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 2016

Volume XXV, Number 4

Dear PEA Members,

Looks like December is here. With
the ushering in of our new month
comes more weather changes and an
explosion of illness. You may have
gotten a flu shot, but it didnt do
much for you. My mom got a flu
shot and at 79 years of age, she is
battling a horrible cold/flu. This is a
time of sickness and joy of the
season.
Hopefully you found some joy in
your Thanksgiving break. I could
see it in the eyes of those I came
into contact with, it was time to take
a break away from the daily grind. I
ended up in Washington State
visiting my family. I havent been
home in years for this holiday, but it

did feel necessary this year. Ive

spent many Thanksgivings on my
own and away from my family.
After having both my mom and one
of
my
sisters
visit
last
Thanksgiving break, I knew exactly
where I wanted to be - Lacey,
Washington. So, I packed up the
dog and myself and we flew to a
very rainy and cold place. It still
felt warm because it was home. We
all need that safe and comfortable
feeling.
There is where you
reenergize.
Safe and comfortable is where I
hope we stay. There are impending
changes that have some of us
worried.
The old saying by
Epictetus, Its not what happens to
you, but how you react to it that
matters seems fitting.
Well
continue this great work in public
education and be a source of safety
and comfort to our students. We
will do what needs to be done to
improve our piece of the world as
much
as
we
can.
Our
responsibilities as educators do not
change.
We are moving to the end of 2016.
Reflection seems to be the name of
the game when a new year is headed
our way.
A short article in the
California Educator October 2016

entitled Trending got me thinking.

It spoke of the recent trend on social
media to create a photo collage of
three fictional characters you most
identify with.
These characters
could be from movies, television
shows, or books. I sat for the
longest time thinking about this and
how it could work really well in a
classroom. Its almost the ultimate
get to know you activity. You could
kick off writing, collaborative
conversations, debate and speech
opportunities, and so much more.
Maybe you have your students do
this now, then at the end of the
school year to accomplish a
compare and contrast project. There
are a million possibilities to use this
as a critical thinking exercise. The
whole point is reflection. So, who
are my three characters? My first
choice is Jane Eyre, the titled
character of the book Jane Eyre by
Charlotte Bronte. Kenya McQueen
from the movie Something New is
my second pick. Lastly, Dorothy
Gale from the movie and book The
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
What three characters do you most
identify with? Time to reflect!
Have a wonderful winter break,
Tammy Carr
PEA President

PEA Leadership 2016-2017

Rep. Council Meeting Calendar (Tuesdays)

President

December 20

Tammy Carr

January 17

PEA Office

February 21

Elementary Vice President

March 21

Michell Redfoot

April 25

Willow Cove
Secondary Vice President

May 16

Irwin Manangkil

School Board Meeting Calendar

Black Diamond

December 14

Secretary

January 11& 25

Nicole Glassel

February 8 & 22

Los Medanos

March 8 & 22

Treasurer

April 12 & 26

Bruce Giron
Black Diamond

May 10 & 24

________________________________________________

June 14 & 28

Committee Chairs:

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

Grievance Committee

Are You Getting Your PEA Information?

John Kleinjans Pittsburg High

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

Chris Coan Willow Cove

meeting

Negotiations Team

and

then

report

back

to

you

is

vital

in

communication chain of our Association.

Mark Maselli Chair - Hillview

Political Action Committee Chairs

Roll call at last November 15th Rep Council Meeting:

Chris Coan Willow Cove

Adult Ed. present

MLK Jr. present

Black Diamond absent

North Campus absent

Ruth Foster - Foothill

Foothill present

Parkside present

Human Rights & Womens Issues Chairs

Heights present

PHS - present

Highlands present

Rancho Medanos absent

Hillview - present

Stoneman absent

Los Medanos present

Willow Cove present

Jim Vaughan Black Diamond

Elections Chair

Yvonne Burton - Foothill

O-Team Chair
Laura Silva - Parkside
CTA State Council Representatives

Marina Vista present

Mark Maselli Hillview

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

Arthur Pruyn (Alt.) Pittsburg High

Membership Chairs
Lisa Gunderson Los Medanos
Technical Editor
Susan Harrison PEA Office Administrator

Focus on Educators
is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4th Street
Pittsburg, CA 94565
Phone: (925) 432-0199
email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org

the

PEA Member
Spotlight
This new column will be a place to hear from our
members who have answered the question of the month.
The question for December is:

What is the kindest thing a student did for you?

I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, during my
pregnancy, I know crazy right?! Well, students made posters
for me, cards, and they did a pink out day for me. I've never
felt so supported and loved even though I couldn't be with
them. They made my Rancho Family feel like a real family.
So, it wasn't one specific thing it was a lot of things they did
that were so special.
Emily Reynolds, Rancho Medanos JHS, Physical Education
They invited me to their birthday and first communion!!
Ms. Ameral, Marina Vista Elementary, Kindergarten

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Scholarship Fund Drive. This

My name is Cordelia Yates and I teach Special Education

(SDC) classroom in Pittsburg High School. I recently lost my
father on the 10th of October this year. I went to work even
when I was overwhelmed by my loss. One of my students
came to my work station and handed me a letter. In the
letter he stated, "Mrs. Yates, I love my mum very much and
cant even think about going through life without her. I totally
understand how you feel and sympathize with you. I just
want you to know that I care and I am praying for you. He
went on to say, "sorry I don't have a sympathy card or
flowers to give you but I hope this letter makes you feel
better. He also said, "Please, share my letter with your
husband". I was touched by this gesture. One of the hardest
burdens to bear in life is the loss of a loved one. The support
of people who care about us and how we feel goes a long
way to helping the healing process. I want to also use this
opportunity to say, "Thank you (to that student) for your
thoughtfulness and kind gesture".

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 17, 2017. More information about contributions
and applications can be found at: www.cta.org/
/Scholarships

Announcing

2017 CTA Scholarships

CTA is accepting applications for the following categories:

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

Cordelia Yates, PHS, Special Education

Last year, my ELD 2 class threw me a surprise birthday
party. They brought in a cake and a card signed by the
current class as well as students from my former ELD
classes. I will treasure that day forever!

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

February 3, 2017. For more information on the individual
categories, please go to: www.cta.org./scholarships

Jill Walker, PHS and BDHS, ELA/ELD Instructional Coach

We All Have Rights!

after the child has been referred for an evaluation.

Under IDEA and its state counterparts, the LEA is
required to fully evaluate any child who may need
special education services "in all areas related to
the suspected disability, including, if appropriate,
health, vision, hearing, social and emotional
status, general intelligence, academic
performance, communicative status, and motor
abilities." (34 CFR Sec. 300.304)

By, Michell Redfoot

Education Specialist Teacher, PEA Elementary V.P.
We held our first ever Special Education Information &
Issues meeting on the first of December, "We All Have
Rights." It was a great mix of members working in
special education and members from general
education. The goal going forward is to hold monthly
meetings on the second Thursday of each month,
composed of a short informational presentation and
followed by a site concern/issues round-table. Some of
the items discussed at our December meeting were
SSTs, general education teachers roles in IEPs, class
sizes for special ed., para support for mainstreamed
students, IEP scheduling outside contract hours, just to
note a few. It was a very exciting and informative
meeting to address our members needs.

I hope that you have found this information helpful and

I hope to see you at our next Special Education
Information & Issues meeting scheduled for January
12th, 2017 at 3:45 p.m. where we will be discussing
behavioral strategies for student success!
************************************************

Local Control and Continuous

Improvement Workshop
By, Tammy Carr
PEA President

Of special note was "General Education Teacher's

Roles in Determining Services for Students."
Several of our general education members had
questions about their rights in regards to their students
being evaluated for special education.

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence

(CCEE), a public agency, was tasked with rolling out
workshops for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Evaluation Rubrics. There were a variety of dates to choose
from to attend. I attended the Friday, November 4th session.
The purpose of the workshop was to assist in understanding
and using the LCFF Evaluation Rubrics. The workshops
were open to all stakeholders and audiences. The LCFF
stakeholders include all in education (ex. teachers, classified
staff, board members, superintendents, principals etc.),
parents and guardians, students, and community members.

1. For those with questions about their right to read a

student's psychological reports: According to
FERPA regulations "Teachers and school officials
who work with the students and schools to which
students apply for entrance may also have access
to education records without prior consent of the
parent." I was unable to find any ed. code that
would restrict a student's teacher from access to a
student's psychological educational evaluation.

It began with receiving a very bulky scroll bound book. The

book contained all the PowerPoint slides and other relevant
material to the rubrics. There were tables and screens set
up all around the room on both the front and back sides of
the large sized room. It looked to accommodate at least 200
people.

2. For members with questions about their right to

state their professional recommendations at
IEP/SST meetings: The general education teacher
of a student is by law a full member of that
student's IEP team. Also, no one person or
assessment can determine a student's eligibility
for, or services to be included in, an IEP. The law
(20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(b)(c)) states assessments to
determine eligibility and services must be
completed by a team of qualified professionals
and the parent of the child. Section
1414(b)(2)(B) says the school may Not use any
single measure or assessment (such as RTI) as
the sole criterion The Federal Regulations
300.310(b)(as well as 20 U.S.C. 1414(c)(1)(A)(ii))
also say that a child suspected of having a specific
learning disability must be observed in the regular
classroom, including observations by teachers,

A video was shown first as an opening to the workshop.

People gave testimonials connected to the LCFF and how it
affected their school. Then a review was given on LCFF.
Next the audience experienced a comparison of how things
were done in the past versus what LCFF changed. This was
followed up with going over the purpose of the CCEE.
The evaluation rubrics were explored and how data analysis
was involved in this tool. The use of a reference chart was
connected to how the data was configured. The evaluation
rubrics formulated into components of data layouts. These
data layouts have performance indicators, performance
categories, and student groups.

CTA Leadership Conference North

The 7 state performance indicators were chronic

absenteeism, suspension rate, English learner, graduation
rate, college and career readiness, English Language Arts
Assessment, and Math Assessment. The chronic
absenteeism and college and career readiness indicators
were not yet ready to be used. The presenters spoke of
ongoing discussions on determination of that data and how it
would be captured.

By, Michell Redfoot

PEA Elementary V.P.
I had the privilege of attending this years CTA Leadership
Conference North. Attending the conference is always
energizing and usually reaffirms the reasons I became a
teacher. One session stood out this year for me. I signed up
for a Social Justice Unionism session wanting to further
enrich my knowledge of Restorative Justice Methods and
Philosophy. I saw Justice in the title and made some
assumptions. I was surprised to learn instead the rich history
of unions actions in Social Justice Movements in our
country. I had not realized how much of our history was
entrenched in organizing around different social justice
issues, nor had I recently read our CTA Mission Statement or
thought about what it means for myself, my students and
fellow members.

The 4 local performance indicators were basics (teachers,

instruction materials, and facilities), implementation of
academic standards, parent engagement, and local climate
survey. The reason behind these indicators directly relates
to a state law requiring that the LCFF Evaluation Rubrics
include standards for all the LCFF priorities. The Local
Education Agency (LEA) collects and reports the data for
each performance indicator at the local level.
As for the state performance categories there were 5 in
colors - blue, green, yellow, orange, and red (highest to
lowest). This seemed similar to the assessment scores of
district or state assessments. There were circles with
wedges in them to indicate the color, so if you printed the
data layout in black and white you could still tell the
performance category. For example, blue would have a
circle with five wedges populated and green would have a
circle with four wedges populated. Of course, there were
other symbols used. The * symbol would be used if the
student group consists between 11 and 29 students. The --symbol would be used if the student group consists of less
than 11 students. The abbreviation N/A would be used when
data is not available. The local performance ratings were
different. The ratings were met, not met, and not met for two
or more years.

The CTA mission statement currently reads The California

Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the wellbeing 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. I was also surprised to learn that in addition to our
unions mission statement are goals to further define that
mission statement. Three in particular help clarify our unions
actions toward social justice: IX. CTA works to encourage
ethnic minority member participation. X. CTA works to
promote human and civil rights. XI. CTA maintains staff,
hired in conformance with affirmative action principles,
to serve its members.

On the data layout there would be a column for status and

change. This allows the stakeholder to look at most recent
data (status) and the difference between prior years or
average of multiple prior years (change). Status and change
will determine a performance category with the use of the
reference chart.

Our students education and future, and our working

conditions are directly impacted by the quality of human and
civil rights protected by our country and state. In light of
recent Social Justice Issues in this country these goals and
our mission statement stand out as a reminder that we, as
union members, have the ability and the support of our union
to do as our predecessors did. We can organize; we can
stand up for our students and our own human and civil
rights. The CTA Leadership Conference North reminded me
what kind of union I want to be a part of. And as one
aboriginal activist sister stated, If you have come to help
me you are wasting your time. But if you have come
because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let
us work together.

Like anything related to data, there was a portion of the

workshop dedicated to analysis of the data, which in this
case was sample data.
The presenters informed us of a few things of interest. The
rubrics will come out early 2017. Revisions were made in
November that were adopted. The revisions will impact
LCAPs adopted in June 2017. There are external resources
in development as well as statements of model practice. We
will be able to see what other LEAs have done and their
successes. That would be handy!

Calendar
December 2016
14
14
20
21
23-6
24
24
25
26
31

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Winter begins
Winter Recess
Hanukkah begins at Sundown
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Kwanzaa begins
New Years Eve

January 2017
1
10
11
16
17
20-22
25

New Years Day

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day No school
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Issues Conference, Rio All-Suite Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 6:30 PM

Next Deadline for Articles is Monday, January 9, 2017

STAY INFORMED @ peateachers.org

cta.org & nea.org
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