Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1533049
A LIVING WAGE, WORKLOAD Ana Reyes-Becerra is a Special Education teacher at Sheldon Elementary in Richmond. She is in her sixth year as an educator and is a United Teach- ers of Richmond member. "I grew up in the area and went to the school I work at now. My hus- band is also a teacher at Kennedy High in Richmond. We both went to UC Berkeley. I have a master 's degree in Special Education and a cre- dential. It 's still not affordable to own a home on our own — we are lucky to co-own with my mom. I look at close friends I went to college with, and they have higher salaries with less education. It is disheartening. "I moved districts in the past year — the higher salary was a big incentive. I love the place I work, it's very supportive, but the demands of the job make it difficult. We bring up workload frequently — a lot is mandated at the state level so the district keeps adding on more work for us, with no extra time to do it. "I teach math and reading to all different kinds of Special Ed students. I do initial IEPs of Special Ed services, I assess students, I'm their case manager. It feels like I'm doing three jobs in one, and not really getting paid for all of that. "My dream was to teach in my community. I am achieving that dream, but it's still hard to live in this economy. We want to stay here, we don't want to move, but as a family we don't think we'll be teachers for the rest of our lives." United Educators of San Francisco used a cable car to visit multiple school sites on We Can't Wait launch day. NOT ENOUGH COUNSELORS Adriana Goni is a counselor at Millennial Tech Middle School and San Diego Education Associ- ation member. "I'm in my ninth year as an educator, but first year counseling. I taught mild-moderate Special Education and general ed English and history. My site is small; we are a Community School, and Title 1. "It's always a struggle at my site, with one counselor per 380 students. Counselor caseloads are higher at the high school level — it's difficult to do work that is preventative, either social-emo- tional or academic, with so many students. With Special Ed, we always struggled to have enough paraprofessionals and mod/severe teachers — we had no continuity, lots of turnover. "We have pieced together counseling staff that doesn't include allocation from the dis- trict — which is not enough to do everything we need. We had to move funding around from different places. We have a dean of students funded 'hodgepodge' who helps catch [low-level student behavioral issues] and teaches a related class. We have a paraprofessional supporting the counseling department. "We're working hard to create a solid [student behavioral] frame- work that addresses our school safety needs and other concerns, so students experience consis- tency across the site." 21 M A R C H 2 0 2 5 Ana Reyes-Becerra