Q-Comp Video and Discussion, Wisconsin Actions, Tech Focus Groups, AVMR Meeting

Q-Comp Information:  Now that we’ve wrapped up informational meetings around the district, we would like to fill in some information members have requested recently.  People asked for the 15 minute video about our plan that we used at informational meetings and for a place where they can share their comments and questions with other members.

• Video:  We’ve added the video at the top of our Q-Comp website at www.ahqcomp.blogspot.com with instructions on how to view it if it is blocked at school.
• Share Your Comments:  The second post on our website at www.ahqcomp.blogspot.com has been opened up for comments.  We ask that you use your real name and remember that the posts are public. 

Wisconsin Actions:  Lots of members have been asking when and where events are happening to support Wisconsin union rights.  If you are interested in attending the rallies, sending emails, or spreading the word, visit the Wisconsin Education Association Council’s site at www.weac.org.   The actions seem to be having an effect – a New York Times poll conducted over the past few days shows that a majority support public sector workers and their bargaining rights: http://nyti.ms/fmBPp2 .

Technology Focus Groups:  The district Technology Department is looking for educators to participate in afterschool focus groups about the Anoka-Hennepin Data Dashboard/Analytic System Initiative.  Four separate groups of 6-9 participants, representing elementary, middle, high school, and K-12 special education teachers will be created to get feedback to develop the project.  Interviews will take approximately one hour and will provide an opportunity for everyone to contribute. Participants will paid for their time. Email us AHEM at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us  if you are interested.

AVMR Meeting:  Advantage Math Recovery, used in our elementary schools, has been the focus of debate among educators and school board members since its first appearance in our district.  The potential benefits of the program are not in question, but there seems to be room for improvement in our delivery model.  We invite members to come to the AHEM office to discuss what’s working and what can be improved at 4:45 pm, Thursday, March 24^th.  Let us know if you plan to attend at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us .

Wisconsin Rally, Deducting Dues, Q-Comp and Dayton's Budget

Wisconsin Update and Rally Tonight: This past Friday, public employees in Wisconsin agreed to the compensation cuts in their governor’s budget bill and asked that their collective bargaining rights be unharmed in return.  Governor Walker flatly refused.  It is clear now that his bill is not about balancing the budget, but about eliminating their collective bargaining rights. We are getting a lot of questions about how we can help our Wisconsin colleagues. There is a rally after school today in the Rotunda of our Capitol to support our Wisconsin colleagues - it starts at 4 pm, but even if you are at our late release elementaries, it’s worth the trip down.  Here is a map to the Capitol: http://tinyurl.com/4sus6aq .  About 1000 people have already RSVP’d on Facebook alone, I hope you can make it too.

Deducting Your Dues:  For those of you filing your taxes, remember that you may be able to deduct AHEM dues.  For your 2010 dues paid amount, go to myView and look at your last check from 2010.  Here are more detailed instructions:

• visit the district website, click the “staff” tab along the top, then click the “myView” link on the left
• Log in
• Click the payroll link, select detailed past payments
• Click on 12/31/10 payment date and scroll down to YTD AHEM Teacher Dues

TRA Elections:  Ensure we continue to have strong teacher voices on our pension’s board by supporting educators when you vote for two positions on the Teachers Retirement Association Board.  You will be receiving a ballot in the mail this month and you’ll see the candidate biographies on the back of the ballot to help you make your choices.  Mary Broderick (president of the St. Cloud Education Association) is up for re-election to the board and has done an outstanding job in her recent term.  Voting is quick and easy (I follow the directions on the ballot to vote online).  Please take a moment to choose those who will be making decisions about our pension.

Q-Comp and Governor Dayton’s Budget:  In governor Dayton’s budget proposal, Q-Comp participation would be capped at those whose applications were approved by the Minnesota Department of Education by February 1^st.  This would include our proposal and would mean we could be one of the last districts to be able to participate if we were to vote it in.  The bill proposed by Republican legislators to freeze school salaries would have frozen wage increases except for Q-Comp.  Together, this suggests that there is some level of bipartisan support for current Q-Comp funding, though we won’t know for sure exactly what the funding will be until the end of the legislative session in May.  We have agreement with the district that if the funding were cut, we would not be bound to participate.

Q-Comp Mtgs, Pay Freeze Bill, $20 from Medica

Q-Comp Member Meetings Start Tuesday:  Reminder, our first Q-Comp member information meeting is this Tuesday.  Here are the dates of all the meetings, you are welcome to attend any that fit your schedule:

• Tuesday, February 8:  Coon Rapids High School, Auditorium (enter door 13), 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm
• Thursday, February 10:  AHEM Office; 10:30-11:30 am and 1:00-2:00 pm
• Tuesday, February 15:  Jackson Middle School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm        
• Tuesday, February 22:  Blaine High School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm 
• Wednesday, February 23:  Anoka High School, Auditorium, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm          
• Thursday, February 24:  Andover High School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm

Also, you can get more information on our Q-Comp website at www.ahqcomp.blogspot.com  or by emailing us at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us .

Pay Freeze Bill: You have undoubtedly heard about the bills working their way through the legislature calling for a hard pay freeze for all educators.  Many have asked how they could share the sacrifices those of us in the classroom are already making with their legislators.  To send a message to your representatives, visit http://tinyurl.com/4uxozo4  .  You can use the provided pre-written bullet points, your own stories, or a combination of the two.  When you fill in your address, the site will look up your legislators and address your email to them automatically. In about 3 minutes, you can let your legislator know about the importance of local control in school decision making.

$20 Gift Certificate from Medica:  Grab your Medica card, visit www.mymedica.com , and sign in (don’t worry if you don’t know your password or username – it’s easy to set yourself up if you have your Medica card with you).  Click on the “Health and Wellness” tab and you’ll be asked to complete a short health survey.  Complete it and they’ll email you a link to choose a $20 gift certificate.  I know it works because I tried it a couple days ago and just downloaded my gift certificate (JCPenney was my choice).  From registering to use the site to finishing the survey took about fifteen minutes, and I found some interesting health information on the website to boot.

Q-Comp Mtgs & Guide, Republican Member Mtg, Scholarships

Q-Comp Member Meetings and Guide:  We have set up meetings in February to give more details about our Q-Comp proposal and answer your questions.  You’ll receive a reminder in your box as well, but for those of you who like to get your schedules together early, here are the specifics:

• Tuesday, February 8:  Coon Rapids High School, Auditorium (enter door 13), 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm
• Thursday, February 10:  AHEM Office; 10:30-11:30 am and 1:00-2:00 pm
• Tuesday, February 15:  Jackson Middle School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm        
• Tuesday, February 22:  Blaine High School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm 
• Wednesday, February 23:  Anoka High School, Auditorium, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm         
• Thursday, February 24:  Andover High School, IMC, 3:30-4:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 pm

Also, our Q-Comp guide with more details is being printed. If you’d like to see it now, visit the “Quick Clicks” section on our main page to download a copy: www.ahem.locals.educationminnesota.org

Republican Member Meeting:  Over the last two years, Education Minnesota has made efforts to involve Education Minnesota Republican members in legislative and political activities on behalf of public education. It’s more important than ever for our Republican members to build relationships with their legislators.

Education Minnesota will hold a meeting of interested Republican members on Saturday, Feb. 5, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Education Minnesota headquarters in St. Paul. Education Minnesota will provide lunch and pay mileage for all members.  We’ll both give you information about engaging in the political process and take the time to hear what you have to say.  If you are interested, email us at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us and we’ll get you set up.

Scholarships for Union Members and Their Families: The Minnesota AFL-CIO is proud to have scholarships available for union members and their dependents.  Education Minnesota is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, so our members are eligible. Five $1000 Minnesota AFL-CIO scholarship are available  to graduating high school seniors this year. The scholarship application deadline is April 30, 2011.   For more information and application forms, visit http://tinyurl.com/5v5spxz.

Error in Star Tribune Article on our Q-Comp Proposal

You may have seen the article in today’s Star Tribune about the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) signing off on our proposal ( http://tinyurl.com/68vyehj ).  In there, they say our district “would scrap it’s ‘steps and lanes’”.  That is not accurate.

Lanes would not change at all, steps would be modified.  Steps would be called “Performance Increments” and could be withheld if someone was not at a proficient level on their observations two years in a row.  Now, there already is language that says steps can be withheld for performance reasons in our current contract, but it is rarely (if ever) used. Districts that have Q-Comp currently say it is also rare in their programs that someone doesn’t get to move to the next step. This modification is required by the MDE for all Q-Comp plans.  I’ve included more specifics after my signature.

It is a change – and one people should consider carefully – but it doesn’t “scrap” our current system.

Chances are this won’t be the last inaccuracy we see in the media. In this case, someone in the district office misspoke (an honest mistake). We’ll work to get you the real story when the errors pop up so you can make an informed vote on March 8^th and 9^th.  Thank you to the eagle-eyed members who brought this to our attention and keep the questions coming,

-Julie

The specific steps on handling performance increments are laid out in the Appeals Process portion of our proposal:

For those who do not successfully complete their observations, there will be options for additional support from the evaluators, colleagues, or administrators along the way. If those do not work, participants can appeal to the Q-Comp steering committee which is made up of half educators appointed by AHEM and half administrators.

If the appeal is not successful, the participant will not receive the incentives and the next year the participant will be on a formal PAS process with their administrator. If the observations in the second year are also not successful, the participant will neither be awarded incentives nor get a performance increment (step) on the salary schedule. 

The standard for success on the observations will start out lower at first to give us time to get used to the plan.  For the first year of our program, success means earning a rating of Proficient or Distinguished on 3 out of the 5 components of the instructional (or equivalent for those not in a regular classroom) portion of our current Performance Appraisal System (PAS). The second year, you’d need to be Proficient or Distinguished on 4 out of 5 components, with the standard moving to being Proficient or Distinguished on all parts of that portion by year three and each year thereafter.

Q-Comp Proposal Signed

Welcome back – I hope your return from break has been a good one.  While you were gone…

Q-Comp:  The Minnesota Department of Education signed off on our proposal on Monday, January 3rd.  Now it is time for us to decide whether or not this plan works for us.  It will take a 75% yes vote of our membership to approve the proposal.

At this Monday's Representative Assembly, we'll decide the exact date of our vote (we are proposing the first week in March).  We will also set up member meetings to review the proposal throughout February around the district.  Look for more information in your boxes about the specifics of the proposal as well toward the end of this month.

If you want to review the structure of the program right now, you can visit ahqcomp.blogspot.com.  There we have all the information we've sent you so far by mail, email and in your boxes, along with a link to where you can download the full application. (you'll notice  the proposal looks like it is over 300 pages long - however, the actual structure of the proposal is on pages 5-28 and 336-364, 51 pages total).

As always, your questions are welcome at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us.  I look forward to a good discussion as we consider this opportunity.