December 2012

 

 

When I go out of the office, either to listen to SEA members or to engage with folks from the community, people ask me about SEA initiatives:  creating a National Board support program; putting together the Finland education conference; building a Seattle Teacher Residency program; recruiting minority teachers to Seattle; developing a Teacher Advisory Council; proposing and building the Creative Approach Schools process; doing organizing blitzes in schools.  The question comes, "Why is SEA doing all these things?"

 

For either group the answer is the same: "These are all affirmative actions that reflect the values of SEA members."  Put another way, "Members have told us they want their union to do stuff that is relevant to them."  What is relevant to them is beginning to do things that take charge of our profession.  Read More: What's Going On?

 

Slow steps are being taken to fill the open positions in Special Education Administration. I was told the national search for a Special Education Executive Director began on December 9^th. In the absence of consistent administration, on a bi-weekly basis, SEA has been meeting with the Interim Director and Interim Executive Director and Interim Interim Executive Director about the issues arising within our Special Education services. The school year began with a shortage of special education teachers and paraprofessionals.  That need has increased to 30 Special Education positions left unfilled. SEA had a small success of coming to an agreement to hire Instructional Assistant substitutes and train them specifically for the SM4 classrooms. One day of training for skills required to work with students with medically fragile needs and a 2-day CPI training. This training will be completed by December 15^th. With a lot of documentation and a lot of frustration a couple of the Special Ed FTEs that were pulled at the beginning of the year are now slowly being replaced. These positions were not for unforeseen needs.  Please read Article IX, Section F, 9, e of the CBA as it describes the use of the DSU funds. Now in December, equipment lists for new classrooms are finally being filled. Problem solving continues for students assigned in schools that are not able to provide appropriate services. Reports of overloads continue to come into the office. Other issues to discuss with Special Education Administration are the increasing number of Special Education teachers teaching classes with more general education students than Special Education Students.    Read More: Special Education Services 

NEA & WEA Representative Assembly Nominations Open through January 14th

Attending the state or national Education Association Representative Assemblies is a fascinating experience. Over 1,000 Delegates come together at the WEA R.A. representing the membership of their locals. Nomination Form here. Delegates have the opportunity to get a broader view of education. As a Delegate, you would hear a variety of opinions from the lives of educators from rural and urban districts -- and work with them to set the direction of the organization. This year WEA Delegates will elect new WEA leadership. The Representative Assembly is in Bellevue, Thursday evening, April 25 - Saturday, April 27, 2013.  This does entail one day of release from your job. SEA covers the cost of the substitute.

 

At the NEA R.A., you meet members from across the country and develop direction at the national level. The NEA R.A. is in Atlanta, July 1 - 6, 2013. Travel, accommodations, and some expenses are reimbursed.

 

Interested members are encouraged to submit a Nomination Form. The deadline for nomination forms is Monday, January 14, 2013.

 

There are many ways to return your completed form. You can fax your completed form to SEA at 206-283-1500; you can drop it by the SEA office at 5501 4^th Ave S.; scan it and send it to the Elections Committee at eaelectionscommittee@gmail.com; or give it to your Association Rep for delivery at the January 11 SEA Representative Assembly (at Cleveland High School). Voting will be online (phone option available) and will occur January 25 - February 6.

Greetings to all ESP's!

 

It was great to see so many of you at the WEA Issues Conference at McKnight Middle School on December 8th, taking advantage of in-service opportunities and a chance to be paid as part of your eight professional development days.  This activity was sponsored by the Action Coordinating Council, the ESP wing of WEA.  Remember, as opportunities arise during the year, you may be paid to attend them, and if tuition is involved, Kim Van Atta's office can reimburse you up to $500.

 

By now all of you should have had a conference with your supervisor or the individual who will be doing your evaluation.  If not, it would be to your benefit to schedule one to go over goals and discuss the documentation you wish to present prior to signing the final copy in April.  Kim's office is also offering classes on the evaluation process and you are strongly encouraged to attend one.

 

Lastly, take some time during this season to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones.  Enjoy your winter break or any days off you may have, and we will look forward to seeing you next year.  It promises to be busy while continuing to solicit input into bargaining and all the other organizing activities being planned by SEA, and the SAEOP and Paraprofessional Departments.

 

Take care, and here's to a great 2013!

 

Weather Delays and Cancellations

Because the SEA and the school district care about the safety of their employees as well as their students, there are negotiated rules regarding school days with inclement weather.  Regular school year employees (both certificated and classified) do not work on days the district has closed schools.  Those employees will substitute another day of service when the schools make up the missed day(s).  When schools are opened late, employees will report to work at least thirty (30) minutes prior to students with no loss of pay.  If a decision has been made to close schools after the day has begun, principals and managers are to use a reasonable standard to release employees after students are dismissed.  SEA interprets a reasonable standard to mean that the vast majority of students are safely gone from the school.  By contract, the principal may ask for volunteers to stay to ensure the safe operation of the building until all students are gone. Read More: Weather Delays and Cancellations     

 

Temperatures in the School

In accordance with District standards adopted in November, 2006, classrooms and offices are heated at 68 degrees.  Lunchrooms and auditoriums are heated at 65 degrees.  Gyms and hallways are heated at 62 degrees.  The district has chosen to warm schools at temperatures slightly warmer than state law.  Scheduled operating hours for the heating system are based on staff's contract hours.  Our collective bargaining agreement has special language for gymnasiums in Article IX, Section H, 1.  It states, "After weekends or periods of school closures, gymnasiums with centrally controlled heating will have the heating turned on one hour prior to the time of the rest of the school."  This is to ensure that children and staff are not too cold during the first period. 

 

Weingarten Rights

The rights of unionized employees to have a union representative present during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251,88 LRRM 2689). These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights. Read More: Weingarten Rights

 

Contractual Professional Development Opportunities for SEA Classified Members 

All classified employees are allocated the number of hours equivalent to eight workdays for professional development and/or leadership activities each school year.  The purpose of these days is to provide extra time for participating in school/program decision-making, building leadership activities, and/or training to enhance job skills and/or improve student learning.  Although you can be asked to explain how an activity enhances your job skills or connects to improved student learning, you should not be asked to write an essay.  A short brief description should be sufficient.  A workday is defined as the number of hours in an employee's regular workday.  The paid activities shall be by mutual agreement between the employee and his or her supervisor.  An employee may appeal their supervisor's decision to the Labor/Management committee if they are denied access to an activity.  SEA suggests that you contact them as soon as possible if you would like to appeal the decision of your supervisor. Read More: Classified Professional Development

ORCA- Prepaid Card

 

The SEA bargained a pre-tax ORCA card for all of our members when we negotiated the collective bargaining agreements in 2010.  If you are someone who takes the bus to work, you can apply and receive an ORCA card from the district pre-tax.  You can contact Roxana Melville at remelville@seattleschools.org or call her at 206-252-0293.  Her office hours are 6:30-3:00.  She will email you a one-time deduction authorization for that you will need to fill out.  Each month after that, she will email you prior to ordering the pass for the new month so you are aware of the selection and can make any changes that you would like to make.  The district will pay for your ORCA card as a deduction to your salary pre-tax.  The IRS guidelines allowed for $125 as a pre-tax deduction for 2012.  Anything above the IRS pre-tax deduction is deducted after tax.  The IRS has not yet stated what the pre-tax deduction will be for 2013.  

Daniel Doctor, IA at Stevens Elementary, is in need of sick leave donations while tending to ongoing medical issues.

 Elizabeth Buccino, kindergarten teacher at TOPS K-8, is requesting donated sick leave to help cover a medically necessary short term leave due to a heart condition. 

If you are interested in donating leave, contact the HR service center at 252-0377 to be referred to the appropriate Leave Desk, or log on to Seattle Inside Schools to find information and print forms. 

 

SEA Representative Assembly- Monday, January 14th, 5:00 pm @ Cleveland High School, 5511 15th Ave S.  

http://www.seattlewea.org