Dear Colleagues,
If you had an extra 403b payment then it is possible that it may have pushed your annual contributions too high or higher than you expected. If you want to stop or limit your 403b contribution in the next check or two, then email Marie Schenkel in payroll and let her know.
Knowing our contract expires in the end of June means that there are a lot of things to prepare. One of these is to clean up the existing contract, eliminate obsolete language and letters of understanding, and place signed letters within the contract. Not the most exciting work, but essential groundwork to ensure it is as clear as possible.
One of the biggest sticking points in looking over the contract is all of the language we have around evaluation. The state is changing how we need to evaluate teachers, even if it does not make much sense. Evaluation language is a moving target because no one really knows how to incorporate student scores into our evaluations - besides which, it is not valid for many reasons. Below are two of the best articles I have read recently around evaluation - both by administrators who understand the issues well.
John Kuhn - A superintendent from Texas
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sunday-commentary/20121102-point-person-our-qa-with-john-kuhn-on-schools-over-reliance-on-testing.ece
Carol Buris - A principal from New York
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/13/the-newest-rhetoric-on-teacher-evaluation-and-why-it-is-nonsense/
Have a great weekend.
Ari Klein
CHTU President
