IMAGINE!

Imagine…  union leadership that truly represents rank-and-file interests and those of students...instead of themselves and the school district. 

Originally posted by Leonard Isenberg
Perdaily.com

posted in LAUSD,UTLA

Strike Continues as Chicago Teachers Mull Contract's Gains and Losses

Theresa Moran

|  September 17, 2012

Striking Chicago teachers will remain out of the classroom until Wednesday at least, after delegates decided to give union members time to debate the tentative contract negotiators brought to them on Sunday.

Delegates said that all members of the union--not just elected representatives--should get a chance to review and weigh in on the proposed agreement before a decision was made to go back to work.

The agreement makes significant gains on many key issues for the union, including how teachers are evaluated, while accepting concessions in health care and job security. Still left to be determined is how the city will find the funds needed to overhaul crumbling schools and pay for the libraries, health, and social services that the union demands for schoolchildren.

The school board has been trying for the past week to isolate the union negotiating team from the Chicago Teachers Union's broader membership, going so far as to tell the press that a settlement was sure to be in place by the beginning of this week, long before delegates, let alone rank-and-file members, had even seen contract summaries.

But CTU's leadership refused to push the tentative agreement on members without letting them decide for themselves whether it was acceptable. "I'm not going to say this is the greatest thing since sliced bread and try to sell it to them. I'm not a marketer," said union President Karen Lewis. "Our people know how to read, they know how to do math, and they understand these things."

According to Vice President Jesse Sharkey, "the board forgot to do one thing: bring along the people who actually do the work."

MOMENTOUS DECISION

Delegates agreed. High school history teacher Jen Johnson, a member of the team coordinating strike logistics, said even though delegates could have decided on ending the strike themselves, they didn't think it was fair to make such a "momentous decision" without broader member input.

"It's not just a contract vote," she said. "We're on strike and it's a different context. People felt very strongly about having a little time with their members."

At Hibberd Elementary, picket line chants were replaced with murmurs and questions this morning as teachers huddled in groups of three and four to peer over contract summaries circulating through the crowd.

"Morale is much higher today than it was last week because now we have a framework and something tangible in our hands," said kindergarten teacher Emily Gann.

After the morning picket, Hibberd teachers filed into a nearby church for a report from delegates on yesterday's meeting and a discussion of members' opinions on the tentative agreement.

Union delegates held similar meetings with their members today across the city.

Delegates will meet again Tuesday night to vote on the tentative agreement.

WHAT'S IN IT

The tentative agreement contains some bright spots. Not only was the union able to stave off merit pay, but it maintained raises based on education and experience that Mayor Rahm Emanuel (and corporate education interests nationwide) have vowed to end.

Student test scores will now comprise up to 30 percent of a teacher's evaluation, the minimum allowed by state law. Mid-year evaluations, which principals often use to oust teachers, have been disallowed.

The union also gained ground on recall rights, a key concern for teachers as the city is poised to close some 200 schools. Laid-off teachers would have full recall rights if their old jobs are reinstated within 10 months. At least half of all positions that open up must now be filled with a laid-off teacher.

At the same time, the agreement is by no means perfect. Keeping teacher health care contributions low required the union to sign off on an unpopular "wellness program" that uses carrot-and-stick incentives to force members to participate in diet, nutrition, and disease monitoring.

The evaluation system will include a "needs improvement" category that makes it easier for teachers to be let go.

And not much progress was made on an issue considered vital to the union's community supporters, reducing class size. School officials had attempted to gut the contract language that governed class size, which CTU fought off. But the language as it stands has proved insufficient and difficult to enforce. Current policy requires the district to take action when class size exceeds 35, but teachers have reported kindergarten classes over 40 and high school classes over 50.

Perhaps most worrisome to teachers anticipating school closures, though, is the fact that laid-off teachers would now receive only six months of severance pay as opposed to a year, the current practice.

While she's encouraged by the progress that's been made, Johnson says she's still "very concerned about teacher evaluations, the length of the displacement pool, and the lack of movement on wraparound services."

The board agreed to increase those services by hiring more social workers, psychologists, counselors, and nurses, but only if new revenue became available. The union has campaigned to redirect millions of dollars in tax breaks handed to downtown business interests to schools.

Johnson hopes that by staying out longer, more progress can be made on these key issues. "This is a game of chess and it's the board's move. We've shown our strength."

COURT-SIDE

Emanuel tried to make his next move today by filing for an injunction against the union, claiming members were striking over illegal non-economic issues like class size and recall rights.

The union, though, has announced legal reasons for the strike since the beginning. When the strike was announced last Sunday, union leaders gave evaluation procedures and policies as their major reason for going out.

In deciding to continue the strike, delegates said only that they wanted to give members the chance to review the agreement.

The injunction request also says CTU is putting the city's children in danger by closing down schools and leaving them nowhere to go.

The Chicago Sun-Times rebutted the idea that children were in grave danger, reporting that homicides in the first four days of the strike were even down from the same dates last year.

The district's "spur-of-the-moment decision to seek injunctive relief some six days later appears to be a vindictive act instigated by the mayor," said CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin.

Cook County Judge Peter Flynn seemed to agree this morning. He moved to delay a hearing on the board's request for an injunction until Wednesday, saying he wanted to speak with the union first.

To change the terms of the deal, the union's membership would have to reject the tentative agreement and send negotiators back to the table.

Gann, for one, is happy with the deal as is.

"There are a lot of things in the contract we didn't think we were going to get," she said. "No one thought we'd get them down to 30 percent" on evaluations.

Nonetheless, she's glad members get the chance to do a close reading.

"We want to make sure things are set up to benefit students and get the educational system more towards the way we want it to be," she said. "If it's not, we'll just keep fighting."

18

09 2012

by Leonard Isenberg
posted in LAUSD,UTLA
No Comments

‹ LAUSD: THIS AMERICAN LIE

Rick Sayre and Mike Rios Can't Figure Out What 45 Other Area School Board Trustees Have

Moreno Valley USD Desperately Needs Bond Funds but the Sayre and Rios "Brain Trust"  Don't Understand Why!

Nine school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have placed bond measures on the Nov. 6 presidential election ballot, hoping that voters will agree to tax themselves to help schools catch up with technology and repair or replace outdated buildings.

Without much hope that the state will pay for such improvements anytime soon, districts are turning to voters during an election expected to draw a higher-than-usual turnout.

“It’s just a large turnout,” said Bob Brown, president of the Temecula Valley Unified School District board, which will be asking voters to approve a $165 million bond measure.

“The more people you get, the more people are interested, the better chance you have,” Brown said.

School districts’ needs are many, and the list grows every year: leaking roofs in San Bernardino, an old air-conditioning system in Hemet, a lack of technical education labs in Temecula, the demand for a high school in Menifee, to name just a few.

Still, many district leaders are concerned that survey results may not reflect voters’ true sentiments and that, when faced with the anonymity of their ballot, they will say no to adding possibly $100 or more to their annual tax bills. That is why some districts, such as Corona-Norco Unified, decided against bond measures.

Voters also will have to decide whether they want to support their local district’s school construction bonds as well as Prop. 30, which seeks to raise taxes temporarily, with a major portion going to education. Many districts will have to cut their budgets midyear if Prop. 30 fails.

Districts are not allowed to spend taxpayer money on bond campaigns. They can ask volunteers to form committees, which can solicit contributions to pay for advertising or other campaign materials.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE

Since 2009, school districts have been allowed the flexibility to spend many previously restricted funds to save teaching jobs, preserve class sizes and keep student services such as busing, music and counseling.

One of those previously restricted funds was for deferred maintenance and went to pay for periodic work like new paint, fresh asphalt and roofing.

Christakos said Hemet decided it was important to maintain facilities and keep up with that deferred maintenance schedule.

But the deferred maintenance fund normally isn’t enough to pay for a whole new roof intended to last 30 to 50 years, he said. Likewise, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are supposed to last 30 years, Christakos said.

“That’s the kind of stuff you want to invest your bond money in,” he said.

Alvord Unified, Hemet Unified and Nuview Union school districts in Riverside County are among a dozen statewide asking voters to reauthorize some of the bonds they approved in 2006 and 2007.

When property values dropped, the districts never issued some bonds because the tax rates needed to pay off the bonds would have been too high. Now they want to decertify the unissued amounts and reauthorize them, without increasing authorized total debt.

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS

When many Inland districts approved bonds during the construction boom several years ago, educators didn’t foresee the huge demand for computers.

Since then, California and most states have adopted Common Core Standards. With the new curriculum, the state plans to replace its paper standardized tests in 2014-15 with tests students take online.

Most schools have a computer lab, often an aging one, that typically will accommodate one class at a time. Standardized tests now are taken by the whole school at the same time. Educators are worried about logistical challenges to get all students to take online tests in the short period allowed by the state.

Hemet Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Vincent Christakos is also vice president of the California Association of School Business Officials. He said wiring and servers for more Internet access are needed by many districts.

“Everybody expects we’re in the modern age,” Christakos said.

Schools also need computer access for programs to help struggling students, he said. Those computer programs automatically adjust to match a student’s current skill levels, rather than wasting time drilling them on what they already know or overwhelming them with questions way beyond their current ability.

BANKING ON ‘YES’

Many districts said the projects that would be covered by the bonds can’t be postponed forever.

In their bond documents, districts say it is important to get that work done now, before it becomes more pressing and costly. Construction costs and interest rates are historically low, so the money will go further, they say.

Passing a bond measure requires a “yes” from at least 55 percent of voters. The districts must appoint citizen oversight committees to make sure the bonds are spent as intended.

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified is another district with a bond. It placed a $98 million bond measure on the Nov. 6 ballot to help upgrade its aging facilities and classroom technology.

The school district would sell the bonds in three or four series over a span of 10 to 15 years.

In January, when the Yucaipa-Calimesa school board was researching whether to float a bond measure, consultant Ann Feng-Gagne acknowledged at a board meeting that November's ballot is going to be crowded.

The board decided to proceed because Assistant Superintendent George Velarde said the district’s needs have become astronomical.

Calimesa resident Linda Molina supports the bond measure.

"These are desperate times,” she told the school board. “I see this as a way for our community to support our district in ways we haven't been able to."

Also contributing: Staff writer Erin Waldner, ewaldner@pe.com

SCHOOL BONDS

Nine school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are putting bond measures on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Temecula Valley Unified, $165 million, cost to property owners $10 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: facilities, equipment for vocational education in health, science, technology and the trades; upgraded computers and classrooms science labs.

Perris Union High School District, $153.4 million, cost to property owners $30 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: improved classrooms, science labs, vocational education and instructional technology; hazardous materials removal; fire safety improvements; other upgrades.

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified, $98 million, cost to property owners up to $44.25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation annually. Needs: computer and instructional technology upgrades; new or improved vocational classrooms and labs; repairs, replacement of leaky roofs, aging classrooms, old restrooms and other facilities.

Alvord Unified, in parts of Riverside and Corona, $79 million reauthorization of 2007 bonds, cost to property owners $51 per $100,000 in assessed valuation annually. Needs: new or refurbished classrooms and schools, including vocational education facilities, heating and air-conditioning systems, science labs and computer technology access.

Hemet Unified, $49 million, cost to property owners $27.50 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: upgrade or replace heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; reduce borrowing costs on 2006 bonds.

Nuview Union School District, east of Perris, $4 million reauthorization of 2006 bonds, cost to property owners $27 (capped at $30) per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: better student access to computers and technology; building or renovations; new equipment; lower borrowing costs.

San Bernardino City Unified, $250 million, cost to property owners up to $34 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: repair or replace leaky roofs, deteriorating classrooms, fire alarms, security and electrical systems; remove asbestos; update classroom technology, labs and other upgrades.

Coachella Valley Unified, $41 million, cost to property owners not available. Needs: upgrades to electrical and computer systems; new mobile learning devices; and school facility upgrades.

Chaffey Joint Union High School District, in Ontario, $848 million, cost to property owners up to $19.94 per $100,000 assessed valuation. Needs: repair restrooms, leaky roofs, heating, air-conditioning and fire safety systems; remove asbestos; upgrade handicapped accessibility; science and computer labs; other upgrades.

"Am I crazy? I believe every child can have an excellent teacher--without firing any teachers?"

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2012

Posted August 21, 2012 by Maura Larkins,

San Diego Education Report Blog

Am I crazy? I believe every child can have an excellent teacher--without firing any teachers!

Lots of kids get stuck for years with various incompetent teachers, but it doesn't have to be that way. We can fix the problem. And save money!

Am I crazy to think this?

HERE'S THE MATH:

Here's the comparison for four classrooms and one extra salary (thousands):

Currently: $60 + $60 + $60 + $60 + $60 = $300

New plan: $90 + $45 + $45 + $45 + $45 = $270

HERE'S THE PLAN:

An excellent teacher could come into each classroom for just a few hours a week and make a huge difference--if that teacher had responsibility for student success and authority to make decisions.

Parents should not need political clout to get a good teacher for their child. Every student should--and could--have a great teacher, without wasting time and energy on the losing battle to fire incompetent teachers.

The truth is that the critical moments in learning don't happen continuously five hours a day. They add up to at most a couple of hours each day, and probably much less. The rest of the time an ordinary, mediocre teacher can handle the skill practice and lesson reinforcement, computer activities, art projects, silent reading (how much skill is needed to be in charge of that?) and so on.

GIVING SUPPORT TEACHERS A REAL JOB

At my old school we were paying a top salary--well over $60,000, for a computer teacher who was very nice, but her job was merely to familiarize kids with computer programs. An aide could have done the job. When the principal (Ollie Matos) tried to switch that computer teacher to giving basic reading and math lessons, the teachers went ballistic. The story became a sensation in the San Diego Press, and a group of angry teachers were named the "Castle Park Five" by San Diego Union-Tribune editor Don Sevrens. Basically, what the teachers wanted was 45 minutes a week in which they could send their students to another teacher. But in my plan, classroom teachers would have this kind of help and relief for more than an entire day each week! The nice computer teacher could become a master teacher!

Resource teachers like computer teachers and language and math support teachers could become master teachers. And let's face it: how much good are those resource teachers able to do? They go around and offer suggestions, but they are really doing the equivalent of passing out band-aids. I would never want such a job. It might be relaxing not to have direct responsibility for student learning, but isn't that the point of being a teacher?

NO MORE ABUSIVE TEACHERS

Academics would not be the only thing that master teachers would be responsible for. Abusive, immature teachers with a habit of undermining students could be overruled and guided by the master teacher.

WE COULD SAVE MONEY!

Why do we pay bad teachers the same amount of money as good teachers? It makes no sense!

Excellent teachers should be paid much more than average teachers, and could be responsible for all students in several classrooms.

Each classroom could have a full-time regular teacher who be paid a lower salary, but would be eligible to become a master teacher. The master teacher would also be responsible for helping and guiding the regular teacher.

Here is a chart of average teacher salaries in the US.

In California the average teacher salary is roughly $60,000 (with a starting salary of $35,000.)

We could allow regular teachers to rise in salary to an average of $45 thousand, and allow master teachers to rise to an average of $90 thousand--for overseeing four classrooms.

Money for support teachers and teacher aides would be switched to master teacher positions in the classrooms. (Of course, special education would still require teacher aides.) Some people who are currently teacher aides could become regular teachers.)

Here's the comparison for four classrooms and one extra salary (thousands):

Currently: $60 + $60 + $60 + $60 + $60 = $300

New plan: $90 + $45 + $45 + $45 + $45 = $270

MEANINGFUL EVALUATIONS OF TEACHERS WOULD BE REQUIRED

Of course, meaningful evaluations of teachers would have to be instituted to make this plan work. Current evaluation systems are worse than useless. My plan would call for frequent observations by both master and regular teachers, but they would observe classrooms in other districts to keep school politics out of the process as much as possible. The observations would have a beneficial side effect: they would allow teachers to get pick up new ideas.

I believe it would be good to use student test scores when choosing who is to be a master teacher, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. The good thing about it is that it would take some of the politics out of teacher evaluation. It should be noted that although student test scores vary widely from year to year for most teachers, some teachers do get consistently high scores from their students year after year.

A Whole Lot of Lawsuits in Jurupa Unified School District in Riverside

First published THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012
San Deigo Education Report

 by Richard D. Ackerman Attorney at Law
Subject: Ermine Nelson: PERB Case No. LA-CE-5517-E

I attended yesterday’s 01/26/2012 PERB hearing for Ms. Ermine Nelson [PERB Case No. LA-CE-5517-E].
 The hearing went very well from my perspective. What was alarming, however, is what was testified to about the absolute inaction and ignorance of the leadership of the employee unions’ representatives within the Jurupa Unified School District. Based on the fact that I contacted union leadership for the NEAJ and CSEA before then, I can only assume that the disregard of what the District is doing is intentional or you are being union-busted by the District and don’t even know it.

Under Government Code §§ 3540-3543 and related provisions of law, the District had an absolute duty to send any grievances, however old or new, merit or no merit, directly to the Union upon receipt (where the grievance originated from a member or presumed employee). In this particular case and many others I have tried to tell you about, NEAJ was never aware of grievances (as many as 28 in one case alone in July 2010).

Under oath and cross-examination, Tamara Elzig testified to the two following key facts. Her testimony is memorialized and recorded:

1. It is the District’s position that union and employee rights go on leave at the same time the employee goes on medical leave (regardless of whether breaches of the CBA occurred even while on leave – Which would include: breaches of union privacy, keeping information from the union, interfereing with lawful association of union members, and interfering with attorney work-product under CCP 2018, and union busting);

2. It is the District’s position that it does not have to forward grievances to the Unions when it feels that there is no merit to the grievance.

I very quickly, in an objection-response exchange, mentioned to Judge Cu that we have not filed a charge against the District’s unions. I am aware of 150+ grievances that have been filed by my clients alone (both classified and certificated). I am going to very nicely ask you folks to once again review your policies, practices, and procedures to make sure that your members’ rights aren’t being trampled right under your noses. As you know, the Code does confer the right to an individual employee to bring a Superior Court action. We have already mentioned the violation of many of these rights in Archambault v. JUSD, et.al. (a First Amendment, Due Process, anti-discrimination, ant-racism, and Equal Application declaratory relief case).

If you all really believe that DFEH, EEOC, USDOE, CTA, NEA, CDOE will take to the position that a disabled employee, on approved medical leave, cannot file any grievances whatsoever, this will be a REALLY BIG PROBLEM not only for the District, but for you. If the lack of attention to grievance processes meant that employees did not know they could even file grievances, there is a bigger problem. Unfortunately, there is plenty of sworn testimony on this issue already.

It makes one wonder about how many other employee problems were kept from you and the CSEA. Worse yet, how many breaches of confidentiality of membership, representative organizations, and counsel have occurred? It is a federal and state crime to monitor union membership communications without adequate notice and without sufficient probable cause. I am reserving all rights my clients have under Section 1983 and to take further action.

The District has already lost a motion under CCP 425.16, rendered damaging sworn testimony on lack of Due Process in the Braden arbitration conducted before Hon. Arturo Morales, and Superintendent Elzig’s performance yesterday was an outright admission of an intention to directly interfere with Union Rights. We already know from the Norman and Gonzalez cases that the District monitors all communications over its electronic wire systems and mail systems (as defined under Federal Law) and is aware of and checks the content of union and legal counsel writings and communications. Employees and union membership are not adequately warned of the tapping.

With regard to Mr. Vigrass, why don’t you have a private e-mail address for Union business? The District has already proven that it knows what you discuss. You have no less than two or three members under fire for what was allegedly found on their classroom computers (including Union business). Some of the horrifically perturbing information was placed on my client’s computer, in the Norman case, after he was already on administrative leave (a literal, figurative, and unconstitutionally sound reality).

Yesterday, your District proved, beyond a doubt, that it doesn’t see your union activities as confidential. Superintendent Elzig and her counsel vigorously argued for a claim to know what you are up to, when you meet with your members, and how many times. This is constitutionally unacceptable and, in my privileged opinion, violates many state and federal laws.

The ALJ also could not rule on whether your discussions with accused union members was/is confidential. I am supposed to brief that issue. I’ve never been to a PERB hearing and didn’t even know what PERB was before this proceeding.

Fortunately for the Union, in this limited case, you were not at the scene of ‘crime’ as it were. The unions had already chosen to ignore Nelson’s case and the District made CBA union representatives look ignorant and ineffective. As you can see from the attached briefing done in CSEA cases and testimony, this isn’t new.

I do know what the law is and basically had to argue it for the unions. It is the District’s position, through counsel and Elzig, that your communications with members are fair game. Worse yet, you have an indemnity provision in your CBA that gives the unions the privilege of paying the District’s bill (at their discretion), win, lose or draw. This is a constitutional and due process disaster of unprecedented proportion. I have many friends who are public employees, in official and elected capacities, and none would approve of this – regardless of politics.

I will look back in my files to find the e-mail from the CSEA’s Janet Jones telling me to mind my own business. More than one of my certificated clients has/have heard similar threats from others aside from Messrs. Sibby and Vigrass. I believe that you have all the right intentions, but your rights, as well as those of your members, have been trampled to death. Identifying what’s left of those rights will not be cheap, easy, or likely to come through my one-man office. I just got out of the hospital myself, am still being diagnosed and evaluated, and am overwhelmed by what is going on within this District. I am desperately hanging on to my ability to achieve victories for your members, but also don’t have the resources to keep it up if the Unions don’t get involved more visibly and effectively.

The amount of real exposure created for the Unions is beginning to be massive to say the least. I am on your side, but I don’t have the resources or manpower to argue matters directly affecting your leadership. Messrs. Sibby and Vigrass have been upfront with me, pursued what information they could verify, and don’t appear to be neutral on the rights of their members. Even with their efforts, the District has now crossed battlefield lines that will end up with innumerable casualties of failures in applying the Principles of the Constitution.

Should you choose to share this e-mail with Ms. Elzig and Mr. Duchon, if they have not already seen it, please let them know that these are simply my opinions and the hearing transcript speaks for itself. The unions got worked over bad and were made to look very stupid and ignorant – and it wasn’t by me.

Perhaps we should discuss this in a more confidential forum. My clients are very concerned and so am I. If you want to meet with my clients as a group and get your colleagues to join us from the CSEA, it would be appreciated.

Richard D. Ackerman
Law Offices of R.D. Ackerman
www.AttorneyAckerman.com

I AM RE-POSTING THIS PEICE AS I HAVE UNCOVERED THAT JURUPA USD HAS THE MOST PENDING OAH - bullshit - hearings planned than any other SCHOOL district ALMOST EQUAL TO LAUSD. LAUSD IS MORE THAN 20x the size of JURUPA!  
I, PRAETORIAN

"I Know the Financial, Personal, Emotional and Physical Damage... "

by Lorna Stremcha

I know first hand the financial, personal, emotional and physical damage that can result when school administrators, the Montana Education Association and the National Education Association put their own interests above the students, teachers and the taxpayers of the State of Montana My files contain mountains of paperwork including depositions, declarations of truth, notarized documents and exhibits resulting from an arduous legal process that finally ended when the Havre (Montana) School District settled two lawsuits - a Federal suit and one filed in State District Court. These documents also include a letter from a union representative stating, " This is nothing more than a witch hunt." Yet the union continued to allow the school administration to harass, bully and bring harm to me.

These two lawsuits resulted from a single incident that, had it been handled differently and under the light of public scrutiny, would not have snowballed into awards of more than $200,000 worth of damages. Funds that eventually came from the taxpayers' pockets. Ironically, as a taxpayer in Hill County, my family and I are helping to pay for the damages awarded to me. This covered the attorneys' fees. The settlement did not include my attorney fees, however the district, insurance and taxpayers paid the defendants attorney bills, which exceeded mine. The settlement was made on March 2, 2006.

I was a tenured teacher at Havre Middle School with a successful work history of nearly ten years. I was approached and harassed in my classroom by a mentally challenged and dangerous person during school hours. His speech and actions caused me fear that I would be raped, or worse. The administration's less-than-positive response to the situation eventually caused me to file a sexual harassment and hostile environment complaint. After making the complaint and following the chain of command within the school system with no results, I filed a Montana Human Rights Complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau. This was a dual filing with the EEOC. Upon returning to work the next school year, I found hard-core pornographic emails on my school computer. When I reported these emails to the proper authorities, their response was that "keep quiet". When I asked them to trace the pornography, the administration replied that it couldn't be done.

As I pressed the issue, the administration's reaction was to try to find a way to get rid of me. They embarked upon a series of closed meetings with students and parents in an attempt to discover anything and everything they could use to build a case to terminate me. Students were taken from their class for meetings with the administration and were told to keep the discussions "a secret". While I was never allowed to meet with parents or students to discuss what were obviously fabrications, rumors were rampant. Administration leaks were prevalent although I was continually told to keep silent I also received letters from administration threatening termination. These letters lacked a basis in fact and were simply threats. Such a campaign can take a toll. Admittedly, my teaching suffered. I was afraid to discipline any student in fear that such an action would result in more closed meetings and threats of termination. Grades were questioned. Parents called and met with members of the administration. These meetings were either scheduled for times during which they knew I could not attend or simply held without notification. I was totally isolated. These are only the highlights of a year of harassment and intimidation. Naturally, my health suffered. At one point, I weighed 90 pounds and my physician prescribed medication for stress. In fact, he recommended that I take a leave of absence.

When I returned from that leave, my classroom was bare. My personal possessions were boxed. Student work had been removed, was missing or destroyed. Grades had been awarded in my name that I had not authorized. In response to all of this and other forms of harassment, my union representative said simply, "They can do what they want. They're administration." Finally, I was terminated.

While doing discovery [legal process], I learned that members of the Montana Human Rights Commission, members of the school district's law firm, the Montana School Board Association and Montana Teachers Union all had political ties with the superintendent who terminated me. To make matters worse, he chairs the Board of Public Education. All of these people met to discuss my complaints against the administration. These meetings were not publicized and I was not in attendance. During the same period in which I was under daily scrutiny and discipline, male employees were allowed to use corporal punishment, have inappropriate relationships with students and drink alcohol on school sporting trips. Other topics brought to the attention of the administration during this same period included the treatment of a Native American paraplegic paraprofessional and her Native American students as well as the use of derogatory names referring to women, ethnic groups and special needs children. All these were dealt with behind closed doors. The 
public was never informed and no other teacher lost his job.


Even though I received a settlement, I have been blacklisted and cannot be employed in my chosen career. Sadly, I have lost my passion for classroom teaching and find myself fearful of those who work as administrators in the field of public education. This entire scenario could have been avoided had the school administration been willing to discuss openly and frankly the events that led to my filing the first grievance. (This is almost always the case. Our district administrators and the defected personalities at the helm, keep pushing the illogical and ridiculously expensive personal vendettas in order to keep from having to admit they were wrong in the way they handled things. Sometimes it is out of fear of retaliation of other administrators).   It was filed only after the administration refused to listen to my concerns and only after I was told to "keep quiet". At one point, the administration represented me as a hysterical female whose problem might be "hormonal". All this was done with union knowledge and while I was under a Collective Bargaining agreement. The union was in contact with the administration and was contacted by the administration. They did not protect me nor did they stand up for me. I believe this would not have happened had the Union done their job and not breached their contract with me. Again, these are only highlights.

With truth on my side,

Lorna Stremcha

THIS TEACHER'S STORY ALSO PROVIDES A VERY GOOD REASON TO BEWARE OF OUR UNIONS AS MANY OF OUR MEMBERS HAVE SADLY DISCOVERED. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS TEACHER, AND MOST OF OUR OTHER TEACHER MEMBERS INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT OF NAPTA, COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD REAL UNIONS. AND CONSIDERING THAT MANY OF OUR POLITICIANS RELY ON THE UNIONS WE HAVE FOR THEIR FINANCIAL BACKING, OUR POLITICIANS ARE UNWITTING PUPPETS OF EDUCRAT$ ALL OVER THIS NATION. 








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 BACKGROUND

FOR EACH TIME A MAN OR WOMAN STANDS UP...

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and during those ripples builds a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice." 
 given

Robert F. Kennedy"
narative of a speech given in South Africa

From - Narrative of the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. ... Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read." Frederick Douglass, aged about 10, after hearing his master say teaching him to read "would forever unfit him to be a slave."

What was the administrator's power to enslave the teacher? We think it was using terror to figuratively lobotomize our teachers so they would stop thinking. We propose that the solution that worked for the slaves, will work for teachers - READ. It will unfit you to be an abused slave and bring you back to your calling that made you want to be a teacher in the first place. We suggest you start with BREAKING THE SILENCE, the revolutionary book by Joseph and Jo Blase. It will not only help you see how this system insidiously controls your mind, but it will help you see what we are doing to children by not being the adults and taking a stand against abuse. Together we can sweep down this wall of oppression and injustice.

READ. READ. READ... Read our web site(s). Read the teacher stories. Learn the politics by going through the POLITICS section. Come back as many times as it takes to get through it and read new information each time. Our REFERENCES page will have a continually growing list of books and links that will help give you insight and support to stay in your power and not let fear drive your decision making. A critical mind is the only protection againt propaganda, a speciality of this system. Learn about your situation and about yourself and draw strength from this knowledge. Books and our web site will empower you. Visits other sites that offer support and knowledge to stay strong.

Learn who your enemies are. Yes they are real. As you read about the union and think beyond the hype, you will see that they empower our administrators to abuse us. There is a lot of information on this site explaining their priorities that do not add up to caring about teacher abuse, and instead prove that they have a vested interest in its existence. This information includes teacher testimonial about how they have let them down or even sabotaged their cases. Become wise and you will regain the reins for your own life.

Contact teacher friends who have stories to tell, and encourage them to send them in to us. The more we have, the more we have to be believed. Once believed, the system will be forced to change. This is all too outrageous and it only can exist in the darkness. Shine a light on it any way you can.

The courage you need is in you, buried under the scars of abuse that our school systems have so successfully created in you to keep you under their tyrannical control. If your district objects to the t-shirt, ask them why. If they have rules about all t-shirts, then wear them only to events where t-shirts are acceptable. If they object due to the message, ask them why? If they do not abuse teachers, why would they object to you being part of a group that wants to eradicate teacher abuse? Their objection to your wearing it speaks for itself. Let us know the name of the district that prohibits them. Don't be afraid to speak up about it.

Get your friends to wear t-shirts with the message. Get the message out as well as start breaking the silence. You will find many people who support ending teacher abuse once the topic is public. You can help make it public, and help yourself at the same time.

 Emotional support is very important and we find that family members can only hear so much about this topic before they stop listening. But other abused teachers welcome conversation about teacher abuse as it helps them heal too. Contact us and we will provide you with support buddies as well as give you support from our staff.

Tell everyone about our web site(s), and encourge people interested in donating to a worthy cause, to donate money to us. This might include businesses you frequent as well as family members. Everyone has an interest in the future of our country. This is important to everyone.

Contact your former university or college and make sure at least their teacher education department knows about teacher abuse, NAPTA, and our web site. Spread the word.

Students and Parents will benefit from all of the above. In addition, contact us for consultation regarding specific problems with your children dealing with our schools. From us you will get advice that is based on our professional knowledge, as well as our willingness to speak truthfully about what you need to help your child, or reality. You will not get appropriate advice from anyone oppressed by the terror, or lining their pockets with the failure of our schools. We are the authentic teachers that care about and know how to help children. If you have any doubt about the political climate of your school, contact us and we will help your through the intentional obstacles in place with our candid, practical advice. We will also match you up with a teacher informed in the particular area and grade level of concern for a phone consultation.

Turn to your religion and/or to spirituality to stay in the eye of the hurricane throughout this abuse. Some things that happen in this life cannot be explained. Teacher abuse seems impossible. Why would the people who care so much about others be treated so badly? The main reason it is happening is because it can. People have choices between good and evil and there is more opportunity in education for all the reasons we explain on the site. Wherever there is opportunity, there will be greed. There are just some things that can only be understood through spiritual avenues and if you haven't developed it before, you need to now. We will have many book suggestions for spirituality. Your religious leader can suggest books also.

AS WORKPLACE ABUSE ESCALATES

WHY DON'T WE WORKING PEOPLE CONFRONT IT COLLECTIVELY?

by Judith L. Wyatt.

We are all in psychotic denial when due to speed up on the treadmill of daily life we don't confront the assaults on our freedoms, and we don't admit how bad work abuse is getting. Presently, as things get worse, we hang on tighter to whatever we've been doing -- we do it harder, even though it isn't working, rather than to stop, look at the situation and take action to prevent what's inevitable.

1 in 10 New Yorkers Has PTSD

Trauma of Sept. 11 Lingers in Wide NYC Area

-- More than one in 10 New York-area residents suffer lingering stress and depression in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, new research shows.

After correcting for background levels, the study suggests that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks resulted in an extra 532,240 cases of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the New York City metropolitan area. The study -- conducted two months after the disaster -- appears in the Aug. 7 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Many psychologists predicted that the trauma of watching the Sept. 11 events on television would cause a wave of PTSD to sweep the nation. The study shows no evidence of this, even though television watching was associated with a high degree of distress.

"That is a piece of good news for the country as a whole, but we find an important public-health problem for New York City," researcher William E. Schlenger, PhD, tells WebMD. "There is a substantial PTSD problem well beyond the downtown area. PTSD is quite high in all five boroughs of the city as well as in the suburbs of New Jersey and Connecticut."

When you are directly in it, it can effect you. Have compassion for others too.

You may be directly in a situation that causes PTSD - teacher abuse. Do not minimize its effects. Stay on top of your mental health by saying no to teacher abuse. You may think you can live in an abusive situation without consequences, but it has a way of seeping into your psyche unless you are proactive. That is why you have to learn about it, address it, and protect yourself by refusing to be a victim. Remember, even if you are not being abused, watching colleagues while doing nothing is an affront to you too. Also, the things you do to play it safe, and the compromises you make to stay on the good side of the abusers, slowly strangle your sense of power, making you a victim too. BE A SURVIVOR. 

Author Rene Dietrich describes Herself as: ART SOLDIER! Artist, Writer, Poet, Teacher, Scholar, Editor, Advocate for Students/Teachers, Education Activist, Emberrorist, Proletariate, Bad Speller with Joan of Arc Complex. Single mom with one very fine young son and usually a few strays in tow. I like books, readings, MAC (mad art APPs No Bill Gates), independent films (Baxter, Vagabond, wings of Desire, Dark City, City of God, Brazil) experimental theater, exceptional music: Cohen, Morrisons, Cave, Cale, Coletrain, Winehouse, VU, QT soundtracks, Miles, and Iggy.

A DESPERATE PLEA FOR HELP TO CTA PRESIDENT DEAN VOGEL FROM ONE TEACHER OUT IN JURUPA USD, RIVERSIDE CA.

Subject: Teacher Abuse in the Jurupa Unified School District by CTA representatives and JUSD Administration
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 07:47:58 -0700

Dear Mr. Vogel,

We at Jurupa Unified School District need your help, desperately!!!

The Union is in collusion with the district.

One example:  I was terminated by JUSD, (but the decision was overturned in Superior Court).
Throughout the entire 2+ year process, I begged and pleaded for legal help from my Union, John Vigrass President, and Ed Sibby CTA representative.  I was repeatedly told that "if the district chose to go for termination" then I would receive legal help.  Despite repeated written requests, text messages and verbal phone calls begging the union to be proactive rather than reactive, I was lied to and ignored.  The Union President usually said he would "ask the Assistant Superintendent, Tammy Elzig, what to do" and get back to me.  The same is true for Ed Sibby.

I was forced to pay inordinate amounts of money for private lawyers.  The Union did nothing.

I was placed on a 9-month administrative leave without being told why; was denied my Weingarten Rights, being told by Tammy Elzig that I was not in trouble, so I was not entitled to Union representation, but to say nothing.  I told the Union and they did nothing.

I was forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in violation of Ed Code.  I was not provided a list of doctors.  The evaluation was held in the district office in a room adjacent to the Assistant Superintendent's office.  No psychometric evaluations were administered.  The "Dr." kept leaving the room to consult with the Assistant Superintendent during the evaluation. I told the Union and they did nothing.

I was not provided a Skelly prior to my CPC hearing, and the Union did nothing.

Unverified evidence was presented in the hearing, a violation of CA Ed Code, and the Union did nothing.

Evidence which was over 10 days old, which had never been presented and shown to me prior to the hearing, was presented and the Union did nothing.

I was not allowed to gather exculpatory evidence or interview witnesses prior to the CPC hearing, and the Union did nothing.

Proper discovery did not occur, and the Union did nothing.

False information was added to my personnel file during the course of the proceedings.  The Union did nothing.

I was denied access to my personal posessions, classroom, records and even my right to associate with other unit members, and the Union did nothing.

All Union communications are sent via District email.  I was blocked from using District email.  I complained to both John Vigrass and Ed Sibby, and the Union did nothing.

I filed numerous grievances which were denied at level one, and the Union did nothing.

I was not paid for the last month of my administrative leave and the Union did nothing.

I was not compensated for disciplinary meetings held outside my workday and the Union did nothing.

When terminated, I begged for help with an appeal.  The Union attorney who was finally assigned to me, Marianne Reinhold, told me to find a job outside of education.  The Union did nothing.

The Union President kept telling me to take early retirement, as suggested by the Assistant Superintendent.  I was not eligible, and will not be until September 2012.

I appealed in Pro Per via Writ of Administrative Mandamus.  I retained an attorney after the second amended complaint was filed and prevailed.  On Dec. 2, 2011, the judge ordered that I be reinstated, paid back pay, back medical, out of pocket costs, attorney's fees, etc.  I told the Union President, John Vigrass, his response was that I was in no way shape or form employed by the school district, that the district would, of course, appeal, and only if I prevailed in the District's appeal would I receive help from the Union. 

 One cannot even get assistance when one prevails! 

Why did I pay Union Dues for almost 28 years?  (I was unable to pay while not receiving a check.)

I have a "Right to Sue Letter" against the Union from DFEH.  I will file more PERBs, none of which was or will be done with any Union assistance.

There are over 20 of us in JUSD who are part of a representative group action against the district.  All of us have undergone most if not all of what I have described in the foregoing list of injustices.

I do not want to engage in a legal battle with those whom I paid to protect me for almost 28 years.  Please, for God's sake, help us! 

ANN (LAST NAME WITH HELD)