RRU Member Orlisa Johnson Wins $1000 grant!
Red River United congratulates Pine Grove Elementary teacher and RRU Executive Board member Orlisa Johnson for her grant!
An elementary school teacher hopes to give her students a jump start on Common Core standards. Our latest One Class At a Time Winner comes to us from Caddo schools.
Pine Grove Elementary teacher OrLisa Johnson was completely surprised when she was presented with a one thousand dollar check this week.
The fourth grade teacher says the money will be used to buy materials for her Rrace to Excitement and Discovery” reading program.
It aims to increase the reading comprehension of her students as well as to expand their writing; language; and technology skills through the use of outside reading material.
“Thank you thank you thank you! It’s for books that I ordered. Each 9 weeks my children read chapter books when they’re getting ready for the LEAP test. So now every child will be afforded a book to have in my class to read,” said Johnson.
Congratulations again to Or’Lisa Johnson.
And many thanks to our “One Class At a Time” sponsors, Barksdale Federal Credit Union and Sudden Link.
National School Counseling Week: Feb 3-7 2014
Red River United honors counselors as part of National School Counseling Week!
National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), is celebrated during the week of February 3-7, 2014, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact that counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career
This video highlights the struggles our public schools face to address issues of security and mental health. Our counselors are on the front lines, and Red River United honors the selfless work you do for the boys and girls of Caddo and Bossier Parishes.
LFT Principles of Unity!
Breaking News: Louisiana Federation of Teachers Agrees to Principles of Unity
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers has endorsed a set of general principles that a number of public education stakeholders have pledged to honor in the upcoming legislative session.
“For the past six years, education reform has been defined by politicians, corporate profiteers and ideological extremists,” Federation President Steve Monaghan said. “The result has been an avalanche of unconstitutional laws, a raid on public education funds and baseless attacks on teachers in our public schools.
“The leaders of this bogus reform movement have manipulated data and used misleading statistics to justify the destruction of public education in Louisiana,” he said. “We are proud to stand with other public education stakeholders to correct the narrative touted by the current administration and offer real hope for our children’s future.”
In an invitation asking educators to adopt principles of unity, Louisiana School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Richard wrote, “We are experiencing unprecedented times during this era of ‘education reform’ in our state. It is of the utmost importance that we strive to work collaboratively as stakeholders in order to facilitate practical initiatives that truly work to improve student achievement.”
The principles adopted by the signers of the agreement include:
- United advocacy for prioritizing public education funding regarding the state funding formula.
- United advocacy for a more strategic and comprehensive transition to raising standards and adopting accompanying assessments.
- United advocacy for a non-punitive accountability system and a flexible employee evaluation system during the transition to higher standards.
- United advocacy for addressing issues regarding privatization of public education in Louisiana.
AFT’s Robert C Porter Scholarship Program
Are you working to help your union find ways for its members to join in reclaiming the promise of a more just society for all?
Or do you have a child who is a senior in high school with plans to attend college?
We can help! As part of the Robert G. Porter Scholars Program, the AFT offers $8,000 scholarships to four high-achieving high school seniors who are the dependents of AFT members. And 10 grants of $1,000 each are available to AFT members from all divisions who seek to implement ideas for their union about the role union members can play in collectively reclaiming the promise.
Applications are now available online HERE.
Robert G. Porter was a dedicated union activist from the time he joined his first AFT local in East St. Louis, Ill., until his death in 1991. For nearly four decades, the late AFT secretary-treasurer gave his all to championing the rights of working people, promoting civil rights, and ensuring that the union was a vehicle for helping members achieve justice. Since its inception in 1993, the Robert G. Porter Scholars Program has awarded more than $500,000 to AFT members and their dependents to further their education and to help grow our union’s capacity to achieve our goals. Your application is now available online.
This year’s winners will be announced by June 30 and will be recognized at the AFT convention, July 11-14, in Los Angeles. The deadline for submitting the 2014 application to the AFT is March 31.
APPLY ONLINE
Win one of 6 $500 VISA Gift Cards with Share My Lesson!
Banish those winter blues!
Indulge yourself this New Year with a weekend away, a spa break, a designer handbag or enjoy a dinner in a top restaurant.
Share My Lesson is giving you the opportunity to win one of 6 $500 VISA® gift cards to treat yourself to a bit of luxury. Enter now for a chance to win…
What do I need to do?
It’s simple; upload your lesson plans and classroom materials before February 13. For each resource you upload, you will receive one entry into the drawing. The more resources you upload, the better your chances of winning!
Uploading is easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. This video shows you how.
What do I win?
You will be entered into a drawing to win one of 6 $500 VISA® gift cards which you can spend on that big screen TV or treat yourself to a designer coat. How you choose to spend the money is completely up to you!
So, get your resources ready; you have until midnight on February 13 to enter for a chance to treat yourself!
For more information, click here.
Know Your Rights- Transfers!
Know Your Rights: Teacher Transfer Policies
Note that these policies only apply to teachers. Support personnel have different transfer policies, especially in Caddo, and less rigid deadlines.
Caddo:
CPSB: GBM
A teacher transferred to a school or position must be certified and qualified for the position to which transferred. Should a person request reassignment to a lesser position, such personnel, upon reassignment, shall be placed in the salary schedule at the level of the new position. Procedures and timelines for requesting, reviewing, interviewing, and making recommendations for transfers of personnel shall be maintained by the Division of Human Resources. All teachers are eligible for transfer during the transfer period, regardless of temporary certification and funding status. Vacant positions must be requested using Caddo School’s official application portal. Transfers will begin May 1st and go through June 30th for the following school year. The Director of Certified Personnel, acting under the authority of the Superintendent, shall be responsible for approving the principal’s recommendation for transfers. Transfer recommendations after June 30th will require approval by the Chief Human Resource Officer. Teachers and the principals will be notified in writing of approved transfers by the Human FILE: GBM Caddo Parish School Board 2 of 2 Resources Department for the upcoming school year. In the event of school closures, those certified teachers affected will be placed first in any vacancies that occur.
Your personnel file/record is the ONLY thing a principal looks at if you are considering transferring to another school or another parish. Make sure you know what is in your personnel file, and that you write rebuttals for everything that goes in your personnel file.
Fine-tune your SLTs and prepare for your observations using Red River United’s After Hours tutoring, FREE to all RRU members and available after-school by appointment. Call 318-424-4579 for more information or to set up an appointment!
Bossier:
BPSB: GBM
You should have already received your Be Back Letter. Make sure you sign your Be Back Letter, and click the box saying that you intend to transfer schools.
Employees who voluntarily request a transfer to another location or position shall submit such request to the Superintendent or principal in writing. Such requests shall be submitted on or before July 15 in order to be considered for the next school year. A written notation of the request to transfer shall also be sent to the employee’s principal or immediate supervisor. All voluntary transfers approved by the Superintendent shall be completed prior to August 1, whenever possible.
A teacher transferred to a school or position must be certified and qualified for the position to which transferred. Should a person request reassignment to a lesser position, such personnel, upon reassignment, shall be placed in the salary schedule at the level of the new position.
You should have already received your Be Back Letter. Make sure you sign your Be Back Letter, and click the box saying that you intend to transfer schools.
Your personnel file/record is the ONLY thing a principal looks at if you are considering transferring to another school or another parish. Make sure you know what is in your personnel file, and that you write rebuttals for everything that goes in your personnel file.
Disciplinary Write-Ups
This pertains to both disciplinary write-ups and evaluations.
If you receive a disciplinary write-up or evaluation result, SEE, SIGN, AND REBUT.
When you are given the paperwork, be sure to SIGN the write-up/evaluation result so you can receive a copy.
Signing a write-up/evaluation result does NOT constitute agreeing with the contents of the write-up/paperwork— it is a record that you have seen the paperwork before it is put into your personnel file.
After you sign the write-up/evaluation, contact Red River United immediately at 318-424-4579 and write a rebuttal. A rebuttal tells YOUR side of the story, and is permanently attached to your personnel file with the write-up.
Your personnel file/record is the ONLY thing a principal looks at if you are considering transferring to another school or another parish. Make sure you know what is in your personnel file, and that you write rebuttals for everything that goes in your personnel file.
OWN YOUR PROFESSION.
Know Your Rights- Evaluations
If you receive an observation or evaluation that is not an accurate representation of your performance, SEE, SIGN, AND REBUT.
When you are given the paperwork, be sure to SIGN the observation/evaluation result so you can receive a copy.
Signing an observation/evaluation does NOT constitute agreeing— it is a record that you have seen the paperwork before it is put into your personnel file.
After you sign the document, the clock begins. In most cases, you have 15 working days to write a rebuttal; however, teachers in Caddo have 48 hours to issue and appeal. Contact Red River United immediately at 318-424-4579.
Your observations and evaluations may determine if you move up on the salary schedule as well as your possibility of becoming tenured.
OWN YOUR PROFESSION.
Know Your Rights- SLTs
What you need to know about Student Learning Targets
Student Learning Targets (SLTs) are a crucial part of a teacher’s COMPASS evaluation. To make sure that your evaluation is an appropriate, accurate and fair representation of your professional abilities, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers offers the following hints for writing your SLTs in collaboration with your principal.
Student Learning Target tips:
- Set reasonable, realistic targets.
- SLTs should include teacher and administrator input.
- Consider including the stipulation that only the scores of students who took both the pre and post assessments will be included in the calculation.
- You might stipulate that a certain attendance factor will determine if a student remains in the SLT group. Refer to language for attendance requirements for updating students in CVR. The same rules should apply when writing SLTs.
- Students with high scores on the pre-assessment instrument may not be capable of achieving their targeted growth. Consider excluding those students from your group.
- SLTs should be written only for the students you teach, based on their specific past performance and pre-assessment data. Do not base them on the performance of the students in the entire school or school district.
- SLTs are intended to be a comparison of where your students were at the beginning of the year and how much they have progressed during the year, based on your teaching, just as a VAM score is based on the progress of only your students.
- Share your SLT drafts with your peers for wording and math calculations.
- Monitor and record student performance throughout the year.
- At midyear, check to see if you are eligible to make changes to your SLTs.
For one-on one assistance or questions, contact us today.
redriverunited@redriverunited.org
318-424-4579