Vol. 3, April 2004

The Professional

A Publication of the Minnetonka Teachers Association

Members of Education Minnesota, NEA, AFT, Minnesota Local #7173

http://www.minnetonkateachers.org

Editor, Mary Tingblad, mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

MM-West, 6421 Hazeltine Blvd., Excelsior, MN 55331

 

         

2003-2004 Minnetonka Teachers Association Governance Board

~ President Mark Chalupsky ~ Vice President Julie Anderson-Simonson ~

~ Secretary Mary Tingblad ~ Treasurer Joseph Ricke ~

~ DEC Linda Morantez ~ Deephaven Margaret Ruffino~ Groveland Pam Wertjes ~

~ Excelsior Mark Broten ~ Minnewashta Melanie Casiday ~

~ Clear Springs Debra Jensen ~ Scenic Heights Katie Tuthill ~

~ MM-East Mark Brzezinski & Sandy Gosen ~

~ MM-West Mary Tingblad & Jeri Goodspeed-Gross ~

~ MHS Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, Mike Cutshall & Miles Mortensen ~

         

 

~~ President’s Ponderings ~~

MTA President, Mark Chalupsky, mark.chalupsky@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Hello everyone! It has been my honor to serve as your MTA President for ten of the last 12 years. So many things have happened within our organization and within our district that it is impossible to remember them all, but I do want to review the highlights. I’m sure I could write a very interesting book about all the experiences. 

I feel very good about where our organization is now and also the direction in which the district is moving. Over the years we have accomplished much:

1.      Improved the professional growth process for all teachers. 

2.      Implemented the career transition trust, which greatly improved the severance package.

3.      Simplified the teacher improvement program (TIP) for all teachers, but especially for non-tenured teachers.  

4.      Improved the insurance benefits for retired members. 

5.      Consistently negotiated respectable contracts in a timely fashion.  

6.      Established collaborative working relationships with the administration and the school board. 

7.      Started a MTA webpage 

8.      Improved communication to the MTA membership with the use of technology.

9.      Provided easy access to the MTA President. 

10.  Reduced MTA dues to $95, which is lower than they were four years ago and are lower than that of most districts our size.

11.  Worked with the district to keep health care costs down (zero percent increase for next year). 

12.  Greatly reduced the number of years it takes to reach the top of the salary schedule. 

13.  Negotiated a transfer policy into our contract. 

14.  Improved our fringe benefits package for all members. 

 

I believe we are fortunate to have the most supportive and collaborative school board we have ever had in Minnetonka history and an administration that is willing to work together with us to do everything possible to provide Minnetonka students with the best education we can provide.

We have seen many things in education over the last 15 years. They include: Outcome Based Education, Modular Scheduling, Block Scheduling, Elements of Instruction, Frameworks, Profiles of Learning, and more recently from the state and federal governments think they somehow can legislate quality education. I will always maintain there isn’t a magic bullet that will improve education. The key ingredients to improving education are:

1.      Students who come to school prepared learn.

2.      Supportive parents and administration.

3.      Low class sizes.

4.      Appropriate and updated materials and resources.

5.      Quality teachers in the classroom. 

 

From my point of view we don’t always have the first four, but Minnetonka students have always been fortunate to have number five. Every study ever done has always concluded that the single most important ingredient in providing quality education to students is a quality teacher. Yes, you are the key ingredient every time you step in front of your classes, and I hope you never forget that! 

I would like to say a special thanks to all of the teachers who have worked with me over the years representing the MTA. A very special thanks goes to Julie Anderson-Simonson who has served with me as the MTA Vice President for the last four years.  Julie has been a great friend and a great asset to the MTA, and has devoted many hours to represent you. Her organizational skills and work ethic are unbelievable and I will miss working with her.

To all MTA members, thanks for the opportunity to serve you. It has been my privilege! Have a great end of the school year!

 

 

~~ Vice-President’s Notes ~~

MTA Vice-President, julie.anderson-simonson@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Thank you for the opportunity to have served as your MTA Vice President for the past four years.  It has been my pleasure to represent you and speak on your behalf. I am very proud of President Chalupsky and consider it an honor to have worked along side of him.  Mark accomplished volumes as president of the MTA, and together he and I worked as a team to make our union stronger.

I would like to thank Carl Orstad and Mary Tingblad for helping me amend the MTA Constitution and By-laws on two different occasions over the past four years. Thank you to Mark Broten, Heidi (Johnson) Bunde, Sharon Clark, and Mary Tingblad for working with me to create and develop election guidelines and policies for our organization. Thank you to Mary Tingblad for assisting me in creating job descriptions for each of our paid MTA positions. Thank you to the various Building Representatives who served their schools well and disseminated information to the members in a timely fashion. Some of you were marvelous to work with and very supportive members. Some of you forced me to grow as an individual as I listened to your opposing viewpoints.

Now it is time to join as one organization and support President-elect Joseph Ricke and Vice President-elect Jan Nelson in their new roles. May their two-year term be productive for our members. And may they continue to move our association forward.

 

 

~~ MTA Budget Report ~~

MTA Treasurer Joseph Ricke, joseph.ricke@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Our 2003-04 budget should reflect an end of the year balance of about $10,000 based on current category spending trends. However, if we do not use any more contingency dollars and do not spend money allocated for certain categories (Printing, School Board & Governance Board Meeting, etc.), we should have closer to $15,000 by the fiscal year end on June 30, 2004. Based on feedback at the last Governance Board meeting, Our MTA budget will likely increase for certain categories, such as Relicensure Chair. It is my intent as the new MTA President, to keep spending down and NOT increase next year’s budget. As we work on next year’s budget in May and June, please email your MTA Building Representatives with your concerns and ideas for cost containment and spending. We will continue to be fiscally responsible.

 

 

~~ MTA Teachers Celebration ~~

You are cordially invited

to an afternoon of socializing with friends

to celebrate your amazing accomplishments!

The Minnetonka Teachers Association

would like to honor all the members

that make such a difference every day.

 Please mark your calendars

April 30th, 3:00pm-6:00pm

and join us at the Marsh (15000 Minnetonka Blvd)

for an afternoon of delicious appetizers (free!),

cash bar (not free!), and fabulous conversation

with those colleagues you never get to see.

 Hope to see you there!

~~ Teachers Night at the Musical ~~

The Minnetonka Teachers Association and The Minnetonka Fine Arts Department are sponsoring a Teachers Night at the musical on Thursday May 6, 2004. The show starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets will be available for Minnetonka teachers and spouses for the price of $5.00. If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity call the Theatre Box office @ 401-5898, identify yourself as a Minnetonka teacher and get the special! This special will be available until the end of the school day on Monday May 3, 2004. Also as a special treat, you may meet and converse with the cast members in the Art Gallery adjacent to the lobby right after the show!

 

~~ MTA Governance Board 2004-2005 ~~

            The MTA Governance Board’s Reorganization Meeting will be on Wednesday, May 5, 2004. This important meeting is to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the current governance Board, and to welcome the incoming Governance Board.

            Please take time to thank the current members whose terms end on May 5, 2004: Mark Chalupsky (President), Julie Anderson-Simonson (Vice President), Debra Jensen (Clear Springs), Mark Broten (Excelsior), Mark Brzezinski (MM-East), Joseph Ricke (MHS), and Jan Nelson (MHS).

            Congratulations to the members whose terms will continue or begin on May 5, 2004: Joseph Ricke (President, new), Jan Nelson (Vice President, new), Linda Morantez (DEC, continuing), Margaret Ruffino (Deephaven, continuing), Pam Wertjes (Groveland, continuing), Melanie Casiday (Minnewashta, continuing), Katie Tuthill (Scenic Heights, continuing), Sandy Gosen (MM-East, continuing), Heidi Bunde (MM-East, new), Mary Tingblad (MM-West, continuing), Jeri Goodspeed-Gross (MM-West, continuing), Mike Cutshall (MHS, continuing), Miles Mortensen (MHS, continuing), Doug Kennedy (MHS, new), Sonja Saunders (MHS, new).

 

 

 News From Education Minnesota

 

~~ Volunteer Now For Fair Booth ~~

The Minnesota State Fair takes place this year August 26 through September 6, 2004. Here’s your chance to volunteer at the Education Minnesota booth and enjoy all the fair has to offer. It’s a fun time working with educator colleagues. Shifts run for three hours. Volunteers have the rest of the day to enjoy the fair. They also receive a T-shirt, fair admission ticket, and parking and mileage reimbursement. The booth attracts thousands of visitors. This year volunteers will again help Education Minnesota staff take photos and produce personalized calendars for fairgoers. The schedule fills quickly, so volunteer by calling Chris Carlin at 651-292-4875 or 800-652-9073.

 

~~ ESI Seminars on Long-Term Care Insurance ~~

A long-term care insurance policy provides coverage if you can’t care for yourself for an extended period or live independently. Education Minnesota sponsors long-term care seminars throughout the year all over the state. They are designed to better educate members about what long-term care is and how it works.

How can you learn more about long-term care and the benefits provided by the Education Minnesota ESI-sponsored policies? You can visit the Education Minnesota website: www.educationminnesota.onlineltc.com.  Call 1-888-738-5116 to register for the Twin Cities seminar (April 29, 2004, 6:30 p.m., Champlin Public Library meeting room, 12154 Ensign Ave. N.) or to consult with a licensed LTC insurance. If a seminar is not scheduled in your area in the near future, please contact Andrea McGauley at Education Minnesota’s LTCI office to find out how to arrange a special seminar: amcgauley@onlineltc.com.

 

~~ Letters to the Next President~~

Bill Cosby, entertainer/author, adapted from “Letters to the Next President: What We Can Do About the Real Crisis in Public Education,” Teachers College Press, 2004, www.letterstoprez.com.

 

“I’m looking at the junkiest room I’ve ever seen. It is a classroom in an American public school; it is public education in America today. A child did not make the room junky; generations of litterers – legislators, school board members, superintendents, principals, taxpayers, teachers and presidents did. Given the mess, it is a wonder that our children are able to do even as well as they do. We must be grateful that there always have been talented and determined teachers who find their way through the maze of rules and special interests and do what they became teachers to do: help their students shine.”

 

NEA News

 

~~ Wal-Mart = Vouchers + Charter Schools ~~

Wal-Mart’s founders transformed U.S. business. Now they are taking on a very different subject: the nation’s public schools, according to a story in USA Today. The Waltons, America’s richest family, have quietly become top contributors to controversial education reform movements, including charter schools and school-voucher causes. They have donated at least $701 million to education charities since 1998.That pales beside the $1.05 billion given to education by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But the Waltons’ giving could soar to as much as $1 billion a year as they shift more riches to charity. How much more? John Walton, one of the founder Sam Walton’s four children, says the family expects to donate as much as 20%of its $100 billion in Wal-Mart stock. The shift could have a huge impact on public education, say experts on philanthropy and education. Go to: www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-03-11-waltons_x.htm.

 

~~ Visit NEA Website to Win a Vacation Package ~~

NEA members can register anytime during May on the NEA Member Benefits website, www.neamb.com, for a chance to win a free “NEA Getaway” Vacation Package, compliments of the NEA Home Financing Program. Be the lucky winner of a three-day, two-night stay at a deluxe hotel/resort for two adults (and up to two children sharing the same room) at more than 300 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The package features breakfast for two each morning (where available), emergency roadside assistance the week you travel and a free one-year Access Card for discount dining, movies, shopping, travel and more. Transportation is not included. Giveaway entry begins on May 1 and ends on May 31, 2004.  No purchase is necessary to enter.

 

~~ New Civil Rights Book Goes Beyond ‘Heroes’ ~~

            The civil rights movement is often taught as an exercise in lauding a handful of heroes. “Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching,” a new book by Teaching for Change and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), provides lessons and articles for classrooms and communities on how to go beyond a heroes approach. It offers interactive and interdisciplinary lessons, readings, artifacts and interviews, with sections on education, citizenship, culture, economic justice and reflections on teaching about the movement. To view free online content, visit www.civilrightsteaching.org/intro.htm.

 

~~ Free and Discounted Posters for Teachers ~~

Here’s a website to check out: http://www.posters4teachers.com/freeposters.php. Choose from over 2000 free and specially discounted educational posters.

 

~~ Teacher Therapy ~~

Teacher Therapy is a collection of original humorous songs for teachers written and performed by Judy Domeny Bowen. Teacher Therapy is now available on CD and cassette. Play Teacher Therapy when you need a laugh at the end of a long day. Play it at faculty meetings or parties. Give it as Christmas, retirement, or thank you gifts.

Laughing, happy, smiling teachers across the nation unite as we sing the national anthem of teachers: So, You Want To Be A Teacher - " You gotta have a good bladder, 'cause you never get to pee, And a really strong voice is a true necessity! " You can go to: http://theeducatorsnetwork.com/cgi-bin/online/store.php to order CDs or cassettes. You can also order by phone: call 905-794-2518 during business hours 9am-5pm ET.