Teachers and union leaders convene in Pacific Grove

Ahh. Asilomar. It always bring out the best in all of us, and among all of us.

 This past weekend, about 400 teachers and members of California Teachers Association gathered in our beautiful corner of the world to listen to Dean Vogel, president of the association, Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the state employee union, and about current issues in the schools such economic justice and school funding, the history of unions, state budget updates, the Common Core State Standards, labor law rights, and the new Local Control Funding Formula.

 Here's Dean Vogel chatting with some teachers.

And here Yvonne Walker talks to John Colombo of MPUSD. (Both photos courtesy of Mike Myslinski of CTA)

If you're curious about what Vogel had to say, here's a link to a portion of his speech. And here a link to a portion of Walker's as well.

Enjoy!

It's awards season, and the California Teachers Association are handing some out

The California Teachers Association and its Central Coast Counties Service Center Council handed out their We Honor Ours awards last Friday at a lovely dinner at the Best Western hotel in Monterey.

Besides honoring Leon and Sylvia Panetta (the dynamic duo seem to be everywhere after Secretary Panetta returned to the area) as "Friends of Education," CTA honored Blanca Gutierrez and Ray Muñoz of the Alisal Teachers Association, Velma Hawkins of the Aromas/San Juan Teachers Association, Terri Baker of the Live Oak Elementary Teachers Association, John Colombo and Virginia DeVaux of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association, Monica Agpaoa-Gonzales of the Monterey County Office of Education, and Michelle Ross and Carol Rodrigues of the Salinas Elementary Teachers Council.

The WHO awards are given to teachers who, in addition to their work in the classroom, take on leadership positions within the union. It's double duty, and a lot of hard work. It was very touching to hear the awardees being introduced by their colleagues, people who deeply know of their hard work and dedication.

A special award was given to Jill Lowe from the Monterey Bay Teachers Association, whose work doesn't stop at the local, but reaches into statewide spheres.

Incidentally, the gracious union folks also gave me a diploma for having won the John Swett award for my education reporting. Allyson Schweifler of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association gave a really nice speech about my work. It was touching, and humbling. Thanks from the bottom of my journalistically jaded heart ;-)

Monterey County teachers to rally on Saturday for their favorite measures

Gov. Jerry Brown, California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson, and hundreds of teachers and their supporters are expected to rally tomorrow in different sites throughout California.

Monterey County will join in the effort at Hartnell College, where the California Teachers Association Secretary-Treasurer Mikki Cichocki will join students and teachers at 10 a.m. in support of Prop. 30, a tax increase that would stop $6 billion in cuts, and in opposition to Prop 32, which would prevent political contributions by payroll deductions.


Ah, election time. Eighteen more days!!!!

My most heartfelt thank you to the California Teachers Association

and the Association of California School Administrators Region 10 for the awards they gave me. There are times when the news do not make teachers, administrators, or the schools look good, but they manage to keep an open mind and let me go into their classrooms and into their lives. They perform noble work, these days under challenging circumstances, and I'm very lucky for the doors they open to me, the Herald and our readers.

Special thanks go to Ann Kilty of MPUSD, who I strongly suspect nominated me for the administrators award; Jill Low and Dennis Wright, past president and president of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association, for definitely nominating me for the John Swett award. Also, to my fabulous editors and cheerleaders at The Herald: Dave Kellogg, Joe Livernois, Royal Calkins, Don Murphy, and all my fellow reporters. They give me the space to explore, support my ideas, and challenge me to dig deeper. I'm lucky to be a part of such a great team.