Collective Bargaining Mediation to Begin
The mediation process will begin in early June. We will keep all informed but expect the process to be relatively slow. The biggest obstacle is the coordination of schedules among and between around 20 individuals. That said, we are committed to working as expeditiously as possible. We have multiple dates scheduled and are looking for more. 

The BTU and the AFTMA have collaborated in a newly-released videothat attempts to debunk some of the myths surrounding the Stand for Children petition. You may recognize a few familiar faces in the video. Thanks to all (especially Angela Cristiani and Brian LaPierre from the AFTMA) who made this happen.

Thanks again to all who participated in the April Math Competition. We are trying to wrap up final details. See here for a list of all T-shirt orders we have received (PDF). If you were in charge of your school's order you should have received by now a specific list of instructions as to how to order (more) T-shirts, certificates and ribbons. Trophies will be available soon. If you had responsibility for a team and your name is not on the attached list, please let me know. Again, thanks.

We will honor individual award winners at the June membership meeting. Please let us know if any of the individual awardees can attend. Otherwise, we will give the individual and group trophies to anyone in attendance who can get them back to the school. See results here.

The Mass DESE has released a report on its view of what has made for success of lack thereof in the state's Turnaround School process. One of the big takeaways: strong, competent leadership as well as mutual respect are more important that the wholesale excessing of 50% or more of staff. We cannot say we are surprised at all. Please see the report here.

The Globe, too, had a report yesterday on the same topic:

 

Transfer and Open Posting Lists Out 
The transfer and open posting lists are out as of April 18. If you have any questions, please email or call Caren or Michael at the office. The transfer list will be up until 5 PM on this Friday, May 4. Open posted positions will be up until they are filled. All other assignment information -- teacher pools, mock pools, and the Para processes -- will be announced as soon as specific information is available. For questions on Para-related issues, please email Jenna.

NB: As of last night the district has once again changed the excess pool schedule for teachers. The new TENTATIVE dates, according to the most recent information we have, will be on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31.

Save the date! On Tuesday, May 22, Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of All Souls and a South Boston native and Boston activist who continues to work for social change nationally, will speak at the BTU at 5:30 PM. All Souls books will be available for a reduced price (cash and checks only), along with free teachers guides. Everyone is welcome to this free event. Light refreshments will be served. 

"I was 18 years old with a baby and three high school credits. I was a gangbanger. I was shot and left for dead.

 

"My life was a pane of glass fractured into a thousand shards. And this place saved me....

 

"Few who venture to this corner of Bushwick walk away unmoved. Members of the state Board of Regents sing its praises, as have visitors from across the city. 

Bushwick High School. Photo courtesy NY Times

 

"But that could all come to an end on Thursday night. The Education Department has recommended that the Panel for Education Policy, which is controlled by the mayor, vote to lay off the principal and half the staff. Give department officials credit: they don't really try to argue their indictment on the merits, but on the metrics - that is, test scores and graduation rates.

 

"A majority of the students fail to graduate within six years, which is one of the city's inviolate metrics. Right-o. If a young man wanders into this high school at 18 with five credits to his name, the odds are strikingly good that he will not graduate within six years of his freshman year.

 

"The Panel for Education Policy could vote to let the school remain untouched. That's unlikely. Mayor Bloomberg's education officials have recommended shutting down 140 schools, and this panel has voted in the mayor's favor 140 times..."

They Didn't

Read the whole April 26 article from the New York Times: "City Decides to Spare School of Second Chances" by Anna M. Phillips.

 

 

Reminder: Elizabeth Warren, BTU endorsed candidate for US Senate, will be speaking at the BTU at our regularly-scheduled membership meeting next Wednesday, May 9, at 5:15 PM. 

Last fall in its own version of musical chairs the school district proposed moving the Fenway High School to the Mission Hill site, and the Mission Hill Elementary to the Agassiz site. Both school sites need renovations to accommodate the new programs. And both schools deserve a good and adequate facility to call their own***. In trying to sell its proposal to all, including the respective school communities themselves, the school district came up with a projected cost of the needed renovations. Only one problem: the school department's math was way off as it didn't take into account a number of different costs.

Here's what the Globe editorialized yesterday about the district's calculation:


(Calculations and estimates aside, both the Fenway and Mission Elementary deserve every penny that will be spent on their new homes. After all, both schools were forced into new facilities, both schools have tremendous waiting lists, and both schools deserve to be well-situated.)

So why do we call attention to the fuzzy math? Well, the district often plays fast and loose with the numbers to the detriment of all of us. 

During negotiations, for example, we repeatedly questioned how the school district could say with a straight face that the cost of a 30-minute extension of the school day for 3,000 teachers would cost close to $45M. We have always maintained that the real cost was closer to one quarter of that amount, or $11M. So let's do the math once again: 3,000 teachers at $20 per day for 180 days is $10.8M, nowhere near the $45M broadcast by the school district. (At the time, the district had requested a school day extension of 30 minutes; the demand for 45 minutes didn't come until much later.)

Why do we raise this issue once again? Because the district likes to make use of numbers strategically -- understating or overstating when it suits its fancy. In the case of the its facilities plan, it understated the cost. In the case of our demands during negotiations, it wildly inflated the cost. What we really need is for the district to be held accountable.

(***We don't wish to rehash the divisive issue of one school's taking over another facility with another school as a current inhabitant who doesn't wish to vacate. We've commented on that before, and it is not right to pit one school against another. There are enough facilities to go around. To wit, the district just leased so-called surplus facilities (Dickerman and the Stone) to charter schools and is about to lease a third, the Endicott. So there is enough space to go around and satisfy all -- it's just that the district has other priorities.)

As part of an effort to promote wellness education and healthy eating, the Patrick J. Kennedy School in East Boston will host the "PJK 5K and Fun Run" on June 3. 

Come run to benefit the PJ Kennedy's outdoor classroom initiative. This flat and fast 5K will start and finish at the beautiful Piers Park with one of the most amazing views of downtown Boston! Even if you can't run, this promises to be a fun filled family activity with Zumba, Yoga, Music, and Raffles. For more information and to register visitpjk5k.com. Email ratmazz (at) aol.com with questions.

TEACH: Teachers Are Talking, Is the Nation Listening? has received the Indie Spec Best Cinematography Award from the Boston International Film Festival. The winning films were announced at the closing ceremony of the 2012 festival at the AMC Loews Theater, Boston Common on April 22. TEACH was screened at the festival on April 16 before a large and enthusiastic audience. The screening was followed by a spirited Q and A discussion. Many additional screenings are being planned for the Boston area and in cities all across the country. Please visit the Teach documentary website for details. Congrats go to Robert Lamothe and Yvonne Troxell! The BTU is proud of these two wonderfully creative and dedicated members.

Pauline Dodd, Joseph Lee School
Thursday, June 7, 6 until 11PM
Florian Hall at 55 Hallet Street in Dorchester

Cost per person: $50 (includes gift, meal, and DJ)
Payments may be made by check. Mail checks to:

Joseph Lee School, Attn: Sara Smith
155 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02124

Please make checks payable to "Joseph Lee Sunshine Fund." Please RSVP by Thursday, May 17.

Kathy Giberti, O'Donnell School
Friday, June 15 at 4 PM
Winthrop Arms Hotel at 130 Grovers Avenue in Winthrop

$30 includes dinner & gift. Cash or check payable to the O'Donnell School. Please RSVP by June 1 to Barbara Grato at 617-635-8454.

Saturday, June 9 at 1:30 PM
Maggiano's Little Italy, 4 Columbus Avenue in Boston
$60 per person includes appetizers, lunch, dessert and gifts for the retirees. Cash bar and discounted parking will be available.

Please make checks payable to "JoAnn Brown-Henderson Retirement" and submit to JoAnn Brown, Henderson School, 1669 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02125 no later than May 9.

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