Monday, June 16, 2014

Chula Vista Educators would rather strike than to accept impasse and mediation

When teachers and schools are unable to make progress in contract negotiations, an impasse is declared and a mediator is brought in. Makes sense, right? So why would teachers want to have a strike rather than engage in mediation?

I couldn't tell you. You'll have to ask the folks who are in power at Chula Vista Educators. I've been trying for years to figure out why these people act the way they do.

I also couldn't tell you why the teachers at CVESD keep choosing union leaders who represent their interests so poorly.

Bargaining update #15, May 20, 2014 CVE: "District requesting impasse even though we feel there is room to negotiate and several issues still unresolved."

Chula Vista Educators, the teachers union in Chula Vista has posted the following on its website:

Results from the Strike Authorization are in. There were 920 legal votes cast. CVE, that is HUGE. Of those votes, 95% voted yes to authorize the CVE Executive Board to call a strike at a time it determines a strike is necessary. 93% voted yes to honor the picket line if the CVE Executive Board calls for a strike. Those 920 represent 81% of the total membership. CVE, the Executive Board is extremely proud of the stance you have taken. We will not be ignored. This district has been using us as a door mat for far too long. And we're not going to take it anymore!

I personally think it's pathetic that CVE has allowed salary increases for teachers to lag behind other districts. But it makes sense when you realize that the officers of CVE, led by Jim Groth and Peg Myers for most of the past decade, seem to have traded off the well-being of teachers and students for advancement in their personal careers. Recent CVE President Peg Myers is now an administrator with the district--in the human resources department!

Also, CVE has wasted a lot of bargaining capital in its fight to prevent the district from requiring that teachers teach the basic concepts outlined in Common Core standards.

If the teachers don't want to do their jobs, then it makes sense that they would be paid less.

See all posts re Chula Vista Educators.

Recent bargaining sessions were scheduled for these dates:

Feb. 4, 2014
February 27 (CVE)
March 12(CVESD)
April 16, 2014 (CVE)
May 1, 2014(CVESD)
May 15, 2014 (CVE)

CVE representatives

Mary Ellen Berumen
Michelle Harms
Vanessa Braito
Liz Hutson
Barbara Dunwoodie
Carla Kriss
Chris Fite

District representatives

Gloria Ciriza
Oscar Esquivel
Sandra Villegas-Zúñiga
Peter Fagen
John Nelson
Ernesto Villanueva

See April 16, 2014 Bargaining Update #13

Notebook Tablet Replaces Bubble Sheets in Common Core Practice Testing at CVESD

See all posts re Common Core.

Notebook Tablet Replaces Bubble Sheets in Common Core Practice Testing
No longer filling bubbles with a No. 2 pencil, students are dragging answers from one side of a computer screen to another
Rory Devine and R. Stickney
NBC Channel 7
Apr 24, 2014

Over the past few weeks, California students have been taking a practice test that uses the Common Core curriculum. The new test will replace the STAR test next year.

7 in 10 Californians Favor Common Core: Survey
There have been a few technical glitches in the new computerized Common Core testing but school officials believe practice testing happening now will pave the way for a smoother roll-out when the testing matters next year.
Elementary school students in Chula Vista, Calif. have been practicing with the Common Core standardized tests for three weeks.
The company, Smarter Balance, has designed a computer program for Math and English standards that also gives teachers the ability to walk students through test questions.
No longer filling bubbles with a No. 2 pencil, students are dragging answers from one side of a computer screen to another.
Enrique Camarena Elementary fifth graders were quietly taking the test Wednesday, clicking and dragging correct answers on the Asus Transformer Book, a device that is part touchscreen tablet, part laptop with a keyboard.
Answers will not count in the exercise that’s designed to give students the opportunity to try the new format of standardized testing and gives the test provider the opportunity to work out technical glitches for the real deal to be given next year.
Robert Cochran, the Chula Vista Elementary School District’s test coordinator, said there have been some technical glitches but for only a handful of students...
“We’ve been dealing with them through testing,” he said. “Typically, they only affect maybe a student or two students in class.”
As for bringing the technology into the testing process, Cochran said students who use smartphones are having no issues working with the program....
His classmate, Patrick Clavillas, said, “I like life as a challenge, because there is no easy button in life. That’s what my teacher says.”
A portion of the test could be adaptive, Cochran said. That is, if a student keeps getting problems wrong, he or she will be given less difficult questions. If a student keeps getting problems correct, the student will be given more challenging questions...
“A few technical tings to work out but I think overall with more work, more professional development, more exposure to Common Core, I feel the students will be ready,” Elsmore said.
The tests will be given next year for the purposes of accountability just as the STAR test was used.
School officials say they have had approximately 30 students of the district’s 22,000 students opt out of the practice testing. Officials in Chula Vista Elementary School District say the number of students who have opted out is less than those under the STAR test.