AFT Massachusetts

38 Chauncy Street Suite 402 B

oston, MA 02111

December 2012

Continued on page 3

Lawrence Teachers: Give Us a Real Chance

A Proven Path to Success

In This Issue

4

2 President’s ColumnAFT MA Scholarships

Diary of a New Teacher: A Mid-Career Teacher Trades a College Classroom for a Lynn Middle School

5 Paraclete Foundation’s Sister Ann Fox Honored

Retiree Benefits Threatened

7 Retiree Corner

Golden Apple

6 On Campus: Future of Campus Affirmative Action Unclear

Continued on page 3

Teachers at the Oliver School in Lawrence say that the grade 1-8 school began its slide after it was moved into the old Lawrence High School building, a facility that faculty say is not suitable for young children.

TRUE REFORM AFT President Randi Weingarten talks to students at Lowell’s Murkland School while Assistant Principal Kevin Andriolo looks on. Weingarten says that the teacher-led reforms implemented by the Murkland should be a model for school improvement efforts in Massachusetts and across the country.

LOWELL—On a fall Friday, teach-ers, administrators, city officials and union leaders gathered to celebrate yet another marker of success in the remarkable story of Lowell’s Char-lotte M. Murkland School. Identified as one of the state’s lowest perform-ing schools just a year ago, student achievement here has increased so much that the school could now be designated Level 1, or top status, by the state. What’s more, schools in Lowell overall have demonstrated marked improvement, the number of Level 1 schools increasing by 2/3 just this year.

The course charted by faculty and administrators in Lowell contains im-portant lessons for anyone seeking to turnaround a struggling school, and adds a significant contribution to the education reform debate. The gains realized at the school didn’t come from arbitrarily firing educators, forc-ing them to reapply for their jobs, or handing the school over to a private operator Instead, administrators, teachers and their union worked to create a model of shared responsibil-ity and accountability that has paid off for students and educators alike.

“When you treat people with respect you can create a shared vi-sion that produces real results,” says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers who recently visited the Murkland and met with teachers and staff here. Weingar-ten says that the turnaround model that has shown such promise here,

one rooted in collaboration among district leadership, school adminis-trators and the United Teachers of Lowell, should serve as an example for school improvement efforts every-where.

Just four years ago, the situation at the Murkland was very similar to struggling schools in nearby Law-rence. Morale was low and teachers complained of a culture that under-mined them as professionals. Leader-ship had been lacking at the district level, and grant-funded directives came and went with little regard to the needs of the students being

served. As for the student population, that too is similar to Lawrence: 75% of students at the Murkland are on free or reduced lunch, while two fifths of the students in each grade are English language learners.

True reformTeachers here say that they can explain exactly why the turnaround efforts have been so successful. “This is true reform,” says Mary Therese Linnehan. “Our administrators start with the assumption that we’re the true experts in the classroom.

LAWRENCE—Give us a real chance to turn our school around. That’s the message that teachers at the Henry K. Oliver School in Lawrence are sending to state and city education officials. Teachers point out that the school, which was recently designated Level 4, or low performing, by the state, was once among the top-performing schools in Lawrence. The Oliver can reclaim that status, say teachers, if they are given real support by the district and the conditions, staffing, and resources to respond to the needs of their students.

Test scores at the Oliver began to slip four years ago after the school was moved to the former Lawrence High School. Rechristened the North Common Educational Complex, the 1900-era high school building now houses both the grade 1-8 Oliver and the grade 1-12 School for Exceptional Studies, a separate special education program that includes teenagers and young adults with severe emotional problems. A single principal oversees

both schools.Teachers say that a steady rise

in enrollment coupled with a loss of staff positions has had the predictable outcome of causing test scores to drop. Since 2009, student enrollment at the Oliver has risen from 532 to 739, even as the school has lost some 20 staff members according to teachers’ estimates, including a principal, half of the school’s aides and three instructional coaches. Meanwhile the percentage of students who require the most support—special education and English language learners—has risen too. Nearly 31% of students at the Oliver are struggling to learn English, up from 24% in 2009.

Teachers say that the Oliver’s current home is chaotic, with the school day frequently disrupted by so-called “code red” lock-downs as emergency personnel are summoned to help with students at the School for Exceptional Studies. One teacher, whose classroom adjoins a behavior room for the School for Exceptional

Studies, where students are taken when they are in extreme distress, says that the current arrangement doesn’t serve either group of students well. She recalls a time last year when her class was taking the math MCAS, the screams of a troubled student echoing all around them. “The kids are scared a lot of the time.”

The physical arrangement of the space—the Oliver is housed on alternating floors, with the separate special education program in between—makes collaboration with other teachers incredibly challenging. Said one teacher: “Our former facility was in disrepair but at least we were able to work together as teachers.

2

The official publication of AFT Massachusetts, AFL-CIO

Thomas J. Gosnell, PresidentMark Allred, Sr., Secretary-Treasurer

VICE PRESIDENTSTim Angerhofer

Patricia ArmstrongDeborah Blinder

Sean BowkerKathryn Chamberlain

Brenda ChaneyKathy Delaney

Catherine DeveneyPatricia Driscoll

Marianne Dumont Brant Duncan

J. Michael EarleMargaret Farrell

Mary FerriterJenna FitzgeraldRichard Flaherty

Paul GeorgesDaniel Haacker

Joyce HarringtonSusan Leahy

Francis McLaughlinBruce NelsonJames Philip

Bruce SparfvenRichard Stutman

Gale Thomas

Matt Robinson, Editor38 Chauncy St., Suite 402

Boston, Mass. 02111Tel. 617-423-3342 /800-279-2523

Fax: 617-423-0174www.aftma.net

advocate@aftma.net

Thomas J. GosnellPresident, AFT Massachusetts

A The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts worked most diligently to

help Elizabeth Warren to get elected U.S. Senator. Her passionate advocacy for the middle class and for the positive role government can play in the life of the citizenry was most welcome. Even here in Massachusetts we do not always hear such pronouncements. We shall work with the senator to enhance public education and public libraries and to strengthen the infrastructure so that the economy can have a more robust recovery.

Even though the federal government does not have the expansive role that the states and the local communities have in support of public education, its role is significant. Title I funding is a federal responsibility. Pell grants, which are college loans for poor and middle income students, are a federal responsibility. Included in infrastructure projects is school construction.

Over 90% of school age children in the United States of America

still attend public schools despite the withering criticism directed against the schools. We need elected leaders, like the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who advocated sensible reform but never flinched from steadfastly supporting public schools. We expect to see such support again.

Congratulations to U.S. Congressman John Tierney for his outstanding reelection campaign. AFT MA support was enthusiastic. He has always been outspoken supporter of public education. The race was rough, but his constituents recognized his outstanding record.

We also endorsed all the other incumbent U.S. Representatives and new comer Joseph Kennedy III, all of whom won decisively. The Massachusetts delegation has one of the most pro public education records in the nation.

Most of the candidates we endorsed for state representative and state senator also prevailed. We shall meet very quickly with those who are new to the legislature to share our views about public

education and public libraries. Of course, we shall continue to meet with incumbent legislators.

Very significant issues will be present in the 2013 session of the legislature. An increase in revenues is much needed. Even though the sales tax increased from 5% to

6-1/4%, the Commonwealth does not have sufficient revenues to fund adequately public education, public libraries, and a host of other public services.

A commission has been established to examine health insurance coverage for retirees. What a vital subject. We have made the commission very aware of our view that maintenance of adequate health insurance for retirees is essential. AFT MA will keep you informed.

Rumors abound that charter school advocates will campaign hard to raise the cap on charter schools. Raising the cap on charter schools, given the current funding formula undermining public schools, will be very harmful. We shall do what we need to do.

AFT MA appreciates the work you did to help elect endorsed candidates. We shall need you to work equal vigorously with all legislators when issues vital to public schools and public libraries appear in the legislature.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Holidays to all. ▪

If you have any questions or comments email me at tgosnell@aftma.net.

Event to Examine Future of Public Ed.

The Election and the Future Once again AFT Massachusetts

will be awarding scholarships to eight eligible high school seniors who are dependents of AFT MA members. Every year AFT MA awards eight $1500 scholarships on the basis of a labor history exam administered by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Education. One additional scholarship is being awarded by the AFT MA Professional Staff Union in memory of long-time AFT MA field representative Jay Porter.

To be considered for the scholarships, named in honor of Albert Shanker and Sandra Feldman, both former presidents of the American Federation of Teachers, and Jay Porter, the student must be a dependent of an AFT MA member and a high school senior. The student must also attend a college or other post-secondary school in the fall of 2013.

ApplicationsApplications for the 2013

scholarships are available on the AFT MA website: www.aftma.net. The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, December 17.

To take the labor history exam, students should apply directly to their guidance office, social studies teacher, or principal. A packet including one labor history study guide and one application was sent to each high school in the state in November. A study guide is also available on our website.

This year’s labor history exam will be given on Wednesday, February 6. Once a student has submitted an application to AFT Massachusetts and notified a guidance counselor, he or she is considered registered for the exam.

Additional scholarshipsAdditional scholarships

are also available through the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Be sure to visit www.mass.aflcio.org to learn about other opportunities.

Last year ten children of AFT Massachusetts members were awarded $1500 scholarships. The 2012 winners include Rose Allocca, Abigail Heingertner, Brandon Higgins, Kayla Marandola, Amalia Mendoza, Shawn Morrissey, Benjamin Soper, Boris Stanchev and Sarah Vandewalle. Congratulations to last year’s winners and good luck to all of this year’s applicants. ▪For more information call 617.423.3342.

2013 AFT MA Scholarships

Is education for democracy at risk? That’s the question that a panel of

noted educators will address on De-cember 3rd at an event sponsored by Citizens for Public Schools. Among the featured speakers will be Deborah Meier, a long-time collaborator with Diane Ravitch.

A teacher and administrator for nearly four decades, Meier is also a noted advocate for public education who has served students and their families in Boston and New York. A former principal of Mission Hill School in Boston and former co-chair of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Meier is currently a senior scholar at NYU’s Steinhart School of Education.

Also speaking are Brookline Educators Union President Jessica Wender Shubrow and James McDer-mott, a former member of the Mas-sachusetts Board of Education who resigned out of frustration with the Board’s policies. The event is being held in honor of educator and CPS Board Member Sumner Z. Kaplan. It will be moderated by Kaplan’s daughter Ruth, a current member of the state Board of Education.

Citizens for Public Schools has been sharply critical of the growing push to privatize public schools in Massachusetts. The event will fo-cus on what can be done to stop the privatization of our public schools, and empower parents, teachers and our communities to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to learn.

Deborah Meier, a teacher and long-time collaborator with Diane Ravitch, will be the featured speaker at a Citizens for Public Schools event.

What: Judge Sumner Z. Kaplan Memorial Lecture and Benefit: “Is Education for Democracy at Risk?”

Where: Brookline Public Library, Main Branch

When: Monday, December 3rd, 6:30-8:00 PM

Event is free and open to the public. Donations to support the work of Citizens for Public Schools will be accepted. For more information visit:www.citizensforpublicschools.org/

December 20123

They have faith in us and respect us and that belief has enabled us to transform the way we work and really reach the students.”

Jason DiCarlo, the school’s prin-cipal, who joined the staff when the turnaround process began, says that from the beginning, he and Assistant Principal Kevin Andreolo, sought to give teachers a voice. “It’s pretty simple—when you give people a voice, they have much more buy in,” says DiCarlo. “Everyone at this school had potential—we just had to figure out how to tap into it.”

Real teamworkThe Murkland’s redesign involved

a deep restructuring of the way that teaching and learning take place,with the emphasis at the school shifting away from individual classrooms—not to mention the test scores of individ-ual teachers—and towards a shared

A Proven Path to Successresponsibility for all of the Murkland’s students. “We’re all using the same language, and we have the same ex-pectations,” says second year teacher Danielle Quinlan. “We talk about standing on one another’s shoulders—there’s a real sense of teamwork.”

Teachers now work in teams, both across and within grades, so as to better respond to the needs of their students. They start by assessing student data, everything from MCAS scores to classroom performance to attendance to anecdotal indicators, then work together to determine how best to reach the students who need additional help. The teams are backed up by literacy and math coaches who are able to provide differentiated as-sistance based on what students—and their teachers—need to succeed.

“Everybody talks about data-driven decision making but what the teachers have learned to do at the Murkland is remarkable,” says Dr. Kate McLaughlin, a vice president of the United Teachers of Lowell.

Collaboration worksTeachers and staff at the Murkland

insist that theirs is a model that can be replicated in any struggling school or district. The most essential ele-ments: strong, committed leadership at every level and a genuine oppor-tunity for teacher voice. The Lowell Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Jean Franco and her predecessor, Chris Scott, have demonstrated a deep commitment to labor/management collaboration. “The success we’re seeing in Lowell

is more proof that collaboration re-ally works,” says Paul Georges, president of the United Teachers of Lowell. This is a different way of do-ing education reform that is grounded in a deep respect for the work that educators do every day in their classrooms.”

Lessons learnedGeorges says that

he and his team of educators and union leaders are eager to offer Lowell’s ap-proach to school improvement as a model for other urban districts, including Lawrence, now in the first year of a state-led turnaround process. Despite its measurable suc-cess, state officials have shown little interest in Lowell’s collaborative model.

Last year, just six months after choosing the Murkland as the back-drop to announce the 2011 MCAS scores, state officials gave the nod to a 1200 seat for-profit charter school in Lowell. The school, slated to open in the fall of 2013, will divert as much as $24 million from the Murkland and other Lowell Public Schools, despite their significant improvement in re-cent years. The charter, to be operated by SABIS Educational Systems, Inc., a private, for-profit company with headquarters in Minnesota and Bei-rut, Lebanon, remains controversial in Lowell and was approved by the

Give Us a Real Chance

Continued from cover

Second year teacher Rachel Quinlan talks to AFT President Randi Weingarten and Murkland Principal Jason DiCarlo about the culture at the school. “There’s a real sense of team here,” says Quinlan.

Teachers and staff at the Murkland insist that theirs is a model that can be replicated in any strug-gling school or district. The most essential ingredients: strong, committed leader-ship at every level and a genuine opportunity for teacher voice.

Mass. Board of Elementary and Sec-ondary Education by a slim margin. In its application to the state SABIS had budgeted for a single ESL teacher to work with English language learn-ers, despite the fact that more than a third of the students in Lowell are still learning English.

Says Georges: “If this debate were truly about the best way to improve student achievement and outcomes, the state would be looking at how to replicate our success at the Murkland. That’s not what’s happening here.” Still, Georges says that he’s hopeful that the continued success of both the school and the district could change that. “Results speak, and we’ve got a model in Lowell that really works.” ▪

Now we’re in a building that isn’t appropriate for kids and actually makes it harder for us to help our students.”

A lack of direction from the district only compounds the challenges faced by the Oliver, say teachers here. For example, the Lawrence Public Schools currently provides individualized instruction for English language learners only if students are classified as newcomers. For returning students who still can’t read English at grade level, however, there is no additional assistance available. One staff member describes a student who arrived at the school able to read Spanish but by third grade was still struggling to read English. “There’s nothing for him, but he’s still going to be expected to take the MCAS test.”

Despite the huge challenges they face, the Oliver’s teaching staff is determined to try to turn around the school. Many of them taught at the school when it was one of the top-performing schools in the city and believe they know exactly what’s required to earn that status again. On the list: a facility that works for students and teachers, consistent leadership and expectations, a collaborative process for instructional decision making tailored to individual student needs, adequate staffing and resources, and additional supports and interventions for students with the greatest needs, particularly English language learners and special education students. The Oliver’s increasingly active and involved parents will be essential for a successful turnaround effort, say teachers.

State and district officials have not yet made public their plans for the Oliver, but rumors abound that the school may be handed over to a private operator, the long-time teachers replaced by less experienced recruits. But the Oliver’s teachers fundamentally disagree with this approach. “It’s like the people in charge are saying ‘we don’t know how to fix this,’” observed one teacher. “By handing the school to an EMO [educational management organization], they’re basically relinquishing any responsibility for the school and its problems.” ▪

Despite the huge challenges they face, the Oliver’s teaching staff is determined to try to turn around the school. Many of them taught at the school when it was one of the top-performing schools in the city and believe they know exactly what’s required to earn that status again.

Continued from cover

‘All of Our Oliver’

Teachers at the Henry K. Oliver School in Lawrence say that they can once again be the city’s top-performing school—if they are given real support by the district and the condi-tions, staffing, and resources to respond to the needs of their students.

Students and teachers need:

• A safe and adequate facility

• Adequate staffing

• Support for students with the greatest needs, es-pecially English language learners and special educa-tion students

• Adequate resources, includ-ing books, instructional materials, and technology

• Consistent leadership and expectations

• Collaborative process for decision making

End childhood hunger in America by 2015.

Learn to recognize the signs. A child facing hunger may:

Take the pledge athttp://nokidhungry.org/aft

•oftenfeelsickortired•sleepinclass•haveproblemswithmathandlanguageskills

•bemoreaggressive•feelanxiousandhavedifficultyconcentrating

•haveslowermemoryrecall•underperformandhavepoorgrades

•frequentlymissschoolorarrivelate

Find out what you can do to help at Strength.org.

La

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en Lo

ng

Diaryof a New Teacher

By Bradford GreenEnglish Language Arts teacher

Pickering Middle SchoolLynn MA

Meet the 2012-2013 New Teacher Diarists

Bradford GreenEnglish Language Arts teacher, Pickering Middle School, Lynn

Chaya HarrisFifth grade teacher, Mather School, Boston

Himilcon InciarteFourth grade Spanish teacher, Dever-Mc-Cormack, Elementary, Boston

Karina DiseParaprofessional, Zanetti Montessori School, Springfield

Bill Madden-FuocoHumanities teacher, Urban Science Academy , West Roxbury,

Eliana MartinezSocial studies teacher, Lawrence High School, Lawrence

Amanda PerezMiddle school teacher, Sarah Greenwood School, Dorchester.

Robert TobioMath and special education teacher, Mary Lyon Pilot School, Brighton.

CAREER CHANGENew teacher Bradford Green traded college students at a local univer-sity for middle school students in Lynn. His first year as an English teach-er wasn’t all wonderful and simple, writes Green, but mostly it was.

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Standing on the precipice of an unknown future, I nonetheless took the plunge. I had been

teaching as an adjunct professor at a local university, a place where I had worked in various capacities for five years. Yet I made the decision to start over and become a middle school teacher. And so I taught my last class at Salem State on Decem-ber 12th, and began my new assign-ment at Pickering Middle School in Lynn the very next day. I entered the building with not a little trepi-dation: teaching college students is easy—relatively speaking, anyway. I had left a group of students that listened fairly intently to what I had to say, trading them in for a group of students that needed me more, but were—perhaps— less diligent.

Wednesday, my first day, I was told that entering in the middle of the year would be “difficult.” Still, even though I was 49 year old man beginning a brand new career, I was determined to play by the same rules that my students had to obey. I did not use my cellphone because the students could not use theirs; I did not drink any beverages because the students could not. I made a point of not yelling at students because I, myself, do not care to be yelled at. I was also very conscious of my role as a male, working in the inner city where male figures as role models are often wanting. I had learned at this age to be a part of collective humanity—to be inclusive and not exclusive. Yet despite my best intentions, my first three days were filled with missteps.

I discovered that my vocabu-lary did not work well with 6th graders. (Thank goodness for my inclusion teacher, Claire Pappas!) It took me an exorbitant amount of time to think of what to do next, and thought students understood

concepts that were beyond their reach. In other words, I assumed. Sixth graders do not understand words like “egalitarian” ; they are not savvy about comma-splices just yet. I needed to learn my audience! My third day brought a real gift. . .

It was Friday, December 15th. It was 2:30 and – as I was to dis-cover later – the one day where the building clears out relatively early. So when I left at 3:15 the halls were pretty empty. I was glad it was Friday and that I had the whole weekend to collect myself and plan. On my way out the door I heard the sound of little voices so I followed the sound to its source, the audito-rium. The children from the middle school next door were practicing for the holiday concert. I entered the balcony –my first time in the place–and looked around: the place could have used some paint.

I reminded myself of something I always said to college students, especially those that loved their technology: William Shakespeare read by candle light; it is the intent to learn that matters, not the build-

ing one learns in. Anyway, as I sat there and listened to them I began to well up with emotion. Tracing its source, I realized that I was feel-ing the gratitude of the moment. It had been so many years since I had heard the sound of a chorus: pure, unadulterated, warm. Soon thereaf-ter I realized the truth of my pas-sion: I was tearing up over my own, lost childhood. I knew, right then, that I had made the right choice to change careers. Yet that first year would not be easy.

A few weeks later my cell-phone went missing; then a young boy said some pretty alarming things to me in the cafeteria when I told him to wait for his table to be called before he got into line. No, it was not all wonderful and simple. But mostly, it was. Looking back, neither the rough language I was treated to by that student nor the loss of my phone matters to me. It is the sound of that chorus, echoing in my mind even as I write this journal, that matters most. Tiny voices, sweetly singing, singing songs. ▪

December 20125

Lifelong activist Sister Ann Fox received the Hero Among Us award from the Boston Celtics in November.

Housed at the crossroads of the “new” and “old” South Boston, the Paraclete Foundation has

been serving disadvantaged youth for nearly 15 years, offering after-school tutoring and enrichment programs. The program has served hundreds of students from Boston and far beyond (students come from multiple communities and over 10 foreign countries), providing them supervision, support and inspiration that helps them become independent and better prepared fort school and life and encourages them to make positive impacts on their communities. Over 23% of Paraclete’s students have graduated from or are currently attending college.

The program was founded in 1998 by Sister Ann Fox, a lifelong activist and advocate who also founded the Maranyundo School for Girls in Rwanda, Africa. Prior to founding Paraclete, Sister Ann directed the South Boston Neighborhood House and helped create an education training programs for welfare mothers in the Bromley Heath housing development. A long-time social worker, Sister Ann is also a founding member of the Women Waging Peace initiativeand is included in the Institute for Inclusive Security’s Directory of Women Peace Experts.

When asked how she came up with the idea for Paraclete, Sister

Ann demonstrates her famous generosity and humility by giving the credit to others.

“The founders should be listed as a group of concerned mothers who wanted something more than sports for their children,” she explains, noting that many neighborhood parents were looking specifically for a program that provided not only social support but also academic assistance in the arts and sciences so their children could achieve and improve their lives through learning. “They were the driving force. The Paraclete was not a result of any strategic plan on my part.”

Sister Ann also credits her colleague Barry Hynes (who now serves as vice president of the board of trustees) with helping get Paraclete off the ground.

“Barry…had begun the Nativity School in Boston,” she explains, “so we incorporated their model of bringing in recent college graduates to teach - we gave them room and board and a little spending money.”

She also mentions Fr. Thomas MacDonald, pastor of St. Augustine Church, who donated the funds with which Paraclete opened in a former convent on E Street. “They were instrumental in the Paraclete’s history,” Sister Ann says.

Despite her own efforts to defer the credit, Sister Ann has been a beloved and vital part of the Paraclete family since its inception.

On November 8, Sister Ann was celebrated by her students and colleagues at Paraclete’s annual reception that was held this year at Boston College High School. Co-chaired by Collaborative Partners President and CEO Jack C. Hobbs and Thomas J. Gunning, Executive Director of the Building Trades Employers Association, the event featured Honorary Co-Chairs Diane Patrick and Angela Menino (wives of our Governor and Boston’s Mayor, respectively) and included EVENT and a special recognition of Mrs. Menino, who has also been a devoted supporter of Boston-area youth for many years.

In addition to being honored by her own Paraclete family, Sister Ann was also recognized by the Boston Celtics as part of their Heroes Among Us program on November 7.

“Sister Ann has demonstrated what it means to be a true hero of the Boston community,” said Matt Meyersohn, community relations manager for the Celtics. “She has successfully carried out her life’s mission of helping and educating those in need. The Celtics organization can’t think of a better fit for the Heroes Among Us Award than [Sister] Ann.”

Even when asked about this honor, however, Sister Ann was

Convent-ional WisdomParaclete Foundation Founder Sister Ann Fox honored

still humble and eager to dissipate the attention to others. “I think no one can be a hero on their own,” she suggested, “and that there are many heroes among us that we don’t take the time or care to properly appreciate.” Still, she admitted, “I am honored that people took the time to put my name forward.”

Among the many who backed Sister Ann’s candidacy for this special halftime honor was Paraclete Board Member Gerry Dwyer, Chief Administrative Officer of Boston Water & Sewer.

“Sister Ann is rightly recognized for the decades of work she has dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in Boston and throughout the world,” Dwyer said. “Those of us lucky enough to count her as our friend are most fortunate to have been touched by her.” ▪

By Patti Fitzgerald

Teachers, librarians and other public employees who have been eyeing retirement in the next few

years may be taken by surprise when a state commission recommends in late December that they work longer or pay more for retiree healthcare benefits, or both.

“We’re comfortable that current retirees will not be impacted,” said Andy Powell, the American Federa-tion of Teachers’ representative on the 12-member Special Commission on Retiree Healthcare, following a Nov. 13 meeting. “But we’re encouraging employees to keep an eye on it.”

But how close to retirement em-ployees will have to be to be protected from the changes—five years out, 10 years out—is still unclear, said Pow-ell, an AFT field representative and former Dracut firefighter. “Debate rages as to who will be the impacted population.”

What’s likely to occur, Powell reported, after the commission’s sixth meeting, is that “access will be differ-ent for [employees] than it is today.”

“People should be paying atten-tion!” said retired Lowell teacher Mickey Dumont, whose daughter, Jennifer Machado has been a teacher in the Lowell Public Schools for nearly 15 years. “Younger people need to know what to expect at the end of

their careers.” Dumont, an AFT Massachusetts

Vice President, says that she also fears for retirees who thought that their futures were secure, only to have the state revisit what they believed to be a guaranteed benefit. “Who’s to say that somewhere down the road we won’t be fighting again to retain something else that we worked for?”

What seems clear is that public employees will likely have to put in more years and/or work to an older age to be eligible for healthcare ben-efits. And, no longer will healthcare insurance automatically come with retirement, said Powell. Eligibility for retirement may come before health-care benefits do, and contributions toward health benefits by the state and municipalities most likely will drop.Those features are all contained in three models the commission is now considering.

“It’s going to be intolerable for some people,” said Dumont, 63, of the impending cuts. “What about people who are within 10 years of retirement? What’s it going to do to them for all the time they’ve put in?”

“You don’t get rich teaching,” Dumont said, adding she and her colleagues sacrificed much. She is convinced that she could have found a better-paying job in the private sector, but instead devoted 35 years to public school teaching, many of those years

without a raise.If teachers cannot receive health

insurance along with a pension, they may be forced to “think twice” and put off retirement, said Dumont.

Charged with bringing under control skyrocketing state and munici-pal projected costs for retiree health benefits ($16 billion over 30 years for the state and $30 billion for cities and towns), the commission of manage-ment and labor representatives has been meeting since the spring and will present its recommendations to the Legislature Dec. 20. The recommen-dations will provide the framework for a bill or put in some form into the next state budget. Whether the reforms will cover all public employees in the state or leave some control to municipali-ties is also undetermined, according to Powell.

Dumont, a vice president at AFT, said that Lowell’s public employees are still reeling, adjusting to higher insurance co-pays incurred from switching to the state’s Group Insur-ance Commission (GIC) coverage the past couple of years.

“There are so many retirees. We’re living longer than we ever have, and really the number of older retirees who have pensions is miniscule.” she said. “They’re at the poverty level, and then we have them paying more for health insurance.” Lowell did create a health reimbursement account to

help retirees with large unexpected healthcare expenses uncovered by the new insurance, she noted.

She and her retiree friends agree “something has to be done” to curb skyrocketing costs for healthcare benefits. “You can’t dig your heels in … I don’t know the answer.” She can’t help but feel though, that it’s just one more piece to an ongoing multi-facet-ed broadside against public employee unions, and teachers in particular, nationwide.

While union members still enjoy a “good amount” of protections, their hard-won benefits are “very slowly being chipped away,” said Dumont. Private employees should be looking to boost their own benefits, and raise everyone up, rather than knock down those of public employees, in her view.

Massachusetts has some of the highest healthcare costs in the coun-try. “This has placed increased pres-sure on elected officials to examine current benefits” said Powell. Labor and Retirees are represented on the Commission and “are presenting a strong voice of advocacy for those who count on health insurance ben-efits into retirement” added Powell.

A vote to select a plan will be taken Dec. 17, and a report will be heading to the Statehouse Dec. 20. “We’re hoping the final vote can be a consen-sus,” said Powell. “But the process has not been discussed.” ▪

Retiree Benefits Under Threat

6The AFT Massachusetts Advocate

Future of Campus Affirmative Action Unclear

On CampusDan Georgianna, Political DirectorUMass Faculty Federation, Local 1895

In a weird twist of fate driven by Supreme Court decisions, opposi-tion to Affirmative Action in college

admissions is now based on unfairness towards white applicants while legal support for Affirmative Action relies solely on diversity in education. Last month, the Supreme Court heard another in a series of cases of a white student claiming that Affirmative Action violated the U.S. Constitution because there is little evidence that Af-firmative Action improves education. The Supreme Court justices sharply questioned the fairness of Affirmative Action based on race. Their decision is expected next June.

Affirmative Action was originally intended to offset unfairness of the vastly unequal opportunities in the U.S. for minorities and preferences given whites in college admissions and jobs.

Affirmative Action was first or-dered by President Kennedy in 1961 with an Executive Order for govern-ment contractors to recruit, hire, and promote more minorities, which was extended in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to college admissions. In 1973, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the

Civil Rights Act intended admission quotas in public colleges and univer-sities for minorities such as African Americans.

The legal tide turned against col-lege admission Affirmative Action in 1978 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (five to four) in the Bakke case that admissions quotas violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause (originally passed in 1868 to protect the rights of former slaves), but race could be one of the factors for admis-sions given the goal of improving education through diversity in the student body.

In 2003, the Court reaffirmed (again five to four) that race could be used as one of the factors in admis-sions based on the educational ben-efits of diversity of the student body, but that affirmative action have a “logical endpoint” of about 25 years.

Since then, seven states, including Michigan whose admissions policy the Supreme Court had approved in 2003, banned Affirmative Action in college admissions.

The body politic stands supremely ambivalent about college admission based on race.

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As many web sites opposing Af-firmative Action highlight, Martin Luther King’s dream that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” expressed the American ideology of equal oppor-tunity for all.

Dr. King was acutely aware that he lived in the real world ruled by racial oppression, but recent scholarship has uncovered his misgivings that special consideration for Black Americans would weaken support for equal op-portunity. “Many white workers whose economic condition is not too far removed from the economic condition of his black brother will find it difficult to accept,” he wrote in a private letter. (David Leonhardt, “Rethinking Affir-mative Action,” NYT)

Leonhardt argues that includ-ing class in Affirmative Action would widen its base of support and improve its record on equal opportunity.

Research by Thomas Espenshade and Alexandria Radford (“Moving Beyond Affirmative Action,” NYT and No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, Princeton Univ. Press) supports the hypothesis that Affirmative Action as practiced in the U.S. has not had much effect reducing equality of opportu-nity.

While Affirmative Action has about doubled Black and Hispanic

enrollment at elite public and private schools, it has not had much effect on equal opportunity because college graduation replicates inequality in the nation.

A few thousand Black and Hispanic students attending elite colleges due to Affirmative Action, about 1% of all U.S. college students, won’t make much of a difference. According to their research, “When they enter kindergarten, black children are about one year behind white children. When they graduate from high school, black teenagers are four years behind white teenagers.”

Espenshade and Radford argue for a direct approach to correcting unequal opportunity in pre-school through high school including factors such as nutrition and help for poor parents to overcome the disadvan-tages of poverty and race in college admissions.

The AFT has been working for de-cades to change an educational system that replicates a social structure of privilege, while blaming children, par-ents, and teachers for failure. It helps to have allies and more research.

Such changes will also take time, at least a generation, probably more. In the meantime, the best strategy is to return on the original goal of reduc-ing unequal opportunity by including class as well as race in Affirmative Ac-tion for college admissions.▪

Visit India Over Winter BreakGlobal Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) has teamed up with

AFT Massachusetts member Lillie Marshall at TeachingTraveling.com to put to-gether an amazing trip to India for only $987! For more details go to http://www.geeo.org/tours/WinterIndia/

GEEO is a 501c3 non-profit organization that runs summer professional development travel programs designed for teachers. Educators have the option to earn graduate school credit and professional development credit while seeing the world. The trips are 8 to 24 days in length and are designed to be interesting and affordable for teachers. GEEO provides teachers educational materials and the structure to help them bring their experiences into the classroom. The trips are open to all nationalities of K-12 and university educators and administrators, as well as retired educators. Educators are also permitted to bring along a non-educator guest.

GEEO is also offering 22 different travel programs for the summer of 2013, including India/Nepal, Italy, Portugal/Spain, Amalfi Coast, Eastern Europe, Budapest to Istanbul, Vietnam and Russia/Mongolia/China. For a complete list of destination and detailed information about each trip, including itineraries, costs, travel dates, visit www.geeo.org.

SPLIT DECISIONThanks to recent Supreme Court decisions, opposi-tion to Affirmative Action in college admissions is now based on unfairness towards white ap-plicants while legal support for Affir-mative Action relies solely on diversity in education.

7

Marie Ardito, Co-founderMassachusetts Retirees Unitedwww.retireesunited.org

Retiree Corner

7

SENIOR SEMINARSPreparing for Retirement (Given by Marie Ardito)

• December 1st, Wilmington, 314 Main St. Unit 105, 10-noon

• December 4th :Amesbury High School, 5 Highland St. 3:30-5:00

• December 6th: Hingham South Shore Educational Collaborative Cafeteria, 40 Pond Park, 5:00-6:30

• December 12, Rockport Elemen-tary School Library, Rockport, 3:15-5:15

• January 3, Billerica Memorial High School, Boston Rd, Billerica, 4-6:00

How to Protect Your Nest Egg and Plan for the Right Outcome for Your Family (Given by Elder Law Attor-ney Mary Howie)

• Saturday Dec. 8, 314 Main Street Unit 105 Wilmington, MA 01887.(Main Street in Wilmington is the same as Route 38. ) 10-noon.

All Seminars are free to participants and to the district. Register by email mardito@retireesunited.org or call 1-617-482-1568 Make sure to give name, number attending and seminar for which registering. This registers you and no fol-low up phone call will occur unless you have a question. If you received an email telling you a different way to register fol-low the instructions you received. Please do not double register.

December 2012

We Can’t Keep Our Heads in the Sand There is little doubt that Medicare

and Social Security will be discussed in the upcoming

session of Congress. Massachusetts Retirees United will have legislation filed to correct some of the unfair practices regarding both programs.

We will also join with many other retirement groups to urge the repeal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). We are approaching two Senators to file the Senate version, and are working with our retiree counterparts in California on the House version. We plan to file other bills at the federal level as well.

One bill will address the double penalty imposed on those who are eligible for Medicare as a spousal benefit, but do not collect Social Security. In two of the past three years there was no cost of living increase given to Social Security recipients. As a result anyone who collected Social Security did not have an increase to his or her Medicare B premiums. Those not collecting Social Security because the GPO prevented them from doing so were given an increase in each of the two years on the Medicare B premiums. This is a double penalty.

Another bill will deal with the Medicare B penalty imposed on those who become eligible for Medicare after their 65th birthday. (A person in charge of health care in one of the other 104 Retirement Systems in Massachusetts told me to encourage everyone to sign up for Medicare three months prior to their 65th birthday even if they are not eligible. When the authority tells you that you are not eligible tell them that you want them to state on the computer files that you applied for Medicare and were denied.) According to this person, if you become eligible at a later date because you accumulated forty units in Social Security, you will be excluded from the penalty.

We feel that language should be put in place at the federal level similar to the language for Medicare D for pharmaceuticals. Medicare D does not impose a penalty on you if you take it after your 65th birthday providing you are on a creditable plan at age 65. Creditable is the term that indicates that a plan is as good as, or better than Medicare D. Everyone should get a letter from his or her provider (insurance company), which contains the words creditable plan. Then if your community decides in the future to stop

providing a pharmaceutical plan, you can go on Medicare D with no penalty as long as you produce the letter that contains the words creditable plan.

The purpose of the penalties in both Medicare B and Medicare D is to discourage people from being underinsured. But those retiring from a public sector job are adequately insured. We feel this is an important issue to address as more and more communities are adopting Section 18 of 32b of the General Laws, which states that those eligible for Medicare must go on Medicare. This is a tremendous savings to the communities.

We feel that the above-mentioned bills should not only have the support of retired people but those still in the work force. In most instances you will be the beneficiaries of this legislation longer than those who are already retired.

We cannot keep our heads in the sand. The words “I didn’t know” cannot be part of our vocabularies. That is the primary function of MRU: to work for you as well as to provide you with the information you need to feel comfortable speaking out. ▪

TheGolden AppleAda FuentesPublic Education Organizer,Massachusetts Jobs with Justice

In the fall of 2005 I moved to East Boston and was enrolled in the

Boston Public Schools. My first day, I was like any student attending a brand new school, trying to find my classroom and go unnoticed. My first class that day was English, and the room was packed with 40 students, a number that would never drop lower than 30. My second class was Algebra 2, the dreaded math class of all time. I sat down and tried to play that I wasn’t the “new girl” but the punk rock glam clothes and Princess Amidala hair gave me away. I noticed my teacher immediately. Mrs. Famador, a Filipina mujer, was one of the few teachers of color at East Boston High.

In October of that year I found out that I had lost my asylum status. I wasn’t sure yet what it meant not have citizenship, or how my higher education options were now limited. In Algebra Class, though, I found an undocumented community

and some of my best friends. Mrs. Famador was one of the few teachers we felt comfortable telling about our immigration status, and she was encouraging about the opportunities that lay ahead regardless of our status. Mrs. Famador was an immigrant too.

The next spring, I was still struggling through Algebra class, but Mrs. Famador always offered to stay after school with folks to help us with homework. During this time, talk of comprehensive immigration reform was all over the news, and a big protest for immigrant students and our communities was being planned for May 1st. Some of the more militant students in Algebra class decided to wear all white that day to show their solidarity with immigrants all over the country. The day finally came around and the hallways of East Boston High were filled with students in white shirts. After lunch, a mass of students began to walk out in solidarity with schools in California. Other students folks watched from the windows of the school and it felt like we were all connected. That same afternoon my family participated in a march—their very first— to downtown Boston, demanding immigration reform.

Mrs. Famador always encouraged us to pay attention in school and to stay out of trouble. I looked forward to Algebra class because I felt that it was a safe space for immigrant students. More importantly, the class and Mrs. Famador helped me to make sense of the world when I felt that all doors

were closed to me. I failed Algebra that year and had to take it again my senior school but I honestly looked forward to another class with Mrs. Famador. She always spoke about the importance of education and pursuing higher education. Although math would never be my strongest subject it was the life lessons I learned in Mrs. Famador’s class that mattered most. It was awesome to find a teacher who truly tried to help her students succeed and encouraged us to push ourselves even though our futures were uncertain.

Ada Fuentes credits Mrs. Famador, her math teacher at East Boston High School, for teaching her life lessons even more important than algebra.

I still visit East Boston High School every now and then, and it is always a beautiful sight to see pictures of my friends and I taped to the glass shutters behind Mrs. Famador’s desk. Those pictures are more than five years old now, but every time I walk into her classroom it feels like I am a new student. It seems like just yesterday that I found out that I was undocumented, learned that I was not alone, and that math class was a place of community and organizing.▪

Election 2012: We Did It! AFT MassachusettsCongratulates its 2012 Endorsed Candidates

US SenateElizabeth Warren

US HouseMichael CapuanoWilliam KeatingJoseph Kennedy IIIStephen LynchEdward MarkeyJames McGovernRichard NealJohn TierneyNicola Tsongas

Massachusetts State SenateKatherine Clarke, Middlesex & EssexSal DiDomenico, Middlesex, Suffolk, EssexKen Donnelly, 4th MiddlesexKathleen O’Connor-Ives, 1st EssexPatricia Jehlen, 2nd MiddlesexTom McGee, 3rd EssexMichael Rush, Suffolk & NorfolkJames Timilty, Bristol & NorfolkJames Welch, Hampden

Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMichael Brady, 9th PlymouthChristine Canavan, 10th PlymouthJames Cantwell, 4th PlymouthTackey Chan, 2nd NorfolkNick Collins, 4th SuffolkEdward Coppinger, 10th SuffolkMarjorie Decker, 25th MiddlesexMarcos Devers, 16th EssexDiane Dizoglio, 14th EssexJames Dwyer, 30th MiddlesexRobert Fennell, 10th EssexColleen Garry, 36th MiddlesexKen Gordon, 21st MiddlesexLiz Malia, 11th SuffolkPaul Mark, 2nd BerkshireRhonda Nyman, 5th PlymouthJames O’Day, 14th WorcesterJeffrey Roy, 10th NorfolkJoyce Spiliotis, 12th EssexDenise Provost, 27th MiddlesexDave Rogers, 24th MiddlesexThomas Stanley, 9th MiddlesexDavid Sullivan, 6th BristolWalter Timilty, 7th Norfolk

During the course of the 2012 campaign, AFT Massachusetts members made nearly a quarter of

a million phone calls and distributed even more leaflets. Members also organized and operated 15 “Get Out the Vote” events that included helping other members plan where and when to vote and even driving members to and from their polling places.

Chief among our victories was the election of Elizabeth Warren to the United States Senate. Over 61 percent of union households in Massachusetts voted for Warren, helping to make the difference that put her over the top.

“We knew we had to get over 60 per-cent,” says AFT Massachusetts Political Organizer Brian LaPierre, “and we did it!

Fully aware of the difference AFT members made, Senator Warren was very appreciative.

“I’m proud to have the support of the AFT, which helped make the success of this campaign possible,” said the former special education teacher and Harvard professor. “I understand how hard teachers work and how important it is that we invest in education, so all our kids have a real shot at success. I will continue to stand up for teachers and to fight for stronger public education here in Massachusetts and across the country.”

Congressman John Tierney, who emerged victorious from a difficult battle, was also keen to thank the many teachers and other professionals who supported him.

“Having the support of the AFT, and the teachers, health care professionals and public service workers it represents, has always been a great honor,” Tierney said, noting the dedication

that AF T members demonstrate not only to him but also to many other members of his district; not the least of which are the thousands of students they serve. “The AFT’s efforts to reach out to their members and to let voters know about my work to prioritize investments in our education system and in health care reform had a critical impact on this election. I thank all the men and women who gave their personal and family time to knock on doors, make calls, send emails and write letters.”

Among the hundreds of AFT members who took time out of their already busy lives to show their support for Tierney and other union-endorsed candidates was retired Peabody teacher Mary Condon.

As a former secretary of the North Shore Labor Council, Condon already knew and had relationships with many of her politically-active colleagues and also knew how to encourage others to get involved. Having been a political activist since her early days in education and a former Democratic Town Committee member, Condon was also used to the work involved in political campaigning.

“I did a lot of walking and a lot of phone calling,” she recalls.

Now that this latest round of doors and phones is over, Condon says she is thrilled with the result and even more encouraged to participate in the future.

“I feel fabulous,” she beams. “It was a grand slam!”

In addition to being able to help everyone from her local representative Joyce Spiliotis to President Obama, Condon says that an additional benefit of political involvement is the relationships forged among her fellow workers.

“One of the side benefits is the feeling of camaraderie that comes about with the people,” she says. “That was great!”

Lowell teacher and Elizabeth Warren supporter Susan Uvanni agrees.

“The best part of participating in this campaign was the opportunity to meet and work with other AFT members as well as other unions,” she says. “The support we gave each other as different locals sponsored walks and phone banks was moving.”

As many volunteers work so tirelessly to support their favorite candidates, the support can also be sustaining. According to Uvanni, “the work…was exhausting, time consuming, unglamorous and worth every second of time spent!”

Retired Boston teacher and self-described “political junkie” Carol Pacheco has also been involved in the campaign game for some time.

“I got involved because I used to be an AFT MA field representative,” explains Pacheco, who was also instrumental in introducing job sharing to Massachusetts teachers. “I always liked the political stuff….So when Brian [LaPierre] was putting together the…Retired Action Team, I said I’d love to help!”

In addition to being a long-time “RAT,” Pacheco had also served a number of candidates in Boston and beyond, going as far as Texas to back then [presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and helping teachers near her winter home in Florida as well. Closer to home, Pacheco participated in the AFT’s recent walks, escorting and hosting colleagues from New York who came to Massachusetts to help get out the vote. She also worked in the office of newly elected Congressman Joseph Kennedy, III and also supported other AFT-endorsed candidates including Mara Dolan and Bill Keating.

“I did thousands of phone calls,” she recalls, “and we did visibilities as well.”

As the newest member of the Massachusetts political world (though one of the oldest in terms of history and legacy), Kennedy was especially appreciative for the contributions made by members of AFT Massachusetts. “I was honored to receive the support of

Organizers Sue Leahy and Carol Pacheco with AFT members from NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) and students at a Labor Walk in Springfield for Elizabeth Warren.

working men and women - particularly our educators,” the new 4th District Congressman said. “They truly understood what was at stake in this election: a century of hard fought rights and protections that I will fight tirelessly to defend in Washington. The energy and dedication of the AFT…was critical to our victory.”

In addition to so many of our members, the Massachusetts candidates were also supported by such AFT luminaries as Executive Vice-President Fran Lawrence and even President Randi Weingarten, both of whom came to the Commonwealth to offer their support.

“It was truly invigorating to see our organizers work as hard as they did,” says LaPierre. “No matter what event I attended, I always saw several AFT Massachusetts workers and it has been a great honor to share victory with them and to be a part of such a significant triumph for our members and for working families across the Commonwealth.” ▪

Former President of the Billerica Federation of Teachers, Kevin McDermott, organizer Sue Leahy, Congressman John Tierney and organizer and retired Billerica teacher, Cathy Dwyer.

“I’m proud to have the support of the AFT, which helped make the success of this campaign possible. I will continue to stand up for teachers and to fight for stronger public educa-tion here in Massachusetts and across the country.”

—Massachusetts Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren