Volume 16, Issue 2
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
AN IDEA WHO’S TIME HAS COME
As all too many of you know from personal experience, retirees who depend on annuities from the Texas Teacher Retirement System have not received a cost-of-living increase since 2001. TRS retirees have seen the buying power of their pensions fall by more than 15 percent over that span. That sad statistic actually understates the problem, because the state has increased the cost of the TRS-Care health plan dramatically for many retirees even as their pensions have been shrinking in value. At the same time, the state has been cutting future benefits for current employees as well.
Now there is a chance that retirees finally could see a bit of temporary relief, in the form of a one-time "13th check" equal to their August 2007 monthly annuity. But TRS officials won't confirm that until they meet next month, and there's a good chance that the TRS board will end up delivering this one-time benefit (capped at $2,400) by extracting higher TRS contributions from active employees. In addition, some retirees expecting to get a 13th check may not receive one at all.
TRS officials have asserted that only those retired by December 31, 2006, would be eligible for the one-time benefit, even though the relevant legislation grants eligibility to anyone who was entitled to a standard retirement annuity as of August 2007.
In the last legislative session, two state lawmakers–Sen. Carlos Uresti, Democrat of San Antonio, and Rep. Mike Villarreal, also a San Antonio Democrat–filed companion bills (SB 1779 and HB 3391) to give TRS retirees what they really need and serve for the long term—ongoing cost-of-living adjustments to preserve the purchasing power of their pensions.
However, with legislative leaders and their lieutenants bent on limiting rather than increasing the state's commitment to retired school employees, neither bill was given the time of day. Senator Kevin Eltife of
Eltife also said, “If we have a governor’s tech fund and governor’s enterprise fund with $400 million—why can’t we fund the Retirement System and why can’t we give our retirees a cost-of-living increase?”
VETERANS DAY—NOVEMBER 11, 2007
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an Annual observance, and November 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day has evolved into honoring living military veterans with parades/speeches.
COLORIN
The McAllen AFT wants to make you aware of www.ColorinColorado.org.
This web site is your one-stop for FREE research-based information, resources, and tools on teaching English language learners (ELLs). You will find information about Latino cultures and values;strategies for assessing and placing ELLs; best instructional practices for teaching vocabulary, reading, and content areas; The Colorin Colorado T.ELL.E-GRAM, an e-newsletter especially for educators; ElBoletin Information Colorin Colorado, our Spanish-language newsletter for parents; and many more resources and ideas to use in the classroom!
You may want to download the following: AFT Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of ELLs. You could use the workshop ideas, handouts, and bilingual video components to involve parents in the classroom. There is a Starter Kit with ready-to-use assessment and reading checklists, plus progress forms. There are professional development webcasts on teaching ELLs, available for free, anytime. Lastly, there are author interviews and other engaging videos.
PUT YOURSELF IN PARENT’S SHOES
The secret to productive parent-teacher conferences, experts say, is changing your thinking from reporting on a child to drawing out from parents a better sense of who that child is. Here are some questions to start the conversation:
What aspects of your child’s schoolwork make you proud? In what ways is your child working up to his or her potential? What things at school make your child happy or upset?
The 10-minute model for a parent conference is too much like speed dating so develop a collaborative arrangement—nothing comes as a surprise and the focus is on the future. Avoid high-pressure, “super-brief” meetings.