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to your Senior Building Rep. by March 29, 2007.
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Given the size of our membership, it is difficult for everyone to know what is occurring across the district and keep current with what our colleagues are experiencing. Obviously, the truths that need to be revealed are dependent upon grade level, discipline and/or building. Regardless of whether we have or have not experienced the same concerns, we need to understand and support one another because what affects one affects all.
Thankfully, we have dedicated members who openly communicate their thoughts and concerns to those elected to represent them. The following areas of concern (some new and some continuing) have been voiced by members from across the district over the past month:
The truths surrounding all of the above will continue to be voiced by your union. We will not spin, manipulate, deceive or ignore what we know to be true. To reveal the truth is one thing; to have it accepted is another. Clearly, we are in this for the long run and we need the understanding, support and commitment of our members. We must look out for each other, stand united and be ever vigilant in protecting our rights contained in our collective bargaining agreement.
Some members reported to the MTA office that their most recent NYSTRS Benefit Profile contained incorrect information in the area of salary earned for the 2005 – 2006 school year (July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006). MTA Officers, Executive Board members and Retirement Delegates have been working to track down the reason for the incorrect information and how members can secure the correct amount that should have been listed as salary earned.
What has been uncovered is that during the past school year TRS instituted new methods of reporting salaries. Instead of reporting on a quarterly basis, all employers are now required to report on a monthly basis. This created a problem with the final payroll in June 2006. While most members had the correct salary reported, there was a problem with the information transmitted for about 200 teachers. It appears that most of the approximately 200 teachers were those who were on the 21 paycheck option and that none of their last paycheck amounts were transmitted to TRS. The district’s Business Department discovered the errors and has said that corrected info was transmitted to TRS. However, that info didn’t seem to make its way into the Benefit Profile.
The MTA contacted TRS board member Sheila Salenger for assistance. She forwarded the MTA’s concerns to Sheila Gardella, Director of Member Relations at TRS. Ms. Gardella said that TRS is working with the district’s payroll department to correct the problem and that TRS will re-evaluate and update all member records. She strongly urges members use the Secure Member Area of the TRS web site (www.nystrs.org) to track and see the change of salary for the past school year. If you are looking at retirement this year, the MTA thinks that you would probably be best served by making personal contact with a TRS representative to get the corrections made as soon as possible.
Locally, Sheila Esposito requested that a memo be sent from the district’s Business Department to all teachers who had corrected information sent to TRS. The MTA was told that the memo will be forthcoming.
After seeing what has occurred, all members should check their Benefit Profiles on an annual basis, not just as you are nearing your retirement years. It’s your pension, be sure it is correct.
(Author’s Name Withheld)
The Enlarged City School District of Middletown is starting to take a much stronger stance on looking at how teaching is done in the classrooms. Children as a whole in this district are deficient readers and writers. Many are reading below grade level and some kids arrive at 2nd grade barely able to read at all. I think administration and teachers can agree that some sort of concentrated effort needs to take place to help correct this. Unfortunately, teachers are being limited as to how they can address this situation.
At the Elementary levels, teachers are being asked to lose their individuality and to smother the particular instructional styles that are, and have been, a blessing of the diverse personalities, backgrounds, experiences, and educations of our faculty. Everyone is to plan together so that each class at each grade level is doing exactly the same things at roughly the same times. There is to be no more pulling in of outside resources; the only acceptable course is to teach according to a strict plan that has been designed by the school district leaders. All outside teaching tools are prohibited unless they have been approved by the district. No actual blueprint for instruction has been provided, just a hard hand telling teachers what they cannot do.
Everyone wants results. Unfortunately, while maps sometime seem impossible to fold, the map we have been handed is as confusing to unfold. The one thing that is clear is that the current approach to fixing our sinking ship is not as educationally sound as its promoters would like it to seem.
Children need to be taught concepts. This takes time. With the way things are being done now, students are introduced to concepts but not enough time is devoted to ensuring that they master these. We test, and we test, and the results show the same thing — our students are not meeting the mark. Instead of over testing, it is time to start teaching. Telling the teachers what skills to focus on is fine. Suggesting to them how to structure the teaching day is also fine, in order to ensure that all important subject areas get attention. The problem we are experiencing lies in the way so many requirements are piled into the instructional day. Something is bound to get short changed.
Thanks to the new district approach called “Nothing but Harcourt”, that is exactly what has happened to our classrooms. Every teacher has been restricted to teaching from just this program without being allowed to supplement if they feel it is necessary. The children are under a microscope and they don’t even realize it. There has been no communication to parents about how Middletown children are not meeting the mark; no explanation about what they are doing in the classrooms. But we have wholesale changes in how teaching is done.
These changes are going to hurt these kids in the long run. It’s being assumed that children come into the classroom as avid learners eager to get started on whatever the teacher has planned for them. That is just not the reality. Children are very social to begin with. Children today have been conditioned by society and the media into a constant state of attention deficit. It takes an enormous effort to get students focused on learning. Even when they are being quiet, getting them to be attentive to instruction is a huge challenge. I think all would agree that meaningful group activities during which the students can learn more from doing than listening, are a healthy alternative to a traditional lecture model. And so, the district has implemented a “Centers” approach, which permits teachers to work in small groups to focus on improving student reading levels. But here is our problem: for one teacher in a room of 25 or more students to pull this off, it would require students to be independent learners. Sadly, and despite the adamant insistence of our leaders, a majority of our students are not independent learners. If they were, we would not have to be so concerned about their reading and writing.
Other questions, consistently left unanswered, arise. How can a teacher focus on working with small groups when there are other students in the room who also need their help, a growing number of whom present behavior challenges? Considering that the majority of a student’s time would be spent working in “Centers,” how does this cosmetic approach to small group instruction lead to anywhere but overall mediocrity? What about science and social studies? What about writing instruction? Why is it that, when we ask for sense, we are simply given more training; when we ask for organization, we are given more matter; when we ask for models, we are made to do lesson plans?
Teachers have a passion for human intellectual growth. We work with flesh and blood, personalities and spirits, hearts and minds. Someone seems to have become enamored with programs and data. That is not a sound educational choice. Our Superintendent needs to facilitate the meeting of the hearts and minds of his teachers and principals so that, together, we may come up with a plan that will really help our children. No successful corporation would waste such a pool of talent as a school district has in its teachers. Yet we have little to no control over how we teach. We are being turned into gingerbread men and women, already stale out of the cookie cutter. The more we are trained, the less we actually teach, to the point that our mere physical presence among our students has been limited. This is just madness. A better way needs to be found and found quickly. It’s all about the kids, and they are the ones who are suffering.
by Lois Samsel-Cronk
There is one pending Stage 3 grievance. We have asked the district to provide a functional student information system for the high school. At this time we are waiting to hear from the district as to when we can present our case to the Board of Education.
This past January 4th, Middletown High School’s Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) college Biology class, under the guidance of adjunct professor and MHS biology teacher Shawn Haener, traveled to the beautiful SUNY New Paltz campus to spend an exciting day long workshop studying Molecular Biology. This rigorous genetics based program was run by the wonderful team of Dr. Dennis Moran and Arnold Nemerofsky. Both men are experienced veteran professors of the SUNY New Paltz Biology Dept. The day’s events allowed students to work hands-on with some great genetics equipment. They performed gel preparations, restriction enzyme digests, DNA argarose gel electrophoresis, staining, and gel analysis.
As the importance of DNA science and genetics continues to grow, it is essential that we introduce it to our young college students. Establishing an interest today could spark the beginning of an exciting and rewarding career in the ever expanding field of genetics.
Since February 2003 the MTA Benefit Fund has allowed retired teachers to remain part of the group vision plan as long as they paid 100% of the annual vision premiums. As of July 1, 2007, this opportunity will no longer be available to teachers who retire.
The trustees of the MTA Benefit Fund were recently notified by NYSUT Member Benefits Trust that all benefit funds throughout the state will no longer be able to offer voluntary vision coverage to retired fund participants. This announcement comes upon the heels of NYSUT Member Benefits Trust starting a new voluntary vision plan for all NYSUT members and agency fee payers.
Members who are going to retire can make the most of their current vision plan by using the 2007 annual benefit prior to their date of retirement. Once retired, eligibility for coverage expires. Retired members could opt to be part of the NYSUT Benefits Trust vision plan for 2008 and beyond. Full details regarding the NYSUT Benefits Trust vision plan can be found online through the NYSUT web site.
Currently there are 33 retired teachers who opt to remain part of the MTA Benefit Fund vision plan. They will be receiving a mailing from the fund outlining the changes that will be taking place. They too will be advised to use their 2007 benefit prior to June 30th and to investigate coverage through NYSUT starting in January 2008.
I am a teaching assistant and my recent TRS Benefit Profile shows less years of credited service than I have served. How could this be? There could be 2 reasons for this. The first is that you might have been a part-time employee when you started in the district and part-time years of employment convert to only parts of years of service toward retirement. The second reason is that perhaps you are one of many TA’s who did not join TRS when you started working in the district. Your first few years have not been credited toward your years of service for retirement. You can buy back those years. Contact TRS to determine the cost to purchase the additional years of service credit.
My most recent credit history from the Personnel Department showed a 3 credit course from the fall as a 1.5 credit course. How can I get this corrected? There is no need to correct it. Courses from the fall are listed at of their value for salary purposes for the second half of the year. Just be sure to check this fall’s credit history to see that the remaining 1.5 credits are listed for a total of 3.
Will all of my compensation be eligible for determining my Final Average Salary? In most cases, most, if not all of your compensation will be included in your FAS. However, there are some items of pay that are not allowed. One of them is payment received in lieu of health insurance. This can only be included by some Tier 1 members who are able to use a 5-year FAS. In addition, pay for duties not reasonably incidental to that of full-time teacher or administrator (e.g., monitor, bus driver, district clerk, clerk of the board, school attorney) are not eligible for inclusion in your FAS. Contact a TRS representative if you have concerns regarding the eligibility of some of your compensation.
by Peggy Fellows
Spring is just around the corner and thoughts turn to…supplies?! Just what are you entitled to have? The contract guarantees you certain items. You must have a desk, a chair, a bookcase and a filing cabinet as close to your teaching station as possible. Prior to April a teacher must provide notice of any lack of these items. The district must ensure that all new teachers are provided with these items.
The contract guarantees budget requests. Teachers submit budget requests to the building principal along with an indication of the amount of money these requests may involve.
After budget cuts teachers are allowed to make cuts or prioritize their requests. If requests are made before a tentative budget has been approved, teachers shall be informed which of their requests have been eliminated by the Board. Within 4 days after a budget has been adopted, teachers shall be informed which budget requests have been deleted by the Board. Teachers shall also be informed if delays in ordering or delivery are likely to occur due to factors beyond the control of the Board.
I’m sure you have at least glanced through your new lime green contract. Keep it in a safe place so you can refer to it as needed.
by Kristine Hanington
As a senior building rep. I often get asked: Who is NYSUT? What do they do? What do my dues pay for? Now I’ve got an answer. NYSUT is a resource that provides information to educate its members. I attended NYSUT’s Health and Safety conference in Albany this past weekend. The conference theme was “The Danger Educated NYSUT Member,” and educate they did. NYSUT has a health and safety task force that is comprised of various people including educators from throughout New York. This task force organizes the conference to educate union members in locals that include teachers, TA’s, support staff, bus drivers, custodians, and university professors.
At this conference I was able to increase my knowledge of health and safety issues that affect us everyday. In the course, “Health and Safety 101,” I received information and resources regarding Commissioner’s Regulation 155, NYSUT bulletins on specific health and safety issues, and resources to answer questions on a laundry list of health and safety issues. By the time it ended I felt like my head might explode. Thankfully, I was given a 3-inch binder with all the resources that were referenced.
On Saturday, I took two informational courses and one that promoted stress release. I learned about various cancers and workplace risk factors. We also zeroed in on breast cancer and its risk factors. Another part of the course included environmental factors that we are exposed to in our everyday lives. It is amazing the things you don’t think about that are known to be potential carcinogens. Another course was taught by a PESH consultant. He showed us how to identify work place hazards. We had a round table discussion about how to alleviate hazards and deal with different situations. The last course was yoga as a way to help relieve workplace stress.
All in all it was an extremely informative weekend. NYSUT is an amazing educating body, and a wonderful resource. If you have an opportunity to go to a NYSUT conference, it is certainly worth considering. I have never left a NYSUT conference empty handed or hungry, for that matter. By the way, the food is always top notch, and it’s a great opportunity to meet people from other locals throughout the state.
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