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It's
Summertime!
Play golf
with colleagues on Friday, June 18 to benefit future teachers
It’s almost time for our annual Benefit Golf Tournament, June
18, a fun day for members, family, and friends. The format is called
“Scramble,” which means that even if you are a hacker, you’ll fit in just
fine. The tournament benefits our Future
Teacher Scholarship Fund, and is held at the beautiful Jonathan’s
Landing Golf Club in Magnolia.
For more
information, check out this year’s brochure.
Theme Park discount information coming in every day
Check out updated information about
discounted theme park tickets and other summer time fun on the DSEA
Discount List page.
Log in at the DSEA web page and
then click on Discount List from the left-hand column.
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From
the President
"Race
to the Top" work begins
As you know, Delaware is one of two states to receive
federal Race to the Top (RTTT) funds for education. Tennessee is the
other. Delaware was awarded $100 million. The Delaware Department of
Education is still negotiating with the U. S. Department of Education in
hopes of receiving the full $107 million asked for in Delaware’s
application.
What’s next?
Developing plans for implementing the grant, called the “Scope of Work”
As part of the process, all school districts and charter schools must
develop a plan around the twelve areas in the state’s Scope of Work (SOW),
areas which are directly related to the four “assurance” areas set
forth by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. They are:
Common core standards/assessments,
Data systems,
Great teachers and leaders, and
Low performing schools.
What will your
district do to carry out that Scope of Work and help the state reach its
education goals?
That will be determined by a district team which includes your local
union. Every local E.A. president has selected colleagues to assist
with this work. You can check with your local president to see who the
members of your team include.
Secretary Lowery has told all the district teams to make sure that their
plans address all twelve areas, but to prioritize four to six of
them. “We don’t want plans that are a mile wide and only an inch thick:
we want to really make a difference in student outcomes in a few
significant areas.”
DSEA training your
union teams for two full days
Determining a district's Scope of Work will be
difficult. DSEA has scheduled two training sessions for your local
Association teams. The first was last week and the second will be on May
18.
 We have hired Eric Peterson
(right) of Wellstone
Action!, a firm that provides training in
effective organizing. Eric has helped us with training twice before. Last
week your leaders reviewed the Scope of Work issues
with him; learned the differences between collective bargaining and
collaboration; and began examining what they think will be the most
difficult issues that each team will need to come to agreement on.
I am delighted to report that every single local education association
was there. Bravo! Each team heard the same status reports; heard each
other’s questions and answers; and committed to keep sharing their experiences
with their district teams and this process as we go forward.
This past Monday,
May 3, the Delaware Department of Education released its calendar of
activities and workshops to all of the district teams.
At DoE's first planning meeting for the district teams, Secretary Lowery
also gave an overview of their department’s expectations and goals, the
process they have devised planning, and a timeline for specific
activities – all related to finalizing each district’s Scope of Work.
•
Next week, there will be full-day workshops for teams by county.
Your Association team will be there. The purpose of these workshops is
for district teams to work on their Scope of Work plans: vision,
priorities, goals, and budget proposals. Kent County teams will meet Monday,
May 10 from 9:00-4:00 at Delaware State University, New Castle County
school district teams will meet Tuesday, May 11 from 9:00-4:00 at the
Eden Support Service Center in the Christina School District, and Sussex
County will meet Thursday, May 13 from 9:00-4:00 at the Carter
Partnership Center (Lecture Hall Room 529) of the DTCC Owens Campus in
Georgetown.
• All district
plans must be finalized and to DoE by June 18.
• They are then submitted
to the U. S. Department of Education by June 25.
As you can see this is an ambitious and challenging timeline. Remember,
you will be well represented by your local president, educators, and
Uniserv Directors.
As this work progresses, both DSEA and your local presidents will share
pertinent details. In the meantime, we update our Race to
the Top web page regularly, including posting
the documents referenced above. And, watch for a the next Member Matters
newsletter after next week's meetings.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
In unity,
Diane T. Donohue
President
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• YOUR JOB •
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Jobs being shifted to local
school districts
Districts and School Boards are making decisions about
Reductions in Force now, before the May 15 notification deadline.
There are several pressures on them, including reductions in state
funding proposed for transportation next year; and the end of much federal
stimulus money for certain positions, including the "Minner"
reading and math specialists. This situation, in particular, DSEA is
working on: it makes no sense to do away with the very people who helped
the state win Race to the Top (RTTT) funding. And the state says as
much in its RTTT application when it talks about proven success with NAEP
reading scores.
If
you are RIFFED or terminated and would like your UniServ director to
review your situation/case, please
let him/her know.
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• YOUR VOTE •
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Six
locals endorse School Board candidates: elections next Tuesday, May 11
Click
here to see who the candidates are and why your colleagues
urge you to vote for them next Tuesday, May 11.
All polling locations are open from 10am to 8pm. For maps, candidate
information and polling places for individual school board elections, go
to the state's elections page
and click on your county.
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• YOUR UNION •
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Public Health
Nurses: Check out your union's web site, www.phnc.org for
the minutes from the most recent PHNC meeting with state
administrators.
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