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focuson educators

focus on educatorsis an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org

California Teachers AssociationStatement of Mission

The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the

conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure

that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable,

and democratic society.

JUNE 2013

Volume XXII, Number 10

In this Issue

Presidents MessageInformational Items...pgs. 1-3

WHO Award Winner.pg. 3

Day of the Teacher Photos..pgs. 4-5

Thank You to Reps .pg. 6

Secondary V.P. Letter............pg. 7

PEA Calendar.... .The Last Page

PEA Presidents MessageI would like to thank all of the

people over the last four years who

have supported me as the President

of PEA. We had some tough times

the first year, but we have come

through to the other side in better

shape in so many ways. It has been

a pleasure to have served you and

fought for you. After countless

sessions in countless meetings over

member issues, it has confirmed forme that we need our union. Our

union is there when others are

trying to bring us down and betray

our work. Many jobs have been

saved. In a perfect world, teachers

and administrators would respect

each other and work with each other

to the betterment of all, but we

dont live in a perfect world. We

have a union and a strong contract

to protect us. We have great site

reps to be there for us. When I

came into this position, it was my

intention to change the current

antagonism between us and the

district. It used to be US against

THEM. After many years involved

in this struggle, I felt that it was not

working well and so I decided to

change the direction. By having

good communication and relationswith the district, we have been able

to settle our contract in a good way

and build many bridges which help

teachers and help students. I am

very proud to know that Dawn Cova

will carry that direction forward.

This position was my baby to

grow and watch over and allow to

thrive. Now I have a new

Grandchild in my life and myattentions will focus on watching

over him and allowing him to

thrive. I am also quite excited to b

teaching full time again. It is hard

to have one foot in the union door

and one foot in the teaching door.

Attentions were divided. I also lo

forward to getting back into my

school community, as I have been

missing so much. It is with great

honor to be referred to as the

Science Teacher. Have a nice

summer and get recharged for so

many new things on the horizon:

Common Core Standards and the

Local Control Funding Formula

from Governor Brown which will

put lots of money in our district an

to go to our neediest students.

Wag more Bark Less!

Signing off.

Chris Coan, PEA President

P A

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PEA Leadership 2012-2013

President

Chris CoanWillow Cove Elementary/ PEA Office

Elementary Vice President

Cindy JoyParkside Elementary

Secondary Vice President

Shelly BascombRancho Medanos

Secretary

Tammy CarrHighlands Elementary

Treasurer

Gale HigginsStoneman Elementary

Committee Chairs

Grievance Committee

Richard Higgins Pittsburg High

Negotiations Team

Dawn Cova - Chair

Political Action Committee

Iris Contreras - ChairElections Chair

Ruth Foster

Human Rights Committee

Vacant

Womens Issues CommitteeAllison Azevedo - Chair

O-Team

Vacant

CTA State Council Representatives

Iris ContrerasPEADenise James, Sara Savacool, Robert Strickler - AEA

AlternatePandora Bethea - AEA

CTA Director District C

Terri Jackson

NEA Director for California, District 3Greg BonaccorsiTechnical Editor

Susan HarrisonPEA Site Secretary

Focus on Educators

is a publication of thePittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA159 East 4th Street

Pittsburg, CA 94565

Phone: (925) 432-0199fax: (925) 432-4854

E-MAIL:peatchrs@att.net

WEBSITE: www.peateachers.org

Rep. Council Meeting CalendarSeptember 19

October 17

November 14

December 19

January 23

February 20

March 20

April 24

May 15June 5

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School Board Meeting CalendarAugust 22

September 12 & 26

October 10 & 24

November 14

December 12

January 9 & 23

February 13 & 27

March 13 & 27

April 17May 8 & 22

June 5 & 26

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Are you Getting your PEAInformation???

Having the site reps attend their monthly meeting andthen reporting back to you is vital in the

communication chain of our Association.

Roll call at last May 15

th

Rep Council Meeting:Adult Ed.absent StonemanpresentFoothillpresent Willow CovepresentHeightsAbsent MLK Jr.presentHighlandspresent Hillview - absentLos Medanospresent Rancho MedanospresentMarina Vistapresent PHS - presentParksidepresent Black Diamondpresent

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mailto:peatchrs@att.netmailto:peatchrs@att.netmailto:peatchrs@att.nethttp://www.peateachers.org/http://www.peateachers.org/mailto:peatchrs@att.net

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ANNOUNCING

PEA Executive Board 2013-2014

Election Results

President Dawn CovaV.P. Secondary Shelly Bascomb

V.P. Elementary Tammy Carr

Treasurer Gale Higgins

Secretary Chris Coan

Regarding August Staff

Development DayThis specific day will be spent on Common Core

Standards Training for all teachers. A team of four

administrators and four teachers will be collaborating on

the agenda for that day. You will be receiving this

agenda before the school year ends.

District Team: Shannon Ortland, Jennifer Sachs, Karen

Clark and Anthony Molina

PEA Teacher Team: Richard Chiado (Willow Cove),

Geannine Fernandez (Los Medanos), Mark Maselli(HIillview) andRajnesh Naicker (PHS).

OPPORTUNITIES

The Executive Board agreed that for next school year we

would be offering full grants (up to $500.00 each) for

three PEA members to attend the following conferences:

CTA Leadership Conference, Good Teaching North and

Equity and Human Rights Conference North. These will

be available to members who have not participated inany CTA conferences before. Our hope is to encourage

more CTA knowledge and involvement. PEA will be

requiring a follow up article in the FOCUS covering the

experience. More details will be given when the next

school year beginsand dates are established for the

conference season.

Congratulations WHO Award

Winner.Gale Higgins

Gale Higgins has proudly served as our Treasurer for threeyears. PEA has been able to accomplish our purpose somuch better, because of Gales detail-minded diligence inestablishing and protecting our financial foundation. We aregreatly indebted to her for coming forward as our Treasurerin a time of crisis.

Gale Higgins accepted her WHO (We Honor Ours) Award ata ceremony held at Hs Lordships, Berkeley

on May 11, 2013

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DAY OF THE TEACHER

MAY 8, 2013

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DAY OF THE TEACHER

MAY 8, 2013

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PEA would like to THANK the following school site

representatives for ALL you are and ALL you do!

Pittsburg H.S. Tom Arbuckle, Donna Bussey,

Bauea Crosby, Cookie Freeman,Georgia Haas, Makaela Huntsinger,

Jamie Keith, John Kleijans, Danni Le,

Maureen Mattson, Dennis OBrien,

Arthur Pruyn, Barbara Shabaniani,

Romeo Simionas

Black Diamond High John Giaconia, Rick Pyle

Hillview Jr. High Joanne Aragon, Mark Maselli

Martin Luther King Jr., Jr. High Andrea McKinney

Rancho Medanos Jr. High

Dawn Cova, Bertha Ramos

Foothill Iris Contreras, Ruth Foster,

Bebe Montesinos-Vaughan

Heights Carol Molta

Highlands Heather Asselin

Los Medanos Myrna Young, Robert Ulrich

Marina Vista Tasharie Ameral, Lisa Gonzalez,

Danielle Jensen,

Parkside Allison Azevedo, Sharon Chmura

Stoneman Ginny Isaacson

Willow Cove Jim Goble, Elba Ramirez, Paul Schnurr

ECE-Preschool Lillian Blade

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Dear Members,

As we are nearing the end of the school year, we findourselves reflecting. We think about what went well thisyear: the lessons that really engaged students; theclassroom management strategies that kept studentsmotivated, respectful and on-task; the instructional strategiesthat helped struggling students succeed. We also thinkabout what didnt work so well, and what well do differently

next year.

Id like to encourage us to add one more dimension to ourself-reflection: how we contributed to the improvement of ourschools.

I recently attended a CTA Seminar titled Taking Charge ofQuality: Teachers Making it Happen. The Seminar focusedon how teachers can take a leadership role to improve theirschools. The seminar shared two frameworks for definingthe characteristics and actions of teacher leaders, one ofwhich Id like to share with you: the Teacher Leader Model

Standards by the Teacher Leadership ExploratoryConsortium. The reflection questions for each domain weredeveloped by Anthony S. Colucci, a National Board CertifiedTeacher and author of the book, Copilots, Duties, and PinaColadas: How to be a Great Teacher.

Domain 1: Fostering a collaborative culture to support

educator development and student learning.

In what ways did I work with my professional learning

community to solve problems, make decisions, manage

conflicts, and promote meaningful change?

Domain 2: Accessing and Using Research to Improve

Practice and Student LearningHow did I systematically research best practices and model

this process with my professional learning community?

Domain 3: Promoting Professional Learning for

Continuous ImprovementWhat job-embedded professional development did I lead or

facilitate this year? How did it align to the school

improvement plan and impact student achievement?

Domain 4: Facilitating Improvements in Instruction and

Student LearningHow did I use collaboration to model and improve new

instructional practices?

Domain 5: Promoting the Use of Assessments and Data

for School and District Improvement

In what ways did I collaborate with my colleagues to conduct

action research?

Domain 6: Improving Outreach and Collaboration with

Families and CommunityIn what ways did I promote partnerships with families and the

community as a means to improve students learning?

Domain 7: Advocating for Student Learning and theProfessionHow am I advocating for the teaching profession and for the

policies that benefit student learning?

As we look at the state of education in our nation, our state,and our district, it is apparent that it is vital that teachers be,as Dawn Cova, our PEA President-Elect, stated in lastmonths Focus, leaders in any educationreformmovement. So, in the midst of reflecting on your ownteaching, also reflect on the ways that you have been a

teacher leader this year and how you will contribute toreform at your school and in our district next year.

Respectfully submitted,Shelly Bascomb, Secondary Vice-President

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The Mayor Visits Stoneman

Third graders at Stoneman Elementary recently experiencedan informative and rewarding visit by Pittsburg Mayor Nancy

Parent. Third grade teachers decided to culminate a letterwriting unit by having students send a formal letterrequesting a visit from Mayor Parent. The Mayor graciouslyaccepted, and stopped by each classroom for about 20minutes. She fielded questions from the students, rangingfrom her daily tasks, her family, her residence, her hobbies,and her general thoughts on life. In addition she gave brieflessons on economics, public works, good citizenship, andwork ethics. When asked her age, the Mayor quipped, Imold enough to be your grandmother! She also mentionedthat she enjoys reading at various Pittsburg elementaryschools during Read Across America. The third graders

were thrilled that Mayor Parent responded to their letters,and truly enjoyed the opportunity to chat with her.

Respectfully submitted,Gale Higgins, Treasurer

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PEA CalendarJUNE 2013

5 PEA Rep CouncilPEA Office159 East 4th

St.3:45 PM

5 PUSD School Board Meeting2000 Railroad Ave.7:00 PM

11 Last Day of Instruction12 Last Day at Work

16 Fathers Day21 Summer Begins

26 PUSD School Board Meeting2000 Railroad Ave.7:00 PM

STAY INFORMED @peateachers.org

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