focus

on educators

focus on educators is an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org

California Teachers Association

Statement of Mission
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of
teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity
and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

DECEMBER 2014

professionalism. I wish I could say

we have settled a contract that
reflects what you are worth!
Unfortunately, even though the
association was clear - we were
willing to continue negotiating,
and we even sent bargaining dates
- the district and board decided
they could not reach an agreement
with us through traditional
negotiations, so they declared
impasse.

Volume XXIII, Number 4

Impasse means the district and

association will have to meet with
a state-appointed mediator in order
to resolve contract negotiations.
We did not believe we needed to
declare impasse, but we will
continue bargaining in good faith,
now through the mediator, in
hopes that we can reach an
agreement for our members as
soon as possible.

In this Issue
- Conferences/Scholarships
- Political Action Update
- Bargaining Update
- Know Your Contract
- CTA News Know your Rights & Wrongs

Dear Colleagues,
Thank you so much for all you do
for our students, our schools, and
our profession. It is such an honor
to represent educators who are so
dedicated and exhibit such

I am so proud of all the organizing

efforts you have engaged in to
help settle our contract. I know
that teachers want to focus on
teaching their students. Wouldnt
it be nice if you didnt have to

show up at school board meetings

to beg for competitive salary,
reasonable benefits, and good
working conditions? Maybe one
day that will be the case. For now,
take a break. In January we will be
refreshed and ready to continue
our hard work to get a fair
contract. If you havent been able
to join our actions, we need you
now! Enough is enough. Stop
wearing yourself thin by giving
so much to accommodate the
district. Stop being willing to
work for free and go above and
beyond while you are being
completely disrespected at the
bargaining table. You are worth
more! You should insist that you
be treated with respect and given a
fair contract.
I hope you have a wonderful
winter break with your family and
friends. I wish you the Happiest of
Holidays! See you in 2015!
In Unity,
Dawn Cova

PEA Leadership 2014-2015

Rep. Council Meeting Calendar

President

December 15

Dawn Cova

January 26

Rancho Medanos/PEA Office

Elementary Vice President

February 23

Tammy Carr

March 23

Highlands Elementary

April 20

Secondary Vice President

May 18

Shelly Bascomb

June 1

BTSA
Secretary

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Chris Coan

School Board Meeting Calendar

Willow Cove Elementary

December 10

Treasurer

January 14 & 28

Gale Higgins

February 11 & 25

Willow Cove Elementary

Committee Chairs:

March 11 & 25

Grievance Committee

April 22

John Kleinjans Pittsburg High

May 6 & 20

Chris Coan Willow Cove Elementary

June 3 & 24

Negotiations Team

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Mark Maselli - Chair

Are You Getting Your PEA Information?

Political Action Committee

Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the monthly Rep

Jim Vaughan - Chair

meeting

Elections Chair

and

then

report

back

to

you

is

vital

in

the

communication chain of our Association.

Ruth Foster
Human Rights & Womens Issues Chairs

Roll call at last November 17th Rep Council Meeting:

Yvonne Burton
Michell Redfoot

Adult Ed. absent

Stoneman present

O-Team Chairs

Foothill present

Willow Cove present

Shelly Bascomb

Heights absent

MLK Jr. present

Highlands present

Hillview - present

Los Medanos present

Rancho Medanos present

Marina Vista present

PHS - present

Parkside present

Black Diamond present

Bertha Ramos
CTA State Council Representatives
Mark Maselli PEA
CTA Director District C
Terri Jackson

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NEA Director for California, District 3

Greg Bonaccorsi
Technical Editor
Susan Harrison PEA Site Secretary

Focus on Educators
is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4th Street
Pittsburg, CA 94565

Kids dont remember what you try to teach

Phone: (925) 432-0199

them. They remember who you are.

fax: (925) 432-4854

-Jim Henson

email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org

Cesar E. Chavez
Memorial Education Awards Program
CTA is holding the 14th annual art and essay
competition in honor of Cesar E. Chavez.
Winners will receive recognition and up to
$550.00. Individual Projects can be either
Written Essays or Visual Arts. All applications
and projects must be postmarked by
January 9, 2015. For more information and
applications, please go to:
www.cta.org/scholarships

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Scholarship Fund Drive. This
memorial fund is designed to assist ethnic
minority CTA members and their dependent
children pursue degrees or credentials for
teaching-related careers in public education. Applications
must be submitted online or postmarked by February 20,
2015. More information about contributions and applications
can be found at: www.cta.org/ /Scholarships
***********************************

CTA Training Programs and Workshops

CTAs Human Rights Department Staff is available to provide
customized training and to assist in designing programs that
meet the needs of locals, members and students. If you are
interested, let your site rep know and we can plan a training!
Some training topics include:

Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gap

CARE (Culture, Ability, Resilience, Effort)

Cultural Competency

Unconscious Bias

Power and Privilege

Bullying

Dependent Children
Del A. Weber for Dependent Children Attending
Continuation High School/Alternative Education
Members
L. Gordon Bittle Memorial Scholarship for Student
CTA

Activism

Generational Issues

Human Rights & Womens Issues

Leadership Skills

Emerging Leaders

All applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on

February 6, 2015. For more information on the individual
categories, please go to: www.cta.org./scholarships

Dealing with Conflict

Announcing

2015 CTA Scholarships

CTA is accepting applications for the following categories:

Social Justice Issues: Black & Latino

Political Action Update

Males - A workshop for educators

Labor Council Solidarity with Walmart Workers

Sponsored by the Pittsburg and Antioch Education Associations

and
the California Teachers Association

Participants: Any Certificated PEA/CTA/NEA Member

Location: Martin Luther King, Jr. JHS, Library
Date:

Thursday, January 29, 2015, 4:00 6:30 p.m.

Cost: FREE (Must be a member of PEA/CTA/NEA)

Food: A light meal and refreshments will be provided
Description:

Tammy Carr and I participated in the protest at the Milpitas

WalMart on Black Friday, along with members from the
Central Labor Council and unions all over the Bay Area. It
was inspirational and an important show of solidarity with
WalMart workers striking at that store. We must stand up to
the corporate greed that has impoverished our students
families and tried to deny them a quality public education by
funding school privatization efforts. We need many, many
more of our members to stand up to these corporations in
order to adequately educate our students. Ive proposed a
PEA boycott at Walmart. The issue will be taken up with our
Representative Council.

This will be an engaging session where

participants discuss important issues regarding African

American and Latino males. We will discuss a variety of
ways to reach diverse students and support them in the
classroom. Participants will examine and discuss:
current issues, such as the school-to-prison

pipeline
restorative practices for educators
ensuring success for all students
your questions and concerns

Respectfully submitted,
Jim Vaughan, Political Action Committee Chair

Return your registration form by Wednesday, January 21

*****************************************

****************************************

Boycott Staples!

Wanted:

Recently, Staples has been offering special incentives to

entice educators to shop at their stores. But postal workers
say:

Passionate Teacher Activists!

The CTA Region I Organizing Academy will

Dont buy school supplies at Staples!

Staples and the U.S. Postal Service have cut a deal that
jeopardizes thousands of living-wage jobs as well as your
mail service. A no-bid deal between Staples and the Postal
Service set up postal counters inside 82 of the office-supply
stores in four test markets staffed with untrained, low-wage
Staples employees. Staples and the USPS plan to expand
the program to Staples 1,500 locations nationwide.

be held February 20-22, 2015. If you are

interested in getting more involved in YOUR
association or leading YOUR profession,
consider attending with a group from PEA.
Email dawn@peateachers.org for more info.
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Bargaining Update

The Staples deal is bad for workers and consumers.

The sweetheart deal is replacing highly-trained, uniformed
postal workers who have taken an oath to safeguard the
privacy and security of your mail and who earn a living wage
with Staples retail employees, who earn about $8.55 an
hour. Already there have been cutbacks in service hours at
dozens of Post Offices around San Francisco, one of the test
areas for the program.

The district has declared impasse. Here are the current

differences:
1) Class Size Reduction - The state is giving the school
district money for class size reduction in grades K-3.
We are asking the district to commit to using the
money from the state to lower class sizes. If we dont
have language in our contract that ensures the
regulation will be followed this way, then the district is
free to take the money and spend it elsewhere. The
district has not agreed to language to ensure CSR
money is used to lower class sizes.
2) Limits on Extended Staff Meetings Teachers
spend countless hours of their own time on workrelated activities, by choice. We want reasonable limits
so principals must conduct the business of staff
meetings within sensible parameters. We should not
be expected to stay for unpaid work-meetings with NO
LIMIT. The district has said theyll give a draft agenda,
but will not put any time-limits on meetings.
3) One-year Term The law allows us to negotiate on
facts. We want to settle this year based on this years
facts. The state only gives budget figures for one year
at a time. Anything other than the figures for this year
is a projection. A guessand usually its wrong.
Teachers should not be forced to make an agreement
for multiple years when we dont have all the
information. We have been harmed by doing so
before, so why would we do it again? The district has
proposed a multi-year term and has said they can
afford to pay more in future years, but they choose not
to.

Teachers and school workers understand.

Educators know all too well what privatization means to the
public and to public employees:
Less service, higher costs, lower wages, and the elimination
of good, stable jobs. Its true for those who work in the
classroom and its true for postal workers. If it is allowed to
continue, the Staples deal will replace public post offices with
private, for-profit companies whose decisions will be
motivated solely by the bottom line. And it will replace good,
stable jobs our communities need with low-pay, highturnover, part-time positions that hurt our economy. That
would be bad news for workers, consumers and the
American people.
So when you shop for supplies for your classroom or your
home dont shop at Staples. Most other office- and schoolsupply chains honor Staples coupons.

*****************************************

Thank you to everyone who made

our

4th Annual Sock/Winter Drive

successful!

All items will be donated to Shelter, Inc., a Contra Costa

PEA Members Present Holiday Greetings and

Requests to Settle Our Contract to the
School Board Members on Dec. 10

non-profit organization supporting homeless youth and

families. Thank you for your generosity!

Know your Contract!

NEWS

ARTICLE 11 SAFETY CONDITIONS

Know your Rights and Wrongs!

Article 11.1 Safe Working Conditions

Maintain Boundaries with students: at all times,

you are the adult, not a friend.

11.1.1 Bargaining unit members shall not be required

to work in unsafe conditions or to perform tasks
that endanger their health, safety, or well-being.
The District shall comply with all safety
requirements imposed by proper authority in
assuming the responsibility for the safety of
employees while they are in District facilities
provided in furtherance of the operation of the
District.

11.1.2 Bargaining unit members who believe they are

being required to work under unsafe conditions
or to perform tasks, which endanger their health
or safety, shall report such conditions to their
immediate supervisor. The District will
investigate and determine if the situation is safe
or unsafe and take corrective action, if
necessary.

11.1.6 The District shall provide each classroom with

first aid kits with basic first aid supplies.
Additionally, the District shall insure that
disaster preparedness materials such as
blankets, bullhorn, radios, water, rope, food
packages and the like are available at the
school site.

11.1.7 The Districts intent is that each classroom shall

be provided telecommunications equipment to
be available for bargaining unit members when
safety issues arise.

Text and/or email sparingly, if at all. Do not initiate or

reply to emails or texts after a reasonable hour at night
(i.e. 8:00 p.m. or so), and make sure the subject matter
relates only to school.
Do not interact with students on their level about topics
such as sex, drugs, or parties.
Avoid physical contact with students, including their
outer clothing. Do not grab cell phones, notebooks,
backpacks, etc., even if a student refuses to hand over
the item when directed to do so. Never kiss a student,
even innocently on the top of the head. With young
children, try to develop ways other than hugging to show
you care about them. With older students, even a pat on
the shoulder or back given as a sign of encouragement
can be misconstrued as being sexual or aggressive. Do
not slap a hand, however gently or in jest. A High Five
probably is okay.
Give no appearance of intimacy or favoritism. Driving
kids home or taking them out for a meal can be
misinterpreted. Do not get into the students personal
space when reviewing work, assisting with a lab
assignment, demonstrating PE skills, etc. Try not to be
alone with a student. If you have to give a make-up test
to one student, tell the teacher next door and keep
classroom and office doors open.
Maintain appropriate boundaries with colleagues,
administrators, and other adults at school to avoid even
the appearance of unwanted sexual advances or a
hostile work environment. If you feel you are the victim
of sexual harassment, contact the Union and report it to
the District.

CTAs Top Tips for Teachers

both new and veteran to observe your instruction and

give feedback.
9. Strive for personal balance in your life. Set a time when
you will arrive to school and depart from school and stick
to that. Cherish personal time with family and friends
and dont compromise your personal life.
*****************************************

TIPS FOR VETERAN TEACHERS

1. Seek out fresh ideas for delivering instead of getting
stuck in old routines.
2. Embrace and encourage a collaborative environment
with your colleagues. Open your door to other teachers
and ask for feedback if they have observed you. Seek
out other teachers to visit and observe.
3. Be reflective about your teaching. Analyze your
strengths and weaknesses, and make changes if
necessary. Teachers need to always be refining their
craft.
4. Dont be afraid of technology. If you are not comfortable
with technology, seek training. Use technology in your
classroom so students can learn 21st century skills and
you can maximize their engagement.
5. Embrace change, and ask for help if you need it.
6. Dont allow yourself to lose your zest for teaching. Take
a moment every day to remind yourself of why you
chose to become a teacher.

Congratulations, Highlands Teachers!

TIPS FOR NEW TEACHERS

1. When it comes to lesson-planning: Plan, plan, and overplan. If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail.
2. Dont be afraid to ask your colleagues for help.
3. If something isnt working, stop, take a deep breath, and
try something different.
4. Take time to build a positive relationship with students
and their families. Show them you care.
5. Be student-centered; make your decisions based on
whats best for the students.
6. Go slow to go fast. Take some time in the beginning of
the year to establish procedures and routines in the
classroom. Drill students on these routines again and
again. It takes more time in the short run, but in the long
run you will maximize instructional minutes and prevent
problems.
7. Exhaust your resources. If theres a reading coach,
mentor teacher or person helping with technology
support, take advantage of the help they can offer.
Parent volunteers can be a resource, too. Sign up for
any free workshops or professional development your
district or local CTA chapter has to offer.
8. Go on field trips to visit other classrooms to observe
what other teachers are doing. Invite other teachers

Highlands PEA members won a lunch from PEA for sending

the most messages to the school board members during the
Organizing Teams email blitz. Keep up the great work!
You make our Association stronger!

Calendar
DECEMBER 2014
1
4
10
15
16
21
24
25
26

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PEA Holiday Happy Hour Hall of Fame Sports Bar 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Hanukkah begins at Sundown
Winter begins
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Kwanzaa begins

JANUARY 2015
1
12
14
19
26
28

New Years Day

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No school)
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
Next Deadline for Articles is Friday, January 16, 2015
STAY INFORMED @

peateachers.org
cta.org & nea.org
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