The Asbury Park Education Association Philanthropic Fund, in conjunction with Chico’s House of Jazz and the Asbury Park Education Association will be holding a fundraiser on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, N.J. The Fund will be donating a large portion of the proceeds from the evening’s event to one of Asbury Park’s bravest, Jason Fazio, who was severely burned while battling a fire in January.  Jason has risked his life for over 17 years, and it is only fitting that the APEA Philanthropic Fund and Chico’s House of Jazz give back to one of our own.

Read more on the APEA Philanthropic Fundraiser for Firefighter Jason Fazio page.

State Advanced Placement Pass Rates Released. The Washington Post (2/10, Bowie) reports, “Maryland ranked No. 1 in the nation for the third year in a row in high school graduates who passed [Advanced] Placement exams, the result of a decade-long push to encourage students to prepare for the rigorous college-level exams. Montgomery County Public Schools set a record for AP performance, with half of its 2010 graduates earning a passing grade of 3 or higher on at least one AP exam, the school system said in a news release.” The Post adds, “Across the state, 26.4 percent of 2010 graduates received a 3 or better on at least one AP exam during their high school careers, higher than New York, with 24.6 percent, or Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts, all with a 23 percent pass rate.”

The San Francisco Chronicle (2/10, Tucker) reports, “California schools placed among the best in the country when it comes to students passing Advanced Placement tests, one of the few education rankings in which the state doesn’t sit at the bottom of the barrel with Mississippi, according to a national report released Wednesday. Almost a quarter of the state’s high school Class of 2010 passed at least one Advanced Placement test before graduation, according to the nonprofit College Board, which oversees the Advanced Placement Program. Only five states topped California’s pass rate of 22.3 percent: Maryland, New York, Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts.” Carla Rivera also covered this story in a blog for the Los Angeles Times (2/9).

Boston School Budget Proposal Would Cut 250 Positions. The Boston Globe (2/3, Johnson) reports, “Boston public schools would close a $63 million shortfall by cutting about 250 positions and restructuring class-size averages, and will also use an infusion of city and federal funds, according to a proposed budget presented to the School Committee last night. … The district’s proposed $829 million budget for the next school year also calls for a new way of distributing funds, giving the most money to schools that teach the students who traditionally are the most expensive to educate.” John McDonough, the school system’s chief financial officer, “said the school restructuring should reduce by about one-quarter the 5,600 empty classroom seats scattered across the city. This will allow the district to adjust class-size averages, which, he said, will save an additional $11 million.”

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In the Classroom
Los Angeles Archdiocese May Be Backing Off Plans To Extend School Year. The Los Angeles Times (2/2, Rivera) reported, “Los Angeles Archdiocese officials appear to have backed off of a controversial plan to extend the school year at all of its elementary schools by 20 days, saying that decision is being left up to individual campuses.” According to the Times, “Cardinal Roger Mahony and other officials announced last week that the extension of the school calendar would be adopted by most of the archdiocese’s 210 elementary schools.

Drive For Education Reform Has Teacher Unions On The Defensive. The Christian Science Monitor (1/28, Paulson) reported, “It’s hard to think of a time in recent decades when teachers unions have been more under attack, not only from those on the right but also from many on the left, including President Obama and Arne Duncan, his Education secretary.” The Christian Science Monitor added that the “attacks are unfair or oversimplified, say many education experts and teachers, and the reality is far more complex. For one thing, teachers unions and their attitudes vary drastically from district to district and state to state.” Nevertheless, “the attacks have put teachers unions overall in a defensive position, and soul-searching has ensued as they consider how to best shape their vision and priorities going forward.”

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In the Classroom
College Board Delays Release Of Revamped Advanced Placement History Courses. The New York Times (1/29, Drew) reported, “While the College Board plans to unveil a sweeping revision to Advanced Placement biology courses on Tuesday, it is delaying similar changes in United States history by a year to address concerns from high school teachers. The changes in both subjects are part of a broad revamping of A.P.

Last night at the Local President’s meeting a member asked that we send a list to all local presidents of legislators who have been helpful by speaking up in caucus to raise concerns about the pension and benefits bills. The list is below.

Pleas contact thse legislators immediately.

Thank you.

• Assemblywoman Linda Stender – thanks! (lone vote against pension bills in the committee): AswStendernjlegorg  (AswStendernjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Nelson Albano: AsmAlbanonjlegorg  (AsmAlbanonjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Herb Conaway: AsmConawaynjlegorg  (AsmConawaynjlegorg)  
• Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein: AswGreensteinnjlegorg  (AswGreensteinnjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo: AswGreensteinnjlegorg  (AswGreensteinnjlegorg)  
• Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman: AswWatsonColemannjlegorg  (AswWatsonColemannjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Pat Diegnan: AsmDiegnannjlegorg  (AsmDiegnannjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Joe Cryan: AsmCryannjlegorg  (AsmCryannjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman John McKeon: AsmMcKeonnjlegorg  (AsmMcKeonnjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Al Coutinho: AsmCoutinhonjlegorg  (AsmCoutinhonjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone: AsmChiapponenjlegorg  (AsmChiapponenjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Vincent Prieto: AsmPrietonjlegorg  (AsmPrietonjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Tom Giblin: AsmGiblinnjlegorg  (AsmGiblinnjlegorg)  
• Assemblywoman Elease Evans: AswEvansnjlegorg  (AswEvansnjlegorg)  
• Assemblyman Gary Schaer: AsmSchaernjlegorg  (AsmSchaernjlegorg)  
• Assemblywoman Joan Voss: AswVossnjlegorg  (AswVossnjlegorg)  
• Assemblywoman Connie Wagner: AswWagnernjlegorg  (AswWagnernjlegorg)  

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.

On behalf of the APEA, I would like to wish all our brothers and sisters that celebrate Passover and Easter, as well as anyone who tunes into our website to have a very blessed and happy holiday. I would also like to say to each and everyone to have a safe and happy spring break. This is a much needed rest for everyone.

With that being said, there will be no updates to our site for approximately 1 week, as we will be on vacation. We will keep everyone abreast of all the issues that affect our Union once we return from Spring Break. I ask that every member stay tuned as we need to stay mobilized for the job cuts that are going to affect our school district. We are having a very important meeting with the Ministerial Alliance and the Parent Listening Project over the break. Together, we are going to combat the Board with these cuts.