Hello Teachers!

My name is Gina Wiesner and I am a Mystery Shop Scheduler for Kern Scheduling Services. I recruit people to evaluate business and banks. The shoppers are paid a fee after submitting their findings.

I am currently desperately looking for a teacher that would be willing to open an account at your local credit union. The initial deposit for opening the account is $5. I need someone who would be willing to do so and also evaluate customer service. The shop would pay you $14 plus another $14 if you go back to the credit union and have an interaction with a teller. You would either have to make a deposit or withdrawal.

If you want to know the name of the credit union, please email me. Perhaps you have an account there and a family member might be willing to open an account there.

Please do not hesitate contacting me. My email is KSSGinaW@kernscheduling.com.

You can register for free at Kern Scheduling Services: www.sassieshop.com/2kern.

Next week I will have the ew order of shops. I have many bank shops in your area that do not require you to open an account.

Please email me with any questions.

Thanks!

Gina Wiesner
KSS International, Inc.

If I retire in about 4 years, about how much would my severance pay be?

I'm a preschool teacher in Ann Arbor and our school is looking for volunteers to help us out a few hours a day, everyday. This could be a great opportunity for a retired teacher to continue to share their skills with the community. Do you know how I can get in touch with anyone like this? Thanks.

This is not good:

"We find it incredulous that..."
"The findings were cogent to today’s discussion."

As a professional union, AAPS teachers need to take the lead from a lagging central administration and seemingly oblivious school board to provide for the needs of 21st Century Students via our methods of teaching and learning.

What skills do today’s students need for success in a changing world?

“Education needs to move away from passive acceptance of the status quo, and toward creative participation in society”
                       G. Miles Goforth
                       Senior, Pioneer High School
                       Accepted at Goddard College, VT
                       Member of the Teaching & Learning Group

The Harvard Change Leadership Group in the Harvard Graduate School of Education conducted a five-year study comparing our curricula with the skills identified by business leaders and university professors as necessary for 21st century success. The findings were cogent to today’s discussion.

THE GAP
Parents and teachers have a dramatically different perception of student readiness than do employers and professors (PAF 2003). 72.5% of parents and teachers think that students are prepared for work or college. Only 44% of employers and university professors agree.

SKILLS LACKING
There is general agreement between employers and college professors as to the skills lacking when student arrive on the job or at college (PAF 2002).
#1 writing
#2 work habits
#3 motivation
#4 basic math
#5 curiosity
#6 respect

Only 2 of the skills identified link to curriculum – writing and basic math. The other 4 have to do with emotional development and maturity – work habits, motivation, curiosity, and respect. It appears that HOW students learn is more relevant in the real world than WHAT they specifically learn. How do these 4 areas translate into teaching and learning strategies and outcomes?

Our students live in an ever-changing world, connected by technology, and interconnected global economic issues. The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL, 2003) defined the needed skills more specifically with their enGauge 21st Century Skills model. Embedded in the academic subject matter should be Digital Age Literacy Skills, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, and High Productivity.
  
(To see the enGauge 21st Century Skills... go to... http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/skill21.htm)

Based on two years of study, the enGauge 21st Century Skills represent the fresh, serious, new perspective required in light of recent historical events, globalization, and the idiosyncrasies of the Digital Age. The following skill clusters, when considered within the context of rigorous academic standards, are intended to provide the public, business and industry, and educators with a common understanding of—and language for discussing—what is needed by students, citizens, and workers in the Digital Age.
Digital-Age Literacy
• Basic, scientific, economic, and technological literacies
• Visual and information literacies
• Multicultural literacy and global awareness
Inventive Thinking
• Adaptability and managing complexity
• Self-direction
• Curiosity, creativity, and risk taking
• Higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
Effective Communication
• Teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
• Personal, social, and civic responsibility
• Interactive communication
High Productivity
• Prioritizing, planning, and managing for results
• Effective use of real-world tools
• Ability to produce relevant, high-quality products

Each skill cluster is further broken down into representative skill sets, which offer guidance on recognizing student performance in developing the enGauge 21st Century Skills.


As a community of educational professionals, we must seize the opportunity to align HOW we teach with the needs of the 21st Century Student.

These skills needed by 21st Century students should be the basis of an AAPS district-wide curriculum, and should be methodically inculcated through teaching and learning strategies. This means that the HOW of teaching in Ann Arbor should
• encompass “active learning,” and relevant assessments
• recognize and teach for diverse learning styles,
• acknowledge the exponential growth of information – so that memorizing facts becomes
        less important than learning how to find, evaluate, use, and apply knowledge,
• require cultural competency training for all teachers and insist that it be practiced with rigor
        in the classrooms PreK-12, and
• concede the changes in the requirements of citizenship and stress critical thinking, civic
        engagement, and civil discourse.

BOARD POLICY IMPLICATIONS: This implies that the School Board policy and financial focus needs to change.
• Focus funding on intensive professional development for Mastery Learning methods.
• "ABCI" grading system adopted (supports Mastery Learning teaching method)
• Align the budget to support student success as backed by data and 21st century needs.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS
Research is very clear that schools with full time Media Specialists and technology support staff directly increase student achievement on standardized tests (Baughman, 2000; Baxter & Smalley, 2003; Burgin & Bracy, 2003; Graver, 1963; Lance, 1993; Lance, 1994; Lance, 1999; Lance, 2000; Lance, 2001; Lance 2002; Manzo, 2000; Rodney, 2002, Smith, 2001). "School libraries serve as learning laboratories...[that] support, extend, and individualize the school's curriculum." (Realities: Educational Reform in a Learning Society, 1984, p4).

To help students achieve in the 21st century AAPS should be INCREASING Media Center staff and services and INCREASING technology support staff and services, not decreasing them. Decreasing Instructional Media and Technology support is a clear statement by the Central Administration that it is OK to decrease student achievement, and that they wish to turn a blind eye to the 21st century needs of students and fall back on the 19th century model of schooling.

AAPS is behind the curve in educating our students for THEIR FUTURE and NOT OUR PAST. Now is the time to establish an exemplary Media and Technology program in AAPS – well staffed, well funded, and well organized. We recommend that:

• A full time Media Specialist, a full time clerk, and a technology assistant be placed in every elementary building. Media Specialists should NOT be used as “release time” for other teachers. They should be focused on teaching Information Literacy in a variety of formats and group sizes.

• Middle schools should have a full-time Media Specialist, a full time clerk, and two technology assistants. A Technology Specialist should support each building and its related elementary cluster.

• At the high school level, the comprehensive high schools should have 3 full-time media specialists, a full-time clerk, 3 technology assistants and a tech. specialist.

• The alternative high schools should each have a full time Media Specialist, a full-time clerk, and a full-time tech. assistant. A Tech. Specialist should support these 3 facilities.

• Building budgets for materials and online resources should be increased. District-wide coordination of Information Literacy curriculum, materials sharing, bookkeeping, and the promotion of Media/Technology teams in every building should be assigned to a knowledgeable Director of Media and Technology Programs.


We find it incredulous that our Central Administration would consider weakening Media and Technology support while espousing student achievement and demanding that we close the achievement gap. Anything less than the above recommendation is short-sighted and a disservice to our students and their future.

We, as a professional union cannot and must not accept this backward thinking leadership. We must organize ourselves to align our teaching and our support services to meet the needs of our students who face a very complex and demanding future.

Huron Media and Technology Staff &
Huron Technology Committee
17 May 2006

PC.,I do remember it now, I interpreted it as preventing us from losing breaks. I like your ideas for a different calender... but people (in general) are slow to change.

I sent a proposal (calendar) to the bargaining team via my school rep. On one of the computer surveys there was a question in reference to minutes added to the day. Why the union was asking for feedback--- I'm not sure if it was to get out earlier in June or to prevent us from losing breaks ??
On May 16, 2006, at 9:14 AM, QT - Elena Flores wrote:

>
>
Paula Caruso
Wines Elementary School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
(734) 994-1973
< replied-to message removed by QT >

This is the first I have heard about the "added 15 minutes to their day and are getting out of school at the end of May" idea. I do not recall seeing this as an option on the AAEA survey. Do I understand correctly P.C., that this is something you proposed to the bargaining team PRIOR to the survey? Thanks .

The calendar was not designed simply the way "the district" wanted it to be. Our bargaining team used the member surveys to determine what and how they should negotiate. Many different calendar configurations were considered, and finally one was agreed upon by the two teams.

I cannot speak for the team, just reflect on what I've heard from them at rep. council and el. caucus. P.C.'s questions below are valid, and are the kind of questions that should be brought to the microphone at the general membership meeting on Wednesday. At this informational meeting, our team can fully explain their rationale for the language and content of the current TA.

I am deeply concerned about emails that suggest that we have to give up our February break in order to get out earlier in June. In the district where I live, the teachers added 15 minutes to their day and are getting out of school at the end of May. Their start date was the same as Ann Arbor's, they got a two week break in December, a week in February, and a week for spring break. It is time to stop pitting those "in favor" against those "not in favor" of the February break and start thinking outside the box. The district would love for our members to be divided on calendar issues--it's to their advantage. We can have it all, if we stop thinking like the district wants us to--"we can't change start up time because of our busing situation." In addition, don't you already think you are giving up vacation time when you have to come back four days early in August?? There is no reason why we can't add a few minutes at the beginning of our day to get out earlier in June. After all, we already have kids being dropped off by their parents at 8:30 or before. A colleague, and myself, submitted a calendar to the union starting the school year on September 5th and getting out on June 7th. I also wonder what happened to the results of the survey where everyone in my building expressed adding time to the beginning of the day to get out earlier in June??? I realize that people worked very hard to settle a tentative agreement and I am not under estimating the time commitment and hard work they put forth. Surely, we can come up with other options for a better calendar.

Hello again, teachers!

Allow me to correct my previous posting, which was made partly (and inadvertantly) in resonse to the discussion from last year. Your wage offer this year is not "dismal." It's bad, but not dismal, and possibly the best you'll get without a massive fightback campaign up to and including a strike, with solid support of other unions, students, etc. That doesn't look like it's anywhere on the agenda, so, "so be it."

The bargaining team says: "Our most significant intervention [in negotiations] facilitated the reduction of staff through attrition – no layoffs." But the News reports that the Board will seek the remaining reduction in force, about 40 positions, elsewhere. You avoided layoffs, and that's excellent. But there has not been a statement condemning layoffs in general. I'm hoping to see some expressions of solidarity from the MEA.

Layoffs are, I believe, unacceptable. Their funding dilemma is not our problem, *if it means lowering quality of education.* I feel that the unions (MEA, TEAMSTERS) need to be firm on this point. NO LAYOFFS, period. Not for teachers OR bus drivers, custodians, etc.

Thank you all.

I applaud the hard and diligent work of our bargaining team. Despite the difficulty of these economic time, the team brought home a very good contract. Thank you for all of your efforts. I am deeply appreciative.

Hello, teachers!

I'm pleased to read that you've made progress in bargaining, but I'm disheartened NOT to read that AAEA is passively accepting the staff cuts. I think it's good that your team avoided layoffs, but now AAPS has shifted that threat onto other unions, and we're next in line to bargain. We're actually still in extended negs. over our raise for last year (they say 1%, we want 2%). I totally agree with C.C.'s previous comment:

"I wish to highlight the need for action by all of our members and not just the usual suspects! This needs to be ongoing action that is likely to bring about the changes we support and not a reaction to whatever upsets us at the moment. (Hey, at least earn your right to complain after you've worked your butt off and still not been able to get the changes desired!) We need to be unified, pro-active, political, and get our issues acted upon!"

We, the driver's are not in a very strong position vis-a-vis management. Most of my coworkers feel that your bargaining sets the standards for our ours. As it appears that you're taking concessions in wages, I'm worried about my future. So, I wanted "to highlight the need for action" by ALL OUR UNIONS.

Reading the A2News report, I was dismayed by the lack solidarity in Linda Carter's remarks. Having avoided layoffs for teachers, the union (AAEA) seems to be done fighting against staff cuts. But an injury to one is an injury to all; the slow erosioni of decent educational support jobs, leads to the collapse of direct educator jobs, and quality education in general.

I don't wish to sound accusatory at all. I simply mean to say that we all need each other, and at this critical moment (bargaining season) it's essential. They (AAPS) are using staff cuts as a threat to soften unions in bargaining. It seems to me that your dismal raises reflect the effectiveness of this fear tactic.

I was there, with some of my coworkers, last year when you picketted. I still support you, and I have the utmost respect for what you do (I taught for several years, myself). If your members decide that they want to keep bargaining and reject this TA, I'll be there to picket with you. I hope you'll come out and support us, too, if that's where we end up.

But, as C.C. said, we have to make this a political fight and attack the root causes: school funding at the federal and state levels.

Solidarity!

I hope we can move this discussion board over to the new negotions and issues at hand. I beleive our members and leaders need to have a venue to have open discussions about our direction. I am excited about the opportunites that our zoomerangs can offer. Perhaps this is a place we can go to listen to other opinions that we may not have thought about from within our personal directions. This should be a place where we can ask the questions that have not been asked.

I am curious as to what many teachers are doing in regards to their health care. I have had MESSA Supercare for many years and now I am considering the switch to Mcare because of the ENORMOUS costs. It seems like teachers need to have more dialog on this. A response would be so appreciated. Thanks

I am curious how people with big medical costs will go when choosing insurance. If there is anyone out there who swore you wouldn't leave supercare, and now are considering the PPO, I would be interested in hearing your reasoning. I have two out of network doctors who are specialized and helping me and am thinking maybe I will just pay 20% instead of 10%. Any thoughts or reasons I should consider as to why I should keep supercare?

Edited by author 09-01-2005 06:01 PM
I have been a secondary teacher in Ann Arbor since 1968, yes 1968, and this year's start up was perhaps the best. I know it is different for teachers at other levels but for myself I much preferred teaching students to listening to the superintendent or a BOE member.

My impression was that some of the people who voted not to return to work with students (because the wording included something like "to teach the students") were responding to the issue of having the kids on our first day back. I may be mistaken, but the thing is, I think I know who some of those people were, and they have been involved in a lot of conversation about that "first day" concern. I don't think they had any notion of a wildcat strike, but wanted to make a point about that first day....any of you no voters out there? Please correct me if I'm off-base about this.

I agree with Richard. This is a democratic organization. Everyone should speak up for what they believe is right, no matter what the majority says. Every voice deserves to be heard.

Edited by author 08-30-2005 10:07 PM
Hey, What's up indeed........You need to chill out. Where and when did you learn to call people names who have chosen to righfully express their opinion?

Just who are the idiots who voted not to return to work at Sunday's meeting? What did they want us to do? Go out on a wildcat strike? It makes me wonder who it is that is that ignorant and how they were able to earn a degree with so little intelligence!

Want to make extra money by coming in early? Becoma a counslor and get a 15% increase to come in early

Wow. you have brought up some interesting questions. Is there anyone who can look into these discrepancies?

Edited by author 08-25-2005 03:32 PM
The more I think of this the more questions I have than answers. Like, if we look at other comparable districts, how is it that Troy Schools (www.troy.k12.mi.us) pays for a masters plus 30 almost 12K higher per year than A2 at the maximum level. I was told by an employee of Grosse Pointe Schools that their scale is even higher than Troy's schedule. It seems in A2 we are always begging for crumbs in comparison to other comparable districts. I am thankful I am not in DPS but all the same, I just wonder why we are not compensated comparably. The other thought / question I have is, what are our top level administrators doing to make cuts to free up money? I haven't heard much of this and how they are doing this or that initiative to lessen the state financial crisis. I have to be honest and say the difference in pay between A2 and other comparable districts bothers me more than the pay. I like what I do but I feel a little bit like when I am shopping for a new car, and one salesman says sticker is the best he can do, and if I bite, I lose. He gains. I know when bargaining for big purchase items in life, the other person cares little about my self-interests and is more focused on how this will help them. I am sure the district would love to get teachers to work for the least amount possible, so they can build their "rainy day fund" for other more important issues. There is no denying that there are economic pressures out there with a weak economy, a legislature that does not seem pro-education, and surging health care costs. Maybe we should contact Troy or Grosse Pointe and find out how they are able to pay their teachers well and still remain in stable financial health? Just a thought.

People at the high end of the pay scale make between 300-4-- a day. It would be nice to be paid by the day for the work we must do before school starts to help offset the insurance costs. If anyone knows a way to make some extra money in the district without needing a different job, maybe you can post it here. There must be some things to do like supervise sports events or something.

I am glad that our team bargained for the choices that we said we wanted. However, I am not happy with the cost associated with the two MESSA plans. How can MESSA offer us a PPO that is priced so much higher that the district BCBS plan? My doctors do not participate in the MCare network, which means part of my raise must be chewed up in health care costs. I realize costs are rising, but why does MESSA refuse to come up with a price-matching plan?

Our real concern should be what will happen next year. Let's not pit members against each other, let's try to get the same type of deal we have this year with choices. Personally, I don't care if I have to pay 3 grand for insurance, it is worth it to me. So give the percentage rais to those who want it and let us subsidize our own coverage if we want Super Care 1. We lost our best MESSA insurance before, many years ago, when someone at Balas now was negotiating on our behalf, at least that is how the story goes. The district has savy negotiators whose goal it is to keep district money in district coffers. A few years ago we gave up terminal leave pay and the district told us it would make for increased raises for years to come. Years before that we gave up sabbaticals. We must stand firm and not give up things for the promise of more money in the future. There is never more money in the future. And by the way, No Child Left Behind includes sending students' names to the military who do not have college plans. It's true. Be informed.

Go Trevor!

We filled out the surveys and we got what we asked for as our first priority.

I have to believe that our bargaining team did get the "best we can get" and therefore I agree with your statement, "so be it."

 I also, believe that this is nothing to jump for joy over. You correctly pointed out that this wage freeze or tiny raise depending on your benefit selection is not a happy situation.

You are absolutely correct in your directions for how to change this. We need to join together and become a political force that must be addressed by our elected officials. It is easy and foolish to turn on ourselves and even the AAPS as the source of our ugly situation.

True, the AAPS makes decisions about how to allocate the funds that they receive, but it is the scarcity of state funding that causes the district to have to make choices that impact us negatively. Until we attack the root cause, shrinking supply of state educational funding there is little to be gained in excessively beating up the district expecting to get major pay increases, which are needed and deserved, when the best we are likely to get is meager pay increases at great costs to the union membership and our school community.

It is also easy to turn our concerns upon ourselves and look for a place to level blame within our own ranks. As we exist in an ever tightening budget scenario each person is forced to examine the details of many financially related issues with greater scrutiny. When in the mode of closely scrutinizing our own situations it is easy to turn this lens of examination on our perceptions of other members and begin to harbor feelings of discontent and unfair treatment. It is easy to understand how this happens and difficult to make it stop. No good can come from turning on each other! In fact, as stated previously, we need to offer a strong, active and unified front in order to bring about political change.

I wish to highlight the need for action by all of our members and not just the usual suspects! This needs to be ongoing action that is likely to bring about the changes we support and not a reaction to whatever upsets us at the moment. (Hey, at least earn your right to complain after you've worked your butt off and still not been able to get the changes desired!) We need to be unified, pro-active, political, and get our issues acted upon!

I support choices that individuals can make based on their personal needs. I thought we did get a raise of 2.5%. Depending on what plan you choose will determine how much of the 2.5 you take home. Is this correct?

Edited by author 08-12-2005 10:56 PM
I think it's great that we have MESSA available. We filled out surveys, and we got what we requested: a choice.

What I don't think is great is people jumping for joy when hearing that we get to keep these choices rather than getting a raise. We should not be satisfied with no raise. I will go so far as to say that if this is the best we can get, so be it.

Please remember that as all of our cost of living expenses are going up (not only health insurance), our salaries are not going up. This is not reason to be happy. This is reason to worry for our future as workers.

One big problem that we have is that we are fighting with our district over health insurance plans. Unfortunately, neither the teachers unions nor the AAPS administration has any power to change the cost of health care. I think what we need to do is band together to make our elected officials change the way we take care of our citizens. Education works best when it's not-for-profit, we need to start thinking about our health care the same way.

I would gladly trade a raise for the best health coverage!
MESSA Super Care is the only choice I would consider!

The ppo for BCBS is the one the district has where they monitor our every health care need. We did not want to have our psychotherapy monitored and then dropped because too may of us were using it...or to let people in our district or others perhaps have a chance to look to see who is getting what services. Mostly, though, we don't want to have services dropped because we use them and that is what they can do with that ppo. If you don't get sick and don't want to pay choose MCare, which I hear is terrible: you can get phyical therapy once in your lifetime on each part of your body. For instance, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome and go for 6 sessions, you can never go for that again and get any coverage. We are so lucky to be able to get MESSA because if you have some catastrophic disease or accident, it will pay for whatever you need. And you never, NEVER know what may happen.

in the spring we went to a long meeting where we were given a sheet that compared care choices hmo, mcare hmo, messa supercare 1 and blue cross-blue shield ppo....now it seems that the blue cross blue sheild ppo has vanished and been replaced with messa choices II ppo...is the messa choices II ppo the same thing as blue cross-blue sheild ppo??? my questions:
1) are these one and the same?
2) is the blue cross-blue shield ppo an option for teachers?
3) what is the cost of the blue cross-blue shield ppo?

Thank you "keep the choices" I thoroughly agree with your thoughts. I too have been surprised with conditions not treated easily with conventional care and Messa pays for my DO who does acupuncture, massage by the chiropractor and various other not terribly expensive but very helpful treatments for my condition. I still pay some out of pocket expenses, but Messa is a blessing. Thanks to our negotiation team! Keep it for next year too, whatever the cost. Moi aussi

I am so grateful that Messa is still available. A good solid health plan that is NOT MESSA is perfectly fine for for most people most of the time. Get a rare condition or disease (and if you add up all the possible "rare" conditions there probably are a whole lot of them), and you might want/need more flexibility than a standard plan offers. I have two family members who had been diagnosed with a rare condition that was truly life threatening, and required major surgeries. So rare, that at the time my husband was diagnosed with it, there was no one in the local area at the U of M or St. Joes who knew a whole lot about the condition, or who had treated more than one or two people with this condition. The specialist who knew most about the condition in the area was at Detroit Medical Center, so that is where my husband went- no problem there- we had MESSA. Yes, the doctors at the U of M or St. Joes WOULD have treated him- no- they did not have much experience with the condition and were not up on the latest research. I once worked with a resident at U of M who was diagnosed with a bone cancer in her arm. She elected to have that surgery done in Boston because the surgeon there performed a couple of surgeries a month like the type she was having done, and she felt that the surgery would go more smoothly if it were done by a surgeon who was very familiar and comfortable with the procedure. The doctor who could/would have done it at the U had only done three of these procedures at the time. A teenage neighbor of mine has just been diagnosed this summer with a rare type of sarcoma. There are nine cases per year identified. He is heading down to Texas for a consultation at family expense because the family's usually very adequate health insurance won't cover it (even though his doctors here at the U feel that this consultation is a good idea). My OB/GYN is affiliated with St. Joes & not the U of M. She needed to refer me to a cancer specialist and felt the best person for me to see was at the OB/GYN cancer center at the U of M. Yes, if I had insurance through Care Choices there was someone there she could refer me to at St. Joes, but he was not her first choice for several reasons. Guess what- Turns out I'm a rare case- the specialists' specialist sees about one or two cases per year that present as mine does, but because he does groundbreaking research in this area, he knows the latest treatments and can explain ALL my options. It is a relief for me to know that all these options are available and that I don't have to go through red tape, arguing with the insurance company etc. at a time when I can least deal with red tape. I realize that MESSA is expensive, and that it is the Cadillac of our insurances. Some of us are willing to sacrifice some of our paycheck to have that insurance, so that we can be covered for treatment wherever, and by whomever we feel can provide the BEST medical care for our health issues. The flexibilty that MESSA allows is unsurpassed, and I have felt so fortunate to be able to have it. When facing life/death situations, I, personally, will fight to keep MESSA as my family's coverage, and will be willing to pay the additional costs to keep it. Thank you AAEA for supporting us on this one.

I would like all teachers to be issued a copy of the Community Blue insurance that we (I'm guessing) can all choose if we find that our CHOICE to keep our current insurance is too costly. I understand that we do have the choice to keep our current insurance but at the cost to ourselves - this is not a positive. I would also like to know when we can make changes to our insurance if we choose to make a change.

I agree with disheartened! When you look at our paychecks once school starts, our raise will be what, 10-20 dollars a check, depending on health care plan? Kind of a joke considering the money our district is spending on other things, lawyer fees, settlements, etc... In a world where professionals like doctors and lawyers are making it big, us teaching professionals are still struggling.

This being the second contract in a row where we lose money, will there ever come a time when a raise is a raise?
Varsity bowling????

Edited by author 08-09-2005 05:27 PM
I feel that required lunch duty in the cafeteria for middle school staff should be reimbursed just as before and after school duty has been changed so that staff are now reimbursed. This regular assigned lunch duty is a vestige from the original middle school structure when we had more prep times. It would never fly with AAEA members at the elementary or high school levels- I do wonder if that is because middle school teachers are fewer in number (being only three grades of the thirteen grade levels), that this requirement (which is not mandated at elementary or high school levels) continues to fester. I understand (though I could be mistaken) that at some middle schools some teachers do before or after school duty in lieu of a required lunch duty day. Does this mean that they will now be reimbursed for their time, but not the staff who do lunch duty? I am only objecting to the ongoing, REQUIRED AND UNREIMBURSED nature of lunch duty at the middle school level. I, as well as many other AAEA members often use my lunch (20 minutes at the middle school (excluding the five minutes passing time)), to meet with students or to host a gathering of students in my classroom, or even to "hang" in the cafeteria. This is done on a voluntary basis, however. Mandating and scheduling it in, however, should require some type of reimbursement, just as before and after school duty now do.

Edited by author 08-09-2005 12:18 PM
Re: Middle School advisory- I was surprised to see 7.524 modifications. The AAES has held steadfast to the "no required prep" for advisory since we lost our prep period for the advisory class. An interview with each advisee? And what would we do with the rest of our class while conducting what I would assume should be a private discussion with each advisee first semester, and then "as requested". "As requested" by whom? Parents? Student? Principals? Other staff? Requiring us to report units "addressed" (what are the expectations of "addressing" an advisor unit vs. "teaching" a unit?). Our advisory classes are really pretty short, when we include announcements, administrative buisiness & passing out whatever handouts are given to us by various groups, & attendance that must be sent in electronically before the end of advisory.

Could we get a clarification of the opening day, Monday, being a day of instruction. My understanding at the union meeting explaining the TA is that it constitutes an additional instructional day on the calendar, to replace 6 hours of out of school professional development requirements. is this so?

On the other hand, the total number of instructional hours (1098?) is unchanged, so I'm quite confused.

Thank you bargaining team. I support the T.A. I will vote yes.
But I may step down as a MS curriculum leader.

I have lots of concerns about the "Job Description for MS Curriculum Leaders". (A position I currently hold.) I am not aware of any similar job description for HS department chairs, though I may have missed it on my CD copy of the old contract.

I feel uneasy that my comments can be read by anyone who visits the annarborea web site, which is why I didn't use my name.

Edited by author 08-04-2005 12:26 PM
All contracts are a series of compromises the bargaining team recommends and supports the proposed tentative agreement. We value member input and would like to know what you think of specific issues. Please feel free to give input using this discussion format in lieu of using district email for this purpose.