Vol. 2, January 2003

The Professional

A Publication of the Minnetonka Teachers Association

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

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

 

~ 2002-2003 Minnetonka Teachers Association Governance Board ~

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

~ Secretary Mary Tingblad ~ Treasurer Joseph Ricke ~

~ DEC Gail O’Rourke ~ Deephaven Diane Jost ~ Groveland Pam Wertjes ~

~ Excelsior Mark Broten ~ Minnewashta Melanie Casiday ~

~ Clear Springs Debra Jensen ~ Scenic Heights Jan Sellman ~

~ MM-East Mark Brzezinski & Heidi Johnson ~

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

~ MHS Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, J. Beowulf Boswell, & Mike Cutshall ~

 

~~ President’s Ponderings ~~

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

 

We are halfway through the school year, and I would have to say it has been one of the best since I have been in Minnetonka. We have a school board and an administration that, in general, are very supportive of students and staff. We have worked hard to establish good working relationships with each other, and I believe it has paid great dividends. There will be many challenges ahead, but we have a communication model in place that allows for constructive dialogue and collaborative problem solving.

 

It is certainly an interesting time in Minnesota as far as education is concerned. We need to pay close attention to the current politics surrounding education. We need to do everything we can to support teachers and protect the students in our classrooms.

 

Education Minnesota will provide Chuck Kehrberg to help negotiate our 2003-2005 MTA contract. Chuck did an outstanding job helping us with our last contract. He will join Joe Ricke, Mike Cutshall, and me, to give us an extremely strong and experienced negotiation team.

 

There is a committee, which I am part of, that is looking at other systems that could possibly replace Skyward. It will be very costly to replace Skyward, so any new system would have to be clearly superior to what we have before a change would be made.

 

Next year all of the schools will be on a quarter system. It will be easier to plan the calendar, staff development training, and conference schedules. It still will not be a perfect system, and I’m sure we will have to work out some bugs. In the long run I believe it will simplify many issues.

 

I have had numerous discussions with Dr. Peterson regarding a district-wide grading policy for Minnetonka Schools. He has appointed Claudia Risnes and Craig Hintz to co-chair a committee to study the issue and make recommendations to the district. I’m sure there will be many opinions on this topic. 

 

I hope your year is going well! Best wishes!

 

 

  And Now A Chuckle or Two…

 

Education is what you read in the fine print.

 A learning experience is what you get when you don’t.

 

Chivalry in action: A teenage girl drops her book…

A teenage boy will kick it over to her.

 

Some people are wise. Some people are otherwise.

 

The difference between a photocopier and the flu…

One makes facsimiles and the other makes sick families.

 

                                               

     MTA Delegates to State and National Conventions

          The Education Minnesota Representative Convention is in St. Paul, MN, March 14-15, 2003. The delegates representing the MTA at this state convention are Julie Anderson-Simonson, Sarah Becher, Mark Chalupsky, Erin Klaers, Jan Nelson, Joseph Ricke, and Mary Tingblad.

          The NEA Representative Assembly is in New Orleans, LA, July 1-6, 2003. The delegates representing the MTA at this national convention are Mark Chalupsky, Joseph Ricke, and Mary Tingblad.

 

MTA Contract Administration Update

julie.anderson-simonson@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

The Contract Administration meeting on, January 15, 2003, included Mark Chalupsky, Joseph Ricke, Julie Anderson-Simonson, and Mike Lovett. The following items were discussed:

·        Updates on the TIP and Voluntary Teacher Compensation Strategy Committee work

·        Career Transition Trust Implementation (403b plans)

·        Hiring process for coaches

·        Reserve Teacher shortage issues

·        Job postings

·        Music staffing ratios 

Future issues to be discussed in February: 

·        2003-05 Calendar update

·        Music staffing ratios

·        Job postings

·        International Baccalaureate program

·        Wellness Pay and Personal Leave Days

Future issues to be discussed in March:

·        Extended Day Kindergarten and MCES funds     

 

MTA Negotiations Update

joseph.ricke@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

The school board has finalized their negotiating team consisting of Dr. Mike Lovett, Tom Berge and Dennis O’Brien (district’s lawyer). The MTA team will also include Chuck Kehrberg, who was instrumental in working with us for the previous contract. We are finalizing the process for the negotiation survey and intend to send out an e-mail next week. Members will be asked to complete a Zoomerang survey. We intend to start the negotiations process sometime next month.

~~ News from Education Minnesota ~~

 

Legislature Tackles Tough Issues

Will Minnesota schools be spared as the 2003 Legislature tackles a $4.56 billion deficit? More than 25 percent of the legislators are new, many leadership positions have changed, and Republicans control both Governor’s office and House of Representatives. What do all these changes mean for Minnesota schools?

Education Minnesota’s legislative goals are based on its “Blueprint: Building the Future of Public Education in Minnesota.” The Blueprint offers three key “underlying and interlocking” principles that are needed to create great public schools in Minnesota: Quality, Equity, and Accountability.

Quality: The first prerequisite for productive, effective schools. It starts with every student in every classroom having a properly trained and licensed teacher. Equity: The principle that all students deserve a high-quality education, regardless of family circumstance or geographic location. Components include equal access to learning opportunities and consistent standards. Accountability: An effective system that results in improved student achievement. Among the components are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all who play a part in public education, including elected officials who determine funding.

 

Electronic Newsletter

          Have you seen the Minnesota Educator Update? It’s Education Minnesota’s new electronic newsletter, and it’s designed to bring you the latest education and organization news with immediacy not possible in printed publications. The newsletter is published every Monday, and it is accessible to any member who has access to the Internet. To receive the new newsletter, click onto the story on the homepage of Education Minnesota’s online community, www.educationminnesota.org.

 

Need a Lawyer? It’s a Member Benefit

Did you know that one of the services available to members through the AFT and the NEA is an attorney referral and legal services program? Eligible members are entitled to some free legal advice. Other services are offered at a rate below the usual fees of participating attorneys. Some of the core areas include: domestic relations, real estate, consumer protection, wills and estates, and traffic violations. For a list of participating firms, call ESI at 651-292-4856 or1-800-642-4624.

~~ News from NEA and AFT ~~

 

Quality Preschool Pays Off Even After Graduation

          Educators long have known that high-quality childcare pays off in better classroom performance and later on in better jobs. Now new research indicates it also pays off in actual dollars, an attractive carrot for taxpayers, according to a new report released by a Rutgers University think tank.

          Affording and finding high-quality childcare is a concern for Americans of all ranks. As child advocates push Congress to increase spending on childcare for the next welfare bill, the poor spend large chunks of their income for care that is mediocre at best. To read more from the National Institute for early Education Research, Rutgers University, go to http://nieer.org/news/index.php?NewsID=179.

 

Read Across America on March 3!

          Plans are underway for NEA’s sixth annual Read Across America celebration, which this year will be on March 3. The event celebrates the joys of reading and honors Dr. Seuss, whose birthday falls on March 2. Since the good doctor’s birthday is on a Sunday in 2003, NEA’s official celebration will be on Monday, but many fun activities will take place before and after that date.

          Read Across America is the biggest one-day literacy celebration in the United States, if not the world. On March 2, 2002, there were reading events in all 50 states (as well as several foreign countries) that attracted nearly 40 million readers of all ages.

Your students can participate in NEA’s Read Across America activities in a number of ways—Just go to www.nea.org/readacross to find out more about this wonderful event.

 

What Makes Education Research Rigorous?

          Recent federal legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and related initiatives, has focused the attention of policymakers, researchers, and practitioners on the nature and value of “scientific” research in education. In the November issue of “Educational Researcher,” scholars representing a broad range of approaches in educational research discuss key issues and what constitutes rigorous research in education. Read the article at www.aera.net/pubs/er/eronline.htm.

 

Educators Explore the American West

          National History Day hosts its 2003 Summer Teacher Institute, “History of the American West: The Legacy of Exploration and Encounter,” July 19-26 in Portland, Oregon. The institute is free, but participants must cover travel costs.

Learn about recent scholarship on the American West and primary sources to improve curriculum. Special activities include visits to historic sites on the Lewis and Clark Trail, an exploration of native voices in discussions with tribal members and visits to Native American sites. Participants also will analyze the geologic history of the Bonneville Dam. Applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2003. For details, visit http://nationalhistoryday.org/03_educators/frameb_03_c_4.htm.

 

America Has Many Reasons to Be Proud of Public Schools

          Helen Larson, an educator in Pennsylvania, has come to believe it is politically correct to bash public schools. How did we get to this point? Has public education always been so bad that we’re just coming to grips with its ineffectiveness? What about the studies that compare our students with those from Japan, the Netherlands, and other industrialized nations? Is American public education shortchanging out students in the global market? How do we make sense of all the controversy surrounding public schools?

          Larson admits not understanding why we aren’t more proud of our country’s struggle to educate all students. We should be proud of our desire to battle inequalities, however shortsighted we might have been in the past. She writes that she would not trade the limitations of our public schools for any other form of education. Read her commentary for “Education Week” at www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=12larson.h22.

 

     

~~ What’s New at Your School? ~~

 

 

MM-East Baby News

          MM-East teacher Dave Eisenmann and wife welcomed their second child, Nathan David, on December 17, 2002. Father, mother, big sister, and baby are all doing well.

 

MM-West Baby News

          MM-West teacher Andrea Lee and husband are expecting their first child in June. Andrea joins other MM-West teachers Anna Kurth, Tony Mosser, and Jeanne Sammelson, in the waiting-for-baby game.

 

Baby Central at Scenic Heights

jan.sellman@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

          Babies, babies, everywhere, every month! Babies are scheduled to arrive all yearlong… in January, Jo Bernhardt and Kelly Pederson; in February, Melinda Barry; in March, Heidi Volkart; in April, Emily Nelson; in May, Heidi Roehl and Lori Anderson; in June, Dylan Briest; and in July, Peter Lee. The rest of the staff has given up drinking the water there!

 

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 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!

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

 

Read and Release

Warm January greetings to you on the coldest day of the year! This is perfect weather for curling up with a good book! Or how about weeding out your good book collection to share some of your wonderful literary finds with others? Sounds like a good idea, but what should you do with the ones you are ready to give away? Have I got a website for you!

Check out the BookCrossing website, http://www.bookcrossing.com, for a unique way to share your books. Rob Brookman of “Book” calls the website “an invitation to play a part in an unlikely sociology experiment…. Part book club, part behavioral study, part note-in-a-bottle exercise, it’s a concept entirely made possible by the interconnectivity of the Internet.”

BookCrossing membership has grown to over 74,000, with readers from more than 80 nations! Members register books online, and print out special registration cards to attach to their books before “releasing them into the wild.” This “read and release” system gives people a way to share their books without feeling that they’ve lost them. Members leave these specially tagged books in public places for others to find. The finders are directed to the website to enter the book’s ID number listed on its registration card. This takes them to the book’s own journal page where the finder can learn more about how that book ended up in the finder’s hands. They can share their thoughts of the book, and send the book on its way back into the wild.

I have released several books within the Minnetonka School District, and am waiting patiently to learn of the books’ journeys. Perhaps you noticed one sitting on your table at the workshop breakfast. If you are interested in giving this a try, go to the website to learn more. Everyone has books they could share with the world of readers out there! Here’s a link to a Star Tribune article: http://www.startribune.com/stories/384/3583999.html.

 

 

 

WANTED

YOUR ARTICLE IDEAS!

Write about your colleagues, good news to be shared, anything you’d like to share with the rest of us. Remember, this is YOUR newsletter!