Hello UTLA Substitute

Teachers,

As your newly elected chair to the Substitute Teachers Committee (STC), I’d like you to know that all of your leaders in the STC are plan-ning on making 2016-2017 a year in which you feel that

your union is here to help you. We will be making efforts to reach out to you and involve you in our mutually beneficial activi-ties. Please join me in thanking our outgoing Chair, Karen Mor-gan, for her years of service. She will remain in touch to offer her wise advice. Feel free to contact me on my home phone at (818) 988-5969 or through email at

greg.russell@netzero.net.

Thank you and I hope to meet you in person soon. Please turn to page 7 to find the dates and times of our meetings on the

UTLA Calendar.

, We need to organize in order to

be better represented in UTLA.

MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR: GREG RUSSELL

Special Points of Interest:

Message from Our Chair: Greg Russell p. 1

Paid Sick Days for Substitute Teachers p. 2

SUBSTANCE Providing Answers and Unity for the

Substitute Teachers of LAUSD

www.utla.net/subs 2016

Summer

How to Deal with Principals p. 4

Bye Bye Sherry Lincoln p. 5

Vegas Buffet Membership Outreach/Socials p. 10

STAY CONNECTED AND INFORMED AS A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: YOUR JOB DEPENDS ON IT!

If you want monthly updates and reminders about parties, rallies, meetings, and UTLA news, then sign

up for UTLA Subs at: http://groups.yahoo.com/UTLASUBS Use your Yahoo, gmail, or FaceBook

account to register.

I would also like to introduce you to our Substitute Committee Secretary, Robert Goodman, and Vice Chairman, Francisco Martinez. (left to right) who are in the photograph with me. This photo was taken at a training , that all our Substitute Leaders took in order to better serve you. We want to see all of you at the next

Substitute Committee Meeting.

UTLA ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN August 2016—March 2018

Goal#1: Make our schools great places to educate, work and learn by achieving pay increases, protecting health benefits, improving

class sizes and social/emotional supports, advancing successful school models and working for social justice.

Goal#2: Build an education system that holds all publicly funded schools to the same standards of accountability, access, equity, and

sustainability.

Goal#3: Build a stronger UTLA.

How to Use Your State Provided Sick Days for Substitute Teachers

Page 2

SUBSTANCE

The following excerpt is from the Unit-

ed teachers newspaper, dated March

2016, page 24. ~ Written by Judith

Bruner.

“The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy

Family Act of 2014, effective July 4,

2015, provide 24 hours of protected

paid sick days for substitutes each

year for diagnosis, care, or treatment

of a health condition or for preventive

care.

A day-to-day K-12 substitute may

request to use these illness hours by

declining a call [with illness option]

from Subfinder [now Smart Find] and

by completing and submitting the Cer-

tification/Request of Absence for Ill-

ness, Family Illness, New Child Form

No. 60.ILL to the Certificated Substi-

tute Unit as soon as practicable to

ensure timely payroll reporting.

This form can be downloaded from:

http://achieve.lausd.net/hr . School

office personnel are required to make

the forms available to Substitute

Teachers. Fill out the form and fax it

to the Sub Unit at (213) 241-8410 or

email it to

Subillnessreporting@lausd.net. Once

the form has been received, the Sub

Unit staff verifies that the substitute

received a call from Subfinder on the

requested date and ensures that the

time is reported. K-12 substitutes who

become ill after reporting to a school

site and request to leave before the

assignment day ends, can request to

use illness hours equivalent to the

portion of the day that remains, The

same form and process applies as

described above.

Illness time for day-to-day Early Child-

hood Education substitutes are pro-

cessed through the Early Childhood Edu-

cation Certificated Unit. Illness use for

Adult Education substitutes is pro-

cessed by the requesting school site.

Illness usage for a substitute in an ex-

tended assignment (21 days or more)

must be reported by the school at which

the employee is assigned.

Paid illness days under this arrangement

count toward the 600 hours of paid ser-

vice required to earn health benefits in

the following school year. “

NOTES FROM JANIS LUKSTEIN

The correct form and accompanying

Bulletin 6528.0 for substitutes can be

found easily at utla.net/subs.

Subfinder was replaced with Smart-

Find. Check at bts.lausd.net for the

time report and to make sure that

you are paid.

Be sure to decline job offered by

SmartFind WITH ILLNESS OPTION or

sick 12*.

Some Substitute Teachers use a

school’s fax machine. But I prefer

going to another place to make sure

that I have a receipt to save with the

form that I fax.

Complete and submit the form within

72 hours, or as soon as possible.

Make a follow up call to the Sub Unit

at (213) 241-6117 and ask for Erma

Taylor to make sure the Sub Unit

received the fax or email.

For additional information: Log

onto: www.lausd.net and type

“Reporting Paid Sick Leave for

Substitute? Temp Eligible Employ-

ees” in the search field.

HOW TO FILL OUT EDD FORM FOR

SICK PAY

If you have an EDD Unemploy-

ment claim open, be sure to notate

illness for that day and the

amount of pay that you will receive

for that day.

Box1: Were you too sick or injured

to work ? Yes. Under that indicate

the number of days.

Box6: Did you work or earn mon-

ey? Yes.

Box 6A: Enter earnings before de-

ductions. Enter the amount of pay

you received.

REASON NO LONGER WORKING:

Still working, paid for sick day(s).

By Janis Lukstein

tive rate of interest, but still does not keep up with the cost of living or infla-tion. The average rate of interest on PARS for the previous 12 months in June was 0.14%. So if you have not checked on your PARS account or con-sidered rolling it over, this may be a good time to do that. As we get closer to retirement, we must be more proac-tive in planning for the future and max-imizing all our options.

.Many of us who have STRS accounts still have PARS accounts from before we became eligible for STRS. Some Substitute Teachers may have already rolled them over to personal IRAs or other financial products. The PARS account remained active, if not rolled over, as long as we checked in every few years to let PARS know we were still with the District and wanted to keep them active. If you neglected to do that, your account funds may have reverted to the state. You may still be able to retrieve those funds if you contact PARS. I would call every two or three years to maintain my account as it of-fered a better rate of interest than other financial products of which I was aware. For many years, the PARS rate was 5%, which we all know is a rate nearly impossible to find on any IRA today. In June of 2015, when I called PARS, I was surprised to learn the interest rate was then –0.15%. Yes, a negative inter-

est rate, which meant I was paying PARS to maintain my account instead of earning interest. I confess. I do procrastinate when dealing with finan-cial matters that can sometimes be confusing. I researched my options and found a little more than 2% inter-est available from a company with which I already had a CD account. Yet the timing of transferring PARS funds is critical with setting up the roll over account and I stalled additional-ly, hoping that Jane Yellen of the Federal Reserve was going to further raise interest rates. By the time I fi-nally gave up on that hope, and rolled over my PARS account in January 2016, I had lost approximately $86.00. That is not an enormous loss, but still, money is money. I recently checked PARS interest rates for this article in June 2016. The rates had then improved to $0.34%, which of course is better than a nega-

Page 3

WHEN DID YOU LAST CHECK IN ON YOUR PARS ACCOUNT?

By Kennon B. Raines

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY— HOW TO FIND IT

In Ms. Raines article about PARS, she stated that if you still have a PARS account and have not checked on

it for an extended period of time, this financial property will revert to the state. If this is you, do not give up

hope. You can go to: http://www.sco.ca.gov/upd_msg.html . ~ Editor-in-Chief

Did you receive an unclaimed property notice? The Controller’s team sends out notices annually in

an effort to connect rightful owners with their property before it is sent to the state for safekeeping. If

you were unable to contact the related business by the deadline in the notice, you can claim the prop-

erty once it is transferred to the State Controller's Office. There is no time limit to claim your proper-

ty.

HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR FELLOW SUBSTITUTES

We are always looking for information to help our Substitute Teachers. If you have an idea for an article or would like to write one, please send an email to Linda Everhart at

hart2art@pacbell.net. I would love to hear from you!

HOW TO DEAL WITH PRINCIPALS

Page 4

Substance

by Audrey Linden

A number of Substitute Teachers have received Insufficient Service Re-ports (ISRs). In our last Substance, Ms. Linden wrote an article: “How To Avoid Being Written Up.” This is the follow up article in the series. Follow

these guidelines as suggested by Ms. Linden to avoid being written up.

Any time a principal asks to speak with

you, the first question you must ask is:

“Could this lead to discipline?” Many

Substitutes that I have spoken with do

not want to ask this question, but it is

vital to ask. If the answer is that it

could lead to discipline, you want the

school’s Chapter Chair or another un-

ion member of your choice to repre-

sent you.

We now have the new law in our con-

tract that gives us the right to a “fact-

finding” mandatory informal session

with the principal. At a couple of our

meetings with UTLA Area Reps, I asked

specifically how this new law works. I

was told by a few Area Reps that they

did not yet have a consensus how it

would work for Substitute Teachers.

We even had a “role playing” session

at our West Area Meeting on this sub-

ject. I played the role of principal in my

group of three. The goal is to find out

what the issues are and to mediate and

to settle the matter without a write-up.

Substitutes can also make use of this

informal mandatory meeting.

The informal meeting must be request-

ed within 15 school days. We are not

offered it. We have to request it. If we

do not request it, we lose the ability to

file a Grievance. The timeline begins

with the date of issue of the ISR.

Following the request, the mandatory

informal meeting must occur within 5

school days unless the principal and

Grievant agree on a date beyond that at

the Grievant’s request. After the infor-

mal meeting, the principal has 5 days to

respond in writing. Following the re-

sponse, we can file the formal Griev-

ance. That must be done within 30

school days after the date of the ISR.

So, if I got a call in the room I was sub-

stituting in, to come and speak to the

principal, I would ask who the Chapter

Chair is and say I would like to request

the “informal mandatory meeting” with

the Chapter Chair present. I would try to

speak to the Chapter Chair first, to make

sure the Chapter Chair is aware of the

goal of the meeting: fact finding, amica-

ble resolution, and the matter resolved

without a formal meeting or ISR.

As Substitutes, we are at-will employees

and our goal is to make sure that we do

not get an ISR. The bottom line in any

meeting with an administrator is to

avoid an ISR. The Chapter Chair needs

to know that you are willing to not

return to the school and that resolution

is not an admission of wrong doing. You

do not want a formal issuance of an ISR

and you do not want the school to

block you on Smart Find Express. You

be sure to have the Chapter Chair pre-

sent and let them do most of the talk-

ing. The goal is to avoid an ISR or write

up at all costs. Do not admit wrong

doing. If the matter is dropped, that is

the goal. If not, you have to file a griev-

ance. You or your Rep can use that to

your advantage. You do not want to

have to file a grievance that will take up

your time, the Principal’s time, and the

time of District Staff Personnel as well.

It would go to a Step 1 and then a Step

2; and if it can be resolved by agreeing

not to come back to the school, that is

the best for “all” concerned.

Find what the Union Contract says and

be armed with anything that contribut-

ed to the issue. The school may be at

fault for not having a Sub Folder, or for

not giving notice of Special Ed stu-

dents mainstreaming into your class.

Know your rights. There are some Prin-

cipals who have a reputation of being

difficult or harsh. In general, it is best

to maintain a low profile and not have

interaction, unless necessary, with the

Principals. In the beginning, at one

school, three of us were the most re-

quested Substitutes and the new Prin-

cipal made sure our names were on the

top of the list on a paper by the office

staff desks. That Principal took us out

to lunch. Things have changed. We

have been told at the UTLA

(Continued on page 9.)

This is defensive substitute teaching.

Bye, bye, Sherry Felice Lincoln, our

Valley North 2 Chapter Chair, who

has been a very qualified preschool

and elementary teacher for 24 years,

took flight to the state of Washington.

Sherry moved to Washington to be

with her daughter's family and 2 of

her grandchildren. Her goal was to

work enough years to earn her life-

time benefits until she could retire as

a Substitute Teacher from LAUSD.

Sherry reached her goal.

Three years ago, I was her room-

mate at the UTLA Leadership Con-

ference in Los Angeles, so I learned

some interesting things about her life

and likes. Keep all tomatoes away

from her, plus some other foods like

bell peppers, artichokes, and cinna-

mon. She loves to write and is work-

ing on a biography about her daugh-

ter, Allison's courageous battle to

live, and she is a member of a writing

group that meets virtually every

Wednesday night. That is the reason

why she does not go to our House of

Representatives Meetings. Sherry

was and is very active researching

neuroblastoma, Alli 's rare disease.

Her daughters were in Girl

Scouts. She has continued as a Girl

Scout leader after her daughter's

passing in 1992.

Sherry has been a long time

union activist, attending Monday

Substitute Steering Committee

meetings, UTLA Leadership Con-

ferences and educational conven-

tions. Several times she hosted

Valley Membership Outreach/

Socials at Gail's Perks, plus she

has helped Virgie, our past Budg-

et Director at the social sign-in

desks. Sherry, you will be

missed!

We wish Sherry best wishes on

settling in her new home. Maybe

she will even get assignments

substitute teaching, or get a full

time teaching position in Wash-

ington. We hope that a lot of new

opportunities open up for her in

her new abode.

Beyond even the darkest

clouds, the wide open

blue sky goes on forever.

Trust, let go, and allow

yourself to take flight. So

fly! Only then can you

soar. ~ Martta Karol

Bye Bye Sherry Lincoln!

Page 5

Written by Janis Lukstein

* The views and opinions expressed in Substance

reflect the views of the individual authors and do not

necessarily represent or reflect the opinions of UTLA.

Sherry Lincoln

To find more information

about issues that directly

affect you as a Substitute

Teacher, go to:

http://utla.net/subs

Sick Pay Bulletin 6528.0

District Illness form no.

60.ILL

Health Benefits for Subs

Past issues of Substance

Page 6

Substance

EDD Math

to calculate your unemployment benefits

Presented by Jack Fitzgerald

If you work one day in a week here is how your unemployment benefit is calculated.

Let us say that you would get $400 per week if you did not work at all.

Therefore they exclude 25% of what you earned, subtract your earnings from the

$300 and then add the exclusion back.

Example (1 day).....................$190.97 x .25 = $47.74

Then..................................... $400 - $190.97 = $209.03

Then......................................$209.03 + $47.74 = $256.77 rounded off to $257

Example (2 days)....................$381.94 x .25 = $95.49

Then......................................$400 - $381.94 = $18.06

Then......................................$95.49 + $18.06 = $103.55 rounded off to $104

I believe this to be accurate. It could and probably should be confirmed with EDD. Also it

varies greatly depending on what one's award is. This checks out perfectly for mine.

UNEMPLOYMENT INFO:

Remember when filing a claim with

EDD, either by phone or online, tell

them that you are a LAUSD Substitute

Teacher working on call.

Be sure to register and fill out the in-

formation on CALJOBS, plus keep

track of your work search in case they

ask you for that by putting an X on the

front of your claim form or by asking

you for that information later.

You must be available to work 5 days a

week, Monday through Friday, in order

to qualify. Adjust your availability on

Smartfind Express accordingly.

Be sure and give EDD a phone number

at which you can easily be reached, in

case of a phone interview.

DON’T WANT TO GET FIRED? READ THIS!

TB TEST Make sure that your TB test is current. Each time you take the TB test, it is good for 4 years.

Make sure that the LAUSD Health Services Department has a copy of your current TB test on file and

keep your copy in a safe place. In the past, you could go to the District to take the test, now you need to go

to a private doctor. Don’t wait for the District to send you a letter of notification! CAAT (Child Abuse Awareness Test) This test must be taken twice a year, one time before school starts

in the Fall and again in the Spring. Log in here: https://lz.lausd.net/lz/index.jsp The first due date is/was

September 30, 2016. —Print out your certificate to keep on you or in your vehicle.

30 DAY EMERGENCY CREDENTIAL This must be renewed every year. You will receive one

notification by regular mail from the District. Do not delay in following through with this renewal. Doing

so may cause you to be separated from service. Follow all the instructions in the packet. It is wise to wait

a couple of days and then contact the Sub Unit to find out if they have your renewal on file from the CTC

(California Commission on Teacher Credentialing). Some Substitute Teachers do it months ahead of

time!

ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT You receive this letter at the end of every school year.

You need to sign it and fill out all choices, accompanying materials and send it back in a timely manner or

you will not be available to work as a substitute teacher for the following year. It says to return it before

September 5, but sooner is better because it takes the Sub Unit weeks/months to process the information

and to remove the message on Subfinder that states, “One or more of your certifications are about to ex-

pire. Please contact your supervisor.”

UTLA SUBSTANCE CALENDAR 2016/2017

Page 7

Summer 2016

www.utla.net/event

SEMESTER GENERAL MEETINGS ON SATURDAYS September 24, 2016; January 28, 2017; April 29, 2017

(9:30 am to 2 pm) in room 904; Lunch is served at 12:30 p.m. Be there by 10:00 for lunch count.

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS September 6, 2016 (Tues,); October 17, 2016 (Mon.)

November 28, 2016 (Mon.); January 30, 2017 (Mon.); March 13, 2017 (Mon.); April 24, 2017 (Mon.); May 22, 2017 (Mon.)

4:00 p.m.– 6:00p.m. A complimentary dinner is served at 5:00 p.m. Please be there by 4:30 for dinner count.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS COMMITTEE September 14, 2016; October 26, 2016; December 7, 2016;

February 8, 2017; March 22, 2017; May 3, 2017; May 31, 2017 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in room 904.

A complimentary dinner is served at 5:00 p.m. ( House of Reps meeting will immediately follow at 6 p.m..)

PACE / Elementary / Secondary Committees/ Capably Disabled Committee

AAEC (African-American Education Committee) August 31, 2016; October 5, 2016; November 16, 2016;

January 25, 2017; March 8, 2017; April 19, 2017; May 17, 2017 (Elementary/Secondary/AAEC/Capably Disabled meetings are from 4p.m.—6 p.m.)

Political Action Council of Educators (PACE) (meetings are from: 6 p.m.—8 p.m.)

LOCAL AREA MEETINGS August 24, 2016; September 28, 2016; November 9, 2016; January 18, 2017;

February 22, 2017; April 5, 2017; May 10, 2017 (4p.m.—6 p.m.) A buffet meal is served

Ask UTLA ( 800-556-UTLA) , or a school Union Rep

or go to www.utla.net/event to find your closest meeting.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS

August 7, 2016 (d); October 19. 2016 (e); November 9, 2016 (d); February 1, 2017 (e);

March 15, 2017 (d); April 26, 2016 (e); May 24, 2017 (d)

* (d): day meeting; 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m. * (e) evening meeting; 5:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m.

Please join us!

By Kennon B. Raines The District has moved all email accounts to the cloud and is now using Microsoft 365. Click on this link:

http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/270 for email. If you click on the email icon on LAUSD’s homepage it will

still give you the old option, but do not use former Outlook Web App. Select only the red box to log on to

Office 365. To log on to email you must use the entire email address including “@lausd.net” however, to

access BTS or any other applications use only the first part of your user sign-in with initials and em-

ployee number as before. For BTS (Business Tools for Schools) & Payroll information go to http://home.lausd.net/

click on Employees, look to r ight of next page for Employee Tools, look at top left of next page

for Employee Self-Service and click to access BTS and payroll information. In order to access your LAUSD

email, BTS, or payroll, you need to update to the latest versions of the Windows Explorer, Firefox or Google

Chrome browsers. If you use a MAC, you will need the UPDATED version of the Citrix App. The key to

getting great IT service is to be extremely considerate when you call (213) 241-5200. Only call when

you are in a pleasant frame of mind and have time to spare if the fix requires longer. If you vent about

having already done this twice before they will just mess with you and you will get conflicting information

from each person to whomever you speak. Listen when the tech person answers and get their name. Greet

them by their name cordially; you will get better service. Make and retain notes regarding whomever you

spoke to and when. If you can state dates and names for previous calls you will more easily get access to a

supervisor. Make sure you access the box under tools and check to always allow the Citrix App to launch. I

got a wonderful assistant who uninstalled the old Citrix for me and then installed the latest software as well all

over the phone! Our password codes for LAUSD access are only good for 180 days. After that, you will need to change your

password code. IF YOU LET YOUR PASSWORD EXPIRE IT CAN ONLY BE RENEWED BY CALLING

DOWNTOWN AND HAVING THEM GIVE YOU A NEW ONE. So be sure to change your password

BEFORE the deadline and check your LAUSD email at least every two weeks. The District will use this

email to let you know when your next paycheck is deposited and when deadlines are due for CAAT and other

items.

Do not depend on the District to warn you about upcoming deadlines! Be proactive!

Page 8

HOW TO KEEP LAUSD EMAIL & BTS ACCESSIBLE

2016 RATES FOR DAY-TO-DAY SUBSTITUTES Day-to-Day Substitutes: 2015-2016 rates reflect an increase of 2% (effective January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016) over the 2% increase

effective July 1, 2015.

Employees Serving in place of Preparation Salary Table employees:

Daily Base Rate $190.97

Base Hourly Rate (6-hour day) $31.82881

Day-to-Day Substitute, Extended Rate $257.73

Base Hourly Rate (6-hour day) $42.95433

Substitutes who are paid the daily rates as shown above shall have their rate of pay increased by $10 per day, effective the first day following the completion of service equivalent to 130 days during the school year.

To find the pay scale for Summer School/Intersession or Development Center/Early Education Salary Tables, go to the original chart, found at: http://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib08/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/280/Salary%20Tables/Day-to-Day%20Sub_1-6.pdf

HOW TO DEAL WITH PRINCIPALS (Continued)

Page 9

Summer 2016

(Continued from page 4.)

Leadership Conference, “ The Prin-

cipal is not your friend. The Princi-

pal is your boss. Do not think they

are your friends.” Be respectful at

all times. When you get a Smart

Find call for a school, look up the

name of the Principal at the school

on the school’s website. When you

arrive at the school, it is a good idea

to ask who the Chapter Chair is.

Substitutes used to send students

with behavioral issues to the Princi-

pal for counseling. That is frowned

on now. I had sent two students,

who were caught cheating on a test

and laughing about it when they got

caught, to the Principal. He told me

later that they were good students

and I should not have sent them. I

explained that I had sent them be-

cause they were good students and

because they laughed when they

were caught cheating. He suggest-

ed that I might need to take a class-

room management skills session at

LAUSD. After I showed him my

knowledge of classroom manage-

ment skills, he thanked me. Howev-

er, the message I got was to not

send students to the office unless

they present a danger to them-

selves or to other students. At an-

other school, I questioned a Princi-

pal about a student who kicked an-

other student at recess and a parent

complained. The Principal told me

she expects her teachers, and

therefore Substitutes, to handle

situations themselves and not to

send students to the office.

The days of using office slips to send

students with behavioral issues to the

office are over.

This could be problematic. I suggest

that if the behavior is fairly serious, like

kicking or hitting another student, that

you still document the behavior on an

office slip and leave it for the classroom

teacher to handle, unless it is a serious

issue. Obviously, if a student is hurt and

crying, send both students to the office.

One can get first aid and you can tell the

Principal what happened. You also do

not want to deal with an irate parent

who may complain, “My child was hurt

and the Substitute did nothing.”

You can make arrangements to have the

student go to another teacher at the

same grade level, and write the office

slip. If you are working by teacher re-

quest, it is good to ask if there might be

a student with behavioral issues, who it

is, and how it is best handled. Ask the

teacher if the student is to be sent to the

office. How does the teacher normally

handle it? If it is a Smart Find call, we

are at a disadvantage, but if it is a stu-

dent with repeated behavioral issues,

the staff knows.

Things are very different since the Par-

ent Revolution has entered the picture.

Parents are proactive and the idea of

“Do as the teacher says.” is changing.

In some instances, it is no longer,

“Listen to the teacher.” It is, “Listen to

the student.” I think if you let the teach-

er know, and you have documented the

situation, it is best to have the class-

room teacher handle the situation. If a

student repeatedly does actions that

disrupt the class, the other

students will tell the teacher the next day,

what happened, so again, notate it for the

teacher. You do not want to be faulted for

not saying something or not doing some-

thing.

Do not ask aides to photo copy. Aides, at

most schools, no longer photocopy. Do

not ask an aide to grade papers. Teaching

Assistants now work with the students. I

qualify this by saying, at “most” schools,

because some aides still correct papers,

check off homework, and make photo cop-

ies.

There has to be a balance of support from

Principals, Vice Principals, and Coordina-

tors. If you have heard of a problematic

Principal, do not go to that school and put

yourself in harm’s way. We are trying to

compile a listing of difficult schools. Late-

ly, there has been the “Dance of the Lem-

ons,” and some schools are off our radar

or have new Principals. Some of the prob-

lematic Principals have been moved to

different schools. Know the Principals’

names.

When you talk to office staff, know who

you are talking to. You do not want to as-

sume that you are talking to office staff

when it could be the Principal. You might

ask the office staff to print out a class ros-

ter for you, but make sure that you are not

asking an administrator. I had asked a

man answering the phone in the office of

one school to print out something for me.

It was really a new Principal, and not the

SAA. He was really offended. It behooves

us to know before hand who the Principal

is and the name of the SAA. When in

doubt, ask who you are talking to. Had I

asked, “Who am I speaking with?” that

would not have happened.

Page 10

card to Applebee’s . I appreciated them

and enjoyed them both very much.

OUR SUBSTITUTE TEACHER COMMUNITY NEWS

schedule, our UTLA president, Alex Ca-

puto-Pearl and fellow officers, Cecily

Myart-Cruz, Arlene Inouye, Juan Ramirez,

Betty Forrester, and Dan Barnhart were

able to attend.

Shortly after the officers arrived and

were introduced, I was delighted to pre-

sent award plaques to several individuals

for their “Dedication to Valiant Service of

Substitute Teachers UTLA.” Recipients

were Dave Peters and Leonard Segal,

both for 15 years of leadership. Also hon-

ored was William D. Evans, Attorney at

Law, who helped secure a victory for

Substitute Teachers in our PERB case.

Regarding the July 2009 MOU side-letter.

Last, but certainly not least to be hon-

ored were our long time volunteers, Nelia

Miguel and Virgie Sajor. If you have at-

tended our union meetings and social

events over the years, you were often

signed in by one of these ladies. Virgie

often made the arrangements for food at

union meetings as well. Both ladies re-

ceived lovely floral arrangements with

thanks from all those in attendance.

I also wish to thank Rick Bertz, our rep-

resentative on the Board of Directors,

Karen Morgan, our Committee Chair (who

just stepped down from that position),

and Robert Goodman, our Substitute

Secretary, in addition to all those who

signed the lovely thank you note with gift

Substitute Social/

MEMBERSHIP

outreach at Vegas

Seafood Buffet

We have had two wonderful Substitute

Committee Social/Outreaches this past

year at the Vegas Seafood Buffet. They

were at Winter break and at the end of

the 2015-16 school year. Kennon Raines

orchestrated both events, and is sharing

the December 2015 Member Outreach

Social here. We hope that all our readers

will join us in the next fabulous event.

This past winter saw another success-

ful turnout for our year-end Member

Outreach/Social at the Vegas Seafood

Buffet. Over 100 members and guests

attended to celebrate our accomplish-

ments and honor special guests.

I must thank our volunteers who

helped me work the sign-in table:

Sandy Nevler, Robert Goodman, and

Greg Russell. We were all relieved

that the 100-plus crowd did not all

arrive at once, or in the usual crush,

as soon as the doors opened at 11:30.

So we were able to enjoy greeting our

friends and colleagues too, at an

enjoyable pace.

Once we had filled our side of the

restaurant, many of our union officers

honored us with their presence.

Despite a busy day of meetings on

Required Information Provided to Substitute Teachers

This is a policy bulletin that was initiated last year by the District. It defines the

information that the classroom teacher shall provide to the Substitute Teacher

that will enable the Substitute Teacher to perform, in a competent manner, all of

the regular instructional duties of the absent teacher. Go to this link and down-

load Bulletin 6524, effective 6/22/2015:

http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FLDR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_INSTRUCTIONAL_SVCS/BUL%20REQUIRED%

20SUB%20INFORMATION.PDF

by Kennon Raines

Sandy Nevler

seated next to

Mr. William D.

Evans

Nelia Miguel.

Janis Lukstein,

and Virgie Sajor

Dan Barnhart, our

UTLA liaison, and

Substitute Teach-

ers enjoying our

Outreach/Social.

Photos taken by Sharon Yee.

Page 11

Summer

SUBSTITUTE STEERING COMMITTEE

Maria T Rengifo-Aragon

Rick Bertz

Klair Bybee

Kevin Clark

Linda Everhart

Jack Fitzgerald

Veeda Fernandes

Rose Marie Gonzalez

Robert Goodman

Philip Gross

Harriet Hammons

Audrey Linden

Janis Lukstein

David Lyell

Benny Madera

Francisco Martinez

Dan Moran

Karen Morgan

Gary Pearlson

Kennon Raines

Greg Russell

Leonard Segal

Eddie Smith

Carole Peterson-Van

Dusen

Hal Wolkowitz

Sharon Yee

Director of Substitutes: Fredrick (Rick) Bertz Email: fbertz@utla.net Substitute Committee Chairman: Greg Russell Email: Greg.Russell@netzero.net Phone: 818-988-5969 Substitute Committee Vice Chairman: Francisco Martinez Email: fmartin6@yahoo.com Phone: 323-786-0115 Leader Emeritus: Dave Peters Email: xanadu5958@sbcglobal.net website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LASUBS/ Substitute Committee Budget Director: Gary Pearlson Email: socalmathteach@yahoo.com Communications Director & Editor-in-Chief: Substance Newsletter Linda Everhart Email: hart2art@pacbell.net North 1 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Greg Russell Email: greg.russell@netzero.net North 1 Calling Area Co-Chair: Carole Peterson VanDusen Email: thevandusens@live.com North 3 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Hal Wolkowitz Email: hal2witz@gmail.com North 4 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Linda Everhart email: hart2art@pacbell.net Central 1 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Audrey Linden Email: audreylinden1@gmail.com

Central 1 Calling Area Co-Chair: Veeda Fernandes Email: VeedaFernandes@hotmail.com Central 2 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Edward Monroe Smith, Jr. Email: eddie.m.smith@juno.com website: http://www.youtube.com/eddiemsmith Central 3 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Benny Madera Email: tigerblood4@gmail.com Central 3 Calling Area Co-Chair: Robert Goodman Email: RobtGoodman@aol.com South 1 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Janis Lukstein Email: CALKEYPALS@aol.com South 1 Calling Area Co-Chair: Sharon Yee Email: sharonyee56@yahoo.com South1 Calling Area Vice Chair: Phil Gross Email: phil@coachphil007.com South 2 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Francisco Martinez email: fmartin6@yahoo.com South 3 Calling Area Chapter Chair: Maria Theresa Rengifo-Aragon email: exoticisland@rocketmail.com Secretary: Robert Goodman Email: RobtGoodman@aol.com Sergeant-at-Arms: Klair Bybee Email: klairbyb@flash.net

SUBSTITUTE COMMITTEE

HOR REPRESENTATIVES

Jeff Goldberg

David Lyell

Dan Moran

Greg Russell

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER LEADERSHIP

UTLA PACE

REPRESENTATIVES

Rick Bertz

Linda Everhart

Dan Moran

Hal Wolkowitz

We need to elect a PACE Repre-sentative and more HOR Repre-sentatives at our next Substitute Committee Meeting in order to be adequately represented within the union.

.

Inside this issue: Message from the Chair: Greg Russell 1 Paid Sick Days for Substitute Teachers 2 PARS Account Information 3 How to Deal With Principals 4 Bye Bye Sherry Lincoln 5 Don’t Want to Get Fired? Read This! 6 UTLA Calendar 7 ST Pay Scale and Email Info. 8 Vegas Buffet Membership Outreach/Social 10 Substitute Leadership Info. 11

SUBSCRIBE

Editor-in-Chief

Linda Everhart

The times, they are a

changing ~ Bob Dylan.

They are indeed. We

have a new system to

receive calls in the morn-

ing for jobs, SmartFind

Express. It takes time for

all of us to get used to

that. I am sure that it will

take time for the District

to work out all the bugs.

We are all happy to have

an increase in the pay

scale and to be able to

use 24 hours of sick pay

that can be used

throughout the school

year.

Now that we have Substi-

tute Chapter Chairs

throughout the 10 calling

areas, we want to be

more in touch with each

other. UTLA has been

organizing members and

it is now time to organize

members in our special

category. UTLA is talking

about providing a special

area rep for Substi-

tute Teachers since

our needs and issues

are quite different than

school site teachers.

Since UTLA changed

from being a service

union into an organiz-

ing union, it is time to

start thinking about

how we, as Substitute

Teachers, can in-

crease our visibility

and impact within the

union and start think-

ing about pushing for

due process rights.

Hope to see you at

our meetings!

SUBSTANCE

Providing Answers and unity for the

substitute teachers of LAUSD

www.utla.net/subs

3303 Wilshire Blvd. 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90010

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID LOS ANGELES, CA

PERMIT NO 21433