| Red River United Fall Newsletter 2026 |
 RRU School Board Candidate Information RRU has completed its candidate process and identified candidates in Caddo, DeSoto, and Red River parishes as either RRU Endorsed Candidates or RRU Favorable Candidates. Candidates listed in bold are current or former educators, making our slogan especially fitting: “A Voice from the Classroom to the Boardroom.” RRU Endorsed Candidates: Kenneth Coutee – Caddo District 2 Susannah Poljak – Caddo District 4 Emma Shepard – Caddo District 8 Carter Bedford – Caddo District 12 Kennie Barkley – DeSoto District 1 Melissa Rutherford – DeSoto District 4 Megan Wedgeworth – DeSoto District 8 Ronnie Morris, Sr. – DeSoto District 9 Marty Williams – DeSoto District 10 Alvester Barfield – Red River District 4 RRU Favorable Candidates: Courtney Harris and Karla McCulloch – Caddo District 5 Dana Fergins-Hawthorne and Cleveland Mouton – Caddo District 6 Paige Hoffpauir – Caddo District 9 Rekeisha Fuller and “Bubba” Patterson – DeSoto District 5 Jacob Caldwell – Red River District 3 Monique McDuffy-Jones – Red River District 5. The Next Vote Is Ours: Make Sure You’re Ready! The Tuesday, November 3, 2026 election is quickly approaching. Make sure your voter registration is current and you know the important deadlines. Important Election Dates: October 5 – Deadline to register in person, by mail, or at an OMV office October 13 – Deadline to register online through GeauxVote October 20–27 – Early voting, 8:30 AM–6:00 PM, excluding Sunday, October 25 October 30 at 4:30 PM – Deadline to request an absentee ballot November 2 at 4:30 PM – Deadline for your Registrar of Voters to receive your completed absentee ballotNovember 3 – Election Day! Polls are open from 6:00 AM–8:00 PM. You can also use the links below to register or change your registration, check your registration, find your voting precinct, and view your sample ballot. Register or change your registration: https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/voterregistration Find your voting precinct and view your sample ballot: https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/ The Next Vote is Ours. Make your voice heard!  Caddo Parish Salary Schedule Grievance Update The next major step in our Caddo Parish Salary Schedule Grievance is coming up on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at the Caddo Parish School Board meeting. The grievance is expected to be heard at approximately 4:30–4:45 PM. Our attorney will have 10 minutes to present our findings and argument, and anyone wishing to address the Board will have an opportunity to speak for up to three minutes. We are asking all 105 grievants to attend. If you are not a grievant but have been affected by the salary schedule issue, or simply want to stand in solidarity with your colleagues, we would love to have you there. You do not have to be one of the 105 grievants to speak. We believe that if the grievance is resolved following the oral argument, the resolution should apply to all employees affected by the issue, not only the individuals currently named in the grievance. If litigation ultimately becomes necessary, impacted RRU members may also have an opportunity to join at that stage. We have already made important progress: our grievance will be heard, and the district has contracted with Lean Frog Consulting to review its salary schedule and compensation practices. We hope to see you October 20. Stand with your colleagues. Stand for fairness.  Impermissible Corporal Punishment: Protect Yourself RRU wants every member to be extremely cautious when it comes to physical contact with students. Do not put your hands on a student for disciplinary purposes. Physical intervention should only occur when appropriate and in accordance with district-approved procedures and training, such as Handle With Care. If you are accused of impermissible corporal punishment or inappropriate physical contact, contact RRU immediately before providing any statement either verbal or written. Do not assume that an informal conversation is “off the record.” If a detective or law enforcement officer wants to speak with you regarding an incident involving a student, contact RRU before participating in an interview or providing a statement. Before you make a statement, make the call. Contact RRU.  Threatened or Assaulted by a Student? Know What to Do. You have a right to feel safe at your workplace. RRU wants members to know what steps to take when a student threatens or assaults them.If you are threatened by a student, make sure you complete a discipline referral documenting the threat, contact RRU, and complete an RRU intake form. If you are assaulted by a student, complete a discipline referral documenting the assault and an incident report. You should also report to Work Kare for evaluation and documentation and contact RRU as soon as possible. Under La. R.S. 17:416, when a student is formally accused of assaulting or battering a school employee, the principal is required to immediately suspend the student and immediately remove the student from school premises. Required notifications and other suspension procedures must then be completed as soon as practicable.The student cannot be considered for readmission to the school where the affected employee is assigned until all hearings and appeals related to the allegation have been exhausted. If the student is ultimately found guilty by a court or through the school system’s suspension hearing, the student generally cannot be assigned to or attend the school where the employee who was assaulted or battered works, unless the school system has no other school serving the appropriate grade level. Don’t wait until a situation escalates. Document what happened and contact RRU.  SLTs: Protect Your Evaluation Student Learning Targets aren’t simply another form to complete. They are an important part of your professional evaluation. Your SLTs should be realistic, attainable, measurable, and supported by data. Louisiana Bulletin 130 provides that teachers have a minimum of two SLTs. State-approved assessments are to be used as part of the evidence measuring attainment when available. When they are not available, the evaluatee and evaluator determine the appropriate assessment or assessments. Also remember the 10-absence rule. Louisiana law provides that applicable student-growth measures cannot include the test score or data of a student who has 10 or more absences in any school semester, whether excused, unexcused, consecutive, or nonconsecutive. RRU encourages teachers to be active participants in developing their SLTs, use data from the students they actually teach, keep their own documentation, monitor student progress, and review SLTs at midyear. Protect Your Evaluation. Protect Your Pay. Protect Your Job.  Personal Leave (UPR): What You Need to Know Louisiana teachers now have four days of personal leave (UPR) per school year, an increase from the previous two days. Personal leave is charged against the teacher’s current or accumulated sick leave, and teachers must provide their principal with at least 24 hours’ notice before taking personal leave. UPR days do not accumulate as UPR days. If you don’t use them, the remaining days are converted to sick leave and roll over as accumulated sick leave. So, while an unused day does not remain a UPR day for the next school year, you don’t lose the day. It becomes accumulated sick leave. |