Welcome to 2022-23 School Year

Welcome back! I hope all of you enjoyed the summer and are ready for the 2022-2023 school year. The CTA is excited to work with teachers and administrators this year to facilitate conversations, solve problems, and support teachers as we navigate through another year.

The CTA was busy this summer. We worked on a variety of topics and concerns and attempted to solve problems in ways that would satisfy teachers. One of the difficult parts of this job is knowing that teachers aren’t always satisfied with the results of these conversations. One example of this involves the decision to create a morning supervision rotation at the elementary level. The CTA met with district administration several times this summer in an attempt to create a plan that a) solved the complex problem of double bus routes, carpool drop off, and unsupervised students b) valued teachers’ time. Ultimately, these conversations resulted in a compromise. This is the nature of our work. The CTA must brainstorm possible solutions, point out flaws in some of the proposed solutions, and then let the decision-makers decide. While not every decision is exactly what the CTA wants, the conversations and the compromises are proof that the process works. The CTA supports the teachers, and administration listens and values the input we provide. Sometimes our input results in a decision that satisfies teachers; sometimes it doesn’t, but that will not prohibit the CTA from continuing the important work of advocating for our teachers. We have been advocating for CCS teachers since October 2013, and we will continue to support you this year.

I want to remind you that we are entering the second year of the two-year contract negotiated last year. All teachers will receive a 3% raise and eligible teachers will also receive a step increase. Please refer to the salary scale in the contract for specific dollar amounts.

I also want to remind you that our CTA membership drive will begin in September. Look for more information soon from your Building Contacts.

I am proud to serve as your CTA President. Please reach out to the CTA Board or your Building Contacts with any concerns you have. Best of luck to you this year!

Mark Wien
CTA President

Tuesday Giveaway Winners

Congrats to the Tuesday Winners:

Molly Boulukos – College Wood
Cora McIntyre – Cherry Tree
Lindsay Guest – West Clay
Victoria Hreno – Carmel Elem  
Kathryn Bundy- Forest Dale
Joy Douglas – Clay Middle
Rebecca Owens -Carmel Middle
Jeffry Kirch – Creekside
Joseph Broman- Carmel High
Amee Cherubini – Carmel High

Monday Giveaway Winners

Congrats to the following:

Jessica Reeder – Carmel Elem
Ayrrana Jefferson – Clay Center
Sara Crawford – Cherry Tree
Brooklyn Lust – College Wood
Cara Krueger – Forest Dale
Jamie Schenkel – Mohawk Trails
Christie Lemon – Prairie Trace
Joshua Southard – Smoky Row
Erin Buesink – Towne Meadow
Kelli Sumner – West Clay
Joan Jackson – Woodbrook 
Tracy Krause- Clay Middle
Philip Helman- Creekside Middle 
John Dux- Carmel Middle
James Hambley – Carmel High

Legislative Update

We wanted to share with you some recent pieces of legislation that are up for discussion in the Indiana State House right now.  These pieces of legislation concern all Indiana Educators.  We wanted to provide a brief summary of the legislation, direct links to the bill language, and a link to your legislators.  We encourage you to be informed about this critical legislation that directly affects education, and contact your legislators to share your opinion as a voter.  We’ve been in contact with CCS Administration concerning these bills.  Dr. Beresford has been in communication with legislators, and our School Board members have also been actively involved in this process.  We will keep you updated on this issue.

Senate Bill 167  http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/senate/167

House Bill 1134  http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1134#digest-heading

  • A committee composed of 40% parents, 20% community members, and 40% educators would determine curriculum and approval of materials to be used in classrooms.  This means teachers would greatly lose the ability to control what is taught in their own classroom as experts and instead would be confined by what the community decides is/isn’t important or appropriate.   All materials would be required to be posted online before the lesson is taught in class, and parents/students would be permitted to opt out of various activities, lessons, and assignments. This would be for every lesson.
  • Teachers would then be required to provide an alternative assignment and find a way to oversee the legally required teaching time of the lesson to those opted out students. This means for every video clip, every worksheet, every discussion, a teacher would have to keep a running list of who can/cannot be permitted to take part, or the school district could face legal action through a civil suit. This would prevent teachers from making last minute changes to their lessons due to current events, class discussions, and teacher absences because the school could be sued for any last-minute change that was not posted in advance.
  • This bill requires that history be taught in a neutral tone. There are numerous topics that are banned from classroom lessons/discussions. There will be legal ramifications for teachers/staff if there is a perceived violation of this law.  This will cause a lot of concern over what is permitted for discussion in a classroom.
  • If a teacher is perceived to be in violation of this law, based on a complaint from a parent, the teacher could receive an unpaid suspension, termination, or license revocation.  The complaint does not need to come from the parent of a student in the teacher’s class.  There is no statue of limitations for filing a complaint.  Library/Media Center Specialists could also receive unpaid suspension, termination, or license revocation for disseminating materials deemed “harmful.”
  • Under this proposed legislation, schools would be prohibited from providing any additional consultation, collaboration, or intervention services for mental, social-emotional, or psychological health issues, or refer a student to community resources for such needs.  You must obtain parental consent for any of these services.

Click below to find your specific State Legislators and their contact information:
http://iga.in.gov/legislative/find-legislators/

Respectfully,

CTA Executive Board