Vol. 4, January 2005

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

 

         

2004-2005 Minnetonka Teachers Association Governance Board

~ President Joseph Ricke ~ Vice President Jan Nelson ~

~ Secretary Mary Tingblad ~ Treasurer Melanie Casiday ~

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

~ Excelsior Sara Macke ~ Minnewashta Melanie Casiday ~

~ Clear Springs OPEN ~ Scenic Heights Anita Britton ~

~ MM-East Sandy Gosen & Rhonda Lundgren ~

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

~ MHS Doug Kennedy, Mike Cutshall, Miles Mortensen & Jean Peebles ~

         

 

~~ From the President ~~

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

Greetings! I am sure many of you were in something of a state of shock and dismayed mindset when first presented with Dr. Peterson’s plans for the District’s future. I hope most of you are have been thinking of the best course of action not only to cope with his proposed changes, but also to look for ways we can collectively support each other and still pursue a course of action that will restore programs or minimize the impact of the proposed changes. 

Wrong course. The departure to a six-period day is simply not a course of action that reflects our “world class” educational format that we all have worked so hard to accomplish.  The six-period day is not wholly supported by the strategic plan and the move to a six-period day will take us back 30 years. While the move would increase the number of teaching minutes per hour (back to where we were at secondary), the balance sheet is dangerously offset by the lack of options to explore. Thus, students will be inadequately prepared to graduate as well-rounded individuals. That will limit a student’s understanding of career options and will limit them instead to focusing solely on college as their next step. How is that realistic, when data shows that upwards of 70% of our graduates do not finish college and drop out within two years? The impact to secondary teachers will be less prep time and potentially teaching more than five classes a day.

Desired change.  Alternative Compensation is one item that won’t go away and is at the forefront of educational reform—after vouchers and getting rid of tenure. The primary premise of Alternative Compensation Programs is to entice and retain better and brighter high performance teachers, who can be “appropriately” compensated for their teaching excellence.  There are two fallacies and two problems with alternative compensation concepts.

The two fallacies are: 1) that many of the “better” teachers do not already exist. and 2) that student performance will significantly improve with these “super teachers”—or is the concept referencing the performance of the AP students, not the average students? By the way, we already have super, high performing teachers, who are doing so on average wages—perhaps this should be addressed first. What is generally true is that an excellent teacher produces excellent student results—even if the student’s results are not superior.

The two problems with Alternative Compensation: are 1) the lack of a proven, equitable model for alternative pay, and 2) the difficulties and cost of administering such a model. The belief that industry-based performance evaluation systems can work for teachers is also at the heart of the perceived need for reform in pay structures. The problem with this idea is that we are not structured like industry and that we do not produce widgets. Teachers cannot control the quality of the students assigned to their classes and have to work with the raw materials they get. Tests are only one form of student achievement and a teacher cannot make or control a student to perform. Teachers guarantee the input—teaching students as we find them and taking them to the next level.

The MTA will address these issues and will offer meaningful alternatives to Dr. Peterson. We will continue to do our best to advocate for your work conditions, to maintain the quality in our contract and for district adherence to the contract.

 

~~ A Note From the Negotiators ~~

MTA Negotiator, Anita Britton, anita.britton@minnetonka.k12.mn.us  

The Negotiators would like to thank those of you on the Negotiations Council for your guidance in creating the survey which was recently distributed. We truly see our job as representing the needs of our membership and your input is greatly valued. We'd also like to thank the MTA membership for completing the Negotiations Survey. Your comments and preferences will be used during this negotiation. As we move forward in the process, there may be additional surveys asking for your input. We appreciate the time you take to share your priorities. We will be analyzing the data we receive from the first survey and working with that information in the future. 

 

~~ Contract Administration Update ~~

MTA Negotiator, Mike Cutshall, mike.cutshall@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

During the last contract administration meeting, Mike Cutshall and Joe Ricke met with Tom Berge and Mike Lovett in regards to formulating an early retirement incentive package. Details will be forthcoming as soon as the package is finalized. The hope is to offer those people close to retirement age an incentive to retire early, thereby allowing the district to keep some of the staff which will be negatively affected by cost containment.

Payments for those people who took IB classes in the summer and were never paid for it were determined. Those payments went out in the last paycheck. Continued discussion took place regarding the workload involved in teaching IB classes. We continue to see this equivalent to the workload of teaching a sixth class. Discussions also centered on payment of salary to teachers following the guidelines set forth in the contract.

The number and type of workdays were also discussed. The current procedure of having four secondary conference days directly violates the language of the contract. The administration countered that having teachers work 183 days instead of 184 makes up for the violation (although we all know that we put in more days just getting ready for school, coming in on weekends, etc.) The MTA Governance Board will be discussing this issue at our next meeting.

 

      

 

~~ Teachers’ Rights Review ~~

MTA Teachers’ Rights Co-Chair, Mary Benson, mary.benson@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Happy January! The Teachers’ Rights Representatives have been diligently trying to answer many questions that pertain to the cost containment document. Please tune in next month—we hope to have an answer sheet available, responding to many of the questions we have entailed. Please take a look at the last article on “Effective Communications in the Era of the Consumer Parent,” given by Paul C. Ratwik, an attorney for the Ratwik, Roszak and Maloney Law Firm.

 

Reduce the likelihood that inappropriate behavior will occur by establishing and maintaining expectations for appropriate behavior (continued).

·        Meeting with Parents

o       Identify parent issues and concerns in advance of the meeting whenever possible.

§         The fear of raising issues should not overcome the opportunity to be prepared to respond to those issues.

§         Identifying issues in advance of the meeting makes it possible to respond to specific issues with facts. Doing so conveys both a sense of professional competence and of consideration for the parent’s concerns.

§         If the issue is one with implications for the building administrator, advise him/her in advance in order to obtain guidance and, perhaps, to allow for the administrator’s attendance, but avoid giving the impression of “passing the buck” to the administration.

§         Consider requesting the presence of an administrator at a meeting if you feel that you will not be able to conduct it in an orderly manner.

o       Create a written agenda for the meeting with set times for the meeting to begin and end.

§         Give the parent the agenda in advance of the meeting in order to confirm the topics of discussion and to give the parents a chance to raise additional issues.

§         Seeing their issues on a written agenda reassures a parent that they will be addressed and increases the likelihood that the discussion will be civil in tone.

§         Following the agenda increases the chances that the meeting will address all of the issues and end on time.

§         Do not be afraid to recognize that there is disagreement as to a specific point or issue. State the positions of the parties and move on to the next point. Summarize the positions of the parties at the conclusion of the meeting.

§         The use of “educationalese” is to be avoided. Educational terms and acronyms should be explained in terms a layperson can understand.

§         A cordial and professional demeanor need not be unfriendly or hostile.

§         Check for parental understanding of the discussion of each agenda item as it occurs.

·        Ask if the parent is comfortable that he/she understands the district’s position.

·        Explain that you are not seeking a concession that the district’s position is correct, but merely making sure that the parent understands what the district is saying.

·        Restate the parent’s position and confirm that the restatement accurately describes the parent’s position.

·        Recognize that parents sometimes feel that if the district does not accept their position it is because it does not understand their position.

§         Do not assume that parental objections or concerns about a student’s educational program are intended as a personal attack. If personal attacks are made, respond professionally. In the event of personal attacks or unacceptable communications, be prepared to address the situation.

o       Presenting progress reports and performance data

§         It is typical for teachers to try to find some good in any teaching situation. However, student performance and progress data must be reported objectively and honestly using language the parent can understand.

§         Optimism for the sake of optimism or to avoid disappointment may raise issues of credibility.

o       Document the outcome of significant meetings and include a copy of your notes in the student’s file.

·        Parent provided “authorities: and articles

o       Do not reject out of hand or ridicule articles, brochures, checklists provided by parents.

o       Ask for copies (prior to the meeting if at all possible) and review them with staff in order to understand, anticipate and prepare to respond to the parent’s point of view.

o       If the material has educational merit, say so.

o       If the material does not meet research standards with which the district must comply, say so and say why.

o       Keep copies of the material for the record.

o       Follow up with website and library research in order to educate the team to the parent’s point of view.

·        Recognize the importance of the “bottom line” to many parents.

o       Parents often believe that a teacher’s comments at a meeting are intended to justify an outcome already decided upon.

o       Sometimes parents are more interested in identifying a teacher’s “final position” that in following the agenda and discussing issues thoroughly.

o       Simply stating that the meeting is going to follow a particular process may only reinforce parental suspicions that you do not want to admit that a decision has already been made.

o       Instead:

§         Refer to the agenda in order to point out that the process will, once the necessary preliminaries have been address, get to the parent’s point of concern.

§         Identify the steps necessary to be taken to get to the issue the parent needs to discuss.

§         Explain why the steps are critical and required to be completed.

§         Ask whether the parents are willing to agree to certain preliminary elements in order to be able to move along to their primary issue.

 

          

 

~~ Membership Information Reminder ~~

MTA Membership Chair, Mary Kay Burmesch, marykay.burmesch@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Please contact Mary Kay Burmesch at any time during the year whenever your information changes—name change, address change, phone number change, or contract time change. It’s important to keep your membership information updated. Thank you!

 

~~ News From Education Minnesota ~~

 

~~ MVP CDs Provide Solid Advice ~~

Classroom management, reading instruction and comprehension instruction are the topics of three interactive CD-ROMs in Education Minnesota’s “Most Valued Profession” series. The CDs provide practical, research-based classroom advice with real-world examples and discussions with experienced educators. Their content is applicable to teachers in all disciplines and at all grade levels. The cost for each is $25. For more information, contact Marcia Averbook, marcia.averbook@educationminnesota.org.

 

~~ Website to Help Job-Seeking Teachers ~~

The Minnesota Department of Education has launched a website designed to help school districts connect with licensed teachers, especially in high demand subjects such as math and science. The website is part of an $8 million grant to improve teacher quality in Minnesota. Go to the Minnesota Teacher Recruitment Center (MTRC) website at https://education.state.mn.us/MTRC/, which has been created to match qualified teacher applicants with schools and districts seeking to fill teaching positions. The free service is available to any district in the state and to any teacher applicant interested in teaching in Minnesota. School districts can use the site to post job openings, search for candidates matching their vacancies, and view or print resumes of selected candidates. Teacher applicants can use the site to develop a formatted resume, search all job postings in Minnesota and have their resume included in searches by Minnesota schools with vacancies.

~~ Minnesota Falls Behind in Funding Schools ~~

Minnesota increased its per-pupil spending by only 1.2 percent in 2001-02, far below the national average of 4.9 percent and minuscule compared to states like Arkansas and Arizona, with increases of 13 percent, according to the latest “Quality Counts” report by Education Week. You must register at www.edweek.org to view the report. The publication’s annual state-by-state survey of education conditions ranked Minnesota 23rd in the nation in per-pupil funding, which it said was $7,889 in 2001-02. While the statistics are dated, Minnesota percentage increases have not gone up significantly over the past two years because basic school spending was frozen two years ago.

 

~~ ESI Launches New Tax and Realty Services ~~

The new Education Minnesota ESI-sponsored comprehensive tax preparation service is specifically for educators. All returns are filed electronically for fast turn-around, and the service is competitively priced. Mention this article for 10% off the preparation fees. For details, call 763-689-9023 or go to www.tsainvest.com and click on the tax link.

The new Education Minnesota ESI-sponsored full-service realty program will provide discounted assistance to members who are buying and/or selling a home, including MLS listing, yard sign/brochure box, financing options, home highlight flyer, photographs, CMA (comparative market analysis), open house, advertising, and more. For more information, contact ESI, 651-292-4856, or http://esi.educationminnesota.org.

 

~~ NEA News ~~

 

~~ Get Ready for Read Across America ~~

Start planning now for America’s favorite reading event, Read Across America, set for March 2, 2005, Dr. Seuss’ birthday. NEA has redesigned the resource kit, which features posters full of reproducible items, from logos and certificates to reading activities and bookmarks. The kit also includes a poster for teen readers, and a CD-ROM for NEA members. To request a kit, go to www.nea.org/readacross and fill out an online form. Check the site regularly for updates.

 

~~ Win a Trip to Washington, D.C. ~~

Register anytime during February in the “Free Giveaways” area of the NEA Member Benefits website, www.neamb.com, for a chance to win a four-day trip for two to the nation’s capital! The Washington, D.C., vacation package for two people includes a three-night stay at a conveniently located hotel; a complimentary dinner for the winner and guest; two tickets to a Smithsonian IMAX presentation; the Official Guide to the Smithsonian and reading list; and two, two-day Tourmobile passes that offer narrated sightseeing to 25 sites along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Air travel and ground transportation, other than the Tourmobile, are not included. The contest runs February 1-28, 2005. No purchase is necessary to enter.

 

~~ NEA Launches New Comprehensive Website ~~

The National Education Association launched a greatly enhanced website January 10, 2005, with the best professional resources for educators and their communities. Since 2002, NEA has maintained a public website and a member-only, professional resource site. The new site, www.nea.org, combines and expands upon the best features of both sites. “The National Education Association is creating the #1 resource website for educators,” said NEA President, Reg Weaver. “As we continue to develop www.nea.org, we will include more tools for education professionals, as well as ways to involve parents and community members, the building blocks for ensuring a great public school for every child.”

In keeping with NEA’s commitment to educators and students, the new site includes resources for teachers and educational support professionals, as well as for parents, the press and the public. These resources include:

·        Teaching resources.

·        Online professional development.

·        The latest information on No Child Left Behind.

·        IDEA tools.

·        NEA’s Read Across America updates.

·        NEA Professional Library.

·        Job placement services.

NEA members will be able to take advantage of member-only discounts ranging from online professional development to long-distance service discounts and other special offers. Check it out!

 

 

 

~~ AFT News ~~

 

~~ Help Educators Affected by the Tsunami ~~

In the aftermath of the world’s worst natural disaster in more than 40 years, Education International (EI) has established the Tsunami Relief Program and has invited all member organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association, to contribute to this effort. Members are encouraged to support the EI effort by sending checks, in any amount, to either the AFT or NEA. All the money will go directly to affected teachers, students and schools. Visit www.ei-ie.org for more information about the work of EI member unions in the disaster areas.

AFT Contributions can be made payable to the AFTEF (AFT Educational Foundation) and sent to the AFT Educational Foundation, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, DC 20001. Please write “tsunami relief” on the memo portion of the check. NEA Contributions can be made payable to NEA with “EI Relief Program” in the memo line. Checks should be sent to NEA International Relations, 1201 16th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

 

~~ Beware of Privatization ~~

www.americanprogressaction.com (click on Daily Progress Report 1/4/05)

Younger members beware of the dirty little secret of privatization. Bush’s plan for private accounts is being sold as a plan for younger workers to benefit from the higher returns of the stock market. Don’t believe the hype. The private accounts are actually a mechanism for younger workers to recover a small fraction of the money they lose from price indexing. For example, if price indexing is adopted, a 20-year-old person just entering the labor force would lose 34% of his/her expected benefits. This would amount to almost $134,000 over a lifetime of retirement. But the private accounts proposed by bush would give that 20-year-old “a chance to gain back, on average, about $47,000.” That is assuming the market doesn’t go south (as it just did from 2000-2002). So the question for young workers is not whether they want private accounts. It’s whether they want a huge cut in guaranteed benefits in exchange for a chance to gain back a fraction in the stock market.

 

 

~~ Money Skills for Life Challenge ~~

Take the Practical Money Skills for Life Educator Challenge and you could win computers for your classroom and yourself, plus a $2,500 merchandise certificate. To find out more, visit http://link.p0.com/u.d?gk6-SsPJaUJl7IY=60. The Practical Money Skills for Life Educator Challenge is part of Visa’s ongoing effort to improve the financial literacy of young people and encourage creativity in teaching personal finance topics in the classroom.

The Practical Money Skills for Life Educator Challenge is open to any educator working with grades 7-12 who is already teaching in areas such as, but not limited to: economics, business education, teen living, math, social studies, and life skills. It’s easy to enter: 1. Register online, 2. Create and teach a lesson about personal finance, 3. Give students a financial literacy quiz provided to assess knowledge before and after the lesson. Entries must be postmarked by March 18, 2005. 

 

  So, What’s New at YOUR School?

There are “good news” things happening everyday in our schools. Send your school’s good news to mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us to be included in the next issue of The Professional. I’ve been told that this is one of the favorite features of the newsletter. It’s the way that we can share all the good things going on with our teachers!

 

MHS News

For those following Maggie Bearmon Pistner and her second career as a local actress, City Pages recognized her in their column of Best Performances for 2004 for her portrayal of Flora in Theatre in the Round’s production of Humble Boy.  She will next perform this July in L’Homme Dieu’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank in Alexandria, Minnesota. 

 

More MHS News

Lester Hughes-Seamans has had a piece selected for the Minnesota High School Art Teachers Juried Exhibition 2005. The exhibit is at the Minneapolis School of Art and Design (MCAD) January 22-February 13, 2005. This show will run concurrent with the Scholastic Art competition exhibit of Minnesota high school art students, as well as a juried exhibit of MCAD students.

Five MHS students also will have their work exhibited, and three more MHS students have received merit awards. Out of 1,1000 entries, 220 were selected to be included in the exhibition. 168 merit awards were given as well.

 

Scenic Heights (and MHS) News

Third grade teacher, Katie Tuthill, and husband Steve (MHS Math teacher) are pleased to announce the birth of their wonderful baby girl, McKenna Marilynn Tuthill, on January 7, 2005.  To see pictures of McKenna, go to www.growingfamily.com, click on “Visit the Web Nursery” and enter in the information required.  

 

More Scenic Heights (and MMW) News

Art teacher (SH and MMW) Jonathan Maki just became engaged to a wonderful person named Sarah Iverson.  Here the whole wonderful story, in Jonathan’s own words:

 

A few months ago, Sarah and I started joking around about getting our portraits done at some cheesy department store portrait studio. I found out that Sears had not updated their backgrounds since 1987, so I thought that would be ideal for us.

Last night (Tuesday, January 18) we had an appointment at 7:00 to get our pictures done. Sarah and I had to think about what to wear (we had to think of something outrageous...me? do something normal?). During this time, Sarah had no idea that I was going to propose to her.

Anyways, we got some funny vintage clothes comprised of a fancy glittery dress and a green sports jacket and wigs for both of us (Sarah was the one wearing the dress). Midway through the picture taking, I took out the ring and secretly raised it above the back of Sarah’s head. Then after the picture was taken, we got to see the picture on the monitor. I asked Sarah what she thought, but she didn’t realize that I was holding a ring box above her head (she wasn’t wearing her glasses, and she was preoccupied with her weird double chin). So, after I couldn’t really point out the cool detail of the photo, I thought of some romantic words and searched for all the nice things I could say to her when asking for her hand in marriage:

I took out the box again. I said, “Uh, do you want this?” I didn’t think my wonderful, most eloquent words registered in her brain. Then I said, “Will you marry me?” She said, “YES!” Then we took a few more pictures and left the Sears Portrait Studio.

  Meanwhile, her friends were decorating our place with confetti, balloons, flowers and dinner. Sarah was surprised by the decor, as was I. We had dinner. Later, those same friends came over and hung out for a bit to look at some funny photos and eat cake. So, that’s it! Whoa! I’m really an adult now. And I get a happy ending/beginning. This is going to be a fantastic adventure.

 Here is the link to the photos:

https://www.searsphotos.com/?shareid=S202447407lHW42VS9E3R

 

 

Editorial/Commentary/Opinion Page

Editorials, commentary, opinions, and letters to the editor are not necessarily the position of the MTA. All members are invited to share their unedited views, thoughts, concerns, etc., by submitting them to: mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us, Mary Tingblad, MM-West, 6421 Hazeltine Blvd, Excelsior, MN  55331.

 

Hurray for the weekend!

Sometimes I feel like one of the kids, looking forward to the weekend and time away from school. I have this feeling more often than I remember ever having it in past years. Could it be that things are more hectic, more stressful, more put-in-your-own-adjective than ever before? I’ve heard the same concerns from others, too.

The custodians joke with me whenever I do manage to get out of the building at a “normal” time. More often than not, if I am leaving with the buses or shortly thereafter, it’s because I am heading out to a meeting in another building. I did manage to squeeze in a dental appointment last week!

So, whenever the weekend rolls around, I try to keep anything school related to only Friday night or Sunday night. I suppose I am just like the kids, leaving homework until Sunday night! To keep my life outside of school truly my own time, I set a goal for myself to work on schoolwork at school only. When I am able to follow my goal, life is good! Of course there are times that I end up bringing home my schoolbag full of work that can’t be put off any longer. Those are the times that I realize just how valuable my time away from school is! Monday morning seems to arrive a little too quickly, and my weekend to-do list will just have to wait another week.

I’ve learned not to worry too much about that to-do list. If I can manage to get a few things on that list done during the week, that’s super! If things have to wait until the next weekend, that’s still OK. I’ve decided that I should be the one that decides how I spend my weekend, not that silly old to-do list! Don’t let your should-do’s take over your wanna-do’s. I know I should get up early even on the weekends, but I want to sleep in late—and that’s usually what I do! If I don’t have to be somewhere Saturday morning, I count myself lucky, and snuggle in under my comfy quilt. The laundry will still be there for me, whenever I get to it. The same goes for that pile of papers waiting to be graded. Take the time you need to do whatever will rev you up for the work that is waiting for you. Hurray for the weekend—the extra time, just in time!

 

Mary Tingblad, Editor