City Council commemorates Education Support Professionals Day

Read about Woodinville City Council commemorating National Education Support Professionals Day with some of our NESPA Board.

http://www.nwnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5399:city-council-commemorates-education-support-professionals-day&catid=34:news&Itemid=72

Monday, November 28, 2011

Day of Action Rally in Olympia

Over 500 teachers and educators from across the state rallied on the steps of the Capitol as legislators started their short legislative session on Monday, November 28th. NSEA President, Tim Brittell was joined by Justine Hurley (Lockwood), Sheri Setzer (Canyon Park JH) and Julia Smith (Canyon Park JH). The three teachers used their personal leave to attend the rally and to remind lawmakers that CUTS HURT KIDS.

2011-2012 WELCOME BACK

Dear members,

Count down has started for some of us getting back into our buildings already. I hope the opening of school will go smoothly for you all.

This is a big thank you to all those that helped out at the "BACK PACK Assembly line" last week at the Admin building. NESPA did it's first "SHINING Classified" Community service adventure, helping our back to school youth be prepared. We assembled 750 backpacks. It was a lot of fun and it went very quickly. The first two shifts went very fast and we were done by 12:30pm. So for those of you that came for the 1:00pm shift, sorry about that. We surprised ourselves with getting done so fast. Thank you though for wanting to help. We really appreciate it.

Stay tune though. There will be more opportunities this year for Community Service and for you to "Toot your BLUE"! Hope you all received your August NESPA Newsletter and found it helpful.

Also members the District is working on getting you the literacy training you need to help your teachers and students. We will keep you posted on that list of options and dates as well as retirement seminars coming up this year for you to register for if interested.

Great things are happening in NESPA!

Have a happy summer's end.

Working for you.

Pat & Peggy NESPA Co Pres.

Toot Your Blue!

NESPA members Nurse Peggy, Mary Rawlins, Margaret Tallar and Marda Regney help prepare 750 backpacks for Northshore students.

Election Results 2011

NESPA Election Ballots have been counted.
Please welcome and support following NESPA Board members
for 2011-2012 school year.

Co-Presidents              Peggy Sturm-VanderPol
                          and Patricia Waldrop
Vice President             Joann McDaniel
Treasurer                  Suzanne Ducotey
Secretary                  Karen Kohler
Nurse Rep                  Rosemary Dunlop
Spec Ed Rep (HS)           Judy Ellis
LAP Rep     (Sec)          Joanne Allen
LAP Rep     (Elem)         Mary Rawlins
ELL Rep     (Sec)          Suzanne Fujinari
Sch Asst Rep               Becky Morehouse
Sch Tech Sp Rep            Karen Kohler
Interpreter Rep            Jeani Schwenk
Truancy Rep                Marge Mitchell
Webmaster                  Nancy Celms

Election Results from

Bharati Khandekar
NESPA V P
Election Chair

  

NESPA ELECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR

NESPA Board is inviting new energetic and committed members to serve in various positions for 2011-2012 school year.

The NESPA Board includes members from all essential support professional areas such as LAP, ESL Special Ed Registered Nurses School Assistants etc. We need a representative from all areas in all levels of the school system, Elementary, JH and HS.

Executive Committee consists of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

It is a great opportunity to learn, develop leadership skills and participate in efforts to improve our schools and profession and make a difference in people's lives including our students!

You may nominate yourself or some other member with member's permission.
To nominate please reply to Bharati Khandekar @ khandekars@hotmail.com by April 29th.
You're encouraged to write why you would like to be considered to join the Board for next year.

Bharati (Barti) Khandekar
NESPA V P
Chair, NESPA Elections Committee

Educational Support Professional Scholarship Opportunity

2011-2012 WARREN G MAGNUSON

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is designed to assist WEA ESP employees (active Members) in their pursuit of certification in the teaching profession. Three scholarship grants of $1,000 each are available. One of the three grants is designed for a minority member.

Application must be postmarked no later than May 25, 2011.

If interested, contact Peggy Sturm NESPA Co President at 425-408-5006 or email psturm@nsd.org to receive the application.

April PSP Workshop

This will be the last meeting of the year.


Wednesday, April 20, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
WEA-Cascade Uniserv Council Office
Conference Room
18704 Bothell Way NE Suite 101

Karin Shipman and Heather Flatman
will explain how to get started on your PSP.
Janice Schumann and Emily Marley
will also be there to help answer any questions,
and sign people off on their applications.

Latest information on PSP

http://www.naeop.org/psp.htm

Calendar Survey 2011-12

If you have calendar preferences, please take the survey linked here no later than THIS COMING MONDAY, APRIL 4 AT NOON.

Link for NESPA Calendar Survey: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C5CH462Y5/

Tired of Teacher/Educator Bashing?

FOR NESPA, NSEA AND NEOPA MEMBERS:

WEAR RED ON TUESDAY AND
JOIN THE DISCUSSION!

Educators—certificated and non-certificated---and all public service employees are under attack. So are our schools and our unions. What’s behind it all? What can we do to turn around an increasingly perilous situation—nationally, in Washington, and even in Northshore?

Could this be your school in the near future? Imagine a scripted Gates curriculum consisting only of English, math, and science. No pretense that teachers or NESPA staff are professionals. We are human robots who compete for our pay and to keep our jobs. A climate of fear created by a punitive principal who monitors every minute, assisted by selected parents. Our Associations exists in name only. Only those who can’t find better work stay more than a few years. Most of our pay goes to cover our medical costs, and our hours can be cut at any time. This is not that far-fetched.

We now face a confluence of various efforts to 1) weaken and destroy unions; 2) privatize our schools; and 3) remake our schools in the image of how some corporate leaders believe all organizations should be “reformed”. These three efforts are sometimes distinct, and sometimes allied. Public education, educators, and their unions are their common targets.

The current Great Recession is a perfect opportunity for scapegoating, particularly by those who created and benefit from the policies that caused this Recession. These policies include deregulation, trade and economic policies that hollowed out our economy, the obliteration of private sector unions, and other policies that have transferred wealth to the top as never before. Blaming educators, public employees, unions, and even immigrants for the current state of affairs is a time-tested way to keep the public from demanding policies and electing leaders that could jeopardize the continued flow of wealth upwards.

We are in the midst of a national effort to remake our society to benefit those at the top by sacrificing the middle class and the American Dream. As educators and as a union we need to stand together to defend the middle class and the American Dream—and not just for us, but for our children, the students we serve, and for others who work for a living.

ARE OUR SCHOOLS FAILING?

If the public can be convinced that public education is generally a failure, then education, a $500 billion economic sector that is also the most unionized in the nation, can be remade, privatized, and de-unionized.

Some schools are failing. However, they work pretty well in communities with little poverty. Two of the three major international tests (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and the Trends in International Math and Science Study) break down student scores according to the poverty rate in each school. The most recent results from 2006 (the tests are given every 5 years) showed the following: students in U.S. schools where the poverty rate was less than 10% ranked 1^st in reading and science, and 3rd in math. When the poverty rate was 10% to 25%, U.S. students still ranked 1^st in reading and science, but as the poverty rate rose higher, students ranked lower and lower.

Twenty percent of all U.S. schools have poverty rates over 75%. The average ranking of American students reflects this. The crisis in education is in the schools where poverty is concentrated. It is first a crisis of poverty. However, blaming these under-resourced “failing schools” (which they are) is simpler and far less expensive than implementing policies that reduce poverty instead of increasing it. These policies would generally reduce the flow of wealth upwards. Using the real crisis of poverty-filled schools to persuade the public that our entire public education system is failing serves those who wish to undermine it.

Though public education is not failing, we are committed to improving our schools for every student. This effort must be led by educators to be successful. We must be willing to examine new ideas, whatever their source.

Shrinking or eliminating our education unions is part of a larger assault on unions. This assault has largely been successful in the private sector, where unionized employees are now only 7% of the workforce. The public sector remains at about 36%, and education unions are much of that. Our NEA is the nation’s largest union. We defend public education and services, and help elect those who defend them. We are the primary obstacle to the privatizers and corporate “reformers”, and we are one of the key obstacles to complete corporate domination of our nation. Thus, we are in the bull’s eye.

WHAT ABOUT “BAD TEACHERS”?

The attack on “bad teachers” is an attack on all educators—not just certificated staff. Yes, there are some bad teachers. However, the “bad teacher” is to education what Ronald Reagan’s “welfare queen” was to welfare, a cynical reframing of public opinion that eliminated much of our social safety net. The rant about “bad teachers” is an attempt to discredit public schools and the “bad unions” that “defend them.” If the public can be convinced that our schools are filled with “bad teachers,” then getting rid of them and their “bad unions” becomes the highest priority in “reforming” education.

Here in Washington, we are facing attacks like the “End Teacher Job Security Bill”—aka the “Teacher Layoff Bill”—organized by the League of Education Voters (LEV) and Stand for Children. These corporate foundation-backed organizations popularize the mantra that “bad teachers” and the union that “defends them” are the problems. Northshore’s School Board President Dawn McCravey testified in Olympia in support of this bill, at the request of LEV. If this bill had passed (it did not, but could be resurrected), no school employees would have any job security in the future.

LEV recently organized a small group of Woodinville parents (“Northshore Families for Better Schools”) who wish to intervene in the teacher negotiations. (School Board member Todd Banks was at the first meeting led by the LEV organizer. Dawn McCravey was invited, but could not attend.) At their second meeting, they barred Tim Brittell, Kraig Peck, and two Northshore teachers, Cathy Garrand and Anne Davidson, (all residents and Northshore parents) at the driveway stating, “No teachers or union people allowed.” While there are undoubtedly sincere parents involved who would like to improve our schools, they have unfortunately adopted the LEV approach to organizing: driving a wedge between parents and educators. We don’t want such a wedge in Northshore, as happened in Seattle, Bellevue, and Issaquah. We want parents and educators working together for our schools and students.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE PUBLIC SUPPORTS US.

The Northshore community loves our schools, and supports Northshore educators, as do local communities nationally according to polling. Wisconsin has clarified the thinking of many people. For example, the public supports collective bargaining for public employees by a 2 to 1 margin. But we are facing a national attack with many strands. Even Obama supports one strand of this attack; he stands with the “corporate reformers” and their foundations. It will get worse if we do nothing, but we have the power to turn the tide—TOGETHER!

HOW CAN WE TURN THE TIDE, BETTER SERVE OUR STUDENTS, AND CONTINUE THE STRONG SUPPORT
OF OUR COMMUNITY?

¨ PLEASE WEAR RED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 22^ND , TO SHOW YOUR OPPOSITION TO TEACHER/EDUCATOR BASHING AND ATTACKS ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES & UNIONS. The “Wear Red” Tuesdays are part of a national effort to turn the tide. Wearing red focuses attention and fosters a dialog amongst us. Dialog leads to action. Join the certificated teachers at meetings at school during the week of March 21^st to discuss Teacher/Educator-Bashing—why it’s happening and what we can do about it. Or organize a NESPA discussion after work. Watch your email for more info.

· NSEA (OUR TEACHERS) ARE CLARIFYING AND PUBLICIZING WHAT NORTHSHORE’S CERTIFICATED TEACHERS STAND FOR. They have written a document entitled “NORTHSHORE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLAN FOR STUDENT SUCCESS.” You can find it at northshoreea.blogspot.com. Please read and discuss it with your colleagues, PTA, friends, and families.

www.northshoreea.blogspot.com

NESPA * 18704 Bothell Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011 * 425.486.101 ext 103 * nespablog.blogspot.com

Congratulations!

The NESPA Scholarship Committee is happy to announce the NESPA Teaching Certification Scholarship awards. The following four NESPA members will be the recipients of this scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year:

• Craig Danter – CLC Paraeducator, Bothell High
• Suzanne Fujinari – ELL Tutor, Northshore Junior High
• Seema Vaze – Special Ed Paraeducator, Bothell High
• Jackie Sanders – LC Paraeducator, Maywood Hills

Congratulations to these dedicated NESPA members! We wish them the best of luck as they continue to pursue their education goals.

NESPA Professional Development Fund

There’s money for that special class you’ve been meaning to take.

Approximately thirty members have accessed the fund for individual educational classes and training. By using all the money in the fund we send a clear message to the District on the importance of professional development among our members. With our contract year unresolved, as it is this year, the use of these funds is very important.

Q. What is the fund?

A. It is a fund of eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000.00) available to NESPA members for individual staff development training that may include tuition, registration fees and substitutes. Prior approval for use of the funds must be obtained through the fund application form included in this newsletter. (2008-2010 NESPA Contract- Article 25.10) Consideration for approval is based on the funds available, the relationship of the class to the employee’s immediate job performance, the needs of the District, the professional growth it will add to an employee’s abilities, skills, job-related interests and the employee’s access to other professional development money.

Initially, one request for funds per member, not to exceed $200.00, will be considered. Requests are reviewed upon receipt and you are notified promptly by phone or email.

Q. How do I start?

A. You start by filling out the Professional Development Fund Application Form included on our NESPA Blog or obtained from your building communicator.

The easy-to-follow directions are right on the form but if you need further assistance, your building communicator can help there too.

Q. What if we want to use it to pay for a class in our school?

A. If your school would like host a training for it’s members the application and approval process would be the same-with a few minor differences.

Q. Where does one find classes?

A. Check your staff room bulletin board first. Organizations like the Institute for Educational Dev. (IED); Bureau of Education & Research (BER) and Staff Dev. Resources (SDR) send mailers to schools on a regular basis. Puget Sound ESD and the area community colleges offer great professional/personal development classes as well. The NEA and WEA may also have a comprehensive list of educational trainings.

You could also try to Google your area of interest using words like educational seminar, workshop, or training.

News from Your Organizing Team

Hello from your organizing team! We are ready to hit this New Year with energy and celebration on the work we are continuing to do: addressing your concerns, encouraging and supporting our goals and issues. Looking at legislative battles ahead, we need to celebrate our successes and keep focused on each other and the needs out there. We know all of you are working with great effectiveness in your buildings and we appreciate and value your determination, conduct and professionalism. Stay tune for more news, check out our new Facebook page ( Nespa "U"nion), be our friend and watch for BLOG news. We are all standing up for you.

STATE PROPOSES CUTS: TIME TO TAKE ACTION!

BUT NO LAYOFFS ARE ANTICIPATED FOR NORTHSHORE FOR NEXT YEAR

The Governor has proposed $2 BILLION in cuts to K-12 and higher education over the next 2 years! That’s on top of the $2 BILLION cut in the last Session, and another $311 million they cut in December. Proposals to cut at these levels are unprecedented, outrageous, and simply wrong. If passed by the Legislature, these cuts would permanently damage our students’ futures---and possibly our own financial futures.

Education has already been cut to the bone---as most of us can see from the large class sizes, insufficient support for our struggling students, bloated workloads, and high insurance costs. Three work days per year for teachers—the Learning Improvement Days-- have already been cut by the State. Since 2009, over 5,000 educator jobs have been cut, resulting in larger class sizes. Our Cost of Living Increases were eliminated for last year and for this year. I-728 class size funds have been eliminated. And the proportion of our medical benefits paid by the State has been declining, sending our out-of-pocket costs through the roof.

Now, the Governor and some Legislators have their sights set on more cuts: Cuts to our pensions; cuts to the remaining K-4 class size enhancements; no Cost-of-Living Allowance and a pay freeze for teachers for 2 years (no step increases, or increases based on education credits for teachers. There is currently no State proposal to stop step increases for classified staff like NESPA); a further reduction in the proportion of our health benefits paid by the State; elimination of the remaining “gifted” education funding; and the elimination of the $5,000 stipend for National Board Certified Teachers.

This Legislative Session has begun, and ends in late April. These budget cuts are likely to be debated for months, with a final decision at the end of the Session.

What’s behind these proposals?

Washington relies primarily on consumer spending for its revenue---the sales tax and the Business and Occupation Tax, based on sales. With the Great Recession continuing, spending is way down, and the State is not collecting the taxes needed to pay for the minimal levels of education and services necessary.

The November election results severely worsened the situation. Our best hope had been that Initiative 1098 would pass; this would have increased revenues by several billion by taxing those currently pay only a small proportion of their income in State and local taxes---the 2% of Washingtonians whose individual income exceeds $200,000, or whose family income exceeds $400,000. Even though it would have reduced taxes for 98% of Washingtonians, it lost by a margin of 2 to 1. Had initiative 1098 passed, cuts such as this would not have been proposed. In fact, I-1098 would have raised exactly the amount of the budget shortfall for the next 2 years.

To make matters worse, Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053 also passed by a 2 to 1 majority. It requires that the Legislature pass any taxes—or close the billions in tax loopholes—by a 2/3 majority. Unfortunately, 2 out of 3 Legislators do not have the courage nor inclination to do the right thing. And the Republicans want to shrink government (read K-12 education, universities, etc) even further, with even more tax cuts.

LAYOFFS NOT ANTICIPATED FOR NEXT YEAR IN NORTHSHORE

These are proposed cuts; they are not a done deal. It is clear that cuts will be made, but how deep the cuts will go depends on our collective efforts. Northshore is situated better than most school districts---with our increasing levy capacity and our supplemental levy. However, if the State cuts go deep enough, Northshore would need to offset the State cuts with local cuts.

The School Board has begun its budget process. They will be budgeting based on a worst case scenario—the Governor’s budget proposal. Under this scenario, NO LAYOFFS DUE TO BUDGET CUTS ARE PROJECTED for either teachers or classified staff. But if the economy worsens, or Legislators decide to cut education further to save other programs, that could change. (And while overall staffing levels are projected to remain the same, the School Board could—as always—examine a re-prioritization of staffing, and layoff in some job titles while adding to others. There is no greater risk of this, this year, than in any other year, however.)

We can either be spectators to the dismantling of our public education system, our pensions, and health care---or we can fight back. We will be fighting back to minimize the cuts. Please:

• Stay in touch with your Building Communicator for further info on what action to take.

• Go to OurVoiceWashingtonEA.org now, and weekly, to find out what’s happening AND to communicate with the Governor and your Legislators! Again and again!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO REPRESENT NESPA AT WEA’S ANNUAL CONVENTION?

Every Spring, about 1,000 WEA members, elected by their colleagues, meet for WEA’s annual convention called the WEA Representative Assembly. The RA provides a forum where WEA members discuss, debate and vote on several policies which set the goals and priorities for the coming year. The daily schedule for R A can be long and intense with evening sessions often stretching until 11 P M. It’s an opportunity to learn, to meet others who do similar work in other school districts and to meet WEA’s leaders, while being a part of democratic process. Most people come back from the RA describing it as an incredible experience that leaves them energized and feeling powerful.

NESPA can send up to 8 delegates, elected by NESPA members. This year’s Representative Assembly will be in Tacoma, from Thursday evening May 12 through Saturday, May 14. NESPA will pay the cost of mileage to and from Tacoma( carpool required), meals and hotel (double occupancy), and a substitute for Friday, May 13th. If 8 or more people are nominated, an election will be held in last week of January.

If you are interested in being a delegate, please email Barti Khandekar at khandekars@hotmail.com

A brief statement (50 words or less) indicating why you are interested in being a delegate must be forwarded to Barti by Friday February 4th.

Please note:
All elected R A delegates must attend the Mock Assembly (Pre R A meeting) on April 28th in Monte Villa Admin Center and ALL R A sessions in Tacoma. Those attending R A will need to sign “Delegate Agreement Form” prior to this convention. All delegates will report back to the NESPA members on the event and the decisions made by the R A.

Failure of the delegate to complete these duties may result in the delegate reimbursing NESPA for ALL expenses.

Bharti Khandekar
NESPA VP