McAllen AFT News - September, 2007

Volume 16, Issue 1

December, 2007

MCALLEN AFT NEWS

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

DELEGATION TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

McAllen AFT’s delegation to Washington, D.C. left by air on September 19.    The delegation lead by Viola (Torchie) Champion will be talking to Congressmen and Senators on September 20.  The delegation’s goal is to ask that the Loop Hole for Social Security be opened again to Texas School Employees and that if NCLB is reauthorized—the government pay for it.  At this time, the federal government past NCLB into law; but did not fund all of the mandates.

AFT members from all over the United States will be with Torchie.  Ms. Champion is a teacher at CatheyMiddle School.  Torchie has always been interested in politics, she is quick thinking, and eager to change the lives of McAllen and Texas School Employees for the better.  What a story she will have to tell all of us!

Though overshadowed in the media by simultaneous hearings on the Iraq war, a U.S. House hearing yesterday on rewriting the No Child Left Behind Act generated controversy, too. There are glimmers of common sense in the draft version of the bill that was debated on September 10. These include provisions allowing use of "multiple measures," not just reading and math scores on snapshot standardized tests, to determine whether students are making progress. Also a positive feature of the draft bill is its language focusing interventions and resources on the struggling schools that need it most. However, AFT Executive Vice President - Antonia Cortese and other witnesses made it plain that the overhaul of NCLB drafted by Education and Labor Committee chair George Miller has big problems, including a provision that promotes performance pay imposed from the top down without proper guarantees of employee buy-in.

The blunt objections to his "discussion draft" led the California Democrat to hit back with a claim that teacher unions were now rejecting proposals on performance pay that they had embraced bonus pay for individual teachers based on the standardized-test scores of their students--which was the particular point at issue--or without prior approval of any such plan by the employees affected.

Miller should heed the advice offered yesterday by AFT President Ed McElroy: "Take the time to get it right--and not just to put a check mark next to a bad bill and say, 'Done.'"

NCLB Let’s Get It Right!

The two main recommendations that Torchie and AFT will share are as follows:

• Implement an accountability system that gives credit for progress and/or proficiency
  
• Prohibit unnecessary and duplicative student testing.
  

National Hispanic Heritage Month—September 15-October 15

In 1968 the first formal recognition of Hispanic Heritage was made by the U.S. Congress. 

The week of September 15 was originally designated around Independence Days of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Independence Day in Mexico is celebrated on September 16. 

In 1988, the celebration was extended to 31 days, beginning on September 15 and ending on October 15.  The celebration includes Chile’s Independence Day (September 18) and el Dia de la Raza, or the Hispanic celebration of Columbus Day (October 12).  For more information visit www.aft.org and click on National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Know Your Rights

Planning and Prep Periods

Texas Education Code 21.404 Planning and Preparation Time—Each classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each two-week period for instructional preparation, including parent-teacher conferences, evaluating students’ work, and planning.  A planning and preparation period under this section may not be less than 45 minutes within the instructional day.  During a planning and preparation period, a classroom teacher may not be required to participate in any other activity.   Call us at 682-1143 and ask for Ruth Skow if you feel your rights have been violated.

Duty-Free Lunch

Texas Education Code 21.405—Each classroom teacher or full-time librarian is entitled to at least a 30-minute lunch period free from all duties and responsibilities connected with the instruction and supervision of students. 

Nothing in these provisions allows for walking children to the cafeteria or collecting them after lunch to count as part of the duty-free period.  The teacher is entitled to 30-minutes duty-free without other duties.

Reclaim Your Classroom

McAllen AFT/Texas AFT wants to make sure the over-emphasis on testing doesn’t take valuable time away from real instruction in our classrooms.

We have a Seven-Point Program for Testing Reform that helps teachers, parents and students “Reclaim their Classrooms.”  The key ingredient to the plan is restoring teacher authority over classroom decisions about how to prepare for tests. 

We need some accountability and measurement tools to gauge how our students and schools are performing, but we don’t need overkill.

Check www.texasaft.org for more information.