PSP Meeting Extra Money Is Good!

Did you know that you could be receiving an extra stipend on your Northshore School District paycheck every month?The Professional Standards Program (PSP) is offered to NESPA members and is based on education, experience and professional activity. This is a form of recognition for professional growth.  You can earn up to $1,028 per year, as listed in our current contract.

If you have questions or concerns regarding PSP,  please contact:                                                                         Joanne McDaniel at   jmcdaniel@nsd.org

Professional Development

A new tab has been added for Professional Development opportunities.  Check it out when you have a chance.

How Lives Changed in Wisconsin

In 2011, the lives of Wisconsin teachers changed overnight. Wisconsin is not alone. Attacks on collective bargaining rights have taken place in Indiana and Ohio, too, as have attacks on tenure, retirement and other important issues. In Wisconsin, contracts were replaced with highly restrictive policy handbooks. You can make sure it doesn't happen here by being politically active, building community relations and developing a plan. We can learn from Wisconsin. This is a short but important video.  It is worth four minutes of your time to watch it.

Voices of Wisconsin EAC on Vimeo.

2012-2013 NESPA Teaching Scholarship

The 2012-2013 NESPA teaching certification scholarship is now on our blog and ready for our members to apply!   Click on the tab at the top of this page named NESPA Teaching Certification Scholarship for more information and an application.

Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

Labor Day is more than just a day off in September.  Do you know why we celebrate Labor Day?

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. (From US Department of Labor).

US labor unions are responsible for many benefits that we may take for granted today.  Some of these benefits include:

• the 40 hour work week
• weekends
• unemployment insurance
• health benefits
• pension benefits
• grievance procedures
• minimum wage
• equal pay for equal work
• workers' comp

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker. (US Department of Labor).

Welcome Back!

Dear NESPA Member,

Welcome back---soon!    We hope you had a great summer, and are excited about the work ahead with our teachers and students!    You might want to save this info—or put it on your personal calendar.  

·         The first 2 non-student days are here:  Wednesday and Thursday, Aug 29 and 30.   The first student (school) day---and the first regular scheduled work day for Paraeducators, School Assts and Tech Specs, OT/PT Assts, Interpreters, Campus Supervisors, and the School Service Spec--- is the day after Labor Day: Tuesday, Sept. 4.     (Friday, Aug 31 is a non-work, non-paid day---a long Labor Day weekend day.)

·         Most NESPA members in the job titles listed above (those who work 180 days  + 11 paid holidays) will work on the two non-student days (Wed, Aug 29 and Thurs, Aug 30) using 15 of their Professional Hours for this purpose.  This is optional.    If the Principal decided not to schedule you for 7.5 of the 15 hours (on these 2 non-student days before school starts), then you can add 7.5 hours to your remaining 40 hours to use during the school year.  See the contract language below my signature if you want more info on that.   (RNs, Truancy and Mental Health Specs,and our Comm Schools Proj Coordinator are covered under Article 11.21, which is also below my signature.)

·         Nurses and others have probably already begun (using some of last year’s work days and/or Professional Hours)!   See below for the work year calendar for your job title.

·        Go to NESPA Work Calendars Tab for the work calendars for ALL NESPA members:

o   Para-Educators, School Assistants, School Tech Specialists, OT, PT, Interpreter, Campus Supervisor, School Service Specialist: AE 191

o   Truancy Specialist, Mental Health Specialist, Community Schools Project Coordinator:  AE 205/210

o   Registered Nurses:  AE 196

·        Go to Your 2012-2013 Accountable Days Tab school year for this year's                   Non-student Accountable Days.

o   Come to a 10 minute Association meeting at your school, which may be held on one of the 2 non-student days before school---or during the first week of school.  Find out what’s going on!   These meetings are being led by an NSEA (teacher) Building Rep, but will have important info for YOU!

o   Check out NESPA’s cool re-formatted INFORMATIVE web site:  www.nespablog.blogspot.com    Thank you to Nancy Celms for making this user friendly!!   By using tabs at the top of our webpage, you can find information more easily. For example, you can click on your Collective Bargaining Agreement, and do a word search to find ANYTHING!!

See you soon!   We are excited about the coming school year!  Peggy Sturm and Pat Waldrop are continuing as NESPA Co-Presidents (thank you!) and have great plans!

Good News from Election Night

The Primary Election is now over.  Results are still coming in, but it looks like good news in both the Jay Inslee race for Governor and the Rosemary McAuliffe race for State Senate.  Check the Secretary of State's website for detailed election results.

Despite this good news, there is still a lot of work to do.  The General Election is Tuesday, November 6th, and we need to make sure pro-public ed candidates are successful in Washington state.  Stay tuned--we'll have plenty of opportuinities for you to get involved. 

A big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to make phone calls and doorbell for Jay, Rosemary, and other pro-public ed candidates.  You made a difference!  Now, let's keep it up.

Politics 2012

Let’s keep public education’s best supporter in the State Senate. Help Senator Rosemary McAuliffe defeat Dawn McCravey.

Thanks to Rosemary’s leadership in the Senate:

· In Washington state, public funds are not used to close neighborhood schools and replace them with private charter schools.

· Educators are not evaluated based on student test scores—which would narrow the curriculum and damage our students.

· Educators who perform their jobs well still have job security.

· We still have collective bargaining—a voice—in our health care benefits.

Rosemary’s opponents are much better funded. Dawn McCravey is likely to get financial backing from the Koch Brothers (oil billionaires), Stand for Children (funded by Wall Street millionaires), and the League of Education Voters (funded by a Seattle billionaire). Her other opponent, Guy Palumbo, is a former Amazon exec who has raised nearly three times as much as Rosemary from wealthy high tech contributors like Jeff Bezos.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP KEEP ROSEMARY IN THE SENATE, ADVOCATING FOR SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS:

1. Please sign up to call sympathetic voters with a script, in July.

2. Please join us for a morning of doorbelling voters on Saturday, July 28. We’ll have breakfast together, get instructions, pair up, and head out. You can bring family and friends. It’s actually fun!

3. Donate anything you can spare to Rosemary.

THANK YOU for all you do! Below my signature is information about Rosemary’s opponents.

Kraig Peck

Staffperson for NESPA and NSEA

kpeck@washingtonea.org

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

Dawn McCravey (on Northshore School Board) is running as a Republican to unseat Rosemary.

1. Dawn advocates for the diversion of public tax dollars from public neighborhood schools to charter schools, run by private organizations. It would eventually result in district budget cuts and school closures.

2. Dawn supports paying teachers based on student scores.

3. Dawn lobbied in Olympia to eliminate educator job security—having principals numerically rank us and decide who to lay off, and even eliminating our right to get re-assigned if student enrollment or course offerings required our moving to a new location. (Instead, we would have been terminated under the bill she lobbied for.)

4. Dawn does not support collective bargaining.

As you recall, Dawn defeated BZ Davis in the School Board election last November. (Dawn was not willing to share her views directly. She has refused to reply to a candidate questionnaire, and refused to meet with educators for an interview about her views—in both the School Board and Senate races.)

Guy Palumbo is also running against Rosemary.

He started running as an “independent”, and switched to “Democrat.”

1. He supports using public school funds for private schools (charters).

2. He favors using student test scores to evaluate teachers.

The Primary election is July 15 to August 7. The top two vote getters will compete in the Fall election. Rosemary needs your help NOW to get to the Fall election. Click here to help: www.weacascade.org.

DO SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS MATTER?

Although this article is from NSEA's (Northshore Education Association) blog, there is information that is good for NESPA employees as well since we can now have a representative on our school's SDLT.

Are School Leadership Teams Important?

YES. A lot. The idea behind SDLTs is that we are professionals whose commitment and expertise can create the best possible schools.

The SDLTs—Shared Decision Making Leadership Teams—are the result of negotiations to ensure that educators are involved in the key decisions of our schools. They are one way that we ensure that our role is as PROFESSIONALS—experts who exercise our professional judgment, not just implementers of the decisions made by others. Our elected SDLT members are school DECISION-MAKERS, not simply advisors to the principal. They are actual DECISION-MAKERS, not just advisors.

SDLTs decide how decisions will be made—or make the decisions directly—in “work that will support the mission of improving student achievement,” a very broad category of decisions. SDLT members also decide on development of the School Improvement Plan (the school’s plan); how to use building funds; what we do on SIP and SITE Days; the school’s Technology Plan; use of the Building Inservice Funds (which is a substantial amount of money) to support professional development, and more.

In our Agreement, the specific contract language is in Article 17, on pages 23-26. In addition, the role of Department Heads is in Article 25, on pp 67-69. It’s helpful to read the actual language. (Click here for our current CBA.) The role of SDLTs (with stipends) was first established in our 2006-2008 Agreement, so we’ve had them for about 6 years.

HERE IS HOW THESE DECISIONS ARE TO BE MADE, AS DESCRIBED IN OUR AGREEMENT:

• SDLTs draft a written decision-making process for the school, to be submitted to the full staff for approval by October 1 of each year. This document is to include:
  a) How decisions of varying kinds will be made (by consensus, voting, consulting, command/principal decision, etc.—by the full staff, or by Depts, or by the SDLT, or other
  b) How SDLT members are accountable to the staff (e.g. Dept. meetings,...)
  c) Calendar of regular and open meetings; and d) How agendas will be made and how staff will be kept informed.
• Most important decisions are covered under this staff-approved process. These decisions include:
  a) Those that affect student achievement, school climate, and effectiveness;
  b) Use of Building Discretionary Funds; Building Inservice Funds; Department Head days; and Substitute days for release time;
  c) Scheduling and use of Site Days;
  d) Professional development decisions;
  e) School operating principles;
  f) Input in staffing decisions and departmental issues (Note that this one is input only—not final authority like the others); and
  g) Input in faculty meeting agendas (again, this one is input only.). This decision-making process covers all school decisions, except those governed by law, School Board policies, District-wide course alignments across grade levels and schools; or other parts of our Collective Bargaining Agreement.

HOW IS THE SDLT ELECTED?

• The SDLT (unless there is a waiver for the year) consists of elected Department Heads: 6 in elementary; 9 in Junior High and 12 in High School. They are elected by secret ballot. (Article 25.3)
• Department Heads are nominated (or self-nominated) by the certificated employees (not the Principals) at the school. NSEA Building Reps and the Principal cooperate to organize a secret ballot election. Terms are for one year, without term limits. This is an actual leadership role—not a lightweight role. As a result, the stipend, $2,615, is significant (and includes all Department Head duties described on p. 69). NSEA encourages staff to elect Department Heads based on their leadership abilities, not by custom, seniority, or relationship.
• Our Agreement states that elections are to be held by June 1.
• We suggest that staff vote only in the department relevant for the majority of their classes. If staff are in more than one school, they should vote in the school that they are in for the majority of their time.

If you have questions, please contact Tim Brittell (tbrittell@washingtonea.org; 425-486-7101 ext 110) or Kraig Peck (kpeck@washingtonea.org; 425-486-7101 ext 103).

Posted by NSEA at Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Meet Jay Inslee

Join us Friday, June 8th Big E Brewery event with Jay Inslee and other state legislators.

Mix, mingle and get to know your WEA endorsed candidate for Governor, as well as candidates for State Legislature from the 1st, 21st and 32nd Districts.

Date: Friday, June 8, 2012 Time: 3:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Big E Ales (Ellersick Brewery) 5030 208th Street SW, Suite A, Lynnwood, WA 98036

Directions:
From I-5 North: Take the 220th Street SW Exit (179). Turn right onto 220th. Turn left onto 52nd Ave. W. Turn right onto 208th Street SW. Big E Ales is at the far end of the industrial complex on the right.

From I-5 South: Take the 220th Street SW Exit (179). Turn left onto 220th. Turn left onto 52nd Ave. W. Turn right onto 208th Street SW. Big E Ales is at the far end of the industrial complex on the right.

It is not the time to give up. It is the time to get involved! (Sen Bernie Sanders, June 6, 2012)

We are already being badly outspent by those who want to shred our contracts and privatize our schools. Fortunately, educators can influence the outcome. Voters respect us. When we call them to talk about education, they listen. If thousands of us make these phone calls, it will make a big difference, as it did 8 yearsago when we helped defeat Dino Rossi (for Governor) by 133 votes. The nationwide assault on unions and public education is now focused on Washington state, which has the most competitive Governor’s race in the nation.

Each of us has a choice. We can take a few hours now to influence the election. Or we can do nothing. If we lose this election (Governor and Legislature), we will almost certainly lose our say in our work and profession. For example, teachers could be required to be at school anextra hour daily without additional pay. NESPA members could have their hours cut. Your pay could be cut. Your job security could rely on whether the principal likes you this year. (These things have actually happened in other states.) The choice is not a difficult one, for most educators.

Please join us in

Please volunteer to telephone voters (with a script) in June or July for Jay Inslee and Rosemary McAuliffe.