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On educators
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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.
APRIL 2019
Volume XXVII, Number 8
_______________________________________
Spring break is on the way! The
spring recess is too far away for my
liking, but it is on its’ way. The
weather is strange and sort of reflects
the orbit of issues in public education.
People are racking their minds with
worry and all of the emotions related
to hopelessness. We need a break!!!
There are things that can help manage
this stillness to feel your actions
matter when it comes to the concerns
of the world, whether it is with public
education or beyond. Let yourself
explore and draw on the pull you feel
to run free.
Something I will do and have done
with students in the past is exploring
poetry. April is the national month of
poetry, so this lends itself to some
California Teachers Association
Statement of Mission
reading, writing, and performing of
poems. Not that poetry should be
contained only in April, but we are
here so let’s use it. Writing poetry
can be a great way to express
feelings, concerns about different
things happening, and a way to build
ideas to make change. There are
plenty of websites out there you can
find great works and new poets to
introduce your students to as well as
yourself. The National Poetry Month
website
https://www.poets.org/national-
poetry-month/home is a good start.
The Poetry Learning Lab from the
Poetry Foundation website
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/lea
rn can be a great resource as well.
There are also lessons out there to
teach different styles of poems. One
good place is the Read Write Think
website. They have lessons that will
point to specific grade levels. The
link
http://www.readwritethink.org/classro
om-resources/calendar-
activities/april-national-poetry-
month-20478.html will bring many
resources to your finger tips for
poetry lessons on their site.
Taking up a new hobby can burn off
some of that energy that wakes you in
the middle of the night to leave you
restless. Hobbies can encapsulate or
mark the issues you face every day in
your piece of the world and outward.
I started taking drum lessons March
of 2018. I had always wanted to play
the drums since childhood. It burns a
lot of calories and frees my mind
when I’m reading music and
perfecting my skills. I’m no Phil
Collins. (He was the drummer of
Genesis as well as the lead singer.)
But I do enjoy my lessons and I need
to work on practicing more. This is
the time to do something for you that
lifts your spirits. The hobby you set
your mind to doing could be used in
ways that elevate your situation as a
stress reliever or call to make bridges
in relationships. Maybe something
from your childhood brings you joy
that you no longer do. Pick it up
again! Find something new!
Whatever the interest it will be good
for you to go for it than regret doing
nothing to feed your soul. Encourage
your students to do the same! You’ll
be modeling how to be your own
person and the responsibility of
managing time to pursue a passion.
We will make it to spring break! In
the meantime, let us find joy before
that so we don’t feel a never-ending
string of days.
In Solidarity,
Tammy Carr
 PEA Leadership 2018-2019
Rep. Council Meeting Calendar (Tuesdays)
President
April 16
Tammy Carr
May 14
PEA Office
Elementary Vice President
School Board Meeting Calendar
Michell Redfoot
April 3 & 17 (LCAP Workshop)
Willow Cove
May 8 & 22
Secondary Vice President
Nyssa Ton June 12 & 26
Black Diamond July 24
Secretary
Nicole Glassel Are You Getting Your PEA Information?
Los Medanos Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the monthly Rep

Treasurer meeting and then report back to you is vital in the

Shelly Bascomb communication chain of our Association.

North Campus
Roll call at last March 19th Rep Council Meeting:
________________________________________________

Committee Chairs: Adult Ed. – present MLK Jr. – present

Grievance Committee
Black Diamond – present North Campus – present
Jill Wery – Pittsburg High
Foothill – present Parkside – present
Chris Coan – Willow Cove
Negotiations Team Heights – present PHS - present
Andrea McKinney – Chair – Black Diamond Highlands – present Rancho Medanos – present
Chris Coan – Willow Cove Hillview - present Stoneman – present
Jeff Greco – Rancho Medanos Los Medanos – absent Willow Cove – present
Alicia Puzak – Pittsburg High
Marina Vista – absent
Melonie Sauceda-Flemming - Hillview/MLK
Political Action Chair - vacant
Elections Chair
Sharie Chmura - Parkside
Human Rights Chair
Andrea McKinney – Black Diamond
Women’s Issues Chair
Alicia Puzak – Pittsburg High
Organizing Chair
PEA Executive Board Officers 2019-2021
Laura Silva - Parkside Election Results
CTA State Council Representative
Mark Maselli – Hillview PEA President – Chris Coan
LGBTQ Chair
PEA Elementary V.P. – Jessica Maran-Phakonkham
Marissa Young-Padilla - Parkside
Special Education Chairs PEA Secretary – Nicole Glassel
Michell Redfoot – Willow Cove 2019-2020 NEA-RA Local Delegate – Alicia Puzak (will
Melonie Sauceda-Flemming – Hillview/MLK receive reimbursement from PEA); Tasharie Ameral
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
 Congratulations Maureen Mattson
PUSD Teacher of the Year
***********************************************
State Council – March 2019
By Mark Maselli
State Council Representative
March State Council was action packed! The biggest part of
the weekend was the election for new Executive positions
within CTA. We elected a new president, vice president and
secretary treasurer. We listened to rousing speeches by all
the candidates and went to “Meet and Greets” to get to know
their position on things. In the end, Toby Boyd was voted our
new president; David Goldberg won CTA vice president, and
Leslie Littman won for secretary treasurer. We now have a
new Exec. Board for CTA. We wish CTA outgoing president,
our own Eric Heins, continued success after all the time he
served the educators and students in this great state.
My committee, Credentials and Professional Development,
had substantial outcomes about special ed. The CTC will be
providing a new special ed credential. We worked for over a
year getting our ideas for the new certification to the
California Commission on teacher credentialing. We were
able to convince them to take all of our ideas into the new
credential. That is amazing news for all special ed teachers!
We look forward to the next meeting at the end of May.
PEA invites you to join us in celebration
of…
Day of the Teacher
Date: Wednesday, May 9th
Time: 3:30-5:30
Place: La Piñata, 95 Bliss Ave., Pittsburg
What: Dinner, a drink, and merriment with
fellow educators!
We hope to see you there!
Please RSVP to Susan@peateachers.org or
432-0199 by May 4TH
Pittsburg USD Job Fair
By Shelly Bascomb, PEA Treasurer
and Tammy Carr, PEA President
On Saturday, March 16, Shelly Bascomb, Treasurer of PEA
and PEA President, Tammy Carr, attended the PUSD Job
Fair. The majority of applicants were for classified positions,
as there were only a couple of positions open for certificated
employees. The certificated positions were mostly at
secondary sites; the elementary schools had positions open
for special education professionals. It was good to have
some conversations with folks that came to apply for jobs
open to classified employment and some of their support
system. The event seemed well planned and there were
several stations designated for maximum efficiency. Tammy
reunited with one of her past students, Nicolette, who was
applying to be an aide.
***********************************************
2019 Equity & Human Rights Conference
By Alicia Puzak
PEA Women’s Issues Chair
This year’s Equity and Human Rights Conference so many
workshops focused on women and girls that it was difficult to
choose between them. Many of the workshops spoke about
outdated dress code policies that are targeting girls. There
were women of all ages including some Student California
Teachers Association (SCTA) members who offered
interesting and diverse perspectives on how to remedy this
issue.
The workshop I enjoyed the most was “S.H.E. is Me! A
Curriculum for Girls,” by Lisa Pynn and Natasha Kohls.
These two educators (one a teacher and the other a
counselor) organized to make a girls’ group. This small
group of girls meets once a week to discuss issues they may
be having. Some of the themes focus on body-image, self-
confidence, bullying, and combating persuasive peer and
media messages. They stressed the importance of
consistency, listening, and maintaining privacy within the
group. More information on S.H.E. is Me (also known as
S.H.E is You) can be found at www.sheisyou2.com.
 Calendar
April 2019
1 Cesar Chavez Day – no school
1 April Fool’s Day
2 PEA Executive Board – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
3 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
13 WHO Awards – Hilton Oakland Airport
14 Palm Sunday
16 PEA Rep Council – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
17 PUSD Board LCAP Workshop – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 5:00 PM
19 Board Holiday – no school
19 Good Friday
19 Passover begins at sundown
21 Easter
22 Earth Day
22-26 Spring Recess
24 Administrative Professionals Day

May 2019
5 First of Ramadan begins at sundown
7 PEA Executive Board – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
8 Day of the Teacher – La Piñata – 95 Bliss Ave. – 3:30-5:30 PM
8 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
12 Mother’s Day
19 PEA Rep Council – PEA Office – 159 East 4th St. – 3:45 PM
20 PUSD School Board Meeting – 2000 Railroad Ave. – 6:30 PM
27 Memorial Day

Next Deadline for Articles is Monday, May 6, 2019

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