Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1543424
In mid-January, PEA and neighboring Antioch Education Association sponsored a Crepes & Community Schools event; attendees played community schools-themed bingo based on CCSPP grant language. Community Schools teams in Whittier packing up boxes of food to get ready for food distributions. It was an exciting moment. "But the district had problems with shared governance, shared decision-making and how to spend the money. It was hard to get our superintendent to go to anything — he went to the Anaheim Learning Lab but didn't stay the whole time, same at steering committee meetings. School board members attended, including one who was opposed to community schools; the Lab opened her eyes. WETA had to keep updating the board on the value of com- munity schools. "During MOU negotiations, we really had to fight. It was not a pleasant environment. The turning point was having CTA staff with WETA meeting with the district's team. We were able to turn things around in our favor, with strong language that Montebello and Alhambra locals had used, for our MOU. For example, our language specified that community school site coordinators could not be used for other jobs." board and brought in families, community and educa- tors to speak. "We also continued to work with the management team to educate them on community schools — what they are, how we and they envisioned them and our goals to change the systems. "We held meetings with them and CTA and NEA. We were moving at the speed of trust. We borrowed language from Natomas Teachers Association for our MOU and reached out to Natomas again for their revised MOU. "We had a lot of challenges, and we continue to have challenges and work through them. We now have a working relationship with the district." At the October press event , Medina-Owens attributed community schools' shared governance for their success. " We know that when educators and support staff are empowered to collaborate with school and district leadership, we can focus on the students and their individual needs and every- one thrives." b. Whittier Elementary Teachers Association (WETA) bargained its first Community Schools MOU in 2023. "When we first went to the district about com- munity schools, we were shut down," says WETA President Julie McCarty. "We kept pushing them, inundating them with info about the state grants and community schools. [Admin finally applied for a grant,] then our superintendent and SpEd director told us that we'd received $10.4 million over five years. b. 34 cta.org Feature