April, 2011
Volume 19, Issue 8
EYES ON THE BOARD
WE CAN’T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES!
Meeting, April 25, 2011
Farias and Kent absent. Moore and Dr. Caporusso left and came back.
According to what we thought we understood, the Voluntary Incentive will open again April 26. Teachers (up to 100) can get $3,000 and 50 paraprofessionals can also get $3,000. The opportunity closes June 10, 2011.
The Payroll is now on the new Sunguard system. Ms. Lopez was thanked for her and her staff's hard work. We are happy, because Payroll was closed so much.
The next Budget Workshop will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 10, 2011 in the Board Room at 2000 N. 23rd. Finally Administration gets it--they need to be transparent. We sent letters to board members when administration set meetings in the afternoons. In addition, we told you to call your Board members.
It appears Crockett Elementary is closing. In Public Comments, Crockett parents discussed their concerns. A short discussion by the members of the McAllen ISD Board covered some of the points of zoning Crockett students--to Wilson and Navarro. It appears the board is not listening. The facility will house various department of administration. It seems that Moore, Vela, Garcia, and Dr. Caporusso want to close the school. Parents need to input more if there is any hope.Enormous amounts of money were spent during the Board meeting. $151,000 spent on Design-Built Energy Efficiency & Conservation and Authorization. Food Service was approved for new software--$352,504 over three (3) years. Additional high ticket items were approved at approximately $750,000.
Calendar B for 2011-2012 was approved.
Willis (advisor for the McAllen ISD Health plan) has dropped to an hourly rate as needed. Blue Cross Blue Shield continues to act as the third party administrator.The new dress code was approved on second reading.
McAllen ISD Board Meeting, April 11, 2010
In a drama of emotions, the McAllen ISD Board of Education did a 360 degree turn around and said they wanted to keep the 70 probationary teachers and discard their resignations.
There is still no final decision. Danny Vela started talking about a raise. The signing of contracts must be done by April 25, 2011 according to Board member Javier Farias.
On Thursday there will be another meeting at 9:55 p.m. in the evening to discuss termination of probationary contracts of employees at the end of year. Let us hope that administration comes to their senses and gives this group of 70 their jobs back. Also on the agenda on Thursday will be whether to approve the application for candidacy for IB at Morris and De Leon.
There was mention of counselors not being cut in the 3rd proposed budget. Also the plan for closing schools seems to focus only on one school--Crockett. New zones will have to be developed. Exactly how the zoning would be done is not clear. It was said some of the students would be zoned to Wilson and some to Navarro.
Librarians and library clerks were not mentioned.
MCALLEN AFT PUBLIC COMMENTS TO THE MCALLEN ISD BOARD OF EDUCATION, April 25, 2011
Generation Y teachers—those in their mid-30s or younger—say that to keep them in teaching, schools should be transformed into workplaces that support high-quality teaching and learning, so eager but nearly overwhelmed novices will stay in the profession and can become highly effective, according to a new report by the AFT and the American Institutes for Research.The AFT and AIR spoke with Generation Y teachers about what can be done to stem the tide of young teachers leaving the profession.
The report is based on 11 nationally representative teacher surveys, seven focus groups with Gen Y teachers.
Young teachers say they want feedback on their performance and to be evaluated in a fair way; they support differentiated pay for high performance; and they want to use technology to provide engaging and effective lessons, as well as to support collaboration with other teachers through, for instance, videos and conferencing technology.
"We asked our new teachers what they need to help grow the next generation of teachers.
High-quality education simply cannot be sustained with the high teacher-turnover rate we're seeing today."
According to "Workplaces That Support High-Performing Teaching and Learning: Insights from Generation Y Teachers," Gen Y teachers account for at least one in five teachers in U.S. classrooms today. They start out intending to make teaching a lifelong profession.
However, according to the report, teachers under 30 leave teaching at a rate 51 percent higher than older teachers and transfer to a different school at a rate 91 percent higher than their older colleagues.
Studies also show that the national teacher-turnover rate costs school districts approximately $7 billion annually.
To make the most of the next generation of teachers, to advance teaching and learning, and to nurture future leaders in the profession, the report concludes that policymakers and leaders of school districts, individual schools and teachers unions must work together to transform the way most schools in the United States now operate.
· Provide regular feedback to teachers on their effectiveness.
· Have fair, rigorous and meaningful evaluation systems.
· Support peer learning and shared practice.
· Recognize and reward high performance.
· Use technology intelligently to enhance performance.
Highlights of the Report--Regular Feedback
"Gen Y teachers' desire for frequent feedback on the effectiveness of their instruction signals that they hold high aspirations for their students' learning, a confidence that they can learn and improve, and a fair amount of uncertainty about the practice of teaching," the report says, noting that the teachers believe feedback "cannot come simply in the form of an end-of-the-year summative evaluation or without reference to teachers' actual impact on student learning."
Fair and Valid Teacher Evaluations
Gen Y teachers say they want frequent and meaningful feedback to see if they are on track, but they have serious concerns about how they are evaluated and how administrators use the evaluations.
Studies show Gen Y teachers are even more skeptical than their baby boomer colleagues about using standardized achievement tests as a measure of student learning.
Recognizing and Addressing Performance Differences
"Generation Y teachers want to stay in the profession and make a difference.
Building humane, high-performing workplaces today will ensure that this next generation of teachers and their colleagues evoke extraordinary levels of learning among all their students and build a stronger teaching profession tomorrow," the report concludes.
