BOSTON TEACHERS UNION, LOCAL 66, AFT180 Mount Vernon StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02125

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BTU Holds Annual Holiday Parties forChildren and Members

SPED Faculty Senate Snubbed byAssistant Superintendent

BTU and the City Honors the Memory ofDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Richard StutmanBTU President

Boston:A Winter Wonderland

Whose Judgment Do You Trust –School Policymakers or School Users?

Union TeacherAFT Local 66, AFL-CIO • Democracy in Education • Volume XLIII, Number 6 • February, 2011

The Award-Winning Newspaper of the Boston Teachers Union

BostonBostonCelebrate Black History MonthCelebrate Black History Month

By James BaldwinHistorical Context: When James

Baldwin gave his talk for teachers itwas 100 years since the Emancipa-tion Proclamation. Much of the civilrights legislation had yet to be passed.George Wallace, governor of Ala-bama, was barring black studentsfrom the state university. MartinLuther King had been jailed in Bir-mingham and four teenage girls hadbeen murdered in the bombing of the16th Street Baptist Church in Bir-mingham.

On the positive side, the March onWashington and King’s “I Had aDream” speech had inspired a na-tion. President John F. Kennedy hadcalled for an end to “Jim Crow Laws.”Malcolm X had brought together ur-ban forces in protest. Martin was theconscience of the movement.Malcolm was the passion of the move-ment. And James Baldwin embodiedthe anger and the memory of an op-pressed people. There was hope andthere was possibility.

! ! ! ! ! ! !

Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very danger-

ous time. Everyone in this room isin one way or another aware of that.We are in a revolutionary situation,no matterhow un-popular thatword hasbecome inthis coun-try. To anycitizen ofthis countrywho figureshimself asresponsible– and par-t i c u l a r l ythose of youwho dealwith the minds and hearts ofyoung people – must be preparedto “go for broke.” Or to put it an-other way, you must understandthat in the attempt to correct somany generations of bad faith andcruelty, when it is operating not onlyin the classroom but in society, youwill meet the most fantastic, themost brutal, and the most deter-

Excerpts from“A Talk to Teachers”

James Baldwin

(continued on page 5)

By Richard StutmanBTU President

MassINC Poll Shows UrbanVoters Overestimate Quality

of Their SchoolsBy State House News Service

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 25,2011 – Nearly half of voters in 11 Massa-chusetts cities give their public schools agrade of A or B and just 12 percent rate theirschools with a D or an F grade, according topoll results released Tuesday.1

“These numbers show that residentsin the 11 Gateway Cities do not perceivesignificant problems with their local pub-lic schools despite data that showunderperformance in key areas,” SteveKoczela, president of the MassINC Poll-ing Group said in a statement.

Eighty-three percent of the 400 regis-tered voters polled Jan. 11-13 gave theirpublic schools a grade of C or higher.

Pollsters released the data with a chartshowing 63 percent of third graders state-wide scored advanced or proficient onthe 2010 English language arts MCASexam, but only 40 percent in Brockton, 37

percent in Fall River, 48 percent inFitchburg, 45 percent in Haverhill, 25percent in Holyoke, 40 percent inLawrence, 41 percent in Lowell, 53 per-cent in New Bedford, 58 percent inPittsfield, 39 percent in Springfield and 45percent in Worcester…

“The concern coming from these pollnumbers is that many residents in Gate-way Cities may be uninformed – or in

denial – about the significanthurdles facing these schools andstudents with closing theachievement gap,” JohnSchneider, executive vice presi-dent of MassINC, said in a state-ment…”

What a great report! Fourtimes as many Massachu-

setts voters give their own pub-lic schools a grade of A or B thangive a D or an F, but we are told that thepublic’s grade does not reflect the realityof how bad these schools truly are. Inother words the policymakers, the politi-cians, and the business leaders – few ofwhom probably use those schools – knowa lot more than the parents, whomMassINC believes are either “unin-formed” or “in denial.”

These voters – they must be stupid – orso MassINC would like us to believe.Perhaps, however, a more accurate head-line should have been, “Poll shows thatpolicymakers, politicians and businessleaders overemphasize test scores whilemislabeling schools.”

Whom do you believe? Isthe glass half-full or half-empty?Well one thing’s for sure: pollshave consistently shown thatthe public likes the schoolstheir own children go to. Infact, our parents like ourschools a lot more thanpolicymakers do.

No one is saying our schoolsare perfect, and no one saidthat schools cannot change for

the better. But there is a lesson to belearned here. We clearly have a situationwhere people who use our schools likethem better than those who judge them.Let me frame this another way. Instead oflabeling those who use the schools aseither naïve or uninformed, might it bemore appropriate to label thosepolicymakers as arrogant?

Could it be maybe, just maybe, thatthose who use the schools, those whowork in the schools, maybe know a littlemore about the schools than thosepolicymakers give them credit for? Putanother way, maybe ‘think’ tanks are notas adept as ‘user’ tanks.

1 http://www.massinc.org/Press-Room/MassINC-News/Poll-Gateway-Cities-grade-their-schools.aspx

Teach for America Gets $100 MillionEndowment As Schools Across the

Country Slash BudgetsWhat’s Wrong With This Picture?

By Garret Virchick

As Boston schools enter the “probable organization” phase of the budget-

ing cycle that happens every year manyteachers, especially provisional teachers,are worried that there will be no positionfor them in the 2011-2012 school year.Once again we are told that we will haveto do more with less. Services for stu-dents will be cut. And our classrooms willonce again be stuffed to capacity (andover capacity) as school buildings areshuttered in the name of fiscal responsi-bility.

This bleak picture is not worryingWendy Kopp and Teach For America.Philanthropist Eli Broad and others haveprovided them with a $100 million endow-

ment. This grant prom-ises to make TFA a per-manent fixture on theeducation landscape,even though many in thefield question the educa-tional benefit of the pro-gram. Is it just me...or isthere something wrongwith this picture?

You’ve seen the bumper stickers.“Wouldn’t it be nice if education got allthe money it needed, and every time themilitary wanted a new bomber they hada bake sale?” Maybe we need a differentone. “Wouldn’t it be nice if corporationspaid their fair share of taxes so public

(continued on page 3)

SPED Faculty Senate Snubbed byAssistant Superintendent

BTU and the City Honors the Memory ofDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Garret Virchick

2 " BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011

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Boston

President

RICHARD F. STUTMAN

Vice President

PATRICK CONNOLLY

Secretary-Treasurer

CHARLES R. JOHNSON

Co-Editors

MICHAEL J. MAGUIREGARRET VIRCHICK

Editorial Board

Caren CarewAngela CristianiJenna Fitzgerald

Robert JangoMichael McLaughlin

Eileen Weir

Commentary: Michael J. Maguire

A New Reason to Love My Job

Commentary: Charles R. JohnsonThe Nightmare of 2010

T he year 2010 came to a closewith sadness and anger for nine

schools, their children, parents, and staffs.The School Committee withits collection of “giants forpublic education” sup-ported the closing of nineschools and the mergingof several others. TheMayor stood safely in thebackground and ap-plauded his gang of repro-bates for their hard workand difficult decision in theschool closures. The vic-tims of their vote sat mo-tionless and cried for theloss and devastation oftheir educational commu-nities and school families.The vote cemented the ef-fectiveness of the Mayoraltoken school committee.Mr. Thomas Menino, as was his inten-tion, was again held “harmless.”

It is impossible to ascertain the damagethis group of pseudo public servants per-

Michael J. Maguire

Ihave a question for all veteran teachers: Why are youstill teaching? It certainly isn’t for the praise you

receive in the media. Nor is it the plush environments inwhich we toil. Perhaps it is the family-friendly schedule.Maybe it’s because you’re an adrenaline junkie whothrives on making the impossible happen using fewerrecourses than MacGyver.

If I were to guess, I’d say that you have stayed inteaching for the same reason I have: our work has apositive impact beyond the daily lessons.

I’m sure you have all seen that Internet gem whereina snooty businessman attempts to embarrass a teacherat a cocktail party. After boasting to all within earshot ofhow big his annual bonus is, he turns to the teacher andasks, “And what do you make?” Instead of quoting hersalary as he expects, she says “I make children sit stillwhen their parents can’t… I make children say that theyare sorry and mean it when they have done somethingwrong… I simultaneously provide individualized in-struction for 30 different students… I make studentswonder at science and marvel at art…In short, I make adifference.”

I’m sure you all have your own story or two to share.

I have three actually. All three are current studentswhom I tutored in the past year or two via the BPS’sHome and Hospitals Program.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Home andHospital Program, it is a multi-functional departmentoffering a variety of support services. I have worked onand off for the department over the years as a hometutor. In that capacity I tutor students who are too ill toattend school but who are well enough to learn. My jobis to deliver their assignments from their schools to theirhomes, tutor them with the assignments, and thenshuttle the completed work back to their schools.

Assisting students is always a good feeling. Ironicallyhome tutoring can make my regular job at Boston LatinAcademy a bit aggravating. For after assisting sick childrenwith their studies, it is irritating to watch perfectly healthykids complain about their workload.

This year my classroom experience is vastly differ-ent. This year for the first time I have three of my formerhome-tutees in my classroom. They are in differentgrades, they overcame different health issues, and theyall work harder than the average student. Watchingthem prosper is inspirational.

Even parent-teachernights were differentthis year. When the par-ents of these studentssat down with me, wedidn’t talk about grades.We became reac-quainted and renewedfriendly conversationsthat were begun at their kitchen tables. And while theirchildren are doing well academically, the only thing ontheir minds was “Thank God my child is healthy.”

So this Valentine’s Day I have a new reason to love myjob. And while it is depressing to read about WashingtonD.C.’s latest Race To The Bottom scheme or BeaconHill’s confused charter school policies; it is reassuring tosee that students – when given support – can and doflourish. I walk into my classroom these days not to findsomething new to complain about but to find new waysto be thankful for what I do and what I have. I am proudof these kids and am thrilled that the BPS does such agreat job ensuring that an illness does not mean aninterruption in a child’s education.

Charles R. JohnsonBTU Secretary-Treasurer

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petrated on the children and staffs of theschools that were destroyed so cavalierly.At the School Committee meeting in De-

cember the students, par-ents and staff trulythought they had an op-portunity to sway thecommittee not to vote infavor of SuperintendentCarol Johnson’s ill-con-ceived closure plan. Thehard facts rose to thesurface after the commit-tee members describedthe savings that thisround of closures andconsolidations wouldprovide. You would havethought by their pre-pared speeches that thisvote would have closedthe entire $65,000,000budget gap!

The committee, however, was as coldas the weather when the final vote wastaken. They sat enduring hours of emo-tionally charged pleas from the public and

then navigated the path laid out for themby the Mayor. Merry Christmas.

Mayor Menino, the true architect of theschool closings, had earlier informed theBoston business community that hisschool committee was in the bag and notto worry about the vote. If you find myclaim outlandish, then I invite you to readhis speech for yourself.

Perhaps the most damning thing tocome out of the closing procedures wasthe December 2, 2010 email from MarcKenen to his fellow charter school sup-porters. That email gleefully gloated of asecret meeting with city officials who wouldorchestrate it so that the newly closed schoolswould be readied for “charter schools.”

Our school committee and Mayor (onein the same) are more concerned aboutbuilding a legacy than lifting public educa-tion. How many times have we heard thatMr. Menino is the “education mayor”? Hehas just demonstrated that he is solelyconcerned with his aura of being one ofthe top mayors in this nation.

It became apparent that the school com-mittee had no idea how they would pull offthe school closings without losingMenino’s support. The schools chosenwere in communities that had alwaysblindly been in his political camp.

My prediction is that the mayor willnext be a salesman for the proliferation ofcharter schools to fill the void he himselfcreated. You can count on numerous pressreleases supporting his vision and cour-age. The Globe will give him adulation fordoing what is best for the city. The busi-ness community will thank him for think-ing out of the box, and especially for redi-recting public funds. The public shouldthank him for unabashedly supporting thebusiness agenda!

Truly, it is easy to point out the flaws inour superintendent’s “Redesign and Rein-vest” program. When I first learned of thisnew educational revelation, I thought it

had some possibilities. What happenednext was perplexing. And like many oth-ers that have originated from that office,the plan has changed… and not for thebetter.

This latest program has morphed intounjustified school closings and changessoon to be seen in special education. First,let us examine the school budget.

Has the budget been adjusted in a timelyfashion over the past several years underher stewardship? Where are the adjust-ments that the school system made as costrose and funding disappeared? How havewe seen that her administration showedthe leadership necessary to change be-fore the situation became cataclysmic?This “redesign” is no different than pastadministrations realizing that the cost wasnot amortized. During public hearings,the cuts and closings were presented asthe only way to prevent continued fundingshortfalls. How do we believe “redesign”is not putting us on the precipice of afinancial disaster in the next financial cycle?We lack proof that the calculations arecorrect and not skewed with assumption.

The term “Reinvest” implies that thereis something to invest. In the school com-mittee meetings, the members admittedthat they did not have sufficient money tomake the classrooms productive. Yet therenever was a thought from one member ofthe school committee to ask for increasedfunding. In every meeting each schoolcommittee member spoke to the need totighten our virtual financial belts.

Veteran educators (teachers and head-masters) thought this was déjà vu, as noone could remember any other scenario.This group could not remember whenthey had not needed to adjust for fiscalshortfalls. There is absolutely no faith inthe Boston Public Schools system’s abilityto provide fiscal stability when that stabil-ity is in the sole control of one person, theMayor!

The Mayor has been open in his assaulton the public school system and the publicemployees of his city. He has openly voicedhis opposition to any education plan thatwould diminish his control of the schools.Maybe this is the year that the mayordismisses the school committee and thesuperintendent so that he can reduce thedistortion of his orders!

In short, he still wants to bear the title“Savior of Boston’s Public School System.”

(Charles R. Johnson is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Boston Teachers Union.)

BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011 " 3

How do I transfer out of my school?Permanent teachers are eligible to participate in the transfer process. Human Resources

projects [Superintendent’s Circular HRS-HS-7; Staffing, Reassignment & Hiring for SY 2010-11]that the transfer list will be on the MYBPS HUB intranet system on or about March 2nd for 10working days after the posting on their website. This website will be the only means of postingsaid positions. Teachers must apply online and may do so for up to five [5] positions.

The contract states, “Positions held by provisional teachers with a letter of reasonable assuranceshall be eligible to apply for transfers to their own positions under the transfer process. However,any permanent teacher who seeks a position to which a provisional teacher has applied under thissection will be granted an interview by the School Site Council Personnel Subcommittee.” It ismandatory that the SSC Personnel Subcommittee of each school screen and interviewcandidates from the transfer list.

Contract language details, “Teachers may be considered for transfer in any subject area inwhich they recertify…, even if they do not hold an active Boston program area; however, a school’sPersonnel Subcommittee shall not be required to select any such individual.” …“In cases wherethere is only one applicant for a vacancy in the transfer posting, the personnel subcommittee willnot be required to hire that single applicant, and the vacancy will go into the excess pool.”…“Transfers will take effect the following September, unless the posting otherwise provides.” …”In theevent that a position sought through transfer no longer exists on the effective date of transfer, theperson seeking the transfer shall remain in his/her position as if the vacancy had not been posted.”

The transfer list is the opportunity for candidates inside BPS to apply for other BPS teachingjobs. Applicants fill out the on-line data which is transmitted to HR, screened and then sent toeach respective school. I suggest in addition to the mandatory on-line process, you also activelypursue these job(s) by contacting the principal at the prospective school by crafting a strongcover letter highlighting your specific skills as they relate to programs at their school. Do somehomework about the school and reflect that knowledge in tailoring your cover letter empha-sizing your attributes and their applicability to the specific job opening at their school.

Principals see their school as the most important, and as a result, want to know how you asa skilled team player will help raise those test scores and contribute to a positive school culturegoing forward. Update your resume. Send/bring copies of it to the interview. I’ve heardteachers ‘assume’ that Court Street sends the prospective school ‘all of their info’ so that theyarrive empty handed to interviews. Court Street does not send any info other than the data youfill out on-line to apply. If you have a portfolio, it is a good idea to bring it along as well. If youhaven’t developed one, start to collect exemplary examples of student work, projects you’vedone, curriculum you’ve developed, etc. and bring this along with you to interviews to helpillustrate your attributes and to distinguish you from the pack.

How does the Personnel Subcommitteeof the School Site Council work?

The Personnel Subcommittee of each school’s School Site Council interviews and decideson the selection of permanent teachers who voluntarily apply for transfer into the school. Theyare encouraged to participate in the hiring of all teachers into the school, but are only mandatedto do so during the first teacher transfer posting at this time according to the contract. SSCPersonnel Subcommittees also recommend new athletic coaching appointments at eachschool. In addition, school-based New Teacher Developers will be selected from the qualifiedpool of eligible teachers at that school by the School Site Subcommittee.

The Personnel Subcommittee is made up of two teachers and one parent from the SSC, aswell as the Principal/Headmaster/Program Director. SSC teacher members, elect who amongthem will be the two representatives to serve on the Personnel Subcommittee. Teacher andparent representatives on the SSC Personnel Subcommittee may designate temporary replace-ment representatives according to the position being filled. These temporary replacements donot need to be members of the SSC. For example, a special education teacher may replace ateacher on the Personnel Subcommittee when a special education position is being filled. Theteachers who are SSC members designate temporary BTU teacher replacements on theSubcommittee if they choose to. The Principal does not select the BTU members to serve on theSubcommittee. As in all SSC decision making, members of the Council and its Subcommitteeare urged to reach decisions by consensus. Decisions need to be formalized by majority votewith the Principal/Headmaster/Program Director voting with the majority.

What is job-sharing and who can participate?The BTU will hold a Job-Sharing Info Session at the BTU on Monday, March 7th, from

4-6, where all people interested in participating may attend to gain information and to assistin finding a partner. Eligible participants in the program are; all permanent BTU membersincluding teachers, psychologists, nurses, guidance counselors, etc.; provisional once theyhave been hired for the next school year, and substitutes once they have received a provisionalcontract.

Job-sharing is when two eligible participants split a single job in a manner agreed upon bythe job-sharing partners and the principal who will be hosting them. The principal must approvethe job-sharing to occur as well as how the logistics are carried out. Job-sharers each must workhalf time. As a result, they earn one-half the pay, full health insurance and health & welfarebenefits, one half of the allocated sick and personal days, for retirement purposes a job-shareyear counts as half-salary, they maintain a full year’s seniority, they must work the entire 18hours of professional development and must attend both parent conference nights and allprofessional development days.

The teacher, who is job-sharing in their own school, retains attachment rights to that site.The visiting teacher who is job-sharing retains attachment rights to their former site for oneyear. If the visiting teacher job-shares at a school other than their original site for more than ayear, they lose their attachment rights back to that site. In order to apply for and to receiveliterature from the BTU and the School Department about job-sharing, you must fill out anapplication of interest form through the Office of Human Resources Circular.

Know YourRights...

by Caren CarewSecondary Field Representative

(continued from page 1)

Teach for America Gets $100 MillionEndowment As Schools Across the CountrySlash Budgets…

schools wouldn’t be forced to com-pete for foundation money?”

Corporate America has beentrying to influence public educa-tion for years (see box highlight-ing 1947 AFT pamphlet). When Iwent into teaching 25 years agoone of the first things I noticed inmy school were huge billboardswith glitzy messages from teenidols, and at the bottom a series ofjunk food advertisements. WhenI asked why we would put up anadvertisement for something thatwe might be trying to educate ourstudents to stay away from I wastold, not unexpectedly, the schoolneeded the money.

Around the same time many ofus had televisions and VCRs do-nated to our schools by WhittleCommunications. In return wehad to promise to expose our stu-dents to Channel One’s daily 10minute puff news program whichincluded, you guessed it, threeminutes of commercials. Whittle’splan to make money off publiceducation went belly up in 1994.But corporate plans to influenceand profit from schools are aliveand well. And Wendy Kopp iscertainly reaping the benefits witha salary that is over $250,000 peryear.

Let’s be clear. There are manyyoung graduates who truly be-lieve they are doing the right thingby joining Teach For America.And a few even stay and maketeaching a career. But the powerand influence TFA now has overthe future of our profession prom-ises to push us further and furtheraway from an education that mightencourage our students to ques-tion corporate influence on ourlives.

In the Spring 2010 edition of

Rethinking Schools, former TFAteacher Alex Diamond ques-tions some of their practices inhis article “Do I Really Teach forAmerica? Reflections of a Teachfor America Teacher.” “As a mem-ber of TFA, and because of itssignificant influence in public edu-cation, I have been disappointedby its avoidance of more progres-sive reforms, pedagogy, and cur-ricular training. This is not, how-ever, particularly surprising if youconsider that TFA has grown byleaps and bounds in large partdue to its considerable fundingbase. Closing the achievement gapby providing youth in strugglingcommunities with an excellent edu-cation is an easy sell to main-stream corporate donors. Doingso with teaching and open discus-sions that challenge social powerstructures and fundamental in-equalities might put off TFA donorslike Visa and Goldman Sachs, whoare deeply entrenched within thesepower structures. Perhaps TFA isclose to all it can be, at least so longas it wishes to maintain its size andinfluence.”

Corporate America, and it’sfoundations, are getting a largerand larger say about the future ofpublic schools. The money theypour into their foundations is thesurplus profit they make whentheir lobbyists influence legisla-tures to keep corporate tax rateslow. Instead of schools as demo-cratic institutions, we are moreand more beholden to corpora-tions that continue to outsourcework overseas and force more andmore people into poverty.

It’s difficult to fault schools fordoing whatever they need to doto maintain adequate funding.

(continued on page 5)

!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTU Elections Committee Notice:

Biennial Elections Timeline

January: Nomination Papers available in BTUoffice

February: Nomination of Election Committee atmembership meeting (Anyone running for full-time office or Executive Board may not serve onthe Election Committee.)

March: Election Committee receives nominationpapers from candidates for all positions at Marchmembership meeting

March: Nomination papers are validated byElection Committee

May: 1st Wednesday - Preliminary Election (if necessary)June: 1st Wednesday - Final Election

Positions on Ballot:Full-time:President; Executive Vice-President; SecretaryTreasurer; Political Director; Paraprofessional/Substitute Field Rep; Elementary Field Rep;Secondary Field Rep.Other:Executive BoardPara Council, Delegate to AFL-CIO, AFT, AFTMassachusetts and Greater Boston Labor Council

4 " BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011

On Monday, January 17, 2011, a consortium of religious and civic organizations organized the 41st

annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast in Boston. Despite the coldest tempera-ture in a year, nearly one thousand people gathered to honor the achievements of one of America’sgreatest citizens.

The theme for this year’s breakfast was Not a Day Off but a Day of Service. Various guest speakersfrom politicians to pastors stressed how Dr. King served his fellow man both from his pulpit and in hispolitics. They urged us to keep MLK’s spirit alive by not avoiding work on this holiday but instead byhelping out others in our community.

In recognition for their outstanding civic commitments, five hardworking BPS students wereawarded $2,500 each in scholarships. The winners were Kevin Chan, Marleah Cunnins, and JadeArnold Scott from the John D. O’Byrant HS, Sandy Germain from the Jeremiah E. Burke HS, andVashti Desroches, from Madison Park Technology and Vocational HS. These students were chosenbased upon their submissions to an essay-writing contest.

Also honored for their artist talent were Orchard Garden students Jonuel Laboy, Antonio Martin,Juliennette Perez Torres, Janelin Pineyro, and Edna Ramirez. This year’s artistic theme wasWhat Dr. King’s Dream Means To Me. Their art was on display at the breakfast for all to see. A specialthank you went to their art teacher, Mr. Chris Plunkett.

As usual, the Boston Teachers Union contributed to the event by purchasing a table. In attendancewere Richard Stutman, President; Caren Carew, Secondary Field Rep.; Brenda Hyde, Kenny ES;Marilyn Marion, retired; Carolyn Tabor, Peer Assistant; Sharon Watson Beck, Taylor ES; herdaughter Sharnique Beck, alumna of Hernandez ES and TechBoston HS; and Michael Maguire,BLA.

The BPS was even present in the music of the morning. Singing for the crowd was recent BLAgraduate Jessica Johnson. Ms. Johnson is currently studying at Berkley College of Music.

BTU and the City Honors the Memoryof Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

RetireeMarilyn Marionand PeerAssistantCarolyn Tabor

Brenda Hyde of theKenny ElementarySchool

Peer Assistant Carolyn Tabor andBTU Secondary Field Rep. Caren Carew

Boston Latin Academy Alumna Jessica Johnsonprovided music to the MLK Breakfast

BTU President Richard Stutman andBoston Latin Academy’s Michael Maguire

Sharnique Beck and hermother Sharon WatsonBeck of the TaylorElementary School

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.1929-1968

BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011 " 5

Excerpts from “A Talk to Teachers”…(continued from page 1)

James Baldwinappeared on the cover

of Time Magazine onMay 17, 1963.

mined resistance. There is no point in pretending that this won’t happen.…Now the crucial paradox which confronts us here is that the whole process of

education occurs within a social framework and is designed to perpetuate the aimsof society… The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to becomeconscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. Thepurpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world forhimself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, todecide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of theuniverse, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his ownidentity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societiesreally, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society…

Now, if what I have tried to sketch has any validity, it becomes thoroughly clear, atleast to me, that any Negrowho is born in this countryand undergoes the Americaneducational system runs therisk of becoming schizo-phrenic. On the one hand heis born in the shadow of thestars and stripes and he is as-sured it represents a nationwhich has never lost a war.He pledges allegiance to thatflag which guarantees “lib-erty and justice for all.” He ispart of a country in whichanyone can become presi-dent, and so forth. But on the

other hand he is also assured by his country and his countrymen that he has nevercontributed anything to civilization – that his past is nothing more than a record ofhumiliations gladly endured…

All this enters the child’s consciousness much sooner than we as adults wouldlike to think it does. As adults, we are easily fooled because we are so anxious to befooled. But children are very different. Children, not yet aware that it is dangerous tolook too deeply at anything, look at everything, look at each other, and draw theirown conclusions. They don’t have the vocabulary to express what they see, and we,their elders, know how to intimidate them very easily and very soon. But a black

child, looking at the worldaround him, though he cannotknow quite what to make of it,is aware that there is a reasonwhy his mother works so hard,why his father is always onedge. He is aware that there issome reason why, if he sitsdown in the front of the bus,his father or mother slaps himand drags him to the back ofthe bus. He is aware thatthere is some terrible weighton his parents’ shoulderswhich menaces him. And itisn’t long – in fact it beginswhen he is in school – be-fore he discovers the shapeof his oppression…

… I began by sayingthat one of the paradoxesof education was that pre-cisely at the point whenyou begin to develop aconscience, you mustfind yourself at war withyour society. It is your re-sponsibility to change so-ciety if you think of your-self as an educated per-

son. And on the basis of the evidence – the moral and political evidence – one iscompelled to say that this is a backward society…

Now if I were a teacher in this school, or any Negro school, and I was dealing withNegro children, who were in my care only a few hours of every day and would thenreturn to their homes and to the streets, children who have an apprehension of theirfuture which with every hour grows grimmer and darker, I would try to teach them– I would try to make them know – that those streets, those houses, those dangers,those agonies by which they are surrounded, are criminal… I would teach him thatthere are currently very few standards in this country which are worth a man’srespect. That it is up to him to change these standards for the sake of the life and thehealth of the country. I would suggest to him that the popular culture – as repre-sented, for example, on television and in comic books and in movies – is based onfantasies created by very ill people, and he must be aware that these are fantasiesthat have nothing to do with reality. I would teach him that the press he reads is notas free as it says it is – and that he can do something about that, too. I would try tomake him know that just as American history is longer, larger, more various, morebeautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it, so is theworld larger, more daring, more beautiful and more terrible, but principally larger –and that it belongs to him.

(Delivered October 16, 1963, as “The Negro Child – His Self-Image;” originallypublished in The Saturday Review, December 21, 1963, reprinted in The Price of theTicket, Collected Non-Fiction 1948-1985, Saint Martins 1985.)

Historical Context from Ty dePass of Work For Quality Schools.

Famed American novelist James Baldwin wascommemorated on a U.S. Postage Stamp in 2004.

Merit Pay: A Bad Idea in 1947,A Bad Idea Today

t a time when the United States should be engaged in athorough democratization of its own school system, in order to

demonstrate the democratic process to a war-torn world, the veryfoundations of the democratic structure of our school system arethreatened by the proposal to base salaries on rating and thus throwteachers’ salary schedules wide open to political control and manipu-lation. It is highly dangerous to American democracy to attempt toplace the education of children on a production line basis or to weighthe services of teachers in the same manner as a marketable commod-ity in industry.”

“No measuring device has ever been invented, or ever will beinvented, by which supervisors or school administrators can deter-mine exactly how many dollars one teacher is better than another. Onthe other hand the basing of teachers’ salaries on rating schemeswould place in the hands of school politicians a powerful weapon bywhich the freedom and initiative of the classroom teachers would beseriously curtailed and political bootlicking, rather than professionalefficiency in the classroom, would be encouraged.”

“The so-called merit rating system in the public schools is an attempt toapply to American education the incentive plans which have resulted insuch gross exploitation of workers in American industry.”

(Excerpts from 1947 AFT pamphlet entitled “Should Teachers’ Sala-ries Be Based on Rating?”)

“A

(continued from page 3)

Teach for America Gets $100 Million Endowment AsSchools Across the Country Slash Budgets…

Legislatures have fallen all over them-selves positioning themselves for Raceto the Top funding by opening thefloodgates and letting in more andmore privatized charter schools. Buthow long before schools start to beopened with names like Exxon-MobilGreen High School or Goldman SachsCharter High School for Young Entre-preneurs?

The economic crisis the world iscurrently experiencing has sparkedcountless protests. Students in En-gland have stood up as the govern-

ment has tried to increase education fees.Cuts in education have moved studentsin Italy to occupy the Leaning Tower ofPisa demanding adequate funding. Feb-ruary is Black History month. The fightfor a good public education has been atthe center of the African-American expe-rience. As we struggle this year and nextyear in underfunded public schools try-ing to do right by our students we need toremember the words of FrederickDouglass, “Power concedes nothing with-out a demand. It never did and it neverwill.”

6 " BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011

Does someone you knowwork at a charter school?

AFT Massachusetts needs your help reaching out to employees ofMassachusetts charter schools in order to share with them important

information regarding:# A voice in decision making

# Quality professional development opportunities# Job security

# Competitive salaries and benefits# Classroom resources

For more information, contact Dan Justice atjustice65@gmail.com or call 802-324-5886.

Learn more about AFT’s Alliance of CharterTeachers and Staff by visiting: www.aftacts.org

Organizing Our Future

Saturday, February 26, 2011 • 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. • Boston Teacher’s Union

180 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125

Join us Saturday, February 26th as we ‘Organize Our Future’ to

foster and develop the skills of young union members to lead the

next generation within the labor movement.

Saturday, February 26th

For more information, contact Rosa Blumenfeld at 617.723.2370

or at rblumenfeld@gblc.us

Greater Boston Labor Council, AFL-CIO Futures Committee

BTU DEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIPSThis year there will be 16 scholarships in the amount of $1,000 awarded to high

school seniors who are dependents of BTU members. To apply, please obtain anapplication from Jeanne Turner in the Union office or download the form from theBTU website and return with: a transcript of the dependent’s last two years ofacademic work; 2) evidence of acceptance by an accredited college, junior college,vocational school or equivalent institution; 3) member’s notarized federal taxreturn for the year 2010; and 4) a one-page statement of the dependent’s profes-sional goals. The application and the four supporting documents must bereceived in the Union office no later than Wednesday, April 13, 2011. Therecipients of the scholarships will be notified by May 18, 2011.

RETIRED TEACHERS CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIPSEach year the Retired Teachers Chapter of the Boston Teachers Union awards

three scholarships to deserving high school seniors who are children, grandchil-dren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews of RTC members. One ofthese scholarships is earmarked for a student who might choose to attend avocational school or equivalent institution.

Applications for these scholarships my be picked up at the RTC/BTU offices at180 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125 or they can be downloaded from theBTU website. The deadline to apply is April 22, 2011.

On January 20th at the BTU over 40seats were filled with teachers,

ETF’s, related service providors, para-professionals and school psychologists.One seat was conspicuously empty. Thatwas the seat expected to be filled by JohnVerre, the new BPS AssistantSuperintendant for Special Education. Inmid-December John Verre accepted aninvitation from the SPED Faculty Senateto come and introduce himself, share hisvision for changes to special educationand to take questions from the audience.This meeting was advertised for over amonth and many BTU members werelooking forward to an open exchange ofinformation and views. Less than a weekbefore the meeting Verre left a phone

Where’s John? – SPED Faculty Senate Snubbed by Assistant Superintendentmessage saying that he could not comebecause items that are being discussed innegotiations for our new contract couldcome up. The chair woman of the SPEDFaculty Senate quickly responded that heshould come anyway and that we re-spected his right to decline to commenton any questions related to negotiations,no problem. This is a common practicefor both administrators and union offi-cials during negotiations. Verre did notreturn this phone call.

We are very disappointed that JohnVerre did not feel that he could come andspeak to the women and men who spend5 days a week working with students withspecial needs. He missed the opportunityto present his new vision for special edu-

cation, which we now hear about only inbits and pieces, second or third hand. Ifhe respects the work that we do, if hewants to have school staff included in thedevelopment and implementation ofneeded changes to our special educationprograms, this was not the message hesent.

And what were some of the questionsthat Dr. Verre felt might have compro-mised BPS’s position at the bargainingtable.

- What are the plans to make improve-ments in specialized services called Ap-plied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for ourautistic students? Currently teachers re-port that parents are concerned aboutgetting more services in the home. Stu-dents are waiting too long for evaluationsand starting services.

- How can we make transportation forSPED students safer? Transportation con-cerns include among other things thelack of seat belts for students who havebolted off the bus and are not safe withoutseat belts.

- We began the year with a new formatfor writing Individual Education Plans.The old manual was no longer to be used.Training was minimal or nonexistent andwe are still waiting for more systematicand uniform information to be providedto all. What is the plan to address this?

- Some SPED students participate in asummer program that helps them main-tain the gains they make during the schoolyear. Are there plans to monitor the qual-ity of the summer program and providemore materials and support?

- Changes in how to determinecaseload numbers for related servicesproviders have been brought up at nego-tiations by the SPED Administration. We

had hoped to learn about Verre’s visionfor changes he feels would improve theeffectiveness of how related services pro-viders deliver their services and what thismight mean for caseload numbers. Thisis a question that Verre could have ad-dressed generally without talking num-bers or declined to comment on.

- One of the things many of us haveheard is that Mr Verre’s new vision in-cludes a big emphasis on inclusion. Wehave had some experiences and haveconcerns like the need for adequate roomfor specialized equipment (i.e. pronestander) that we had hoped to share.

- What should teachers or other staffdo if IEP’s, which are legal documents,are not being implemented as written (i.e.combining classrooms) or classes areoverenrolled?

- The Office of Instructional Technol-ogy used to provide excellent trainings toteachers and related service providersthat brought knowledge and tech equip-ment into the classrooms. Teachers needshelp and support in modifying the cur-riculum for severely handicapped stu-dents. We would like to know when wecan expect more professional develop-ment opportunities that are specific to theneeds of special education students.

- And of course there was the questionabout what will happen next year if theETF positions are eliminated. Who willdo the work ETF’s currently do? Willthere be adequate training? How can weafford to lose the expertise and skill ofthese professionals? But again – we madeit clear that Verre could have declined tocomment on this.

Are these questions so threateningthat they would negatively impact con-tract negotiations? We don’t think so.These are questions that we should beasking and having answered. A frankdiscussion of these issues and otherscould only help the tone of negotiationsby establishing a feeling of working to-gether and mutual respect. These are keyto providing the best possible learningenvironment for our students and thatwould be a very favorable outcome ofnegotiations. We again invite John Verreto join us at a SPED Faculty Senate meet-ing to share his vision for needed changesin special education and to address ourquestions and concerns. We do reallybelieve that establishing relationships andopening up communication will benefiteveryone, especially our students.

– The SPED Faculty Senate

Above:The SPED

Faculty Senatewaits for new

AssistantSuperintendent

John Verreto arrive.

Left:Dr. Verre seatremains vacant.

BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011 " 7

NewsBTU Retired Teachers Chapter

When you retire, you are no longer a member of theUnion because you no longer pay dues. And, youare no longer a member of the Health andWelfare Fund, which means you no longer havedental coverage and eyeglass coverage.

If you wish to continue your connection to theUnion, you can join the Retired Teachers Chapter(RTC). The dues will be taken from your retirementcheck each month ($5 for teachers, $2.50 for paras).

The RTC offers a dental insurance benefit to its members for a fee eachmonth. Our Dental Plan covers members only and their spouse. You canalso avail yourself of COBRA coverage through Health and Welfare for 18months after retiring. For info on COBRA, call 1-617-288-0500.

FILL IN THE COUPON AND RETURN TO THE RTC TO RECEIVE APACKET OF INFORMATION ON THE RTC, Hopefully, after reading theinfo, you will fill in the blue card and return it to us.

(Eileen Ganley is RTC Membership Chairperson.)

INFORMATION FOR NEW RETIREES

Complete the information below and we will send you the application form.

Name ______________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________

City/Town/State/Zip ___________________________________________________

Email _______________________________________________________________

Telephone ___________________________________________________________

Circle your previous position: Teacher Paraprofessional

Send this form to: BTU-RTC, 180 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125

By Sandra M. Carle andLawrence J. Connolly

RTC Legislative Committee Co-chairs

Public employee pensions are underattack daily, not only in Boston and

Massachusetts but nationally. Constantlywe are told by the Paul Grogans (BostonFoundation CEO) of the world that thereason school children do not have paperis because public employees receive suchexorbitant pensions and benefits. Thepress delights in carrying stories of pen-sions systems and government units thathave gone into bankruptcy and stoppedpaying pensions and insurance benefitsto retirees. Has this happened? Yes! Couldit happen here? Yes – if the pension sys-tem or city or state went into bankruptcy.Will it happen here? That is highly un-likely as the city and state pension re-serves cover about 2/3 of projected liabili-ties and are on the road to full fundingover the next 20 to 30 years.

Pensions, COLAs, Health Insurance and MoreWhile the pension benefits of current

recipients are fairly safe, those of futurerecipients are the subject of pending leg-islation that will severely decrease theirexpected benefits. Proposals to base ben-efits on the highest five-year average in-stead of the highest 3 year average, to usea factor of 0.0875% instead of 0.1% for eachyear of service, and raising the early re-tirement and full retirement ages from 55and 65 to 57 and 67 respectively all butwipe out the early retirement incentivebenefits of the 2001 legislation – thoughthe increased employee contribution of11% remains in place. Proposals are alsobeing advanced to cap the total pensionsto a maximum of $88,000 per year – nottoo much higher then what some highlypaid teachers are eligible for currently.Remember, with inflation, that $88,000may not look so high in a decade or so.

The only bright spot in the whole pen-sion argument is that Boston retirees

MAY finally get a COLA increase – in-cluding retired teachers. While all otherteachers in the state are under the Massa-chusetts Teachers Retirement System andconsidered state employees, Bostonteachers fall under the jurisdiction of theBoston Retirement Board. We askedMichael McLaughlin to get a ruling onwhere Boston teachers fall and the Re-tirement Board attorney researched thelaw and ruled we were covered under therecently passed (2010) legislation thatallows municipal systems to grant annualCOLA’s of up to 3% on up to the first$16,000, instead of $12,000 as was theprevious limit. The board has not sched-uled a hearing date on that vote as of presstime but if we receive enough advancenotice, we’ll try to arrange bus transporta-tion from the BTU to City Hall so ourmembers may attend. Keep posted.

The biggest financial threat retirees aswell as active city employees face, is theattack on their health insurance benefits.Mayors and town administrators state-wide are demanding “plan design” onhealth benefits just as the Commonwealthhas through the Group Insurance Com-mission (GIC). This would remove healthinsurance from collective bargaining andallow the city to increase drug and doc-tor/hospital copays as well as employeepremium contribution anytime and to anyamount it chooses. Many workers andretirees under GIC saw huge increases inthe past year to cover state budget short-falls and there was no collective bargain-ing to mitigate the cost.

The outlook for winning the battle onhealth insurance looks bleak. In the eventthat we miraculously are able to persuadethe City Council and the Legislature notto remove the collective bargaining pro-viso on health insurance, the mayor alongwith the Mass Municipal Association havesaid they will seek to put it on the ballot in2012. You can be sure that every kid whogot a detention in grade 5 or speeder who

got a ticket for going 75 in a 35 mile zone,will vote to get even! The bill will passoverwhelmingly, and the Globe will ap-plaud the harried taxpayers who did whatthey needed to do to keep food on thetable.

While the odds are not on our side, wemust not capitulate. If we roll over on this,the next assault on our hard earned ben-efits starts the next day. Retirees mustsupport the active members and theymust support us as very quickly the activeemployees move into the retiree category.Also, those retirees who attended ourhuge Pension and Health Insurance Fairin April of 2009, heard the head of theBoston Retirement Board tell us that ourpensions were “safe” as they represent acontractual obligation on the part of theCity BUT retiree health insurance is notcontractual and is a good will benefitgiven to retirees basically out of the good-ness of its heart. Hopefully, that heartdoes not break – especially if you do nothave MEDICARE to fall back on!

Richard Stutman has been exception-ally good to retirees. He has providedtransportation and lunch to us on the fivetimes we went to Beacon Hill to lobby theLegislature and Governor as well as forour Pension and Health Insurance Fair in2009. WE still need his support as we tryto maintain and improve our benefits.However, he also needs our support now,more than ever, to continue advocatingfor active and retired members. You maybe called upon to lobby our elected lead-ers as you did so effectively in our pastDay on the Hill events. If you get anincreased COLA in July, remember yourvoice made it happen. We hope when thecall goes out for help, all the 650 RTCmembers who went to Beacon Hill in2008 and the over 1200 members whoattended the Pension and Health Ben-efits Fair in 2009, will answer the call.Remember, the benefits you save, may beyour own!

RTC Executive Board MinutesDecember 13, 2010

Members present: Anne Broder, Trea-surer; Marie Broderick; Mary Cahalane;Sandy Carle; Larry Connolly; DaveDonovan, Chairman; Phil Fasano; EileenGanley; Donna Cooley-Hilton; RuthanneKennedy; Linda McNamee; MarilynMarion, Secretary; Leonard Miraglia, ViceChairman; Mary Jo Murphy and PaulTenney.

Excused: Bonnie Mitten and AnneMarie Adduci.

Meeting was called to order by theChairman at 10:10 a.m.

ReportsSecretary: Minutes were read and ac-

cepted.Treasurer: No activity. Report Ac-

cepted.Vice Chairman: We have 1431 DELTA

members. The new rates are $45 for singleand $90 for double. These rates will be-come effective in January, 2011.

Chairman: Chairman requested thathis report be placed at the end of themeeting. The Board accepted his request.

CommitteesSocial: 682 attendees at the fall lun-

cheon. Report Accepted.Benefits: No report.Remembrance: Nine members’ fami-

lies received cards of condolences.Scholarship: Committee chairs are

working on an article for the January edi-tion of the Boston Union Teacher. ReportAccepted.

Travel: The Committee chairs endedthe year with a wonderful trip to the Berk-shires on December 5th and 6th. They at-tended the Norman Rockwell Museum;enjoyed the art work of Jerry Pinkney; hada delicious dinner at an inn in Lenox; spentthe night in Great Barrington; attendedthe Pittsfield Museum to see the Festivalof the Trees and to the Yankee Candle inDeerfield. The Committee chairs are pre-paring for the 2011travel season with Yan-kee Bus Line and will be mailing out travelplans sometime in February. Report Ac-cepted.

Legislative: The chair received a phonecall from Ken Brown, the Governor’sDeputy Chief of Staff/Operations regard-ing the letter sent to the Governor’s officeon October 15. This letter was sent regard-

ing the Governor’s lack of response toletters sent by the membership. Mr. Brownsaid that the governor never received theletters and that he will have a policy personresearch the whereabouts of the lettersand will respond accordingly. Chairs dis-cussed the issues regarding insuranceand GIC. Report Accepted.

Richard Stutman was passing by atthis time and added to the discussing byoffering the following topics:

• Mayor’s Home Rule Petition• Proposals presented to the Unions

and their response• City’s estimate for anyone in Harvard

Pilgrim• Retirees• Estimated costs• Pension reform• Pension COLA and whether we

would be includedData Processing: With the help of the

IT person, the Chair launched a proposedRTC newsletter. The chair is also testingthe possibility of using Mail Chimp. Inaddition, he is looking into offering com-puter classes to members who may beinterested in learning basic computer skills.

Membership: We have 98 new mem-bers giving us a total of 2,752 members.

Chairman: Chairman will be attend-ing the National Conference for Retireesin February and then will travel to Port-land. Chairman is interested in offeringforeign travel to the membership. Chair-man had researched travel packages withShow of the Month. They are interested inputting together trips that seem to be quiteeconomical. In addition, Show of the Monthis interested in supporting a golf tourna-ment. Chairman emphasized that he willassume the responsibility of this traveloffering and that it would not fall on theshoulders of the Travel Committee. Thisdiscussion was tabled until next meeting.Report Accepted.

Old Business:• Driver course was canceled due to

the lack of interest.• Three caps were sold at the lun-

cheon.New Business: The business meet-

ing needs to be scheduled next month.Next RTC meeting is Monday, January 10,2011.

Respectfully submitted,Marilyn Marion, Secretary

8 " BOSTON UNION TEACHER " February, 2011

There’s at least one moment every few days when I think to myself:

“Teaching really is the best career in the world.” Sometimes this

thought is spurred on when a student finally understands a concept.

Other days it’s activated by the zing of a vibrant classroom discussion.

Sometimes it comes from the unadulterated joy making a tough text

like Shakespeare accessible. But, in the case of this winter, my teacher

euphoria came from our DOUBLE SNOW DAY off from school!

Before diving into grading and planning (yes, we still work during

days off, but it’s a lot cozier in PJs), I couldn’t resist taking a walk

around the neighborhood to capture the beauty of icy Boston.

Come walk with me and check it out!

– Lillian Marshall, Boston Latin Academy

Fire Escape Icicle Chandelier

A quaint Boston gas lamp

Icy love embrace

Barriers like vanilla cakesLooks like alien antennae

Sun + Snow = Glitter