CEA News

Urgent Today!!!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:34:05 -0800

From: Dawson, Don
URGENT!

866 608 6355 this will patch you thru to senate offices

From: JStocks@nea.org
To: State-Executive-Directors [AFF]
Cc: Anderson, Kim [NEA-GR]; Wilson, John [NEA]
Sent: Wed Jul 28 10:03:37 2010
Subject: URGENT REQUEST

Battle stations

DVR just spoke to Senator Reid. He is going to try to get Ed Jobs attached to the Small Business bill today.

DVR is having designated presidents in each region calling every president to call every Senator.

Message: We need to pass the Education Jobs amendment to the Small business bill now.

Lobby team blanketing the Hill now.

We need a full court press NOW!!!

News 7/27/10

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:16:53 -0800

From.pdf

How you feel about RTTT.

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:50:06 -0800

Here's a chance to let the Obama administration know what you feel about RTTT, competitive corporate business models and ESEA reauthorization. Use the comments box at the end of the survey to express your concerns.

Thanks, Don Dawson

As a grassroots organization, it's essential that we hear from Organizing for America supporters like you.

So we put together a survey to get your thoughts. It will only take a few minutes, and it's a great way to shape our future work.

Can you take a second to share your feedback?

Your voice and commitment is what built this movement for change during President Obama's campaign in 2008. And it is the reason we'll be successful in making that vision a reality today.

Click here to fill out the survey now:

http://my.barackobama.com/OFASurvey

Thanks for your work and your feedback,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America

NEA Leading News

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:49:27 -0800

Leading the News.pdf

Report from CTA President

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:42:10 -0800

July 14, 2010

We Did It! Education Jobs Bill Passes House

Senator Feinstein Needs to Hear from You

Thanks to your action, phone calls and emails, the House of Representatives passed the Education Jobs Bill, which would bring $1.3 billion to California to help put educators back in our classrooms. CTA members went the extra mile, making repeated calls to their representatives and even sending a group of teachers - including members who received layoff notices - to Washington to lobby lawmakers directly.

But our work is not done. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle. Senator Barbara Boxer has already pledged her support, but Senator Dianne Feinstein has voiced concerns. So please, it's time to start dialing once again. Call Senator Feinstein at 1.866.608.6355. Tell her to support funding for education jobs in the Supplemental Funding Bill so we can keep schools open, educators working and students learning.

NEA RA Takes Action to Lead Reauthorization of ESEA

Item B calls on NEA to aggressively pursue a national campaign to achieve a positive agenda for ESEA that provides adequate, equitable and stable funding for ALL public schools and is not driven by competitive grants, provides support rather than punishment to lower-performing schools and provides students with multiple ways to show what they have learned.

CTA members also led the charge in passing a vote of no confidence in the Race to the Top program. The RA finished with an inspiring speech from author and education researcher Diane Ravitch.

Temperatures and State Budget Fight Heating Up

Temperatures have reached the 100 degree mark in Sacramento, which means state budget talks have finally begun in earnest. CTA and members of the Education Coalition are supporting the Assembly's California Jobs Budget that increases revenues and restores cuts to public schools, colleges, health care and other social services for children. Democrats in the Assembly and Senate are working toward a joint budget plan, but the Senate proposal still has several troubling provisions. One would basically eliminate the state's Class Size Reduction program by turning it into a big block grant to school districts. It also changes the formula for awarding funding, which would mean a reduction of more than $900 million to schools and would shift funding away from lower-income schools. The Senate proposal also illegally reneges on CTA's lawsuit agreement to fund the Quality Education Investment Act. Contact your lawmakers today and tell them to support the Assembly Jobs Budget.

CTA to Intervene in Adequacy Lawsuit

Within the next few days CTA will file a motion to intervene in the Adequate School Funding lawsuit filed by the California School Boards Association, the California State PTA and the Association of California School Administrators. The groups have welcomed CTA into the action. As interveners, CTA will be able to advance legal arguments at every stage of the proceeding and would be guaranteed a seat at the negotiating table during any settlement talks. The groups filed the lawsuit in May, requesting that the state be required to establish a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the state. Meanwhile a second adequacy lawsuit was filed this month by a coalition of community organizations.

Common Core Standards and SIG Funding

The state's Academic Content Standards Commission continues its work of trying to revamp California's K-12 standards in math and English language arts to align with the national common core state standards. Twelve of the Commission members are CTA members and four were nominated by CTA. The group declined an out-right adoption of the common core in English language arts and is now focusing on the math standards, which would be a major shift for California. The Commission is expected to make some recommendations to the State Board of Education for consideration at its August 2 meeting.

Also at that meeting, the State Board will vote on school district applications for federal School Improvement Grants. Sixty percent of the schools on the state's so-called Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools list applied for funds. They are competing for up to $2million, but the money comes with strings and federal interventions. Delays in the process have also made it difficult for schools to get plans in place by the start of the school year. CTA will hold a briefing for local chapters at the President's Conference.

Whitman Ad Attacks Unions

Continuing her effort to buy herself the governor's seat, Meg Whitman has launched a new television ad attacking labor unions for supporting Jerry Brown because he believes workers deserve a secure retirement system. Whitman wants to cut public employee retirement and put all employees into risky, 401(k) plans. She also wants to solve the state budget crisis by eliminating 40,000 jobs. Whitman has spent more than $110 million so far on her campaign. A coalition of labor unions has fired back. California Working Families is running ads in support of Brown and challenging Whitman's outrageous attacks on Brown, which campaign watchdog groups have labeled "highly misleading." CTA's 2010 Campaign Workgroup has developed a comprehensive plan for the fall election as it will be critical to the future of public education. CTA's top priorities are electing Jerry Brown as governor, Tom Torlakson as Superintendent of Public Instruction and passing Prop. 24, the Tax Fairness Act. For all of CTA's recommended candidates and ballot initiatives, visit www.cta.org. It's not too early to volunteer and get involved. Text "CTAVOTES" to 69866 to get campaign updates.

Diane Ravich's speech to the NEA RA 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:02:41 -0800

Delivered at the 2010 Representative Assembly

Thank you, John Wilson. Thank you, all my friends in the NEA. Thanks to
all my new friends in Colorado and Massachusetts and California. Thank
you so much, California. The first time I spoke about my book was before
the NEA scholars group in October. But the first time I went public was
in San Jose, California. Thank you.

Let me first thank you so sincerely for this honor. I accept it with
humility, with gratitude, and with respect for the more than three
million educators that it represents.

Next, I would especially like to thank Camille Zombro of San Diego.
Without Camille and without her help and the help of teachers in San
Diego, I could not have written chapter 4 of the book. Read it and you
will see why.

Well, it's kind of amazing that this convention is being held in New
Orleans. I was, just a few minutes ago, interviewed by documentary
filmmakers who said to me, "Well, don't you know that New Orleans is
proving a new model?" The new model consists of wiping out public
education and firing the unions, and it's spreading across the country.
And I said, "God forbid." I pointed out to them what we all used to
know, which is that public education is the backbone of this democracy,
and we cannot turn it over to privateers.

Since my book appeared in early March, I have started out on what I
thought would be a conventional book tour, but it really has turned into
a whistle-stop campaign. I have been to 40 different cities and
districts. I have another 40 planned starting in September. I talked to
union members, to school board members, to administrators, to left-wing
think tanks, to right-wing think tanks. I have met with high-level White
House staff. I have met with about 40 members of Congress. I would say
that I have met so far about 20,000 teachers, and after today I think I
am going to increase it to 30,000.

And in all of this time, aside from the right-wing think tanks, I
haven't seen met a single teacher who likes what's happening? I haven't
met a single teacher who thinks that No Child Left Behind has been a
success. I haven't met a single teacher who thinks that Race to the Top
is a good idea.

Wherever I went, I met teachers who understood that there is a rising
tide of hostility to teachers, to the teaching profession, and to
teachers' unions. You see it almost daily in the national media, in
Newsweek magazine with its dreadful cover story about firing teachers,
and Time magazine with awful columns, and in the New York Times and the
Washington Post and all of the major media.

And as I talk to teachers, by the end of my talk, I hear the same
questions again and again: What can we do? How can we stop the attacks
on teachers and on the teaching profession? Why is the media demonizing
unions? Why does the media constantly criticize public schools? And why
does it lionize charter schools? Why is Arne Duncan campaigning with
Newt Gingrich? Why has the Obama Administration built its education
agenda on the punitive failed strategies of No Child Left Behind?

And teachers want to know, as you want to know, who will stand up for
public schools and their teachers? At every appearance that I've made,
teachers would come up to me afterward and they would say to me, "Stand
up for us. Speak for us. Be our voice wherever you go." And I promised
that I would, and I have.

I promised to speak out against No Child Left Behind. It's a disaster.
It has turned our schools into testing factories. Its requirement that
100 percent of students will be proficient by the year 2014 is totally
unrealistic. Any teacher could have told them that. Thousands and
thousands of schools have been stigmatized as failing schools because
they could not reach a goal that no state, no nation, and no district
has ever reached. By setting an impossible goal, No Child Left Behind
has delegitimized public education and created a rhetoric of failure and
paved the way for privatization.

I will continue to speak out against high-stakes testing. It undermines
education. High-stakes testing promotes cheating, gaming the system,
teaching to bad tests, narrowing the curriculum. High-stakes testing
means less time for the arts, less time for history or geography or
civics or foreign languages or science.

We see schools across America dropping physical education. We see them
dropping music. We see them dropping their arts programs, their science
programs, all in pursuit of higher test scores. This is not good
education.

I have been told by some people in the Obama Administration that the way
to stop the narrowing of the curriculum is to test everything. In fact,
the chancellor in Washington, D.C., the other day announced she plans to
do exactly that. That means less time for instruction, more time for
testing, and a worse education for everyone.

In speaking out, I have consistently warned about the riskiness of
school choice. Its benefits are vastly overstated. It undercuts public
education by enabling charter schools to skim the best students in poor
communities. As our society pursues these policies, we will develop a
bifurcated system, one for the haves, another for the have-nots, and
politicians have the nerve to boast about such an outcome.

Public schools, as I said before, are a cornerstone of our democratic
society. If we chip away at support for them, we erode communal
responsibility for a vital public institution.

Teachers are rightly worried about the Race to the Top. I pledged to
keep asking again and again why a Race to the Top replaced equal
educational opportunity. Equal educational opportunity is the American
way. The race will have a few winners and a lot of losers. That's what a
race means.

Race to the Top encourages states to increase the number of privately
managed charters, to pass laws to evaluate teachers by test scores, to
promote merit pay, and to agree to close or privatize schools with low
scores or to fire all or part of their staff. All of this is wrong.

And thank you for passing a resolution expressing no confidence in Race
to the Top. Why expand the number of charters when research shows that
on average they don't get better results than regular public schools?
Last year, a major evaluation showed that one out of every six charters
will get better results, five out of six charters will get no different
results or worse results than the regular public schools. A report
released just a couple of weeks ago by Mathematica Policy Research once
again shows charter middle schools do not get better results than
regular public middle schools.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, on whose board I served
for seven years, has tested charter schools since 2003. In 2003, 2005,
2007 and 2009, charter schools were compared to regular public schools
and have never shown an advantage over regular public schools. Charter
schools, contrary to Bill Gates, are not more innovative than regular
public schools. The business model and methods of charter schools is
this - longer school days, longer hours, longer weeks, and about 95
percent of charter schools are non-union.

Teachers are hired and fired at will. Teachers work 50, 60, 70 hours a
week. They are expected to burn out after two or three years when they
can be replaced. No pension worries, no high salaries. This is not a
template for American education.

If we pursue the path of privatization and deregulation, we better keep
in mind what happened with the stock market in 2008. And to those who
tout the benefits of vouchers and charters, I want you to point out this
example to them, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee has had charters and
vouchers now for almost 20 years. Twenty years with vouchers, almost 20
years with charters.

They have seen a steadily declining enrollment in the public schools,
and meanwhile research now shows that African-American students in
Milwaukee, the supposed beneficiary of all of this choice, have test
scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, test scores
that are below those of their African-American peers in Mississippi and
Louisiana.

There was no rising tide. Choice promoted no rising tide, and no boats
were lifted. While all of this money was invested in choice, there were
no benefits to the students.

The Race to the Top plan to use test scores to evaluate teachers is a
very bad idea, badly implemented. Legislatures should not decide how to
evaluate teachers.

SB6 was wrong in Florida. Thank you to the Florida Education Association
and to all the parents and friends who stood with you who defeated that
pernicious piece of legislation. And thanks to you for persuading
Governor Charlie Crist to do the right thing by vetoing it. Now you have
got to make sure that whoever is the next governor will veto it again if
it dares to come back again.

191 is wrong in Colorado. Sorry to say that it was passed. It was signed
into law, and the teachers may stand to be fired because the test scores
didn't go up consistently. And these are matters that are, in many
cases, beyond their control. Teachers should be judged by professional
standards and not by a political process. Research does not support
evaluating teachers by test scores.

Students are not randomly assigned to classes. Teachers' so-called
effectiveness fluctuates depending on which students happen to be in a
teacher's class. The single most reliable predictor of test scores is
poverty, and poverty, in turn, is correlated to student attendance, to
family support, and to the school's resources.

And perhaps we should begin demanding that school districts be held
accountable for providing the resources that schools need. Just like No
Child Left Behind, Race to the Top requires and pressures districts to
close low-performing schools. The overwhelming majority of
low-performing schools enroll students in poverty and students who don't
speak English and students who are homeless and transient. Very often,
these schools have heroic staffs who are working with society's neediest
children. These teachers deserve praise, not pink slips. Closing schools
weakens communities. It's not a good idea to weaken communities. No
school was ever improved by closing it.

You know, a lot of teachers don't pay attention to the national scene.
They are busy teaching kids. They don't pay attention to what's
happening in Washington. But when the Central Falls staff, the entire
staff, was fired without a single teacher having an evaluation, the
message went out that there is a new game of punishing teachers. And the
message also went out when this was endorsed by Secretary Duncan and
then reaffirmed by President Obama. This is not a good message.

We should thank our teachers, not fire them, not threaten them, and not
close their schools.

Merit pay is another of the useless fads of our time. Merit pay has
nothing to do with education. It destroys teamwork. It incentivizes
teachers to compete with each other for money instead of collaborating
for each other for the benefit of children.

Teachers need to share what they know and work towards one common goal -
helping children and young people grow and develop. Merit pay will
promote teaching to not very good tests. It may or may not improve
scores, but it definitely will not improve education.

I have spoken out repeatedly to defend the right of teachers to join
unions for their protection and the protection of the teaching
profession. Teachers have a right to a collective voice in the political
process. It's the American way. I don't see the Wall Street Journal or
the Washington Post or the pundits complaining about the charter school
lobby. I don't see them complaining about the investment bankers lobby,
or any other group that speaks on behalf of its members. Only teachers'
unions are demonized these days.

Currently, there is a campaign underway to eliminate tenure and
seniority. To remove job protections from senior teachers would destroy
the profession. Supervisors will save money by firing the most expensive
teachers. Imagine a hospital staffed by residents and interns with no
doctors. Bad idea.

Instead of the current wave of so-called reforms, we should ask
ourselves how to deliver on our belief that every student in this nation
should learn not only basic skills, but should have a curriculum that
includes the arts, history, geography, civics, foreign languages,
mathematics, science, physical education, and health. But instead of
this kind of rich curriculum, all they are getting is a heavy dose of
high-stakes testing and endless test preparation. And as the stakes
increase for teachers and schools, there will be more emphasis on test
prep and not what children need.

Policymakers have been far too silent about the role of the family.
Teachers know that education begins at home, and that when families take
responsibility, students are likely to arrive in school ready to learn.
We need, not a Race to the Top, but a commitment to provide greater
resources for those children who are in the greatest need. Schools and
school districts continue to vary dramatically in their access to
resources. The role of the federal government in education is to level
the playing field, not to set off a competition for money. Nor do we
expect the federal government to tell states and districts how to reform
themselves based on the Chicago experience.

Around the world, those nations that are successful recognize that the
best way to improve school is to improve the education profession. We
need expert teachers, not a steady influx of novices.

We need experienced principals who are themselves master teachers. We do
not need a wave of newcomers who took a course called "How to be a
principal." We need superintendents who are wise and experienced
educators, not lawyers and businessmen.

The current so-called reform movement is pushing bad ideas. No
high-performing nation in the world is privatizing its schools, closing
its schools, and inflicting high-stakes testing on every subject on its
children. The current reform movement wants to end tenure and seniority,
to weaken the teaching profession, to silence teachers' unions, to
privatize large sectors of public education. Don't let it happen!

So here's a thought for NEA. Print up four million bumper stickers that
say, "I am a public schoolteacher, and I vote - and so does my family."

Do not support any political figure who opposes public education. Stand
up to the attacks on public education. Don't give them half a loaf,
because they will be back the next day for another slice, and the day
after that for another slice.

Don't compromise. Stand up for teachers. Stand up public education, and
say "No mas, no mas." Thank you.

Merritt Trace Elementary School

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:27:59 -0800

Dear Members,

Merritt Trace Elementary School in San Jose is in dire need of help. Their recent fire has devastated some classrooms and their library. They are in need of books and money. If you would like to help you may drop off these items at the CEA office. Remember that our office hours are Monday through Thursday from 10:00-2:00 and Friday if called.

Parcel Tax Initiative fails to qualify for ballot

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:13:14 -0800

Initiative to Lower the Threshold for Passage of Educational Parcel Taxes Fails to Qualify for Ballot

The Secretary of State's Office is expected to announce this week that the initiative known as the Local Classrooms for Local Funding Act failed to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative would have changed the voter threshold for passing a parcel tax from the current two-thirds to 55% when certain accountability requirements were satisfied. The proponents' website,http://www.improvedschoolfunding.com, already reflects the initiative's failure, but assures supporters that the commitment, time, and money that they put into the effort to qualify the initiative helped build a grassroots coalition that is working to support quality public education.

Because the initiative would have amended the State Constitution, proponents needed the signatures of 694,354 registered voters--8% of the total votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial election--to qualify. The circulation deadline was May 28, 2010. Proponents were unable to secure the funding required--probably at least $1 million--to gather those signatures, leading to the measure's defeat.

A similar legislative effort to reduce the vote threshold for passage of a parcel tax to 55%, State Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 6 (Simitian, D-Palo Alto), has been stalled on the Senate floor since June 2009 because it would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to pass.

--Deborah Harmon

LEG ALERT June 30th

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:43:12 -0800

alrsb1285assed062906f.pdf

CTA NEWS FOR JUNE

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:47:31 -0800

CTA Board Report June 2010 .pdf

CTA President Update

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:55:04 -0800

June 21, 2010

Campaign 2010 Off to a Good Start

Voters Reject Romero Reform Agenda

CTA‐supported candidates and school measures scored big wins in the June Primary Election. California voters soundly rejected the top-down education reform agenda of State Senator Gloria Romero as they voted for CTA-supported Tom Torlakson and former superintendent Larry Aceves to advance to the November election for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

It was a vote against the state budget cuts, the one-size-fits-all mandates of Sacramento and Washington and the blame game against teachers. Despite strong backing from wealthy charter school advocates, Romero ran third all night long. It shows once again, that voters want education reform that focuses on proven solutions and on parents, teachers and administrators working together to best meet the needs of students in local neighborhood schools. They want smaller class sizes and a well-rounded education for their kids that goes beyond test scores.

CTA led an independent expenditure campaign for Torlakson, a former classroom teacher and coach, which included statewide radio ads and direct mail to voters. In addition, 96 percent of CTA's recommended candidates for Congress and the State Legislature won.

In addition, the commitment cards will be part of CTA's Chapter Presidents Lobby Day set for May 25. It's important that we have local presidents from across the state attend. Please register at www.regonline.com/2010/CTAPRESLOBBYDAY.

Brown Addresses Council
CTA gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown received an enthusiastic welcome from State Council delegates earlier this month. Brown told the cheering crowd that he would "mobilize the people of this state" behind public education to achieve a better future for all of us. Brown said, "When we invest in our people and in our schools, when we pull together, then we know that we don't just defend the land of our fathers - we defend and protect the land of our children. That's the future, that's our future, and together we're going to take back California." Hear more on CTA's Fan Page on Facebook.

CTA Initiative Awaits Ballot
Meeting the required deadline, CTA turned in more than 800,000 signatures to qualify the Repeal Corporate Tax Loopholes Act for the November ballot. The initiative would rescind more than $2 billion in tax breaks handed out to big corporations last year without any requirements to create new jobs. In these tough economic times with public schools and colleges being cut more than $17 billion, everyone should be paying their fair share. County election offices are counting petition signatures right now.

Assembly Jobs Budget Truly Protects Education

For the last two years, politicians have done a lot of talking about how they are "protecting" public education. All that protection has meant billions in budget cuts and higher student fees. Finally, Assembly Speaker John Pérez has proposed the California Jobs Budget that really does prevent further cuts from education and actually funds our schools at nearly $6 billion more than the governor's May revised budget plan. CTA, the California Faculty Association and the entire Education Coalition are supporting the Assembly's Jobs Budget as it restores critical funding for children and creates or restores more than 465,000 jobs in California. Be sure and e-mail your lawmaker today to support the California Jobs Budget.

Common Core Standards Commission Starts Work

After months of waiting for all the appointments to be made, the Academic Content Standards Commission has begun its work of trying to revamp California's K-12 standards in math and English language arts to come in line with the national common core standards developed by the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Senate Bill x5-1 requires California to adopt 85 percent of the common core standards. The Commission has 21 representatives appointed by the Governor, Assembly and Senate. Twelve of the Commission representatives are CTA members; four of them were nominated by CTA.
Aligning California's rigorous academic standards to the Common Core may not be easy - especially in math. California's math standards are organized by grade and course. The Common Core math standards are organized by conceptual category and don't push students to take Algebra in 8th grade.

The Commission has a very short timeline - until August 2 - to complete its work. In contrast, when California designed its current standards, the panel had more than two years to debate and come to agreement. It took another ten years and more than $2 billion to then align all tests, textbooks, curriculum and professional development to the standards. This shift to the Common Core means all that work will have to start over.

Getting Ready for the NEA RA

The 148th annual NEA Representative Assembly will convene in New Orleans over the July 4th weekend. About 10,000 delegates from across the country, including 1,200 from California will debate policy changes and hundreds of new business items over the four-day convention. The re-authorization of ESEA, Race to the Top and federal jobs bill are expected to be the main issues discussed.

The re-authorization of ESEA appears to be somewhat up in the air right now. The White House is pushing for re-authorization before the fall break, but some members of Congress are now expressing concerns about the four limited reform ideas to help lower-performing schools outlined in the Administration's Blueprint.

The federal jobs bill is also stalled right now in the House. This measure would bring more than $2.8 billion to California and restore up to 300,000 education jobs nationwide. Call your member of Congress today at 1-866-608-8355 or e-mail.

CTA Summer Conferences

Take a well-deserved break over the next few weeks and then sign up for CTA's Summer Conferences. The 55th annual Presidents Conference runs July 19-23 at Asilomar in Pacific Grove. If you are a new or returning president, this conference is a must. And then in August, it's the CTA Summer Institute which includes various trainings for CTA leaders and activists. The week-long sessions include bargaining, school finance, communications, professional development, member benefits, healthcare and legal support. Ethnic minority, small chapter and other incentive grants are available. Register online at www.CTA.org.

In addition, in this election year, CTA is offering a Northern and Southern Campaign Universities. The Northern University is set for July 27-31 in Sacramento. The Southern University is scheduled for August 3-7 in Manhattan Beach. Both schools will offer hands-on experience to assist you and your chapter win local school board races and CTA-supported initiatives and candidates.

CTA LEG ALERT 6/21/10

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:50:11 -0800

alrassmblybudget061510f.pdf

News : Reminder that Courier comes out on Friday the 18th

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:47:38 -0800

Please check the June 18th Cupertino Courier, Sunnyvale Sun and the Saratoga News for CEA's advertisement :) If you do not receive those here it is:

cup edu Last.pdf

Calendar for 2010-2011

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:13:28 -0800

1011certificated.pdf

Election results

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:32:03 -0800

Greetings, congratulations and heartfelt thanks to you, your members and staff for all of your hard work and hard-fought victories in this election. I recognize that there were a lot of local issues and battles taking place in your areas and school districts building to the election. Yet you carved out the time to help send pro-public education candidates to the general election in November and pass local bond measures in many areas to counter the devastating effects of billions of dollars in cuts to our schools and students.

Thanks to your hard work, Assembly Member Tom Torlakson beat out Senator Gloria Romero in the race for state superintendent of public instruction, and now heads for a runoff election with former school superintendent Larry Aceves. Voters spoke loud and clear that they want real educators who support proven reforms, know what's going on in our classrooms and support collaboration between parents, educators and administrators making decisions about public schools.

With your help, voters showed their strong support for public education by electing local pro-public education candidates and passing local bond measures and parcel taxes to support students and schools.

Other CTA-recommended candidates who won:

Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator

Jerry Brown, Governor

Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor

Debra Bowen, Secretary of State

John Chiang, Controller

Bill Lockyer, Treasurer

Dave Jones, Insurance Commissioner

Betty Yee, Board of Equalization, District 1

Chris Parker, Board of Equalization, District 2

Jerome Horton, Board of Equalization, District 4

Click here for a complete list of updates on initiatives and other races and www.cta.org for local bond measures.

This primary election was our first step toward victory for our students and schools, but we have a tough fight facing us in November, and it is going to take all of us working together to be successful. You will be hearing more from me in the coming months as we embark upon a campaign to secure victory for public schools and the future of California in November!

Again, thank you and have a great summer.

David A. Sanchez

President