focus
On educators
focus on educators is an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of
teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity and civil
rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.
JANUARY 2019
Volume XXVII, Number 5
_______________________________________
This is an exciting time in our
nation and our state. Public
educators are rising up to advocate
for the public education that all
students deserve. We saw this
around our country and now in
California. With the impacts that
are faced by all educators when it
comes to fully funding public
education, we can’t rest or accept
the cuts that hit our schools.
On Saturday, January 12, Oakland
Education Association (OEA) had
California Teachers Association
Statement of Mission
a rally at the Frank Ogawa Plaza.
The power of the OEA members
and others walking to the site from
Lake Merritt was inspiring. You
could feel the excitement all
around for this rally and its
purpose. A huge turnout of folks
who support OEA, public
education, and our students
remained in the plaza to hear the
many speakers that included
parents and students from the
Oakland Unified School District.
There was an ocean of red t-shirts
throughout the plaza. At different
booths you could write a postcard
of support as well as sign a
petition. The message was clear -
standing up for students for the
public education they all deserve is
priority one.
United Teachers of Los Angeles
(UTLA) went on strike Monday,
January 14. It was reported that
more than 28,000 UTLA members
were out striking. Also, UTLA
received an abundance of
community supporting their efforts
to improve public education for
their students. By the many posts
to social media, you could see the
determination of these educators
as they marched in the rain with
signs. #RedForEd was primarily
referenced and goes to the support
and solidarity we all need to have
for this movement. UTLA
reached a tentative agreement on
Tuesday, January 22!
Emails have been sent out on ways
to support both OEA and UTLA.
Please make sure you have signed
the petition that will continue to
support OEA as UTLA has
reached a settlement. The petition
can be found at
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/
redfored/ . If you wear red, please
make sure to post your picture
with the hashtag #RedForEd.
Read UTLA’s webpage at
https://www.utla.net for more
detailed information on the 6 day
strike and updates.
In Solidarity,
Tammy Carr
 PEA Leadership 2018-2019
Rep. Council Meeting Calendar (Tuesdays)
President
January 22
Tammy Carr
February 19
PEA Office
Elementary Vice President March 19
Michell Redfoot April 16
Willow Cove May 14
Secondary Vice President
Nyssa Ton School Board Meeting Calendar
Black Diamond January 9 & 23
Secretary February 6 & 20
Nicole Glassel March 6 & 20
Los Medanos April 3 & 17
Treasurer
May 8 & 22
Shelly Bascomb
June 12 & 26
North Campus
________________________________________________ July 24
Committee Chairs:
Grievance Committee Are You Getting Your PEA Information?
Jill Wery – Pittsburg High Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the monthly Rep
Chris Coan – Willow Cove meeting and then report back to you is vital in the
Negotiations Team communication chain of our Association.
Andrea McKinney – Chair – Black Diamond
Roll call at last December 18th Rep Council Meeting:
Chris Coan – Willow Cove
Jeff Greco – Rancho Medanos Adult Ed. – present MLK Jr. – present
Melonie Sauceda-Flemming - Hillview/MLK Black Diamond – present North Campus – absent
Political Action Chair
Foothill – present Parkside – present
Vacant
Heights – present PHS - present
Elections Chair
Highlands – present Rancho Medanos – present
Sharie Chmura - Parkside
Human Rights Chair Hillview - absent Stoneman – present
Andrea McKinney – Black Diamond Los Medanos – present Willow Cove – present
Women’s Issues Chair Marina Vista – present
Alicia Puzak – Pittsburg High
Organizing Chair
Laura Silva - Parkside
CTA State Council Representative
Mark Maselli – Hillview
LGBTQ Chair
Marissa Young-Padilla - Parkside
Special Education Chairs
Michell Redfoot – Willow Cove
Melonie Sauceda-Flemming – Hillview/MLK
Technical Editor
Susan Harrison – PEA Office Administrator
Focus on Educators is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4th Street, Pittsburg, CA 94565 Phone: (925) 432-0199
email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org

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 Superintendent’s Roundtable
When: Thursday, February 21, 2019
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Where: PUSD School Board Meeting Room
Every teacher is invited to come and ask questions
and make inquiries. No rsvp is necessary.
Superintendent Schulze will be present.
***********************************************
NEWS
Detailed information for all the scholarships
can be found at cta.org/scholarships
Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Education
Awards Program
This awards program provides recognition
for educators and their students who
demonstrate an understanding of the
vision and guiding principles by which
César Chávez lived his life. The recipients, both students and
sponsoring CTA members, will receive up to $550 (exact
amount will be determined by the Awards committee). Their
work will be recognized by posting visual art and written
essays online and in various CTA publications.
Deadline: March 15, 2019 | Award Amount: up to $550
***********************************************
Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Scholarship Program encourages ethnic
minority students to become educators,
school nurses, school counselors or
school therapists and to promote professional growth for
ethnic minority teachers and ESP members.
Deadline: February 15, 2019 | Award Amount: up to $6,000
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The 8th Annual Winter
Drive was a great success! We
delivered over 6 bins of new winter
socks, scarves, gloves & mittens to
Shelter, Inc. for homeless youth.
Thank you for your generous
contributions!
***********************************************
Read Across Pittsburg is
March 1st
We are seeking volunteers to read
at various preschool and Head Start
locations around Pittsburg! Slots
are available!
If you’re interested in reading to our future
students, please e-mail Michell Redfoot at
michellsuzannredfoot@gmail.com
by Friday, February 22rd
***********************************************
PEA is Seeking a Local Delegate for
NEA Representative Assembly 2019
PEA members will be electing a Local Delegate to the NEA
Representative Assembly (RA) in Houston, Texas. PEA has
allocated $2,500 for our elected delegate. Are you
interested? You must attend PEA Rep Council in May and
September, commit to going to all of the relevant caucus
meetings and stay for the duration of the RA. A hardcopy
flyer has been sent to each member with further information.
***********************************************
PEA Executive Officers Job Descriptions
President
The President shall be the chief executive office of the
Association and its policy leader.
The President shall:
1. Preside at all meetings of the Association, the
Representative Council and Executive Board;
2. Prepare the agenda for the meetings of the Association,
the Representative Council and the Executive Board;
3. Be the official spokesperson for the Association;
4. Be familiar with the governance documents of the
Association, CTA, and NEA;
5. Appoint all chairpersons and members of committees,
and of the bargaining team, with the approval of the
Executive Board by the beginning of each school year;
6. Propose the procedures for grievance processing for
ratification by the Executive Board and the
Representative Council;
7. Suggest policies, plans and activities for the Association
and be held responsible for the progress and work of the
Association;
8. Attend meetings of the Service Center Council of which
the Association is a part; and
9. Attend other CTA/NEA meetings as directed by the
Representative Council.
Vice President, Elementary
The most important duty of the Vice President, Elementary,
shall be to carry the message of the President to all
Elementary School members in order to activate the
members to participate positively in the association.
To do this, it shall be considered necessary for the Vice
President, Elementary, to perform the following tasks:
1. Actively attend all Executive Board meetings
2. Actively attend all Representative Council meetings
3. Perform the duties of chairman at any Executive
Board or Representative Council meetings that the
President is unable to attend
4. Actively attend meetings of the School Board when
requested by the President
5. Coordinate and assist the Representatives of the
elementary schools to assist them in conducting Ten
Minute meetings at their sites with all their members
6. Recruit members to participate in the activities of the
union at the elementary sites such as
Representatives, Executive Board members,
Bargaining Team members, Organizing Team
members and other committees established by the
association
7. Promote support for the Bargaining Team among the
members
8. Be aware of the status of grievances at the
elementary sites and support the successful resolution
of same
9. Support the Representatives in carrying out their
duties at the elementary sites as it relates to assisting
members who have been accused of violations by the
administration and reporting violations of the contract
by the administration
10. Support the Representative's efforts to foster a
positive attitude about the union and participation in
the functions of the union at the elementary sites
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11. Represent the union in a professional manner at all
times
12. Be a resource for all members of information,
position/policy of the association and event schedules
13. Plan and Organize Community Outreach Events:
Farmers Market Table; Sock Drive; Read Across
Pittsburg; and Pittsburg Health & Safety Fair
14. To perform all other appropriate duties as assigned by
the President
Secretary
Duties include the following:
1. Keep a careful and accurate record of the
proceedings of each meeting, regular or special, of
the Association, Representative Council, and the
Executive Board;
2. Be responsible for the distribution of minutes, notice
of meetings, and agendas for all meetings to
members of the Representative Council and
Executive Board; and to the membership when
appropriate;
3. Keep an accurate roster of the membership of the
PEA Association and of all committees and this
information to the office secretary;
4. Carry on the correspondence pertaining to the
affairs of the Association as directed by the
President;
5. Keep the PEA Office calendar up-to-date with
events and meetings related to PEA.
ELECTION TIMELINE
The Declaration of Candidacy forms are available from your
site reps as of January 23, 2019. These are due to the PEA
office no later than 4:00 p.m. on February 19, 2019.
There will be a General Membership meeting for all PEA
members on February 19 from 3:45–4:00 p.m. at the PEA
office. At this time, any nominations can be taken from the
floor and candidates can give a speech if they so desire.
After this meeting, all candidates’ names and statements will
be printed on a ballot.
The PEA Elections of Officers and NEA-RA Local Delegate
Representative Ballot will be distributed to all the school sites
on March 6 and members will have from March 6 through
March 19 until 3:00 p.m. to cast their vote.
Ballots must be turned into the PEA office no later than
3:45 p.m. on March 19, 2019.
The final results will be sent to site reps on March 20 via
email. They will also be posted on our website:
peateachers.org. and sent via email to all members.
 3,800
Estimated number of students (out of 4,200 total)
in Paradise Unified School District without homes
due to the devastating Nov. 8 Camp Fire,
EdSource reported Nov. 16.

$1.6 BILLION
How much California should increase what it
spends on the state’s child poverty crisis next
fiscal year, as recommended by a new state task
force, the Los Angeles Times reported Nov. 19.
Nearly 2 million children live below the poverty
line.
86,000
Number of votes Tony Thurmond trailed his
opponent Marshall Tuck in state superintendent’s
race on election night, Nov. 6.
174,413
Number of votes Tony Thurmond was leading
Marshall Tuck as of Nov. 29, with his margin still
growing as counting continued at press time.
65%
Preliminary estimate of registered California
voters who cast ballots in the Nov. 6 election,
setting a recent record for a nonpresidential
general election, the Associated Press reported
Nov. 16.
Black Lives Matter
at School Week
Get Ready For Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Week,
Feb. 4-8, 2019. The week of action is organized by a
national committee of educators who advocate for racial
justice in education.
BLM at School Week began during the 2017-2018 school
year, when thousands of educators wore Black Lives Matter
shirts to school and taught lessons about structural racism,
intersectional black identities, black history, and anti-racist
movements during the first week of February. BLM at School
Week demands the following actions:
1. End zero-tolerance policies and replace them with
restorative practices.
2. Hire and mentor black educators.
3. Mandate that ethnic studies be taught in Pre-K – 12
schools in age-appropriate ways.
Lessons that educators teach during the week of action
correspond to the 13 guiding principles of Black Lives Matter:

Monday: Restorative Justice, Empathy and Loving

“IT’S CLEAR THAT EDUCATORS PLAYED A
PIVOTAL ROLE IN THIS ELECTION. WE
SENT A LOUD MESSAGE TO THE
BILLIONAIRES AND CORPORATE SPECIAL
INTERESTS WHO SPENT NEARLY $40
MILLION TRYING TO BUY THE STATE
SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE: OUR PUBLIC
SCHOOLS ARE NOT FOR SALE!”
-CTA President Eric Heins, in a Nov. 17
statement congratulating Tony Thurmond for
defeating his billionaire-backed opponent,
Marshall Tuck, in the historic state schools chief
race.
Engagement
Tuesday: Diversity and Globalism
Wednesday: Trans-Affirming, Queer Affirming and
Collective Value
Thursday: Intergenerational, Black Families and Black
Villages
Friday: Black Women and Unapologetically Black
For details on how to join the actions, lesson plans and
resources see blacklivesmatteratschool.com and
neaedjustice.org/black-lives-matter-school
#BlackLivesMatterAtSchool

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 Calendar
January 2019
1 New Year’s Day
8 PEA Executive Board – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
9 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
18-20 Issues Conference, Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
21 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Holiday – No school
22 PEA Rep Council – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
23 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM

February 2019
1-3 Good Teaching Conference – Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, CA
5 PEA Executive Board – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
6 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
14 Valentine’s Day
15 Holiday – Lincoln’s Day – No school
18 Holiday – Presidents’ Day – No School
19 PEA Rep Council – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
20 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
21 Superintendent’s Roundtable – 2000 Railroad Ave.
23 School Board Breakfast – Doubletree Hilton, Pleasanton, CA

Next Deadline for Articles is Monday, February 11, 2019

STAY INFORMED @ peateachers.org
cta.org & nea.org
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