Monday, September 15, 2008

Politics in the classroom...

Many of you know that I try extra hard to keep my kids out of the political spotlight, but this story is too good to keep to myself...

One of my twins (6 yrs. old; first grade) was really sad when he came home from school today. It seems that another boy in his class told him he was "stupid." I asked why the boy would say something like that, and my son was so upset. He told me that the boy "was just mad 'cause I won't vote for McCain... I'm only voting for Obama!"

I KNOW my son is brilliant!
(too bad he's not old enough to vote)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Agreement is ratified.

Our Agreement was ratified this evening as follows:

There were 1877 total votes cast.
Accept: 1454 (77.5%)
Reject: 423 (22.5%)
Abstentions: 1


As I was answering press calls tonight, I was asked, "Aren't you relieved?"... Yes and No.

Yes, I do believe that this is the best agreement that we could get for our members, and know that our team worked really hard.

No, the hard work begins in its implementation. We still have a lot of work to do, and will begin training our leaders this Friday on the new provisions of the Agreement.

Our goal is simple; increase student achievement. Now, we have some meaningful vehicles to discuss and collaborate on strategies to make that happen through planning, professional development, and school culture. We have an opportunity to pave a new path in Colorado for teacher induction, mentoring, and support.

This round of negotiations was the most grueling I've ever been through. Hopefully, implementation will be a much smoother ride.