Fourth Quarter 2002 OCEA Quest
the e-publication of OCEA
Fourth Quarter Edition 2002 Volume 1, Number 4 In this issue (click on the links below):
Negotiation
Update & InsuranceThe
Debate on National PrioritiesTeacher Quality
Virtual Observation
Spotlight: Dave Mital
Cool Idea
Web Links GIVE LIFE: GIVE BLOOD! Negotiation Update & InsuranceAs of press time, OCEA and the District were still at impasse and headed toward arbitration. The dates for the two-day arbitration hearing are June 13 and 14.
Although still at impasse, both sides remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached before the hearing. It is preferable to both sides to reach a face-to-face agreement rather than have the decision made by a third party. Arbitration is a precarious proposition for both sides since an arbitrator will simply choose one side over the other after hearing arguments. Obviously, both sides believe their position to be strong, or we would not be at impasse. The District is still offering no salary increase for this year. While OCEA agrees that funds are scarce, we believe the District has adequate reserves to give teachers a salary increase. If we were at disagreement over a specific amount of an increase, arbitration would be riskier; however, a zero from an arbitrator is no different than a zero from the bargaining table, so the relative risk is small.
Barring some unforeseen eleventh hour action, the defined contribution for insurance proposed by the District (where individuals select various levels of coverage, spending a specified allocation for that purpose) appears dead. While an interesting idea that would seem to benefit a majority of teachers, the defined contribution caps our insurance benefit at FY 03 levels, placing teachers at risk for out of pocket insurance premiums as early as July 2003. To ask teachers to assume this risk while offering no salary increase for this year is not acceptable to our bargaining team.
The District’s presentation of their defined contribution proposal confused many members. Quite a few were under the impression that this was a "done deal" and going into effect. Further adding to the confusion is the fact that there will be additional choices regarding insurance during the open enrollment period beginning May 1. Teachers need to be aware, however, selecting a lower level of benefits during the open enrollment will not give them extra money to place into other choices available under IRS Schedule 125. The only benefit to teachers in selecting lesser coverage will come in the form of lowering the out of pocket premium for dependent coverage. Of course, the District will benefit if teachers select a lower level of coverage by not having to pay as much for the basic premium.
Be very careful selecting your benefits! Make sure you understand all of the ramifications and select wisely.
Contact Quest at: JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us
The Debate on National Priorities:Education and the Nation's Defense
(Article adapted from The Education Insider)
The House in a floor vote and the Senate in committee grappled with defining the nation's spending priorities, before leaving the Capitol on spring recess. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Budget Resolution is the blueprint that guides spending decisions made later in the year.Given the current deficit and our national security issues, the need to prioritize domestic spending is all the more important. NEA applauds the tremendous efforts Congress continues to make to protect our nation's security. An increased investment in education is an important corollary, an investment in the nation's long-term stability and prosperity.
Senate Budget Priorities - Moving America's Students Ahead
"The funding levels in the Senate's proposed budget puts America's kids where they belong -ahead," NEA President Bob Chase said. "With adequate resources, we can insure that every student has access to a high-quality teacher and innovative programs that inspire learning."The Senate's proposal would:
Eliminate Tuition Tax Subsidies -- Eliminate the private school tuition tax subsidies in the Administration and House budgets, which would divert much-needed funding away from public schools.
Fully Fund IDEA -- Fully fund the federal share of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) within six years. Since the law was enacted more than 25 years ago, the federal government has never funded the promised 40 percent of the cost of educating special needs students. Currently, the federal government covers only 17 percent of the cost.
Guarantee IDEA Funding -- Make IDEA funding mandatory, giving states and local school districts the ability to plan on a reliable funding stream.
Support Professional Development, School Improvement, Pell Grants -- Provide increased investments -- above the Administration and House proposals -- for teacher training, improving student achievement in Title I schools and other vital programs included in the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA]. A portion of the increase may also be used to increase Pell Grants to expand college opportunities.
Restore Cuts - Restore funding to programs such as Safe and Drug-Free Schools, rural education, and teacher technology training that were cut in the Administration and House budgets. House Plan - NEA opposes misplaced priorities. NEA opposed the House budget plan. In a letter to all House members, NEA noted that House members took a very encouraging step toward IDEA full funding, but that other portions of the Budget Resolution undermine efforts to achieve a successful and improving public education system.
The House adopted the Budget Resolution by a largely partyline vote of 221-209, with only one Democrat and one Independent voting with the Republican Majority in favor and two Republicans and one Independent voting with the Democratic Minority in opposition.
The full Senate will take up the FY03 Budget Resolution when Congress returns. Email a message to your U.S. Senators' local offices.
Urge them to support the Senate Budget Committee's FY03 Budget Resolution. Ask them to applaud the Senate Budget Committee for NOT including tuition tax subsidies that drain resources from public schools. Senator Harry Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/email_form.cfm Senator John Ensign: http://ensign.senate.gov/contact_john/contactjohn_email.htmlContact Quest at:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us Teacher Quality(Article adapted from The Education Insider)
Teacher quality was the focus of the Administration's March education message. The White House conference on teacher quality played on survey reports that teacher preparation programs left teachers feeling unprepared for the challenges of the job.NEA President Bob Chase, in advance of the conference, offered sound counsel: "The realities of a severe teacher shortage, combined with rising expectations of teachers, are converging to a point of crisis for our nation's schools. To realize the President’s vision will require a serious commitment of federal resources."
Chase offered some key principles for participants to consider that will improve the quality of teaching nationwide:
Rigorous teacher preparation programs that provide course work and hands-on instruction in both subject matter and how to teach.
Meaningful mentoring and induction programs to help new teachers succeed in working with students. Fair and competitive compensation that attracts and retains the kind of people students need and parents want.
Incentives (including scholarships and premium pay) to recruit teachers for high-poverty locations and schools of greatest need. Quality professional development that prepares teachers to work with diverse student populations.
High-quality pathways to teaching for new college graduates, mid-career changers, paraprofessionals already in the classroom, and military and government retirees. Time, the key ingredient of successful professional development, was notably absent from media reports of the conference presentations and discussions. Since 1982, when the seminal report, "A Nation at Risk" first appeared, teachers have argued for the need to create time for professional development.NEA is committed to teacher quality standards that have the potential to transform public education and the teaching profession and will do everything in its power to win the support that enables teachers to succeed.
Contact Quest at:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us OCEA elections became official at the March meeting. Officers for the 2002-2003 school year are:Gaylea Manning won both parts of the UCN election for which she was nominated. Gaylea is the new member of the NSEA Board of Directors representing UCN Region A. She replaces Warren Wish who reached the end of his term limit. She will also go to NEA Representative Assembly representing UCN, and Steve Fargan will get to attend as a local representative. Jeff Greb and Warren Wish will also represent OCEA at RA.
- Jeffery Greb, President
- Gaylea Manning, Administrative Vice President
- Steve Fargan, Financial Vice President
- Sharon Lane, Communications Vice President
- Chris Whitcome, Treasurer
- Irene Waltz, Secretary
Congratulations to all!
Contact Quest at:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us Virtual Observation(from NEA Today)
To become a better teacher, you need to watch a lot of classrooms so you can see and analyze how a wide range of other people teach, says UCLA psychology professor and education researcher James Stigler. But in American schools, he says, that kind of professional development experience is often impossible to arrange.Stigler thinks he’s got a technological fix for that problem. He started a company called LessonLab, which produces software that lets teachers see, analyze, and discuss each others’ lessons with relative ease. The software, released last year, is now being tried by several thousand teachers nationwide.
Teachers have videotaped lessons for a long time, but the LessonLab software has taken this to a new level. Because the lessons are digitized and time coded, teachers can talk about specific incidents and watch them again without spending time getting to the right place on the tape. The software lets a teacher-observer watch someone else’s lesson after school or at home, make notes on specific incidents, and share those notes with other people, either remotely or face-to-face. Although teachers can use the software at home, Stigler doesn’t think it will replace face-to-face talks. But it can make those conversations more efficient, he believes, because participants can refer to parts of the lesson and immediately show people what they mean.Stigler is quick to say his software is not a professional development program, but rather a tool, much like a word processing application that makes writing easier but doesn’t do the work for you.
Stigler insists there’s no single right way to teach. The right approach for one student may be wrong for another. So LessonLab is not trying to compile a set of exemplary lessons. Rather, the company is building a library that shows real world teaching in all its complexity."Most educational research is not relevant to the classroom," Stigler says. "Education researchers study things like general characteristics of how children learn. What teachers need is studies of specific curriculum and standards—how to teach Billy Goats Gruff to third graders so they learn what you want them to learn."
For more information: http://www.lessonlab.com/Contact Quest at:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us Spotlight: Dave MitalEach quarter Quest will feature an article on a teacher who is an OCEA member. If you have someone you’d like to see in "Spotlight," email your suggestions to the address below.
Dave Mital is in his 13th year at Carson High School. He teaches Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry and considers himself lucky. "I’ve got the best job in the school," he believes because his subject tends to attract higher caliber students. "I teach the best kids, and I’m lucky," he said.
Before entering teaching, Dave worked in forestry and soil research at the University of Idaho. That job gave him ample opportunity to engage in his other favorite activity: rock climbing. An avid climber, Dave broke his foot and ankle in a fall from Liberty Cap in Yosemite in June of 2001. (Liberty Cap is located adjacent to Nevada Falls.) Thinking his ankle merely sprained, he laced up his boot and hiked out of the park. He is still recovering from the accident today. Although the bones have healed, his ligaments are giving him trouble.
Dave lives in Carson with his wife Cathleen and two children, Jenny (11) and Nathan (7).
When asked about his recent selection as CHS Teacher of the Year, Dave was self-effacing. Like all good teachers, he is probably more critical of his own performance than he realizes or needs to be. He did say he tends to focus on those times when things go awry rather than those times when everything goes right. As his selection shows, even if he doesn’t believe it, his peers consider him an example of excellence.
Contact Quest at: JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us
Back Cool IdeaHere’s an idea you might be able to adapt for use in your classroom. If you’ve got a cool idea, send it to Quest.
(From 3/21/02 NEA Works-4-Me newsletter)Instant White Boards
From Nedra Graves (
ngraves@citlink.net), a Spanish teacher at Lassen High School in Susanville, California:"Smooth finish sheet protectors work great as individual white boards.
Place a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 card stock (in any combination of colors) in
the protector and the students have small whiteboards they can keep in their binders. Regular markers work fine and one can use anything from Kleenex, to cut up sweats, to socks as erasers. The whiteboards are great for vocabulary practice."
Contact Quest at:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us ContestEach addition of Quest will have an exciting new feature: a CCSD trivia contest. The first person to e-mail Quest with the correct answer will win a $10 gift certificate. Also, if you’d like to submit a possible contest question, you could be eligible for the same prize.
Contest rules:
- Only OCEA members are eligible.
- Current OCEA officers are not eligible.
- Answers must be submitted by e-mail to the address below. On the subject line type "Contest."
Last issue’s question and answer: Q. According NRS 288, either party engaged in a contract negotiation can declare impasse after ___________ meetings.
- The winner will be the first e-mail received by the editor with the correct answer. (E-mails are automatically date and time stamped upon receipt by the computer.)
- The editor shall be the sole arbiter of what constitutes a correct answer.
a. two b. three c. four d. five
A. The correct answer is "c".
The first correct answer to reach Quest was from Ananada Campbell of CMS. Congratulations!
This issue’s question:Who currently represents UCN Region A on the NSEA Board of Directors and will do so until the end of this school year?
Send your answers to:
JGREB@carson.k12.nv.us Back Web LinksBack
- OCEA – local information; e-mail officers; education links http://home.pyramid.net/ocea/index.html
NSEA – statewide information; legislative updates http://www.nsea-nv.org NEA – national information; numerous links to many education sites http://www.nea.org NEA Member Benefits – lots of connections and free stuff http://www.neamb.com
