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| Greetings! Good morning, and we hope all is well Reminder: Voting takes place this week in Boston and other areas. We ask that you please vote for the BTU-endorsed candidates. This week, a letter is going out to all members seeking negotiating proposals for our package of items. We are particularly looking for ideas on how to improve our schools. If you get this email but do not receive the letter that is being mailed out, you may not be registered as an 'official' member. To correct that, ask your BTU building rep. for a BTU membership application form, and you will be placed in our data base. A surprising (well, maybe not-so-surprising) study out of the University of Chicago on whether closing under- performing schools is good, bad, or neither. The answer is, it's a mixed bag and can actually hurt students. That this took place in Chicago while Federal Ed Secretary Arne Duncan was superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools only adds fuel to the fire. The study concluded that closing under performing schools and moving students to other schools can actually hurt students as well as help them. See an article and the actual report . From the RTC Chapter: Attention Retirees: Important Hearing on COLA and Health Insurance Changes, November 9, 2009--10:00 A.M., Gardner Auditorium--the State House. We are sorry, but because of the late notice, we will not be able to provide transportation. Each year hundreds of our students leave our schools for charter schools . And each year hundreds return. We lose students for a variety of reasons, one of which is that many have a lack of familiarity with our programs. Every student who leaves our schools for a charter school takes about $10,000 with him or her to pay for charter school tuition. Th a t money comes out of our school system. This year, our schools sent $49.5 million to charter schools. For the last three years the BTU and the BPS have worked together on a campaign to 'get the word out' to better publicize what our schools offer, with the hope of attracting our students to remain in our schools. We will invite elementary schools to a meeting to listen to the programs that middle and k-8 schools offer. And we do a similar activity with the high schools to expose their programs to our 6 and 8th graders. This year's events will be at the BTU on December 1. More information will be forthcoming. We are announcing the setting of the Open Enrollment period for the Flexible Spending Program . See announcement following. Simply, the program allows our members to set aside pre-tax dollars for use on dependent care, medical out-of-pocket expenses, and certain transportation expenses. This is a great program, used by hundreds of our members, who save annually thousands of tax dollars per year. There is an explanatory meeting at the BTU on Monday 11/2, from 2:30 to 4. If you cannot make the meeting, call 1-800-544-2340 by 11/30 and/or see here . See more below. Oops...File Under "If it sounds too good to be true, it must be." Last week we mentioned that the BPS was sponsoring a course to learn Spanish. The course was to last 90 hours and participants were to be paid $4,000. Such a deal! we thought. Turns out the ad we ran was for a person to teach the course, not for students to take the course. Needless to say the BPS received many, many queries for the 25 slots were advertised as available. Sorry. |
| Please Submit Collective Bargaining Items and Ideas for the Upcoming Bargain Committee |
As we have mentioned before, the BTU will be gathering collective bargaining items over the next few weeks. The items, once gathered, will be vetted by the Collective Bargaining Committee (see below) and put together in a packet for approval by the BTU membership. To submit an item, please do the following: * keep your item to 100 words or less * be as specific as possible * send it in electronically here by November 22 * type 'Collective Bargaining Item' in the subject line * identify yourself by name, school, and job function * All items are subject to approval and modification Groups (e.g., the Special Ed Faculty Senate, Art teachers) are asked to submit no more than three items in priority order. Thank you. |
| Seeking Members for the Collective Bargaining Committee |
We are looking to receive nominations for our collective bargaining committee . The collective bargaining committee will meet after school four to six times in the months of November and December. Members chosen are expected to be able to attend all meetings, to the extent possible. The committee will vet and approve our collective bargaining package. We will attempt to choose a 30-40 member committee balanced by grade level and interests, teacher, para, and so on. Members not chosen may be asked to join a sub committee(s). To apply for consideration, please send in an application electronically with Collective Bargaining Nomination in the subject line. State briefly why you wish to be considered, what you will add to the team, and what ideas you might have as to the nature of the upcoming process. Thank you. The deadline for application is Friday, November 6th. |
| Flexible Spending Plan Open Enrollment Begins 11/2. Plan Allows Tremendous Tax-Saving Opportunity for Day Care, Medical Expenses and Transportation Meeting at BTU on 11/2 |
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The Flexible Spending Account and the Pre-Tax Transportation plan are a tremendous opportunity for you to enhance your benefits package. Most employees pay for expenses such as dependent care expenses, out-of-pocket medical/dental expenses, parking fees, and mass transit expenses on an after tax-basis. These programs allow you to set aside a portion of your paycheck tax free to pay for those expenses. The result is a reduction in Federal, State and Social Security taxes, which will give you an increase in your take home pay. Don't miss out on this opportunity to save between 28-34% in taxes. Hundreds of our employees use this program to their advantage, with more joining each year.
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| Wanted: Mediators Who are Good People People |
The BTU Membership has passed a motion to hire up to two mediators for the 2009-10 school year to mediate disputes between BTU members. The BTU Mediator part-time positions are open to active or retired BTU bargaining unit members who have demonstrated training and experience in conflict resolution. If interested in applying to become a BTU Mediator, please submit your name, contact info, resume, as well as a brief statement (less than 400 words) as to how and why you are the right person for this position to Caren Carew . |
| Quote of the Day--Dr. Gerald Bracey |
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"If 2000 was the year that testing went crazy, 2001 was the year it went stark-raving mad . . . What say we take a moment to consider a few of the personal qualities that standardized tests do not measure: creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, humor, reliability, enthusiasm, civic-mindedness, self-awareness, self-discipline, empathy, leadership, and compassion.'' |
| CityWide Spelling Bee Announcement |
The 3rd Annual BCYF Spelling Bee will take place Saturday, March 20, 2010. The champion of the 3rd Annual BCYF Spelling Bee will win a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee. There will be other prizes for our area's top spellers, including reference books and gift certificates.
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| MLK Celebration Announcement |
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The MLK Committee is seeking schools interested in auditioning or attending the annual celebration. This year's theme "ONE VOICE: Defying Expectations, Reaching for Excellence", should guide the performance selections. We are looking for singers/choirs, dancers, orators/poets, reflective skits/acts, mc's, musicians, artists, etc. Deadline for Schools to request auditions, speakers or general attendance is Friday, November 20th. |
| Teach Plus Website |
Last week we ran an announcement about Teach Plus, and while we printed the email address of Director, Celine Coggins, we neglected their website. Here it is . The mission of Teach Plus is to improve outcomes for urban children by ensuring that a greater proportion of students have access to high-quality, experienced teachers. |
| Congratulations to Mission k-8 Teacher |
Congratulations to Jason Palmer at the Mission K-8 School. Jason, who is the winds and brass music teacher, won the 2009 Caruso Jazz Solo Trumpet competition. Congratulations. |
Sincerely,
Richard Stutman
BTU President
rstutman@btu.org (work)
617-288-2000
| 2009 -10 School Year | |
| #01 | 08/31/09 |
| #02 | 09/08/09 |
| #03 | 09/14/09 |
| #04 | 09/21/09 |
| #05 | 09/28/09 |
| #06 | 10/05/09 |
| #07 | 10/13/09 |
| #08 | 10/18/09 |
| #09 | 10/26/09 |