American Federation of Teachers, Local
#2260
214-942-4663 VOICE--214-942-2226 FAX
334 CENTRE ST., DALLAS 75208
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American Federation of Teachers, Local
#2260 |
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Officially Adopted Alliance/AFT Positions M/S/P April 8, 2006
WHEREAS, Alliance/AFT is on record as opposing the imposition of an extra teaching class for secondary school teachers; and WHEREAS, secondary teachers currently express strong opposition to teaching the extra class based largely on fatigue issues which affect quality instruction; and, WHEREAS, there is no time provided in the school day for professional administrative activities like departmental planning or professional training, discussions, ARD meetings, etc.; Therefore be it RESOLVED, that Alliance/AFT supports current school board aspirations to reduce the number of secondary classes taught, as long as such action does not negatively impact the board’s ability to fund the salary step advancement for employees or longevity pay. 2. Merit Pay For National Board Certification WHEREAS, established research proves that teachers who are nationally board certified are more effective in the classroom; and WHEREAS, the DISD is strongly seeking ways to pay employees based on merit; Therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Alliance/AFT enthusiastically supports the program for national certification of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as a basis for paying for merit; and Be it further RESOLVED, that Alliance/AFT establish a task force, inviting DISD to participate, for the purpose of exploring a merit pay plan which is instructionally sound and supported by educators. 3. Custodial Staffing Formula WHEREAS, DISD currently has a one dimensional formula for assigning school custodians; and WHEREAS, that formula is solely based only on the number of teachers assigned to the school; and WHEREAS, this formula is woefully limited and outdated; Therefore be it RESOLVED, that Alliance/AFT supports a custodial staffing formula that includes at least the following: total number of employees, square footage of building; number of offices housed in the facility; number of portables; age of building; and type and number of activities for which the building is used outside of the regular school day. 4. Bi-Annual Teacher Evaluations WHEREAS, it is very time consuming for the school administrators to formally evaluate all teachers every year; and Whereas, it is a waste of administrative time to evaluate high performing teachers annually; and Whereas, such administrative time could be better spent to improve the instructional environment of schools; Therefore be it RESOLVED, that Alliance/AFT strongly urges DISD to develop a teacher evaluation cycle, in compliance with state law, that takes into consideration the teacher’s track record and years of experience, resulting in a system that does not require all teachers to be formally evaluated each year.
5. Opposition to the 65% Initiative WHEREAS, students in Texas are educated in more than 1,000 individual school districts of many types and sizes; and WHEREAS, providing a high-quality education to those students requires the efforts of a team of people offering a wide range of services that support and sustain direct instruction in the classroom; and WHEREAS, there is a nationwide scheme, supported by Governor Perry, being promoted by a faux grass-roots organization called "First Class Education,' the so-called 65 percent solution that calls on states to further undermine struggling education systems by enacting legislation mandating that a minimum of 65 percent of spending must be devoted solely to direct instruction, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an arm of the Department of Education, without regard to the full range of services that support and sustain that instruction; and WHEREAS, the so-called 65 percent solution will have a direct, negative impact on funding for items not included in the direct instruction category, including school health and nursing, school libraries, nutrition services, transportation, building maintenance, counseling, security, and professional development for teachers; and WHEREAS, the 65 percent solution is based on a misguided "one-size-fits-all" calculation that does not, as one writer stated: "include the cost of bringing students to the classroom, maintaining the classroom, keeping the classroom safe or training the classroom teacher"; and WHEREAS, the so-called 65 percent solution is another untested proposal that does nothing to guarantee greater student achievement or that school districts will adjust their spending in a manner that creates greater efficiency—a stated goal of this initiative: Therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Alliance/AFT continues to support and work with allies to continue to advocate for every effort that strengthens schools and improves education for all students, including supporting efforts to eliminate wasteful spending in schools; and RESOLVED, that the Alliance/AFT continues to oppose arbitrary approaches, such as the so-called 65 percent solution that are focused on the imposition of rules rather than on understanding what our schools and children need and on providing them with necessary resources; and RESOLVED, that the Alliance/AFT educate members about the inherent dangers of one-size-fits all approaches to education staffing and funding; and Be finally be it RESOLVED, that the Alliance/AFT provide information to educate our communities about the dangers of initiatives like the 65 percent solution approach to education funding and that support efforts to educate communities about workable, proven solutions that enhance student achievement. Adopted 2-11-2006
Where as the CTO-CSO surveyed employees to determine compensation priorities for 2006-2007; and Where as the following are the results of that survey: *Professional Certified Employees: (Non-administrative) 1) Pay step increase, cost of living where no step exists 2) 3% increase cost of living increase 3) Increase substitute pay by 10% *Support Personnel 1) Pay step increase, cost of living where no step exists 2) 3% increase cost of living increase 3) Increase substitute pay by 25% Health Insurance
Mileage—(DONE)
Stipends
*in order of employees’ priorities Therefore be it resolved, that these same compensation priorities are adopted by Alliance/AFT.
Whereas teachers and support employees have expressed ongoing dissatisfaction with the service provided and the cost of the products purchased from FedEx Kinko’s; and Whereas the CTO-CSO conducted a survey of employees regarding their opinions and experiences with FedEx Kinko’s; and Whereas the survey results support the DISD’s consideration of ending the contract it has with FedEx Kinko’s; Therefore be it resolved,
that the Alliance/AFT go on record as supporting the dissolution of the FedEx
Kinko’s contract.
Whereas Alliance/AFT currently has a strong position against tying teacher evaluations to student test scores; and Whereas tying campus administrator evaluations to student test scores will have the same negative effect on instruction as tying teacher evaluations to the same tests scores; Therefore be it resolved, that Alliance/AFT take a public position in opposition to tying evaluations to student test scores; And finally be it resolved that Alliance/AFT participate as invited with Dallas Association of School Administrators (DSAA) in its efforts to quash this movement.
Whereas the employment of illegal immigrants in the United States is currently an unquestionable violation of federal law; and Whereas such immigrants are therefore unable to meet the federal guidelines as “highly qualified” teachers; Therefore be it resolved, that Alliance/AFT be opposed to the use of illegal immigrants as public school teachers; and Be it further resolved,
that if the federal law is changed to allow for a “guest worker” type visa,
that the position of Alliance/AFT be that these “guest workers” must meet the
same standards and certification requirements for employment that apply to any
other DISD teacher. STANDARDIZED TESTING
Whereas, in our role as educators we understand the benefits, shortcomings, needs and methods of testing; and Whereas, the current dictates of federal, state, and local testing are causing excessive amounts of the teacher’s time to be spent in test preparation and testing; and Whereas, excessive testing has resulted in: · The loss of instructional time, which in some cases is one third of the school year; · The school districts, and therefore the teachers, focusing primarily on teaching what is to be tested in the next round of tests; · The waste of available and valuable resources; · The students not being taught concepts as those concepts are skimmed over resulting in the students’ short recall of information; · The students being shortchanged in science, social studies, art, drama, and other areas which are seen as expendable; · The neglect of the students’ need to learn to think critically; · The shrinking of the curriculum toward tested areas and subjects; Whereas, excessive testing interferes with teaching; and Resolved, that the Texas Federation of Teachers calls upon the state to form a bipartisan Blue Ribbon Task Force to study testing, accountability and the needs of the state and the students; and let it be further Resolved, that the Task Force include teachers and higher education personnel, and report back to the people of Texas the results of its study with recommendations within one year of its inception.
Principal Evaluations m/s/p 3-6-2004---Amended m/s/p 5-21-2005 Whereas Alliance/AFT conducts school climate evaluations; and Whereas the evaluations are intended to provide principals with faculty and staff feedback; and Whereas that feedback is intended to improve school climate: Therefore, be it resolved that it is the policy of Alliance/AFT to first share the results of the school climate evaluation with the principal; and Be it finally resolved, the Alliance/AFT leadership may choose to share the results of the school climate evaluations with more than the school’s principal.
79th Legislative Session m/s/p 5-21-2005 Whereas Judge Dietz ruled the current system for funding schools is inadequate and lacking capacity for future years; and Whereas the Texas Legislature is in session, having declared fixing school finance it’s top priority; and Whereas it is apparent that the current funding debate in Austin is not about adequate funding for public schools, but is instead targeted at tax relief for business, while at the same time passing a school voucher bill; Therefore be it resolved, that it is preferred that the legislative session end on May 30, 2005 without adopting a school finance law. House Bill 1579, Senate Bill 1691 on Retirement m/s/p 5-21-2005 Whereas the bills currently being considered before the Legislature do financial damage to already retired school employees; and Whereas the claim is being made that the TRS fund is not legally solvent; and Whereas already retired employees will be expected, under the current bills, to pay more for health insurance benefits; and Whereas, even Senator Duncan who is sponsoring the senate bill has said on the floor of the Senate the fund is “solvent” and in enviable shape compared to teacher pension funds in other states; and Whereas one of the gimmicks being proposed would include not allowing school employees to retire until the age of 60, even though those employees may have met the “rule of 80”; and Whereas these two bills are simply another example of the legislature attacking already retired school employees and well as current employees; Therefore, be it resolved that the Texas Legislature be brought to task for having consciously reduced, for the past 10 years, the state’s TRS contribution from 8% to 6%; and Be it further resolved that Alliance/AFT is opposed to cutting the benefits of the TRS for either retired or current employees.
High Stakes Student Testing m/s/p 5-21-2005 Whereas seniors cannot graduate from high school unless they have passed the state mandated TAKS test; and Whereas this state testing requirement continues to push public education farther away from critical thinking and a well rounded curriculum; and Whereas no one, including students, can be sufficiently rated based on the outcome of a single, high stakes test; Therefore, be it resolved that a single, high stakes test like TAKS should NOT disqualify student from high school graduation, if all other requirements have been met.
Student Uniform Dress Alliance/AFT does not support a district-wide, mandatory standard student dress at this time. We are willing to re-examine the issue when more conclusive supporting research is available. Alliance/AFT strongly encourages the DISD school board to adjust its policy on dress code, thereby making it much easier for local campuses to opt into a uniform or standard student dress for their campuses. SRA 10-16-2004 msp
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