Governor Announces Texas Will Not Participate In Race To The Top.
The AP (1/14) reports that Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said that the state will not “compete for up to $700 million in federal stimulus money for education because the program ’smacks of a federal takeover of our public schools.’” Surrounded by “representatives of teachers’ unions” and Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott, Perry said at a press conference Wednesday that “taking the money would force the state to adopt national education and testing standards and result in Texas losing its autonomy in educating children.” The governor also noted that “under state and local control,” schools in Texas are excelling: “standardized test scores are up, the dropout rate is down and Texas has been recognized as one of only four states that is closing the achievement gap in math.” Some lawmakers, however, “were quick to criticize Perry’s decision.”

The Houston Chronicle (1/14, Mellon) reports that Perry’s “decision to forgo the money available in the Race to the Top grant competition defied pleas from local school leaders who said their districts could use it.” Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, asked, “If our standards are that much better, why don’t we get in there and convince everyone else in the nation to rise to our level?” Meanwhile, many state teachers groups praised the decision.

To make it easier for membership to keep up with the happenings in our district during these critical times I have added a widget that lists info from the Asbury Park School District website calendar . (Via the calendar’s RSS feed, if you were wondering)

You can see it down on the right with the title APBOE Calendar. As the district calendar is updated this feed will automatically reflect that. I hope this adds more usability to the website.

As always if you like this and want to see more additions, or think of something we could add but haven’t yet please let me know either by email or adding a comment with the link down below.

The APEA Executive Committee is holding two (2) General Membership Meetings on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at the Asbury Park High School Auditorium at 2:45pm and 4:00pm, to accommodate ALL staff members. We are requiring EVERY APEA MEMBER to attend one of these extremely important meetings. NJEA Representatives will be in attendance to assist OUR local and answer additional questions.

The purpose of these meetings is to discuss Contract Negotiations, Professional Development, and any other pertinent items. We will also hold an election for the District Wide Professional Development Committee during this meeting. It is IMPERATIVE that you make very effort to attend. Neither the Executive Committee, nor the Building Reps. will be able to give you “private” meetings to discuss the direction of this school district or negotiations. We have moved our negotiations to FACT FINDING, which is EXTREMELY SERIOUS. This is a time to show our SOLIDARITY.

We are also asking that you begin to attend the Board of Education meetings beginning Wednesday, January 27, 2010. All Board meeting dates are listed on the district wide website. Our presence in this district is NECESSARY if you have any desire to receive a fair and equitable contract.

We look forward to seeing you at these meetings.

TO: APEA Membership

FROM: John Napolitani, President
Sean Hamilton, Vice President

DATE: January 19, 2010

The APEA Negotiations Team has attempted to bargain with the Board of Education in good faith, while remaining focused on the issues to settle this contract, we have clearly hit a stone wall. The Board has turned its back on the dedicated staff members of the Asbury Park School District. They used the excuse of the current economic situation, as well as our refusal to sign off on the RTTT grant application NOT to handle their moral and legal obligations to this school district.
With the Board’s posturing in mind, our mediator advised us he recommending to PERC that we move to the next step in negotiations: FACTFINDING.
We need to be VERY clear that this process WILL be very long and drawn out. We may NOT have an initial meeting for at least three months. The process may take more than one year. The comfortable bubble that our profession has been in for decades has finally burst. This is an official call to action by EVERY staff member in this district. Jobs are on the line. There’s no sitting on the side waiting to get a handout from the Board. Tenure WILL NOT protect from the onslaught of the Board. Watch your “P’s and Q’s” because the nitpicking of the dedicated staff is about to begin.

Had we agreed to sign off on the RTTT, our UNION would begin to be dismantled by the State of New Jersey based upon the serious implications this grant will have on our collective bargaining.

Strong Opposition to Federal Excise Tax Needed

Current conference discussions aimed at a compromise between the House and Senate versions of federal health legislation continue to include a 40 percent federal excise tax on health benefits costs that exceed $8,500 for single coverage and $23,000 for family.

Your immediate action is needed to oppose this additional new tax.

The House version contains a reasonable alternative that would fund health care reform through a tax on millionaires – defined as individuals making over $500,000 and families with incomes over $1 million.

As proposed, the federal excise tax will amount to a tax increase that will fall mainly on middle class workers and their families and is not fair.

Here’s what you need to do:

· Call your senators and tell them to oppose any measure that contains an excise tax:

Senator Frank Lautenberg, (973) 639-8700

Senator Robert Menendez, (973) 645-3030

· Call your congressman and tell him to oppose any measure that contains an excise tax. If you need help identifying your congressman, go to njea.org to find that information.

Attached is a Congressional district locator and roster as well as a sample phone script y ou may want to use to make your calls.

Additional information is available – and will be updated – at www.njea.org.

Act now to oppose this added tax – this bill could be finalized within days!

BACKGROUND
On December 31, we sent an update to each NJEA local association president providing the latest news on Phase 1 of the federal “Race to the Top” (RTTT) grant program.

ANALYSIS OF RTTT PROPOSAL
Based upon the discussion at that meeting, NJEA leadership’s discussions with NJ DOE staff, and review of New Jersey’s grant application, NJEA believes the grant application is severely flawed and that it contains numerous objectionable provisions as it now stands.

Among the provisions causing the greatest concern are those which would tie teacher evaluation, compensation, and tenure to student test scores.

In addition, it appears that the application would commit New Jersey to a massive expansion of its standardized testing program and a significant increase in the educational bureaucracy.

Finally, the provisions dealing with merit pay, evaluation, and length of school day/year have significant collective bargaining implications for local associations.

Based on our assessment of the proposal as it now stands, we are advising our local associations NOT to sign the memorandum of understanding because it includes merit pay, pay for performance, and/or the utilization of student test scores for teacher evaluation.

NEXT STEPS
The Department of Education has created a Memorandum of Understanding and is asking each district to obtain signatures from the superintendent, the president of the board of education, and the local association president.

On the form, it reads that the signatures are required. Please be advised you are not required to sign this form and be aware that your signature on the form would commit your local association to support all of the items included in the state’s RTTT application.

Green School In Brooklyn Emphasizes Civic Involvement. The New York Times (1/11, A12, Navarro, Bhanoo) reports that throughout the US, a wide “range of green schools form a fledgling network, with some of them benefiting from state grants and mandates to incorporate environmental education into the curriculum.” At the Green School in Brooklyn, NY, for instance, places great “emphasis on civic involvement.” Also, “students are encouraged to delve into local issues that may affect them and their families” such as “water quality or the razing of low-scale housing.” Similar schools nationwide are partnering with “groups like the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation, which provide lesson plans or money for field trips, and…private and government agencies that are making concerted environmental efforts in communities and cities.” An accurate count of the “private, and charter and traditional public schools nationwide” that “have adopted an environmental theme” is not yet available, the Times notes.

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In the Classroom
Aviation Class Structured To Promote 21st Century Skills. The Bismarck (ND) Tribune (1/11, Kincaid) reports on the aviation II class at Bismarck High School, which will recreate a “1902 Wright glider” for a class project in the coming year.

Florida Education Commissioner, Teachers Agree: Over-Enrollment Is A Problem For AP Classes.
The St. Petersburg Times (1/8, Matus) reports that echoing the “growing chorus of teachers” in Florida that have for years “complained that they’re being swamped by kids unprepared for the rigors of Advanced Placement classes,” Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday that “there is a problem in overenrollment in AP.” He added, “There needs to be some selectivity in how kids are guided into AP, and which AP work they’re guided into.” The Times notes that in the past ten years, “Florida has quadrupled the number of students taking AP classes.” But many “teachers and others…fear” that “pushing more ‘average’ students into AP” is “compromising quality to reach lower-performing students and potentially shortchanging those at the top.” Similar sentiments have been expressed throughout the country, as shown in “a survey of 1,000 AP teachers” by the Fordham Institute “that drew national attention last year.” Results showed that “more than half said too many AP students are ‘in over their heads.’”

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In the Classroom
Bismarck Public School District Switching to Project Based High School Business Curriculum.
The Bismarck (ND) Tribune (1/7, Kincaid) reports, “Students in Jennifer Anderson’s Web design class” at Bismarck High School are creating WebPages for “local businesses that needed help with their Web presence.” Next year, the entire Bismarck Public Schools district will have a project-based curriculum with similar assignments, as it has joined “the High School of Business program offered by the MBA Research and Curriculum Center.” The center curriculum is made up of “business courses that build on one another with the goal of preparing students to enter business administration programs in college.” The Bismarck Tribune adds, “One way business classes will become more meaningful is through class projects like the Web design classes.