Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/129419
Elected delegates hard at work State Council Committees drive CTA actions, beliefs Dale Kennedy, Kings Canyon EA, salutes the flag as State Council delegates say the Pledge of Allegiance. As CTA's top governing body, State Council has 22 committees ranging from assessment and testing to school safety, and from curriculum and instruction to professional rights and responsibilities. Council delegates do not consider an issue until it has been thoroughly reviewed and recommended by the committees. Most committees have subgroups that deal with specifics of an issue, for example: Policy, Practice, School Safety, School Management, or Legislation. Some of April's committees covered the omnibus bill and its effect on school safety issues, or the attempts to eviscerate teacher rights to remove children from the classroom for the day for violating rules outlined in EC 48910. Others delved into the impacts of the Governor's Local Control Funding Formula and took positions on issues such as the proposed Common Core Mathematics Frameworks and the Next Generation Science Standards. Delegates heard presentations by the CDE on Smarter Balanced Assessments and the ELD standards. They took their work home with them to prepare for their review of the math frameworks. What do State Council committees do? Rebecca Harper, San Gorgonio SCC staff, and Darla Bramlette, Panama-Buena Vista TA, check out CTA's new conference cellphone app before a Service Center meeting. Through State Council, teachers have a voice in the development of Common Core State Standards. Pia Vanmeter Riverside City Teachers Association, Curriculum and Instruction Committee Committees provide direction to State Council in developing policies to help teachers do what they do. Jose Chavez California Faculty Association, CSU Sacramento, Curriculum and Instruction Committee We discussed the teacher dismissal bill, which keeps students safe, safeguards the integrity of the profession, and protects the rights of educators. Linda Venturino San Ramon Valley Education Association, Teacher Evaluation and Academic Freedom Committee State Council delegates honored three California Teachers of the Year: Veronica Marquez, fifth-grade teacher, United Teachers Los Angeles; Sebastien Paul De Clerck, high school French and Italian teacher, Ventura Unified Education Association; and I'Asha Warfield, seventhgrade teacher, Oakland Education Association and California's nominee for National Teacher of the Year. Through committee work, I hope State Council has better input in developing a fair way to evaluate all teachers. Debbie Resnick Anaheim Elementary Education Association, Teacher Evaluation and Academic Freedom Committee May 2013 www.cta.org 31