The CEA Blog

An estimated audience of nearly 5,000 members of the National Education Association gathered to participate in the latest stop on Federal Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s “Listening Tour”. Included in the audience were Columbus Education Association President Rhonda Johnson, Vice-President Sally Oldham, the Association’s Board of Governors and local delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly.

Introducing Secretary Duncan, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel noted the stark differences in the national education landscape. “The fact that the President is listening and accessible to 3.2 million educators,” said President Van Roekel, “shows what a difference a year makes.”

Secretary Duncan repeatedly referenced cooperation and collaboration between teachers and administrators throughout his speech.

“You must be full partners and leaders in education reform,” he told the audience of education professionals. “The key to making progress begins with respect for the labor/management relationship.”

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Delegates for the Columbus Education Association have arrived in San Diego, California to participate in the NEA’s Annual Convention.

President Rhonda Johnson, Vice-President Sally Oldham, District 1 Governor Greg Goodlander and High School Governor-At-Large attended the National Council of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA) earlier in the week.

NCUEA’s membership base includes over 300 local chapters of the National Education Association, as well as a number of merged NEA-AFT local affiliates. Delegates to the Council received reports from NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, NEA Secretary-Treasurer Becky Pringle and NEA’s Chief Counsel Bob Chanin.

During the course of the business agenda, the Council approved the 2009-2010 budget. A number of NCUEA New Business Items (NBIs) were approved. Several of those NBIs directed the Council to submit NBIs to the NEA to be voted on by the more than 9,000 members of the Representative Assembly.

Columbus Education Association delegates will be in attendance at Federal Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s town hall meeting tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. PST.

A recently released report from researchers at Stanford University seriously questions the amount of learning imparted to Ohio’s charter school students. The report, released by Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) is titled “Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States“. It contains a longitudinal, student-level data analysis that covers more than 70 percent of the nation’s students that attend charter schools, including Ohio. Multiple Choice includes over 1.7 million records from more than 2400 charter schools.

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More than 1,200 members of the Columbus Education Association converged on Veteran’s Memorial on Tuesday, June 2, to consider the two-year tentative agreement between the CEA and the Columbus Board of Education. After the introduction of local dignitaries, gathered members were welcomed by CEA President Rhonda Johnson.

“We are living in uncertain economic times,” said President Johnson. “Compared to when Issue 75 passed in November at 7.85 mils, fewer people are paying property taxes. This reduces the effective amount that the levy collects.” “Despite the passage of the levy and the federal stimulus money,” continued Johnson, “the treasurer would only certify a two-year contract.”

“Your bargaining team has worked long and hard to bring you the package that you see before you,” stated Negotiations Chair Deborah Huffman-Mirib.

“I got worried as I saw the economy happen,” said Chief Negotiator Rick Logan. “This round of bargaining was some of the hardest work from the core team since CEA’s first contract in 1969.

Among the items included in the package:

• Clear and grieveable expectations of elementary grade-card access and entry.
• Duty-free periods for elementary Senior Faculty Representatives
• Additional professional development related to special education
• Increased days for adoptive leave
• Expansion of catastrophic sick leave provisions
• Preservation of insurance benefits for current members
• Addition of domestic partners for primary coverage under insurance and use of sick leave
• Elimination of the Comprehensive Major Medical plan and the addition of the “single plus one” premium tier
• Use of teacher-level value-added data as one factor in determining teacher eligibility for the Performance Advancement System (PAS)
• A $4,000 stipend for eligible teachers who elect to serve at the superintendent’s discretion in “high-needs” schools
• Addition of step 15 to the salary schedule and index changes in longevity steps
• A 1.75 percent raise in the first year, and a 2 percent raise in the second year of the contract

After questions and debates, 89 percent of members voted resoundingly to ratify the tentative agreement. The Columbus Board of Education is scheduled to take its vote at a later date.

At the recommendation of CEA President Rhonda Johnson, the CEA Board of Governors voted to hold a General Membership Meeting at Veterans Memorial on Tuesday, June 2, at 7 p.m.

At the time of publication of this Voice, the Association and the Board had not reached a tentative agreement. CEA’s Core Negotiations Team was scheduled to meet with the Board’s team on Friday, May 22.

Bargaining between CEA’s team and the Boards team started nearly eight weeks ago. A mediator from the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) has been in attendance to mediate since both teams began to meet.

“It is important that we have this General Membership Meeting,” explained President Johnson. CEA members will do one of two things– vote on ratification of a new contract or take other action. It is essential that CEA is represented in person by its 4,000 plus members, she added. The Board of Governors will be in touch with their Faculty Representatives with additional information.

Association members will be admitted with their OEA Access (membership card) or a picture ID. Seating for members will be by CEA unit and by CEA district. Keep reading The Voice and your e-mail for updates.

The National PTA established Teacher Appreciation Week as the first full week of May. Tues. May 5 is National Teacher Day, begun over 60 years ago. In addition, National Nurses Day is Wed., May 6.

CEA recognizes the crucial role our teachers and nurses play in making public schools great for every child.

To that end, CEA asks its members to respond to participate in the latest Speak Out on The CEA Blog:

How have past and present CCS educators and nurses made a difference in your life or lives of our students?

You don’t have to be registered to leave a reply- simply click on the “Comments” near the title of the post, type your first name (or a screen name of your choice), email address and leave your comment. Once your reply has been moderated, it will be added.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Roswellsgirl's

Teachers throughout Columbus City Schools have already begun to administer the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT) and will continue to test grades 3 through 8 in the coming weeks. Standardized testing can be an extremely stressful period of time, punctuated with moments of levity and sincerity on the parts of both teachers and students.

To that end, The CEA Blog has culled the best standardized testing vignettes from teachers and administrators throughout the national blogosphere and packaged them together for this “Victory Friday” edition.

Middle school teacher Pete explains where the term “Victory Friday” comes from.

What is Victory Friday? (It) is obviously celebrated on Friday as a victory over the work week. It also serves as a jumping off point to a relaxing weekend.

The CEA Blog wishes its members a hale and hearty “Victory Friday” for this week and those left in the school year. Click on the “More” tab below to continue reading.

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The Columbus Education Association has been a leader in school reform at the local, state and national level for many years. Performance pay may be a buzz word now, but it is nothing new to the members of CEA.

Over the past decade, CEA has negotiated multiple performance pay programs. In 1997, CEA negotiated the Gainsharing program and, later, the Performance Advancement System (PAS). Nearly $2 million was awarded to teachers for improved student achievement for the 2007-2008 school year.

Gainsharing is a method of distributing funds for improved education and student achievement in Columbus City Schools. Teachers assigned to buildings for at least 120 days are eligible to receive a bonus if the school makes Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Teachers who do not work full time in a building may participate in Gainsharing though service agreements.

PAS is a program for all members of the CEA bargaining unit to engage in classroom action research. If teachers’ projects post mean student achievement gains greater than the district, CEA members will receive cash awards of $2,500 for meeting the PAS gain criteria.

In recent years, the district adopted the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) in eight schools. TAP is a comprehensive school reform system that restructures and revitalizes the teaching profession with a goal of achieving measurable gains in student performance. Teachers received bonuses ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars for knowledge and skills and student growth in the 2007-2008 school year. The master and mentor teachers also received a stipend for extra duties and responsibilities.

Our 114 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) receive a $1,500 annual stipend from CCS, above and beyond the state stipend. At the Superintendent’s sole discretion, teachers who agree to work in high-needs schools can receive an additional stipend.

Any system that involves alternative pay should meet the “APPLE criteria” developed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Systems must be administratively feasible, professionally acceptable, publicly credible, legally defensible and economically affordable.

“This is a time for innovation and opportunity in the field of education,” stated CEA President Rhonda Johnson. “I am proud to be a member of an organization that has always been on the cutting edge of school reform.”

Supt. Gene Harris announced that teachers will not administer the quarterly diagnostics scheduled in May, given the extended school year due to calamity days, “…we want to be sure that students are motivated to attend and participate for the remainder of the school year. Due to the timing of the scheduled administrations of the Ohio Achievement Tests (the week of Apr. 20-24) and the Grading Period 4 Quarterly Diagnostics (May 18 and 19), it has been decided not to administer the quarterly diagnostics due to the minimal number of weeks between the two test administrations and the remaining length of the school year with the students,” Harris wrote in a memo.

Even though the quarterly diagnostics have been suspended for the fourth quarter, CEA will continue to advocate for valid, reliable formative assessments. You have already helped us make a difference by giving your feedback on our survey about quarterly diagnostics. The data from the survey presented at the Joint Labor-Management Committee meetings has demonstrated that the quarterly diagnostics need to be retooled. “CEA does not oppose formative assessments, but they should assist teachers in improving student achievement,” said CEA President Rhonda Johnson. “We will continue to work on issues about the testing schedule and support for grading and scanning tests.”

High schools will continue their end-of-course exams at the end of Grading Period 4. Meanwhile, a joint committee will look at next year’s testing schedule using this year’s teacher surveys and data from the reading comprehension assessments to form their analysis and recommendations.

Our licensed school nurses have helped CCS to increase student achievement by providing for the emotional, mental and physical well-being of our students. In addition to providing care to staff in the building, they also help connect our students’ families with needed health care resources. The Ohio Department of Education requires licensed school nurses to have a minimum of a four-year college degree and additional graduate-level coursework to obtain a license.

The certification of our school nurses enables them to practice independently, a vital component to meeting the diverse medical demands of our school setting. School nurses are able to conduct mandatory staff trainings on topics such as the Heimlich maneuver, blood-borne pathogens, CPR, childhood abuse and first aid. School nurses lead schools in their emergency/disaster management plan and create Individual Health Plans and Emergency Action Plans for students with serious or chronic medical conditions.

Your Association would like members to respond to The CEA Blog’s newest Speak Out:

How has the licensed school nurse in your school helped care for your students beyond the walls of your classroom?

You don’t have to be registered to leave a reply- simply click on the “Comments” link at the top of the post, type your first name (or a screen name of your choice), email address and leave your comment. Once your reply has been moderated, it will be added.