It seems as life you blink your eye and the school
year is over. Yes, we are in May, and the light at the end of the tunnel
is in sight. Rather than count the days left I have been counting our
accomplishments this year, and they have been major. We've made real
progress in the area of staff development, leverage based collaboration,
and all the demands set by our supervision. With new building based
Association Rep's our transition has been challenging, but ultimately
smooth. As we near a week or so period before the reporting of HSPA
scores, I would like you all to know you are more than just a roll of
scores on a pdf you. You are amongst the most dedicated teachers I have
represented and your efforts make the difference for all of us. Thank
You! I can not stress ho much I wuld enjoy seeing everyone at the end of
the year party this year. Details are on the front page. Thanks Again!
Thank You for visiting our page and
witnessing history, our first website after
seventy plus years as an official
association.
The teachers in Essex County Vocational
Technical Schools are amongst the most capable and
talented educators in the country. Serving
residents of Essex County year after year,
we are professional educators that are part
of one of the fastest growing districts in
the country.
Our goal always is to defend
and protect contractual rights of all
members and advocate in the best interests
of all members. Working conditions, job
security, benefits and pensions are of the
utmost importance to the association.
Ultimately we seek a healthy partnership
with all administrative members to insure
all Essex County Vocational Technical
Students receive the highest quality
education possible.
Some important things happened over the last year as
a lot of new initiatives were undertaken by the
District. Some worked, some didn't work. Here is
my perspective in my role as Association President;
ratings are based on a maximum of 4 stars:
Power School: As a tool, I think it makes
our jobs much easier. The training was a little
haphazard, despite the best efforts of our
teacher-trainers. The rollout was torturous. But,
it works and it makes our jobs easier. Rating - 4
stars for being a viable, helpful tool.
Ubd: Not having gone to any of these
workshops (although I did try once),this is
difficult for me to assess fairly. However, it
seems as if the District is looking to do all of our
work for us, doing curriculum and unit plans in
advance of the school year. Hey, maybe they can do
my lesson plans too? Don't like the selection
process, but... Rating - 3 stars, our curriculum
was a mess.
Mentoring: Our dedicated group put in lots
of time on this, and most in-building mentors worked
diligently with their mentees. 4 stars for effort
for sure. Unfortunately, we learned that mentor
blind spots become mentee blind spots and we lost 13
non-tenured teachers that had nothing to do with
layoffs. Rating - 2 stars for overall
effectiveness.
PLC's: While some teachers used these and
they were very productive, others found them to be
more of an inconvenience than a learning
opportunity. The Association is not in favor of
mandating PLC time during prep periods, believing
that PLC's are only 1 way to get PD. Truthfully,
some of us have 3 class preps a day and desperately
need our prep time and can't just give it away. The
belief that "no PLC means you are not interested in
student learning is patently false". Just a side
note, that one prep period that was wrested away
from you with the help of your PD committee cost you
$5940 last year in time. Rating - 1 star, for
lost income.
Binders for Lesson Plans and Assessments:
The idea that any administrator can come in at any
time to check up on these binders simply adds to the
teacher perception that the District has a "class"
system instead of a collaborative one. What about
alternate assessments? Rating - 0 stars for
perpetuating an old paradigm.
3 Internet Safety
Tips
MySpace, Facebook, etc etc etc: Social
networking sites are up and apparently are a big
hit with teachers. As we have stated in the
past, what is posted publicly on those sites can
definitely come back to haunt you. Please be
safe.
Computer use in school: It is the
school’s computer; it is the school’s
network. There is no realistic expectation of
privacy in that regard. Be careful what you look
at, be careful what you download, and be careful
what you send. This is inclusive of personal
bank and financial records as well as
participation in social networking sites.
Email use: It is the school’s email
system. The safest thing to do is to only send
official school related emails on this
system. Be very careful of sending anything out
to the entire district. Learn the difference
between reply and reply to all!
