Public Education Forum to address "crisis" in provincial system

The Tyee.ca blog - The Hook

Katie Hyslop

March 30, 2011

A coalition of south Vancouver Island teachers, student union representatives, early childhood educators, and public employee unions are holding a public forum April 2 at the University of Victoria to discuss what they call a "crisis" in British Columbia's public education system.

"We're looking at underfunding through early childhood right through to the university level," says Catherine Alpha, Sooke Teachers' Association representative for United for Public Education, the group holding the forum.

"The students at the university level have had a 300 per cent increase in their tuition costs, which means that when they're leaving school they're facing a debt load which is intense. We still don't have universal early childhood program that's fully funded, that's universal, that is regulated. And in the K-12, we've looked at just incredible cuts to the services for children with special needs to large class size and composition, with high numbers of children with special needs in classrooms with no support, and all of that is funding issues that we need to be addressing."

To view the rest of the blog post, click here.

NJEA.org - Members stage “grade-in” at Deptford Mall

Frank McCulley and 106 of his colleagues converged on the Deptford Mall food court, took a seat and for two hours did in public something usually done in private. They graded papers, wrote lesson plans, and created instructional materials. McCulley, a physics teacher at Delsea Regional High School, cooked up the idea with chemistry teacher Tina Dare.

To view the rest of the article and additional pictures, click here.

Members stage “grade-in” at Deptford Mall

Published on Wednesday, March 23, 2011

BCTF Press Release - Court rules teachers have right to grieve changes to working and learning conditions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 31, 2011

Court rules teachers have right to grieve changes to working and learning conditions

Teachers are applauding a decision by the BC Court of Appeal that requires principals and superintendents to ensure that any oversize classes are appropriate for student learning throughout the school year, not just on a particular day at the beginning of the year.

“This is an extremely important decision because it means that the legal obligation to ensure a class is appropriate for student learning continues beyond September 30,” said BCTF President Susan Lambert. “Principals and superintendents must reconsider their determination of appropriateness if the classroom conditions change, or if promised resources or assistance are not provided or are withdrawn during the school year.”

Since 2002, when the BC Liberals stripped class-size and composition language from the teachers’ collective agreements, thousands of teachers have filed grievances in an effort to ensure the teaching and learning conditions in their classrooms are workable. About 15,000 outstanding grievances for 2006–11 remain unresolved.

This case began in 2009, when a teacher in Alberni filed a grievance regarding her Grade 5 class, which had more than the legally allowed number of students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Recognizing that the class was not appropriate for student learning, the teacher was provided with an integration support aide. However, the frequent and prolonged absence of the aide made providing appropriate education much more difficult and breached a promise made at the beginning of the school year.

“We’re gratified that the Court of Appeal has upheld our position that teachers have the right to grieve unacceptable class-size and composition, and that appropriate learning conditions must be upheld throughout the school year,” said Lambert. “We are determined to restore these stripped provisions because we know that contractual guarantees are the best way to ensure that students’ needs can be met in classes that are manageable. Both teachers and the public expect changes.”

BCTF public opinion research released last week shows strong public support for restoring contractual language to limit class sizes. Nine out of ten British Columbians believe it is important that BC teachers have a contract that protects learning conditions, and 84% believe that restoration of the right to negotiate learning and working conditions is important. In addition, 70% believe funding for public schools is too low.

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For more information, contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF media relations officer, at 604-871-1881 (office) or 604-340-1959 (cell).

BC Court of Appeal sides with teachers in class-composition case

Vancouver Sun blog - The Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system

Janet Steffenhagen

March 30, 2011

The B.C. Teachers' Federation won a round Wednesday in B.C. Court of Appeal in the protracted dispute over class size, class composition and Bill 33.

This case arose in 2008-09 when Kathleen Battand, a Grade 5 teacher in Port Alberni, was given four students with individual education programs (IEPs), one more than recommended in Bill 33. Battand expressed concerns about the arrangement, but Maquinna elementary promised she would have help from an educational aide. The principal and the superintendent subsequently signed a statement on Sept. 30, 2008, affirming that the class was appropriate for learning.

During the year, the aide was away from work on several occasions and was ill from April 14-21. Battand filed a grievance, saying the school's failure to replace the aide violated the terms and conditions of her employment. Her union also argued that the lack of an aide called into question the Sept. 30 assertion that the class was appropriate for learning.

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

Court of Appeal for British Columbia: Public School Employers’ Association on behalf of the Board of Education of School District No. 70

This is a link to the Court of Appeal decision in regards to challenging classes that are inappropriate for student learning (Bill 33) beyond September 30th. The Court of Appeal states that arbitrator James Dorsey erred in law when he decided that the matter of a grievance filed by a teacher in Port Albertni was inarbitrable. The BC Court of Appeal sent matter back to arbitration.

Before:	The Honourable Mr. Justice Donald
	The Honourable Madam Justice Kirkpatrick
	The Honourable Mr. Justice Groberman

On appeal from: An Arbitration Board under the Labour Relations Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 244, (British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association, February 2, 2010, [2010] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 14).

No merit in merit pay for teachers

The latest fad in education is performance-related pay. It didn't work in England in the 1700s, and it doesn't work in the US now

The Gardian.co.uk

Walt Gardner

march 27, 2011

At wit's end over the tortoise pace of school reform, taxpayers constitute a perfect audience for self-styled reformers who claim to have the solution for failing schools. The latest panacea being peddled by these modern-day Elmer Gantrys is merit pay for teachers.

The pitch is straightforward: education is no different from any other policy area in what shapes behaviour. Paying teachers strictly on the basis of their classroom performance will result in positive outcomes for students.

But a working paper (pdf) just released by Harvard University economist Roland G Fryer flatly contradicts the argument. In a randomised trial in more than 200 New York City public schools, he found "no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance or graduation". On the contrary, Fryer reported that teacher incentives may actually decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Better Schools for BC - A Plan for Quality Public Education

Better Schools for BC - BCTF’s newest publication is a plan for quality public education, our contribution to the public discourse about how to make our great public school system even better. The proposed building blocks for positive change include:

- class size and composition guarantees
- a child poverty reduction plan
- specialist teachers in every school
- authentic student assessment
- respect for diversity and equal opportunities for all
- increased investment in public education
- full scope bargaining rights for teachers

Better Schools for BC - A Plan for Quality Public Education

Special Needs Students Shortchanged Say Parents, Union

The Tyee.ca

katie Hyslop

March 28, 2011

Dawn Steele can't get the government or the Vancouver School Board to admit it, but she believes the number of students with special needs in the city is going up, while the number of teachers to help them is going down.

"(Since 2001), the number of students with special needs had increased by something like 26 per cent and the number of special education teachers decreased by something equivalent to 28-29 per cent," says Steele, a member of special needs advocacy group Vancouver Parents for Successful Inclusion.

According to Steele, since 2002 the BC Liberal government made a series of changes to special education staffing and funding requirements, including removing guaranteed special needs services from teachers' collective agreements and eradicating guaranteed funding for special needs; 648 special education teaching positions have been cut.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Saving public education: Too many choices

The Toronto Star

Rick Salutin

Columnist

March 25, 2011

It isn’t easy arguing against school choice. Let me try to make the case.

There wasn’t always much choice in Toronto schools. You went to your local school, right through high school. You might take an extra language or music course. And there was the vocational “stream.” End of choices.

Now you can be in French immersion from senior kindergarten. You can be in a gifted program or an “alternative” school. You can choose an arts high school, among several. There are schools for cyber-arts, entrepreneurialism, integrated technology and the international baccalaureate. There’s an Africentric school, and there may soon be “academies” for boys, girls, choirs and jocks. Some are stand-alone, some are independent but in existing schools, some are part of regular schools. Even in early years, you can apply for a school outside your local area. Admission procedures vary almost case by case; some are competitive, some by lottery. My question is: do we lose as well as gain with this much choice?

To view the rest of the column, click here.

Saving public education: Why teachers matter

Toronto Star

Rick Salutin - Columnist

March 25, 2010

Last fall I attended a talky, high-powered Toronto education conference well-stocked with big international players. I took a few hours off to see a class in a nearby school. The class was already on when the vice-principal showed me in and shut the door. I looked around. The kids were rapt. That’s when it hit me: You shut the door of the classroom behind you and all bets are off.

The whole range of topics at the conference — curriculum, “value-added assessment,” leadership — becomes moot when that door shuts. Improvement in achievement comes from good instruction, says former B.C. deputy education minister Charles Ungerleider, not from anything else. Kids know it — how couldn’t they? They’re in there with that teacher five or six hours a day every day in the early years and x number of periods later on. It’s like being stuck with your family. It works or it doesn’t. Teachers know it and that may be why they often react wearily to the endless trends and fads that wash over their world.

To view the rest of the column, click here.

Dwindling numbers of men in K-12 schools

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system

Janet Steffenhagen

March 26, 2011

Roughly 700 delegates attended the BCTF annual general meeting this past week and a glance around the room suggested there was a fair representation of both men and women.

That's not the case in B.C. classrooms, where the number of male teachers has been falling steadily. Rick Guenther, former president of the Abbotsford Teachers' Association, said a report to the AGM noted that women now make up 72 per cent of K-12 teachers in B.C. That troubles him and others in the education system who wonder why few men now choose teaching as a career.

The gender imbalance is especially noticeable in elementary schools where roughly 80 per cent of teachers are female. Guenther, who has been working this term as an Abbotsford teacher-on-call, said he knows of several elementary schools in that city that are staffed entirely by women.

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

Longer spring break costs district workers too much, says union

Students who rely on school services also suffer during longer vacation time

Nanaimo Daily News

Robert Barron

March 25, 2011

Hundreds of staff members in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district are feeling the pinch with the district's decision to extend spring break from one to two weeks for the first time this year.

About 400 members of CUPE Local 606, including educational assistants and bus drivers, and scores of teachers-on-call who are members of the Nanaimo District Teachers' Association, are bearing the brunt of the longer spring break.

CUPE president Rob Zver and NDTA president Derek DeGear said it's unfortunate that it's the unions' most financially vulnerable members who are being forced to sacrifice some of their much-needed pay in the district's efforts to cut costs during fiscally trying times.

"Many of our teachers-on-call, who average only about 70 days of work each year, make about $15,000 annually and are living below the poverty line," said DeGear.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Rally Saturday March 26 - Good Jobs for Burnaby

A few things some critics should know about teachers

Vancouver Province - Letter to the Editor

Stephanie Ng

March 25, 2011

As the B.C. Teachers Federation contract is about to expire, teacher bargaining talks with the government are being announced through every media outlet. I am once again disheartened that teachers are being misunderstood by the general public.

Being a teacher is supposed to be a noble profession. Unfortunately, I am still amazed that so many people in our province are misinformed about the responsibilities and the "benefits" that teachers have that I want to set some things straight.

As teachers, we are not paid for our time off in July and August. Some districts in B.C. offer a 12-month payment plan for 10 months of work, but that clearly does not mean we are paid for our time off -we receive smaller cheques throughout the year, if we choose that option.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/things+some+critics+should+know+about+teachers/4501596/story.html#ixzz1HeH9XCPb

Bullied teacher awarded €75,000

Irish Times

Mary Carolan

March 24, 2011

A High Court judge has awarded €75,000 damages to a teacher against the board of management of Ballinteer Community School arising from “deliberate and conscious” bullying and harassment of her by the school principal who at one stage hired a private investigator to follow her.

Dr Austin Corcoran, principal of the school, behaved “like an offended tyrant” towards home-school liaison co-ordinator Bridget Sweeney in his dealings with her after March 2007, Mr Justice Daniel Herbert said.

Ms Sweeney (56), a separated mother of two, Beaver Row, Donnybrook, Dublin, had claimed she had to retire in 2009 from her €70,000 a year post on a €32,000 per annum pension due to illness suffered as a result of various actions of Dr Corcorcan.

She also claimed she was consistently overlooked for a post of responsibility or promotion for which she was qualified.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

April 2nd Rally at Peace Arch Provincial Park

BCTF AGM roundup - Bargaining, Sir Ken, and Minister Abbott

Staffroom Confidential blog

Tara Ehrcke

March 23rd, 2011

Wow. There is so much to report from this year's BCTF Annual General Meeting. It has been an exhilerating four days! Here is a roundup, and I'll try to post some commentary as well (but maybe not all today).

• Teachers hear lessons from Wisconsin
• Teachers discuss bargaining
• Teachers engage in debate over future of education with Sir Ken Robinson
• Minister Abbott addresses teachers

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

George Abbott addresses BCTF, asks for 'peace'

The Tyee.ca blog - The Hook

Tom Sandborn

March 23, 2011

For the first time since 2001, a BC minister of education has attended the AGM of the provincial body that represents the province's teachers. On Tuesday morning, March 22, Minister George Abbott spoke to 700 delegates at the Victoria convention of the BC Federation of Teachers.

"I'm told that minister of education sightings are relatively rare at your gatherings, rather like a Sasquatch in Stanley Park," said Abbott. "We need to find a way to make peace."

"George asked to speak, and we welcomed him," BCTF first vice president Jim Iker told The Tyee. "He said he wanted to listen to our concerns, and we are glad to hear that. We hope for a meeting with the minister soon, and for productive bargaining."

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

LTA Delegates at the BCTF AGM in Victoria

BCTF Executive Council 2011-12

BCTF Executive Council for 2011-2012 at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, BC. - L-R Kip Wood, David Komljenovic, Rick Gunther, Joanna Larson, Glen Hansman, Susan Lambert, Jim Iker, Christine Stewart, Paul Steer, and Denise Moffat. Missing: Teri Mooring.

Al Flemons at the BCTF AGM

Al Flemons, retiring teacher in SD 35, recognized for his work and dedication as a teacher at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, B.C.

Laurence Greeff at the BCTF AGM

Laurence Greeff, BCTF Chair of the Finance Committee, speaking at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, BC.

Correction on the Press

It has been reported in the press that the Minister of Education George Abbott received a standing ovation at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, B.C.

While it is true that Minister Abbott was politely received by the teachers and teachers politely clapped after his speech, the standing ovations were for the two teachers who stood up at the microphones after the minister spoke to describe the teaching conditions in their classrooms.

Susan Lambert re-elected BCTF President

Susan Lambert has been re-elected President of the BCTF. Jim Iker has been re-elected BCTF 1st Vice-president and Glen Hansman has been re-lected BCTF 2nd Vice-president.

BC Minister of Education George Abbott speaks to teachers at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, BC.

B.C. teacher bargaining and the long road ahead

Vancouver Sun blog - The report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education System

Janet Steffenhagen

March 21, 2011

Susan Lambert wouldn't be pinned down Monday on what salary increase teachers expect from bargaining this year but she acknowledged that the BCTF and public-school employers - taking direction from government - are far apart on several issues.

In fact, there's not even agreement on how issues will be bargained, with the union pressing for more issues to be settled at local tables while the B.C. Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) makes plans for provincial bargaining as it's been conducted over two decades. Lambert said bargaining has opened at the provincial table and 60 local tables but acknowledged that many of those tables are still discussing protocols. (Some boards of education have indicated an interest in tackling more issues locally, but others have not.)

To view the rest of the blog, click here.

BCTF poll finds support for public-school teachers and their issues

Vancouver Sun blog - The Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education syatem

Janet Steffenhagen

March 20, 2011

A public-opinion poll suggests 70 per cent of British Columbians think public-school funding is too low and 64 per cent believe there are too many students per class, according to a news release issued by the BCTF on Sunday.

The poll also points to concern about reductions in the number of resource teachers (88%), the number of special-needs children per classroom (82%), reductions in the number of school counsellors (84%), school closures (78%), reductions in the number of teacher-librarians (70%) and reduction in the number of English-as-an-additional language (68%).

Moreover, the poll, by Viewpoints Research, indicates that 87 per cent of British Columbians think the BCTF should have the right to bargain class size and composition, as it did prior to 2002 when the Liberals reduced the scope of bargaining.

To view the rest of the blog post, click here.

Teachers-on-call living in poverty, delegates told

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system

Janet Steffenhagen

March 20, 2011

The BCTF is struggling again with what it should do to help teachers teaching-on-call (TTOCs). Also known as teachers-on-call (TOCs) or substitute teachers.

Delegates passed a resolution calling on their union to come up with a formula for determining the number of TOCs that should be hired in each district, based on the number of teachers employed. "Even though TTOCs in many districts do not receive sufficient work, districts continue to hire additional TTOCs. If an optimal ratio exists, that information would benefit locals when dealing with their school boards," said a supporting statement...

To view the rest of the blog post, click here.

BCTF AGM - AGM delegates

BCTF AGM delegates from Langley

Sir Ken Robinson speaking at the BCTF AGM

Sir Ken Robinson, keynote speaker at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, BC. The theme: "Leading a Culture of Innovation."

Coast Salish song at the aboriginal education ceremony

Gail Chaddock-Costello, LTA 1st VP being asked to stand as a witness by a Coast Salish Elder at the Aboriginal Education Ceremony

Jim Sinclair, BCFED president speaking at the BCTF AGM in Victoria, BC,

Betsy Kippers, Vice-president of WEAC, speaking at the BCTF AGM in Victoria

Abbott tackles task of averting teachers’ strike

The Globe and Mail

Justine Hunter

March 17, 2011

Welcome back, George Abbott.

It’s not the role he wanted when he quit his post as education minister to run for the B.C. Liberal leadership, but Mr. Abbott is back at his old job. Waiting for him, like a classroom of street-hardened youth, is the unruly world of contract negotiations with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.

Mr. Abbott’s task is to avert a teachers’ strike this fall, right around the time Premier Christy Clark might want to call a general election.

Or maybe not. A battle with teachers, as a wedge issue in an election campaign, isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the BC Liberals.

“We’re talking British Columbia here.… You can make the argument either way,” observed Mr. Abbott, who, between his careers as a blueberry farmer and a politician, has been a political science instructor. “There have been some instances where governments may have benefited from that, but probably an equal number where it’s been challenging for governments.”

Nonetheless, there is no clearer signal that the Clark government would rather achieve a rare settlement with teachers at the bargaining table than Mr. Abbott’s reappointment to education.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

BCTF Press Release - 95th BCTF Annual General Meeting to take place in Victoria

BCTF News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 17, 2011

95th BCTF Annual General Meeting to take place in Victoria

About 700 teachers, elected to represent their colleagues across the province, will be in Victoria during spring break to help shape policy directions and bargaining strategy for the BC Teachers’ Federation over the next year.

The BCTF’s 95th Annual General Meeting takes place at the Victoria Conference Centre from March 19–22, 2011. While most of the meeting is open to the media, some resolutions will be discussed in closed sessions. Newsworthy highlights in brief (and approximate times) include:

Saturday March 19

7:00 p.m.	BCTF President Susan Lambert on the implications of the financial crisis on public services and rising disparity between the rich and the poor
9:00 p.m.	Election statements by candidates for president, and 1st and 2nd vice-presidents

Sunday March 20

9:00 a.m.	Antiracism presentation, resolutions on Aboriginal education and social justice issues
10:00 a.m.	Release of new polling results on education issues and government directions
11:30 a.m.	Speech by Betsy Kippers, Vice-President of the Wisconsin Education Association Council on the struggle for free collective bargaining in Wisconsin
3:00 p.m.	Speech by BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair
4:30 p.m.	Election statements by candidates for member-at-large on the BCTF Executive Committee

Monday March 21

9:00 a.m.	Speech by Sir Ken Robinson, a UK-born author and professor who has received many honours for his passionate advocacy of the arts and culture in education
11:00 a.m.	Presentation on teacher inquiry: Reclaiming control of our professional learning
12:30 p.m.	News conference on teacher bargaining issues

Tuesday March 22

9:00 a.m.

Elections for BCTF Executive Committee

A designated area in the meeting hall will be reserved for media.

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For more information, contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF media relations officer, at 604-871-1881 (office) or 604-340-1959 (cell).