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Home • About CUEA • Executive Board • Rep Council • Member Changes • Privacy • Location • Advertising • Contact
Capistrano Unified Education Association
27422 Aliso Creek Road, Suite 100
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949)900-2280
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Please email webmaster@cuea.org
ARTICLE
TITLE
HERE
BRANDMAN PARTNERS WITH CUSD TO OFFER MASTER’S COHORTS WITH SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
CUSD and Brandman University are hoping to start cohorts with Brandman for the summer and fall of 2017. There will be opportunities for both scholarships and career advancement. Information meetings will be held at the District Office in Training Rooms 2 & 3 on the following dates:
To sign up or for more specific information, click here.
ELECTION
DEADLINES
NEAR!
NEA REP ASSEMBLY ELECTION COMING TO SITES
The NEA Representative Assembly is being held in Boston, MA this year from June 29 – July 6. We have several people from CUEA who are vying to be CTA state delegates from Orange County at this assembly.
The election will be held by CUEA Building Representatives at school sites between Wednesday, March 13 – Friday, March 15. Active members only may vote for less than but no more than 20 of the candidates listed on the ballot. Here are the CUEA candidates with their number on the ballot (there is a total of 57 candidates for the Orange County area).
PLEASE VOTE SO THAT CUEA MAY HAVE MAXIMUM REPRESENTATION AT THIS ASSEMBLY.
SCHOLARSHIP
DEADLINES
THIS MONTH
SPECIAL ED
TASKFORCE
TO MEET
Last year, CUSD brought in the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), to review the entire Special Education programs and services in the District. This team was specifically looking for deficiencies. They interviewed representative groups from all stakeholders, including special education and general education educators and support staff, in order to analyze the continuum of services, staffing ratios, class and caseload sizes, the general organization and efficiency of the Special Ed department. After the FCMAT report was issued, the District saw the need for a strategic plan to carry out the suggested reforms. Randi Gibson, Interim Special Education Project Consultant, has been charged with overseeing the formation and implementation of the Strategic Plan.
A Strategic Plan Task Force Advisory Board is currently being formed from applicants. This Board will oversee and respond to several Strategic Plan Task Force Work Group Committees, including Continuum of Services, Identification-Monitoring-Compliance, Leadership & Communication, and Support Services & Staffing. They will need 1-3 general ed and 1-2 special ed teachers on each of these committees.
In the next couple of weeks there will be an email sent out to all certificated staff requesting volunteers for these committees, with details regarding the task of each committee, meeting dates, times and locations. If you would like to have input on these vital committees, be looking for this email in your school district email box.
ENROLLMENT
PERIOD
FEB. 1 - 28
Did you know that Disability Insurance can help you pay for things medical insurance doesn’t cover if you are unable to work due to an illness or injury? Don’t miss an exclusive opportunity to enroll in the CTA-endorsed Disability and Life Insurance plans provided by Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) without providing proof of good health.*
For more information about your special enrollment opportunity, visit www.standard.com/cta/cuea.
* Disability Insurance enrollment without providing proof of good health is dependent on CUEA achieving the Disability Insurance application goal. For details, please visit the campaign webpage www.standard.com/cta/cuea.
For costs and further details of the coverage, including exclusions, any reductions or limitations and the terms under which the policy may be continued in force, please contact Standard Insurance Company at 800-522-0406 (TTY). Standard Insurance Company, 1100 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, OR 97204 GP190-LTD/S399/CTA.1 GP190-LIFE/S399/CTA3
TRANSFER
PROCESS
IS WHERE?
Many of our members are asking for an update on the District’s transfer/hiring process. Currently, Human Resources is placing all surplus teachers (including those at Crown Valley Elementary). When that is completed, they will move to place any voluntary transfer requests as possible. After those have been placed, the temporary teachers who are being asked back will be notified of their placements. Finally, any new hires needed will be selected. The District has been actively accepting applications and interviewing new candidates to have a pool ready, with the expectation that all schools will be fully staffed by June 30.
BE AWARE OF
YOUR
CONTRACT
Beginning Of The Year Contract Reminders
Credit for Summer Classes
If you have taken summer classes for salary credit, you must submit transcripts to the CUSD Personnel Department no later than October 31. CUEA suggests you get the paperwork in much earlier.
Kindergarten Reminder
Kindergarten teachers have priority when signing up for the computer lab and library on ACE days.
Elementary Combo Classes
Three/four combo teachers receive the same release time as 4th grade teachers, 80 minutes of block music release per week; also K/1 teachers receive the same daily morning duty-free release time as teachers with straight Kindergarten classes. Click here for a copy of the recommendations made for forming combo classes.
High School Late Start Days
When putting together the Late Start schedule for the high school 2013/14 school year, it is important that teachers and administration follow the CUEA/CUSD Contract. Article 5.8.3 states that "Late Start days at the high school level shall be scheduled with the input and approval of the staff. The frequency, duration, and usage for Late Start days shall be voted on by a secret ballot by a majority of the staff members at each respective school. And Article 5.8.4 states that "Faculty meetings shall be no longer than one hour in length and conducted no more than once a month. Faculty meetings for the month will occur on an ACE/Late Start day.
This means that teachers must be involved in deciding not only how many Late Start days will be scheduled, but how those days will be used as well. Besides the faculty meeting, other choices Late Start days may include the following: department meeting; staff development; collaboration meetings; independent planning time; and meetings dedicated to the WASC process. For reference, high school teachers may want to refer to Article 5.8.2 which describes the rotation for ACE days (late start) at the middle school: one staff meeting a month, two grade level or department level or staff development days per month; and one "teacher preparation day per month.
With school closing a week earlier than usual, CUEA suggests that the secret ballot voting be completed prior to the Memorial Day holiday.
Sub Coverage Pay For All Teachers
District office has been releasing teachers for the past few months to attend trainings and meetings which has resulted in a shortage of subs for teachers who are absent on any given day. This means that teachers are being asked to cover each other classes during the school day.
As per Article 5.13 of the CUEA/CUSD Contract, all teachers, elementary and secondary, music and special ed teachers, get paid $35 an hour to cover a colleague’s class if the substitute does not show up, or for as long as it takes for the sub to arrive if the instructional day has already started. Additionally, if students from the absent teacher are sent to other teachers’ classrooms, those teachers also receive $35 an hour as well.
This contract provision is not new, so if you have been covering classes anytime this year, or taking students from another class, without getting paid, notify your principal immediately so the proper paperwork can be completed - this includes RSP teachers.
Report Card Comments
It has been agreed by both the district and CUEA that elementary teachers are responsible for their own comments on report cards. Therefore, principals should not be asking teachers to submit comments for review, prior to sending to parents. However, principals may access report cards at anytime anyway.
Additionally, teachers need to remember that because the Standards Based Report Card is so specific to each standard, teachers should not need to make many additional comments unless a grade needs to be documented.
Contract Close Up: Elementary ACE Calendars
New Elementary ACE Calendars are now available to principals and leadership teams. The newly revised Elementary ACE Calendars include a "tracking chart which allows a school to count up the number of Independent Planning Days; Non-ACE days (like parent conferences); and the combined number of staff/grade level/staff development days per year.
The number of ACE days vary this year dependent upon the day of the week. Schools with Tuesday ACE have 33 ACE days for the 2011/12 school year and should reflect a 16/17 split between Independent Planning and staff/grade level/staff development. Schools on Wednesday and Thursday ACE have at total of 35 ACE days and should reflect a 17/18 split between Independent Planning and staff/grade level/staff development days. Since the number of ACE days is uneven, the split should reverse every other year
Personal Necessity Days
Did You Know There Are 10?
One of the major contract changes effective in 2012-13 is the addition of 3 more Personal Necessity days ("PN Days"), for a total of 10 days. This means all ten (10) of your allotted sick days per year can be used for personal necessity reasons. Keep in mind, you still must tell your principal in advance of the need to take a Personal Necessity day. Also, see the line item below about "No-Tell" days.
Five "No-Tell" Personal
Necessity Days
New contract language was adopted last spring allowing for three (5) "No Tell" days. Refer to Article 10.3.3 in the CUEA/CUSD Contract now online at the CUEA website. There is no restriction as to when those days may taken. Keep in mind that these 5 days are part of the 10 PN days allowed per year as enumerated in Article 10.3.
What To Do About Jury Duty
If you are called for jury duty, you have the option to either serve when called, or postpone your service to a non-working day during winter or spring break or the summer vacation months.
If you choose to postpone and serve on your "own time," the district will pay you the same amount they would have paid a regular subsitute. In order to receive the substitute pay, you must submit a copy of the original summons, the notification of postponement of service, and the dated proof of jury service.
If you decide to serve your duty during the school year, the district pays for your sub and the days on jury duty are not counted against your sick leave.
TRANSFER
APPLICATION
DEADLINE
The transfer process is currently open. Applications must be submitted through www.cusdjobs.org no later than March 1. You only need to complete the top portion of the application. Resumes and letters of recommendation are not required for transfers. You may apply to any school you wish, but not all will have openings. Teachers requesting transfers will be notified of their request no later than April 15.
| SCHOOL CALENDAR | ||
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"OPTION A" IS CHOSEN FOR 2016-17 At the October 14 Board Meeting, CUSD Trustees voted (5 to 2) to approve the original 2016-17 calendar, Option A, with the mid-August student start date of August 15, full week of Thanksgiving, first semester ending before Winter Break, and final student day on June 1. The Trustees received many emails regarding this issue, and said that the emails were fairly divided, with a little more for early start than against. There were several people (close to 30) who lined up to speak to this agenda item. Of those, about six spoke against early start. The rest, which included several very articulate high school students, four teachers (three high school and one who spoke for her elementary school staff) and several parents (even parents of elementary students) all spoke to the academic and stress reduction benefits of the early start.
One woman, who spoke to the academic argument, talked about encountering new people moving into her neighborhood from out of state who will ask, “How are the schools?” She said that they don’t mean, “What’s the start date of school?” A high school senior insisted the August start date made the only sense, because all students involved in fall sports or pep squad or marching band (about 20% of the students) are back in August anyway. She said, “My family hasn’t taken an August vacation since I was in middle school.”
All of the high schoolers spoke to the great stress relief of being completely done with finals prior to Winter Break and of the advantage of having three extra weeks of instruction prior to high stakes testing. A couple of the high schoolers, who will be the first in their families to go to college (one is the first high school graduate in his family), mentioned the need for that full Thanksgiving week to prepare applications since they had no parental experience with them. Finally, many spoke about the advantage of being out in early June in order to attend summer school sessions at Saddleback and other colleges.
The arguments for a post-Labor Day start were mostly around problems with air conditioning and the possible added cost of running it during August. Trustees pointed out that the air conditioning issues (which are all over the District) are a separate facilities problem that is definitely a Board priority, but that our hottest weather this year has been in September and October.
Going forward, the District has a plan in place, beginning in the spring of 2016, to collect community input regarding the 2017-18 calendar and beyond, so that all stakeholders feel heard. This will include polling by an independent polling service, small group stakeholder meetings, reconvening of the Calendar Committee, and a community forum to review poll results, and recommendations.
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| EDUCATION | ||
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Changes To Standard Disability Insurance
To continue to provide high-quality income protection to all CTA members, the salary bands are being modified. This aligns premiums with benefits that are provided by the plan. Two modifications are being made: (1) One premium band for salaries under $44,500, and (2) six new salary bands for members who earn $76,250 and above.
This modification will allow The Standard to continue to provide benefits that so many members depend on (up to 75% income replacement) at premium rates that are among the most competitive in the country. Members who earn between $36,750 and $76,249 in annual salary will have no adjustments to premiums. Members outside of that range will see a premium adjustment and will receive a notification explaining the change.
If you have any questions,
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| CONTRACT RIGHTS | ||
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Catastrophic Leave Bank - Have You Made Your Deposit? What happens if you become so ill that you use up all of your sick leave? Well, under the contract in Article 10.17, catastrophic leave is defined as “. . . an illness or injury that is expected to incapacitate the employee for an extended period of time, requires the employee to take time off from work for an extended period of time and taking extended time off work creates a financial hardship for the employee because he or she has exhausted all of his or her sick leave and other paid time off." “Paid time off” would include regular sick leave, extended sick leave (differential) [see 10.2.10], and industrial accident leave.
What do you do then? If you have deposited into the district Sick Leave Bank, you may use sick leave also donated by others, subject to certain restrictions as laid out in all of Article 10.17. You can find out by looking at the contract how to contribute and what the restrictions are. Don’t wait until it is too late! Donate now, if you meet the requirements. You will feel like you have some insurance against a catastrophe, and you will be helping your fellow employees in need.
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| GOVERNANCE | ||
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NEA Representative Assembly Applications The NEA Representative Assembly is the largest annual democratic convention in the United States. This year it will be held in Orlando, FL from June 30-July 7. If you would like to be part of California’s CTA delegation you can obtain the candidacy form from the back of your California Educator (Dec or Jan issues) or NEA Today, or you can find the form online at http://www.cta.org/About-CTA/Leadership/NEA-RA.aspx. This is a big commitment of your time, but it is exciting to participate and represent our members’ interests. If you are interested in being elected as a delegate, the form must be turned in no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 30, to the CTA Orange Service Center, 281 N. Rampart, Ste. A, Orange, CA 92688 (you can reach that office by phone at 714.978.8861. If you are elected, CTA and CUEA will defray your costs.
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| STATE BUDGET | ||
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State Budget And CUSD Governor Brown just signed into law the state budget for 2014/15. Below are brief highlights of the budget for school funding.
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OFFICER
ELECTIONS
ANNOUNCED
The results are in for the CUEA General Election. Officers and Executive Board members elected beginning September 1, are as follows:
President (two-year term): Sally White
Treasurer (two-year term): Robyn Nixon
High School Reps-At-Large (one-year term): John Kearsley, Greg Young
Middle School Rep-At-Large (one-year term): Carter Johnson
Elem Reps-At-Large (one-year term): Susie Moothart, Nona Reimer, Mike Hardos
CTA State Delegate (three-year term): Casey Swenson
CTA State Delegate Alternates (three-year term): Christy Heidner, Robyn Nixon
Call the system at 
Plan premiums of the Voluntary Disability Insurance, offered through The Standard Insurance Company, will be modified starting