Eliminating tenure for teachers would strip them of due process
ISLAND VOICES
By Wil Okabe
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 01, 2012
Teachers want to work beside an excellent teacher helping students learn and preparing them to succeed in life. This is why bills being heard by the Legislature this week are so puzzling.
I am president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association but I am also a teacher. I would like to offer some thoughts to our legislators on teacher tenure.
post date 02/01/11 read more»
Radio Message from HSTA President
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(audio file - download speed varies)
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"...calling on Hawaii's 13,000 teachers, our families, and our friends to act. Together our voices will be heard. Legislation to weaken negotiation is wrong for Hawaii!"
Wil Okabe
President
(Message paid for by the Hawaii State Teachers Association)
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post date 01/30/12 View script here (pdf document)
Legislative Session 2012
Take Action Now!
Making changes that target and hurt teachers are not the solution to a better education system. Everyone in the community must be accountable for
the success of our children--teachers, decision makers, students, and parents. This means teachers must embrace the challenge to improve our
professional practice. Students must be respectful and come to school ready to learn. Parents and families must instill values of respect,
responsibility, and love for learning. Elected officials must give our students, teachers, and schools the supports and the resources they need to
be successful.
Send in your testimony on two bills scheduled for hearing this week:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. in conference room 309
HB1668
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
Report Title: Department of Education; Tenure
Description: Eliminates the vesting of tenure for certain employees of the Department of Education.
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1668
HB2527
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
Report Title: Public Schools; Education
Description: Provides the department the directive, means and flexibility to establish a performance management system that cultivates and supports highly effective educators and that implements our State's race to the top commitments.
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2527
post date 01/29/12
Wednesday 1/25/12
An apology, and a way forward
When it comes to our public schools, there's no shortage of opinions about how to improve them. And when something goes wrong--like the overwhelming rejection of the latest teachers' contract last week--there's plenty of finger-pointing and howls of protest.
So it was refreshing to hear Wil Okabe, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, do something different on Monday. He blamed himself.
"I am humbled," he said after teachers rejected the contract he recommended. "This wasn't the teachers' fault. It was mine."
The walls of mistrust and contempt that separate the education establishment and the public seem insurmountable. Perhaps Okabe has show how they can be breached.
post date 01/26/12
Praise for President Obama’s bold vision for America
Address focuses on ambitious roadmap to rebuild an economy that works for all Americans
WASHINGTON—Tonight, President Barack Obama delivered his third State of the Union Address to the nation before a joint session of Congress. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel praised the president’s vision and his roadmap to put more Americans back to work, rebuild the economy and help middle class families get back on their feet. The president again pledged to continue making education a top domestic priority in his administration.
post date 01/25/12 read more»
Radio Message from HSTA President
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"...I want every parent and every teacher to know that I am committed to resolving this stalemate."...
"Teachers aren't against accountability. Teachers have told me they just want to make sure that accountability standards are clear and fair.
I am a teacher. I want every teacher to be respected"
Wil Okabe
President
(Message paid for by the Hawaii State Teachers Association)
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post date 01/24/12
Message from HSTA President
January 19, 2012
Dear Colleagues,
Mahalo to each of you who came out to vote on the proposed new contract. I talked to hundreds of you this week personally and at some of the polling locations. I could tell from the questions many teachers had that the vote would be against ratification.
Only 33 % of you voted yes, while 67% voted no.
When an organization like ours makes decisions by allowing everyone's voice to be heard, it is always a victory for a union democracy.
While I recommended the proposal to you, my real job is to carry out the decisions you make.
So beginning tomorrow, I will initiate a union-wide conversation about our options going forward, listen to your suggestions, roll up my sleeves, and get back to work.
Many of you have suggested that we return to the negotiating table. Others of you believe a strike vote should be our next step. And still others have suggested that we continue with our legal challenges. Each of these points of view should be considered and discussed.
We will do so, together.
Tonight I will rest easy knowing that as long as we stay together, we will achieve what is best.
For now, I ask that each of you - no matter how you voted - stay focused. We cannot grow tired or weary because our cause is just.
So after you get a chance to sleep on tonight's results, please join me in a constructive dialogue about what we should do next. It is our duty to one another and my pledge to you.
Mahalo,
Wil Okabe,
President
post date 01/19/12
Letters to the Editor
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Praise of teachers was heartening
It was uplifting for this retired educator to see that Dr. Hingson M. Chun, a noted cardiologist, took the time to pay tribute to all his teachers at Lincoln Elementary, Stevenson Intermediate, Roosevelt High, the University of Hawaii and the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine ("All teachers deserve praise," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 13).
Over my 35-year public school career, I have seen that the public schools have often been a convenient whipping target by many who seem uninformed. There are those who should know better but yet pass anecdotal hearsay about how "dysfunctional" our public schools are.
One problem may be that many have never stepped into a public school classroom. Unfortunately they miss observing and knowing the many dedicated teachers in the classroom.
As an aside, three of our sons went to public schools and are upstanding, taxpaying citizens.
Ted Nishijo
Salt Lake
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorialspremium/20120117_Letters_to_the_Editor.html
post date 12/31/11
Second jobs common among schoolteachers
The need for additional income highlights educators' financial struggles, their union says
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Two-thirds of Hawaii public school teachers who responded to a recent union poll said they hold one or more outside jobs, and 41 percent of those earning supplemental incomes said they started working another job in the last one to three years.
The teachers union said the survey, which was not scientific, helps illustrate the significant toll that furlough days, pay cuts and increased medical costs have had on teachers since 2009.
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post date 12/21/11 read more»
Waialua teacher wins Milken award and $25,000
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Waialua High and Intermediate School robotics teacher Glenn Lee was awarded the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award today during a surprise assembly at the school.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie presented Lee with the award and a check for $25,000 in front of more than 500 screaming and applauding students and teachers.
Nobody at the school, not even Principal Randiann Porras-Tang knew a teacher would be receiving the Milken Award today, or that Lee was the one being honored.
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post date 12/09/11 read more»
Hawaii teachers earn prestigious title of National Board Certified Teacher
Teachers at Hawaii public schools earned the highest credential available to American educators by becoming a National Board Certified Teacher through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
post date 12/08/11 read more»
post date 12/01/11 read more»
Support public education by wearing red on Tuesdays
People in Hawaii are joining anyone who supports public education across the nation by wearing red on Tuesdays. Now, more than ever, with attacks on public education happening in states across the country, it's important to show support for schools, students, and teachers.
post date 05/08/11
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD FOR EDUCATORS AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS
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Support educators in Wisconsin, Idaho, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee as they battle their state legislatures and governors to preserve their right to collective bargaining and having a voice in improving opportunities for our students, better classroom resources, and improved teaching and learning conditions.
You can lend a voice to help educators and support quality education. Here are two things you can do right now:
- Sign the petition on Education Votes Web site: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/nationalpetition
- " Wear Red for Ed " and ask your colleagues to
" Wear Red for Ed " to support public education beginning Tuesday, February 22, and every Tuesday this spring until the battle is won.
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post date 02/19/11
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