January/February 2012

Education reform is too important to get wrongAFT Connecticut’s quality education agenda

Modest increases for education

Continued on Page 4

Continued on Page 7

Backus Hospital CEO gets “Grinch of the

Year” award

2

Manchester LPN/Tech member Darcy Cowles

goes the extra mile

3

Republican candidates show where they

stand on our issues

7

State of theUnion

Connecticut’s public schools have a responsibility to prepare all students for the opportunities

and challenges that await them, and to develop an educated citizenry. Every day teachers help move us toward those goals. Our aspirations for our children are inseparable from our societal im-peratives. Yet our schools are not oriented in a way that allows them to provide all children with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life and career.

Self-described education “reform-ers” advocate overhauling of systems, using standardized testing in math and English as the primary measure of stu-dent and teacher performance and suc-cess, and using competition to leverage change, although neither approach has been shown to improve student achieve-ment. Their tactics are intentionally dis-ruptive and invite instability: frequently opening and closing entire schools rather than fostering stable, successful neigh-borhood schools and cycling through a procession of short term teachers, seek-ing to fire, instead of develop, a large number of teachers. They require teach-ers to implement policies made without their input, yet shift responsibility for school outcomes solely onto teachers.

Such an approach to education will not get our children, communities or state where we need to go. Test-taking skills must take a back seat to developing students’ ability to analyze and apply knowledge. Memorization must give way to true mastery of concepts. Nar-rowed curricula must be broadened to give students the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to be well-educated individuals. The education we provide all our children must help develop their ca-pacity to problem-solve, think critically and approach challenges with ingenuity. And in order for children to do all this, their teachers must be well trained, sup-ported and developed throughout their careers, given true voice in their work and treated as professionals.

While the amounts are less than what is needed, the AFT applauds the mod-

est increases in federal education spending contained in the omnibus spending bill. "Growing poverty and a shrinking middle class make the federal investment in public educa-tion even more important if we want to provide a brighter future for our children," AFT president Randi We-ingarten says. "That's why the AFT applauds Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) for their leadership and steadfast support for education funding.

"The modest increase in fund-ing for priorities such as the Elemen-tary and Secondary Education Act's Title I, the Individuals with Disabili-ties Education Act, Head Start and child care, while welcome, is less than what is needed. We appreci-ate Congress' efforts to maintain the maximum Pell Grant award, but are concerned about the new eligibility barriers that may prevent low-income students from accessing the program and attending college.

Sharon PalmerPresident

Melodie PetersFirst Vice President

Leo CantySecond Vice President

Charles MorrellSecretary/Treasurer

Eric BaileyCommunications Director

STATE OF THE UNION is published on an irregular basis up to six times a year by AFT Connecticut, 35 Marshall Road, Rocky Hill, CT 06067.Phone: 860/257-9782www.aftct.orgThird class postage paid at Hartford, CT

Postmaster: Send address changes to: AFT CONNECTICUT 35 Marshall Road Rocky Hill, CT 06067.

Members: To change your address or subscription, call 860/257-9782.

STATE OF THE UNION is mailed to all AFT Connecticut members as a benefit of membership. Subscription fees are included in dues, $20 per year for non-members. Although advertisements are screened as carefully as possible, acceptance of an advertisement does not imply AFT Connecticut endorsement of the product or service.© AFT CONNECTICUT, AFT, AFL-CIO 2009

Backus Federation of Nurses grinch ad takes off

2012 Legislative ConferenceSaturday, February 11, 20129:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Legislative Office Building

210 Capitol Ave. Room 1D

Hartford, CT

Breakfast and

Lunch provided.

CEUs offered.

Prior to the holidays, the South-eastern Connecticut Central Labor Council passed a resolu-

tion proclaiming Backus CEO David Whitehead Grinch of the Year.

The Backus Federation of Nurses ran a special commercial to advertise the proclamation.

The commercial aired on Dec. 23 between 8pm and midnight on ABC Family on Comcast Cable dur-ing back-to-back airings of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Since then, the commercial has been viewed more than 12,000 times on You Tube.

"Backus CEO Whitehead has shown nothing but disrespect to-ward the nurses," said Wayne Bur-gess, President Southeast Connecti-cut Central Labor Council, "From refusing to negotiate at the hospital to withholding the end of the year bonuses while spending millions of patient care dollars on a union buster this CEO has proven himself to be the Grinch of the year."

"The nurses at Backus Hospital are giving the best care possible to their patients every day," said Ken-neth Dela Cruz, President of the Met-al Trades Council, "They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."

Contract negotiations have been ongoing for five months and are slated to resume on Jan. 10, 2012.

“The public have a right to know what’s happening at their com-munity hospital,” said Eric Bailey, spokesperson for the union.

The commercial can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foV0Wp1o5Uc

January 24, 2012 Instructional Strategies – Part 1

February 7, 2012 Instructional Strategies – Part 2

April 24, 2012 Supporting Math Instruction

Sign up on our website: www.aftct.org

Location: AFT Connecticut 2nd Floor 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: Iris White, Assoc. Education Consultant, CT State Dept. of Education.

Paraprofessional and Para/Teacher Team WorkshopsAFT Connecticut is offering a series of upcoming workshops for Paraprofessionals or Para/Teacher Teams.

STATE OF THE UNION 3

AFT’s Randi Weingarten participates in Gov. Malloy’s education workshop

American Federation of Teach-ers President Randi Weingar-ten participated in a panel

at Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy’s education workshop Jan. 5, on in-novative ways to promote excellent teaching and school leadership.

The AFT is a leader in education reform, notably with its ground-breaking comprehensive teacher development and evaluation sys-tem that school districts across the country are using to strengthen teacher practice and thereby student learning. One of the earliest adopt-ers of the AFT framework was New Haven, Conn. The first-year results of New Haven’s new evaluation sys-tem, which emphasizes assistance and support for teachers needing improvement, revealed improved teacher quality.

“We appreciate Gov. Malloy’s leadership on strengthening public

education in Connecticut and his work with parents and with educa-tors to ensure that they have the support and resources to help all students succeed,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said.

"AFT Connecticut has always been an advocate for quality educa-tion for all children. For the past few years we have been working closely with stakeholders in areas like Com-mPACT schools and teacher evalu-ations like we achieved in New Haven," said Sharon Palmer, president of AFT Connecticut. “We welcome opportunities such as Governor Malloy’s edu-cation workshop to focus on supporting teaching and learn-ing in Connecticut.”

The governor’s education workshop was held in Alumni Hall at Central Connecticut State University. The panelists

on the Excellent Teachers/School Leaders panel, included Dr. Reggie Mayo, superintendent of New Haven Public Schools; Richard Laine, for-mer director of education, Wallace Foundation; and Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director, Connecticut As-sociation of Public School Superin-tendents, as well as Weingarten.

Hear what Randi Weingarten had to say on our website: www.aftct.org

4 STATE OF THE UNION

Quality education agenda, continuedAFT Connecticut presents a quality education agenda

focused on evidence (to ensure quality, efficiency and ef-fectiveness), equity (to provide a great education to all chil-dren), scalability (to make success systemic, not isolated) and sustainability (so that the reforms outlast changes in leadership; budget circumstances or political shifts).

The major proposals focus on two primary linchpins of educational attainment—what students need to suc-ceed, and what their teachers need to facilitate success. In these efforts, teachers and teachers unions are partners in reform—not impediments. Collaboration

Top-down, dictatorial mandates are a prescription for failure in public education, as in most other sectors. As a theory of action, collaboration—in other words, teamwork or working together—has boundless potential. Collaboration based on shared responsibility means that parties are willing to solve problems, confront challenges and innovate in a system that promotes trust and that values involvement in decision-making. Collaboration is not an end in itself, and it cannot be done in isolation. It

is used in service of a mission—in this case, improving student success.

Collaborative work—inter-est-based bargaining, finding the solution instead of winning and losing—is something that too few school systems have enough experience with. Col-

laborative reform leads administrators, teachers and parents to work together toward goals on which they all agree, using methods they all accept.

Collaboration by itself won’t create systemic change. But it is the vehicle that creates trust, that enables risk, and that fosters shared responsibility. Given the complex work we do in education, it only makes sense to draw broadly on people’s knowledge and to join forces to im-prove outcomes.

Many school districts have moved collaboration from theory to practice and this process should be the cornerstone of any education reform effort.Community Schools - The Heart of a Neighborhood

While good teaching is crucial to student learning, there are factors in every child’s life that are beyond an educator’s control and may deeply affect the child’s abil-ity to perform well in school. In fact, decades of research have shown that out-of-school factors account for up to two-thirds of student achievement results. Sadly, there are more impediments to learning in the lives of poor children than there are in the lives of children from more advantaged circumstances. If we are to close the achievement gap, we must address the factors that im-pede learning.

The most effective solution is to provide services right in the school. Schools and districts can coordinate with local providers—medical providers, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other nonprofits, for example—to provide services where students and families can readily access them.

Community schools typically are open beyond regu-

It’s important that all stakeholders be involved in education reform. We know that delivering a quality education takes a team. From teachers to paraprofessionals, administrators to parents, boards of education to school nurses, everyone has a role in making sure students get the best education possible.

Learn more at ItTakesATeamCT.org Dan Blanchard, 10th Grade Teacher Christine Smith, Paraprofessional

STATE OF THE UNION 5

lar school hours to provide access to tutoring, homework assistance and recreational activities, as well as medical, dental and mental health services. Families and other community residents also may benefit from legal ad-vice, immigration assistance, employment counseling, housing help and English-language or GED instruction, depending on needs. These services can alleviate fam-ily stresses that can interfere with children’s schooling.

Community schools have been supported by numer-ous AFT affiliates, including the successful program in Syracuse, N.Y., where Say Yes to Education, a nonprofit foundation, links students and their families to needed services. In Cincinnati, Community Learning Centers pro-vide access to health and social services, as well as enrich-ment, tutoring and adult education programs. Among the benefits have been higher student test scores, and better attendance and parent involvement rates.Teacher Development and Evaluation

With few exceptions, the best teachers, the ones who make a difference in children’s lives year after year, are made, not born. That is why an ongoing teacher evalua-tion and due process, are crucial to lasting reform. With few exceptions, teacher evaluation systems are broken—consisting of brief, isolated classroom visits providing often meaningless snapshots.

AFT has developed a rigorous, objective and in-depth

framework that evaluates and develops teachers, rather than just performs a sorting exercise.

AFT Connecticut, with this framework in mind, has developed a teacher evaluation plan, based largely on the successful New Haven model. It aligns meaningful professional development; mentoring and other inter-ventions to help new and struggling teachers improve, help good teachers become great, and accurately identify teachers who do not belong in the profession. The focus is on improving the vast majority of teachers, not just removing a small minority, in order to ensure that all kids are taught by the excellent teachers they deserve.

In order to best accomplish this, the teacher evaluation process should be aligned with due process. In cases where teachers are deemed to be unsatisfactory, it initiates an improvement and support process that can last no longer than one school year. At the conclusion of the support and assistance period, trained experts judge whether the teacher is now performing up to the standards. The school district then decides whether to retain or remove a teacher, a decision that can be reviewed by a neutral third party. The entire removal process can take no longer than 100 days, and in many cases would be much faster.

Our focus on developing great teachers once they are in the classroom is not intended to ignore or minimize the issue of teacher preparation. Pipeline issues must be addressed to ensure that our schools of education properly prepare and train future teachers, and that new teachers receive mentoring and other support to reduce high turnover rates.

Christine Smith, Paraprofessional Yuan Yuan Chen, School Counselor Maura Graham-Vecellio, Kindergarten Teacher

6 STATE OF THE UNION

Report shows massive under reporting of medical errors

Going the extra mile

Unreported medical errors are a pervasive public health threat that can be eliminated

only through system wide reforms aimed at patient safety, not by focus-ing on individual incidents and staff, AFT president Randi Weingarten says. Her comments are in response to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Of-fice of the Inspector General, "Hos-pital Incident Reporting Systems Do Not Capture Most Patient Harm," which shows that only 14 percent of

events in which Medicare patients are harmed are reported.

For decades, the AFT has been a vocal advocate for patient safety, even as healthcare facilities reduced

the number of frontline staff to the detriment of patients and staff. "We need to shift from the current 'blame the employee' culture to an

emphasis on providing safe staffing levels at hospitals and other medical facilities, and on giving workers a voice and a meaningful role in efforts to improve our entire healthcare

system," Weingarten says."We welcome the news

that Medicare will take a more proactive role in giv-ing its healthcare providers patient-safety guidance and technical assistance,

and we applaud the Obama adminis-tration for stressing the importance of patient safety, a long-held priority of the AFT."

Darcy Cowles has a philosophy: Go for what you want. That belief led Cowles to become a nuclear medicine technologist. It also helped her become

president of the newly formed LPN and tech local at Man-chester Memorial Hospital in Connecticut.

After serving in the military, Cowles decided to go into healthcare, first looking into becoming an ultra-sound technician. Then she ran into a friend who worked in nuclear medicine and after shadowing a few nuclear medicine techs, Cowles decided it was the path she want-ed to take. She’s been in the field for the last four years.

Each year, more than 16 million Americans undergo nuclear medicine procedures for a variety of conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions and other physiological problems. Cowles performs cardiac stress tests most days, but she also works with the emergency department, testing for bone

breaks, blood clots and internal bleeding.“We don’t think of what we do as saving lives, but in

reality, that’s what it is,” she says. No day is typical, and that’s why Cowles likes her job so much. “I never know what’s going to happen.”

Sometimes her patients’ fear is a challenge, but being able to help them and their families is the biggest reward. Patients automatically think a procedure is something scary, “but it’s really not,” says Cowles, who does her best to make patients comfortable by taking the time to explain what she’s going to do. “They may come in afraid, but they always leave feeling better.”

And for the claustrophobic patients, Cowles is always willing to hold a hand.

Cowles knows what it’s like to feel scared and the comfort of having support to get through tough times. When the LPNs and techs at Manchester decided to or-ganize in 2010, “people were scared,” she says. “We never had a union before, but we were certain that forming a union was the right thing to do. Now we can all work together to make change.”

Union life is another new adventure for Cowles. Now that she is president of her local, she finds herself on an unexpected path, just as she was at the start of her career in healthcare. “I wasn’t afraid to take the lead,” Cowles says about her decision to run for president of the union. One reason for that may be her other philosophy: Do your best, and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist Darcy Cowles

”We were certain that forming a union was the right thing to do.”

”We need to shift from ‘blame the employee’ to providing safe staffing levels at hospitals.”

STATE OF THE UNION 7

Republican candidates disagree with AFT on key issues

The 2012 presidential nominating process moves on to New Hampshire for its Jan. 10 primary, with a smaller Republican field and a constantly changing

set of front-runners. Despite the fluidity of the GOP race, one thing has remained constant: The Republican presi-dential candidates do not stand with the AFT on the issues that are important to our members and their families.

Here's a sampling of what Mitt Romney, Rick Santo-rum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich have been saying on critical issues, including the recent fight over collective bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio:Mitt Romney: "My friends in Ohio are fighting to defend crucial reforms that the state has put in place to limit the power of union bosses and keep taxes low. I stand with John R. Kasich and Ohio's leaders as they take on this important fight to get control of government spending." (Facebook; Politico.com, Oct. 25, 2011)Rick Santorum: "I do not believe that state, federal or local workers … should be involved in unions. And I would actually support a bill that says that we should not have public employee unions for the purposes of wages and benefits to be negotiated." (Fox News/Google debate, Sept. 22, 2011)Ron Paul: In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Paul reiterated his belief that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are all unconstitutional, saying, "Techni-cally they are [unconstitutional]. … There's no authority in the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, doesn't say I can set up an insurance program for people. What part of the Constitution are you getting it from?" (Fox News interview, May 15, 2011)Newt Gingrich: "You say to somebody, you shouldn't go to work before you're, what, 14, 16 years of age—fine. You're totally poor. You're in a school that is failing with a teacher that is failing. I've tried for years to have a very simple model. Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising." (Remarks, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Nov. 19, 2011)

"Moving forward, Congress needs to produce a balanced plan that includes revenue increases, so that deeper cuts won't be required in the future. Our school-children are depending on Congress to continue to work together to make education funding a top priority."

Modest increases for education, continued

The 2012 legislative session will be a short one, lasting only 13 weeks. AFT Connecticut has multiple issues we will be focusing on this

year for our members.Below are several key issues we will be looking

to tackle once the session begins on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

You can get the complete legislative agenda on our website www.aftct.org.

Q Incorporating the history of organized labor and the collective bargaining process into the state’s academic curriculum standards.

Q Monitor interim recommendations from the ECS Task Force.

Q Monitor recommendations from the High School Graduation Issues Task Force, the Vo-cational Technical System Review Task Force and the Achievement Gap Task Force.

Q Adopt statewide teacher evaluation standards that require and institute collaboration be-tween teachers and administrators and train-ing to those who evaluate teachers.

Q Reduce the number of hours full-time para-professionals are required to work in order to be eligible to receive Family Medical Leave (FMLA) benefits.

Q Require that every school district maintain a staffing ratio of qualified school nurses (RNs) appro-priate to the size and acu-ity of its student popula-tion in order to promote a healthy learning environ-ment where students can achieve.

Q M o n i t o r a t t e m p t s to create for-prof it c o m m u -nit y hos-pitals.

2012 Legislative Agenda

8 STATE OF THE UNION

NoNprofit org.U.S. poStage

paiDHartforD Ctpermit # 4501

It Takes A TeamSharon Palmer, AFT Connecticut President

Governor Malloy has issued a challenge to ev-eryone involved in public education in Con-necticut. The status quo will not do. We need

to make changes to our education system that will improve the quality of education for all children. To that end, Gov. Malloy has appointed a new Commis-sioner of Education and developed a six point plan of goals for education in our state.

While we, along with our sisters and broth-ers in AFT unions across the country, have seen right wing f unded orga ni za-tions come forward with education reform proposals - the sinister side of these being to eliminate collective bargaining for educators - I believe that, here in Con-necticut, we have the opportunity to work together to build a better public education system.

We have been meeting regularly with both Gov. Mal-loy and Education Commissioner Pryor as well as staff from the Department of Education. We have brought to the table conclusive data that demonstrates what works best in education.

Early childhood education, like pre-K and full-day kindergarten will give students an advantage and a foundation upon which to build their education.

Mentoring provides new teachers with the support they need to make it through the toughest time in the profession so that they can be successful.

Collaboration amongst educators, administrators and even parents can lead to greater achievements within the classroom. Sharing best practices will only

help to improve our students education.Evaluations will also be heavily discussed. This

is one place where stand behind the data we have gathered. Some organizations are advocating for using standardized test scores as the sole or major factor in evaluations. We know that this is a flawed concept. There are so many socio-economic factors that can impact test scores that they are unreliable as a sole measure of an educator’s effectiveness.

Evaluations must be used to assess the kinds of professional development sup-

port educators need. This is a debate that we fully expect and are prepared to handle.

Quality education takes a team. It takes teachers and paraprofessionals, administrators and parents, boards of education, school nurses and the community, to make it work. Everyone has a role in making sure students get the best education possible.

That is why we are making this team concept the center of our efforts around education reform. We have identified members involved in education around the state to inform legislators about the amount of work you are doing to provide quality education.

You are on the front line every day standing up for our students and our communities and we want legisla-tors to hear from you.

Go to our website ItTakesATeamCT.org and find out more about how you can make your voice heard on education reform.

”It is time for public officials to step up and do the job people elected them to do”