Events Calendar WW School Board Meeting Tues. June 6 @6:30 p.m. Anne Golden Boardroom The May 30, 2017 Volume 1, Issue 20 Valley Voice Gov. Jay Inslee met with Occupy Olympia educators last week offering his support for public educators, as well as a child break for WEA President (and grandma) Kim Mead, who has been in Olympia all month. HERE and join our text alert (just text 81010 with the message: @wwvea) Inside this issue are photos of educators across the state fighting for a fair budget 160 red picket signs (here!) from Olympia. We are with them. You 600 window signs (here!) know what s at stake. 2500 door hangers (here!) Here s what YOU can do NOW. Now-June 30: Call Leg. Hotline Now-June 30: Letters to Editor 5/31, 6/7, 6/14: Red Shirt Weds. June 3: Door Knob Hanging June 3: Farmers Market (sidewalk) June 4: Full-page Color Ad in U-B June 5-9: Sign-waving Downtown June 10: Big March & Rally TBD: Legislator Coffee Meetings TBD: School Walk-ins After June 10? Stay tuned Dial 1-800-562-6000, weekcome to a Make-up Meeting days from 8 to noon and 1 pm to 4:30 pm. Your message will Joinbe One or More Actions directed to the right people. Make if fun by calling in Update Contact with Non-District your colleagues during your duty-free lunch time. Pro-Ed (free) Order Do ait Red at least oncet-shirt weekly. Oh, Good Lord, Yes! was Askone a Question operator s answer to the question: Are you getting a Meeting by Building lot of Attendance calls from teachers? Based on Sign-in Sheet Data School Walk-ins SAGER MS 50% Schools are encouraged to SEATech 50% hold Walk-ins one day durdavis ELEM. 46% ing the week of June 5-9. PROSPECT POINT 46% A walk-in (as opposed to a GARRISON MS 45% walk-out) involves a crowd of GREEN PARK ELEM. 45% educators, parents, and stuwa-hi 33% dents meeting before school POINEER starts,ms 24% hearing a few rally EDISON ELEM. 22% speeches, and walking IN to BERNEY schoolelem. 21% together to start the day. (AndELEM. 19% taking lots of pics!) SHARPSTEIN PRESCHOOL 18% Local building leaders are needed to organize these, if CPHS 10% your school wants to do it. LINCOLN HS 8% BLUE RIDGE ELEM. 5% Have a Question or Idea? OPPORTUNITY HS 0% Call Keith at 509-200-4042 or WWuse DISTRICT 0% wwveakeith@gmail.com 90 red shirts (this week!) Now-June 30: Send Postcards Write a short note from the heart to one of our local legislators. Need writing tips? Need more cards? Just ask. How to GetHotline Involved Call Legislative Educators Across State Take Action as WWVEA Prepares to Join Them The dates are set (a few details TBD): Sending Postcards No need to address or stamp them. Just get the postcards Action to Keith for finalplan delivery. Here s a short Facebook clip of what he said. The materials are arriving: Details for 3 Actions Write MULTIPLE postcards to each of our three legislators today (Fill them out and get them to Keith. Need more? Ask Keith.) Sign up for one or more actions HERE (if you ve not yet done so). If you want to hold a Walk-in in your building, it s up to your building to make this happen...but we ll help! Talk to your building reps about it! Provide your home email address Or contact your building rep
CP Board Unanimously Stands with WWVEA Seeking Local Control and Quality Educators WW Board to Consider Finalizing 3-Way Joint Resolution at June 6 Meeting COLLEGE PLACE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 250 RESOLUTION #06-2061-2017 ADVOCATING THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL CONTROL AND QUALITY EDUCATORS A RESOLUTION of Board of Directors of the Walla Walla and College Place School Districts along with the Walla Walla Valley Education Association to state clearly and emphatically to state legislators the need to retain local control of budgets, as well as the critical importance of attracting and retaining high-quality, fully-certificated educators. WHEREAS the Walla Walla School District, the College Place School District, and the Walla Walla Valley Education Association are each dedicated to providing students with a high-quality, successful educational experience; and WHEREAS local school districts and educators better understand the unique needs of their own communities, staff, and students than the state or federal government; and WHEREAS the levy swap, unfunded mandates, and other limitations proposed undermines our collective abilities to meet those unique needs; and WHEREAS research emphatically concludes that the most critical factor in the quality of a child s education is the skill level of that child s educators; and WHEREAS the state of Washington is currently undergoing a significant and worsening shortage of highly-skilled educators; and WHEREAS the current state-wide compensation schedule is woefully shy to ensure competitive wages, hindering our ability to attract and retain excellent staff for children; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Walla Walla and College Place School Districts, along with the Walla Walla Valley Education Association, jointly urge state legislators to meet the state s Constitutional mandate to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, while allowing local districts and educators the authority to use those ample provisions to meet the unique needs of their students. APPROVED by the Board of Directors of College Place School District No. 250, Walla Walla County, Washington, in a regular meeting thereof held on the 23 rd day of May, 2017.
Educators Rise Up All Across WA Teachers singing songs on the Capitol Rotunda steps on Day 11 of Occupy Olympia: Wenatchee, Mt. Vernon, Sumner, All the Kitsaps, Chinook council, Federal Way led by Seattle EA President Phyllis Campano (middle bottom) Day 16 at Occupy. Bainbridge, Gig Harbor, Peninsula, Sumner, Lakewood, Mount Vernon, Aberdeen, Stanwood, North Thurston, North Kitsap, and Tacoma. Occupy Olympia Day 13: WEA members take over the Senate floor with Senator Ranker, some parents, and some kids.
Educators Rise Up All Across WA North Kitsap EA members (left) withstand the wind and rain just one day after voting overwhelmingly to authorize a general membership meeting in August to discuss a potential statewide strike over the Legislature s continued failure to amply fund K-12 public schools as required by the Washington Constitution and the Supreme Court s McCleary decision. Evergreen EA members (right) picket Sen. Wilson s business in Camas, as well as at her house (not pictured). Grand Coulee EA members parade down Main Street in their McCleary Float (left), while the Central Valley EA invites the citizens of Spokane and Liberty Lake to call their legislators (right).
Educators Rise Up All Across WA As Federal Way teachers have long said: There s the right way, there s the wrong way, and there s the Federal Way...which in this case means after a day of Wearing Red for Ed it s time for Drinking Red for Ed.
Educators Rise Up All Across WA Ephrata! Clarkston! Dieringer! White Center! Ferndale! North Kitsap! Angle Lake! Kennewick! Kettle Falls! Highline! Central Kitsap! Federal Way!
Get Involved...There s Too Much at Stake This Time 7
Policy Bills of Interest that Passed and Became Law During the Regular 2017 Legislative Session HB=House Bill, SB=Senate Bill, S=Amended, ES=Amended in both chambers ESHB 1115, Paraeducators Establishes a funded professional development program for paraeducators. When a paraeducator completes the program s/he will receive a certificate. Creates optional certificates for further study Updates the curriculum of existing Community and Technical College paraeducator AA programs Creates a smoother process for paraeducators wishing to become teachers SHB 1235, Physical education assessments Requires school districts to submit a report (assessment) to OSPI as to how they implement required physical education programs in the district. SHB 1279, School safety drills Provides some flexibility in the number and type of drills school districts are required to have. SHB 1346, Nurse in a school setting Clarifies that school nurses must follow the standards and requirements of their Registered Nurse license when making medical decisions. An administrator cannot direct a school nurse to violate those requirements. SHB 1444, Progression and graduation Directs school districts to assist homeless and at-risk students with grade progression and waive district level graduation requirements if all other state requirements have been met. SHB 1445, Dual Language programs Establishes support systems for school districts wishing to establish dual language programs. ESHB 1481, Driver education uniformity Updates systems and some requirements for both public school and private driver education programs. EHB 1654, Alternative routes to teacher certification requirements Allows the PESB to add new and update existing alternative route programs without explicit legislation. HB 1732, Educator professional growth Provides that the Professional Growth plans in educator license renewals submitted through the electronic certification system in OSPI are exempt from public inspection and copying. HB 1734, Substitute teachers/pesb Allows the PESB to pay for substitute when educators participate on their work groups and/or board. SHB 1741, Educator preparation program data Requires state-approved educator preparation programs to collect, provide data to, and enter into data-sharing agreements with the Education Research and Data Center. This will allow for research without disclosing individual student data.
Policy Bills of Interest that Passed and Became Law During the Regular 2017 Legislative Session HB=House Bill, SB=Senate Bill, S=Amended, ES=Amended in both chambers ESB 5023 School levies Delays specific levy lid deadlines SB 5129, Charter schools and athletic programs Treats charter school students the same as private school students as to which school district extracurricular program they wish to participate in. continues to require the charter school to pay for the costs of that participation. SSB 5142, Educational interpreters Extends the timeline for the required assessment deaf education interpreters must take. It also requires the state to find or create assessments that test all sign languages, not just ASL. ESB 5234, AP exam credit Institutions of higher education are directed to establish a policy for granting as many undergraduate college credits to students who have earned minimum scores of three on AP exams as possible and appropriate. The institutions of higher education are directed to conduct biennial reviews of their AP policy and report noncompliance annually beginning November 1, 2019. ESSB 5293, Truancy reduction Makes changes to school district requirements for truancy reporting and hopefully reduction of truancy. SSB 5404, Digital citizenship This bill requires WSSDA to update their model policies, OSPI to provide a website and other educational tools, and requires a survey of library/media specialists and other appropriate school personnel as to how they integrate digital citizenship into their courses. SB 5640, Technical college diploma programs Anyone who enrolls in a technical college through an occupational and academic high school program operated through a contract between a CTC and a local school district, and satisfactorily completes an associate degree, must be awarded a diploma from the college upon written request. SSB 5644, Skill center facility maintenance The host district of a skill center cooperative must maintain a separate capital account into which the participating school districts must make annual deposits to pay for minor repair and maintenance costs for the skill center. The annual deposits may be a per pupil facility fee charged by the host district. SB 5662, OSPI representative on the PESB Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to designate a representative to participate on the PESB.
Topics Covered in Previous Issues of The Valley Voice 2016-17 Newsletter Links Issue 1 (9/16/16) Issue 11 (1/27/17) Issue 2 (9/23/16) Issue 12 (2/3/17) Issue 3 (9/30/16) Issue 13 (2/10/17) Issue 4 (10/7/16) Issue 14 (2/17/17) Issue 5 (10/14/16) Issue 15 (2/24/17) Issue 6 (10/21/16) Issue 16 (3/10/17) Issue 7 (10/28/16) Issue 17 (3/31/17) Issue 8 (11/4/16) Issue 18 (4/21/17) Issue 9 (12/2/16) Issue 19 (5/12/17) Issue 10 (12/9/16) Issue 20 (5/19/17) WWVEA Member Survey What is WEA-SE UniServ? Overview of Union Dues & More Your WWVEA Office 2016 WWVEA Fall Social Review WEA Student Bill of Rights 2016 WEA Endorsements What is WEA-PAC? WA State Budget Proposals (2/17/17) Education as a Civil Right The Freedom Foundation Threat Your NEA Benefits NEA Legal Benefits Betsy DeVos Potential Implications Right to Work vs. Fair Share Why Negotiate Calendars? Sharing TPEP Self-Assessment? Sharing Sick Leave Boundaries for Electronic Communication with Students VEBA Overview & More CP Business Leave CP Supplemental & Incentive Days CP Leave Days WW & CP Employee Assistance Programs WW Separate Contract Days WW Types of Leave Days WW Collaboration Day WW Emergency Leave WWPS Belief Statements WWVEA OFFICERS EXEC. BOARD BUILDING REPS COMMITTEE CHAIRS President Keith Swanson Cell: 509-200-4042 wwveakeith@gmail.com Vice-President Mario Uribe muribe@wwps.org Secretary/Treasurer Ted Knauft tknauft@cpps.org WWVEA Office Rebecca Estoup Office Manager Phone: (509) 525-7810 Fax: (509) 525-7829 wwveaoffice@gmail.com 5 W Alder St # 231 Walla Walla, WA 99362 Pre-2 (WW) *Not yet filled 3-5 (WW) *Not yet filled 6-8 (WW) *Shelly Crump 9-12 (WW) *Lori Dohe SPED (WW) *Debbie Bailey Specialists (WW) *Sara Van Donge Pre-3 (CP) *Meg Berg 4-8 (CP) *Ryan Blake 9-12 (CP) *Not yet filled WWVEA Officers *Keith Swanson *Mario Uribe *Ted Knauft Berney Elem. *Ryan Van Dyke Ilana James Blue Ridge Elem. *Jeremy Hubbard Bryan Eggart College Place HS *Jessica Hand Crystal Bushkovskiy Davis Elem. *Marcie Anderson Mike Collins Edison Elem. *Mario Uribe Sara Van Donge Tracy Gerbino Garrison MS *John Buissink Lance Longmire Jamie Eggart Shelly Crump Green Park Elem. *Loretta Wright Yazmin Bahenak Mel Gribnau Head Start/ECEAP *Laurie Hersey Lincoln HS *Stephanie Gomsrud Pioneer MS *Debbie Bailey Hollis Erikson Richelle Palmer Doug Venneri Shannon DeBeaumont Prospect Point Elem. *Leah Taylor Debbie Smyth Sager MS *Ryan Blake John Hough Ted Knauft SEATech *Jeffrey Townsend Sharpstein *Rob Griffith Ashley Goss Walla Walla HS *Andrew Gomsrud Debra Reeves Lori Dohe Bill Plucker Brian Taylor Cheryl Peters WW Negotiations *Lance Longmire CP Negotiations *Ted Knauft Nominations/Elections *Toni Lynn Palmer Financial Review *Ted Knauft Special Events *Mario Uribe WWVEA Scholarships *Ted Knauft WEA-PAC *Sara Van Donge *Indicates a head building rep or a committee chair