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It's hard to believe, but it is the last day of school. I imagine that you are all walking around with big smiles on your faces and happy thoughts in your brains. Congratulations you made it. It's summer time. I want to say thank you to all the people that have helped me this year. To also acknowledge all our VTA members for doing the good things that you do. The dedication of VUSD teachers is truly awe-inspiring. It has been a pleasure to represent you as your President this year and I look forward to an even better year next year. Sincerely, Tod Critchlow President Retirement Congratulations to the 32 teachers retiring from VUSD today. As a retirement gift, the Vista Teachers Association would like to pay for your first year of CTA Retired membership dues. click here for an enrollment form. Please fill it out and return to the VTA Office to take advantage of this opportunity. Again, Congratulations and Best of Luck! Next Year The first day back is Monday, August 15. This will be a district professional development day. This is a normal work day and if you are unable to attend you should use the sub system, but be sure to note that no sub is needed. Tuesday, August 16 will be a site day. By contract you are to attend a 90 minute staff meeting first thing in the morning. The rest of the day is yours to prep and plan. Again, if you are absent you will need to call the subsystem, no sub needed. The 2016-17 school calendar has 182 instructional days and Wednesday, August 17 is the first day of school. County Office of Ed Elections June 7th is election day in California. While there are a lot of important races on the ballot I want to draw your attention to one in particular. Next week we are voting on 4 of the 5 seats for the county office of education school board. This is an incredibly important race to county educators. It is the county office of ed that sets policy, approves budgets and oversees local school boards. We need to be sure that the candidates that get elected have education and our students as their top priority. There is a big money funding the opposition. Please look up the candidate for your area and vote for one of the following next week.Gregg Robinson - District 1 Guadalupe Gonzalez -District 2 Mark Anderson - District 4 Rick Shea - District 5 District Map CTA Summer Institute The premiere workshop of its kind, the Summer Institute, July 31 - August 4, offers sessions in areas that assist chapter leaders in the day-to-day representation and support of members. Sessions include Communications, Instruction and Professional Development, Emerging Leaders, Bargaining, School Finance, Healthcare Benefits and Issues, Legal, Member Benefits and Community Engagement.There are still a few openings if you are interested in attending please contact the VTA office. State Council This will be a big year for CTA as we move forward with pro-education legislation and the campaign for the California Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act, which would extend the current income tax rates on the wealthiest two percent to prevent cuts to education and children’s health care. CTA is rigorously democratic. Its structure gives members the ultimate voice in what the Association does. By secret ballot, you and your colleagues elect the 760-plus members of the State Council of Education, CTA’s highest governing body. Meeting four times a year, State Council sets policy for the organization, adopts the budget, determines dues, recommends expenditures to the board, elects the executive officers and other members of the board of directors and performs other similar duties. Your State Council Representatives: Tod Critchlow Reagan Duncan Paula Keen Therease SilvaBaroa (Alternate) NEA Representative Assembly This year VTA is sending two representatives to the RA. The RA will be held in Washington DC from July 2 - July 7. Teachers from all over the country will come together and set policy to guide the NEA. Paula Keen and Kim Lunde will be representing VTA and Reagan Duncan will also be attending as a CTA State Representative VTA Scholarship Fund Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the VTASF. The VTASF has provided $713,000 to approximately 1800 students, including $40,000 awarded this year. This worthy charity is entirely supported by Vista Educators. The VTASF is a fantastic way to show our support for the community of Vista and the students of VUSD. Please consider signing up for the automatic payroll deductions that can go straight to the fund. Dependants of VTA members are also eligible.
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Dear VTA Members,
I’ve been holding off on sending out this message as I wanted to safely say, THE RETRO is here. A little extra never hurts. Be sure to check your pay stub for accuracy. You should have gotten 5 months worth of 6%. (Your March $ x 5 x 0.06 = approximate amount of your retro). Keep Calm and Union On - Click on the link or use this URL: https://goo.gl/GIeivU. Highlights include sign ups for VTA sports leagues, The VTA Picnic and information about some past and present issues. Thanks to our Organizing Team for stepping up. Anybody interested contact us at VTAunite@gmail.com or vistateachers@gmail.com. VTASF -This is the 29th year that the Vista Teachers Association Scholarship Fund has provided scholarships through the voluntary contributions of its members. With the $40,000 that will be presented this year, the VTA Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $700,000 to 1800 students since 1988. This is yet another example of the dedication of the those of us that teach in VUSD. In order to maintain this fabulous tradition we need your donations. Please click here to access the donation form and consider donating or increasing your current donation. San Diego County - The County Office of Education plays a much bigger role in our lives than many of us realize. Policies of the COE were responsible for our retro delay, but that is just one example. The School Board of the COE acts as an oversight agency and sets policy and agendas that affect our bargaining, approves our local budget and can approve charter schools that the local districts have denied, among other things. The COE sets the tone for the entire county. This June 4 of the 5 board members are up for reelection. Below are links to four candidate flyers; district one, Gregg Robinson; district two, Guadalupe Gonzalez; district 4, Mark Anderson; District 5, Rick Shea; and a link to a district map. Please check the map and see who will represent you and your neighbors. Then print up some flyers and pass them out. As a teacher your voice matters. Your neighbors will listen if you talk to them. If you happen to live in District 5 we also have yard signs that could be placed in your yard. Gregg Robinson - District 1 Guadalupe Gonzalez - District 2 Mark Anderson - District 4 Rick Shea - District 5 YARD SIGNS AT VTA OFFICE FOR DISTRICT 5 District Map Election Results - Congratulations and welcome to the VTA executive board to the following people: MaryPat Lee - Secretary, Eric Walker - SpEd Executive Board Rep, Reed Monson High School Executive Board Rep, Todd Maher - Middle School Executive Board Rep, Ken Butler and Gail Cantrell - Elementary Executive Board Reps. I also want to thank the other people that stepped up and were willing to represent our members. It is your dedication that makes VTA a sustainable organization. Click HERE for a link to the official results State Council News - Therease SilvaBaroa was elected as an alternate to represent VTA at the quarterly CTA meetings. Reagan Duncan and I will continue to serve in this role as well. Thank you for all you do, Your VTA President, Tod Critchlow Dear VTA Members,
It’s hard to believe that Spring Break is almost upon us, and if it’s Spring Break that means the end of the year is just around the corner. I hope you will take this time to recharge your batteries and get yourselves set up for the sprint that the end of the year can be. Your organizing team is shifting gear from the crisis mode of the last fall and is planning some events for the end of the year. Our strength comes from our solidarity and we are hoping to provide some social opportunities to show that we can have fun too. More information will be coming in April. It’s also the time of year when we need to run our own LOCAL ELECTIONS. Notices have gone out with your Site Reps and I would like to encourage all interested members to think about running for any of the open positions. VTA is holding its election for the following offices of the Executive Board: Secretary, Elementary Representative, Middle School Representative, High School Representative, and (newly created position) Special Ed Representative. Also State Council Representative, NEA/RA delegate and individual Sites Representative. Declarations of candidacy should already have been placed in your box and are due April 7th by 4pm to the VTA Office. Online versions can be found by visiting our website's "Election" page. Speaking of Elections - This is an election year and I am going to call on you to support our schools: The Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act. State economic projections show a $5 billion hole for public education in just two years. We need to be part of the process if we want to prevent a return to the days of COLA only increases to school funding. Your reps should have brought petitions to your schools and we are asking just that you take a sheet home and get easy signatures. Spouses, Adult Children, Parents, Friendly Neighbors. Here’s a link to a video about how to do it and some other links if you want to find out more about this important issue. Just be sure to get the petitions, even with only 1 signature to us by April 6. How to gather signatures like a 5th grader Message From Eric Heins Talking Points Fact Sheet Frequently Asked Questions PETITIONS DUE TO VTA OFFICE BY APRIL 6, 2016. Thank you for all you do, Your VTA President, Tod Critchlow January is almost over and already the days are getting longer and spring is right around the corner. We’ve wrapped up bargaining for 2015/16 and now it’s time to start looking forward. Please note the info below on the LCAP forums. That’s our chance as teachers to participate in the budget process and make sure our voices are heard. The website has a new look and if you haven’t visited VISTATA.ORG yet, I hope you will soon. On the subject of retro pay, don’t expect the money in January’s pay warrant (see below for info). Thanks again for all you do every day to make Vista the model of educational excellence.. Sincerely, Tod Critchlow FRIEDRICHS vs CTA I’ve gotten lots of questions about the Friedrichs vs CTA court case. I am including a couple of links to videos that might help answer those questions. We won’t know for sure until June how the court will rule, but these videos might help explain the situation and what is being considered. The ruling by the Supreme Court will have an effect across the whole country and is not just limited to California. In addition our very own Reagan Duncan was in DC to present her views from the steps in front of the Supreme Court. REAGAN’S SPEECH FAIR SHARE VIDEO FEB 10 K-8 PD Minimum Day Elementary and Middle school teachers will have their second PD on Feb 10th. On that day you are still entitled to a 40 minute lunch. Middle schools are allowed 90 minutes for their meeting. The PD programs for elementary teachers need to end at the normal student release time.That would be (2:03) for early start schools and (2:48) for the late elementary schools. The extra PD time is not intended to infringe upon teacher prep time. I will send a reminder to principals as well. Payroll and New System You should have gotten an email from the district with directions on how to access your paystub via the new system. It is very, very important that you check closely and compare your Dec Pay Warrant to your Jan Pay Warrant. If you notice any discrepancies contact payroll. This new system is being mandated by the County Office of Education. It’s a major undertaking and it is just bad luck that the new system is hitting right when our retro payments should be coming out. Please be patient and realize that the people working to implement this new system are trying really hard to minimize problems and make the transition as smooth as possible. LCAP Forums The current funding process for education in California is based on local control. Districts need to create a plan with feedback from stakeholders that determines how they will spend their money. There are numerous opportunities to attend LCAP Forums as parents or community members. This year we are going to have two sessions exclusively for teachers. This is your chance to provide feedback on how money was spent, as well as offer suggestions for improvements for next year. This will be a facilitated meeting and teachers that attend will be guided through the process. Click HERE to access the LCAP Community Forum webpage. February 2, 2016 LCAP Teacher Forum at the IMC. 3:30 - 4:30 February 4, 2016 LCAP Teacher Forum at Temple Height from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Please contact VTA if you have any questions. NEA RA This year the meeting of the National Educators Association’s Representative Assembly will be held in Washington DC. It’s an incredible opportunity to be part of the decision making process that sets policy for the NEA. The link above gives highlights from the 2015 meeting. Applications are due no later than January 29. Good Teaching Conference Feb 26 - 28, Garden Grove The CTA Good Teaching Conference are designed to support excellent teaching and learning practices for classroom teachers. Offering a variety of diverse workshops in curriculum content areas for K-12 teachers, the conferences provide opportunities for professional development and offer time to network and share ideas with colleagues and experts in the educational field. We have room for 20 new teachers at the CTA Good Teaching Conference. Teachers in their first year of employment in VUSD are invited to attend this conference. Travel, room and board and conference registration will be provided by VTA. Early registration for first year teachers is available until Friday, Jan 29. Any interested in attending should contact VTA. We will sign you up or put you on the waiting list. VTA wanted to congratulate all of the 48 new tenured teachers this year and thank them for growing their roots in Vista. As recent tradition, we purchased flowers and/or a plant for each one of them and will be delivered over the course of this week to their school.
VTA Appreciates you all! All VTA Members
Attend the Strike Authorization Meeting Monday, Nov 2nd, 2015 Vista Magnet Middle School at 4:15 pm. BLACK IS BACK WEAR BLACK ON THURSDAYS To all VTA members, We are in Impasse. I know there are lots of questions out there. I know people are angry and fired up. NOW It is time to get energized and active. Talk to your reps to offer assistance. If you have creative ideas contact Patrick Emaus our Crisis Chair (pemausff@yahoo.com). VUSD is sitting on around $70,000,000 and they show their lack of respect by rejecting our offers for a competitive salary. AND The District is currently denying the Elementary Prep Time Grievance with TIMELINESS as one of their arguments. They take our time and figure we should be happy, because, Hey, We work in VUSD: The Home of Innovation and Excellence. THURSDAY - Is Our Wear BLACK Day. The new shirts we ordered should be here tomorrow and your Site Reps will be able to pick them up from the VTA Office Thursday. We will update your Reps as soon as they arrive. Sign up and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Let's show them that this is Still Vista and We are STILL VTA. Valued Educators + Inspired Students = Excellence Tod Critchlow President Vista Teachers Association To my fellow teachers - I put no BUT in the speech that follows, but you all know it is there. Please don't take the the "NICE" in this speech as a sign of weakness. Please do concentrate on doing the best you can under difficult situations. If everything is going great in your class or at your site think of your situation as the model we would like to see at all sites and in all classes. Your Bargaining Team and Your Crisis team are STILL working hard. We will act when the time is right and in the meantime we will keep talking and trying to work towards a solution. Thank you for your trust and your patience. We are in this to win the war, not just a single battle.
Board Speech September 10, 2015 Good Evening. It’s the middle of September and we are done with most of the events that mark the beginning of the new school year. Kids are settling into their routines and as I’ve heard in the staff room many times, the honeymoon is over. Teachers have established their routines and education can begin again. The newness of the new year has worn off and just being the new face at the front of the room isn’t enough anymore. Much the same could be said of my tenure in office. I’m learning to live without bells. I’ve made my first mistake (several actually - but who’s counting). My concerns have gone from what’s the name of the principal at… to how can I help. And as I used to pride myself in learning all 200 student names in as short a time as possible I’ve also met with many of the principals and had some great discussions. What strikes me in these conversations is the passion. The passion to teach. The passion to make the world a better place for the children in our care. And the passion that principals see in those teaching our children. I won’t say I was surprised, because it has always been obvious to me that teachers care. But it was nice to have this belief confirmed. Day in and day out, through the heat or the cold, our teachers do their best to help their charges grow and learn and develop. I think I can honestly say I have yet to run into an educator that says anything different. We, the Vista Teachers, do our best to educate all the children that come to us. What I want to focus on tonight is the WE. We are the WE. The WE should include all of us in the room tonight. Even the students in the room tonight should be part of the WE. We are the W in WAVE. We are all educators. We all get to work for or with the students. BUT - There is no but in this speech tonight. I Challenge all of us in this room tonight to become part of the WE. I challenge all of us in this room to accept the others in this room as part of the WE. Lip service will not do it. If we really want to make a difference, if we really we want build a better community, if we really want to inspire others, if we really want the respect that is part of positive working relationships then we have to start by being part of the WE. Without the WE it’s Us and Them. This is Vista. We’ve seen how the us and them plays out. I for one want to be part of the WE. I want to be able to say that We Educate. So my commitment tonight - Board members, I will try my best to meet with you in the next two weeks if you are willing. I apologize for not having done it sooner. It was not an intentional slight. I hope to build a working relationship with you so that WE can make Vista an even better place to be. Dr Vodicka - I will try to remain an optimist. Communication and Collaboration are essential to avoid continually repeating the same ineffective processes over and over. WE can make this work. WE have the power to make Vista an even better place to be. And To the the audience in general I will strive to always show respect. I will strive to act in a way that allows you to see me as one of you. And I will strive to see all of you as fellow educators with the best of intentions. I ask that you join me in this. Together WE can Educate. Dear Colleagues,
Hello and greetings. First let me introduce myself. I am Tod Critchlow your new VTA President. I am looking forward to a great year and to working for you and with you to help make Vista an even better place to be. As summer comes to an end and thoughts turn back to the classroom and our students I wanted to share some information about the first couple of days that I hope you will find helpful. The first day for teachers is Thursday, August 13th. This is now called a professional development day, formerly a mandatory staff development day. This day is a normal non-student work day and you must sign in and sign out; there will not be a make-up day. If you are unable to attend due to illness or personal necessity you do not need to report this absence via the SmartFindExpress sub finder system. Report the absence to your office manager and be sure to check the monthly attendance reports at your site to make sure the day is recorded correctly. 50% or less certificated staff are obligated to attend as per their contract hours or as per customized calendar. If less than full time certificated staff want to attend professional development in excess of their contract or customized calendar, it would need to be pre-approved by the supervisor with a funding source identified. A time sheet would need to be completed by the teacher and a PR processed by the site. Friday, August 14th is a teacher prep day. This includes an opening staff meeting at the beginning of the day that may not be longer than 90 minutes The rest of the day is yours to prepare your room and curriculum. Monday, August 17th is the first student day of school. See you on August 13th. Sincerely, Tod Critchlow President Vista Teachers Association August 13 - District Professional Development Day Sign in and Sign out by site You do not need to record this absence in SmartFindExpress (sub finder) There will be no make ups for this day August 14 - Teacher Prep Day This is your day This is a regular non student day (7.5 hours with lunch) FOLLOWING a 90 minute staff meeting - The staff meeting should happen first thing in the morning August 17 - First Day of School ENJOY!!! |
authorKeri Avila,
VTA President Archives
June 2022
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