AEANew Members

Luncheon

2013-2014

Welcome!Show of hands:

First time teachers?1 - 3 years?4 -10 years?11 - 20 years?Member of a union?

Grow up in a union household?

AEAO Representing Arlington teachers continuously

since 1927O Arlington Education Association is proud to

be the voice for teachers on issues like: New Educator Evaluation System High Expectations for Students Professional Standards for Teachers New Common Core Standards and PARCC

Assessment System

AEA at WorkThere are thousands of organizations in the fields of education and labor, but only ONE has the primary purpose of:O Improving your working conditions, benefits,

and salaryO Representing you and your interests in the

workplace

Executive Officers 2013-2014

President: Linda Hanson (K-8 Reading)1st Vice President: Siobhan Foley (Grade 3 Classroom Teacher)Treasurer: Amy Duke (ACE Program - Ottoson Middle School)Secretary: Valerie Sarazen (Special Education Program - Arlington High School)Immediate Past President: Ron Colosi (Guidance - Ottoson Middle School)

I always wanted to be an executive!

Building Representatives

Arlington High School: Ben Beatty-Owen, Moira Byer, David MooreOttoson Middle School: Judy Packer and Friends TBDBishop: Annette Brubaker, Liz HigginsBrackett: Diane VergnaniDallin: Susan ParkerHardy: Emily Brambilla, Deb PielichPeirce: Laura GoldsteinStratton: Carol AndrusThompson: Lynne Dichter, Nicole Melnick

Take Your Turn!O Just like with PTO and School Council,

ALL teachers should plan to do a 2 year rotation as a building representative once you have achieved PTS – Professional Teacher Status

CommunicationO Weekly AEA Updates through home e-

mailO Only one e-mail a week!

AEA WebsiteWebmaster: Rebecca Bellwww.arlington.massteacher.org

Loaded with Information: New Member PowerPoint Contract Bylaws AEF Grant Information Useful Forms

AEA #1 Union!!!

www.arlington.massteacher.org

Membership IssuesO Don’t receive MTA cardO Need to update your membership

(name change, return from a leave)O Link on AEA websiteO Val is your gal!

August 4-7, 2014

Active Membership!12% of members involved in committee work

AEA CommitteesO Sick Leave BankO Educator Evaluation CommitteeO Superintendent’s Advisory

CommitteeO Negotiation CommitteeO District Determined MeasuresO Contract Management Committee (AKA Grievance Committee)This is where the work gets done!!

New Contract

O Ratified 3-Year Contract: 2012-2015O Pay Scale COLA increases

2.5%, 2%, 2% (+ steps)O Ratified the Arlington Effective Educator

Development System (Evaluation) in May 2013

Benefits at a GlanceO 15 Sick Days

O 2 Personal Days – use or lose!

O 2+ Professional Days

O Special Education Liaisons and Therapists: 2 days during school year for report writing etc…

Religious ObservationAbsences are allowed for religious holy days when your religious beliefs require an absence from school.O Not deducted from personal/sick

daysO Advance notice required (48 hours)

Sick Bank

O For members who have exhausted their own sick leave and who have a serious illness

O Every member deposits one day in the sick bank as of first day of employment in APS

O Grant from sick bank of up to 30 daysO Sick Bank Committee in charge of processing

requests according to criteria in the contract

Other Types of LeaveO BereavementO MaternityO SabbaticalO MilitaryO Parenting/Adoption

Details are in the contract. . . . . .

Temporary Absence Form

O Ask your building secretary for a “Temporary Absence Form”

O Fill out and submit to principalO 48 hour advance notice except in

emergencyO Approval received via interoffice mailO AESOP System for reporting all

absences

These Are Sensitive Times

O Maintain professional boundaries at all times

O No ridesO Avoid touchingO No closed door, one-on-one help

sessionsO Use school e-mail for professional

purposes only, including communication with students and parents.

O Use home e-mail for everything else, including communicating about personnel matters, association business or political views

Thoughts onO You are now a public figure!O Only post what you would

want your grandmother or superintendent to read/see

O If you plan to set up a student group, create a new profile and keep it very businesslike (athletic teams and school clubs)

Hazards of Wi-FiO All communications from personal

devices that use the district wi-fi network technically pass through the district server…

O Use 3G or 4G to circumvent district server

O Right to privacy in personal communications for a public school teacher still not settled

O Like it or not, you are a role model!

At the first sign of a problem…O No “dumb” questionsO Come to the AEAO Get in touch with your Building

RepresentativeO The sooner the betterO Weingarten Rights: an employee’s right

to union representation at any meeting with the employer in which misconduct is being discussed or investigated. Weingarten was the name of the company in the US Supreme Court decision that defined these rights. But really, invite a Building Rep. “buddy” to any meeting for moral support.

New Educator Evaluation System

Key to Success:O Be Proactive!O Communicate!O Advocate!O Monitor!

Key FeaturesO All teachers will participate in establishing

their own goalsO All teachers will participate in collecting

evidence to support the successful completion of their goals

O More frequent observations with feedback

O Teachers are more actively involved than in the past

O Overall goal = increase capacity to meet student needs within a continuous improvement system

No Shame!!O Don’t be embarrassed about your

evaluation!O Catch and address errors along the wayO Do not wait until the springO Formative Assessment in February is an

important check in timeO Ask for specific feedback if a

concern is raised

SMART Feedback!

Success!Make sure you know what success will look like!

Political Action!Mary Cummings – LPAT Chair Legislative and Political Action Committee – Senate District

Val Sarazen – “PAL” Political Action Leader

Activate MTA members to help elect pro-education, pro- labor, MTA endorsed candidates in local races, at the state level (Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey) and at the national level (Barack Obama)

Power in Numbers - 110,000 active and retired MTA members!

Become an LPAT Member mcummings@massteacher.org

Anti-Union SentimentO WisconsinO OhioO IndianaO MaineO Florida

We need all the help we can get to retain our collective voice in Massachusetts!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_United_States_public_employee_protests

The Times Are Changing…

Decision Making Shift

FingerprintingRETELL

Taking Charge of Issues(or making the best of tough times)

O Health Insurance Reform: GIC + HRAO Pension Reform: MTA Co-Chaired CommitteeO New Mass. Educator Evaluator System

O Student Performance is not a % of your evaluation

O MTA providing extensive guidance in implementation

O RETELL - $500 stipend

What’s an HRA?Health Reimbursement AccountO All co-pays of $100 or more

reimbursed: Emergency Room, High-Tech Imaging, Inpatient/Outpatient Surgery

O Out of Pocket Cap: $1,250/$2,500O Forms on APS Website: Health/Dental

Benefits – Health Reimbursement Form

What’s RETELL?O State regulations adopted in June 2012

as a result of U.S. Dept. of Justice finding of civil rights violations

O Too many ELL students placed with teachers not trained to best meet student needs

O New training requirements for “core academic teachers”

MTA Resourceswww.massteacher.org

MTA – Advocating Toolkits Educator Evaluator ELL Regulations Revenue Toolkit Track Mass. Legislation Invest in Our Communities Legislative Scorecard Budget Spreadsheets

Don’t Be a Stranger!O Arlington Public Schools has a very

collegial working environmentO Talk to your Building RepresentativeO Our goal is to help you do your bestO If we all work together, we can do

great things!O Please participate and let us know

what you think and how we can help

AEA is here to help!

E-Mail PolicyO We will sign you up for our weekly

AEA updates unless you direct us not to

O Blind copyO Effective, efficient way to

communicate

Questions so far?

Why Support the AEA/MTA/NEA?

1) Seat at the TableO Locally – Contract, Health Insurance BargainingO Statewide – Educator Evaluator System, Pension

ReformO Nationally – ARRA Funding, National Education

Policies2) We Have Your Back!

O Due Process in Disciplinary or Termination HearingsO Legal Representation and Liability Protection

3) We Save You $$O MTA Discount Group Life, Home, Auto Insurance

and Mortgage Refinancing and Financial Services

Teacher Voice in Education Policy

Recent MTA Poll: “When it comes to improving public schools, whose opinion do you trust and value most?”O Teachers: 54%O Parents of School Age Children:

44%O Principals and Administrators: 31%O Business Leaders, such as Bill

Gates: 9%

AEA/MTA/NEAThe local, state and national teachers’ organizations

are your opportunity to influence policies and practices that shape your daily work life and the education field.

We hope you will join us in using that voice!

AEA-MTA-NEAO Arlington Education Association – Local LevelO Mass. Teachers Association – State LevelO National Teachers Association – National

Level

Full Time Teacher Part Time (50% or Less)

AEA $131 $66MTA $486 $243NEA $182 $91TOTAL $799 $400

Dues Payment Options1) Payroll Deduction (vast majority)

O Comes out 1st check of every month from November to June

O Tax Deductible (check December pay stub for calendar year amount)

2) Cash Payer (small minority)O Total amount must be paid in

full by Dec. 5

Condition of Employment

Article XXII Association Security“…any teacher who is not a

member of the Association in good standing or who does not make application for membership in the Association within 30 days following the ratification of this contract…shall as a condition of continued employment pay as an Agency Fee to the Association (MTA and NEA dues”

Agency FeeUnion membership is a condition of employment in the Arlington Public Schools: AEA/School Committee Contract Article XXII, Section A

Employees have the right to choose to pay an “agency fee” instead of full union dues. The agency fee for a full-time Unit A member is $379.

Agency Fee PayerNot entitled toO Representation in dismissal/suspension caseO Representation against child abuse caseO Assistance with criminal charges if assaulted at workO Representation against employment discriminationO Liability coverage for workplace-related lawsuitsO Ineligible for MTA discount life, auto, travel insurance,

mortgage refinancing, and financial services

Payroll ScheduleO As of July 1, 2012 all new employees are

automatically enrolled in the 21 week payment plan

O Manage your finances by having an amount automatically withheld through your bank to tide you over the summer months

Last, but not least…