The Washington Teacher

WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 04:42:00 +0000

Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein ‘do not’ represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.

I’ve watched WTU President Liz Davis’ dictatorial style alienate the Chancellor and poison contract negotiations; deceive and keep the Executive Board in the dark about major financial obligations like the union head quarter’s real estate taxes; and systematically stymie WTU boards and committees with her election obstruction and staff treachery, which is why I want to take a moment to showcase the Peterson/Thompson Slate officers including Dr. Brajendra Sharma, WTU Treasurer candidate and Dee Ward, WTU Secretary candidate.

First, I must address what has transpired during the last week of the campaign. President Davis worried that I will likely torpedo her chances of winning the WTU presidency has dedicated several campaign issues about me, which attack me with lies, distortions and half-truths. Shame on her.

This is the oldest trick in the book to try to sow the seeds of mistrust and doubt by selling, "campaign lies". One thing is for sure Davis didn’t write her recent campaign newsletter(s). These definitely aren’t her original words. It is clearly ghost authored by someone other than her.

Davis has been less than honest with the rank and file not only about the multiple teachers’ contract proposals but also about her own efforts to stymie the 2015 elections committee elections and 2016 officer elections. On several occasions, Davis’ obstruction has caused the Executive Board to compel her to hold elections and direct her to comply with providing a membership list and guarantee of payment to the independent Ballot company so that elections could be finally scheduled, albeit delayed.

Not to mention, Davis is now making excuses for why the union headquarters is on the July 2016 tax sale auction list and why we still don’t have a contract after her 3-year term as the Chief Contract Negotiator. Someone else is always to blame for Davis' failures.

Davis lacks credibility and when she speaks, it is hard to discern where truth begins and fiction ends. Can you really trust Davis to tell the truth about me, the chancellor, the union or anything for that matter?

Leadership is built on trust, credibility and integrity. Don’t be fooled by President Davis. You simply can’t trust anything she says. Everything that she reports must be fact-checked.

In order to restore “RESPONSIBLE” governance and financial controls I took over six months to thoroughly vet the following officers and I feel fortunate to have Dr. Brajendra Sharma as Treasurer and Deirdia “Dee” Ward as Recording Secretary, and I would like you to hear in their own words, their vision for joining GeLynn Thompson and me in helping return the WTU to ACCOUNTABLE, COLLABORATIVE; TRANSPARENT new leadership.

Dr. Brajendra Sharma

DR. BRAJENDRA SHARMA

Youth Services Center

“In democratic societies people get the government they deserve. They VOTE for their future governments.

This year provides an opportunity for DCPS teachers to vote for the Union they deserve and desire. So VOTE! And vote for the right team.

I am a candidate for the post of 'Treasurer” in the current Union elections on the Peterson Slate. I have given substantial thought before accepting this offer of 'treasurer'. And I want to affirm that this team will work 'in unison' to get the best CONTRACT possible; and do everything possible to ensure expansion of teacher benefits.

I feel that I am uniquely qualified and experienced to take over this job and perform it with excellence. My terminal PhD degree is in economics, and one of the three master's degrees I have is in accounting, with specialization in Taxation, so I can assure you that the Executive Board will get regular financial reports and important matters such as paying real estate taxes and avoiding penalties and interest will be a priority under my watch.

I also possess over twenty years of practical experience in the profession as an accountant and treasurer of a variety of non-profit and faith-based organizations. Furthermore, I have the distinct privilege of collecting, accounting and managing all collections at my church since 1992.

Those who know me well will confirm that my experience is genuine, modus operandi is professional and actions come with full honesty and integrity. So I will also make it a priority to order a forensic audit of the last administration in my first 100 days as Treasurer.

I am a firstborn of a union leader in his own right. My father was an elected Staff Welfare Officer (Union Officer) in the Northern Railways for over a quarter century until his retirement. Pro-activism is in my blood.

As your Treasurer, I promise to work tirelessly by keeping your best fiduciary interests in mind and assure to be the proverbial ‘Guardian Cobra’ for the optimum utilization and safeguard of our funds.

I am asking the wonderful DCPS teachers to accept this challenge, take action and VOTE; honor the best team on the Peterson Slate with your valuable vote to care for and guarantee your best interests.”

Dee Ward

DEE WARD

Wilson High School

“As a DCPS Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher for more than 25 years, I am looking forward to working with Candi Peterson and the WTU. The ability to give an account of what just happened or bear witness to what transpired at a meeting or an event must be done by some one with credibility, professional integrity and transparency – all values that the Peterson/Thompson Slate stand for.

As teacher of business, record keeping and recording is what I do. My reputation for stating the facts accurately, precisely and professionally in both a verbal or written format precedes me.

In the past under the Davis administration, the Recording Secretary was not given the resources to properly provide audio back-up tapes but I have been reassured that instead of spending valuable union resources on food and trinkets that the position of Recording Secretary will be properly resourced so that a professional and timely set of Executive Board minutes can be kept.

I have also been reassured that the President Candi Peterson will demand the type of collaborative cooperation among Executive Board and Committee members to assure that random changes and revisions to the official actions of the board are not made by unauthorized staff as has been the practice in the past.

There are many things being said about Candi Peterson and you may not care for her straightforward personality, but you must respect her. Candi is a straight shooter who believes in transparency

Respect the fact that she is by the book and follows the contract to the letter of the law. Respect the fact that she follows parliamentary procedures.

Respect the fact that she is transparent about the operations of union business. Respect the fact that she wants the body of teachers to know what is being offered as a contract and make the decision to vote it up or down.

Respect the fact that she has remained professional in her campaigning and has not used her WTU position to campaign through your work email nor hinder the WTU Executive Board or Election Committee in their effort to run a more timely WTU election.

Respect the fact that she has a slate of new faces that is culturally diverse with young innovative teachers. Whatever your issue may be, transparency is the best quality for leadership; put some RESPECT on Candi Peterson.

Vote for Accountability, Collaboration &; Transparency. Vote the Peterson slate.”

CANDI PETERSON

WTU Presidential Candidate

In closing, will you join us in demanding fundamental change in our union? The Peterson slate has a slate of activists who will stand up for what we know to be right. We always promise to tell you the truth, no matter how painful. That's why we are proud to be running. Vote for a long-needed new direction in our union. Vote Peterson slate. We are #1 on the ballot.

Ballots are due July 8th. If you don't think your ballots will reach the post office in time, please deliver them to the U.S. Post office on Georgia Avenue NW near Piney Branch Road.

WTU Headquarters On The Auction Block: Union Prez Liz Davis Doesn't Pay Property Tax!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:01:00 +0000

June 30th is the last official day of WTU Prez Davis' constitutional term. Malcolm Barnes explores this unfortunate scandal in the article below. What remains ahead is anybody's guess especially with Davis obstructing WTU elections from moving forward. Ballots are due by July 8. If you didn't receive one- please email JWRIGHT@WTULOCAL6.NET It's imperative that you vote. Peterson slate is #1 on the ballot...Candi Peterson

By Malcolm Lewis Barnes

The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters building owes over $24,000 in unpaid back real estate taxes and is on the Monday, July 18th Tax Sale schedule, which could result in the forced sale of the building at worst, and the union being hit with thousands of dollars of legal fees to fight off a tax lien sale.

A current Real Property Tax Property summary of Square 1019S, Lot 0040 reveals that the WTU has a total of $46,648.35 in unpaid taxes over the period from 2013 to the first half of tax year 2016. During President Liz Davis tenure and Treasurer Diane Terrell, the WTU racked up over $10,000 in penalties and interest in every year but 2014, and as recently as the first half 2016 bill for $19,199.93 the union incurred $1,919.93 or ten percent in penalties and an additional $863.90 in interest charges.

The $24,365.55 that caused the WTU to be placed on the Tax Sale list was the result of 2013 through 2015 delinquent taxes that the union failed to pay during the first two-and-a-half years of President Davis’ three year term. Ironically President Davis is the incumbent candidate for reelection under the “Responsible Leadership Team: Integrity, Experience & Experience” and this level of financial malfeasance and neglect is likely to result in an immediate investigation of why the union did not require the real estate taxes to be escrowed after a series of multi-million dollar loans were acquired from M&T Bank and Amalgamated Bank of Chicago.

In the opinion of former WTU General Counsel Johnnie Landon, who served under George Parker until 2010 and was later dismissed by former WTU President Nathan Saunders, "The former Presidents' of WTU should have never executed loan documents without it first undergoing a legal sufficiency review. Whoever was advising them at the time of the building acquisition as a bare minimum should have set up an escrow account."

As the former general counsel under WTU President George Parker, attorney Landon has history with the WTU’s plans to purchase a property and was assigned to investigate the acquisition of an inexpensive building on South Capitol Street. But the acquisition was never considered because, “Nathan Saunders came in barnstorming and ended up buying the Pennsylvania Avenue building after he defeated Parker. But AFT deserves some responsibility. They should have looked at the equity side of the acquisition and realized it was a bad deal”, said Landon.

Efforts to contact WTU President Liz Davis and Treasurer Diane Terrell went unanswered. But the WTU General Vice President and presidential 2016 candidate for WTU Presidency that is slated to start in July of 2016, was available and did respond to this shocking news.

"Unfortunately due to President Davis' lack of transparency, the WTU Executive Board was not made aware that the union headquarters was on the tax lien sale list. Davis has not demonstrated responsible union leadership and has become a spendthrift focusing on lavish events at the Kellogg Center, buying gift cards and trinkets instead of ensuring that the bills are paid. This is a travesty that union members have been mislead about the status of WTU’s finances. Our members deserve greater transparency and more accountable leadership."

Several other WTU Executive Board members were equally upset at the news of the union’s financial distress including Anitra Parker, a teacher at Hardy Middle School. “I am saddened and appalled about the discovery of this information. As an executive board member, it is clear that there never was and never will be accountability, collaboration, or transparency under the leadership of Liz Davis. If this is the responsible leadership that she is referring to, I don't want any parts of it. If she can't pay WTU bills, how can anyone have faith in her negotiating a contract with DCPS!” said Ms. Parker.

WTU President Liz Davis recently issued a ‘Report on WTU Finances’ that claims the union is “experiencing significant financial growth and progress”. But a closer look at how Davis arrived at that conclusion reveals a deceptive use of statistics and faulty assumptions about how the union poured millions of dollars into their historic Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters and is now trying to claim enormous cost overruns and renovation expenses as an asset.

In December of 2011 under the leadership of former President Nathan Saunders the Washington Teachers’ Union paid $2.5 million for three small townhouses in the 1200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The union planned to complete renovations on the 100 year old property started by the former non-profit association owners in 2002 and be ready to occupy the building by the spring of 2013.

Those plans quickly went south when the expected one year renovation more than tripled in costs as major foundation and cost overruns by out-going President Saunders got out of hand as he tried to hold onto power in the face of a 2013 re-election campaign.

In 2013, newly elected President Davis was forced to beg the American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT), WTU’s parent organization for a financial bailout as the original $3 million construction loan was converted to a permanent mortgage note, and an additional $500,000 loan from the mortgage holder was needed in mid-2014 to clean up the contractor liens and professional fees and an additional $1.5 million loan from Amalgamated Bank of Chicago to occupy the building later that year.

If Davis has put the union into such fine financial condition, why is there an outstanding tax bill of $46,648.35 and why has the union been consistently hit with annual penalties and interest of over $10,000 for unpaid real estate taxes every year under her financial stewardship?

So the WTU against the advice of their former Executive Board paid $2.5 million for a 100 year old Money Pit, poured an additional $2.5 million in renovation loans for a building that is currently assessed by the District’s Office of Tax &; Revenue at $2,327,190 and then uses voodoo economics to tell its members that it’s really worth $2 million more on paper.

Time and the Tax Sale will ultimately tell the story of the Davis administration’s disastrous tale of financial mismanagement and neglect!

WTU Tax Sale Listing by saveourcounselors

WTU Ballots Are In The Mail- Vote Peterson Slate: We're #1 on The Ballot!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 01:26:00 +0000

Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
WTU President & VP 2016 candidates

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

If you haven't received a ballot, please contact Jasmine Wright, WTU Membership Coordinator @ jwright@WTULOCAL6.net to request another ballot. Please copy wtuelectionscommittee@gmail.com

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.

Vote Peterson slate

Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) President Liz Davis reached an all-time low of setting the truth aside when in a recent campaign June 18th email she blamed me and WTU Elections Chair Cheryl Gillette for the delays in union elections. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Oh what a tangled web Davis weaves in her efforts to deceive the rank and file.

So it’s no surprise that Davis wants to point the finger of blame at me and the WTU Elections chair in order to cover up her own failures and complicity in holding elections.

This is the oldest trick in the book to try to sow the seeds of mistrust and division by accusing others for her failures especially given that I am running on an opposition slate as a WTU presidential candidate and represent a threat to her candidacy.

At every turn, Davis, a presidential candidate, has inserted herself in the elections process by micro-managing and regulating everything. Davis has over reached her enumerated powers as spelled out in the constitution by withholding the union membership list and payment to the ballot company. As a candidate for office, Davis appears oblivious to the fact that as the incumbent president, she is no more entitled to special treatment by the elections committee than any other presidential candidate.

The WTU Constitution and By-Laws created an independent elections committee to oversee WTU elections including officer elections with the intent of limiting interference by officers who would likely be candidates such as Davis.

The interference and obstruction by Davis made simple tasks such as scheduling weekly meetings in the unions’ board room a herculean task. Repeated requests for information either have gone unanswered by Davis, or her responses were delayed and thus stymied the ability of the elections committee to perform it's constitutional function. The normal protocol is for the independent elections committee to work directly with the union membership director without interference in order to hold timely elections by the May 2016 deadline.

In an effort to facilitate officer elections, without any further delays, members of the WTU Executive Board unanimously passed five motions on June 4^th to force Davis and her Chief of Staff's cooperation in supplying the union membership list. Additionally, Davis and the chief of staff were directed by the Board to assure payment, and issue a letter of apology to TrueBallot, the independent company contracted by the elections committee to conduct officer elections.

Only after these Executive Board motions did Davis and her chief of staff finally submit the union membership list to TrueBallot on June 6^th. Davis and her Chief of Staff refused to provide an apology letter and guarantee of payment as directed by the Executive board; however, at the urging of the elections committee chair TrueBallot finally agreed to move forward with the election.

Earlier this year, the Executive Board voted to compel President Davis to hold the elections of the elections committee. These elections were delayed for nine months due to the intentional obstruction by President Davis. Colleagues, it’s not rocket science that if there is not a duly elected elections committee, there can be no election of officers.

Members should thank the elections committee members for their perseverance and hard work instead of scapegoating and blaming them for a delayed election of officers.

Fortunately complaints to American Federation of Teachers' (AFT), WTU’s parent organization, resulted in an assignment of an intermediary to assist with the process of completing officer elections. AFT’s involvement has given a measure of assurance to TrueBallot that they will be paid for their contracted services.

Had it not been for WTU Elections Chair Cheryl Gillette, who has remained steadfast despite all the road blocks by Davis- WTU would not have advanced this far. Elections have finally been scheduled.

Ballots were mailed to members’ homes on Monday, June 20^th. You should expect to receive your ballots by no later than the end of this week. The ballot count will occur on July 8^th and the location will be announced.

Responsible leaders don’t blame others when they are at fault. They accept responsibility for their own actions and/or inaction. In addition to her pattern of pointing the finger of blame at others, Davis is in deep denial.

FACT -After failing to negotiate a teachers contract after three years- Davis continues to blame Chancellor Henderson even though there were multiple contract offers that Davis failed to disclose to the rank and file.

FACT - As the WTU President and Chief Negotiator, it was Davis’ primary duty to get teachers a contract within her three year term (2013-2016). She sabotaged relationships with the Chancellor and her team, called her a liar , and then tried to rally teachers to demand the Chancellor return to the negotiating table when Ms. Henderson made it clear in April that she would not resume contract negotiations until after officers elections.

Davis blames everybody except herself for the delays in the upcoming officers elections, as well, as the election committee elections and contract negotiations. This is not responsible leadership. If you are tired of her blame game and inaction and no contract- then you must vote for a return to Accountability, Collaboration and Transparency.

The Candi Peterson slate is the only logical option for Ethical and Responsible union leadership. It’s the only viable alternative to the failed track record of the desperate Davis' denial and blame game that poisons instead of inspires cooperative relationships.

I vow to make getting teachers a contract my first priority.

Vote Peterson slate- we are #1 on the ballot.

© Candi Peterson, 2016

No WTU Elections For You: Teachers' Ballots ARE NOT IN THE MAIL!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 03:19:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.

Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) officer elections have been marred with confusion and delays under the helm of President Liz Davis and her Chief of Staff due to failure to submit a union membership list to TrueBallot according to a schedule established in May by the duly elected elections committee.

TrueBallot is the company selected several months ago as the lowest bidder to hold WTU's election in May 2016. Only one other time in the union’s history have officer elections been delayed. In 2006, American Federation of Teachers' (AFT), WTU’s parent organization assumed a "limited administratorship" to take over elections when the then-president Parker failed to hold elections according to schedule.

WTU Officers and the Board are elected to a term of three years. That term will soon expire on June 30, 2016.

Many teachers have been asking the obvious question; where is my ballot? Certainly, it’s not in the mail.

In their efforts to facilitate a timely election, the WTU Elections Committee, an independent elected body responsible for creating an election schedule and overseeing union elections in May of the final year of current leadership term (2016), has been thwarted at every turn by President Liz Davis and Chief of Staff Dorothy Egbufor.

WTU Executive Board members voted unanimously on June 4th at their final meeting, for WTU Chief of Staff Egbufor to send the union membership list to TrueBallot by June 6th at 12 noon and offer an apology for defamatory statements and a threat from Egbufor to withhold payment to TrueBallot. While the membership list was finally mailed to TrueBallot by Egbufor on June 6th, she failed to provide the required apology as voted on by the Executive Board.

Further, the Executive Board, also voted unanimously for President Davis to offer TrueBallot an assurance on June 4th that their contract with WTU would be honored. While President Davis finally sent an email several days later on June 6th to TrueBallot's representative, however, he considered it more of an excuse than an apology, demanded an end to the ex parte communication with Davis, a presidential candidate and WTU staff that deliberately undermined TrueBallot's independent function.

After complaints, were lodged with AFT about elections, – a June 9th letter from AFT President Randi Weingarten and Secretary-Treasurer Loretta Johnson proposed for AFT to serve as an intermediary to help facilitate elections. Of course, this proposal is contingent on all parties agreeing by no later than June 10th including all current presidential candidates, as well as, WTU Chief of Staff.

Why this arrangement would include parties other than presidential candidates is anybody’s guess. This arrangement may prove to be a convenient out to further delay elections, if all parties don’t agree. Certainly, this decision, if sincere should not be up to Chief of Staff, who has been part of the obstruction and is a union employee; neither a candidate, nor an elected officer of the union.

As of June 12th, as a presidential candidate- I have yet to hear from AFT about the status of their proposal.

Even if we get past this hurdle, TrueBallot is insisting on certain conditions before conducting WTU’s election of officers. Chief among the conditions set forth by TrueBallot, is that President Liz Davis and Chief of Staff, Dorothy Egbufor, issue written apologies for what TrueBallot describes as defamatory behavior. Several of the conditions include:

1. An apology DIRECTLY from Ms. Egbufor, and copied to each person to whom she sent emails on 6/6/16. This requirement is borne of the damage that the TrueBallot representative believes she has caused to him and TrueBallot. If she is unwilling to attempt to mitigate the damage she has caused, TrueBallot is unwilling to be further associated in this election where her continuing position could cause further damage.

2. TrueBallot requests an apology, directly from Ms. Davis (as opposed to the excuse she previously sent), and an acknowledgement that Ms. Egbufor was acting at the behest or with the approval of Ms., Davis when she (Ms. Egbufor ) sent the emails that she sent on 6/3/16, to people who had no relationships to this election process. TrueBallot requires Davis’ promise that other than the apology above, she will not name, discuss or make reference to their representative or TrueBallot, either directly or indirectly under any circumstance or in any context, whether positive or negative, in the future.

The failure of President Davis to adhere to the timely elections schedule set forth by the Elections Committee without ongoing interference is irresponsible leadership. In the long run, this type of behavior gives unions’ a bad name, makes a mockery of democracy, and undermines union members' confidence in the elections process. The recent actions of Davis begs the rhetorical question – why is she obstructing WTU elections as a candidate and what does she hope to achieve by stalling union members right to vote.

These dubious election practices of failing to hold elections in May can cause irreparable damage and has left WTU members in an all too familiar dilemma- they can’t decide on who their next leader will be. A delay in holding elections will likely further delay contract negotiations.

The failure of AFT to take decisive action against union election obstruction is no surprise to those who are familiar with AFT’s laissez-faire approach. We should not forget that AFT sat on the sidelines despite obvious signs of financial malfeasance as former WTU president, Barbara Bullock pilfered a hefty five million dollars in 2002 and later pled guilty in 2003.

Our leaders must be accountable and wiling to follow our own governing WTU Constitution and By-Laws, as well as the Labor, Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) (standards for union elections). After all leaders are supposed to set the example of responsible leadership.

Stay tuned for more updates on WTU elections.

Please also refer to my June 5th article on No Ballots For You: WTU Prez Liz Davis Sabatoges Union Elections!

No Ballots For You: WTU Prez Liz Davis Sabotages Union Elections!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 03:08:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.

Here we go again. Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) elections were supposed to be held in May 2016 and we are almost at the end of the school year with no ballots in sight. Ballots for union officer’s elections HAVE NOT BEEN MAILED TO UNION MEMBERS despite a WTU election timeline, which required them to be mailed on May 31^st. It is important to note that even that even the May 31^st date is delayed as Officers-elect are required to be installed at the May meeting.

For those of you have been around six years or more – you may remember that former WTU President George Parker did not adhere to the union elections schedule in 2010. This delayed union elections until November 2010 and AFT, WTU’s parent organization imposed a “limited administratorship” to take over union elections for WTU, after several lawsuits were filed.

The WTU Constitution and By-Laws Section 2 K states: “Officers of the Union shall serve three years, until their successors are elected and installed. Officers-elect shall be installed at the May meeting.” President Davis and the WTU Executive Boards’ term is slated to officially end on June 30, 2016.

The WTU Executive Board members were informed at our last board meeting on June 4^th in fact no ballots have been mailed to teachers. Board members wanted to know why.

WTU Elections Chair Cheryl Gillette told Board members that Chief of Staff, Dorothy Egbufor failed to cooperate with the Elections Committee by submitting the union membership list to TrueBallot so elections can be conducted. Further, Gillette reported that TrueBallot was threatened by WTU Chief of Staff Egbufor that their contract would not be paid, despite the fact that Davis previously signed it.

WTU President Elizabeth Davis stated that she authorized the withholding of the union membership list from TrueBallot and threatened non-payment of an already signed contract. Davis’ feigned excuses to the Board that she was concerned about the integrity of the elections process.

TrueBallot is the same reputable and experienced vendor that WTU contracted to hold the last union election when Elizabeth Davis ran for WTU president in May 2013. It also bears mentioning that WTU Elections Committee Chair Gillette was the elections chair in 2013 when Davis ran and the same elections procedures were followed by Gillette’s committee in the 2013 union election.

Without the membership list of union members along with their addresses, TrueBallot is unable to fulfill their contract to mail out ballots to union members.

It seems WTU President Davis is trying to take a page out of George Parker’s playbook.

How disingenuous for President Davis to announce via a June 2^nd union newsletter last week that ballots were mailed out on May 31^st. What does this suggest about Davis’ intentions? While sending a meet and greet invite to the entire WTU membership for several campaign mixers during the week of June 6^th through 10th, President Elizabeth Davis DOES NOT TELL INVITEES THAT THE BALLOTS HAVE NOT BEEN MAILED!

As the WTU General Vice President, I also received an invite to Davis’ campaign meet and greet at my WTU email address even though I am running for WTU President on another slate, the Peterson slate. Go figure.

It’s also disingenuous that President Davis encourages WTU Building Representatives to hold their local school elections by a May 31^st timeline, yet fails to cooperate with our elected WTU Elections Committee in meeting our deadline to elect a new union president and officers.

And this from the incumbent candidate for WTU president who is running under the questionable banner of “The Responsible WTU Leadership Team”! Is it responsible to deliberately delay an election? Is it responsible to obstruct the duly appointed Elections Committee and use your Chief of Staff to throw every stumbling block possible in their way? Is it responsible to threaten a vendor with non-payment of services rendered after a fair and open competition that resulted in the award of a contract months ago?

Just like in 2010 - WTU Members have a right to move forward as quickly as possible with an election of new WTU Officers. Any continued delays by President Davis are a violation of union member’s rights that amounts to irreparable injury. Board members unanimously agreed that something needed to be done so that members could participate in a fair and democratic internal election.

The five motions passed by the Executive Board on June 4^th showed their agreement that WTU incumbent President Davis should stop interfering with union elections and should cooperate with the Elections Committee in submitting the membership list to TruBallot.

Whether the elections happens in June remains to be seen. The Executive Board has given President Davis a deadline of Monday, June 6^th at 12 noon to comply with submitting the membership list to TrueBallot.

Time is of the essence. If ballots don’t go out soon, Davis will become our second “HOLD OVER” un-elected union president. In 2010, union elections were delayed due to the following school year since teachers are generally on summer vacation in July and part of August. A delay in union elections will certainly further delay a negotiated contract for teachers.

Unfortunately, Davis has already missed one timeline given by her Executive Board to send TrueBallot an email by Saturday, June 4^th with a copy to the Executive Board notifying them that they (TrueBallot) will be paid for services rendered upon completion.

It’s anybody’s guess what will happen next. Stay tuned for more updates.

© Candi Peterson, 2016

DC Teacher Contract 4% Percent Offer Revealed- WTU Prez Davis Finally Comes Clean!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Tue, 31 May 2016 02:54:00 +0000

WTU Prez Liz Davis reveals 4% Teacher contract offer

This article recounts information shared by Cardozo Education Campus teachers with Malcolm Lewis Barnes, independent free-lance journalist shortly after attending a recent meeting with WTU President Liz Davis. Disclaimer: Mr. Barnes is also the campaign manager for the Candi Peterson WTU slate 2016.

By Malcolm Lewis Barnes

According to several confirmed sources who attended a May 25th school wide meeting at Cardozo Education Campus, when pressed for answers WashingtonTeachers' Union President Liz Davis admitted that she turned down a 4 percent (4%) offer that was on the table during last year's teacher contract negotiations.

An impatient group of over 40 Cardozo teachers were present last Wednesday who had just attended an afternoon monthly faculty meeting and were later joined by WTU President Davis. Davis declared during the meeting that the 1% raise that Chancellor Kaya Henderson offered was ‘unacceptable.’ Davis revealed at the meeting that late in 2013, there was a four percent offer on the table that she turned down because the chancellor was just beginning to press her initiative on the extended school year.

“Four percent is better than no percent,” said Grace Cooke-Thomas, a special education teacher at Cardozo Education Campus as she expressed her exasperation about the fact that the Chancellor was able to push through the extended school year with nearly a dozen schools, mainly east of the river in wards 7 and 8.

Davis indicated that she didn’t bring the four percent offer to anyone’s attention because she didn’t think it was worth discussing because the WTU didn’t accept it in light of the extended school year issues being discussed across the board rather than at selected low performing schools.

During the meeting, Cardozo teachers demanded to know, “Where was the transparency? Why were only certain schools being targeted for rallies to bring attention to the 1% offer? And most important, why wasn’t Davis playing a more effective role as a union leader instead of expecting teachers to take to the streets in support of her failed effort to get a contract?’

The Cardozo teachers’ group just got tired of President Davis beating around the bush about contract negotiations and they asked her directly to disclose what’s actually in the contract that she claims she is negotiating.

“I’m a bit frustrated and I’ve seen teachers lose their jobs. I hear a lot of talk but nothing is being done. Teachers don’t want to march and hold rallies because they are being bullied by principals and are afraid of reprisal”, said Ms. Cooke-Thomas.

When Davis suggested that a survey be conducted, the Cardozo staff lost their patience and the group asked to see a draft of the contract that Davis claims she is working on. They demanded to know exactly what was put on the table. Davis declined to provide this information, citing confidentiality

Jody Coates, a special education teacher at Cardozo EC recalled, “I sat with Davis as a member of the WTU Executive Board and I don’t remember Davis ever saying anything about the 4% offer.”

During the meeting, it was reported that majority of teachers became frustrated and irate that the 4% offer was never brought to their attention. Davis was described as defensive and an attempt to rescue her from the heat by a representative of the American Federation of Teachers’ staffer, Allison Crawford was reportedly unsuccessful.

At one point in the meeting, President Davis asked one participant to “shut up” and accused her of being rude. That was followed by a barrage of complaints as teachers demanded to know what action was being taken to get a contract and that Davis should take charge. “I’ve contacted you on a number of occasions and it took you over a month to get back to me,” said Ms. Ball. “You want us to be out front in the rally, but we are asking you to take charge,” said Ms. Cooke-Thomas.

When a key member of the WTU teacher contract negotiations team and Davis 2016 slate candidate for Member at Large, Signe Nelson was asked to get her read on what had historically been on the negotiating table before the contract negotiations team were summarily dismissed and Davis took charge of all negotiations herself, the familiar theme of “blame the Chancellor” rang out.

“Kaya had no intention of negotiating in good faith”, said Ms. Nelson as she went on to deny that Davis ever owned up to the 4% offer. “It’s about changing the narrative that ineffective teachers are the problem. And I’m not confident that will change” concluded Ms. Nelson who seems to represent the defeatist sentiment of the Davis slate that is not optimistic that a contract can get done under any circumstances!

It is not surprising that Chancellor Henderson referred to the state of negotiations, “as the old fashioned way” in her April 21st DCPS budget hearing testimony before DC City Council Education Chair David Grosso.

And the Cardozo teachers’ wondered why Davis was going out of her way on the eve of the WTU elections to rally support, when she couldn’t get a contract done and turned down attractive offers that have been on the table since 2013!

In addition, Cardozo teachers’ felt that Davis’ repeated requests to rally and protest at area schools was falling on deaf ears and that she had not been honest about the Wilson and downtown rally at Thomson elementary school, which were teacher led and mainly by her fellow slate members and supporters in an attempt to salvage her flagging prospects for re-election as her three year term is quickly coming to an end with no contract in sight.

Davis included the following argument in a February 2016 WTU Newsletter: “The mediator demanded that both DCPS and the WTU negotiations teams complete proposals for all contract articles by the close of business on February 24th.

Now that all proposals have been completed, in an effort to speed up negotiations, we agreed to meet with DCPS without the teachers after the chancellor said providing release time for the teachers on our team was a deterrent to meeting five days a week.

As negotiations became testy and the mediator could not bring the sides together, Davis dismissed the teacher members of the negotiating team and went solo using the excuse that the Chancellor wouldn’t allow teachers special leave to participate in a 5-day a week negotiation meetings which were unrealistic and a sign of how desperate the Davis contract negotiating position was at that time.

Davis went on to claim in that same February newsletter that, “DCPS's priorities for the new contract include an extended school year.”

"These decisions, and other contract language proposed by DCPS, would stifle your voice and participation in local school decision-making. Our contract team is determined not to let that happen”.

“It’s not about taking sides at this point, it’s about what’s right. I just don’t see Davis' vision and I don’t believe after three years of seeing her operate as WTU President that she has the knowledge of union logistics. She talks a good game and she’s good on the soapbox, but at last week’s meeting it was kicked out from under her! We simply want a contract”, said WTU Executive Board member Jody Coates.

© 2016 Malcolm Lewis Barnes

Rebuilding DC Teachers' Trust Through Transparency

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 23 May 2016 01:56:00 +0000

Peterson 2016 WTU Slate by saveourcounselors

New Revelations About DC Teacher Contract Negotiations

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Tue, 10 May 2016 01:43:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.

Noticeably absent are details in Washington Teachers' Union email blasts about current contract negotiations between WTU and DC Public Schools’ Chancellor Kaya Henderson. What members have not heard, or read, is why there isn’t a contract after almost three years of negotiations? That’s a question that should be posed to WTU Chief Negotiator and union president Elizabeth Davis.

The coverage of DC City Council Fiscal Year '17 Budget Oversight April 22nd hearing was an eye opener for most who viewed it. Education Chairman David Grosso questioned Chancellor Henderson regarding the status of teacher contract negotiations. Mr. Grosso was clear that he wanted to get Henderson’s response on the record because he had been contacted by teachers through informal channels who thought it was unfair to not get a raise after three plus years. Henderson replied: “We had our final negotiation session with our mediator on April 6th. We determined we could not get to agreement on a number of key issues. We have suspended our negotiations. There is a union election that is happening over the coming weeks and it is probably best to revisit the negotiation conversation after the election happens.”

Henderson’s answer indicates that the final contract negotiation session was held on April 6. Henderson also stated that the decision to suspend contact negotiations was due to the fact that there was disagreement on a number of important issues that could not be resolved, even with the help of a mediator.

There are two sides to every story. That’s why it’s important for members to know all pertinent allowable details about contract negotiations. Given that our WTU Contract Negotiation team of teachers was recently dismissed by WTU, members aren’t likely to get to the bottom of this debate anytime soon by speaking with teachers/members who were removed from weekly negotiation sessions.

WAMU radio covered the Wilson High School teacher-led rally on May 6, 2016 organized by Jim Leonard, the schools union Building Representative. The rally was organized in response to suspension of contract negotiations by Chancellor Henderson. Teachers voiced their concerns about the status of teacher contract negotiations and appealed to Henderson to return to contract talks with WTU President Davis.

WAMU Reporter Kavitha Cardoza’s coverage of this rally advanced new revelations about teacher contract talks in her article and podcast. Click on the link to the right to listen to the podcast: “Are DCPS Teachers Due For A Bigger Raise? Negotiations Fuels Protest.” Chancellor Henderson revealed to Cardoza that she offered multiple compensation proposals to WTU for consideration; a well-kept secret by Davis. In a WTU email recently sent to union members, Davis reported that only a 1% raise was offered by Henderson.

Henderson says, there were multiple proposals on the table — not just the one that called for a 1 percent raise. “By law we’re not supposed to publicly discuss them. But I will tell you the WTU picked the compensation proposal that they thought was most advantageous to publicize,” according to Henderson. Another question worth asking Chief Negotiator Davis is why weren’t rank and file members informed that there were other compensation proposals offered by Henderson?

The WAMU piece provided some insights that had not been made public before. Over the last years, WTU President Davis stated that Henderson was refusing to meet. The WAMU article revealed:

Henderson says, “DCPS has been negotiating with the Washington Teacher’s Union since 2013. “This mischaracterization of 'I don’t want to negotiate for our teachers.' It’s just not true," she says. She says when both sides couldn’t come to an agreement, they brought in a mediator. But they still couldn’t agree on teacher salaries or how grievances should be resolved.”

In the WAMU story, Henderson gives her rationale for suspending negotiations. Last month Chancellor Henderson decided to suspend negotiations until after the Washington Teachers’ Union holds its internal elections in early June.

Henderson says, “The closer the elections got, the more urgent and the less rational the conversations became, because there are higher stakes right? And so I would like to move past the election season where we can have regular old conversations again."

No one disputes that teachers deserve and need a long awaited pay raise as well as reasonably agreed upon improvements in working conditions, for which a political strategy is paramount. However, in order to engender vital and substantive support from the rank and file, members deserve to be told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Thus, in the interest of transparency and union democracy, let the TRUTH be told.

Why I'm Running for WTU President in 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 18:55:00 +0000

Candi Peterson and GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU President & GVP 2016

By Candi Peterson, Candidate for WTU President 2016

Disclaimer: I AM NOT a member of the current WTU Contract Negotiations team.

For the first time, my decision to run as President of the Washington Teachers’ Union is rooted in a strong desire to lead our much-beleaguered union to a respectable level of teacher/member representation that embraces and fosters union democracy to the greatest extent possible. The deterioration of union democracy has imperiled DC educators and WTU members for too many years and is manifest in the loss of job security and dignity, without which, teacher unions' become obsolete. Job security is the hallmark of any good union. WTU’s continued path of apathy and passivity is unacceptable if it is to survive as more than a vehicle for high union dues that benefit salaried employees, currently not WTU members, and the AFT, our parent organization.

My years of advocacy and service to WTU, first as a member of the Board of Trustee during the Parker/Saunders’ administration, and as General Vice President for both the Saunders’ and presently, the Davis/Peterson administration, have equipped me with the ability to lead and restore our Local to both sound fiscal and respectable leadership. To have gone for nearly six years, two administrations and not have negotiated a contract for members, who have worked for more than four years without a pay raise, amplifies the current crisis in WTU leadership. The membership is the highest authority in the union; thus, to continue on a path of apathy and dysfunction will not evidence the recognition and respect our members deserve and pay for.

Whatever one’s leadership style, whatever one’s temperament, no union leader will be successful using a top-down management strategy; in fact, without shared decision making and meaningful collaboration with its rank-and–file members, the current autocratic style of WTU leadership does not foster the much needed active participation necessary to build a strong union in a time of teacher turnover, bait and switch, disrespect and outright blame, and assault.

To promote the change members seek and need, I have joined forces with a diverse group of old school and new school teachers who like me believe in accountability, collaboration, transparency and social justice unionism. I announced my candidacy for WTU president in 2015 and became committed to finding a General Vice President and a slate to run in the 2016 WTU elections. (Please see Peterson WTU slate flyer- below).

I have been fortunate to partner with GeLynn Thompson, a graduate of the DC Teaching Fellows, and a special education teacher at Randle Highlands Elementary School who has worked for DC Public Schools for 11 years. GeLynn has worked as a WTU Building Representative for five years and has been a strong advocate for teachers in our schools. GeLynn is a daughter of the union. Her father was a member of the United Steel Workers (USW) and she and her family witnessed first hand how the USW union helped her father move forward in his job despite suffering from epilepsy.

A career educator, GeLynn is the embodiment of the new educator, deeply committed to union democracy and social justice unionism. As veteran educators, we must reach back and reclaim all members and bridge the generation gap, whether TFA, teaching fellows or traditionally certified, or otherwise our union will become extinct.

If elected, I expect you to help to keep me honest and in line. No human being is perfect, or always right; however, if you vote for the Peterson/Thompson team, we commit to promoting and adhering to the following priorities:

The first priority of the Peterson/Thompson slate after four years of failed efforts is to get teachers’ a contract that includes transparency as well as a compensation package that does not exclude teachers’ planning to retire.

We want to cultivate a productive and respectful relationship with DCPS management, adhere to bi-weekly meeting schedule with the Chancellor’s management team, as well as resolve some of our issues at the lowest level possible.

We recognize the importance of fiscal integrity, regular monthly financial updates by our treasurer, open governance and adhering to our proposed budgets and not overspending beyond our means. WTU finances will be open to all members for inspection, debate and discussion.

We want to ensure that each teacher receives an Effective evaluation or higher. It’s easier to help you keep your job then fight to get it back. We will hire three Teacher Center Coordinators and staff to provide differentiated professional development on the Teaching Learning Framework and ensure that all Teacher Centers are fully operational.

We plan to ensure that a new teacher mentoring program is developed by the Chancellor and the WTU President as provided in Article 2 of the WTU Collective Bargaining Agreement. We believe this is long overdue.

We must fully staff WTU Field services to represent members in workplace complaints, all field staff openings will be filled and all qualified rank and file WTU members who apply will be considered. We must also rethink fighting one case at a time. We need a comprehensive legal and political strategy.

We have gone too long and have failed to develop the much-needed partnerships with parents and community. It’s imperative that we develop community coalitions, alongside them we can work collectively for high quality education for students and better working conditions for teachers in all wards and give voice where our less resourced schools have become social experiments.

We believe our union must adhere to our own WTU Constitution and By-Laws. We plan to ensure that the twelve union committees are fully operational and chaired by Executive Board members as required in the WTU Constitution and By-laws. WTU will hold timely elections without interference from WTU administration.

I know I’m going to be the target of all kinds of personal attacks, but I’ve put my reputation on the line for the last decade as an activist and The Washington Teacher Blogger when no one else would stand up to tyrants like former Chancellor Michelle Rhee. I created this education blog to be a voice for our teacher members.

I’m going to stick to the issues and offer a new type of leadership that offers to Bridge The Gap between the old style of top down – My Way Or The Highway leadership – and get the rank and file re-engaged with our Union.

The Truth Hurts, but we have lost our way, the last two administrations have procrastinated and not gotten the job done and we need to get back on track and get a CONTRACT! Vote Peterson WTU Slate in 2016. Ballots will be mailed in May.

© Candi Peterson, 2016

Vote Peterson WTU Slate 2016 (Scroll down to see 2nd page of flyer)

Coming Soon To A School Near You: DC Mayor Announces Extended School Year

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:48:00 +0000

Written By, Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice PresidentStatements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own. Before it was officially announced, The Washington Teacher blog was the first to break the report of DC Public Schools plans to extend the school year on Thursday, January 28, 2016 in SE middle schools. Click on The Washington Teacher in red to see details of my January 28, 2016 story: The Washington TeacherNow there is official confirmation of DCPS' plans. According to the Mayor's public schedule- Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chancellor Kaya Henderson will announce their extended school year at several DC Public Schools for the 2016-17 school year at 11 am. Others in attendance include: Council member David Grosso, Committee on Education Chair, Charlotte Butler, Principal of Hart Middle School, and Natalie Hubbard, Principal of Raymond Education Campus. The event will be held at Hart Middle School which is located at 601 Mississippi Avenue, SE.According to the press release, this event is being held during Education week in a "week-long effort to highlight how the District is accelerating the pace of school reform and creating pathways to the middle class for District residents." The reasons given in Mayor Bowser's press release for extending the school year point to un-named research which states that "time away from school during the summer contributes to the achievement gap. Providing more time for instruction not only increases time for reading and math, it also provides students more time to explore art, music, foreign language, and other interests. School districts across the country that have implemented extended year have seen significant gains among their student bodies." It's likely that these extended day programs will be provided in Wards 7 and 8 where many of the lowest performing schools are located.With little to show but incremental movement in standardized test scores as behavioral problems spill out onto the METRO transportation system from troubled DCPS middle schoolers, the Bowser administration now attempts to ram an extended school year down the throats of DCPS teachers without input from stakeholders as WTU President Elizabeth Davis continues to struggle to get teachers' a contract after 2 1/2 years. (last WTU contract expired 9/2012).Mayor Bowser also announced another education initiative earlier this year to open an ALL BOYS school that is slated to open next school year in 2016-17. Education critics view these as political band-aids and gimmicks designed to fool the public that this administration will raise student achievement and close the achievement gap.Stay tuned for more details........
© Candi Peterson, 2016

DC Public Schools Imposes Longer School Year in Some Schools Without Stakeholders' Input

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 22:47:00 +0000

By: Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

 Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

 It seems like DCPS is forging ahead with the extension of the school year for the 2016-17 school year for some of the District’s lowest performing schools. According to inside sources, some Ward 7 and 8 junior high schools will be on the list to be converted to a longer school year including Hart Middle School and Johnson Middle School in SE as well as Kelly Miller Middle School located in NE. Randle Highlands Elementary School in SE has also been confirmed by inside sources.

2/2/16 Update: Other low performing schools (known as (40/40 schools) will likely be affected, however, exact numbers have yet to be confirmed. I anticipate that Chancellor Henderson will likely be making an official announcement sometime soon.

It disappoints me that as an education stakeholder, I am learning of the news in this way. I searched the DCPS website to see if there were any updates on the proposed extended school year news. Nary a word. Needless to say, I am not shocked or surprised.

Raymond Education campus became part of a DCPS pilot where the school year was extended beginning with the 2015-16 school year. Teachers who worked at Raymond were given the option to get a placement at other schools if they did not want to work the longer school year at Raymond. The Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) filed a grievance regarding the unilateral extension of Raymond’s school year without bargaining with WTU as sole and exclusive bargaining representative for teachers.

Extending the school day and school year have been high on Chancellor Henderson’s list of top priorities for some time now. Over the last couple of years, some of the lower performing elementary schools have extended the school day by an hour.

There has been widespread disagreement over union contract language on how extending the school day and year can be accomplished. DCPS and WTU do not agree and have argued whether the non traditional scheduling clause in the WTU contract allows elected teachers (members of a school advisory committee) to vote on a proposal to extend the school day with a 66 2/3 % majority vote. On the other hand, WTU argues that it is the sole bargaining representative for all matters related to pay, wages, benefits, hours of employment and working conditions for teachers. It remains to be seen how this matter will be resolved through the grievance and arbitration process.

Obviously, there are pros and cons to the debate on whether public schools should extend the school day/school year. Even President Obama and former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have weighed in on what’s good for other peoples’ kids. – especially America’s poorest.

The point that must be made is that our public school system is set up to serve the public. Not just the administrators, not just the students, not just the parents and community, not just the teachers and staff, not just the politicians and unions but all of the public. All of us benefit from a great public school system where all of the education stakeholders get a say in what happens in our schools.

Taking the approach to unilaterally impose a longer school year and school day in this top-down management style is no way for DCPS to run a school district and retain good teachers/staff and families. Remember the exodus of families/students under the Michelle Rhee administration when parents were disengaged in the process to close schools and modify elementary and middle schools into a K-8 model?

Haven’t they (DCPS) learned from past mistakes this is no way to run our schools? Many stakeholders I know are asking questions whether these decisions can be unilaterally imposed by DCPS ? Was the WTU and other unions notified prior to these decisions being made? What are the criteria for extending the school day/ school year? Will teachers and school staff be guaranteed another position like the teachers at the pilot school (Raymond EC)? Will teachers be subject to finding their own mutual consent placement as outlined in the union contract? Has DCPS considered that the decision to lengthen the school year could contribute to higher teacher turn over? Do education stakeholders get a say? When will the public be notified of these changes? Will there be hearings held on the changes made to the school year? What is the source of funding for lengthening the school year?

One thing I think many of us can agree on, mayoral control of public education has not been the "cure all" for our schools. Certainly, the education gains promised have not been realized. Taking the power away from our elected school board has not been the 'panacea' that some thought it would be.

I would love to hear your comments on the manner in which the extended school year is being handled by DC public schools. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me on this subject and the extended school day. Teachers, school staff, parents, students and community are welcome to write me c/o thewashingtonteacher@gmail.com

© Candi Peterson, 2016

Did You Know?

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 02:43:00 +0000

Response to Coach Spinner

The recent emails you have received about me from Coach Spinner are accusations, half-truths and lies intended to mislead teachers as we approach union election season 2016. Coach Spinner continues to be a “campaign surrogate” for former president, Nathan Saunders. Remember they ran together and lost in 2013. It seems dishonesty is a normal part of any election cycle.

I have prided myself as an excellent communicator and have expressed my views about public education and our union for the past 8-½ years as The Washington Teacher education blogger starting during the Michelle Rhee era. I welcome you to check out my blog @ http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/

I’m compelled to respond to many of the half truths and lies that have been written about me as well as rumors that are spreading around.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: Peterson’s “lack of negotiation experience and inability to lead has created the poor state of affairs of the WTU.”

Response:

As the WTU General Vice President (GVP), I AM NOT A MEMBER OF THE WTU CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS TEAM. The members of the Contract team are: Elizabeth Davis, Chief Negotiator, Rob Weil, AFT, Jason Edwards, AFT, Chris Bergfalk, Thomson ES, Janice Brown, Speech Pathologist, Alicia Hunter, Wilson SHS, Mark Montgomery, Plummer ES, Signe Nelson, Whittier EC, and Michael White, Neval Thomas ES.

The union President is the Chief Negotiator of the WTU Contract. This is one of the primary duties of the WTU President, to secure a contract during his/her three-year term.

The last union president to secure teachers a contract was George Parker in 2010. Former President Saunders DID NOT secure a contract in his term during 2010-2013, and neither has President Elizabeth Davis, to date. Coach Spinner was on the WTU Executive Board during 2010-2013 when Nathan Saunders was in office, a fact he left out of his blog.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: “How can our union have solidarity when two people most responsible for solidarity are constantly fighting?”

Response:

This is an out and out lie. While I have philosophical differences with President Davis, I am not constantly fighting with her. In fact, due to the demands of representing teachers, many times I only see President Davis in passing. We have had disagreements within our Executive Board meetings as this is the proper forum to hash out and air differences of opinion in order to set policy. This does not carry over to our day-to-day-work.

Solidarity was not one of the platform issues that the Davis/Peterson administration ran on and it’s a false issue as the General Vice President (GVP) plays an important governance oversight role on the WTU board.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: “Maybe she (Peterson) just hopes teachers are not aware of her part in the WTU failure. Maybe she just hopes teachers forget that her job includes helping the WTU President.”

Response: When requested, I have undertaken all initiatives and tasks assigned by President Davis.

The roles and responsibilities of the General Vice President (GVP) are delineated in the WTU Constitution, Article VIII, and Section 2:

A. Perform other duties as delegated by the President or assigned by the Executive Board.
B. Oversee and assist the building representatives in their duties.
C. Supervise the field representatives and other employees as designated by the President.

D. Co-sign checks and other financial documents in the absence of the President or the Treasurer and serve as a fiduciary of the Union. The General Vice-President shall be

bonded and such expense shall be borne by the Union.
E. Perform all the duties of the President in the absence of the President.
F. Complete the un-expired term of the president should the office become vacant. G. Convene the Elections Committee.

Unfortunately, in my elected role- I have been marginalized once again and the majority of my constitutional duties have been assigned to Ms. Egbufor, WTU Chief of Staff.

DID YOU KNOW?

As the General Vice President I was forced to file a complaint due to unfair labor practices. I did not want to file another complaint against WTU; however, in good conscience, I had no choice because I am not a victim. Last summer, the WTU Executive Board passed a motion during July, 2015 to stop President Davis from willfully interfering with the duties of the General Vice President (GVP) ; however, to date-President Davis has refused to honor that motion.

Subsequently, I filed an unfair labor practice with the Public Employee Relations Board (known as PERB) against WTU and President Davis for marginalizing my elected duties as General Vice President (GVP), as well as, failure of the WTU President to hold timely elections of the WTU Elections Committee and unauthorized payment of union funds.

The reason the orderly convening of the elections committee is critical, without them teachers will not be able to vote on a contract or hold union elections of officers in 2016. The elections committee elections should have been held in May 2015. WTU elections are eight months overdue.
DID YOU KNOW? That due to the poor staff management and morale, there has been wholesale turnover in key WTU staff positions that has required the General Vice President to function as a de-facto field representative?

When four of our Field Representatives resigned in June 2014, I filled in as WTU Filed Representative covering 40 + schools. Given that Field Services Department is still understaffed, I continue to serve in a dual role as Field Representative even though that is not part of my constitutionally mandated duties.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: Peterson “deliberately undermined three WTU presidents (Parker, Saunders and now Davis) all the while crying the victim.

Response: I am an advocate for teachers and have stood up to corruption within our union and DCPS. I previously served on the Board of Trustees under the Parker/Saunders administration. As a result of my effectiveness as a committed WTU board member and advocate for teachers, Nathan Saunders asked me to run with him on his slate in 2010 as General Vice President (GVP). We both worked to defeat Parker and won in 2010. Coach Spinner was also elected on our then Executive Board.

Soon after the successful election of Saunders/Peterson, former President Saunders ‘summarily dismissed’ me (fired me without due process) from WTU in September 2011 and requested that Chancellor Henderson illegally revoke my leave of absence from DCPS. As a result, I had no choice but to return to DCPS. Subsequently, I filed for arbitration against WTU and won my case on September 24, 2012.

Arbitrator Stanley Mazaroff ruled:

“This legally unstoppable action taken by Saunders was not cured by the similar action orchestrated by Saunders and taken during the following week by the Executive Board, Under the Constitution & By-Laws, the Executive Board’s authority to discharge or otherwise discipline employees did not extend to union officers. Article V of the By-Laws expressly provides that the authority to terminate employees shall not apply to officers of the union. This exclusion recognizes the fundamental differences between union employees and elected officers. In the important democratic values that are embedded in the WTU Constitution. Elected officers, like Peterson are voted into office by secret ballot of membership, and they can only be removed in other words recalled by petition signed by 30 percent of the membership. Thus, neither the president nor the executive board had the authority to under the union’s Constitution & By-Laws to override the will of the WTU membership and or dismiss through termination, Peterson’s salary and authority, to constructively discharge Peterson.”

Saunders refused to reinstate me into office as GVP despite my legal victory. His actions were illegally SANCTIONED by our then Executive Board (including Spinner) and this cost the union thousands of dollars. These actions also stole the vote of members who elected me into office.

For 2 ½ years, I have tried to work with President Davis. I have attempted to try to resolve problems internally rather than externally.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: “When 28 Social Workers appealed to her (Peterson) for assistance to save their jobs, she failed them. They were all fired by DCPS in June 2015. Any WTU leadership without her has a chance of succeeding for teachers. Union solidarity is important and she has demonstrated the WTU cannot have any with her. “

Response: Twenty-eight (28) social workers were not fired from DCPS. The social workers’ case was assigned by President Davis to WTU Field Rep. Consultant, Charles Moore. The President has the discretion to make assignments to staff. WTU has filed a grievance on behalf of DCPS social workers that were fired as well as filed a complaint with the Public Employee Relations Board. Their case is pending a hearing.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: “ It is crystal clear that a lack of credibility and character on the part of the Davis/Peterson team has led to the erosion of WTU’s credibility. When we are finally presented a contract proposal, we must go through it with a fine toothcomb. I doubt there will be any proposals at this late date. Members cannot unquestionably trust Davis or Peterson given their track record and leadership dynamics.”

Response: The goal of the Spinner/Saunders campaign is to discredit me. I stand on my record. When I came into office, the union was broke and we inherited enormous debt and a 'white elephant' office building with a 5 million dollars in mortgage loans that required WTU to get a co-signer to keep the property. Our parent organization, AFT co-signed the loan and then designated WTU as a “local in crisis.”

Unfortunately, the office of the General Vice President (GVP) does not give me the power to over-ride any decisions made by the President. I AM NOT THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. As an Executive Board member, I have 1 vote on our board. Just like a teacher in a school, if the principal makes unwise decisions, teachers do not have the power to overturn their actions.

While I may have not spoken out publicly for the past 2-½ years, I have spoken up internally and have been a voice for teachers on the Executive Board, as well as in our schools.

DID YOU KNOW?

Allegation: We must vote for competent and proven leadership that can deliver. Vote for leadership that will be honest, open-minded and forward thinking. We need leadership that can solve problems and make decisions that will improve our working conditions. New leadership must have a finger on the pulse of the members while being respected by DCPS and the educational community.

Response: There is nothing NEW about Coach Spinner and Nathan Saunders. Former President Saunders was the union president from 2010-2013 and General Vice President for two terms. He did not get teachers a contract. Saunders did not prove to be honest, open minded or forward thinking. Coach Spinner was part of the former Executive Board under Saunders. Both have been Missing in Action (MIA) since they lost the last election in 2013.

© Candi Peterson, 2016

Broken Promises- It's December - Still No Contract for You!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 13:10:00 +0000

No More Broken Promises!

By Candi Peterson, General Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

For the record, I AM NOT a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team. I never have been. I am a concerned union member and I am tired of 'Broken Promises' of WTU Presidents.

I've witnessed the campaign of mis-information, neglect and avoidance of what I consider the number one job of a WTU President - represent the interests of its members in getting a negotiated contract.

It’s December and after 3 plus years of desperately awaiting a teacher contract, DCPS teachers still don’t have a contract thanks to WTU President/Chief Negotiator Davis and former union president Saunders. Teachers are still in limbo and it seems unlikely that there will be a tentative agreement by the end of the calendar year as reported by President Davis in previous union meetings and newsletters. The last WTU contract expired in September 2012.

Prior to the thanksgiving break, teachers were invited to the Kellogg conference center on the campus of Galludet University on November 19 by WTU for a Contract Action and Member Feedback session.

The WTU newsletter billed this event as the “first-ever WTU member engagement event on contract negotiations” and “an opportunity to represent each school chapter utilizing state-of-the-art audience response technology and hand-held devices to interact, analyze and partake in preliminary contract voting and surveying of the full proposals and Articles completed by the WTU contract negotiations team.

Some of the teachers I conversed with during the evening, initially seemed hopeful that this event was finally an indication that Chief Negotiator Davis and the contract negotiations team were a lot closer to a completion of a tentative agreement. By evening’s end, the presentation left teachers clamoring for transparency.

Michelle Smith, a WTU building representative said as she exited, “I don’t know anymore now then when I came.” Another teacher who requested anonymity said, “when will we see what has already been presented to DCPS ? Tonight was more fake transparency.”

Jim Leonard, a veteran teacher and long standing WTU Building Representative at Wilson Senior High school wrote a letter expressing high school teachers concerns who sat at his table at the Kellogg contract negotiations event. Interesting how Jim’s letter similarly concluded that the meeting left a lot of unanswered questions for teachers. "I really think that the time to take the pulse of the rank and file should be behind us. If we have established positions that the team has thoroughly vetted then we should go forward with the process, do the best we can and then bring the results back for a vote. If there is dissatisfaction, then let those members vote the contract down, says Leonard."

While Leonard said he initially planned to email the letter to WTU President Liz Davis, he opted to openly read his letter at the last union meeting of the year in December held at McKinley.

Leonard tactfully confronts teachers concerns in his letter below. Please read and share this blog with teachers you know.

Liz,

"I just wanted to give you the impressions from my table of high school teachers. Although I think it is a positive that the WTU is seeking input regarding areas that are being worked on, most of us left the meeting not really knowing much more than what we knew when we arrived. Is it that you can’t give us specific language that you have proposed, or has no specific language been presented to the district for consideration? That seems to be the biggest concern.

Are we still trying to get the pulse of the membership to see what language should be presented or are we sharing ideas that have already been prepared and presented? I would find it difficult to imagine that we could ever be in a position to complete the process if we do not yet have established goals with language to match already completed.

There were some areas that were informative, such as the WTU’s position regarding the extended day or year. If I heard you correctly the WTU would like to have its members be able opt out of either the extended day or year if their school votes to accept either of these. That was definitive information. Thank you.

We also learned that there will be an attempt to tighten up the grievance process. I think the results of the question about being paid by administrative premium v. per diem, for after-hours work, was interesting. My only concern is that if we go to a per diem model the district will only give those positions to younger teachers, as it will cost them far less.

I really appreciate your time and effort and your concern about transparency; however I really think that the time to take the pulse of the rank and file should be behind us. If we have established positions that the team has thoroughly vetted then we should go forward with the process, do the best we can and then bring the results back for a vote. If there is dissatisfaction, then let those members vote the contract down."

Jim

© Candi Peterson, 2015

A Guide to Interpreting WTU-DCPS Contract Talks

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:50:00 +0000

Written by Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

For the record, I am not a member of the WTU contract negotiations team. Like you are, I am a concerned union member.

From where I sit, it’s not looking good for the negotiations between WTU and DCPS. Let’s just say negotiations aren’t dead, but negotiations seem to have broken off with WTU and members of the Chancellor’s team.

DCPS teachers are complaining because the last contract expired in 2012, and three years later, they still are without a contract. Having gone this long without a contract, it’s understandable why many teachers’ see no real end in sight.

In reaction to teachers’ concerns about not having a contract, WTU recently released a contract update on October 19, 2015; titled WTU-DCPS Contract Talks FAQs. My analysis here is an attempt to provide educators a guide in interpreting WTU-DCPS contract talks. The WTU FAQ sheet reveals:

“WTU President Elizabeth Davis and our negotiators are committed to reaching a new agreement by the end of December. In order to accomplish this, the WTU will direct its focus to engaging in full-time contract negotiations. We’re pushing hard towards that goal….”

We must ask if President Davis is recommending full time contract negotiations, is this a viable option given that most of the members on the negotiating team are either full-time principals on the chancellor’s team or full-time teachers on the WTU team? Is it likely that DCPS would agree to this when this proposal would require that teachers and principals on both sides would have to abandon their schools/classes for an extended period of time? Is the end of December 2015 a realistic time frame for the completion of a tentative agreement? It seems highly unlikely unless Davis has a tentative agreement tucked away in her hip pocket. When did both sides-WTU and DCPS last meet? Was it during last school year (14-15) ?

The WTU FAQ sheet gives the following responses regarding Why negotiations

are taking so long?

“Bargaining can be a long and complicated process particularly when there are significant issues to be resolved. The talks have now stretched over two administrations. The former administration had offered proposals that would have lowered the professionalism and undercut the voice of teachers….

Your bargaining team drafted new proposals that would move us in a better direction …. Time and again, the school district has appeared to take the slow play approach to bargaining. We repeatedly proposed full time negotiations everyday-DCPS said no. We proposed meetings over the summer-DCPS said no. Back in January, we requested the financial and programmatic data essential to informed negotiations nearly 10 months later, we are still waiting. DCPS says it agrees with the goal of finishing by the end of the year, and we are hopeful DCPS actions in the future will represent a real commitment to this aim.

WTU and DCPS shared their respective proposals, and it was clear that we were far apart on some major issues; including protected planning time, class size, supplies and support.”

It’s a given that contract negotiations can be long and complicated and have spanned two administrations under Saunders and now Davis. This is not news. This explanation focuses on what former President Saunders’ administration offered in his contract proposal. What this explanation doesn’t tell us why President Davis has been unable to secure a tentative agreement in two years and three months in office?

It would seem logical to me that both sides would disagree on the major issues cited above. Isn’t that the whole point of negotiations that there has to be give and take on both sides in order to reach a compromise?

There’s got to be more than just disagreements about when to hold contract meeting talks with DCPS.

What are the difficulties in communication on both sides? Isn’t it true that previous contract teams didn’t meet full time or during summers yet negotiated a tentative agreement? The WTU FAQ sheet suggests that WTU proposed a 2015-16 contract negotiations schedule yet “DCPS said no.” So are we to believe that the weekly dates printed in the WTU yearly 15-16 calendar beginning September 10, 2015 and ending June 20, 2016 were all rejected by DCPS?

What does Davis mean when she states the school District has appeared to take the slow play approach to bargaining? The word ‘appears’ is the operative word in this sentence. It certainly conflicts with Davis’ earlier statements that the Chancellor and her team were refusing to meet. As members, we deserve to hear the whole story not just some ‘talking points’ crafted to quell member dissension. Inquiring minds want to know the details.

What are our priorities? The WTU FAQ sheet lists the following as priorities:

"Educational resources, expansion of the community schools concept, mutual consent alternative, time and tools and salary and benefits."

We all agree that resources, planning time, salary and benefits are givens in most contracts. But let’s cut to the chase. What else besides a mutual consent alternative is among WTU’s top key priorities? For starters, how is WTU approaching DCPS’ desire to extend the school day? Is extended day a non-negotiable item for WTU? Has WTU resigned not to discuss this issue with management?

Where are we now? The WTU FAQ sheet says:

"We are in the early stages of mediation process that began when DCPS asked-and WTU agreed- to seek the help of a mediator. President Davis has met several times with the proposed mediator, and hopefully with the agreement of DCPS, we will soon begin full time negotiations."

What is the conflict that led to a mediator being considered by DCPS? Has WTU presented their choices for a mediator to DCPS? If so, when? If not, why not?

What’s next? The WTU FAQ sheet indicates:

"….. Transparency has been a guiding principle for your bargaining team. We have tried to make sure you have accurate, real time information on our negotiations. Over the next few weeks, your WTU leaders, district representatives and building representatives want to have conversations with as many members as possible…..”

I certainly hope transparency will be the new flavor of the day and is not just some promise of empty rhetoric. So far the lack of transparency has not been the trademark of WTU Chief Negotiator Elizabeth Davis. After two plus years of negotiations, we are long overdue for regular updates.

We cannot remain complacent when it comes to teacher contract negotiations like many teachers did during the 2010 sellout contract negotiated by former WTU President George Parker and AFT President Randi Weingarten. What I hope to show here in this article is that we must learn to interpret political double-speak because oftentimes we are given only partial truths, albeit from elected leaders. Feel free to use some of my questions posted here as a guide when asking questions about WTU contract talks.

On Tuesday, November 10th we will hold our next WTU Representative Assembly meeting at McKinley SHS @ 430 pm where teacher contract talks will be the subject on the agenda. Come prepared to ask the tough questions for which you want answers. Hope to see you there.

Three Years And Counting, And No WTU Contract for You!

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 11:51:00 +0000

Mass emails were sent out to many DC Public Schools teachers on the Columbus day holiday to their DC government email accounts and some personal email accounts from a relatively unknown teacher who refers to himself as Coach Spinner. You may recall Coach Spinner as he ran against me for WTU General Vice President position on the Saunders slate in 2013 and lost.

The subject of the email sent to members was titled the “New WTU” and introduced readers to a blog which harshly criticizes current WTU President Elizabeth “Liz” Davis for failing to address Impact-teacher evaluation system, financial malfeasance and failure to get a union contract which is the union president’s primary responsibility as the “Chief Negotiator.”

Based on a little digging, I have learned that Coach Spinner is a campaign surrogate for former WTU President Nathan A. Saunders who lost his bid for presidency in 2013. So it seems according to a former WTU staffer now working for him, Saunders wants another shot at the WTU presidential seat. No surprise here.

When I asked union members if they knew who Coach Spinner was their typical response was they did not know him. One of the current WTU Executive Board members who requested anonymity agreed that she didn’t know the person sending her the email about the new WTU. She said, “I thought someone had fed him (Coach Spinner) information because he seemed to know a lot about the state of WTU affairs.”

Using a surrogate in politics is a common practice to launch an election campaign. The surrogate is usually someone who can step in and deliver a message on behalf of the candidate, rally the supporters and in this case represent a failed brand.

One might ask why Saunders' would need a campaign surrogate? I think the Saunders’ team is likely using this surrogacy as a strategy because they don’t want teachers to remember the wreckage Saunders' left behind during his years as elected WTU officer from 2007-13. Putting his former running mate with little to no name recognition, out in the forefront is a way to deceive the union membership.

As you may recall, Saunders' refused to gracefully exit the WTU headquarters in 2013 at the end of his term (June 2013) and extended his stay an additional 30 days in violation of the WTU Constitution and By-Laws with the blessings of his Saunders-friendly election committee. I covered that story on The Washington Teacher blog.

Saunders refused to cooperate with a former WTU Executive Board while General Vice President in his second term, and was later exiled back to the classroom for failure to provide the board the requested accounting of the work he had performed on behalf of members, while an officer.

I believe Saunders also lost credibility with teachers when he summarily dismissed me as the General Vice President in 2011 without due process and robbed members of their vote. This decision on Saunders’ part, sanctioned with the approval by the then WTU Executive Board cost our union hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees alone. By the way, Coach Spinner was a member of the WTU Executive Board who rubber stamped Saunders’ request to oust me. I think one of the main reasons Saunders wanted me out was because he preferred a top down management style where he alone could rule with an iron fist...

While some of Coach Spinners' accusations against WTU President Liz Davis are accurate, they only represent half-truths.

President Liz Davis can’t be let off the hook for not being transparent about the current state of union affairs, the status of contract negotiations or what has happened to the VEBA (Voluntary Employment Beneficiary Association account funds for eligible retiring teachers) and why the District has refused to provide anymore VEBA payments to the WTU since 2013.

Davis has vacillated about what the real problem is with contract talks and has not been totally honest. Initially, Davis blamed the Chancellor for failing to regularly meet with the contract negotiations team.

What Davis has not disclosed to members, is that she failed to cultivate a working relationship with Chancellor Henderson and her team from the outset. When President Davis refused to attend bi-monthly meetings with the chancellor’s team, this set the stage for a break down in union/management communication. Davis later aborted central office meetings I attended in order to resolve teacher issues claiming it compromised contract negotiations. Open communication with management is vital to the success of negotiating any contract and resolving teachers' issues.

Members have been recently informed by Davis that a mediator will be brought in to assist WTU and DCPS with contract talks with no details about the impasse that led to need for a mediator. As a non- member of the contract negotiations team, I think it is important for members' to understand what has actually transpired.

Certainly members should demand transparency and accountability from President Davis. Union members have the right to know the status of the unions' financial affairs and all other matters... Members also have an obligation to request to see detailed financial records, bank statements, mortgage loan statements, internal auditor reports, proof of WTU staff/officer’s income, expenses and benefits, Executive Board meeting minutes, copies of VEBA bank statements and other forms of documentation, etc.

My problem with Saunders and Spinner is that, they don't have 'clean hands' and certainly neither of them should be the ones to point the finger of blame at anyone.

Here are some important information about Saunders:

*Saunders didn’t deliver a teacher contract during his term as union president from 2010-13

*Saunders did not address many of the IMPACT teacher evaluation issues despite his campaign promises

*Saunders fell behind in dues payments to AFT in 2013, our parent organization leaving WTU at risk for an administrative takeover

*Saunders allegedly paid himself more than his 2010 board approved salary of $160,000 and appears to have paid himself as much as $240,000. However, given that WTU President Liz Davis did not proceed with conducting a forensic audit, we can’t be sure of how much beyond this was spent.

*Saunders did not leave $1.7 million in the VEBA account as reported! This money had not yet been forwarded to WTU prior to Saunders’ departure at the end of July 2013.

*Saunders left WTU with an office building that is strapped in debt with 3 mortgage loans totaling 4,885,904, almost 5 million dollars. The Pennsylvania Avenue historic building is a money pit. A construction loan had to be converted to a mortgage loan. A second mortgage loan had to be guaranteed by our parent organization, AFT. There is a financial covenant which requires a minimum debt service coverage ratio. There has been no default of the loan to date, however, under Davis there have been violations of the debt covenant which the bank has agreed to waive.

Certainly, it is highly probable that we could have found a building in Washington, DC much cheaper than the 5 million dollar price tag of our current headquarters. The extensive cash reserve (a million plus) left over when former President George Parker vacated office in December 2010, no longer remains in the union coffers, thanks to Saunders.

When I spoke to 42-year veteran DCPS teacher, Emily Washington about the unfolding of events, she asked, “Why now? Saunders’ timing is suspect and it represents Déjà vu all over again. People who want this office sit on their butts until it’s time to have another election. Saunders and Coach Spinner certainly have had the opportunity to bring these issues up before now. You never see them at union meetings, or any of the union sponsored events. In fact, since the Saunders' and Spinner's defeat, they have been conspicuously MIA (missing in action). We need to re-examine who gets elected as an officer and who gets elected to the executive board.”

My conversation with Ms. Washington echoed how I have been feeling for some time. I agree that the functionality of an organization is tied to its officers, its’ executive board, as well as its' members. If a board is dysfunctional then it affects what happens within the organization.

As an outspoken union member and officer, I've been frustrated on the union Boards that I have served on and often felt like some board members were more concerned with remaining loyal to the president than abiding by our unions' Constitution and by-laws. I have been a lone dissenter followed by one or two others willing to challenge the status quo.

There is an obligation on the part of all union members, especially our elected officials to ask the necessary critical questions, to speak up, to be transparent with the membership and to make the tough decisions required of a governance body in the face of unethical leadership, suspected malfeasance or impropriety, not just at election time.

The Dwindling Black Educator and the Death of Transparency in DC

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 01:03:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

Think back and try to remember all the teachers that left the District’s public school system since the era of former Chancellor Michelle Rhee and beyond? (2008-2015)

How many of those teachers were African-American?

Unfortunately, we can’t answer those questions because we don’t have hard data, mainly because the District fails to provide data on the number of teachers hired, separated, resigning, and retiring by race, age, gender, school and years of service on a yearly basis.

Simply put, government officials in DC do not have the authority to refuse to honor Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. When I chaired a WTU Data committee, we attempted to get information about teacher terminations through a FOIA request, as well as through other internal channels. We requested information be released by common identifiers but the information we received was heavily redacted and of little practical use.

Either approve or deny the request. The practice of keeping information out of the hands of the public is government’s way of covering its tracks.

Albert Shanker Institute researchers encountered similar challenges when preparing their national Teacher Diversity report. “Despite intensive efforts over the past 1 ½ years, we have been unable to procure teacher-level data for the District and charter schools in Washington, DC. We were therefore forced to draw data from a sample provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Schools and Staffing Survey,” as quoted by Shanker researchers.

The Albert Shanker Institute gathered in September to release their findings from their study titled: “The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education.” The group examined teacher diversity from 2002-2012 in nine major American cities: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, DC, LA, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

University of Pennsylvania Professor Richard Ingersoll, recently spoke about the Shanker diversity report to an audience at the National Press club gathering in DC. Ingersoll said the rate of minority teachers ballooned from 1980-2008 and doubled that of non-minority teachers, before the recession.

Since 2008 and post recession, Ingersoll reports that minority teacher rates across the US declined tremendously due to layoffs and “high quit” rates of minority teachers due to job dissatisfaction around poor working conditions in the mostly urban schools where they teach. Other factors cited for lower minority teacher hiring are budget cuts, new charter school openings, and shifting of resources from public schools to charter schools.

Due to a lack of data from DC, Shanker researchers were forced to draw data from the small sample surveys from Department of Education. Based on these surveys, African American teachers decreased from 77% to 49% while white teachers more than doubled in size from 16% to 39% between 2003 and 2008 in DC. Hispanic teachers increased moderately. In contrast by 2022, non-white students are projected to make up 54% of public school attendance, according to the Department of Education.

The Diversity report noted that black teachers declined as a proportion of all the cities teacher workforce they examined but the shrinkage in black teachers in Washington, DC was described as “alarming”. I suspect if we had data available beyond 2012, the numbers of black teachers exiting our school system may be even greater.

“We just had no idea the extent of it. What’s clear from this data is over the last 10 years or so with the recession, if you look at every one of these cities, there’s a loss of teachers—but African Americans are bearing a hugely disproportionate share of the loss,” Leo Casey, executive director of the Shanker Institute told The Washington Post. The number of black teachers in the workforce declined, in varying rates of severity—from roughly 1 percent in Boston’s charter sector and Cleveland’s district sector, to more than 24 percent in both New Orleans sectors and nearly 28 percent in Washington, D.C’s charters and districts.”

The lack of teacher diversity has been addressed as a national epidemic by education scholars. Among the educational analysts studying this problem is Dr. Leslie Fenwick, Dean of the Howard School of Education. Dr. Fenwick sees the elimination of black teachers from the classroom as not only an economic loss for those educators but a disservice to their students and a detriment for the teaching profession as well.

Studies in the late 80’s and ’90s, found that teachers of color can boost the self-worth of their minority students, partly by exposing them to professionals who look like them. The benefits of keeping teachers of color in the classroom extend far beyond role models.

Research has also shown that students perform better academically and graduate at higher graduation rates, and stay in school when they have teachers who come from the same backgrounds as they do. White students benefit, too. Early interactions with teachers of color can help dispel damaging stereotypes about different ethnic groups.

The question is what can be done to stop high attrition rates of black teachers? The Shanker Institute study suggests there should be more programs at the state and local level to help minority teachers stay in the classroom.

At DC's New Teacher Orientation (NTO) this school year, I had a conversation with a central office staffer who confirmed my hunch that more teachers of color, more male teachers and more veterans had been hired this school year. Certainly, that’s progress from where I sit but there still there is a lot more to be done.

Simply setting goals to hire more teachers of color is a simplistic solution to a complex problem. If we are really serious about attracting minority teachers to our school district, we are going to have to be willing to examine the reasons these teachers leave, get forced out and what we need to address to retain them. If we are not willing to be honest- it will be impossible to make things better.

One of the major reasons that DC is taking steps to recruit more seasoned Black teachers is likely due to the breakdown in classroom discipline as the recent wave of Teach For America teachers from suburban and mid-western backgrounds are failing to understand the cultural complexities of teaching and communicating with urban youth. New teachers also don't receive the much needed mentoring they need to be successful.

Not to mention, the results from the independent evaluation of DC public schools which shows that student gains still remain acceptably low and more than 50% of students of color, English language learners and students with disabilities remain less than proficient despite the purging of many of our veteran teachers.

The perverse cycle of "teacher churn" has come full cycle in the District as DC's Human Capital Team are beginning to realize the value of “culturally appropriate” relationships and classroom role models as they ramp up their efforts to recruit more seasoned veteran black teachers.

Yet at the same time the District government resists the demand from parents, school activists and the public to be more transparent as the demographics of Washington, DC's under-performing schools stay persistently black and charter operators continue to cherry pick students and diversify the teacher workforce as the Bowser administration continues to pay lip service to transparency.

Cynthia Lee: The Price of Justice is Too High in a Fairfax County Public Schools Teacher Firing Case

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 22:41:00 +0000

It’s easy to take for granted the rights and benefits we have as union members. That is, until we need the support of our local union. It’s like insurance. No one ever thinks they are going to need insurance until you get sick, you are in an accident or your house burns down.

Working in education carries risk and none of us, even tenured teachers aren’t immune anymore. From accusations of corporal punishment, workplace disputes, imperfect evaluation ratings, bully principals, suspensions and terminations, teachers regularly face a myriad of problems in the workplace, like never before.

Imagine if you had to seek redress on your own. The price of justice would be way too high for most of us to afford. Not to mention, most people need technical assistance in interpreting their union contract or help with understanding all the rules and time lines governing the grievance and arbitration process.

I get a lot of calls regularly from DC teachers ranging from questions about the contract to how to approach their boss to advice on how to deal with an administrative investigation to requests to grieve a workplace dispute, suspension or termination.

It caught me off guard when I received a voicemail from Cynthia Lee, a former African American Fairfax County Public School teacher who had been terminated in 2012 after 13 years. I couldn’t imagine how I could be of help. So it seems my blog, The Washington Teacher caught Lee’s attention and she thought I could offer her some media coverage about her termination.

I guess I always thought the grass was greener on the other side and that teachers in Fairfax County Public Schools somehow had it better. On the national front, in my opinion there seems to be a push to rid our schools of veteran teachers and teachers of color. What a pity for the children we serve.

In many ways, Cynthia Lee’s story is similar to another African-American teacher Fairfax County Public Schools tried to fire in 2012. Violet Nichols, a 30 year veteran tenured teacher also faced threats of termination due to allegations of incompetence.

Virginia law says that teachers may be dismissed for incompetency, immorality, noncompliance with school laws and regulations, conviction of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, or other good and just cause. Regardless of whether a teacher in the state of Virginia is tenured and has a long history of good evaluations, one administrator can throw all that out the window and deem a teacher incompetent.

Some of the reasons cited for Nichols incompetence was that she used too many worksheets and had poor use of technology which she rebutted. Let’s say for a minute we believe these allegations, doesn’t sound like a very high bar to label a teacher incompetent.

Nichols story appeared several times in the Washington Post beginning in June 2012. Although personnel proceedings are confidential, according to the Post-Nichols decided to make her fact finding hearing open to the public , “because she wanted to shine a light on what she felt was a witch hunt.”

Nichols was eventually vindicated after a public fact finding hearing in which evidence was presented and many supporters testified (parents, students). She was later reinstated. Thank God for union representation and media coverage.

Unlike Lee, Nichols was a union member and held a leadership role in her union. Her union membership status afforded her certain rights that non-members in the Virginia Education Association (VEA) aren’t entitled to including representation during the grievance process and payment of her attorney fees as well as hearing costs, which can be quite exorbitant in Virginia (roughly $8000 assessed as the teacher’s responsibility plus payment of half of the panels’ salaries during the hearing).

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) represents more than 50,000 teachers and support personnel in the Common Wealth of Virginia. According to VEA website , “union members are entitled to a hearing. Either the teacher or the school board can ask a fact-finding panel (made up of one school employee nominated by the superintendent, one school employee nominated by the teacher, and a neutral chairperson) to conduct a preliminary hearing and offer findings and recommendations. However, the final decision to dismiss the teacher for cause rests with the school board.”

Cynthia Lee describes herself as the poster child for becoming a union member. Lee said “teachers should join the union, the minute they walk in the door.” She dropped her membership for financial reasons thinking she was safe as a tenured teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools. In hindsight, Lee now knows differently.

There are some parallels to both Nichols and Lee’s cases. Both were African American tenured teachers with advanced degrees and a history of good evaluations. Both had letters of support from parents. Both demonstrated student tests results that supported student achievement gains, no worse than their peers. Both filed discrimination cases that their negative treatment was racially motivated. Both were placed on probation.

In Virginia, once a teacher is placed on probation they must accept a plan of assistance to help them improve. Fairfax County Public Schools provided Lee a coach as well as a committee that helped her to improve her teaching. Lee reports she passed with flying colors and was quite excited about her success and recommendations that her conditional status as a teacher be removed.

Subsequently, Lee’s principal arbitrarily recommended her for termination due to incompetence in spite of the recommendations by her coach/committee to have her conditional status removed. The principal’s recommendation was made during Lee's mid-year evaluation in January.

Lee states she had a presentation ready to show her principal during her evaluation and was stunned when the principal and her assistant refused to see the presentation. Lee was escorted to the back of her classroom by the principal. At that time, the principal gave her the news that she would be "fired" at the end of the school year. Lee asked the principal, “Is there anything I can do to improve between now and June so I won’t be fired? The principal responded,“no”.

What followed next is unconscionable. Lee attempted to file a grievance about her recommended termination at the Step 1 level with the principal but Fairfax County public schools denied her right to file steps 1-4 because she was a non-union member. Nichols, on the other hand- a union member was able to grieve her recommended termination with the support of the union by her side during the various stages of the process.

“Every time I called the union for help, they told me they couldn’t help me because I wasn’t a union member”, Lee said. The school district advised Lee that she could only appeal her recommendation for her termination at the Step 5 level which is an advisory fact finding hearing.

Initially Lee had no idea that her cost to pay the arbitrator alone would be more than $8,000, until she hired an attorney who advised her of the fee-splitting costs charged by Fairfax. Ultimately, she spent thousands of dollars on attorney fees.

According to a Fairfax County Public Schools regulation 4461.1 “the employee shall bear his or her own expense. The school board will bear the expenses of the superintendent. The expenses of the panel shall be borne one half by the school board and one half by the employee.” Lee was livid when she learned that non-union members also were required to pay for the panel members’ salaries during the course of the hearing. Had Lee been a union member, the union would have subsidized these costs.

Fairfax officials also told Lee that in order to appeal using the Step 5 hearing, she would have to waive her right to grieve her termination (using steps 1-4 that had no cost). So Lee wrote the letter to waive her rights.. Even with an attorney, Fairfax refused to allow Lee to use the grievance steps to appeal her termination.

As you can imagine having to make this kind of choice is no choice at all. Lee was unable to afford the costs of the Step 5 fact finding hearing and had to forgo it.Lee admits to signing a settlement agreement with Fairfax County Public Schools under duress, so she wouldn’t be fired and agreed to take a lesser job as an instructional assistant with a $25,000 pay reduction. She remained 1 ½ years in that position.

“Thank--you for helping to get the word out about my case. Most minorities cannot afford the high costs of litigation so when employers put fees in their grievance and arbitration procedures, it produces a disparate impact. Just like the poll tax. We need to lobby congress to create laws that regulate fee-splitting. Two good teachers with two different results. By going public with a comparison of my case (no union - no due process - no money to pay for "Fact Finding Panel" - no vindication) and Violet Nichols case (union paid all costs – due process- vindication) it will get the word out to the public that unions are necessary and that law makers need to intervene,” Lee said.

In time, Lee retired and was able to hire another attorney with some of the proceeds from her retirement funds. It’s a shame it had to come to this. She has had several attorneys working on her behalf and remains committed to pursue her case by filing a petition for an en banc hearing (heard by the full court) with the 4^th circuit in the hopes they will address the fee-splitting clause in Fairfax's grievance procedure. Hope this helps.

New and veteran teachers, this could be you. Take Lee’s advice, join a union.

Rockin' IMPACT: How to Improve Your Teacher Evaluation Score

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 01:47:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Great teachers are not born, they're made. It takes time to become a great teacher.

We are more than just the sum of our teacher evaluation (IMPACT) scores. But let's face it, IMPACT scores determine whether teachers remain in our school system or get fired. I've seen great teachers get forced out of DC Public Schools because they didn't really have a good grasp of the Teach standards by which teachers are judged. Not to mention the training that has been provided in recent years by DCPS has been less than adequate.

It seems like a 'no-brainer' to me that professional development is one of the main ingredients to turning around teachers' effectiveness. Not just any professional development but specific training on the Teaching and Learning Framework (TLF), Common Core state standards and job-embedded professional development.

When I learned of the Masted Educator led professional development series on IMPACT last year, I began encouraging many of the teachers I knew to sign up for a workshop after school. After all, getting training on strategies to improve your teaching practice from the very people that evaluate you- couldn't hurt, in my opinion.

I hope all new DCPS teachers and any teacher who has received a Developing or Minimally Effective IMPACT evaluation score last school year will sign up for one of the Master Educator Led professional development sessions, - Setting Up For Success.

This year, Master educators will host Teach Sessions to introduce and deepen understanding of the Teaching & Learning Framework. Four series (General Education, Special Education, Language Acquisition and Early Childhood) will be provided starting on August 24.

All participants must register for each session they will attend on PD Planner at dcps.schoolnet.com or complete the Google Survey at https://goo.gl/5dfsKP. Participants will receive 2 PLUs for each session. For more information, please see the “Setting Up For Success PD Sessions" flyer below or reach out to impact.dcps@dc.gov or contact them on 202-719-6553.

Hope you will share the flyer with your colleagues and encourage them to sign up as well. Use the scroll bar on the right of the flyer to see the entire flyer. Here’s to a successful year and Rockin' your Impact evaluation!

TEACH Session Flyer Fall 2015 - 2016 by thewashteacher

State of Our Union: California Teachers Take on Their Union

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 01:07:00 +0000

Friedrichs v. CTA to be heard by Supreme Court

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

California veteran teacher of twenty-eight years, Rebecca Friedrichs, a fourth grade Anaheim public school teacher leads the fight to sue her own teachers’ union in a federal lawsuit, Friedrichs vs. California Teachers’ Association.

Friedrichs has had longstanding problems with the way the California Teachers Association (CTA) collects union dues from rank and file members and how her union spends the dues money they collect. Friedrichs is fighting an “agency shop” agreement which forces teachers to pay fees for collective bargaining that the union performs not only for members but non members as well.

Joined by nine other teachers and the Christian Educators Association in their lawsuit, these teachers argue that the California Teachers Association (CTA), the largest affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), has no right to spend the rank-and-file's money on political campaigns with which members disagree. Friedrichs was opposed to a portion of her union dues going towards efforts to defeat the school voucher campaign. Other measures such as Proposition 30 were supported by Friedrichs union, which she opposed.

In California, public school teachers can create an “agency shop” arrangement whereby all teachers in a district are represented by one union. Nonunion teacher members must pay fees for their union’s collective-bargaining work.

If this case prevails, this could eliminate public sector unions right to automatically collect fees from public employees.

This case is scheduled to be heard before the Supreme Court later on this year.

To give a brief history, thirty-eight years ago- the Supreme Court ruled in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) that states may allow unions to collect fees from non-members to pay for collective bargaining costs, but not for the unions’ political spending.

Under state law, teachers and government workers covered by collective bargaining agreements are not required to join a union and pay dues. But they must pay a fee — a bit less than dues — to cover the union's cost of representing their interests, for example in negotiating higher wages.

About half of the states and Washington, DC, public sector workers are automatically enrolled in unions.

Terry Pell, president of the Center for Individual Rights, a non-profit interest group who is working with corporate law firm, Jones Day who represents Rebecca Friedrichs and the other aggrieved teachers says, “This case is about the right of individuals to decide for themselves whether to join and pay dues to an organization that purports to speak on their behalf. We are seeking the end of compulsory union dues across the nation on the basis of the free-speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment,” he said.

Not surprisingly so, public sector unions are gravely concerned about the ramifications such a challenge to the Abbod v. Detroit Board of Education could bring.

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) issued the following statement on the upcoming case, “In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a group of educators backed by a right-wing pressure group filed a lawsuit that has made its way to the highest court in America. It asks the court to decide whether public sector unions may continue to charge nonmembers a fee equal to the cost of representing them to their employer.

This fee is called "agency fee" or "fair share." In states where there is no fair share, the union must sign up everyone as a member—not merely a fair share payer—to keep the union strong. If the court rules against us, then our work to support working families and reclaim the promise of public services will become harder. “

Other national unions have expressed concerned if the court rules against the teachers union, public employees could pay neither fees nor dues, but still reap the benefit of union negotiated contracts as well as representation in workplace complaints. Some also believe it is part of an ongoing effort to undermine and weaken the existence of unions in this country.

Washington Post reporter Emma Brown did an interview with the leading plaintiffs, Rebcecca Friedrichs and Harlan Elrich. Read it here.

I can’t help but believe that this case has little to do with first amendment rights. It seems like it has more to do with these teachers being used as pawns by right wingers who are more interested in dismantling public sector unions.

Friedrichs claimed that she was powerless to make change from within her union by serving on the union's Executive Board. She said, "every time I would bring these things up I would just get shrugged shoulders from our union executive board. They wouldn’t even give me a response."

Certainly there were other ways this problem may have been addressed by directing her concerns with the union leadership, rank and file members and trying to get an amendment to the CTA's constitution. One such example would be having a separate political arm under the umbrella of California Teachers Association (CTA) that did not require compulsory fees from full or agency share members. Membership dues should not be used for political purposes. This way members would be free to voluntarily donate to political causes of their own choosing.

What will it look look if the Friedrichs plaintiffs are successful? I shudder to think.

Moshe Marvit, attorney and fellow with The Century Foundation sums it up best, what a victory in this case may look like, “the burden will then be on unions to shift more of their resources to constantly convincing their membership to choose to pay their dues. Public sector unions will be like public radio, having to spend more and more time on pledge drives, espousing a message of fairness and responsibility, in order to encourage workers to pay their fair share.”

You tell me would you rather have a union that regularly hosts membership drives or one who gets you a contract and defends you in workplace disputes?

© Candi Peterson 2015

NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities Investigation

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 02:44:00 +0000

TCCS Principal Worrell-Breeden

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.

One of my worst twenty-something memories was a visit to my best friend after her boyfriend committed suicide in their apartment. He shot himself in the head on the bedroom floor. When I arrived to help my friend retrieve her belongings, I vividly remember seeing the large pool of blood matted into the carpet. The impact of this man’s decision to end his life stayed with me for many years to come.

Those memories came rushing back when I heard about the forty-nine year old Harlem principal who took her life by jumping in front of a New York subway train.

Principal Jeanene Worrell-Breeden committed suicide in April of this year. According to the NY Post, “around 9:20 a.m. April 17, Worrell-Breeden walked onto the platform at the subway station at 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem and threw herself in front on an oncoming train. She was rushed to the hospital, where she would die eight days later (April 25^th) from her injuries. The medical examiner ruled Worrell-Breeden's death a suicide.”

According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, one-third of all suicides are from hanging. Subway related suicides are the least likely form of suicide and represent 7% of suicides in New York City. Men are far more likely to attempt suicide via subway than women.

The aftermath of Worrell-Breeden’s suicide sucks for everyone she leaves behind. Her family, her school community- her colleagues, her students and their parents.

Worrell-Breedon was the founding principal of Teachers Community College school, an elementary school in West Harlem. A tribute to honor the popular principal is listed on the school’s web page. It reads- “Principal Breeden was a tireless champion for all of the children of TCCS, and she will be greatly missed.”

Worrell-Breeden was a highly accomplished career educator, graduate of Penn. State, held two master’s degrees (from NY City College and Fordham) with 20 years of experience in NY City public schools and served as a classroom teacher, staff developer, assistant principal and principal.

Authorities revealed that the suicide occurred during a Department of Education (DOE) investigation that started the same day the principal took her life. A complaint was made that Worrell-Breeden cheated on the Common Core standardized test. An internal investigation found that the principal had cheated by forging students’ answers.

Prior to her death, Worrell-Breeden confided in a colleague that she had completed 3^rd grade students answers on incomplete exams. While students were interviewed, the principal had yet to be questioned due to her untimely death.

Department of Education (DOE) spokeswoman, Devora Kaye issued the following response to parents, "Principal Worrell-Breeden was the subject of allegations of testing improprieties.” An investigation substantiated these allegations, and we closed the investigation following her tragic passing."

There are plenty of ways to commit suicide, but few more painful than hurling oneself in front of a train. Why would anyone want to suffer this way? Has it come to this for those of us in education?

There is so much emphasis on high-stakes testing that many in education feel the heat. According to Arthur Goldstein, NYC educator and fellow blogger, “the recent example could only have been possible against the backdrop of ed. "reform." Ed. "reform" is killing the teaching profession; it kills the will of some students to learn. It closes schools, rips communities apart and, apparently, takes lives. I would argue its long-range damage will be far more severe and, sadly, that damage remains to be seen.”

And for some like Worrell-Breedon, it drove her to choose "dishonesty" and impose a self-justice that’s unthinkable.

DC Corporate Profiteers Expose the Dark Side of Charter School Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 03:20:00 +0000

Written by Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Recently, an education colleague asked me how do we make charter schools better? I really had no answer to his question in light of some of our recent local charter school scandals. Some of the lessons learned nationally from charter school mismanagement reveal that it is a business opportunity for some to make a quick buck at taxpayers and students’ expense.

Nobody embodies one of the most glaring problems of mismanagement of charter schools better than former Xerox Corporate executive Ken Amos in the District. He was exposed for siphoning off taxpayer money into the hands of for-profit management companies owned and controlled by the non-profit charter school sponsors all for their own personal gain.

Amos owned one of the largest charter school networks in DC. Amos is a DC Native who is highly regarded by many as a long time advocate for parents and children. He founded Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School, known as CAPCS in 1998. DC law requires that charters schools operate as non-profit corporations.

Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools served more than 1,600 students at four campuses, Armstrong, Burdick, Keene and Nicholson, including an online school.

In June 2014, Amos was charged by then DC Attorney General Irvin Nathan of funneling $13 million dollars in charter school funds for over a decade to a for-profit management company he owned.

The lawsuit alleged that Amos forced the charter school to pay his management company more than $13 million in what was known as “management fees” since 2004. According to Nathan in the lawsuit, "the diverted funds were used to enrich the company and Amos, to the detriment of the school."

Stories like Amos are all too common. I remember being surprised when J.C. Hayward, a popular Channel 9 news anchor here in DC became embroiled in the Options Charter school scandal in 2013. This scandal led to Hayward being removed from her post as Channel 9 anchor after a long-time stellar career of forty years.

The lawsuit alleged that three former managers, the Options school’s board chairwoman, Hayward, and a senior official at the D.C. Public Charter School Board allegedly concocted an elaborate contracting scam that led to improper payments of more than $3 million to for profit companies

Days after the Washington Post submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request seeking information about contracts between the school and two for profit companies founded by the schools senior managers; Exceptional Education Management Corp. (EEMC) and Exceptional Educational Services (EES), the DC charter school board launched an investigation.

The sad thing about these stories, both schools ultimately closed their doors to its students, totaling 2,500 students. Regulations governing charters differ among states. In the District of Columbia, for example, a separate school board authorizes charters and monitors them.

Options closed at the end of school year 2015 after being placed under receivership and parents were given the choice to attend another charter school; Kingsman Academy. In February 2015, the DC Charter School Board unanimously revoked CAPCS charter and the school officially closed at the end of school year 14-15. The school’s campuses were transferred to other entities including DC Public Schools.

Amos and his management company settled his lawsuit by entering into an agreement to repay $3 million dollars, a far cry from the $13 million dollars diverted from the school.

Charter school closings due to financial mismanagement underscore the need for more transparency, oversight and accountability. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) claims that within the last 20 years, the federal government has spent $3.3 billion on charter schools but cannot account for which charters received taxpayer money and how those public dollars were spent.

This just isn’t acceptable.

Many believe charter schools should be held to the same standards as public schools to make sure students get the most of out of their educational experience and protect taxpayers’ investment.

The Annenberg Institute for Reform at Brown University has put out its own set of standards to bolster oversight for charters. Here are a few of their recommendations: [1.] charter school finance documents should be made publicly available; [2.] require charters to report administrative expenses; [3.] all vendor or service contracts should be made available to the public; and [4.] protect governing board members, students, staff, parents from retaliation for whistle blowing. Read the full report.

The Annenberg report is a major contribution to offering constructive suggestions on key concerns in the charter sector. Somebody has got to stop making it easy to steal from the kids.

Teachers Say No Freaking Way to AFT Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 22:41:00 +0000

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

On Saturday, July 11th - the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President, Randi Weingarten came under fire after her executive council voted overwhelmingly to endorse Hillary Clinton for the democratic primary for President of the United States. AFT is the parent organization of Washington Teachers' Union, Local 6 and has 1.5 million members.

In an AFT press release, President Weingarten said "Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members and is prepared for a tough fight on behalf of students, families and communities. That fight defines her career."

Weingarten added that Clinton is a "product of public schools and believes in the promise of public education.... Hillary understands that policymakers need to work with teachers and their unions. She's ready to work with us to confront the issues of children and their families today, including poverty, wage stagnation, income equality and the lack of opportunity."

Even though AFT's press release explained the process of how members were polled, including several town hall meetings, multiple surveys and a "you decide" website, the announcement of the endorsement erupted a firestorm of outrage from AFT teacher members nationwide on twitter.

In the course of hours, many teachers hurled questions at @Rweingarten and @AFTunion twitter accounts asking, when was there was a poll of the membership and requesting links to all of the polls.

Renowned NY Teacher *blogger, Arthur Goldstein (known as NYC Educator) said "...AFT Link says they used telephone town halls and a web-based survey, I didn't even know existed."

Katie Osgood, a special education teacher from Chicago said "I know many AFT members too and have not heard one person polled either." Mary Ahern called it "B.S. and queried how many of the over 1 million members responded?”

Activist teacher members and others lamented that the AFT endorsement of Clinton was a clear reminder of President Randi Weingarten's autocratic leadership style that treats teachers like passive herd-driven professionals rather than independent thinkers with a voice.

Phil Soreneson tweeted to President Weingarten, “glad I’m NEA, u don’t speak for me, u just made teachers’ look politically inept. Thanks for nothing.”

Naturewoman tweeted to AFT, "guessing you did not poll your members! No to Clinton who promotes Teach for America and charters!" Mr. Stevens echoed "Clinton endorsement is a joke & local union voices are being silenced to retain AFT union funding."

Minnsanity added, "AFT tried to shove NCLB, common core, PARCC and now Hillary on us - we ain't buying." Barmak Nassirian ‏summed it up best in his tweet, "sad day when political expediency trumps legitimate representation of members' real priorities."

Within hours teachers demanded fellow members to contact AFT and demand they rescind the Hillary Clinton endorsement. Teachers began adding their comments to Diane Ravitch’s education blog where she posted AFT’s press release on the Clinton for President endorsement. So far 147 comments have been posted, to date.

Given no one could locate AFT’s poll of members', the Badass Teachers Association (BAT) took matters into their own hands by conducting a poll on Face Book. So far 1240 teachers endorsed Bernie Sanders and only 84 endorsed Clinton. One teacher said "Weingarten has this thing about giving false information via polls... It's scary."

Some of our AFT members are taking matters into their own hands and have created a petition to demand AFT rescind their Hillary for US president endorsement. Click on LINK for the petition. So far 1,109 had signed on.

I too was up in the wee hours of the morning watching all of this unfold. Right here in DC, as an active member of WTU local 6 and elected General Vice President- I wondered how I had never been polled or invited to participate in AFT’s web based town hall or knew of members who had?

I concur with Aixa Rodriguez’s tweet, “it is 2:23 am and I am so mad at AFT’s ‪#prematureendorsement I cannot sleep. And so I tweet. And all my friends are up too….”

Don’t get this twisted, in the words of Lace to the top, “The story isn't ‪Randi Weingarten and AFT’'s endorsement of ‪Hillary Clinton. The story is all the amazing teachers saying no freaking way!!!!”

Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 22:34:00 +0000

Tubman Elem. School wine delivery

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

There aren’t many employers that would allow you to have your "wine of the month" shipment delivered to your job. Surely having a wine shipment sent to your elementary school likely will earn you a reprimand, even your walking papers.

When a local school principal (allegedly) received a monthly wine shipment from Last Bottle of Napa, California at her NW elementary school, here in DC– it caught the attention of a Fed-X employee who informed school staff. A picture of one of the wine delivery sent May 15, 2015 was provided to The Washington Teacher.

Pay attention to the shipping label on the box (pictured left) which reveals the shipment was delivered to Amanda Delabar at 3101 13th Street NW, District of Columbia 20010, which is the address of Tubman Elementary school where Delabar is the principal. The label is stamped home pre-paid ALCOHOL and requires an adult signature.

One might ask what’s wrong with having wine delivered to you at your place of employment, which just so happens to be an elementary school? As an educational leader, principals are models of leadership for teachers and students and should maintain standards of exemplary professional conduct.

“If a principal would reprimand one of his/her staff for a similar type of offense then they too should refrain from engaging in such behavior”, stated a DC principal who wished to remain anonymous.

The Child, Youth, Safety and Omnibus Amendment Act of 2004 requires criminal background checks for certain DCPS employees who work with students prior to the commencement of employment, and reasonable suspicion drug/alcohol testing. This act led to the creation of the DCPS 2013 Employee Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy which has certain provisions that also prohibit intoxicants at work.

Given that DCPS is committed to protecting the safety, health and welfare of young people in its charge, as well as that of its employees, a safety sensitive employee (i.e. principal, teacher, school staff,) are prohibited from possessing a container of alcohol, while on duty (see Section 6 for prohibited conduct on page 10).

Under the 2013 drug and alcohol policy, the consequences are rather severe and gives DCPS the right to require a fitness for duty, place an employee on administrative leave, detail the employee to a non safety-sensitive position and or terminate any covered employee who engages in any of the prohibited conduct outlined in Section 6,

We need to bear in mind that principals are people with the same follies as their staff.

As a side note, DC Public Schools has no problem administering discipline to teachers when found guilty of similar offenses.

Should principals be held to the same treatment as their employees, if found guilty?

What do you think would be an appropriate way to handle this situation ? You tell me. Feel free to write me at thewashingtonteacher@gmail.com

H.D. Woodson Grad Receives Full Ride At Emory University

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 06:08:00 +0000

Christopher Chandler receiving Lorraine H.Whitlock award
Pictured CM Yvette Alexander, salutatorian- David Wynn,
Mayor Muriel Bowser & Ward 7 Dem, Ed Potillo

By Candi Peterson and Malcolm Lewis Barnes

You hear a lot about what’s wrong with DC Public Schools, but very seldom hear about the success stories. On June 25th at the 11th Annual Lorraine H. Whitlock Memorial Scholarship dinner sponsored by the Ward 7 Democrats at the Kellogg Conference Center on the campus of Gallaudet College, Woodson High School senior, Christopher Chandler added that scholarship to his already impressive achievement as the valedictorian of his 2015 class.

With a 4.18 Grade Point Average (GPA), Christopher had already received a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennial Scholarship to study engineering at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia which offers a unique 3/2 program which allows their participants to get grounded in liberal arts by studying three years at Emory followed by two years at Georgia Tech’s rigorous engineering program.

“The one teacher that stands out the most was Laura Fuchs”, said Christopher. She helped him achieve his 4.18 GPA as his AP instructor who taught AP government and U. S. history. He credits her innovative teaching style with assisting him with the type of study guides and exposing him to the study skills that he feels will help him transition successfully to college. And he also feels that he was not the only one to benefit from Ms. Fuchs tutelage as he credits her with assisting the majority of her smaller 10 to 15 students in her class to achieve marked improvement.

Fuchs reacted as a proud teacher who takes delight in her student’s success. “Christopher is inspiring, gracious and humble. He has an unending work ethic and always tries his best. At graduation, every time I got close to him I cried”, stated Fuchs. Her tears were tears of joy. She recalled how hard Christopher worked even during his 7:30 am AP Government class. Arrangements were made so Fuchs students could arrive at school earlier than the standard 8:45 am arrival time to fit in another class, known as the zero period since there wasn't room in their senior schedule to take this class.

Fuchs arrived at HD Woodson in 2007 as a DC Teaching fellow and completed her Masters degree at American University, while teaching. She believes in experiencing 'civil action' with her students. Also serving as Washington Teachers' Union, Committee on Political Education (COPE) Chairperson, Fuchs can often be found attending DC City Council hearings and education town hall meetings in the evenings with her students in towe.

Chandler was also inspired by a professional role model who successfully transitioned from DC Public Schools to a career in engineering. He met electrical engineer, Joanne Wilson two years ago and was impressed with her career success as a telecommunications professional who worked her way from Southern University to a position on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

He also received great assistance from his college mentor, Kevin Mungin from the College Success Foundation of DC that is also funded by the Gates Foundation that helps public school students from middle school to map out their career fields by arranging college field trips and career shadowing opportunities.

His college mentor also exposed him to the Higher Education and; Readiness Program or HERO program, which works closely with Woodson students from middle school through graduation. Chris started in 7th grade doing a “Design Your Dream Home” project because he was originally interested in architecture. Then he migrated to engineering when he got to high school when he got exposed to the advances in cellphone technology.

And finally he credits his parents were there the whole time. “Everything starts at home” said Chris. “And our lifestyle at home set the tone for how I performed in school”. He praised his parents, Renee Carthens and stepfather, Otis Leach for providing the consistent family support that kept him focused though out his time in high school at Woodson.

And to add icing to his graduation cake, Christopher added the Lorraine H. Whitlock Memorial Scholarship to the full ride that the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennial Scholarship provided to study engineering, which was named after the lifelong education and community activist from the Deanwood community of Ward 7. Chandler’s story is one of inspiration where as an African American student he defied the odds in an urban high school where only 60% of his peers graduate in four years.

Count Christopher Chandler as a true success story, but credit the love and support he received from his parents, help he received from his AP instructor Laura Fuchs; his college mentor Kevin Mungin, and his professional role model, Joanne Wilson for inspiring him from middle school through graduation to valedictorian with a college career goal.

© Candi Peterson 2015

A Teacher's Story of Workplace Bullying/Incivility in DCPS

noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 03:16:00 +0000

Incivility & Workplace Bullying
photo by Kristian Hammerstad

By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President

Incivility is a general term for social behavior lacking in civility or good manners, on a scale from rudeness or lack of respect for elders, to vandalism and hooliganism, through public drunkenness and threatening behavior. The word "incivility" is derived from the Latin incivilis, meaning "not of a citizen".

I received both criticism and praise on my blog story about principal bullying in DC public schools. It's a story that must be told.

An opinion piece recently featured in the New York Times, titled 'No Time To Be Nice at Work' by Christine Porath highlights how mean bosses can be bad for workers and the company's bottom line. Porath is an associate research professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She has done extensive research on incivility in the workplace.

In schools, workplace bullying/incivility hurts student success and contributes to teacher turnover (which isn't good for schools).

For as long as I have worked for DC Public Schools (since 1992), rudeness and bad behavior amongst certain school administrators has been a reoccurring theme. A great deal of my union work in our schools has focused on retaliatory bosses. An increasing number of teachers have reported being subjected to bullying in the workplace by their principals. Administrators often defend their position by describing themselves as tough managers or view it as a way to motivate their staff .

How we treat each other at works matters. Robert M. Sapolsky, a Stanford University professor states when employees experience intermittent stressors like incivility for too long or too often , their immune systems are affected and lead to major health problems like cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and ulcers.

As if this isn't bad enough, incivility in the workplace has physiological effects as well. It shuts down the pre-frontal cortex. When you instill fear, the ability to think gets compromised.

Incivility has tangible costs too. It's a no brainer, when employers are mean, employees tend to have less focus, contribute less and lose their conviction and creativity. Porath's studies show that a group of participants who were belittled performed 33% worse on tasks and came up with 39% fewer creative ideas during a brainstorming task. Participants who encountered rudeness, subsequently performed 61% worse on tasks.

What sort of workplace would condone behavior that engenders fear in its teachers and ultimately hurts our students and their ability to achieve? Teachers cannot contribute their best when under fear of bullying, harassment or abuse.

Teachers fear reprisal and rarely report incidences of workplace bullying even to their union. Having the spotlight on increases the pressure on our schools to do something. Here's a teacher's story on bullying in the workplace. The teachers name and the name of the DC school have been removed to protect confidentiality.

Bullying at My School

To whom it may concern:

"Fortunately, I'm on the principal's good side. She likes me, so she really doesn't bother me. However,
I have witnessed her bully my colleagues, use intimidating techniques, and lie on teachers- creating a divisive environment. I understand that what affects some, will eventually affect all. What bothers me most is hearing her mention how she doesn't like working with African Americans. She is always comparing her previous school which was mostly Caucasian staff to her staff now. She boasts about how she preferred working with this kind of staff. I'm not even Black and this is offensive to me.

Our principal has single handedly ruined staff morale. I hate to say this because we have really great teachers here. She gossips about teachers to one another. I should not know the details of a staff member's medical issues. But I do because the principal discusses teachers' personal information. She has spread rumors about which staff members are sleeping together. It is uncomfortable being in the position where I know things about people that I shouldn't. Isn't this an ethical violation? I am fearful of telling her how I feel. She has demonstrated time and time again, that the way teachers feel isn't her concern. Speaking up will cause me to be added to her 'hate' list. No one wants to be on her 'hate' list. I have witnessed her make teachers miserable because she dislikes them, so it is easier just to be quiet.

Principal X is not a good leader. She is not passionate about student achievement. Student achievement appears to be the least of her concern. She does not motivate and support teachers as it states in the principal job description. According to her job description, she is supposed to implement consistent school-wide instructional practices that are clear, results-oriented and research-based. This is not the case. Principal X is not consistent with anything. Things change from one day to the next and usually occur last minute. She implements practices that are irrelevant to student growth.

She actually believes that student test scores are low because teachers are incompetent. Principal X does not consider the fact that maybe she's a poor leader which affects student test scores, as well. I know that I will continue to work in constant fear. It is hard enough to deal with challenging students. I do not need a leader to make it any worse."

Anonymous teacher in DCPS

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NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities Investigation

DC Corporate Profiteers Expose the Dark Side of Charter School Industry

Teachers Say No Freaking Way to AFT Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School

H.D. Woodson Grad Receives Full Ride At Emory University

A Teacher's Story of Workplace Bullying/Incivility in DCPS

Photo courtesy of Kristian Hammerstad- New York Times