Texas AFT Texas A Union of Professionals Teacher WINTER 2016 But Do your Homework First, p. 6 Open door for new accountability, p. 2 Supporting DACA students, p. 11 Questions to ask candidates, p. 8 (From left) Shonda Below, Norma Barahona, and Julie Wilburn of Northeast Houston AFT. The group is an organizing committee— which includes Channelview, Galena Park and Sheldon ISDs—and plans to charter as a full local union in May. How to join us... 1. Check the list of local unions and organizing committees 2. If not, you will be joining the Associate Member Program. and their school or college districts below. If you work in one Contact us directly at 800-222-3827, or go to texasaft.org and of those districts, contact the local union directly. click on “Join the Union.” Aldine ISD: Aldine AFT Edinburg ISD: Edinburg AFT North East ISD: Northeast AFT (281) 847-3050 (956) 502-5340 (210) 227-8083 Alief ISD: Alief AFTSE El Paso ISD: El Paso AFT Northside ISD: Northside AFT (281) 589-6644 (915) 562-3738 (210) 733-9777 Amarillo ISD: Amarillo AFT Flour Bluff ISD: Corpus Christi AFT Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD: PSJA AFT (806) 359-4487 (361) 855-0482 (956) 631-4333 Austin Community College: ACC AFT Fort Bend ISD: Fort Bend Pflugerville ISD: Pflugerville AFT (512) 448-0130 Employee Federation (512) 448-0130 Austin ISD: Education Austin (281) 240-1865 Round Rock ISD: Education Round Rock (512) 472-1124 Galena Park ISD: Northeast Houston AFT (512) 448-0130 Bastrop ISD: Bastrop AFT (281) 864-5491 (512) 448-0130 San Antonio ISD: San Antonio Alliance of Goose Creek ISD: Goose Creek Teachers and Support Personnel Brazosport ISD: Brazosport Federation of Education Federation (281) 427-2091 (210) 225-7174 Teachers (979) 265-9701 Gregory-Portland ISD: Corpus Christi AFT Sheldon ISD: Northeast Houston AFT Calallen ISD: Corpus Christi AFT (361) 855-0482 (281) 864-5491 (361) 855-0482 Houston ISD: Houston Federation Channelview ISD: Northeast Houston AFT of Teachers (713) 623-8891 Socorro ISD: Socorro AFT (915) 593-2801 (281) 864-5491 Houston ISD: Houston Educational Corpus Christi ISD: Corpus Christi AFT Support Personnel (713) 660-8435 South San Antonio ISD: South San Antonio AFT (210) 227-8083 (361) 855-0482 Killeen ISD: Killeen Federation Cy-Fair ISD: Cy-Fair AFT of Teachers & Support Personnel Spring Branch ISD: Spring Branch AFT (713) 466-1125 (254) 690-2538 (713) 468-4700 Dallas ISD: Alliance AFT La Joya ISD: La Joya AFT Tuloso-Midway ISD: Corpus Christi AFT (214) 942-4663 (956) 682-1143 (361) 855-0482 Del Rio ISD: Del Rio AFT Lancaster ISD: Southwest Dallas AFT Victoria ISD: Victoria AFT (512) 448-0130 (214) 321-8100 (512) 448-0130 Desoto ISD: Southwest Dallas AFT Lone Star College: AFT Lone Star Waco ISD: Waco AFT (214) 321-8100 (281) 889-1009 (254) 755-0276 Duncanville ISD: Southwest Dallas AFT McAllen ISD: McAllen AFT West Oso ISD: Corpus Christi AFT (214) 321-8100 (956) 682-1143 (361) 855-0482 Member Benefits: Medical Bill Negotiator Did you know that as a union member of Texas AFT, you at least one outstanding have access to a free service to help negotiate lower medical bills? unreimbursed medical Angela Neal, a member of the Kansas Organization of State expense of at least $400. Employees (an AFT affiliate), discovered just how useful the The end result? “The service can be when she was faced with overwhelming medical Union Plus medical bill bills. negotiator helped knock as “Trying to lower the debt from medical expenses is so hard,” much as 50 percent off of explained Neal. “Some of the bill people can be harsh. They want some of my medical bills,” to get every penny from you as soon as possible, but you can’t she said. “It’s a big help squeeze blood from a turnip.” when someone is there to Dealing with the stress of mounting bills, coping with an help you negotiate medical ongoing health condition, and working full-time to provide debt. It was a real blessing. critical social services to families in need was a lot for Neal to It was nice knowing that AFT Member Angela Neal handle. She isn’t alone. A report by the Commonwealth Fund someone was working for found that 41 percent of Americans of working age have medical me just because I am a bill problems or are paying off medical debt. union member. I didn’t realize this union benefit existed, but I’m Neal found hope when a co-worker encouraged her to check so glad it does. It put me in a much better position to pay off my out the Union Plus Medical Bill Negotiating Service. When she medical bills.” clicked on UnionPlus.org/BillNegotiator, Neal was thrilled to see that it was easy to sign up for the free service. To qualify for help, For more information on the service, see she only needed to be an active or retired union member with www.UnionPlus.org/BillNegotiator. Texas Teacher Texas Teacher is the award-winning publication of Texas AFT. The publication is printed quarterly. For advertising inquiries, or to be added to our mailing list, contact [email protected]. Texas AFT 3000 South IH-35, Suite 175 Celebrating 40 Years Austin, Texas 78704 800-222-3827 El Paso AFT (formerly the El Paso 512-448-0130 www.texasaft.org Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel) celebrated its 40th year Louis Malfaro: President as an AFT union in November at Ray McMurrey: Secretary-Treasurer an anniversary party. Phil Kugler, Rob D’Amico: Editor AFT’s organizing director, presented the union with AFT’s “Comeback Texas AFT represents more than 65,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, support personnel, and higher-education employees Award” for turning around the across the state. Texas AFT is affiliated with the 1.6-million-member local and significantly increasing American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. its membership. Also on display was the union’s original charter certificate from 1975. facebook.com/TexasAFT twitter.com/TexasAFT WINTER 2016 Texas Teacher 1 VIEWPOINT The Every Student Succeeds Act: An open door for new public school accountability Th e congressional rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) gives Texas an enormous opportunity to recast our public school accountability Louis Malfaro system into one President that better serves students and teachers. We have a chance to leave behind for good the disastrous misuse of standardized testing we’ve endured for some 13 years under NCLB. Th e new law—named the Every After signing the Every Student Succeeds Act into law, President Obama offers supporters— Student Succeeds Act—enjoyed broad, including AFT President Randi Weingarten—thanks for their efforts supporting the law. bipartisan support in Congress. It sailed through both chambers and was supported disadvantaged, eff orts to label schools our students will bemoan that it still and signed into law by President Obama in as failures in hopes of shaming or requires all students in grades 3 through December. browbeating students, parents and teachers 8 to be tested every year, and high school Under the law, Texas and other states into producing better results have done students at least once, and that those tests will no longer be under federal mandates more harm than good. Assigning a bad must play a role in defi ning academic grade to a school may stigmatize students profi ciency. But the bill also authorizes Nor will Texas be forced to use and teachers but does absolutely nothing states to use a variety of alternative school “turnaround” models to address the underlying challenges assessments to gauge academic success. like fi ring all of a school’s staff, students face. Th ose alternative measures could include closing campuses or turning Instead, with the new law, Texas successful completion of advanced neighborhood schools over to could give priority to assisting struggling coursework, as well as portfolios and charter school operators—all of students with the proven success of the performance tasks to demonstrate which have had dismal results Community Schools model, which shift s achievement. in raising the level of student how we think about schools and the way Diehard defenders of our current achievement. we educate children. Services provided testing system likely will claim that we are at these schools refl ect the specifi c needs dumbing down education. But the tide is of “adequate yearly progress” that absurdly identifi ed by parents, teachers, and against them as more and more Texans and brand almost every school in the nation as community stakeholders. Th ese may their elected leaders question the validity a failure. Nor will Texas be forced to use include: academic programs like tutoring, of standardized tests and recognize they school “turnaround” models like fi ring enrichment activities, early-college-start have been misused. all of a school’s staff , closing campuses programs; medical services like vision, Th e Every Student Succeeds Act or turning neighborhood schools over to dental, nutrition and mental health; and also prohibits the federal government charter school operators—all of which programs for parents like adult education, from requiring teacher evaluations to have had dismal results in raising the level ESL classes, housing assistance, and job be based on their students’ standardized of student achievement. training. test scores—a misuse of testing proven to In Texas, where more than 60 percent Yes, critics of the new Every Student yield erroneous high-stakes decisions on of public school students are economically Succeeds Act who are tired of overtesting teacher employment and compensation. 2 Texas AFT www.texasaft.org The U.S.