California Educator

August 2015

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GOAL ACHIEVED TO RETAIN QUALITY TEACHERS After months of negotiations, the Tracy Educators Association and the Tracy Uni- fied School District in San Joaquin County reached a tentative agreement while some 130 educators rallied in support of the teachers' bargaining team during a fact-find- ing hearing. Teachers have been pressing district offi- cials to invest Prop. 30 funds in classroom instruction, including hiring and retaining high-quality, experienced teachers. "Stu- dents are our priority, so it was time for the district to make teachers a priority," says TEA President Joe R aco. "We hope this contract will help recruit and retain our quality teachers." The agreement provides a 7.5 percent increase for the 2015-16 school year. The ratification vote will occur when teachers return to school this month. TEA received a raise last year but prior to that had not seen an increase for more than six years. COLLABORATION TIME IS KEY To improve student learning and teacher training about the new California stan- dards, Fremont Unified educators (Alameda County) negotiated 16 hours of collabora- tion time in new contract language ratified in June by members of the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA). In addition to a 5 percent salary increase and improving transfer language, the union won collaboration time that will be Bargaining Update See details of these stories at cta.org/bargainingupdates. Oak Grove Educators Associa- tion in San Jose reinstated Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) and received a 4.5 percent salary increase. PAR programs are coop- erative efforts by local unions and school districts in which teachers provide collegial support, assis- tance, and review to help other teachers improve instruction and student performance. The Sacramento City Teachers Association worked with under- staffed school counselors in advo- cating for students; this resulted in the district agreeing to add 10 counselors districtwide. Advocacy efforts throughout the LCAP con- sultation process by the Anaheim Elementary Education Associa- tion resulted in the district increas- ing the number of school nurses by 12, psychologists by two, and counselors by seven. Similar ef- forts by the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association resulted in reducing the student-teacher ratio by 5. The Association of Colton Educa- tors approved a 2015-16 agree- ment that includes a 6.26 percent increase in the salary schedule, 15 additional release days, and an increase to coaching, activity pro- gram and extra time stipends. Also in Riverside County, the Menifee Teachers Association, despite an impasse declared by the district at the beginning of June, won a 5 percent raise retroactive to January 2015. The Temecula Valley Edu- cators Association accepted a 3 percent salary increase effective July 1, with additional stipends for special education teachers. AROUND THE STATE Photo by Bobby Yates 41 V O LU M E 2 0 I S S U E 1 Advocacy

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