Unit D - Free SPRING WORKSHOPS

Mathematic Strategies for Elementary Paraprofessionals

Peter Mili, Mathematics Educator

Education Association of Worcester on 4/28/15

Difficult Conversations

Katherine Clarke, MTA Field Representative

Holiday Inn in Mansfield on 4/30/15

(A free copy of “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High” will be provided to each attendee.)

Differentiated Instruction for Elementary Paraprofessionals

SiriNam Khalsa, MTA Professional Development Associate

Holyoke Community College on 5/4/15

Differentiated Instruction for Middle/High School Paraprofessionals

SiriNam Khalsa, MTA Professional Development Associate

Holyoke Community College on 5/11/15

School Safety and ESPs

Jean Fay, President, Amherst-Pelham Education Association, and Paul DeMarco, MTA Field Representative

Andover Inn on 5/26/15

Math Strategies for Middle/High Paraprofessionals

Peter Mili, Mathematics Educator

Cambridge Ridge and Latin Library Media Café on 5/28/15

All workshops are free for MTA Education Support Professionals and run from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Dinner Provided.

For more information, contact Jessica Parlon, Division of Training and Professional Learning, 

jparlon@massteacher.org.

Hearings on Charters, Accountability, and Testing

The BEA has Association Days if you would like to attend State House hearings on MTA's priority preK-12 issues before the Joint Committee on Education. Both hearings are currently scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on the dates listed below. These bills were generated by our members: Make your voices heard.

• May 26, the committee will hear testimony on legislation related to charter schools and school and district accountability, including an MTA-backed bill that would place a three-year moratorium on the approval of new charter schools and require all Commonwealth charter school teachers to be licensed.

• June 11, the committee will consider bills on testing, including an MTA-supported bill to impose a three-year moratorium on the high-stakes use of all standardized tests, as well as a three-year moratorium on the administration of the PARCC tests. 

More details, including hearing locations and instructions on signing up to testify, will be posted here. If you cannot come to a hearing, please be alert for calls to action to spread the word about testing and charters and how they are undermining public education.

Teacher Leadership Initiative

Are you ready to take hold of your career, learning to lead in matters of practice and policy?

Participants identify their passions, strengths, and interests as teacher leaders through the Innovative Teacher Leadership curriculum. Then delve deeply into one of four content strands: (1) Common Core, (2) School Redesign, (3) Social Justice and Equity, or (4) Teacher Evaluation. Background readings and reflective activities will provide the foundation for these curricula. Learning takes place primarily on a virtual platform through discussion threads, webinars, and videoconferences (approximately two to three virtual meetings per month). A minimum of three face-to-face meetings will also be scheduled throughout the 2015-16 school year. 

Teacher Leadership Initiative – May 15^th  Deadline

Teacher Appreciation Week - May 4-8

Join NEA and the National PTA in saying “Thank You” by sharing one of the following on social media during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8:
A picture of yourself with your favorite teacher, past or present;
A picture of your child with his or her teacher;
A picture of yourself holding a piece of paper with a simple message saying Thank You to a teacher and why you’re thanking him or her.
Use the hashtag #ThankATeacher & #BelEdAssn when sharing. We’ll select 10 random people thanking a teacher to receive a $100 VISA gift card to give to their favorite teacher for supplies. (See giveaway details)

Send a message to UMass: A deal's a deal

Greetings,
As many of you are aware, University of Massachusetts President Robert Caret is breaking his commitment to thousands of MTA members by refusing to pay the salaries that UMass agreed to last year when it negotiated contracts with several bargaining units. Governor Charlie Baker, then-Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature have all insisted that Caret has the money necessary to fund the contracts.
President Caret and leaders of his administration need to know that their actions are unacceptable and disrespectful. Their actions also have consequences.
If you are a UMass graduate or a parent of a UMass student, the university no doubt asks you for donations. We are asking you to withhold all donations until this issue is resolved and our members are paid the salaries they deserve.
We do not ask this lightly. The MTA is in the forefront of advocating for funds for public higher education. But in this case, President Caret is refusing to recognize that it is dedicated faculty and staff who make UMass such a great school - and such a valuable resource to students, families and communities across the state.
If you are a graduate of UMass, a parent of a UMass student or a regular donor, click here for a message to send to President Caret, UMass Board of Trustees Chair Victor Woolridge and the campus chancellors.
If you are an MTA member without ties to UMass, send a similar message by clicking here.
Thank you for all you do to support all of our members and make the MTA a stronger union.
In solidarity,
Barbara and Janet

BESE to Hold PARCC Public Forums

MTA members have a great opportunity to let state education officials know what they think about PARCC — and about high-stakes testing in general — at a series of upcoming state-sponsored forums. We urge members to attend and speak out.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is looking for feedback on whether to replace MCAS with PARCC. It is critical that the BESE hear from educators about the impact of PARCC on students and teaching. Tell your stories about PARCC, but also take advantage of this opportunity to inform officials about the true effects of the testing mandates on teaching and learning.

This year, the MTA Board has approved a bill that would establish a three-year moratorium on high-stakes testing. During those three years, a task force would be created to look at what impact all this testing is having on creating and supporting the schools our students deserve. Click here for information about the bill and for MTA messages on high-stakes testing.

It is likely that testimony will be limited to three minutes per person at the BESE forums. It is also possible that the media and some state legislators and/or local officials will be at these events. You have the best firsthand experience with testing: Let them know what you think. Please encourage your members to attend.

The following is the information provided on the hearings.

BESE to Hold PARCC Public Forums:

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will hold a series of public forums across the Commonwealth on its upcoming decision on whether to sunset the MCAS tests and adopt the Partnership for the Assessment of College and Careers (PARCC). Members of the public are invited to attend and offer their perspectives on the PARCC assessments on the following dates:

• Tuesday, April 28, Fitchburg State University, Hammond Hall, 3 to 6 p.m.
• Monday, May 18, Bunker Hill Community College, A300 Auditorium, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 10, Bridgewater State University, Rondileau Campus Center Ballroom, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Monday, June 22, North Shore Community College — Lynn Campus, Gymnasium, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 7, Springfield Technical Community College, Top of Our City Conference Center, 4 to 7 p.m.

The BESE is expected to make a decision this fall on whether PARCC should replace current MCAS tests in English language arts and mathematics. (Regardless of the board’s decision, high school MCAS tests will remain a graduation requirement through at least the class of 2019.) The board will review the results of last year's PARCC field tests, this year's operational tests, studies conducted by other organizations and feedback from the forums.

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY, and we need your help on Monday night and Tuesday (see below).

Did you know that YOU CAN PICK UP AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR A FAMILY MEMBER? The Town Clerk's office is open 8-4, M-F, and while you're there, go ahead and vote!

Don't forget that every vote counts in a VERY CLOSE ELECTION. Why not challenge yourself to see how many new votes you can find?

Note: We are not scheduling any campaign activities on Friday,Saturday or Sunday out of respect for the Easter and Passover holidays.

SO PLEASE SIGN UP NOW FOR THE FINAL PUSH!

• Election Day Sign Holding - Tue, 7-9am, 5-8pm -Email Gail and please tell her what times you have available and where you vote (although we may assign you to a different polling location)
• Election Eve Leafletting - Mon, 6pm - Put "Remember to Vote" post-it notes on the doors of likely YES voters - Sign up!
• Phone bank - TONIGHT - any hours you can do from 5-8:30. Sign up!
• Talk, Email, Facebook, etc. - Make sure everyone knows this will be a very close election - I'm predicting a 100 vote margin!

Please share this with your friends.
Thank you.
YES for Belmont

What does economic injustice look like?

Greetings,

What does economic injustice look like? "In 1965, chief executive officers typically made 20 times as much as their workers. Today, chief executives at Fortune 500 companies make, on average, 354 times as much as their rank-and-file workers ." (Boston Globe, 3/28). This inequality is even more pronounced if you are black or Latino. As this article shows, a typical white household has 16 times the wealth of a black household.

How did we get here? This Boston Globe article examines the growing economic inequality in the United States. In the 1960s and 1970s, private-sector unions played a key role in reducing inequality and creating a strong middle class and opportunities for the poor. The moneyed interests systematically set out to destroy these unions and were largely successful.

Now, the 1 percent is going after the last stronghold - public-sector unions, and educators' unions in particular. High-stakes testing, Level 4/5 designations, school and district takeovers and charters are all tools being used to undermine educators and our unions. Our struggle as union members for our schools, our students and our rights as workers is essential to the struggle for democracy and economic and racial justice.

We have an obligation to step up and fight back. Here are some ways to do just that. 

Support Holyoke!

There is a serious risk that Holyoke will become the second school district in Massachusetts, and the first whose members are represented by the MTA, to be put into receivership by the state. This takeover would be drastic, disruptive and undemocratic. It would affect a school district that serves primarily brown and black children and is in one of the poorest communities in Massachusetts.

We are asking local associations to approve a resolution in support of keeping Holyoke schools in the hands of the community. Can you help? Ask your local leadership - and other community groups - to approve the resolution. Please notify us of any favorable votes taken by April 21 by emailing Ari Mercado, MTA governance assistant, at amercado@massteacher.org or calling her at617-878-8216.

Testing, Testing, Testing
Had enough? Oh, but the testing season has just begun. Click here for information on our campaign for a moratorium on high-stakes testing. You'll be hearing more about this effort in the future, but don't wait to be asked: Start voicing your support for ending the misuse and abuse of standardized tests so they'll hear us on Beacon Hill, in Malden and in Washington, D.C. If your local approves the high-stakes testing resolution, use the same contact information above to let Ari Mercado, MTA governance assistant, know.

GIC Advocacy Day
Please join other public employees attending the Massachusetts AFL-CIO's union GIC Advocacy Day. The governor's plan to require employees to pay a higher premium share on top of higher out-of-pocket costs represents real erosion in health insurance benefits for public employees. The advocacy day is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 2, at Gardner Auditorium in the State House. Details of the GIC proposal and other aspects of Governor Charlie Baker's budget can be found here.

If you plan to attend, please contact John Drinkwater at the Massachusetts AFL-CIO by emailingjdrinkwater@massaflcio.org.

Black Votes Matter
Come to a talk and Q&A with Bob Moses, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, on voter education and registration in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He is now a teacher and founder of the national math literacy program called the Algebra Project. He will be at the Museum of African American History, 46 Joy St., Boston, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 2. Admission is $5.

Fight for $15 - Raise the Minimum Wage
One way to fight the rising tide of inequality is to increase the minimum wage. You can help by joining the Fight for $15 rally on Tuesday, April 14, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Boston. 

In solidarity, and in anticipation of many great things ahead,

Barbara