Seattle Schools Closed Monday, the 14th
Update: I did ask, "If both sides do reach an agreement by Sunday night, could school start on Monday morning?" The answer was no and that would be because of transportation issues.
As well, all kindergarteners will be attending the first day of school that everyone else starts on.
end of update.
Latest update: Seattle Schools will be closed tomorrow.
Still in negotiations (don't know what time they started today). It seems they are getting closer but only incrementally.
There was a new salary offer made today (no real details as we were given an old handout. I don't get it).
All snow days are used up (there were three) but this is a year where the district has a full-week mid-winter break so days could come out out of that. It was stated it could impact graduation dates but no specific were given.
As well, all kindergarteners will be attending the first day of school that everyone else starts on.
end of update.
Latest update: Seattle Schools will be closed tomorrow.
Still in negotiations (don't know what time they started today). It seems they are getting closer but only incrementally.
There was a new salary offer made today (no real details as we were given an old handout. I don't get it).
All snow days are used up (there were three) but this is a year where the district has a full-week mid-winter break so days could come out out of that. It was stated it could impact graduation dates but no specific were given.
Comments
West Seattle Dad
-- parentingnSeattle
NE Mom of 3
teacher3
Yes, a rally/march is planned for Tuesday. This is what you do if you really want to get a good contract, to keep the pressure on. Then you cancel the rally if you are successful by Monday night. Duh.
Solidarity
And yes, folks on both sides make long-term plans one way or another. Planning a rally doesn't mean negotiations are not going on. They are.
All of the working class in "One Big Union"
A little history in the heart of Seattle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike
Unity
If any principals or staff reading this blog - would that work? Are the usual tix in the office, or b/c schools haven't opened, are they not delivered?
--parentingnSeattle
That said, of COURSE SEA is trying to solve this; they're bargaining with district, compromising where appropriate...But a rally still shows strength, particularly of community support.
Of course SEA isn't going to tell us what they're willing to do in order to compromise - that would hurt their bargaining power.
Solidarity
Orca cards might be, as well. Are schools answering their phones? Not sure....
Thanks
Lauren
- GHS teacher
Sporty
SPS High School sports are governed by the State's Athletic Assoc., WIAA: http://www.wiaa.com
SPS schools participate in Metro league, governed by WIAA, and the league is comprised of more than just SPS schools.
Football teams - http://seattletimes.sportngin.com/page/show/1850497-metro
Volleyball - http://seattletimes.sportngin.com/page/show/1855453-metro
Girls Soccer - http://seattletimes.sportngin.com/page/show/1859827-metro
Are the coaches not SEA members?
No, not all. Some coaches are teachers, some are not. The coaching positions & stipend are administered by the district outside of a teacher's commitment/contract. There are several coaching positions still open, which can be found here: http://sps.ss8.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=16489
my child is in band, yet has not been able to play at football games due to the strike sidelining the band director.
If marching band is part of the individual band teacher's contract (not separate, like a coaching position), then yes said band director cannot lead a "trip" to football games. Or, in the case of my kids' school, the director cannot let the students use district-owned instruments or music stands during unofficial, voluntary rehearsals offsite.
Rufus X (a parent of students who are both athletes & musicians)
CT
At general meeting (where strike vote took place) SEA members also voted to give Representative Assembly (RA - building reps) the ability to temporarily end a strike if it appeared a reasonable contract was there, one that could be brought to general membership for vote.
So if Bargaining Committee of SEA thinks it's good, they bring it to RA, RA might well agree and call a halt to strike, pending a general vote. So SEA educators would then go back to work.
Contract would still need to be voted on by all SEA (or at least a quorum) but that would occur in a week or two. They could potentially vote down contract and go back on strike.
Time line after Bargaining team thinks there's a good contract? Depends on when, on when RA gets it, on how long it takes RA to read 100 pages and discuss, on when they decide.
MAYBE if it goes to RA by, say, 5:00pm on any given day it could be voted on by RA by 7:00, which, I think, is the time the District might want to call families and get bus service lined up, etc.
But after it goes to RA, all I wrote is conjecture, time-wise. Everyone will try and rush it through, of course, but one would assume RA wants time to look at whole package carefully - in past, general membership has felt THEY didn't have enough time to scrutinize, and stuff got by them....RA, one eould think, would want to avoid that.
HP Gal
HP Gal
Secretaries will be greatly impacted by students being in school an additional half hour.
The office calms down once the students have left for the day, and that time is used to work on the many projects we have that are time sensitive.
Has anyone thought about compensating secretaries not just teachers for this additional burden?????
The secretaries is one of many issues that need to be worked out. The district says it not only doesn't want to pay secretaries, it also doesn't want to pay IAs. I know that there seems to be general consensus among teachers that this is a problem. I am not sure what exactly has been put on the table.
Fed up. As a teacher, I am assuming that many of my kids won't be there for whenever the days are made up. I know people have already made plans for mid-winter break. I wouldn't expect people to cancel flights,etc. I think the same thing about the end of the year...if they make up the days then. I am assuming we will make up days during mid-winter break to allow for learning time before high school kids need to take AP and IB exams.
who knows!
As a parent, you should also not want teachers to be evaluated based on student test scores because that has not been proven to provide meaningful information. It also sends the message to teachers that high student test scores are the goal of their work. It incentivizes cheating (see Beacon Hill International and Atlanta.) It encourages prioritizing test prep to the exclusion of science, social studies, music and art.
Maybe teachers don't want to work longer hours. Should every employee be expected to agree to increase their work hours on the whim of their employer? Maybe parents of elementary students don't want their children to have a longer school day either.
The recess issue is an example of teachers negotiating for better learning conditions for our children. Currently children's access to a break for unstructured play is controlled by individual principals. This is not right.
I am sorry that your children have received poor science and math instruction. Our district provides them with really poor math and science materials. This is mostly due to the legislature's failure - but district staff do tend to fumble curriculum replacement even when the money is available.
Certainly some teachers aren't very good at their jobs. If principals were good at theirs, those teachers would no longer be in the classroom. If you believe we need to attract more skilled employees to this career and to this district in particular, we will need to make working for Seattle Public Schools a more attractive proposition - both financially and by treating teaching as a profession worthy of respect.
-Parent
Had that been my 1st year of teaching I would have just assumed I wasn't a good teacher and left. Very well regarded prior and since, although it honestly did shake my confidence a bit and the next year probably was my worst year of teaching effectiveness (as I now realize).
There is something to the "fair and reasonable" evaluations, but I also know from non-teaching experience that there are jerk bosses everywhere so this issue will never fully go away in any industry including teaching. Principals need to be fair BUT when they do have a poor teacher they need to follow a fair and reasonable process which includes documentation and providing support. Then if the teacher still can't pull it off it's time to have a serious discussion about career choices. Ummm, and for what it's worth, teacher unions and teachers have discreetly talked more than a few weak teachers out of the profession (conversations with teachers across the state at various conventions confirms this is a semi regular event). Some teachers have truly turned it back on with the right combination of pressure AND support.
Fair Reviews
North by NW
At my job, I have to set goals to meet business objectives and professional development objectives and I'm graded in part on how well I work with my colleagues. I am paid the same whether I work 8 hours a day or 12 hours a day, and and I'm evaluated twice a year to see if I'm making progress. And if I'm not suited for this, I understand I may have to find another job.
Teaching children is unquestionably different than the private sector - teachers are asked to inspire and shape the lives of every student who walks in the door, whatever their circumstances. I'm not saying teachers should be graded on a monthly basis, but why not every six months or a year. And if the union is truly focused on student outcomes, they should put forward an alternative, impartial system of evaluation that serves students, families and schools instead of just saying no.
Frustrated: that used to be the province of the principal who was expected to know his/her teachers and supervise them and their teaching practice. BTW, we are not paid the same regardless of the hours we put in. If the district shrinks our hours by a day or two, we get paid less. As the district has shrunk our service days, our paychecks have also shrunk. And other things have contributed to the decline of teacher pay as well.
BTW, do you get bonuses? Perks? Working twelve hours a day would only happen for me if the salary were really worth it, there were bonuses to be earned, or promotions to be had. What incentive do you have to work twelve hours a day?
As a teacher, I've seen first hand teachers that have been terminated because they are poor teachers but I've also seen teachers arbitrarily picked on or terminated because they are independent thinkers or too old or make waves a little too often. The kind of teacher I most admire is one who is often thought not to fit in with the status quo.