MHUSD Board Meeting Tuesday, March 24 -- Important!
Please attend this Tuesday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m! Can you bring a friend? If you read the Morgan Hill Times or the San Jose Mercury last week, you are aware that there were a number of issues at the board meeting on March 10th. It is critical that the MHUSD board members know that we care deeply about our students and schools. We have dedicated our professional lives to the MHUSD students and community. In addition, the majority of teachers live within our district and send our children to our schools. Many of our new teachers would like to ultimately live in Morgan Hill which is why the Federation is working to improve salaries and investigate affordable housing for our educators.
It is critical that the MHUSD board understand that the time that teachers speak to board members during the Federation time is valued and should be protected by the school board members. If there are board members or community members that want this time limited, we need to ask ourselves: What would be their motivation to limit teachers' voices? We need to be clear that we are part of this community and that we care about students and Morgan Hill!
MHFT General Meeting this Thursday
In addition to important updates from Federation leadership, nominations will be taken for MHFT officers (President, 3 Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary). Please plan to attend and enjoy some time with your colleagues across the district.
Social 3:30, Program 4:00
Hang 10 Pizza, 17020 Condit Rd., Morgan Hill
CFT Lobby Days
Do you enjoy participating in the democratic process? Are you passionate about public education? Would you like a road trip to Sacramento? California Federation of Teachers will be holding Lobby Days in Sacramento on April 20-21, 2015. The deadline to sign up is March 30 at 4:00 p.m. If you would like to sign up or have questions, please email Theresa Sage at tsmhft@garlic.com. This is another great opportunity to get involved!
MHFT & CFT look forward to making our voices heard on those issues so central to our lives and those of our students.
AFT Teach Conference
f you would like to attend the American Federation of Teachers biannual conference in Washington D.C. on July 13-16, 2015, please email Theresa Sage at tsmhft@garlic.com by March 30 at 4:00 p.m. This is an excellent opportunity to participate in AFT's professional development.
Openings on CFT Standing Committees
The California Federation of Teachers is calling for our members to join one of their committees. The following committees meet three times a year and there would possibly be a small amount of work in between meetings. CFT will cover the traveling expenses for attending these meetings. It is a great way to get involved in important work of the union at the state-wide level, and we would like to encourage you to consider this opportunity! If you are interested or have questions, please email Theresa Sage at tsmhft@garlic.com.
Nominations are due March 30 at 4:00 p.m.
Standing Committees of the CFT:
Career and Technical Education
Civil, Human and Women’s Rights
Classified and Faculty Unity
Early Childhood Education
Educational Issues
Educational Technology
English Language Learners
Ethnic Minority Participation Leadership
Labor in the Schools
Retirement
Safe and Non-Violent Schools
Special Education
Two CFT Scholarships Awarded to MHFT Kids
Kenisha Johnson (Jeanie Wallace's daughter) and Sydney Leung-Thomas (Maggie Leung's daughter) were each awarded a $3,000 Raoul Teilhet scholarship by the CFT. Congratulations, girls! And thank you to all of our teachers who helped these students succeed throughout their school years.
Are you interested in innovation?
Decades ago, the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers and the District Administration settled on the Trust Agreement process as a creative way to promote reform and innovation within our schools. Trust Agreements allow the staff of a school to propose and pursue reforms that might otherwise be proscribed under the collective bargaining agreement. If you and your site colleagues have a creative idea for a way to better meet the needs of your students, you might want to consider a Trust Agreement.
MHFT/MHUSD Trust Agreement Deadlines:
| May 1 | Trust Agreement completed, signed, and submitted to Human Resources |
| May 6 | Trust Committee convenes to review Trust Agreements |
| May 15 | Sites are notified regarding Trust Committee approval or denial |
Teachers at the Mic
Thanks to Britton for a great presentation at the last meeting! Next up:
| Central | March 24 |
| Paradise Valley | April 21 |
Santa Clara County School Board Opening
Leon Beauchman, one of the County Office of Education Board members, who is a big supporter of charter schools, has resigned in order to pursue an advanced degree. The County Board will appoint a replacement to complete his term, rather than holding a special election. All candidates will be interviewed.
The Area 3 seat covers Cambrian, Campbell, Luther Burbank, Moreland, Union and small portions of Santa Clara and San Jose. If you live within Area 3 and you know of someone who would be a good trustee, the deadline to apply is April 3. Applicants must submit a resume, letter of interest and three letters of reference. All material should be addressed to: Jon Gundry, SCC Superintendent of Schools, 1290 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95131.
Upcoming Dates:
| 3/24 | Stipend Committee 3:45 at DO |
| 3/24 | Board Meeting 6:00 at DO (Central presenting; all are needed!) |
| 3/26 | MHFT General Meeting 3:30 Social at Hang Ten – Agenda at 4:00 Guest Jessica Ulstad from CFT |
| 4/3 | District-wide Professional Development |
| 4/15 | MHFT Scholarship Deadline MHUSD Teacher of the Year Deadline (Please see Feb. 23 newsletter for details) |
| 4/21 | Board meeting 6:00 at DO (Paradise Valley) |
| 4/30 | MHFT General Meeting 3:45 at Morgan Hill Cellars |
Grade Level Configuration Meeting
The recommendation of the Grade Level Configuration Committee is that Murphy and Britton ultimately become configured to serve 6th through 8th grade students over a multi-year phase in. There will be several informational evenings for our community and all are invited to attend. There will also be additional information regarding possible plans disseminated by district administration shortly. Look for upcoming dates.
Want to Add a Special Education Credential?
Applications now being accepted for 2015 Fall Cohort!
The Santa Clara County Office of Education is pleased to introduce a program to receive a Special Education credential. The program is called EPIC (Education Preparation for Inclusive Classrooms). This program is much more affordable than most university programs and is approved by the CTC for Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Mod/Severe preliminary credentials. The program also has an induction program for any credential holder that needs to clear a Special Ed credential.
If you are interested in obtaining a credential to serve Special Education students, please contact Human Resources for more details related to an incentive grant.
The Inclusion Collaborative is happy to announce the Education Preparation for Inclusive Classrooms (EPIC) will be offering the Preliminary Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), Preliminary Moderate/Severe and the Clear Education Specialist Induction Program (ECSE, Moderate/Severe, & Mild/Moderate) this Fall 2015!
EPIC Applications are due Friday, May 1, 2015.
Notification of acceptance will be emailed Monday, June 1, 2015.
PLEASE SEND OR DROP OFF APPLICATION AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS TO:
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Inclusion Collaborative/EPIC
1290 Ridder Park Drive M/C 227
San Jose, CA 95131
Negotiations Update: Joint Communication
The MHFT and District Negotiation Team met on Friday, March 13, 2015. The two teams include: Alex Aasen, Natalie Gioco, Arlene Machado, Norma Martinez-Palmer, Fawn Myers, Barbara Neal, Debbie Padilla, Kirsten Perez, Daryton Ramsey, Gemma Abels, Nancy Altman, Chris Mink, Jennifer Myers, Andrea Pecsok, April Roland, Theresa Sage, Lori Shoemaker, Zann Yates and facilitator Mary Alice Callahan.
We reviewed the process of Interest- Based Bargaining, and discussed, identified and prioritized the initial issues with respect to the articles opened by each team. Our next meeting is Monday, March 23, 2015.
At the conclusion of each meeting, we will be sending negotiation updates via email, the MHFT newsletter, and posting on the MHUSD and MHFT websites.