NESPA Teaching Certification Scholarship Reminder

During the summer of 2006, our Bargaining Team obtained a $10,000 fund from the District to be used exclusively for NESPA members seeking their teacher’s certification. Each year since then, the Scholarship Committee has reviewed applications and selected three to five recipients per year to receive money from this fund.

The 2010-2011 application for this scholarship is on our blog. The eligibility and criteria are listed in the application. If you are interested in applying, please apply as early as possible. The date your application is received may be one of the determining factors in your approval. This year’s Teaching Certification Scholarship application deadline is 2:00 PM Friday, January 21, 2011.

Good luck to all who apply!

STUDY THIS: RESPECT!

NESPA MEMBERS TELL THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT:

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STUDY THIS: RESPECT!

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On Tuesday, Oct 5 at 7:15 AM, over twenty NESPA members walked in Room 201 in the Administrative Center. We carried signs reading, “STUDY THIS: RESPECT”. In smaller print, the sign said, “Change the outdated gender-biased compensation system. We are NOT second class employees!”

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It was October’s “Breakfast study Session” held by the School Board and Superintendent Francois most months. Whenever a majority of the School Board gathers (3 of the 5 members), State law requires that the meeting be publicized and open to the public. It must be a public meeting in order to ensure that District decisions are transparent to the public.

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We stood holding our signs for thirty minutes, as the Board met with Supt. Francois; Executive Director of Human Resources Laurie Ferwerda; Asst. Supt for Elementary Education Kathleen Poole; and Asst. Supt for Secondary Education Carolyn O’Keeffe. Four Board members were at the meeting: Julia Lacey, Janet Quinn, Dawn McCravey, and Sandy Hayes. Todd Banks was absent.

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Room 201 is not a big room. We could not be ignored. We left at 7:45 AM, to go to our schools for work.

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Barb Arvidson, a Special Ed Paraeducator at Fernwood said, “They didn't expect to see us in "their space". Although the Board members tried to avoid eye contact with us, there were too many of us to ignore! I hope that they got the message that we are not going to back down. It’s time for them to acknowledge our true worth and give us the respect we deserve."

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Thursday October 7 Negotiations

· THURSDAY THIS WEEK (Oct 7), NESPA and the ADMIN/SCHOOL BOARD TEAM MEET TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS.

ON THURSDAY, PLEASE WEAR BLUE, AND WEAR YOUR “TOGETHER, we are RESPECTED and VALUED” button.

Dear NESPA Member,

Please wear blue, and your button on Thursday, as NESPA’s Negotiations Team meets with the Admin/School Board team THIS THURSDAY.

Your Building Communicator has new buttons, in case you have lost your old one. They are pretty similar; wear either one. Please either:

· Put your button an your lanyard, to wear it every day.

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· Wear your button on designated “Button Days”, like this coming Thursday.

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FRIDAY (Oct 8) is a non-student day that is an “Accountable Day.” That means that it is a work day, unless you and your principal have agreed that you will work this time on other days. “Variations may be allowed in this schedule based on individual employee or building needs, as long as an equivalent amount of time is worked.” In other words, if it is a better use of your time to work on other days instead---and if your principal is in agreement—you may choose to work these hours on other days.

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STAY INFORMED! Check out the NESPA website: nespablog.blogspot.com. It’s updated regularly!