TVEA Spotlight

We at TVEA are pleased to provide a collective voice on behalf of our members in multiple areas. As Dedicated and Committed Advocates for Teachers and Students, we embrace various opportunities to participate in shaping TVUSD policy.

One of these is the traditional element of Bargaining. Later tonight you will receive a Joint Sunshine Proposal from TVEA and TVUSD for 2019-2020 Contract Reopeners. This is a result of ongoing positive collaboration between the Bargaining Committees led by TVUSD’s Raymond Johnson and TVEA’s Brian Balaris. Board Members should also be aware of the meticulous detail behind the scenes in between sessions with the study of various topics through subcommittees. These efforts to define issues and facilitate progress at the table is impressive. We look forward to a successful 2019-20 session.

In a new development to promote TVEA and TVUSD communication on salient issues outside of the bargaining process, a TVEA team met with a TVUSD team yesterday afternoon in our first ever “Meet and Confer”.

This is an effort to bring key stakeholders together beyond the regularly scheduled TVUSD Superintendent and TVEA President meetings. Yesterday we discussed School Safety and Student Behavior as critical issues to address. It was a both a positive and proactive first step for this model and we look forward to a second such meeting in late April.

Finally, we are excited to see our organization become a leader in the area of Instruction and Professional Development. Our IPD Committee Chair Kristan Morales has been effective in the promotion of offering opportunities to expand and hone the repertoire of our members. We are offering our second consecutive semester of Professional Development at the TVEA office with sessions included on:

"BLACKBOARD WEBSITE TRAINING”, "CLOTHESLINE MATH” CTA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHING GRANT WRITING”, " KINESTHETIC LEARNING”, "GOOGLE RESOURCES & STUDENT PORTFOLIOS” and

"THRIVELY STRENGTH BASED EDUCATION”

In addition to these workshops, we are in the early stages of implementing a Southwest Riverside County CTA Institute for Teaching Think Tank. This collaborative model looks to build off student strengths rather than dwell on what are considered deficits or weaknesses. The intent is to build meaningful educational opportunities for students and the greater community.

Finally, TVEA is sponsoring fifteen teachers across instructional levels to attend and participate in the highly respected CTA Good Teaching Conference in Orange County March 22-24. The interest of our members to attend a work -related conference the weekend into Spring Break recess demonstrates the Dedication and Commitment I spoke to at the outset of my remarks.