Teacher vs. District finale, and big news for me!

 

Teacher Resolution, New-ish Changes, Summer Plans

June 13, 2013

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated my blog and since I can’t decide on one specific topic, I’m combining a few into one entry.

First, for those of you who read all about the teacher vs. district struggle this school year, you’ll be happy to know that things have been settled, at least for a few months.  After the imposition in April, May’s paycheck was a harsh blow.  Having so many thousands of dollars gone at one time really is hard to swallow.  And with the prospect of June’s looking the same, teacher morale was especially low.  

Then, on the last Wednesday in May, representatives from the union and the district met in LA for the court hearing to determine whether or not labor laws had been violated.  When the two sides met the district said, “we’re ready to negotiate.”  It was a little inconvenient because none of the teacher negotiators were part of the hearing and so weren’t there (they couldn’t have said anything the night before, really?).  Luckily though one of the team had a minimum day and so was able to drive up right away.  In the end the district and the teachers made a deal that looks much better than the imposition.  Our May paychecks still had to suffer, but our June checks will go back to the same level as previous months.  Next year teachers will have a number of additional cuts that will equal about 10% total reduction in monies and 5 less school days, BUT there is, final, some restoration language that says if the governor’s budget, or the Prop 30 allotments end up putting more money our way, some of that (3 of the furlough days) will be given back to the teachers.  And then of course at the end of next year we have to sign a contract again, and since our mega loan will still be out there, I suspect these problems will be back.

So why the sudden change on the district’s part?  It depends on who you ask.  If you ask the community many of them might say that the Parent Coalition was putting pressure on the parties, if you ask the union leaders they’ll say that the pressure of a possible strike weighed on the community and the board.  Plus, those involved with the hearing highly suspect that the district was going to lose at least some parts of the PERB lawsuit (the settlement means the lawsuit is discontinued so we the public will never know what might have been said).  If  you ask the district leaders...I have no idea what they’d say.  I think it’s a combination of all these factors and really I’m just ready to be done talking about it. 

Our next big family news is this:  I get to go back to my old school!!!! Yea!  One of the RCS teachers is moving to Oregon which caused some others to switch positions.  One of the teachers who has been teaching the 5-6 combo class this year volunteered to move down to Kindergarten so that I could come back to the spot that I loved.  It’ll be different because my old partner won’t be with me and also because I’ll teaching all the subjects instead of teaming, but it should still feel like coming home to me.  I am elated to be on the same campus as Ethan (see how cute he is getting his Kindergarten diploma) and to be at a school that has a little more flexibility with how and what to teach.  

Even though this past school year has been a bit tough, we ended pretty strongly, which allows me to admit that there are many things about Ramona Elementary that I will miss.  For one thing I will really miss the technology.  I had really gotten used to how much computer access my kids had and how computer literate I helped them to become this year.  And I have absolutely no desire to teach without a projector and document camera--I might have to actually buy one myself for my new room.  I’ll also miss how short and undramatic RE’s staff meetings are, as well as how there are more opportunities to make extra money with before and after school programs.  I really do feel grateful for how much I have learned and grown this past year.  I really think I will be a better teacher next year than I have ever been before.  

And now it’s summer.  Time to both work hard and play hard.  I have high expectations for this summer (many of which may be expounded upon at a later time) and some real concrete goals for me and the boys.  For Ethan I’d like him to learn to tie his shoes, to become a proficient swimmer, and to write more neatly.  For Aaron he’s being cut off from his binkies as we speak (notice the picture of him throwing all his pacifiers away and then being rewarded with a new toy afterwards) and he’ll also be potty training this summer.  Stephen seems to be working hard on his new calling with the scouts and also on getting more nutrients into his diet.  As for me I’ll be doing lots of math and research about math to build up my confidence and have high hopes for making my classroom more accessible to parents.  I’m also working hard on providing school activities for my boys and my nephews.  Mostly though, we have lots and lots of fun things waiting for us within the next two months.  You’ll just have to find out more about them later!