Webster Teachers’ Association The Voice December 2015 Issue Dear Colleagues,

As we go into our winter break, and enjoy our holiday festivities, we are able to do so secure in the predictability of our new 4-year contract recently ratified by the WTA and the WCSD Board of Education. As communicated earlier, December 30 is the target date for salary adjustments and retroactive payments, which will help the holiday season be a bit more affordable. We also have something new under the tree: the New York State Common Core Task Force's report to the Governor and the NYS Board of Regents. The great beauty of this report is that it vindicates so much of what teachers and their unions have been saying ever since the advent of the current APPR laws and Common Core standards. The inappropriate speed of adoption, excessive number of tests, the developmentally inappropriate questions, lack of transparency and lack of teacher input have all been clearly called out.

Since the State Board of Regents has engaged in a slow internal debate and analysis of the 3012-d APPR law, the WTA and District leadership have not moved very far along in our APPR negotiations, hoping to make all changes only once. In this past week, our delay has been strongly vindicated, as the Recommendation #21 in the Common Core Task Force report is quite disruptive to put it mildly: "Until the new system is fully phased in, the results from assessments aligned to the current Common Core Standards, as well as the updated standards, shall only be advisory and not be used to evaluate the performance of individual teachers or students." This recommendation was taken up by a Regents committee, and has been recommended for adoption as an emergency measure, in the form of a 4-year moratorium on the use of state-generated student test scores for teacher evaluations. At the time of this writing, it is still tentative but looks very likely, and if implemented, will give us

a nice reprieve from all the effort spent grappling with statistically invalid data as part of our annual evaluation scores. The regulations are in conflict with some of the language in the 3012-d law, and at the time of this writing, there has not been any response from the governor's office, but we are hopeful that Cuomo may finally decide to cut his losses on this topic and let the Regents make sensible changes that are fair to students and teachers. And in the meantime, we can all hope that rumors of his impending corruption indictment have not been greatly exaggerated.

In this Issue: *President’s message *Pandora’s Box: Get the Facts about a Constitutional Convention *Are you sure you can Teach? *WTA Members’ Life Events *WTA Retirement Seminar 01/19/2016 *ProGro Funding *Political Action Updates *WTA & NYSUT Membership *WTA Student Scholarships *Member Benefits: The Value of Union Membership *WTA meeting calendar & contact information

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If you have passed the minimum retirement age but have continued on staff, or are reaching that milestone for the first time this year, we expect that there will be a special retirement incentive offered this year, and the WTA will be hosting a special retirement seminar on January 19 -- please see the article on page 6 in this newsletter. Our NYSTRS provides outstanding pension benefits, and is protected by our state constitution. However, that constitution can be changed, and whether New York will open the document for revision in a Constitutional Convention will be voted on in 2017. Please see information elsewhere in the Voice, and be sure that you understand the full implications of such a convention.

Happy Holidays! Steven Turiano, WTA President

Keeping your teaching certification valid

If you earned your teaching certification in 2004 or later, or if you have added a second certification since that time, it is essential to make sure that your certification is not allowed to expire. While this is hardly news, remember that it is up to individual teachers to make sure that that the State Education Department has accurate information about your annual Professional Development hours. To that end, teachers are responsible for entering all their PD hours into the wincap system, and from there it is uploaded to the state's TEACH system. Since there are several links in the chain, accidents can happen, and teachers are strongly encouraged to periodically check their status on the online TEACH system to make sure that their hours have been properly recorded by the state. Because of the new APPR law, even those of us who have permanent certificates will soon have to meet recurring registration requirements, which will come into effect on July 1, 2016. The TEACH website has detailed information available.

Special Retirement Incentive for 2016

On December 7, 2015 the WTA Executive Board approved a special one-time retirement incentive for members who would like to retire effective on July 1, 2016. The WTA Representative Council will take up this issue at its December 21, 2015 meeting. If the Memorandum of Agreement is approved by the Representative Council, it will open up the incentive to all WTA members who meet the NYSTRS retirement eligibility requirements, and have at least 5 years of service in the District, regardless of whether they have missed the windows for the standing contractual retirement incentive. Members retiring with 5-20 years of WCSD service would receive a $20,000 incentive to retire, and those with 21 or more years of service in the District would receive a $30,000 incentive to retire. The WTA president will have a base letter available for members to use to notify the District of their intention to claim the incentive. Please check with your building representatives, and review the December Representative Council meeting minutes for additional details.

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Are You Sure You Can TEACH?

With all this electronic tracking mumbo jumbo, how do you know your professional development hours have been reported correctly? When was the last time you checked your information on TEACH and Wincap? If you’re saying, “What is she talking about?” then you need to get on TEACH and check out your information. Go to www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/ towards the lower portion of the page is a quick link to TEACH. Login and become comfortable checking your professional development hours each year. Also, make sure your personal information is accurate. While you are at it- the correct certification(s) identified? Then, do the same with Wincap. The quick link for Wincap is on the Webster home page, under staff, then go to the bottom right and click on WPLC. Have your log in information ready to sign into Wincap. If you are having any problems with Wincap contact Carolyn Tinsley.

If you are having any issues with logging into TEACH, contact TEACH Online System at (518) 486-6041. If your professional development hours are not correct contact Kim Lanzafame at district office. The district does the reporting to the state, then the state logs the information into your TEACH account. If you have other issues the general information number is (518) 474-3852.

In conclusion, make sure the professional development hours are being logged into Wincap, both the ones you enter and the ones entered by the district. The WPDC will login your professional development hours for faculty meetings and department meeting, it’s on you for the rest.

Lisa Bullock

Births: Baby girl Zoey Ann was born on 12/4/15 to Kelly and Ed Winslow and weighed 5 lbs/13 oz and 19" long Baby girl Taylor Reve was born on 12/9/15 to Jason and Chrysa Charno and weighed 7 lbs/5 oz and 21" long

Please email WTA Member Services Chairperson, Dina Malboeuf, Life Events being celebrated in your building for inclusion in upcoming editions of The WTA Voice!

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Retirement Seminar

Are you about 5 years or less away from retirement (or at least you hope so)? Then you will want to attend the Retirement Seminar hosted by WTA on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in the Spry Auditorium. Our presenter will be Jolene DiBrango, who is one of three Teacher Members of the New York State Teachers Retirement System Board of Trustees, and also President of the Pittsford District Teachers Association. Dinner will be served following the presentation (pending approval by Rep. Council on 12/21). RSVP to me, Jeanne Coonan, by Monday, January 11 if you want to attend. There are very few decisions in life more important than choosing to retire, and you want to be well-informed about your benefits and the various options available to you. It is very important to understand that each person’s situation in unique to them, and the correct and accurate information for your individual NYSTRS pension situation can only come from NYSTRS. The “faculty room guru” won’t have the complete information, and neither will your financial planner (although he/she may have a basic understanding of the NYSTRS benefits). There are retirees who have missed out on significant benefits - including months of benefit payments which you can’t get back, or a lifetime pension reduction that could have been avoided - because they didn’t find out the real story for themselves directly from NYSTRS. Don’t be one of them. The first step is to familiarize yourself with your annual Benefit Profile, which you should have received recently. This is a snapshot of your personal service credit and contains projected estimates of your pension payments. It is critically important to make sure that all of your NYSTRS-eligible service is credited to you, so review your accrued service carefully. In certain circumstances it is possible to buy back uncredited prior service, but the longer you wait, the more interest you have to pay. It is important to note that notifying the district of your intent to retire is NOT the same as applying for NYSTRS retirement – those are two different things. There is a process – your NYSTRS benefits do not start automatically just because you retired from teaching. Jolene’s presentation will include a summary of benefits by Tier (including critical milestones that can significantly affect your pension payments), calculations of Pension Factors and Final Average Salary, prior service credit, how to apply for retirement, designating a beneficiary, important retirement application deadlines, and much more. The New York State Teachers Retirement System website (www.nystrs.org) is very easy to navigate and full of information. It all contains all the necessary forms you need to apply for retirement or prior service, as well as phone numbers and specific information for all aspects of NYSTRS for both in-service and retired members. Scheduling a one-to-one benefit consultation (video consultation at BOCES 1 in Fairport) is highly recommended, especially if you are unsure about your retirement date or which pension option to choose. The NYSTRS representative can “run the numbers” several different ways to help you in making your decision, discuss the financial impact of various pension payment options, and send you a printed copy of all the calculations. You can schedule a one-to-one benefit consultation at (800)348-7298 ext. 6100. For general information or other questions, you can call (800)348-7298. To order forms and publications, call the automated hotline (800)782-0289 (available 24/7). The Active Members Handbook (Active Members section of the website) and various topics under the Retirees section of the website are also very informative. I hope to see many of you at the Retirement Seminar in January. If you are not yet close to retirement, but have questions, feel free to e-mail me and I will be glad to assist you in finding the right information. Jeanne Coonan WTA Treasurer and NYSUT Retirement Committee Member 6

Professional Growth Funds

What are professional growth funds? The Professional Growth Fund is money set aside by WTA for use by WTA members to purchase items to assist in their professional growth. This is not district money; it is WTA money. What can professional growth funds be used for? Professional Growth Funds can be used for materials to support WTA member’s professional learning that leads to effective teaching practices and enhanced student experiences. (Limit of up to $100 reimbursement per person per school year.) How do I access these funds? The Request Form has been sent to your building representatives and has been posted on the WTA website. The Follow the steps below. Process for Accessing Professional Growth Funds

1. Teacher completes Professional Growth Funds Request Form. 2. Professional Growth Funds Request Form is sent to Kim Ebbecke at Willink Middle School. 3. Kim Ebbecke will notify teachers of approval via email. Do not purchase materials until you have received

approval!* 4. Purchase materials after receiving approval. 5. Send original receipts to Kim Ebbecke at Willink Middle School. Original receipt must be submitted to be

reimbursed. Copies are not acceptable. 6. Reimbursement checks will be sent by the WTA treasurer. * There is a limited amount of funds to be used for Professional Growth materials, so first come first serve. Once we run out of money, your request will be denied.

Professional Growth Material Request Form

Teacher Name: Building: Date of Request:

Material(s) Requested Number of Items

Cost per Item

Total

Tax Shipping & Handling

Grand Total: __________________________ Please attach supporting information from material source. For example: A copy of catalog page with item description and cost. (Remember: There is a limit of up to $100 per person per school year.) (For WTA use only.) $ ________ Approved on ____________ by ___________

(date) (Chairperson’s Initials)

Original Receipt received on __________ by ___________ (date) (Chairperson’s Initials)

WTA President Signature __________________________ 7

Political Action Try to make a visit to the NYSUT Member Action Center part of your weekly news consumption. At https://mac.nysut.org/ you can l read the latest news about the efforts NYSUT is taking to combat the Governor's continued attack on the profession of teaching. An example would be the story linked below In big shift, Regents vote to exclude state tests from teacher evaluations until 2019 http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/14/breaking-in-big-shift-regents-vote-to-exclude-state-tests-from-teacher-evals-until-2019/#.VnLxI0orK1t BOE Elections: The WTA is still seeking the names of people who could be interested in running for the school board. As we have seen the last few years, elections have consequences and the WTA has a significant role to play in helping to shape the makeup of the BOE. Send the names of anyone interested to mditullio@webstercsd.org WTA is on Twitter @WTA1972 Mike DiTullio WTA Political Action Chairperson

WTA and NYSUT Membership Are you receiving the NYSUT publications? If you have registered with NYSUT you should receive their publications. This will also make sure the correct amount of dues are being paid by the WTA to NYSUT. As First-Vice President of the WTA the main duty of my position is membership in NYSUT. Membership consists of completing the NYSUT form and returning it to me. Dues are already taken out of every teachers’ paycheck, even a long-term substitute that has worked over 16 days in one assignment. Finding long-term substitutes that have begun to pay dues and aren’t members is challenging. If you are working with a colleague that is working as a long-term substitute they might not know they are entitled to joining NYSUT. I would appreciate any efforts to get them signed up with NYSUT you could offer. Ask them to contact me please. The dues are automatically deducted! Make sure you, your colleagues and the WTA are getting credit. If you have questions regarding dues or membership please contact me. Chris Pratt WTA 1st Vice President chris_pratt@websterschools.org

WTA SCHOLARSHIPS The Webster Teachers’ Association annually gives five $1000 scholarships to graduating seniors of WTA members. The awardees are selected based on their high school academic performance, their service to both the school and the community and the qualities of the candidate based on a personal essay and three letters of recommendation. The updated application will be available starting in January. The application will be distributed to the high school counselors, to each of the senior WTA building representatives, and will be in the next edition of The Voice. Sarina Schamberger, WTA Scholarship Committee Chairperson

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2015-2016 Calendar of Meetings TIME: 4-6pm on Mondays LOCATION: Thomas High School Library

WTA Executive Board Meeting Dates [1st Monday of the month] September 21, 2015 October 5, 2015 November 2, 2015 December 7, 2015 January 4, 2016 February 8, 2016 March 7, 2015 April 4, 2016 May 2, 2016 June 6, 2016

WTA Representative Council Meeting Dates [3rd Monday of the month] September 28, 2015 October 19, 2015 November 16, 2015 December 21, 2015 January 25, 2016 February 22, 2016 March 21, 2016 April 18, 2016 May 16, 2016 June 20, 2016

Webster Teachers' Association

(Established 1972) Representing 730+ teachers in 11 schools

(7 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools) in the Webster Central School District

Affiliated with NYSUT, AFT/NEA, and the AFL-CIO

WTA office Thomas High School, Room #90

800 Five Mile Line Road Webster, New York 14580

President's CELL PHONE: 585-683-9147 http://www.wta1972.com

on Twitter: @WTA1972

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