TSTA-Conroe

Positive Reform Needed Now

2012-02-03T06:20:00.001-08:00

I read an article today by a special education teacher at a psych hospital. She works with some of the most disenfranchised children I can think of from Chicago's poorest neighborhoods. She sees children of abuse, neglect, serious poverty coming into her facility looking for a way out of their terrible circumstances. The future is bleak and it's only being made worse by this idea of corporation reform being imposed on education. Read her article and see if it turns on the light bulb for you. It did for me!

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/02/katie_osgood_the_reform_my_stu.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Texas Schools Chief: Testing Has Gone Too Far

2012-02-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

According to The Texas Tribune, TEA Commissioner Robert Scott has decided enough is enough. In his recent public addresses, Mr. Scott has made it known that he does not support Texas' current standardized testing model. It is refreshing that someone in a position of power (to any degree really) is speaking up on behalf of students and teachers. It's nice to know that we're not alone in this campaign to reign in our state's out of control concept of reform.

Most of all, Mr. Scott believes we have a positive affect on children and wants no part of bastardizing public education. Way to go, Mr. Scott!

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/texas-school-chief-testing-has-gone-too-far/

All The Goings Ons!

2012-01-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since we last posted to our blog; however, a lot has been going for TSTA-Conroe. Here's a brief synopsis of recent happenings:

NEA Members Benefits-about 15 TSTA-Conroe members attended a general meeting to learn about all the member benefits our NEA membership offers. Antonio Galindo came to us from Arizona to present the information. Several members of Klein-TSTA attended as well. TSTA-Conroe member, Cody Taylor, reports that he signed up with California Casualty Auto Insurance (available only to NEA members) and has saved a bundle!

AR Training-our UniServe rep. Randy Johnston conducted a fantastic training for all TSTA-Conroe Area Reps. About 11 people attended this informative meeting, each walking away with more information about how to be effective leaders in their buildings.

NEA Western Region Leadership Conference 2012 (Oklahoma City)-our Vice President, Jessica Powell was selected by NEA as a fully-funded member to attend the Western Region Women's Leadership Training last week. Jessica says that it was the single most valuable training she has attended through NEA or TSTA. It was truly inspiring to be surrounded by women and minority leaders from our region to share stories of triumphs and challenges facing the Association.

Open Nominations for HoD and RA-nominations to be on the ballot for Regional HoD, State HoD, and NEA-RA ended last week. The ballot will go out soon to all members and results will follow. We will keep you all posted on activities. In the meantime, check out our calendar below.

RSVP for November 8th Meeting

2011-10-26T12:45:00.001-07:00

September 13 Meeting and September 16 Social Meet n' Greet

2011-09-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Teacher of the Year Banquet 2011

2011-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all who attended last night's successful Teacher of the Year banquet. We had over 950 CISD employees, family and friends attend last night, and the dedication of the TOY committee proved fruitful. We were so happy to see all of you there smiling :)

Grievance Training SUCCESS!

2011-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the members who attended last night's Grievance and Member Advocacy Training, presented by TSTA-Legal Guru Joey Moore. It was an eye-opening experience. There was so much to be learned about advocacy at the local level that I can't believe we haven't hosted a training before! In attendance were several TSTA-Conroe members as well as Randy Johnston, our Uniserv Rep, and two Klein-TSTA members.

A few things we learned worth passing on:

DO cultivate positive, trusting relationships with your campus/local administration.
DO take time to understand your members' issues before attempting to advocate for them.
DO NOT agree to advocate if possible legal action could be taken, or if an infraction of the law is involved-you do NOT have privilege and CAN be asked to testify against your fellow member.
DO attend a training on how to file grievances, when they are necessary, and how long you have to grieve or rebut an issue. There is a LOT of information available.
DO make a point to understand your district's local policies regarding appraisals, grievance timelines, and advocacy.

If you are interested in the role you can play on your campus for member advocacy, please contact us at tstaconroe@gmail.com and ask for more information.

Purchase Teacher of the Year Tickets NOW!

2011-02-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

Tickets are no longer available.

Happy New Year from TSTA-Conroe

2010-12-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

It was a fantastic year for TSTA-Conroe. We participated in the school board elections, we rallied for Bill White for governor, we had our BEST New Employee Orientation recruitment ever, we participated in the formation of the Young Educators Caucus at the National Convention in New Orleans, and we had a LOT of fun along the way.

If you haven't gotten on board with what's happening with TSTA-Conroe, you better GET on board :) We are having a blast! And you can JOIN IN! Contact one of your local officers for more information or attend our next meeting on January 11 at 5:30. Location is still TBA, but check here to find out where we'll meet. (Hopefully somewhere cooool!)

Officers are: Mark McCloy (Pres), Jessica Powell (VP), Kimberly Jackson (Sec.), Tarita Edmond (Treas.), Henry Adeoye (Membership), and Terry Stanley (ESP-Liaison)

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-15T12:28:00.001-08:00

TSTA-Conroe in the SPOTLIGHT :)

2010-11-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

Our efforts in the local elections have gained us a little spotlight on TSTA's locals webpage. Take a look!

TSTA's local news page

School Board Brunch

2010-10-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Today is the CISD School Board Candidate brunch. If you're following us, you might have one last opportunity to join us! I am attaching the questionnaires that were turned in by candidates for all to read. Pass along what you read and be sure to go out and VOTE!!!

Bill White Rally!

2010-08-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

Welcome Back!

2010-08-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to school TSTA-Conroe!

We're so excited to share the summer's events with you as well as fall back into the swing of things in the 2010-2011 school year :) This summer, Henry Adeoye, Nicole Glaser, Melissa McNeill, Diane Wilkerson, and Jessica Powell represented TSTA-Conroe at the National Education Association's annual Representative Assembly in New Orleans, LA. We spent 5 days in session covering over 100 business items, celebrating the national Teacher of the Year and ESP of the Year, networking with our colleagues around the country, and raising money for our national political action fund. Also, Michelle Cox attended the Leadership Institute in Austin, TX while Henry Adeoye, Kim Jackson, and Mark McCloy joined her for the Leadership Academy later in the week.

We have been asked by the Montgomery County Bill White campaign to help with their efforts. Bill White is the TSTA endorsed candidate and both our region and local have endorsed him. If you'd like to help with call outs (teacher to teacher) or with other BW work, please contact Jessica Powell (tstaconroe@gmail.com).

The New Employee Orientation membership drive was a HUGE success!!!! We signed up 8 members and sent our information off to over 100 other new employees. Big thanks to our Uniserv rep Randy Johnston for coming all the way to Conroe last week and this coming Wednesday to help in this endeavor. It was a blast! Members Kary Freemeyer, Karen Brown, Henry Adeoye, Jessica Powell, and Mark McCloy were on hand to greet our new employees and offer them all TSTA can give. If a new employee comes to your campus, stop by and make contact! It's NEVER the wrong time to represent TSTA!!

Finally, we are having a Back to School SHINDIG (wooohooo!) THIS Friday at Papas on the Lake at 6:00. Come and enjoy appetizers and soft drinks on us. Feel free to bring your spouse or family, and DEFINITELY invite your campus' NEW EMPLOYEES. They don't have to join to come, they are welcome as part of the CISD family! Help us build our membership!

May 11 Meeting

2010-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to ALL of you who attended the last TSTA-Conroe meeting of the 2009/2010 school year. Many new faces showed and it was great to get them on committees and involved in the process. Just a reminder to all: meetings are necessary to handle the business of our organization and network with one another. Also, if you have member issues, please bring them to the table. We hope you continue to attend meetings so that you can get more involved in the process and will be more than a spectator.

I'm so glad that there is an increase in interest. Keep it coming! We are here for teachers in CISD!

On that note: we are planning an end of year social. More information to be announced soon. Stefanie Cortes and Henry Adeoye are to be on the committee and they will be getting back with us on when and where. Keep checking!

Finally, though we don't have meetings throughout the summer, LOTS is going on. I will keep you updated on Leadership Institute and NEA-HoD (in New Orleans). There's NO way to know all that TSTA can offer us until you've gotten involved. Check back to the blog often!

Have a FANTASTIC SUMMER! WOOOOOT!

April 13th Educational Law Workshop

2010-04-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a great turnout for the Educational Law workshop presented by our Uniserv representative, Randy Johnston. Topics covered were Chapter 37, Assault Leave, PDAS/Appraisals, and Senate Bill 2033 (grading policy). Lots of questions were answered, lots of questions were raised, and lots of discussion ensued. For those who attended, 2 CPEs were awarded for the training (however, campus principals will have license to grant or not grant the 2nd of the 2 credits). Discussion was to have another legal training on a Saturday at the end of the school year. Let us know if you're interested! We need an audience before we set up the training. If you attended, encourage others to attend...EVEN if they're not TSTA members! $5 is a steal for great information.

Afterward, several of our members hung around Conroe's Incredible Pizza Company and had some FUN! Henry, Tarita, Celeste and Alan all played a game of laser tag after a heated race of Go-Karts.

Remember, May 4th will be the CISD Teacher of the Year Banquet. We have sold many tickets, but there are tickets still to sell! Please encourage your staff members to attend in support of your winners. ARs, organize a "pep rally" for your winners to thank them for their fantastic classroom practices.

Dues are currently free until September, when new members will benefit from tiered dues structure. For the first year, dues will ONLY BE $7.21 PER PAYCHECK! What a DEAL! Members, take time to talk to your coworkers regarding their membership in a professional organization. TSTA offers so much more than legal support. If you need more information regarding the benefits, feel free to email our Membership chair, Henry Adeoye. Attend a meeting and invite a friend to see what we're all about!

The next meeting will be May 11 at 5:30. Location TBD. Check your email for more information!

Teacher of the Year Tickets

2010-03-24T12:28:00.001-07:00

Purchase your 2010 Teacher of the Year tickets here. ON SALE NOW!

Ticket Prices will be $27 until April 4th....Prices WILL INCREASE to $30 on April 5th!!!!!

Legislative and Political Advocacy Committee Meeting, October 24th 2009

2009-10-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend, TSTA-Conroe Vice President, Jessica Powell, attended the annual Legislative and Political Advocacy Meeting in Austin, TX. She represented Region 3D and will be an active part of the committee for this school year.

Topics discussed at the meeting ranged from the key bills for educators from 81st Legislative Session to proposals previously tabled at last year's HoD in Houston for committee review. President Rita Haecker and Assistant Exec. Director of Public Affairs Richard Kouri were in attendance and helped facilitate each discussion.

Highlights:

HB 3646 is the New School Finance Bill. Spent $1.9 billion in stimulus money on salary increases for full-time professional personnel. Items of note:

Stimulus money is non-permanent funding and will only be available for 2 years. In order to keep the status quo, the State will need to find $2 billion to keep raises PLUS a $1.5 billion increase to cover a 70-80k influx of student growth by that time.
Upon final vote, the record stood at 12-19 and was the first time the chair had been beaten on the floor. Shapiro wanted this stimulus money to be spent without stipulations (in other words, on anything else but teacher pay raises!)

HB 3346 is the TRS/Retiree Increase Bill. One time payment not to exceed $500 and is dependent upon a ruling by the Attorney General (Nov. '09). Items of note:

Money comes from general revenue and is considered public $$. The intended recipients are a specific group of TRS members.
Is this to be considered deferred compensation or a cost of living increase? TSTA Legal Counsel predicts this situation to become messy whichever way the Attorney General rules.

HB 3 is the New Accountability Standards Bill. It was the legislation that limited the high-stakes standardized testing to grades 5 and 8 (no longer grade 3). Any grade level not high-stakes tested will base promotion on teacher recommendation, student grades, student testing scores, and any other necessary academic information as determined by school district. Items of note:

Students are no longer required to complete health education (1/2 credit) or technology applications (1 credit); BUT are required to complete only 1 credit of PE (versus 1 1/2 credit). Students must still complete communication applications (1 credit) as well as the 4x4 requirements.
School districts CAN set local graduation requirements, but that limits them to additions only-no subtractions from the new standards.

Senate Bill 1 (Rider 95) "Anti-Voucher Amendment" prohibits TEA from using funds on any education voucher program to pay tuition for children grades 1-12 to attend private school. Does not prohibit funding for circumstances involving payments/tuitions for students with disabilities to attend private/non-profit establishments as assigned by ARD recommendations. Items of note:

This is considered by TSTA a "huge victory" and solved a previous grievance filed by TSTA against TEA.

House Bill 772 requires State Board of Education to webcast its meetings live via video/audio over the Internet and that it archives each meeting on TEA's website. Yay!

Senate Bill 300 allows the commissioner of education to grand CLASS SIZE WAIVERS on a YEARLY basis instead of a per semester basis. The cap is 22-1 and the waivers on file are available via TEA's website. The bill also makes bus evacuation training permissive instead of mandatory (cost effective...school districts without buses were renting buses for one day of training...$.5 million spent by one district alone)

House Bill 339 is the Teen Driving Bill that changes driving education, mandating that school districts CONSIDER offering the course with a fee imposed. Items of note:

No Wireless signs must be POSTED in school zones for it to be enforcable. School districts are required to provide signage. (WHAT?!...TxDOT, why?!)

House Bill 829 requires the commissioner of education to rule on a grievance within 180 days from the date the appeal is filed with that office. This is GOOOD for teachers!

House Bill 1470 is the Assault Leave Bill. This is also good for teachers. This law gives teachers the right to take assault leave rather than sick leave. Items of note:

In Longview, TSTA local is filing grievances with the state against their district, which took away local days to compensate for the law change. The legality of the loss of personal days isn't the issue, it's the change mid-year (contracts already signed) that is being challenged.
Check district handbooks and forms for "Assault Leave" as a leave option. This is to be considered SEPARATE and APART from Sick Leave.

Senate Bill 2033 addresses school district grading policies. A grading policy: (1) must require a classroom teacher to assign a grade that reflects the student's relative mastery of an assignment; (2) may not require a classroom teacher to assign a minimum grade for an assignment without regard to the student's quality of work; and (3) may allow a student a reasonable opportunity to make up or redo a class assignment or examination for which the student received a failing grade. Items of note:

grade book programs that automatically change entered grades below a "50" to become a "50" can be considered altering a state record and could be considered in violation of the Texas penal code.
Extra paperwork to circumvent low grading is also PROBABLY a violation, so check with your reps or TSTA's helpdesk to find out if you're being asked to do something illegal.
CISD should define "reasonable opportunity" for its employees.
Look for more on this topic later!

Many other things were discussed at this year's LPAC meeting, but that's all for today's blog post. If you'd like to hear more about what was discussed, you can hear from Jessica at the next local TSTA-Conroe meeting in November. See you there!

Meeting with the Big Man

2009-09-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mark and I met with Dr. Stockton yesterday afternoon. He seemed very interested in our relationship with CISD and was candid in our discussion. Among things discussed: Teacher of the Year Banquet, South County custodial dept. grievances, public relations in CISD, as well as the role of our organization in education.

Dr. Stockton suggests we keep the TOY banquet at the LoneStar Convention Center, as long as the cost associated continues to be low. We discussed working with The Marriott Waterway again and his response was clear: price should drive the decision making. He was pleased with the banquet last year but suggests we re-evaluate how we handle the food. We agreed, as this has been our plan since we had the problems last year.

Our membership has complained about an issue in their dept. and TSTA is taking care of them. Dr. Stockton listened to the grievance and has promised to take action on our behalf. We fully expect the situation to be handled professionally, expediently and with care. Please make sure you follow protocol in your dept. and on your campus when filing a grievance. You must always follow the appropriate chain of command. If in need of guidance for how to file a grievance, please contact your campus representative or email us at TSTAConroe@gmail.com for help.

We're here to serve you, Conroe ISD!

Executive Meeting

2009-09-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

The minutes from Tuesday's Executive Board mtg are soon to come. Just a quick overview of what we discussed:

Treasurers Report: Executive Board requests a bank statement or other official document with our account's actual (real) balance. There were questions raised regarding the account's beginning balance during the months of June 31-August 31. Melissa M. was not in attendance to answer questions.

President's Report: Rae, from Education Austin, came for a walk-thru visits of our North Country campuses (Houston, Travis, Washington, and Caney Creek). One new member was signed up. Executive Board discussed recruiting TSTA-R members from Conroe to represent our interests better on campuses. Klein is hosting an ESP workshop on Oct. 24. TSTA-Conroe has invited Terry Stanley from South County to be on the Executive Board to represent Educational Support Professionals (ESPs). We would also like to invite a bus driver from North County to represent ESP interests. McCloy and Powell will be scheduling a meeting with Dr. Stockton in upcoming weeks to discuss TOY, leave, etc.

Committee Reports: Membership Report-head count is approx. 500. ESP membership comprises a very large percentage of membership. TOY Report-need estimates from both Marriott & Lonestar. Meeting for decision making will be highly advertised to reduce member dissatisfaction with final location. Major point for contention is cost.

Old Business: Randy Johnston offered to sell us used laptop for under $100. If this offer still stands, Executive Board voted to purchase computer to replace the broken one we currently own. If offer isn't available any longer, Executive Board approved shopping for refurbished machine from Geeks.com or NewEgg.com for amount less than $400.

New Business: Official Letterhead to be purchased. McCloy to get pricing and make decisions. Adeoye will contact TSTA to acquire list of TSTA-R members in Conroe. We will hold a social gathering to welcome and inform TSTA-R members about our needs as a local. An issue in South County requires TSTA intervention. Course of action to be decided in upcoming weeks. Executive Board determined that protocol (chain of command) has been met and the issue will be brought to Dr. Stockton during meeting with McCloy and Powell.

TSTA Social Night

2009-09-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who showed at Thursday night's social meeting at Willie G's Icehouse. We enjoyed the camaraderie and fellowship along with plenty of tastey groceries and drinks. 17 members were present, but we would like our members to become more active! We will be having a general meeting soon, so look for upcoming dates. The meeting time has been moved to Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. This was voted upon by the executive committee and was done in hopes of enabling more members to attend.

Remember, if you're interested in joining the Membership, Teacher of the Year Banquet, or Constitution & Bylaw committees, let us know. Our organization is only as strong as its members. We look forward to working with more of you on our projects. You can email tstaconroe@gmail.com to let your leadership know you're interested.

If you've got suggestions on how to make TSTA-Conroe better, feel free to let us know. We are here to serve Conroe ISD teachers. We're here for YOU!

Calling All Members!

2009-08-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

We need your help. TSTA-Conroe wants to get more involved with the community. Restaurants, salons, retail stores. We would like to work more closely with businesses in the Conroe/Woodlands/Willis area. Email or comment TSTA-Conroe with names of businesses you know of or would like to work more closely with. We're here to serve our members :)

Can Your Social Network Account get you Fired/Hired?

2009-08-13T15:29:00.001-07:00

I recently emailed TSTA's Helpdesk after someone warned me I could find myself in a tricky spot with my Facebook and Myspace pages. This was the response I got (interesting):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Jessica:

Thank you for your inquiry. You raise a very interesting issue that come up, unfortunately, very frequently for educators because you all work in a public institution as public employees. In the eyes of the state and the Commissioner of Education caselaw, teachers are viewed as role models for children and held to somewhat higher standards than the normal employee.

First let me advise you to always, when in doubt, abide by an administrator directive (unless you are being asked to lie, cheat, harm someone, etc.) and then call us to discuss possibly grieving the directive.

With respect to your scenario, as a strict legal default, the short answer to your question is YES, the district has a right to ask you to modify behavior that has a legitimate nexus to your role as an educator. However, this right is not without exception. There is a constant balance between personal rights and the curtailment of such rights once you enter the schoolhouse. You have to be more conservative in decision-making about off-campus activities only because the complainants are usually parents. You are in a district where parents may have a bigger say in school administration than the administrators themselves.

It appears to me that if you know you have set your account settings to private and do not have students or parents as friend, it could be that your colleagues are not careful about their privacy settings. This can be dangerous for you - sort of the 'guilt by association' problem. Make sure all of your teacher friends are tightening their view access and if they refuse, you might want to delete them as friends.

Do a Google search for yourself. (I surprised myself when I did this the other day, even I had forgotten to set some page privacies!) Try to limit public access to very little and make sure what is available online is very professional.

I don't think you have to go as far as deleting the pages, but adjusting your privacy settings and deleting certain connections if you have any qualms about it at all is crucial. You can certainly see other non-friends' comments and so forth, and that can be dangerous in the employment setting, wherever you work.

Finally, as a last note, they absolutely can view anything online that they can find in the course of hiring. The Internet is very much a free public domain. If it’s on there, it can be used against you. Prevention in this case is better than trying to correct some misinterpretation by a parent or student. When it comes to defensive, as cliché as it is, the best defensive is an offensive. Be proactive and let your supervisor know you’ve taken steps to restrict privacy settings. However, it’s okay to have these pages, especially if it’s the only way to keep in touch with family!

Hope this helps. Please contact us with more details or questions!

Welcome to TSTA-Conroe's Official Blog

2009-05-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the TSTA-Conroe official blog. We'll be posting periodically any and all of the major events from around our local area and Texas. Check on the Texas Political Pulse for all recent buzz about how your elected officials are representing you at the capital. Familiarize yourself with your own local TSTA officers by checking out Local Leadership. More importantly, find the necessary information to contact your local representatives.

Phone calls are the BEST way to get results from your local representatives. All calls must be logged, EACH time. We strongly encourage you to call them often to show them just how important our issues really are! I'll update this blog with the necessary phone numbers so that you can easily locate that information.

We'll also be posting meeting minutes following each TSTA-Conroe meeting. We need MORE people to attend. The meeting day has changed to the second Tuesday of the month for the 2009-2010 school year. Attendance and involvement for such a large (500+) membership is very low. Get involved! We need your help to move our agenda, protect teacher and ESP rights, and to educate politicians about how necessary their support is for Texas teachers and students!