Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/458422
decided at the local level. It's time to say no to the toxic testing that is robbing our students of learning!" That theme carried through the working weekend on many issues. During a work session, several State Council committees sent members to learn about articulating plans within the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that include alternatives to suspension and strategies such as restorative justice. Issues under discussion included how to develop healthy climates that involve parents and engage students, and programs that provide schoolwide culture change versus simply in-service and intervention programs. After listening to the discussion on various issues, first-timer (and Ethnic Minority Early Identification and Development Program participant) Carla Hamilton-Yates, Adelanto District Teachers Association, said she saw how "decisions are not just made on a whim. Members understand the purpose and stance of CTA and what we stand for." • Change SBAC performance recommen- dations (cut scores). The SBAC performance recommendations, or cut scores, are not aligned with California standards, and will therefore misrepresent student achievement. • Eliminate the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The exam is not aligned to cur- rent standards and has outlived its usefulness in the state accountability system. Prior to the floor discussions and votes, CTA President Dean E. Vogel noted, "No bubble test can measure a stu- dent's curiosity and creativity." In his speech, he said, "It's time to move away from the focus on federal and state tests and look at multiple measures of student learning that are In committee: State Assessment Committee members rank SBAC test questions from easy to hard. UTLA members Steve Seal, Sydney Yarbrough- Baune and Elgin Scott review the questions and find they are not in total agreement with the SBAC examiners — or their own colleagues. STAN DI NG OVATION California Virtual Academy (CAVA) employees Sarah Vigrass and Jen Shilen receive a standing ovation after sharing their efforts to unionize and to advocate for students, jeopardizing their employment. CAVA is a statewide online charter school with over 750 teachers and 15,000 students. CAVA received $93 million from the state in 2012-13 and $55 million went to K12, a for-profit corporation based in Virginia. They told delegates, "Resources are diverted, and our students receive obsolete technology, inadequate materials and cut-rate curriculum. Our staff is at-will, they lack any due process, and many who dare voice concerns are dismissed." CAVA teachers are all credentialed and highly qualified, and are "tired of being shortchanged by profiteers who view students first as a line item on the balance sheet." There is a hearing in early March for CAVA employees to receive formal recognition as a union. • Elected NEA Directors Barbara Schulman (District 9) and Tracy Lee Taylor (District 13). Their terms begin immediately. • Elected NEA Directors Elaine Merri- weather (District 2), Gerri Gandolfo (Dis- trict 7), and Robert V. Rodriguez (District 11). Their terms begin Sept. 1. • Voted in policy that supports local affiliate efforts in determining whether local education policymakers should be elected or appointed. • Voted in policy supporting school-to-pris- on pipeline and incarceration prevention. • Voted to publicize information about the rights of educators in talking with par- ents about opting their children out of standardized testing and parents' rights in opting their children out of SBAC and other standardized testing. • Heard about how CalSTRS' update of creditable compensation regulations impacts members' retirement. • Reviewed CTA's Community College Programs 2015-16 budget principles. • Honored Student CTA member Veronica Perez, a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship recipient. She is attending CSU Northridge. State Council delegates also: CTA & You 55 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 6