MSTA

Congratulations to Dr. Charles Christian

Maryland professor honored with NEA award

NEA honored Marylander Dr. Charles Christian last week with one of the Association's prestigious Human & Civil Rights Awards. Christian, a professor at Coppin State University, is the author of Black Saga, an illustrated encyclopedia of Black history considered to be the definitive chronology of the African-American experience from the late fifteenth century to the present. MSTA Human and Civil Rights committee member Julia Hinton van Hook, Baltimore, nominated Dr. Christian.

Christian made his mark in public education with his Maryland State Black Saga Competition, a statewide, quiz-show style contest that develops study skills, school camaraderie, family and community involvement, and pride in academic achievement. More than 300 students from Baltimore County alone participated in the 2008 competition.

“I wanted to involve teachers and parents in helping children understand and appreciate the African American experience,” said Dr. Christian. “And I wanted to challenge and excite young children about learning this important part of American history. The Black Saga Competition has achieved each of these.”

Learn more about Baltimore‘s Black Saga contest >>
NEA's Human and Civil Rights Annual Awards >>

Specialists retain job rights and protections after MSTA, Locals and members speak out

Leadership is a wonderful thing. This is an extremely important issue for all of us. Thanks for MSTA's efforts on our behalf.
Tim Mennuti
President, Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County

[This is] a victory for us institutionally because it demonstrates that MSTA has the power of its membership … who see the power of organizing.
Bonnie Cullison
President, Montgomery County Education Association

This whole controversy helped to activate our SLPs and make them aware of the value of membership in our Local and MSTA. Thanks to everyone who was involved in this effort; it made a huge difference.
Gary Brennan
President, Frederick County Teachers Association

MSTA President Clara Floyd's message:

July 8, 2008

Yesterday, the Professional Standards and Teacher Education Board (PSTEB) voted unanimously to rescind the rule change affecting speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and occupational and physical therapists proposed by MSDE's Department of Certification and Accreditation.

Because the proposal has been withdrawn, there will be no August 7 PSTEB hearing on the issue. Assistant State Superintendent Dr. John Smeallie indicated that he will bring a revised proposal to PSTEB in August and that he believed this new language would meet the needs of MSTA, its members, and affiliated organizations. We will monitor this closely to ensure that the thousands of high-demand specialists in Maryland maintain their current rights and protections.

I would like to offer an enormous thank you to everyone for your tremendous effort on this issue. We were told that PSTEB received more than 2,000 emails, letters, petition signatures, and other correspondence on this issue in just a matter of weeks!

Our members were extremely articulate and persuasive, and it was a great example of effective coalition work through close collaboration with organizations including the Maryland Occupational Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association of MD, Speech Language and Hearing Association, Board of Examiners for Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers and Speech-Language Pathologists, and the Maryland Academy of Audiologists. I would also like to thank PSTEB chair Cathy Cerveny and the other MSTA PSTEB members for their help.

Thanks again to all of you for your hard work on this issue, and we will alert you in the weeks ahead as we learn of more developments.

Are you an OT, PT, audiologist or speech-language pathologist?

Speak out now to protect your job status!

“MSDE should be focused instead on solutions that will help recruit and retain high-demand professionals in our schools. TABCO has worked hard during negotiations and through the legislature to improve working conditions for these valuable employees. This regulation change should be strongly rejected.”
Cheryl Bost, president, Teachers Association of Baltimore County

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) wants to change the rules for up to 2,000 Maryland occupational and physical therapists (OT/PT), audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

The regulatory change would eliminate many of the rights and protections you and other high-demand specialists currently receive as professional employees under contracts across Maryland. Your professional license would no longer serve as the equivalent of state certification requirements, and you would lose your right to tenure and due process and current bargaining protections. And, in some counties, you would no longer be represented by MSTA affiliates.

Your action is needed immediately!
The State Board of Education and the Professional Standards and Teacher Education Board (PSTEB) will be considering the proposed rule change in the fall. A 30-day public comment period begins this Friday. The State Board and PSTEB need to hear your concerns! Contact your Local Association to join their campaign to protect your rights, or MSTA, 800/448-MSTA, Susan Russell (x3667), or Dale Templeton (x3649) to learn more!

Here are some important points you can make:

MSTA and its Local affiliates strongly oppose the MSDE’s Division of Certification and Accreditation’s proposed change to state regulations that covers certification requirements for OTs and PTs, speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
We support keeping the current language in the regulation that covers certification requirements for occupational and physical therapists (COMAR 13A.12.03.10), as well as extending that language to cover audiologists and speech-language pathologists. This change will maintain current rights and protections for up to 2,000 specialists in our schools.
The proposed rule change will make it difficult to fill these shortage positions at the same time increased student demand and higher pay in the private sector is exacerbating the shortage of these specialists.
OTs and PTs have been considered certificated employees based on their professional license under State Board regulation’s since 1997. The current regulatory language has worked well for the past ten years and has helped school systems recruit and retain OTs and PTs, who are always in high demand.
The Division’s proposed rule changes would remove these specialists from the certificated bargaining unit which would eliminate tenure rights, due process, and numerous other protections and rights guaranteed OTs and PTs – and since 2007, audiologists and speech-language pathologists as well – as professional employees belonging to the same bargaining unit as teachers, with whom they continue to share common interests.
This change would compound the difficulty school systems have recruiting and retaining these specialists. Inevitably, students will suffer the loss of their services.
This change flies in the face of current efforts supported by MSDE to obtain National Board Certification recognition and stipends for these specialists, who must continue to be categorized as the equivalent of certified in order to receive these benefits.

Fulbright Teacher Exchange

The U.S. Department of State sponsored Fulbright Teacher Exchange arranges direct, one-to-one international exchanges to many countries for teachers and administrators from K-12 schools as well as two and four-year colleges for educators of all subject levels.

MSTA members among educators who received top educational technology awards

Member Sarah Earwicker, a special educator at Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center in Prince George’s County, received top honors last month at the state educational technology conference known as MICCA.

Earwicker received the award for Best Research Paper for her submission, Using Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) Visual Communication to Increase the Occurrence of Task Completion for Children with Language Delays. The study was designed to determine whether students with language delays would increase their ability to complete tasks by list-following with the use of Picture Communication Symbol (PCS) Directions sheets.

MICCA is dedicated to providing leadership for advancing meaningful uses of technology in the educational communities of Maryland.