December2010December2010December2010Decmenber2010December2010December2010December2010

Dear Colleagues,
 
Isn’t it hard to believe that our year is nearly half over?  Every year I promise new, exhausted, disheartened, teachers that the students almost always improve after they come back in January.  It seems like that second half of the year just flies by and before we know it we are preparing for the next group of kids over our summer break.  I think we all suffer from that “too much to do, not near enough time” syndrome, but I wanted to make sure that I made my fellow BCEA members aware of some important information that they may need this school year.
 
I have visited a lot of schools and spoken to a lot of dedicated teachers and it seems like we are all struggling with time management issues.  Duties are added, but none taken away and I want to remind members that they do receive some protection from their BCEA/BOE contract.  In particuler I wanted to make members aware that “mandatory attendance at faculty meetings shall not exceed eighteen meetings in one school year.  Faculty meetings shall normally be no more than one hour in duration and shall begin no later than fifteen minutes after the school day.  With the exception of four times per year, a meeting may last one and a half hours.”  Also please understand that our contract defines a faculty meeting as, ” any mandatory meeting either before or after school.”  It is important that members understand their rights and realize that each teacher should keep track of the number of mandatory meetings they have been required to attend.  If a person exceeds the eighteen meeting limit they have the right to file a grievance.  Our contract is only as good as the enforcement of our agreement, so if a member feels that their contractual rights have been violated they should speak to their building representative or give me a call so that the appropriate steps can be taken.
 
Also, one of BCEA’s initiatives this year has been to increase communication and visibility to our membership.  I am pleased to announce that BCEA now has a blog site!  You can reach it by going to www.keabcea.wordpress.com .  The blog contains an easy to use link to the contract, contact information for officers, etc.  Mary Parker, your newly elected Executive Board member, has graciously volunteered to develop and maintain the blog.  If you happen to see Mary please thank her for her hard work.  I know I appreciate it very much!  Also, you might want to save the blog to your favorites site and that way you will have the officers’ numbers handy in case you need to contact us.
 
Our next building Representative meeting is Wednesday December the 8th at 4:00 at Bullitt Central’s library.  All members are welcome to attend.  I hope to see you there.
 
Happy Holidays,
 
Michele Harris
BCEA President
(502) 744-0001