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When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.

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Teacher holding sign

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

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Martha with students

On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.

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Photo credit: SDI Productions / E+ / Getty Images

Paraprofessionals and school-related personnel are often overlooked because of their support roles. They are the last ones hired and often the first ones fired when budgets get tight. This certainly seems true right now as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in education funds, effective July 1, which has hamstrung summer school programs, hindered English language support, halted professional development this summer, and left before- and after-school programs in limbo for the coming school year.

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The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you the results of the EPAFT Trajectory Survey. 

 

This snippet in The Supe’s bio caught my eye, “she has El Paso ISD on an upward trajectory…”.   That does not jive with the employee exodus or discussions with members. 

 

So EPAFT ran a spot survey to gauge member agreement or disagreement.

 

Short Version:  The Supe or her biographer need to ‘put a little distance between fact and fantasy’, as the late great Jimmy Buffet would say.

 

Longer Version:

 

Strongly Agree – 1.63%; Agree - 0.54%; No Opinion – 4.35%;

Disagree – 38.04%

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The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you today’s EPISD Tuesday Teacher Tracker. 

1.  The below are the number of empty positions being advertised by EPISD HR as of 7:00 AM January 23rd, 2024. 

2.  Posted Teacher Openings:

            a.  Elementary (pK-5) – 111 Posted Openings, down 2 from 1.16.

            b.  Middle School (6-8) – 23 Posted Openings, down 2 from 1.16.

            c.  High School (9-12) – 22 Posted Openings, down 4 from 1.16.

            d.  Total – 162 Posted Openings, down 6 from 1.16.

            e.  Putting that in perspective, last year at this time

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The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you Monday Bits and Pieces.  These are the information items of interest or alerts of importance.

1.  The EPISD January Board Meetings are scheduled for Thursday, January 25th. 

The first meeting is at 2:00 PM and is a “Special Board Meeting” where the Superintendent’s contract and compensation package will be amended.  The rumblings are that it will be 10% to 15% raise plus perks.

The second meeting begins at 5:00 PM and is the “Regular Board Meeting”.  The agenda is very light on substance until you dig to the second and third levels and read

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Two Year Temperature Check Question Eight Responses

Q8. If you could change one thing about EPISD what would it be? (150 character limit)

Below are some of the notable responses about changes other than the many of those about compensation.

· The reliance on unproven programs and initiatives that invariably damage teacher morale and student achievement.

· Follow your own policies.

· Meaningful lessons that are teacher created.

· Hire teachers instead of all the subs.

· Do what needs to be done so people would want to teach here instead of leave.

· The cronyism.

· SPED caseloads

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Below are responses to Question Two which focused on initial expectations.  They were provided to the EPISD Superintendent Friday, before the E-mail went to members.  Her response - crickets



Q2 How have your initial expectations for the Superintendent compared to the reality of where the district is now? (150 character limit)

Below are some of the notable responses other than the many of those about compensation.

•    I wanted to believe her when she said she was listening to teachers and students regarding what they needed to be successful. It was a lie. 

•    I thought that as a former

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The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you today’s EPISD Tuesday Teacher Tracker. 

1.  The below are the number of empty positions being advertised by EPISD HR as of 7:00 AM January 16th, 2024. 

2.  Posted Teacher Openings:

            a.  Elementary (pK-5) – 113 Posted Openings, down 4 from 1.9.

            b.  Middle School (6-8) – 25 Posted Openings, down 1 from 1.9.

            c.  High School (9-12) – 24 Posted Openings, up 4 from 1.9.

            d.  Total – 162 Posted Openings, down 3 from 1.9.

            e.  Putting that in perspective, last year at this time, there were

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