Spring 2013 Texas Teacher
A look at bills filed on testing, a column from Texans Advocating Meaningful Student Assessment, and observations from a decade-long fight against overtesting.
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Michigan community college faculty vote for the union
Part-time faculty at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Michigan gave their overwhelming consent to union representation earlier in May, when they voted 162-38 in favor of certifying the KVCC Federation of Teachers as their collective bargaining agent. KVCC-FT is affiliated with AFT Michigan.
New Resource Invites Students To Explore JFK's Legacy
On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy captured and crystallized a moment in history when he told America, "the torch has been passed to a new generation." To mark the 50th anniversary of this landmark inaugural address, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has created a new website filled with groundbreaking multimedia that invites young visitors to explore the JFK legacy through such core themes as public service, civil rights and innovation.
Weingarten Proposes Aligning Evaluation and Due Process
AFT president Randi Weingarten on Feb. 24 proposed a new way to align teacher development and evaluation to due process for tenured teachers. Weingarten laid out a three-step process consisting of clear standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, a time-limited improvement and support plan for teachers deemed to be unsatisfactory according to the evaluation standards, and a hearing process that can take no longer than 100 days, which in many cases would be even more expedient.
Weingarten Calls for Shared Solutions To Fiscal Crisis
In a March 28 speech sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, AFT president Randi Weingarten challenged those who have blamed public employees and their right to collectively bargain as a cause of their states' fiscal problems.
Report Looks at Keeping Gen Y Teachers in the Profession
Generation Y teachers—those in their mid-30s or younger—say that to keep them in teaching, schools should be transformed into workplaces that support high-quality teaching and learning, so eager but nearly overwhelmed novices will stay in the profession and can become highly effective, according to a new report by the AFT and the American Institutes for Research.
AFT Launches New Elections Matter Website
Every day, educators and other public employees, and the services they provide our communities, are being attacked. From challenging collective bargaining rights, to undermining the quality of public education and higher education, to decimating pensions and trying to put healthcare coverage further out of reach, working men and women across the country are under assault. And if this has taught us one thing, it's that Elections Matter.