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Editor:  Peter Szalai  

CONTRACT MAINTENANCE REPORT
Each month, Superintendent Rick Schulte and Human Resources Director Mellody Matthes meet with OHEA President Peter Szalai and Vice President Mike Watson to address issues of concern.  At the January meeting, the following was discussed:

ü Evaluation:  The Association and the District agreed to an MOU to the contract which now requires the Observation Report form (Appendix 8, page 58) to include the following statement:

Among several recent changes to the evaluation section of the contract, it is now no longer the requirement that the evaluator provide a plan of improvement to an employee who has demonstrated performance deficiencies in any of the evaluation criteria (Appendix 7, pages 53 to 56).  The new language allows for either the evaluator or the employee to request an informal plan of improvement.  The recent resignation of a provisional employee, partly due to a lack of understanding of the evaluation process, of the evaluator’s observed deficiencies, and of the employee’s right to a plan, has caused the Association serious concerns:

o   It is unequivocally the responsibility of the evaluator to clearly and bluntly indicate performance deficiencies in any of the evaluation criteria and to do so as early as possible. 

o   It is also the moral responsibility of the evaluator to provide support for any employee whose performance is deficient—especially if that performance may result in a job loss.  Specifically, it is the Association’s expectation that an evaluator who has indicated a performance deficiency will increase the number of observations, will dialogue frequently with the employee, will stress areas of needed growth, and will provide support.  Involving OHEA early has proven effective, as well.

o   It is the responsibility of the employee whose performance has been deemed deficient—by proper observance of contractual guidelines—to improve that performance to the satisfaction of the evaluator.

o   It is the responsibility of the Association to provide assistance to the employee, to clarify the expectations of the evaluator, and to provide oversight of the process.

o   The Association rejects the suggestion by Assistant Superintendent David Peterson that it is possible for an employee to receive two satisfactory observations and an unsatisfactory evaluation.  Any deficiency in performance must be directly observed by the evaluator, must be tied to the evaluation criteria, and must be recorded on the Evaluation Report (Appendix 9, pages 59 to 60) according to “date, time, and length of observation.”  However, the Association supports David’s assertion that the evaluation of an employee should assess a greater and more accurate reflection of an employee’s total performance beyond that of one or two formal observations.

o   Under no circumstances whatsoever should the interactions of a mentor and an employee being mentored ever appear in the evaluation process—except to record that support has been provided.

The District has asked for time to implement a new training program for administrators in how to improve how evaluations are conducted—in terms of consistency, contractual adherence, and effectiveness in enhancing student learning.  The Association notes signs of improved clarity and observance of the evaluation process, and thank HR Director Mellody Matthes for her initiative.  Both Mellody and Superintendent Schulte have assured the Association that early, clear, and repeated notification of unsatisfactory performance will be made by evaluators and that training materials will address the Association’s concerns.  OHEA and OHSD share an interest in evaluation as a non-threatening, cooperative process to improve instruction and student learning. 

In the meantime, the Association advises that every member familiarizes him or herself with the evaluation process, and contacts OHEA immediately if any observation report indicates any possible performance deficiency.

Ø   Calendar:  In accordance to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Association and the District must develop, adjust, and publicize a school calendar in February of each year.  The calendar is the product of a formula that is found in Appendix 3 of your contract (also available online); it represents a series of compromises in attempting to meet as many needs and preferences as possible. 

ü Domestic Partnerships:  OHEA advocates extending health care benefits to members who are in domestic partnerships.  According to the WEA, about half of the school districts in Washington provide this benefit; South Whidbey included the benefit this past year.  Our health care providers routinely accommodate domestic partnerships.  To be eligible, an affidavit is signed, affirming a shared residence with shared living expenses and a “close personal relationship in lieu of a lawful marriage” for a minimum of six months.  The matter has been referred to the District’s Health Insurance Benefits Committee for review.  Dr. Schulte will bring the initiative to School Board president Kathy Jones, as eventually Board action will be necessary for any change to take effect for the 2006/2007 school year.

ü Job Share:  The Association advocated on behalf of a member who would like to job share next year, preferring to work 2 and a half days each week.  The District denied the request and only allows job sharing in Kindergarten situations.  There are 65 school districts in the state that make this benefit available to employees and the Association continues to support those actions which make OHSD a desirable place to work.

ü Through the Looking Glass, AKA Early Release Mondays:  The Association and the District continue to view Early Release Mondays in widely-differing ways.  To accurately reflect the membership, a one question survey is being conducted regarding views on Early Release Mondays:  Are they effective?  Do we need them weekly?  A joint OHSD/OHEA Early Release Meeting committee will review recent contractual changes giving teachers some self-directed time.  Gayle DeMersseman (NWMS) is the Association’s representative.

WEA-PAC DRIVE BEGINS

If you are dissatisfied with your salary and think you should be paid more, you should join WEA-PAC.  If you are on Plan 3 and worry about how you will live on your teacher retirement benefits, you should join WEA-PAC.  Yes, we are already paying a lot of dues money and, yes, any one of us could think of hundreds of reasons to not part with $20.  However, the truth of the matter is that the politics largely decides teacher salaries and retirement benefits.  To influence politics—supporting pro-public education candidates and initiatives—requires money.

This month, you should receive material at your home explaining the Washington Education Association Political Action Committee and the need for all members to contribute $20.  Those members who do contribute helped elect pro-public education leaders who:

v  worked to support the need for retirement pension reform;

v  funded teacher cost-of-living adjustments (after they were suspended for two years);

v  funded I-728, which provides money to reduce class size; and

v  made changes to the Pro-Cert legislation that benefits our members

The necessity for our involvement in the political process is critical considering that Washington per pupil funding is 42^nd in the nation and our retirement benefits were once assessed as one of the four worst in the nation.  WEA-PAC co-Chairs Lynne Carpenter (OHMS) and Vallerie Goodman (OVE) have set a 35% goal for OHEA.  Your building rep will be coming around shortly to hand you your WEA-PAC form.  Please complete the form, write a check for $20 (or more), and return both to your building rep.  OHEA will pay for postage.  Thank you!

OHEA SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF OHEA MEMBERS

If you have a son or daughter who is preparing for higher education opportunities, a one-time $500 to $750 scholarship is available as part of your OHEA membership benefits.  According to our policies, scholarships to higher education shall be given to each qualified graduating senior.  There are two requirements:  first, the recipient must be a son or daughter of an OHEA member; and, second, the recipient must have a G.P.A. of 3.25 or higher.  The student does not have to be attending OHHS.  The OHEA Scholarship application is available at www.oheaonline.org, select LINKS>DOWNLOAD CENTER.  Applications and supporting materials must be mailed to OHEA, P.O. Box 2006, Oak Harbor, WA 98277, and must be postmarked no later than April 1^st.  Late applications will not be accepted.  For further information, please contact Avis Berney, Career Specialist, at OHHS, or Peter.

R – E – S – P – E – C – T :  CIVILITY POLICY GROUP GETS TO WORK

Responding to ongoing and persistent complaints about disrespectful interactions with parents, OHEA has formed the Civility Policy Subcommittee of the Executive Board.  Mike Watson (CHE), Vice President, chairs the committee comprised of members Jane Johnson (CHE) Primary Elementary, Cynthia Story (OHMS) Middle School, Vince Hagel (OHHS) High School, Bill Young (OHE) Special Ed, and Kevin Boyer (OHHS) Treasurer.  Jim Fotter, WEA staff director, has provided a wealth of information, including RCWs, and sample policies in place or proposed from Bainbridge Island, Deer Park Island, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Mukilteo, Renton, Riverview, and Tacoma school districts.

The committee’s charge is to produce a draft civility policy and set of procedures for review by the membership.

• The policy should provide a brief and clear definition of civil interactions, and what constitutes violations of that definition.  The policy should strongly and clearly emphasize that it is the Board's and Superintendent's expectation that all employees have the right to receives civil interactions and that violations will not be tolerated. 

• Either the policy or procedures should include specific citations to applicable state law and city ordinances.

• Procedures should clearly establish what should be done in several scenarios where uncivil interactions occur--email, mail, telephone, formal and informal meetings, and in any other situation where employees might be subjected to uncivil interactions. 

OHEA members should expect to review and revise a draft of the committee’s proposed policy and procedures in the spring.  OHEA has met with Dr. Schulte, providing notification of the Association’s objective of having a Board policy on civility adopted in time for the 2006-2007 school year.

NEWS-IN-BRIEF

ü TGIF Social Planned for the Dog Days of Winter:    Social Chair Donna Smith (OHE) is arranging a TGIF for Friday, March 3^rd at the Imperial (formerly Kasteel’s) from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.  There are several big screen TVs and the décor has undergone a transformation.  As you would expect, the OHEA-provided hors d’oeuvres are from a Chinese appetizer menu; beverages are available for purchase.  Hope to see you there!

ü NEW:  No Email Wednesdays:  Bruce Roberts, Information Services Director, has proposed weekly, scheduled interruptions of email and Internet service from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m on Wednesdays.  Bruce sought OHEA input in the idea by citing numerous maintenance needs that cannot be accomplished without taking the system down.  OHEA forwarded and Bruce responded to concerns about classes being scheduled on Wednesdays.  Assuming lead time and good communications, OHEA supports Bruce’s proposal for routine, scheduled maintenance on Wednesday evenings and urges members to plan ahead.

ü Skyward Driving You Batty?  Dick Eigenraam (OHMS), OHSD Skyward Coordinator, recently sent out an email entitled, “What to do if you have Skyward problems?”  Basically, you should refer the problem to the Help Desk.  You may also contact Dick directly at 279-5310 or email at deigenraam@ohsd.net.  Dick has created a Skyward Help page:  http://ohms.ohsd.net/~skyward.

Dr. Schulte has forwarded OHEA a January 23^rd memo from NWRDC outlining changes to Skyward scheduled for March 3^rd and 4^th.  Among the improvements:

Ø  Quick Score:  all students and all assignments on a single screen

Ø  Reports:  2 clicks to produce a report

Ø  Drop Down Tabs:  fewer clicks

Ø  Grade Sheet Sequence Number:  order your classes in the same order as you manual grade sheets

Ø  Student Selection:  jump to any student instead of just Prev/Next

Ø  Attendance:  improved seating chart

For more information, visit www.skyward.com/Customer/Tutorials/06-01-13-PMP1_000_M.html

ü District Supports National Board Certification:  The District provides support to those certificated employees pursuing National Board Certification.  Specifically,

Ø   The district will pay $500 of the program costs, using SAF or other available “soft” money.

Ø   The district will assist candidates in their Gates Grant application for additional funding.

Ø   The district will allow use of the teacher-directed LID day and the 1.5 Optional Days for national certification activities. Teachers eligible for PGO should focus the PGO on national certification activities.

Ø   With prior approval of the appropriate administrator, early release and other staff development time may be dedicated to national certification provided this does not interfere with building-based school improvement efforts.

Ø   The district/schools will loan any needed equipment (video/microphone, etc) as available, upon request of the candidate.

For more information about National Board Certification, please visit: 

http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/nbpts/default.aspx

ü Big Red Binder:  Each school has a big, red binder marked OHEA where hard copies of the Association’s news letters and governance packets are stored.  Each month, material is collected for the governance packets which may be of interest to members:  communications from WEA/NEA and the District, research, reports, news and opinion articles.  The Association also maintains three websites:  our primary website, www.oheaonline.org, a new member portal, http://www.oheaonline.org/newmembers/sites/sites.htm, and a site to match donors with teacher proposals, www.schoolgifts.org.

ü Pre-Retirement Seminar:  Earlier, OHEA proposed an all-island pre-retirement seminar to be held in Oak Harbor.  Due to a lack of interest, we’ve dropped the idea.  However, WEA Fourth Corner is holding a pre-retirement seminar on Friday and Saturday, March 10^th and 11^th in Bellingham.  The cost is $25 which includes lunch and snacks.  Topics featured:  Plans I, II, and II, Financial Planning, Social Security and Medicare, Estate Planning, Health and Medical Insurance, PERS/TRS, and the State’s Deferred Compensation Program.  If you’re interested in attending, please contact WEA-Retired member Carl Taylor at 676-0769 or the WEA Fourth Corner office at 800-300-0796.

ü WEA Minority Affairs/Human Rights Symposium:  A six-hour series of workshops will be offered on Saturday, March 4^th in Federal Way, featuring “Civil Rights Initiative,” “Ageism/Retirement Issues,” “Poverty in Schools,” “Cultural Competency and School Improvement Planning,” “LGBTQ Issues in Schools,” and “Anti-Immigrant Initiatives.”  Clock hours are available and Curriculum Director Charisse Berner said that the symposium would be approved at a District level (please be advised, however, that building principals must approve OPDT use).  Registration fees, mileage, meals, and possibly Friday night hotel will be covered by OHEA.  If you are interested, send an email to mailto:pszalai@ohsd.net.

HIGH SCHOOL REMODEL EFFORT IN FULL SWING

Matt Zahn (OHHS), OHEA’s representative on the Citizens for Better Schools (CBS) committee reports that

Ø  OHEA’s check was delivered and received with thanks;

Ø  additional funds will be requested through a WEA grant;

Ø  CBS has about $5,300 so far out of an estimated $30,000 needed;

Ø  a calendar of events has been adopted:

JANUARY 9^th SCHOOL BOARD MEETING REPORT, by Mike Watson (CHE), Vice President

OHEA talked about:

1.    On behalf of the members President Peter Szalai rose and reported that a substantial majority of OHEA leaders were in support of putting a bond before the voters to accomplish the badly needed modernization of Oak Harbor High School. President Szalai further encouraged the board not to acquiesce to those who would have the District adopt the “cheapest” proposal, but adopt Dr. Schulte’s recommendations that will result in a “…high school environment capable of meeting the educational needs and high standards our children require.”

Others community members and/or parents talked about:

1.     A member of the community rose to ask that the Board consider replacing the High School (as opposed to undertaking the modernization).

2.     A member of the community rose to ask that the Board consider undertaking a less ambitious, and therefore, “cheaper” remodel.

The administration and/or the Board talked about:

1.      Jon Aesoph was recognized for his successful effort to provide gallery space for OHHS art students to display their work in the community.

2.       Two OHHS seniors were recognized for their academic and extracurricular achievements by Mr. Lundstrom, Principal at OHHS. A member of the Board acknowledged the “remarkable” achievements of staff and teachers at the High School who “…get such great things done…” in a substandard facility.

3.       Dr. Schulte reported the following:

a.     That discussions with McGranahan Architects regarding the stadium are proceeding. Dr. Schulte asked that members of the Board to recommend persons to serve on the “design team” that will steer the plans for upcoming stadium modernization. Two members of OHEA will on the team on behalf of the members. Dr. Schulte, in answer to an inquiry from a Board member, described some of the processes by which input regarding design issues will be solicited and acted upon throughout the design and construction process.

b.     That he anticipates a cut of 1% in impact aid funding at the federal level. That funding will, he anticipates, result in a cut of 5% in impact aid funding locally. The difference between the federal and local percentages are accounted for in the funding formula(s) and ratios mandated by regulation.

SOCIAL STUDIES CRT REPORT, by Jeanette Gewald (NWMS)

January 10, 2006.  In attendance:  Lynn Brown (BV), Kathi Evans (Hillcrest), Michelle Nurvic (CVE), Nicole Bouvion (OVE), Dale Leach (NWMS), Jeanette Gewald (NWMS), Charisse Berner (ASC), Gretchen Hanson (OHHS), Anita Sherrill (CHE).

After a review of our group agreement and introductions, we shared this year’s experiences with our first, state required Constitution Day: All schools allowed for teachers to plan activities individually, using online resources, newspapers, etc. It was decided that teachers will be notified earlier regarding legal requirements and the scheduled date for next year’s event.

Oak Harbor High School is proposing three new AP Social Studies classes, all in their second step of course approval. As there is concern, Charisse will investigate the existence of a state list of AP approved texts, though none exists in all college board materials received thus far. 

About two years ago, we folded the Pacific Northwest History requirements back into the regular history classes in 8^th grade. Dale Leach will investigate specifics about when these requirements are met in the course of the year: does a student need to pass the full year to have met the requirements or just one semester as initially decided?

Curriculum and Materials Maps, created this summer for all grades and all subjects are at varying levels of completion and are in need of more common elements. In this vein, CRT members and others who teach the courses and are willing to do the work will revise them, identifying gaps where adopted resources do not cover state curricula; aligning materials to curricula more closely and in greater detail; identifying when elements will be covered (in elementary grades); creating complete lists of adopted resources and a legend to help teachers identify them on their maps.

ü Regarding Social Studies Skills: K-5 will fill in where and when skills will be covered while secondary teachers will determine where and when they will cover skills, collaborating with librarians.

ü Regarding Assessments: state CBAs, text-embedded, and common assessments at the secondary level were discussed.

ü The Plan is that Charisse will complete her part of the curriculum mapping action items and get them to teachers by Feb 3; teachers will in turn complete their work by Feb. 21. We anticipate that these maps, once completed, will serve to help our teachers greatly in determining what needs and doesn’t need to be taught, what resources should and can be used. They will be invaluable resources! Should you wish to see the plan for Curriculum and Materials Alignment Map revisions in greater detail, please email jgewald@ohsd.net <mailto:jgewald@ohsd.net> for a copy of the CRT minutes.

OSPI Classroom Based Assessments:

ü There is a training/conference in SeaTac on Feb 6 & 7. A team of teachers from multiple grade levels and subject areas will attend and train others upon their return;

ü In 2008 we will be required to report to the state exactly which CBAs we are teaching at each grade level; however, equally rigorous and comprehensive assessments created by teachers would suffice;

ü They seem to be comprehensive and exciting, though they take time to implement. It was noted that content is folded into them in a project-based learning format; librarians are a great resource for this at each grade level;

ü Every CBA has rubrics, anchor papers for final products, ideas for implementation, resources, etc. though models and all materials are not currently available

Other items and things to be done:

ü United Streaming, available through all libraries - teachers can locate great videos, download and save them to computer or CD; Discovery videos available; you can go right to clip that you want - ask your librarian to help

ü Every building has an ELMO

ü There is concern about where Geography is being covered, though there is always some element of geography at each grade level. It was determined that:

ü 6^th and 7^th grade teachers will determine which grade level will “own” which of the Evidences itemized in the middle school World Geography OSPI Frameworks

ü All teachers at every grade level will be encouraged to prioritize geography13. 

The Social Studies CRT will meet again in March to take next steps