Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1130365
#OurVoiceOurUnion #WeAreCTA For our full social media directory, see cta.org/social. facebook.com/wearecta @WeAreCTA youtube.com/californiateachers @WeAreCTA WeAreCTA L E T U S K N O W W H A T Y O U T H I N K . We accept signed email and letters; we excerpt user posts from CTA social media platforms and californiaeducator.org. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have permissions. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA C H I L D R E N L U C K Y E N O U G H to qualify for tran- sitional kindergarten (TK) are indeed given the gift of time. However, because of the ridiculous class size and lack of support for students with special needs, the TK classroom is often not as idyllic as the article indicates. The pre-K ratio is a reasonable 15 students to two adults. Unbelievably, the TK ratio is 22 students to one teacher. This ratio is unsafe and an insult to the goals of the program. The 114 hours total of para time allotted to each TK classroom is woefully inad- equate and only lasts the first month of school (if someone picks up the job, which is not guaranteed). The article states that 9 percent of TK students receive special education ser- vices. In a class of 22, that should be two students. In my four years teaching TK, other teachers in my district and I have had three or four students each year who already have an IEP when they enroll in TK, rarely with any para sup- port minutes included. Often additional students qualify for services after assessments and test- ing. These include students with autism who tend to be sensitive to loud noises and music, yet there is no para to allow the child to take a break outside the classroom. Without full-time para support, and para minutes included in IEPs, the current TK model is neither safe nor sustainable. SAR AH HUDSON United Educators of San Francisco Transitional Kindergarten: Too Many Kids Members responded to our special report on early childhood education in the April/May issue. I F O U N D E D A N D teach the TK program at Patterson Elementary in Vallejo. Our kinder- garten teachers have all noted the dramatic difference in their students between ones who have attended TK or preschool, and ones who've had no pre- vious schooling experience. Because TK comes under elementary education laws, our classes can have anywhere from 24 to 32 students — with one teacher. These exact same students in a preschool situation have two or three teachers per classroom. If we really value student learning and the safety of our students, there should be no more than 18 students in a TK class, and 20 in a kindergarten class. Having full-time aides/assistants would be another way to reduce the ratios. The other most significant impediment to quality staff in both preschool and TK/kinder- garten aides is salary. My 18-year-old daughter, with no college experience, earns a higher hourly wage and benefits at our local In-N-Out than she could as a preschool aide where college units are required in our school district. JOANNA CHOCOOJ Vallejo Education Association CTA Scholarship Winners! Loma Vista Middle School student Emily Lopez (right) and her teacher, Alvord Educators Association member Froukje Schaafsma- Smith, each received $550 for Emily's entry in CTA's 2019 Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Education Awards Program. Schaafsma-Smith has taught art at Loma Vista for over 20 years, and created a lesson for CTA's award program where she teaches students the power of art to communicate ideas. For the full list of CTA scholarships winners, go to cta.org/scholarships. student Emily Lopez (right) and her 3 J U N E / J U L Y 2 019 U P F R O N T