Sweetwater Education Association

Congratulations to our Teachers of the Year!

For real! 💯
🌐 www.teachergoals.com

Same! 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️
🌐 www.teachergoals.com

For real! 💯
📷 Just a Primary Girl

California’s Community Schools Reimagining Public Education

This! 🙌
📷 Simply Kinder

Channel 10 will have a news report tonight at 4 and 7 pm.

Happening Now: Press conference w/ South County educators demand return to school!

Consider this...

SCTU notice regarding school closings

Re-Posting my amazing colleague’s (Jessica Macias) heartfelt words that echo with many of us who received RIF notices yesterday. With her permission of course.

“My dream of becoming a teacher began when I was a young kindergartener walking the long hallways with my Barney backpack full of exciting writing assignments. My love for teaching grew profoundly when I was a student at Castle Park High School walking the hallways with my polka dot backpack full of IB assignments. The passion and drive my teachers demonstrated inspired me to be that teacher for future generations. They made school feel like a home away from home. After earning my Bachelor’s Degree at San Diego State University, I went ahead and earned my Master’s Degree and Teaching Credential at UC San Diego. I wanted to put the hard work in so that I could provide my future students with the best education possible.

Student teaching and substitute teaching introduced me to the teacher perspective of my alma mater. Little did I know that the next four years would be so fulfilling. I have taught International Baccalaureate English, Theory of Knowledge, English 11, and English 9 in that time. Each batch of students that would walk through my door would inspire me to be the best that I can be. I often find myself lesson planning and grading into the late hours of night, knowing I only have five hours until I need to wake up and do it again, as well as knowing I am not paid for this. Their curiosity fuels me to ensure I am giving them the best lessons each day because I know that I am directly affecting the students. The classroom environment, student-teacher relations, and content all make up a powerful classroom setting. I know I can relate to them because I am a younger teacher and I went to the same school as them. We have read multiple texts that relate to our world now. I constantly ask them to question themselves. How do you know what you know? How can we make sure something like this event in history never happens again? How can we voice our opinions and make a change?

It is not my effort alone. My colleagues have the same goal of giving the students the tools to be changemakers. These past two weeks exemplify just that. Our students protested against the proposed plan to fix the deficit we are in. They know we are fighting for them, and they have shown us that they are fighting for us as well.

My third official year of teaching took a turn for the worse - not because of the students, parents, or my colleagues; it is because of the mismanagement of money at the top. I understand things happen, but we need to start being proactive and actually find a solution that works for the students. Our district motto is to put students first, but when will we actually start doing that? I remember standing by my teachers years ago as a sophomore and junior in high school when they were being pink-slipped. We would strike in front of the school because they taught us how to use our voices to make a difference. Now I stand by those same teachers as their colleague and fight the same fight.

I was infuriated when I read what board member Tarantino declared after the board meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020: “The disappointment goes both ways. I stand by my comments and as far as surprises, I would have thought that with students and parents in the audience, teachers would have set a better example of how to advocate for their points of view. Would you tolerate students behaving in your classroom the way your colleagues behaved at Monday's meeting? I doubt it. As for other ways to address this budget deficit, the message from SEA has been very clear: this 'mess' is of your doing; we owe you nothing to solve it. We solved it, like it or not. You cannot have it both ways.”

How can he not see the different perspectives in order to understand our predicament and why we are hurt/angry. Obviously, cutting from the top does not benefit him or anything at the top, so he is trying to villainize us in order to turn the script. This whole situation is similar to the train track analogy; “There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options: 1) Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track or 2) pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. Which do you choose?” In other words, do you save the hundreds of teachers, librarians, and learning centers proposed to be cut or do you save the few people at the top? We must ask ourselves how certain cuts will affect students. As one person mentioned at that same board meeting, the students would not know the difference if someone on the board were cut from the equation. You know which cuts will affect the students? The cuts to our teachers, librarians, and learning centers.

In regards to Tarantino insinuating that the teachers and librarians present that night were not strong examples for the students: we are wonderful examples to our students because we are showing them how to use their voice for the greater good. They are learning, firsthand, why the first amendment is so important. Due to our passionate display of disagreement with the board, the students took things into their own hands and planned their own displays of disagreement. Did we lead them or push them to do it? No. They did that all on their own. Like someone mentioned at the board meeting, cutting board members does not directly impact students. Cutting teachers and librarians does. Let’s start living by our motto and “put students first.” The board forgets that they are working for us, not the other way around.

Unfortunately, I received my pink slip today. I have cried multiple times because my heart breaks for my colleagues and the students. Especially the students. For now, the fight is not over. We will stand up against this horrid decision that actually puts students last. If my pink slip is not rescinded on May 15th, I will know I tried my best. As I have told my current seniors, I started their high school journey with them and will now be graduating with them. Once a Trojan, Always a Trojan.”

Well said my friend!!!