ASTA Participates in
​#RedForEd Day on January 11
In support of increased funding for California schools and in solidarity with LAUSD,
​members from 18 schools demonstrated before the start of school

NEW Teachers on Campus
​ASTA educators convene in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — From Dec. 14 through Dec. 16, ASTA sent a small cohort of teachers to CTA’s New Educator Weekend South in San Diego.

The group, consisting of six AUHSD teachers with either one or two years of classroom experience, attended the three-day conference consisting of a myriad of workshops and sessions designed to help ease the stress and confusion involved in the first years of teaching.

From workshops on student loan forgiveness and protecting your credential to sessions focused on empowering students and using your voice for activism, CTA set out to offer a unique professional development experience tailored to meet the specific needs of the many different early educators.

Among those ASTA members who attended the New Educator Weekend (or NEW) was Luis Iñiguez, a first year Spanish teacher at Anaheim High. For Iñiguez, the conference was an opportunity to work on his craft.

“I decided to go to (NEW) because I knew it would be a unique opportunity for me to learn about different instructional strategies and ways to engage students in the classroom,” Iñiguez said. “Not only was it an amazing learning experience, but it’s great to network and meet other educators from all over California.”

The breakout format -- consisting of nearly 75 different sessions -- allowed newer educators the opportunity to focus on developing the skills which will help them succeed in their districts.

It is no secret that discipline is a problem not only in our district, but in districts across the state. For this reason, NEW attendees had the opportunity to attend “A Talk About Discipline” hosted by classroom management guru Rick Morris.

For new educators like Brett Taylor, a first year social science teacher at Brookhurst Junior High, this Sunday morning session provided invaluable tips on how to manage two of his more difficult classes.

“I really like Rick’s ‘firm, but soft’ perspective on discipline,” Taylor said. “A big takeaway for me was to work on follow through with my students and holding them accountable to the social contract we have in class.”

A stand-out takeaway from Morris’s session revolves around a simple idea: Teachers should not take it personally when students misbehave.

“It really goes back to getting to know the student,” Taylor said. “My students’ behavior is not personal. They just need to be taught what’s appropriate.”

The weekend ended with a rousing speech delivered by CTA President Eric Heins in which he discussed, among other topics, the importance of local associations working together to ensure the best quality education for our students statewide.

“When we start talking about our students and our values for education, that’s what unites us,” Heins said. “And that unity is called union!”

NEW was just the latest in a long line of professional development conferences offered by CTA. From the Good Teaching Conference in San Jose to the Summer Institute at UCLA, the association regularly offers members the chance to take advantage of these opportunities for growth.

ASTA members are encouraged to speak to their site reps about future conferences offered by CTA.

“I would 110% recommend this conference to all (new) teachers in the district,” Iñiguez said. “If you are given the opportunity to go next year, take it!”

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Endorsed Candidates Successfully Elected
All candidates for AUSHD and AESD endorsed by ASTA are victorious

On Monday, November 26, President Grant Schuster, PAC Chair Teresa Shimogawa (Cypress) and CTA Staff Lisa Eck joined current AUHSD Board of Trustees Members, Brian O'Neal and Kathy Smith, and re-elected AUHSD Board Members, Annemarie Randle-Trejo and Al Jabbar, at a countywide CTA dinner to celebrate our November school board election victories and discuss opportunities to collaborate on behalf of students and teachers. Congratulations also go to ASTA members Ryan Ruelas (Anaheim HS), Juan Alvarez (Sycamore JHS), and Mark Lopez (Magnolia HS) for their election to the Anaheim Elementary SD Board of Trustees.

ASTA Welcomes New Teachers
Teachers new to AUHSD attend orientation and dinner event at ASTA office

On Monday, October 15, the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association welcomed first-year AUHSD educators to New Teacher Orientation at the ASTA Offices.

Members of the executive board, including President Grant Schuster, Vice President James Goran, and CTA Staff Lisa Eck provided new teachers with valuable information on the district evaluation process, disciplinary action, personnel files, and more.

“It’s important for new teachers to understand the level of support they have,” Schuster said. “Not just from their local ASTA association, but from CTA as well.”

First-year teachers from Anaheim, Magnolia, Brookhurst, Dale, and South were treated to dinner as they looked over the current contract and had the opportunity to ask questions about the issues which matter most to new educators in the district.

“This was a great opportunity to see what benefits we have as new teachers,” special education math teacher Mark Lopez said. “It gives us a chance to find out the benefits that we’re paying for and the issues that ASTA has fought for.”

Veteran ASTA members understand the importance of establishing relationships with younger teachers as we look to build upon the strength of our association and provide the best possible education for our students.

"It's important that our association members, new and veteran, know the power of their membership,” Director-at-Large Ian Sabala said. “From the contract to accessing key information online, having that knowledge will hopefully alleviate some concerns and allow our members to focus on their students and classrooms."

Also in attendance were ASTA Treasurer Geoff Morganstern, Secretary Juan Alvarez, Director-at-Large Matt Majewski, and CTA State Council Representative Ryan Ruelas.

​CTA Secretary-Treasurer Visits ASTA
David Goldberg rallies Site Representatives

On Thursday, September 30, California Teachers Association Secretary-Treasurer, David Goldberg, attended the Site Representative Assembly and spoke regarding his family legacy in teaching, the upcoming November election, and building capacity. 

As a third-generation member of United Teachers of Los Angeles, he expressed his gratitude for the generations of union members who have fought for the rights we have today.  He also spoke of the changes to the California public education system due to underfunding over the past few decades.  Goldberg emphasized the importance of the Superintendent of Education race for public education, and commended ASTA's efforts to campaign for local school board races. 

The importance of connecting with members was another point discussed by Goldberg.  He urged ASTA leaders to continue building capacity at work sites and coordinating collaborative efforts, and asserted, "The more we are able to stand up for ourselves and our students, the greater the dividends."

Goldberg then took a number of questions from ASTA members regarding discipline, salary, parent involvement, and negotiations.

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ASTA Supports UTLA
ASTA supports the campaign to Give Kids A Chance - Stop Starving Our Public Schools

An unprecedented wave of teacher activism is sweeping the nation.  In LA, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) has been in contract negotiations for over a year with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

In that time, the district has done little to address funding, class size, privatization, school safety and other issues that impact the daily working conditions of educators and the learning environment of students.

Enough is enough.  LA educators are on the move and using their collective power to fight for these common sense solutions.  We support educators raising their voices and people of good conscience forming alliances to make real changes for our public schools.
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UTLA is taking collective action to raise these issues with the district, and we stand with UTLA:

• Fund Our Schools
• Reduce Class Size
• Invest in Community Schools
• Fair Wages Now
• Charter School Oversight
• Support Students and Families
• Improve School Safety
• Less Testing and More Teaching

ASTA President Advocates in State Capitol
Grant Schuster testifies before the California School Finance Authority 

​President Grant Schuster organized an delegation to California School Finance Authority (CSFA) from Anaheim last week. Along with Schuster were AUHSD’s CFO, Jennifer Root, and ASTA member Ryan Ruelas, who is also on the Anaheim Elementary School District Board in Anaheim. They raised issues identified in In the Public Interest’s Spending Blind report, and asked the CSFA board to make the reasonable regulatory changes that the report recommends.
 
Watch the video of Schuster carrying a message from Oakland Educators Association to the CSFA regarding financing for a facility for ASPIRE Eres charter school in Oakland – a project that has been extremely controversial as it is planned to be developed on land currently owned by the city, is located two blocks from two district elementary schools, and within one mile of 18 district and charter schools.