Saturday, July 18, 2009

Maybe some good news

Great news! Finally after a year, the MVEA has agreed to furlough days instead of pink slips. Still, Basically a loss in pay: in exchange for saving jobs. I applaud you all. I am a bit confused, though, by some statements in the Press,the MVEA web site and in the Board minutes (still unfinished):

1 Why was David Sanchez, President of CTA down here at the Friday meeting before this unscheduled Monday Meeting 7/13/09? Out of the hugh number of CTA districts through out Southern California? Has something seriously changed in negotiations that would require his attention? Or did Ann just charm him?

2 My understanding was Sanchez made a plea for the DO to use of the districts remaining stimulus moneys? Of course the state will be financially sound by next year so we won't need them.?! I don't recall hearing of sudden support of furlough days from CTA.

3 Who ever brought up and pushed through the furlough idea (my hat's off to you) Especially when it's been shot down so many times. A lot of People got pinked because of that. Who ever you are - Job well done! MVEA said there was a previous agreement with the MVEA, the CSEA and the DO but it was nixed by the board. Why?

4 The Press indicated there was an agreement with teachers? The same article said there was a vote. Was this based on a previous vote?

5 Are all three bodies in agreement now? If so, why is there no mention anywhere? May be everyone is waiting on the official Board vote. Under the best of circumstances, which rarely occur in education, how long before this becomes a reality?Monday's agenda still shows the district readying for almost one hundred lay-offs. see attached.
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Moreno Valley teachers agree to furlough days


Moreno Valley teachers

agree to furlough days!


5:26 PM PDTon Tuesday, July 14, 2009

By SONJA BJELLAN
The Press-Enterprise

A tentative agreement reached Monday means 87 Moreno Valley teachers may return to their classrooms next month.

In a packed board meeting, the Moreno Valley Board of Education announced that the district's approximately 1,850 teachers had agreed to each take two furlough days to save jobs threatened by layoffs. Further budget cuts caused the district to consider the layoffs again, officials said.

The agreement reached Monday morning calls for teachers to take two unpaid days off when students are not in school. The association also will work with the district to find money for 9.5 nonteaching positions that otherwise may still be cut this summer.

"This is a first," Moreno Valley Educators Association President Janet MacMillan said of the furlough days.

The school board made $23 million in cuts before approving the district's $284 million budget on June 30. District officials still needed to trim another $20 million because of state budget woes.

The agreement reached Monday came after a teachers rally Friday and letters to school board members.

Sixth-grade teacher Laurie Warner wore a pink shirt Monday as a reminder of the pink slips. "I think in the end, what came through was they cared about their employees," she said.

AFSCME Corrections United
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"Tuesday, July 14th: School District’s Future at Risk"

Board will consider motion to hand over new schools to outside groups

On Tuesday, July 14, the Los Angeles School Board will be considering a motion sponsored by School Board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, Richard Vladovic, and Monica Garcia creating a process, funded and managed by outsiders, which basically gives away new schools to non-LAUSD groups under the guise of improved education. An outside "leader" will also "develop a template and process" for plans to operate new schools, including instructional practices.

See motion text (Item #33) from School Board agenda as of 11 am, 7/13/09 (4 pages)

Instead of passing off their duties to outside entities, the LAUSD Board should accept accountability for what the motion calls the "chronic academic underperformance of public schools" and take responsibility to establish and run quality schools for the community.

It is imperative that many of our members attend the Tuesday, July 14, School Board meeting to protest and block the "giveaway" of our schools. If passed, this motion will start the process of privatization of public education.

LAUSD School Board Meeting
at LAUSD Headquarters
333 So. Beaudry, Los Angeles
Board of Education Meeting Room

The motion is expected to be heard around 5:00 pm.

.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tomorrow - interesting reading




My Favorite Links:


 (office of civil rights - Education)





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Tomorrow - interesting reading




My Favorite Links:


 (office of civil rights - Education)





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This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out?

What's taking so long? This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out? "Hell has a special level for those who sit by idly during times of great crisis."
Robert Kennedy

The Art of SETTING LIMITS, Its not as easy as it looks.

Art of Setting Limits Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients, etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them learn to make appropriate choices.


There are many ways to go about setting limits, but staff members who use these techniques must keep three things in mind:
Setting a limit is not the same as issuing an ultimatum.
Limits aren’t threats—If you don’t attend group, your weekend privileges will be suspended.

Limits offer choices with consequences—If you attend group and follow the other steps in your plan, you’ll be able to attend all of the special activities this weekend. If you don’t attend group, then you’ll have to stay behind. It’s your decision.
The purpose of limits is to teach, not to punish.
Through limits, people begin to understand that their actions, positive or negative, result in predictable consequences. By giving such choices and consequences, staff members provide a structure for good decision making.
Setting limits is more about listening than talking.
Taking the time to really listen to those in your charge will help you better understand their thoughts and feelings. By listening, you will learn more about what’s important to them, and that will help you set more meaningful limits.
Download The Art of Setting Limits






SYSTEMATIC USE OF CHILD LABOR


CHILD DOMESTIC HELP
by Amanda Kloer

Published February 21, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT
category: Child Labor
Wanted: Domestic worker. Must be willing to cook, clean, work with garbage, and do all other chores as assigned. No contract available, payment based on employer's mood or current financial situation. No days off. Violence, rape, and sexual harassment may be part of the job.

Would you take that job? No way. But for thousands of child domestic workers in Indonesia, this ad doesn't just describe their job, it describes their life.

A recent CARE International survey of over 200 child domestic workers in Indonesia found that 90% of them didn't have a contract with their employer, and thus no way to legally guarantee them a fair wage (or any wage at all) for their work. 65% of them had never had a day off in their whole employment, and 12% had experienced violence. Child domestic workers remain one of the most vulnerable populations to human trafficking and exploitation. And while work and life may look a little grim for the kids who answered CARE's survey, it's likely that the most abused and exploited domestic workers didn't even have the opportunity to take the survey.

In part, child domestic workers have it so much harder than adults because the people who hire children are more likely looking for someone easy to exploit. Think about it -- if you wanted to hire a domestic worker, wouldn't you choose an adult with a stronger body and more life experience to lift and haul and cook than a kid? If you could get them both for the same price, of course you would. But what if the kid was cheaper, free even, because you knew she wouldn't try and leave if you stopped paying her. Or even if you threatened her with death.



Congress Aims to Improve Laws for Runaway, Prostituted Kids

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Child Prostitution, Pimping

Published February 20, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT

The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:

Shelter: Lack of shelter is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of runaway and homeless youth. Pimps will often use an offer of shelter as an entree to a relationship with a child or a straight up trade for sex. In the past couple years, at least 10 states have made legislative efforts to increase the number of shelters, extend shelter options, and change state reporting requirements so that youth shelters have enough time to win trust and provide services before they need to report the runaways to the police. Much of the new federal legislation would make similar increases in the availability and flexibility of shelter options.

Police Reporting: Right now, police are supposed to enter all missing persons into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours of receiving the case. In reality, that reporting doesn't always get done, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to search for missing kids across districts. This hole is a big problem in finding child prostitution victims and their pimps, since pimps will often transport girls from state to state. The new bill would strengthen reporting requirements, as well as facilitate communication between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Runaway Switchboard

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women
Nor the Fool Politicians that used so many American GIs' lives as fodder for the fight over an english noun - "Communism"