Please click on the link below to take this brief FMEA activity survey to help us plan events for this year. (if you can 'train' please leave your name. :)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/D3PRKRG

1. Assessment Issues: Last week K-3 teachers met with Ed Services folks to discuss the low quality of the ELA Unit tests, the overwhelming amount of instructional time lost giving assessments, and the challenges of using Datawise. Nothing was resolved, but discussions will continue over what can be done to improve all of this. Please come to the November 7th Ed Services Advisory Committee meeting (3:30 in the Ed Services Conference Room) if you would like to discuss this or any other Ed Services issues, e.g. curriculum, assessments, regrouping, lesson plans, pacing guides etc.

2. Conference Contract Language: During conference week the Contract says that all non-instructional time that is not spent in conferences is teacher-directed. That means all meetings during conference week must be optional. That is a bit of a conflict for the sites that have conferences on November 17th, the day of the next 4/5 literacy training with Andrea Butler. My understanding is there is no other Thursday to switch this to, so it may just have to be optional for folks with conferences that week.

Also, our Contract specifies that during conference weeks (as well as Open House and Back To School Night) teachers are only required to be on site 37.5 hours (which is 7.5 hours x 5 days). This means if you are required to stay longer than 7.5 hours one day, then you get to leave early on other days to make up this time. The instructional minutes would not change, but teachers could leave when students are released for the day.

3. Hours: Teachers are not required to stay at trainings beyond their 7.5 hour work day. If your school starts at 8am and you are required to be at school at 7:30am , and do arrive at or before that time, then you are free to quietly leave a training 7.5 hours later (which would be at 3pm for the example above). For schools that begin at 8:15, then 3:15 would be the conclusion of the 7.5 hour work day.

4. Suspensions: Don't forget that all teachers have the right to suspend students for up to two days. Even if your site has an elaborate discipline flow chart, Ed Code 48910 (in the back of the Contract) gives all teachers the right to suspend defiant students for up to two days. Principals ultimately decide if the student goes home or stays in the office, but at elementary schools the student may not be sent to another classroom during the suspension. Teachers are responsible to contact the parents as soon as possible to schedule a conference after the suspension.

5. CTA Conferences: November 4th is the deadline for Minority Incentive Grants for all CTA winter conferences. Here is a link if you are interested. http://www.cta.org/Professional-Development/Events/Conferences/index.aspx

6. CTA President: Dean Vogel is the new CTA President. He is looking to really find out what's working and not working for CTA and promises to shake things up. It looks like it could be a very interesting couple of years for our statewide association.

-There will be a $1500 annual stipend for teachers with National Board Certification (which is something like an advanced teaching credential). Here is a link to their website:  http://www.nbpts.org/