. Hannah and RC Director Mark Brodsky.
Felice Hannah, the RC Outreach Coordinator
who specializes in Medicare benefits, is stepping
down. She will continue to serve, however, as a
workshop presenter at CSA.
Ms. Hannah, has held the position since 2006.
In 2011, Ms. Hannah was one of 10 individuals
recognized by the US Administration for her work
as a Medicare volunteer. During her service, Ms.
Hannah has helped hundreds of individuals with
their questions and concerns about Medicare and
other topics. She has presented workshops to hundreds of others as well. “Felice has been a wonderful part of the CSA retiree group,” said RC
Director Mark Brodsky. “She’s always willing to
work with our members and help them with their
questions and concerns.”
Ms. Hannah, retired in 1995 as a Supervisor
of Special Education, PS 80, Queens.
RC Regional Units
from our
Unit Leaders
SUNCOAST (FL)
GEORGIA
Our Unit will hold it's two 2015 meetings
on Jan. 21 and March 27. Meetings will be
held at the usual place, the Oriental Buffet.
Specific information will be mailed to members in late December. Questions? Problems?
Call me at (941) 383-0408.
— MIKE NEMOYTIN
Our Unit will meet on Oct. 7 at the Historic
Green Manor, 60 Westbrook Ave., Union City, at
11:30 a.m. The cost is $15. Our guest speakers
are Greg Tanner, State Director of the Georgia
AARP and CSA Executive Vice President Mark
Cannizzaro. For further information, please contact me at (770) 693-2399 or [email protected].
— GEORGIA HARRISON
ROCKLAND ORANGE BERGEN
Our Unit held our luncheon on Sept.19. Dr.
Douglas Hathaway, the Welfare Fund
Administrator, updated us on the Welfare
Fund and health care in general. Our next
meeting is on Nov. 7 at 10:30 a.m. in our
usual location in the Nanuet Public Library.
The focus: protecting your assets.
— BART BOOKMAN
QUEENS
On Oct. 21, we will hold our annual luncheon at Terrace-On-The-Park in Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park. Our keynote speaker
is Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
On Nov. 7, the Unit will lunch at Ovelia, a
Greek restaurant in Astoria. (And don’t forget
to visit our website at www.csaqueens.org.)
— LEONARD B. STERMAN
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
I want to thank those of you who have
renewed their membership for 2014-2015. We
will be sending membership forms to those
from whom we have not heard. In addition to
the activities already scheduled for this year,
we are in the process of planning other events.
By now, many of our snowbird members will
be making plans to return to Florida. We are
looking forward to seeing you.
— LOIS TURETZKY, ED.D
NEW JERSEY
Our annual Buffet Breakfast is on Oct. 14 at
9:30 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel. The Newark
Museum will make a presentation. The cost is
$10. On Nov. 10 at 9:30 a.m., at the
Manalapan Library, we bid farewell to our
snowbirds at a bagel breakfast. A representative of the NJ Office of Senior Services will
attend and answer your questions. Please
send your 2015 dues along with your check
for the Oct. 14 event to Jose Gneco, 622
Floral Ave., Elizabeth, NJ 07298.
— LUCILLE VECCHIARELLO
MANHATTAN
Our general membership meeting is on
Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. The topic will be "Benefits
You Did Not Know You Had." Dr. Douglas
Hathaway, the Welfare Fund Administrator,
and a representative from AFSA will speak.
The meeting is at Manhattan Comprehensive
High School at 240 Second Ave. RSVP:
[email protected] or (212) 421-2649.
— STANLEY WILSON
STATEN ISLAND
Our Unit will hold its next general membeship meeting on Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m. at the
Staten Island Hilton. Dr. Douglas Hathaway,
the Welfare Fund Administrator, will speak.
— AL NILSEN
BROOKLYN
Our next meetings will take place Oct.14
and Dec. 2 at St. Francis College. On Sept. 29,
we toured Williamsburg; in November, we will
visit an African art gallery and lunch at Madiba.
— RON JONES
BRONX
We’ve grown! We now have 130 members.
Our general membership meeting is on Oct.
22 at the Riverdale Y at 1 p.m. Lunch will be
served. Welfare Fund Administrator Douglas
Hathaway will update us on benefits and will
discuss the difference in cost between Medicare
and Medicare Advantage.
— MARVIN GOODMAN
PACIFIC COAST
Our Dec. 3 gathering takes place at our usual
location: Carrow's, 23952 Avenida De La
Carlota, Laguna Hills. The three course
luncheon (including tax and tip) is $18.
Contact me, at [email protected]
or at (619) 667-0759.
— CAROL RAINEy
Ada N. Letelier, a retired Principal, has
published her first children's book, Evergreen’s
Story. She hopes her story will teach children
the value of purposefulness;she believes we
are all here for a purpose and that one must
not lose sight of this. Ms. Letelier served in a
number of supervisory positions, retiring in
2005 as Principal at PS 132, D-6, Manhattan.
The book is available at amazon.com and
Barnes&Noble.com (b&n.com)
The author and her book.
I Spent Saturday
Afternoon at Costco
in Palm Desert
Editor’s Note: We encourage our members to keep us posted about
their noteworthy or artistic endeavors. A new book, a gallery opening,
a prestigious award; we’re proud to share your accomplishments. We
continue in this tradition with the following story, that Ed Rudetsky
of Palm Desert, CA very kindly sent to us.
BY ED RUDETSKY
M
y journey on a recent Saturday afternoon began when I
returned a sweater that didn’t fit. The return line at
Costco never moved. One clerk worked the desk; he
liked to talk and talk. Finally, I received a refund and set out for
the free food offered by vendors around the store.
I ate slices of sausage, frankfurter, enchilada, and tasted samples of yogurt, buttered bread, chicken nuggets – even a sandwich made up of ham slices and rye bread slathered in butter. I
drank endless paper cups of coffee, juices and bottled water, the
last of those beverages reminding me that we had a drinking
water shortage at home. I went to get a case of Fiji water and a
case of Pellegrino mineral water, which was on sale.
In the potable water department I found the Pellegrino mineral water and tried to lift a case into my wagon when I heard a
series of gun shots. Stunned, I looked around for the shooter
and discovered that it was I … holding a bottomless, now, bottle
less, case of liter-sized bottles of Pellegrino water that had
dropped to the concrete floor.
The bottom of the case had been sitting in water on the
wooden pallet and it gave way.
A dozen broken bottles. I stood in a sea of bubbly water and
broken glass like a government agent in a Prohibition raid on a
beach drop-off point for booze. My only injury was to my status
as a continent senior citizen – my fly and the front of my dungaree shorts were soaked.
On the way to checkout, I noticed a long-sleeved shirt on
sale, once $19 now reduced to $14. I selected a beautiful blue
garment and planned to wear it the next day, a Sunday, at a
wedding in Temecula.
Somehow, I still displeased the Gods of Costco because my
receipt after checkout showed that the shirt was a slim. Sure
enough, a thorough search of the shirt’s many tags revealed a
slim label. I returned to checkout and asked if I could exchange
the slim for a regular. No, they said, proceed to refund, return
the shirt, get a refund and shop again … which I did.
B
ack in shirt country, I found a regular fit, blue and my size
and skipped to checkout. At checkout I learned that this
shirt was in the wrong pile and was not on sale. The transaction was voided. When I turned to leave, a friendly clerk said
she would go the shirt sale pile, and find a blue shirt, my size
and on sale.
She returned in 15 minutes, shirtless (kind of). There were
no blue, regular fit shirts, my size on sale in stock.
The sun was setting in the Costco parking lot when I left. I
was grateful for the free food that had sustained me during a
long afternoon, thankful to have escaped serious injury from
the exploding glass bottles and grateful for the efforts of the
helpful though unsuccessful clerk. The car started…the Gods of
Costco were satisfied.
OCTOBER 2014
Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, NYC
New York State Federation of School Administrators
Local 1 AFSA, AFL-CIO
40 Rector St., NY, NY 10006
Periodicals
US POSTAGE PAID AT
Brooklyn, NY 11201
and Additional Mailing Office
Printed on FSC certified paper
Hold the Date!
CSA Educational Leadership Conference
Dec. 6 at the New York Hilton Midtown
This Conference will be for members only. It will provide workshops, panels and speakers
geared specifically to our members’ needs. Registration is now open.
C
SA President Ernest Logan recently
informed the CSA Executive Board and
District Chairs that the CSA Conference is
returning after a three-year hiatus. The conference has always had a four-fold purpose:
• Fulfill the constitutional requirement for an
annual membership meeting,
• Provide an opportunity for members to network across district and borough lines,
• Afford members access to the best educa-
tional materials and services, and,
• Provide professional development opportunities for members.
T
his year’s event features a keynote address
by noted TV anchor and journalist Cheryl
Wills (see sidebar) as well as two workshops
that will require pre-registration. The workshops
will be presented by the Executive Leadership
Institute
Perhaps the biggest change this year is that
the conference will be a “members only” event.
This change enables conference activities to focus
exclusively on CSA in-service and retiree members’ needs.
The CSA Retiree Chapter will hold its semiannual membership meeting as part of the conference as well. A breakfast precedes updates
from CSA and Retiree Chapter officers.
Registration is online at www.csa-nyc.org.
• • •
Cheryl Wills: Keynote Speaker
N
Y1 anchor and
author Cheryl
Wills will
keynote the conference. Ms. Wills’
acclaimed book, "Die
Free" is about Ms.
Will's discovery of a
part of her family tree
that was lost for more
than a century. She
has told the story of
her groundbreaking
Cheryl Wills
genealogical research
before international audiences at the United
Nations, the National Archives with Ken Burns in
Washington, and at The World Summit of Mayors
in Senegal, West Africa.
Cheryl is a dynamic, entertaining speaker
whose story will motivate you to research your
own family history as well as provide suggestions
to school leaders on how similar class projects
can help students learn critical research skills.
Her interest in education is longstanding and
is informed by her marriage to Valley Stream
Principal John Singleton.
n Two workshops
will be presented
at the CSA
Conference by
Executive
Leadership
Institute
Coordinators: The
Quality Review
and The Read
Aloud - Not Just a
Story.
The presenters
are, from left,
Sherry Gregory,
Mary Hughes,
Beth Peller and
Carol Wertheimer.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN