The Board and Superintendent keep reminding each other that the budget if built on quicksand. [It's okay -- just stand on the rail, but remember, that handcart is worth $400.) The point is, of course, that much can change, but for now, the Board has passed the budget. It will be presented to the city council in early April. When the Council ratifies a budget (hopefully this one), it will be sent out to voters for a June referendum, along with the $5 million bond to do critical maintenance on secondary facilities.
At the Board meeting last night, Superintendent Godin informed the Board that she will meet with the SPTA Negotiating Team on March 23 to discuss the Board's request for a reduction in next year's salary increase.
At that same meeting, Mr. Eastman referred to a letter from Gail Ryder regarding the position of certification coordinator. He expressed interest in restoring that to the budget at earliest convenience if funds are available. Superintendent Godin said she does not think that could be attached to any of the strings from the stimulus money. The text of the letter is posted as the first comment to this entry.
New Jersey College Is Beset by Accusations
9 hours ago
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Good Morning,
I planned to attend this evening's Board of Education meeting to address the elimination of the Certification Coordinator position in the 2009-2010 budget. I will be unable to do so due to a family health issue, however I do want to make the following points for your consideration:
* Teacher and Educational Specialists Certification, as well as Educational Technician
Authorization are governed by State law. In 1984, a new state law was passed. The
emphasis shifted from State to local control of the certification process. We currently have
a School Board and State Approved Plan that was revised in 2002. If you haven't had an
opportunity to do so, I urge to carefully read this important document. This governs the
way our teachers, educational specialists and educational technicians earn and maintain
their professional certification and authorization.
* The Support System oversees the operation of the entire Support System Plan.
The responsibilities include but are not limited to:
* holding formal certification orientations yearly for Conditional, Targeted Need, and
Provisional level teachers/ ed specialists, as well as for those working under waivers.
holding formal orientations for educational technicians working under teacher
certification or ed. tech. authorization.
* designating a Chairperson for the Support System
* assigning and training Support Team members and mentors (each Initial Professional
Teacher Certification candidate requires a minimum of three observations, three pre-
conferences and 3 post-conferences by trained certified teachers/ed. specialists)
These are based on Maine Teaching Standards.
* coordinating delivery of resources and services to candidates, mentors and support
teams
* approving Teacher Acton Plans, Professional Renewal Plans and making
recommendations to the Commissioner of MDE.
* assigning local recertification credits to in-service activities
* pre-approving individual requests for professional development activities
to be used for initial and re-certification credit.
* maintain certification/authorization files for all certified/authorized employees.
* meet on a regular basis and disseminate information directly to employees
History:
Until 1998, the positions of Support System members, Support Team members and
mentors were held by teachers, who were employed full time as classroom teachers/ed.
spec. As our numbers of candidates grew, more teachers were required to leave their
classrooms to make certification observations. This required more frequent substitute
requests and lost teaching time.
In 1998, the district created the position of one full time mentor. This position cut
down the number of disruptions of valuable teaching time. The position of Support
System Chairperson was made a half-time position. The following year, that became full
time also. Along with other duties, that position required mentoring new teachers
as well.
In 2006, the full time mentor position was eliminated. To date, the position of full time
Support System Chairperson (coordinator) has remained
Some statistics to consider:
In the current school year, we have a total of 28 teachers working for Initial
Certification. They each require at least one trained mentor. The Support System Chair
(co-ordinator) oversees all 28 certification mentors/mentees and personally
mentors 6 teachers and co-mentors two others.
During the school year, each Certification mentor will conduct a minimum of 3 pre-
conferences, 3 observations (at least 1 hr or 1 entire class duration) and 3 post-
conferences. They must also write up 2 observation forms for each observation.
These also are based on the Maine State Teacher Standards. Each mentor's work adds
up to a minimum of 13 hrs. per. mentee.
13 contact hrs. x 28 mentees = 364 hrs.
Again this provides contact between mentor and mentee only 3 times during the school
year. In many cases, more time is needed to create a truly beneficial support to our
new teachers.
Current Responsibilities of this position include:
* All of those listed under the Support System
* Supporting the work of all mentors/mentees on a daily basis
* maintaining files for teachers, ed. tech., and ed. spec (430)
adding in documentation they submit for certification
(by law, these files must be kept separate from employee files)
* conducting file reviews for all teachers, ed. spec and ed. techs to be sure that
they have completed the required pre-approved professional development work
sending out reminders of upcoming deadlines for renewal
* answering questions by phone, e-mail and mail
* processing and signing all renewal applications
requesting required Affidavits of Employment
mailing all renewal materials to the State Dept.
* serving a liaison between State DOE and Local Support System and Adm.
It is my primary concern that our Certification Support System Plan will be compromised
without a full time Chairperson (coordinator) position. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for any full time teacher to be able to invest 100% professional effort and energy in his/her classroom instruction, and provide timely support to our professionals as they maintain their certification/authorization.
I hope that you will reconsider the elimination of this position. It has a a vital impact upon our professional staff who teach our students daily.
If you would like to ask any questions or would like to have more information, please contact me. Should you need a Certification Support System Handbook, you may contact Maria Sorensen at C.O.
Respectfully,
Gail Ryder
Certification Support System, Chair
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