Coffee, Round 3
Yesterday was an overwhelming day in many ways. So many people have contacted me directly and indirectly- parents, teachers, community members whose opinions and intelligence I have admired for years, total strangers, teachers from our old hometown, family members, even a long, detailed, sad, and very honest letter mailed to me anonymously. Apparently giving the teachers’ issues legitimacy by writing about them on social media when they don’t feel they have a “safe” voice is actually empowering the educational community here in Walton County, and I hope the momentum to create a culture of teamwork and respect continues. I see the teamwork and respect on the school level in many of our individual schools, but wouldn’t it be grand to have everyone from top to bottom working towards the same goal instead of against each other? The only goal I have as a parent and community member is to give these teachers a voice until they feel confident enough to use their own, that is it. Most people who know me know that I am the biggest cheerleader for the Walton County Schools, because I believe in great public schools for every student, not just a select few.
Kudos to Principal TAMMY Smith, from Butler Elementary. I have always heard wonderful things about her and Butler, and her leadership there has been the model of continuity that so many of the schools need here in Walton County (but continuity of leadership is a whole other topic!). Anyway, she cared enough to get on a rambling FB page and clarify how teachers could attend the contract negotiations scheduled for tomorrow, and I thank her for knowing how the system works and being sensitive to the Butler teachers who want to attend.
I have received quite a few anonymous communications, and that is great. Unfortunately, the local press can’t publish anonymous letters or use unnamed sources, and I respect that rule. However, I don’t have to abide by that rule, so I will pass along some of the words and information that I think is important for the community to know, also the teachers, because it appears that there is a huge communication black hole when it comes to their contract negotiation, the Rick Scott money (I snicker when I write that, as he is such a champion of education, let’s roll our eyes now), and who represents them in the union are just a few. This anonymous note has some great information about contract negotiation attendance, corroborated by Principal Smith’s post in my Coffee Round 2 post:
Most teachers I know in WCSD appreciate the schools they work in, the kids they teach daily and the parents they interact with. What they don't love is being underpaid, underappreciated and the unprecedented attempts by the district they serve to stifle their rights and regard their service as disposable.
WCSD Teachers CAN show up on THURSDAY morning, they MUST have requested PERSONAL time off, in writing to their administrator, at least 3 DAYS in advance (as with any time when personal leave is to be used)…
What teachers can not do is take "COMP" time and attend the negotiations.
Compensation time is what teachers earn above and beyond their assigned duties. For instance, pre-approved comp time set by the administrator for "FCAT tutoring" or helping out with a school function after hours (a school sponsored dance,etc). Teachers can 'earn' this time, however - in order to use the time, a teacher must adhere to the collective bargaining agreement rules and the request to take hours off using their earned comp time - approved by the building administrator.
So, what it sounds like is this- because the meeting time was scheduled at 9 am, teachers would have to know that they could attend using the personal time, and would have had to arrange this no later than Monday. Considering the teachers in the meeting I attended on Monday did not even know they could participate by caucus at the meeting until they were told by the union negotiator, they did not think they had any reason to take time away from school. Now it turns out that yes, it is possible to attend using personal time, but unless they knew to put in for the time on Monday, it is too late. What a mess.
Some teachers I have talked to understand the importance of “rebuilding” their union, in a positive, structured way. What has begun has reactive can be rolled into proactive, and excitement and energy can build with teacher participation in a group. It doesn’t have to build out of negative energy, but the desire to move forward and make Walton County a place where teachers are happy and supported. It’s like being a good parent- many of our own needs have to be met to be the best parents possible to our kids, and the same holds true for teachers, or any profession for that matter. It is going to be hard- a complete overhaul and mindset change in such a large group will be difficult, but is there any other option? As a community, we need to support their efforts to come back together in support of each other.
The letter in my mailbox contained many examples from the letter writer’s experiences as a teacher in the WCSD, including the salary issue, low quality and ineffective professional development options, programs implemented at schools that don’t fit the school demographic (but as teachers they have to spend time working on them), reluctance to write up disciplinary/office referrals for fear of reprisal, reluctance to attend board meetings, union meetings, etc. for fear of losing their jobs, and more. It is disheartening to say the least, especially when sentences like this jumped out at me
As I am writing this, I’m physically nervous and in tears because I feel like anonymous letters are wrong and am wondering how I have been reduced to this.
Wow. I am so so sorry that things got so bad, and we didn’t see it the big picture. Once again, thank you to the teachers who put being professional and doing their job before their own well-being. It’s going to get better. It has to.
Every day should be teacher appreciation day.
[FONT=&]Jenny Dargavell[/FONT]
Yesterday was an overwhelming day in many ways. So many people have contacted me directly and indirectly- parents, teachers, community members whose opinions and intelligence I have admired for years, total strangers, teachers from our old hometown, family members, even a long, detailed, sad, and very honest letter mailed to me anonymously. Apparently giving the teachers’ issues legitimacy by writing about them on social media when they don’t feel they have a “safe” voice is actually empowering the educational community here in Walton County, and I hope the momentum to create a culture of teamwork and respect continues. I see the teamwork and respect on the school level in many of our individual schools, but wouldn’t it be grand to have everyone from top to bottom working towards the same goal instead of against each other? The only goal I have as a parent and community member is to give these teachers a voice until they feel confident enough to use their own, that is it. Most people who know me know that I am the biggest cheerleader for the Walton County Schools, because I believe in great public schools for every student, not just a select few.
Kudos to Principal TAMMY Smith, from Butler Elementary. I have always heard wonderful things about her and Butler, and her leadership there has been the model of continuity that so many of the schools need here in Walton County (but continuity of leadership is a whole other topic!). Anyway, she cared enough to get on a rambling FB page and clarify how teachers could attend the contract negotiations scheduled for tomorrow, and I thank her for knowing how the system works and being sensitive to the Butler teachers who want to attend.
I have received quite a few anonymous communications, and that is great. Unfortunately, the local press can’t publish anonymous letters or use unnamed sources, and I respect that rule. However, I don’t have to abide by that rule, so I will pass along some of the words and information that I think is important for the community to know, also the teachers, because it appears that there is a huge communication black hole when it comes to their contract negotiation, the Rick Scott money (I snicker when I write that, as he is such a champion of education, let’s roll our eyes now), and who represents them in the union are just a few. This anonymous note has some great information about contract negotiation attendance, corroborated by Principal Smith’s post in my Coffee Round 2 post:
Most teachers I know in WCSD appreciate the schools they work in, the kids they teach daily and the parents they interact with. What they don't love is being underpaid, underappreciated and the unprecedented attempts by the district they serve to stifle their rights and regard their service as disposable.
WCSD Teachers CAN show up on THURSDAY morning, they MUST have requested PERSONAL time off, in writing to their administrator, at least 3 DAYS in advance (as with any time when personal leave is to be used)…
What teachers can not do is take "COMP" time and attend the negotiations.
Compensation time is what teachers earn above and beyond their assigned duties. For instance, pre-approved comp time set by the administrator for "FCAT tutoring" or helping out with a school function after hours (a school sponsored dance,etc). Teachers can 'earn' this time, however - in order to use the time, a teacher must adhere to the collective bargaining agreement rules and the request to take hours off using their earned comp time - approved by the building administrator.
So, what it sounds like is this- because the meeting time was scheduled at 9 am, teachers would have to know that they could attend using the personal time, and would have had to arrange this no later than Monday. Considering the teachers in the meeting I attended on Monday did not even know they could participate by caucus at the meeting until they were told by the union negotiator, they did not think they had any reason to take time away from school. Now it turns out that yes, it is possible to attend using personal time, but unless they knew to put in for the time on Monday, it is too late. What a mess.
Some teachers I have talked to understand the importance of “rebuilding” their union, in a positive, structured way. What has begun has reactive can be rolled into proactive, and excitement and energy can build with teacher participation in a group. It doesn’t have to build out of negative energy, but the desire to move forward and make Walton County a place where teachers are happy and supported. It’s like being a good parent- many of our own needs have to be met to be the best parents possible to our kids, and the same holds true for teachers, or any profession for that matter. It is going to be hard- a complete overhaul and mindset change in such a large group will be difficult, but is there any other option? As a community, we need to support their efforts to come back together in support of each other.
The letter in my mailbox contained many examples from the letter writer’s experiences as a teacher in the WCSD, including the salary issue, low quality and ineffective professional development options, programs implemented at schools that don’t fit the school demographic (but as teachers they have to spend time working on them), reluctance to write up disciplinary/office referrals for fear of reprisal, reluctance to attend board meetings, union meetings, etc. for fear of losing their jobs, and more. It is disheartening to say the least, especially when sentences like this jumped out at me
As I am writing this, I’m physically nervous and in tears because I feel like anonymous letters are wrong and am wondering how I have been reduced to this.
Wow. I am so so sorry that things got so bad, and we didn’t see it the big picture. Once again, thank you to the teachers who put being professional and doing their job before their own well-being. It’s going to get better. It has to.
Every day should be teacher appreciation day.
[FONT=&]Jenny Dargavell[/FONT]
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