Ask yourself...

My colleagues,

This May 15, as has happened  over the past few years, evaluations came due, and in the past 48 hours I've heard of many cases in many buildings where evaluations were simply not done according to the contract.  I encourage all members to look at their evaluation and ask themselves these questions:

• Was I observed ten times?  If you were observed less than that, the evaluation process was not followed correctly.
• Was each piece of evidence used only once in my year-end evaluation?  If the same piece of evidence, opinion, observation, etc., was applied to different indicators, the evaluation process was not followed correctly.
• Was hearsay used?  What a child, colleague, or parent reported to an evaluator is not admissible for evidence.  If such rumor or innuendo is used, the evaluation process was not followed correctly.
• Was the rubric the only piece used?  Evaluators cannot invent criteria for evaluation beyond the rubrics that are available.  If they did, the evaluation process was not followed correctly.
• Was my overall rating impacted by whether I followed my goals?  We are educators, not goal-setters.  Our expertise is in educating children, not guessing what a fair benchmark would be before we even receive our schedules.  Relying on goals to make an overall decision means your evaluator did not follow the process correctly.
• Did I receive feedback on my observations?  If observations did not result in feedback, the whole intent to use this as a coaching tool is lacking.  If your evaluator did not complete that vital step, the evaluation process was not followed correctly.

 If you answered yes to any of these questions, please contact me at

This is a complex system, and mistakes will be made -- but getting this system right is critical.  An educator's career should not be threatened by another's error. If you have any questions whether the evaluation system was used correctly, contact a WEA officer, or contact me directly.  This is too important to let mistakes slide.

Seniority, early retirement, and more

I apologize for the rare updates recently.  Communications work has gone into updates via the monthly Beacon and the WEA's Facebook page.  Below are some updates that have gone out on those media recently:

• An updated Unit A seniority list should be out next week.  Members are advised to look carefully as the new list includes the correction of typos, errors of calculation, elimination of non-contractual categories, and other errata that have accumulated over the past several years.  The Unit C list will be addressed shortly.
• Pleased to announce that the Unit C membership ratified the tentative agreement (already ratified by the School Committee) unanimously.  The new contract will be distributed and one the website as soon as possible.
• The early retirement incentive announced today is missing some essential specifics (perhaps because it was never mentioned to the Association for necessary feedback and clarification). Association leadership is seeking some of these necessary facts so that people can make an informed decision on something that they can know is contractual.

 

FY '15 Changes

Obviously, the current budget proposal is an enormous change to the mission of public education in Wareham, particularly for elementary and special education students.  Given that the news was just now shared outside of the administrative team, it is too early to issue any significant reaction.

The WEA will be collecting information throughout the system from multiple sources as part of looking at this plan, as well as the new initiatives pursued by the district at this time of fiscal distress.  Please contact me with any thoughts, information, or concerns you think can help ensure that any budget changes have as small an impact on the delivery of quality education by quality educators as possible.

Website updates and more

Sorry for the absence of news on this blog; I have been posting most new stuff on our WEA Facebook page with the help of Communications. 

The website has been updated with all relevant documents from the November and December board meetings.  Also, the board did vote unanimously in November to reject a proposed MoA on the Massachusetts Math + Science Insight grant.  The high school applied for this grant without performing the task of working with the Association.  Several members testified to the negative academic effects this program is having, distorting the educational progress at the behest of the grant's funders.  Since the vote, one member has come forward with a different opinion but at present the vote stands.

Unit C negotiations to succeed the contract that expired in August are still open.  Ground rules prevent discussion of the state of those negotiations in a publicly accessible mode such as this.

I am growing concern about the number and range of initiatives that seem to be implemented before the planning is complete.  The "Eighth Grade Academy" discussed in the recent School Committee meeting has potential as an idea, but it is curious to see a vote on something that remains so ill-defined.

Evaluations have had no notable change in form recently, and the evaluations committee has not met for several weeks.  As always, please contact me or another officer with concerns.

October 17 venue change

A quick note that the October meeting with members slated for Decas has had its venue changed.  The new location will be announced shortly.

Oops! Sorry to the scholars of Wareham!

Whoops! In the process of recognizing the staff for their work in raising the bar in our MCAS scores, I unforgivably forgot to recognize the students for all their efforts!  Sorry to every last one -- it was your work that made the changes happen!

L'Shona Tovah

Greeting to all members and friends of our WEA on the occasion of the New Year of the Jewish calendar.  Hopefully it will bring great happiness and satisfaction.