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Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, AFSA Local 2, AFL-CIO
Meeting with the CeO
2
RetiRees' CORneR
4
geneRal MeMbeRship
phOtOs
6
20 N. Wacker Dr.Suite 622
Chicago, Il 60606312-263-7767
Fax 312-263-2012www.mycpaa.com
MYCPAA.COM / VOL. XV NO. 3 / DECEMBER 2013
The LampThe Local School Council (LSC) election candidate nomination period started November 18, 2013. With all the other duties and time constraints facing principals, this item may seem to be just a secondary consideration by comparison. However, I want to remind all CPS contract principals that your job security and livelihood rest on and are protected by the legal contracts granted by the LSC. Over the last two decades of LSC existence, their importance has suffered tremendous erosion and a certain level of indifference that’s now pervasive. Many, many schools have nonfunctioning councils due to public loss of interest in running for election, chronic absenteeism, and inconsistent or no meetings at all. By letting these problems go uncorrected, the person most likely to suffer the most serious consequence is the school principal. All schools will have nomination packets available, and each and every principal should take an active role in encouraging parents and community members to run for a seat on their LSC.
Make no mistake, the “system,” whatever that means to you, has always maintained a vested interest in who is elected to be principal. Whether by LSC contract or CPS interim selection, CPAA has seen a decided increase in pressure from CPS to control the choice of who is in the principal's seat. Of course, the Illinois School Code made that decision the purview of the LSC. Why, you may ask, am I so pro-LSC? Because without LSCs and the Illinois School Code, principals become “at-will
employees.” We perceive a push to accomplish this reality is already well underway at CPS. The October Lamp's message was about the new guidelines—13-0828-PO1—which effectively diminished the due process afforded to assistant principals. CPAA views this as a clear forecast of possible future attempts to limit the due process rights now afforded to contract principals.
Besides the obvious attempt to limit employee protections at the workplace, we have the added threat at our doorstep of the current pension crisis. I hope by now you are completely aware of the deep financial valley CPS finds it has created by years of deferred payments into our pension fund. Of course, they don’t or won’t look for solutions, except to demand reductions in the benefits owed their employees. Year after year, CPS claims there’s no revenue available to make pension payments or provide raises for administrators—all the while expecting principals and assistant principals to keep schools safe, employees productive and deliver rising test scores. I would be curious to discover a comparable position in the “corporate world” needing the depth and breadth of skills required, with the same level of imposed accountability to run an urban public school. After finding such a position, my next inquiry would be to know the compensation provided to execute such a challenging executive position!
The CPAA monthly meetings are redundant echoes
A Message From The PresidentClarice Berry
The Lamp is published monthly by the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association and distributed to the entire membership. Recent editions are available online at
http://www.mycpaa.org. Comments and suggestions are welcome; please e-mail Associate Editor Kent Lau at [email protected]. The Chicago Principals & Administrators
Association AFSA Local 2, AFL-CIO, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Suite 622, Chicago, IL 60606, Phone: 312-263-7767, Fax: 312-263-2012, www.mycpaa.org
Clarice Berry
Editor
Kent Lau
Associate Editor
Kimberly Tsui Fong
Design/Production
AFFILIATIONS:
American Federation of
School Administrators
(AFSA)
American Federation of Labor-
Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO)
Illinois American Federation of Labor-
Congress of Industrial Organizations
(IL AFL-CIO)
Chicago Federation of Labor-
Industrial Union Council
(CFL-IUC)
On Tuesday, November 19, 2013, the CPAA Executive Board met with CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. The following agenda items were discussed:
Issue: NWEA Bandwidth Problems – Relating to our previous agenda item, the bandwidth problem is also impacting student assessments. Principals report bandwidth problems are creating great difficulties with NWEA testing. During assessments, the system is “freezing” and preventing completion of testing and a serious loss of instructional flow for schools. In some locations the situation is so serious that all staff must refrain from using computers, for any purpose, to allow the NWEA assessments to continue uninterrupted.
Response: There are three major issues with NWEA: 1) Insufficient bandwidth power. 2) New software – system crashes due to lack of bandwidth to support software. 3) Insufficient watts outage to support technology devices in schools. Following are the actions to be taken by Lachlan Tidmarsh: Bandwidth upgrades in a total of 69 schools—59 proactive and 10 requests. Lachlan will provide Clarice Berry with the instruction document that principals should follow when experiencing connectivity issues with NWEA. Additionally, Lachlan will provide Denise Little and the network chiefs with a list of schools that have been identified as having bandwidth issues. December 17, 2013, will begin field services in identified schools.
Issue: Diverse Learner Delays – CPAA is receiving complaints about long delays with the PARFF process. We are hearing there is a four to seven week wait for requested services for special education students. Is there an explanation for the delays? Realistically, how long should it take from request to receipt of services? Is there a way to shorten the process? Principals are in jeopardy of noncompliance with the law through no fault of their own.
Response: There is a four to seven week wait from request to receipt of services due to various challenges: 50% increase in PARFF requests; some requests are incomplete; and as of November 19, 2013, there are 536 requests for teaching positions that must be filled, which impacts the PARFFing requests. Markay Winston would like to schedule a follow-up meeting with various CPAA members (next semester) to collaborate and discuss opportunities for improving supports provided to diverse learners.
of the scenario just put forth and with no end in sight. With that being said, CPAA will be sending out a survey requested by CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, asking principals to suggest duties that should/could be eliminated to ease your workload. Please be thoughtful—just complaints are not useful. Give input
from any area of your duties that need to be removed or streamlined. This survey will only be up for about a week, and we want to present your suggestions before the winter holiday. Meanwhile, do take a few days off, recharge your batteries and reconnect with friends and loved ones—we all need downtime!
Meeting with the CEONovember 19, 2013
The Lamp —December 2013 3
Issue: Food Services Issues – Reduction in food service staff is having a serious impact on schools. As you are aware, schools are on tight schedules. Staff vacancies go unfilled and no substitutes are available for absent staff. We are requesting the number of current vacancies in the system and the number of substitutes available daily for absent staff. Is the CPS budget shortfall impacting food services to students?
Response: As of November 19, 2013, every meal served pays for employees; 112 vacancies in the system; 26 employees will move into the 112 vacancies; 230 substitutes; and 55 employees on leave. Leslie is working with principals with staffing issues.
Issue: Full-Day Kindergarten – Are there CPS guidelines for full-day kindergarten available? Many schools are newly implementing this program and support is needed. When help with problems arising from social-emotional issues confront schools, what interventions are available? Which CPS department has the
existing staff or training funds that can be provided to schools?
Response: Annette Gurley will send a follow-up letter to school principals in January, providing examples of scheduling alternatives for full-day kindergarten. Per Annette, principals have the schedule of the minimum number of minutes. Annette and Beth will send suggestions for activities kindergarten teachers may infuse to guard against restlessness and disengagement as they work in the context of a full school day.
Issue: Central Office Organizational Chart – Thank you for the new Network Organization Chart and Map sent to us this month. When will we receive the new Central Office Organization Chart?
Response: A partial Central Office Organization chart was distributed at the CPAA/CEO meeting. Chart was color-coded and aligned to CEO’s five pillars.
Upcoming Meeting
Member NewsNew Members — Oscar Hernandez, Assistant Principal, Dunbar Vocational High School; Trina Hollingsworth, Assistant Principal, Bond Elementary; Laurel Salgado, Assistant Principal, Lloyd Elementary.
Board Action — The following principal contracts were approved at the October and November 2013 Chicago Board of Education Meetings: Camilla Covington, Dunbar High School; Barton Dassinger, Chavez Elementary; Adelfio Garcia, Hedges Elementary; Dawn Iles, Hale Elementary; Vicky Kleros, Perez Elementary; Nathan Manaen, Ravenswood Elementary; James McNealey, Nicholson Elementary; Kelly Mest, Northside College Prep; Veronica Nash, Kershaw Elementary; Nicole Monroe, Tanner Elementary; Rituparna Raichoudhuri, Wells High School; Armando Rodriguez, G. Washington Elementary; Michelle Van Allen, Garvey Elementary.
Chicago Board of Education Monthly MeetingWednesday, December 18, 2013
Board Chambers125 S. Clark Street
Registration opens December 9, 2013, at 8:00 AM
On December 18, Public Participation 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
Retirees' CornerArt Fumarolo
STAYING CONNECTED AND ADDRESS ING THE CONCERNS SHAPING YOUR FUTURE
The latest meeting of Auxiliary XVI, the Retired and Resigned members auxiliary, was held on November 12, 2013. Eighteen members were present. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the auxiliary will be at 9:30 AM on January 14. It will be held in the 5th floor conference room of the Garland Building at 111 N. Wabash Avenue (enter from the Washington Street entrance at 50 East, east of Wabash). The Retired Teachers Association of Chicago (RTAC) is our host.
Auxiliary President Linda R. Williams reported on the November CPAA Governing Board meeting at which she represented Auxiliary XVI. She indicated that the latest CPAA membership includes 340 principals, 260 assistant principals, 50 administrators, 71 associate members, and 599 retired members. All are asked to tell all possible members of the CPAA about the benefits of unity, voice, and legal representation, and encourage them to join. Linda also addressed other items from the meeting:• Changes and additions to the CPAA website will be
introduced by the end of the year. It may include more interactive live communication.
• The previously cancelled 2014 Education Conference is again being considered; a committee will study the possibilities further.
• The number of school districts/networks has been reduced from 19 to 13, and only four of them are being headed by chiefs from the previous networks.
• Assistant principals can now be discharged from their position if they don’t take the stipulated corrective actions in the single warning they receive.
• Engineers are no longer under the direction of the principal. The principal is now only responsible for supervising janitors. Some engineers received “pink slips” as of November 4.
• The mayor is making noises to dismantle our Pension Fund Board of Trustees, even though HB3727 was previously defeated. He’s making claims that our Pension Fund has not “grown” its funds enough. The latest CTPF retirees’ newsletter indicates that as of June 2013, the one-year rate of return was 12.89%; for the last three years, it has been 12.12%; and the 10-year return has been 6.72% (includes the time period of the national financial problems of the last several years). I wish all of my investments did as well!
• Discussion of Auxiliary XVI’s motion for a CPAA stance of “no pension holidays” did not lead to any action.
The guest speaker at the November auxiliary meeting was Donald C. Anderson, IPA (Illinois Principals Association) coordinator for the CPS area. Previously, Don was a CPS assistant principal, principal, and central office administrator and a member of the CPAA-CLASS professional development team. He encourages all CPS school-level administrators to be members of the CPAA and the IPA. Each of these organizations offers different supports, both of which are needed by CPS administrators. The CPAA is strongest in its direct representation with the Chicago Board of Education, and its legal support and representation for its members. The IPA is strongest in its growing professional development support and its representation in Springfield. The IPA has its own exclusive lobbyist. Annual membership in the IPA is $150 for sitting principals and $75 for retirees. IPA professional development sessions are about $179 and $80 for retirees. Many of the sessions address statewide concerns such as teacher evaluation, common core issues, and school lock-down drills. In addition, the Chicago and state offices issue weekly online updates on topics of concern. Currently, the IPA has 4,600 members, 80 of whom are CPS employees.
Walter Pilditch, retired principal/administrator and Pension Fund trustee, shared the following information:• Based upon the latest “unofficial” ballot count, the apparent
elected Chicago Teachers Pension Fund trustees will be Walter Pilditch, Robert Bures, and Mary Sharon Reilly. Walter and Bob were in attendance and thanked the auxiliary members for their support.
• There was no pension action taken during the latest legislative veto session. The next scheduled session of the legislature is when the new session begins in January. Two members of the Special Legislative Joint Pension Committee have indicated that they do not anticipate the report advocating changes that would affect current retirees.
A member began a discussion about the growth of pension funds, and those in attendance felt that the member was taking too limited a view and should consider growth over a long period of time, as is the case with individual investments and financial planning.
Send your news about retired members or the activities of retired members' groups to Art Fumarolo at [email protected] or call me at 847-289-7847.
The Lamp —December 2013 5
ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATORS' ACADEMY
An Important Update From Dr. Sallie Penman, IAA Executive Director
Dear Colleagues: On July 1, 2013, Illinois implemented a new system of educator licensure that replaced the previous system of educator certification. All Illinois teaching, administrative, and school service personnel certificates have been converted to a cor-responding license. Educators did not lose any of their credentials or endorsements in this transition. If you held an initial, standard, or master teaching certificate, administrative certificate, or school service personnel cer-tificate prior to July 1, 2013, your certificate has been converted to a professional educator license (PEL) endorsed for the content areas and grade levels that were listed on your certificate. Each endorsement corresponds with the certificate that was held prior to July 1. If you held a provisional, alternative provisional (i.e., teaching or administrative), resident teacher, provisional vocational, temporary provisional vocational, transitional bilingual or visiting international certificate, or an approval to serve as a paraprofessional, your certificate or approval has been converted to an educator license with stipulations (ELS) endorsed for the content areas and grade levels that were listed on your certificate. Each endorsement corresponds with the certifi-cate or approval that was held prior to July 1. If you held an ESL or bilingual approval, your approval has been exchanged for a comparable endorsement. All other ap-provals are listed in the “My Credentials” section of your Educator License Information System (ELIS) account.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sallie D. Penman Executive Director, Illinois Administrators' Academy - Chicago Chicago Principals & Administrators Association www.IAAChicago.com [email protected]
UPCOMING ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATORS' ACADEMY SESSIONVisit the new and improved MyCpaa.com to get moreinformation on and register for Illinois Administrators' Academy
courses, and to find event information.
• January 14, 2014 — Communicating with Staff Regarding Performance Assessment ($175)
• Other sessions will be posted online at http://www.iaachicago.com.
MONDAY DECEMBER 9
2013
The Lamp —December 2013 7
W A R M W I S H E S & A M E R R YholidayseasonF R O M
The Chicago Principals & Administrators Association
