February 16 showing Colleen Hana-busa eight points ahead of Brian Schatz. This is good news. But it’s early and none of the candi-dates have invested in advertising yet to persuade voters. In the coming weeks and months, HSTA will communicate with you to provide information about the candi-dates with our hope that you will come to the same conclusions as your Board of Directors.

We will also ask you to take some sort of action such as phone banking, holding signs, attending rallies, and talk-ing to friends and family members about recom-mended candidates. Most importantly, please make sure that you, your families, and friends are registered to vote. I know for many of you, getting involved in political action does not come naturally and it tests your comfort zone.

However, when we elect candidates who support teachers and public education, we have a better chance of improving student learning and help-ing all children in Hawaii maximize their potential. Mahalo for all you do for the chil-dren in schools and mahalo for your efforts outside the school. ~ Wil Okabe, President

The Hawaii State Teachers Association is a focused, dynamic organization of involved members collaboratively creating quality public education.

A D V O C A T ET E A C H E R

Teaching Today for Hawaii’s Tomorrow February 2014

President’s MessageAloha Colleagues, I’ll bet none of you became a teacher to get involved with politics. You became a teacher for a num-ber of reasons, but mostly because you

care about your students and you want them to learn, enjoy learning, and maximize their potential. HSTA, like other teacher unions, gets involved in politics because that is where the level of supports and resources for public education is decided. We support candidates who have a track record of supporting teach-ers and their students, as well as those who support the labor movement. We support candidates we have relationships with and will work hard for Hawaii’s future – the children of today who will become the workers of tomorrow.s On February 16, I sent a message to members that the HSTA Board of Directors took the position to recom-mend State Senator David Ige in the Democratic primary for Governor this August. s I also want to let you know that the teachers on the Board took the posi-tion to recommend Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.s Finally, the HSTA Board of Directors is recommending State Representative

Mark Takai for the U.S. House of Representatives. In all three cases, HSTA’s Gov-ernment Relations Committee reviewed candidate questionnaires, conducted extensive interviews and looked at the voting records of each of the candidates who came to the interview. The Board took the GRC’s recommendations seriously and af-ter careful and lengthy consideration made these recommendations.

I would also like to point out that the National Education Associa-tion’s Political Action Committee was poised to recommend Governor Abercrombie’s appointed senator Brian Schatz. I attended that meet-ing in Washington, D.C., where I urged that group to stand behind Colleen Hanabusa because she is the candidate that HSTA is support-ing. At the end of a lengthy debate, the NEA PAC decided to take “no position” in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper released poll results on

(Pictured clockwise, l-r) 1. Kendra Ito-Mizota, Wil Okabe, Mark Takai, Natasha Taketa, Al Nagasako; 2. Patricia Meyer, Ruth Dalisay, David Ige, Laverne Moore, Shannon Kaaa, Roger Takabayashi; 3. Jodi Maeda, David Ige, Lester Kunimitsu; 4. Pat Niibu, Colleen Hanabusa, Lokelani Han.

Congratulations! National Board Certified Teachers

Anderson Deborah Waiakea IntermediateBarry Nicholas Iroquois Point ElementaryBastedo-Penner Lissa King Kamehameha III ElementaryBelmonte Decy August Ahrens Elementary Berger Mary Kailua High Blomberg Nicole Pohakea Elementary Bradley Mila Nanaikapono Elementary Brown Laura Pearl Ridge Elementary Burke De Mendonca Sheri Sunset Beach Elementary Chavez Monica Kealakehe Intermediate De Brum Karen Lanai High and Elementary Donahue Sarah Kekaulike High Downey Amy Mililani Ike Elementary Draper Malia Wailuku Elementary Dressler Michelle Kauai High Duncan Jason Mililani High Fia Eleyne James Campbell High Flores Laurie Hauula Elementary Fobbe-Wills Beth Lahaina Intermediate Gianfrancisco Elizabeth Myron B. Thompson Academy PCSGonsalves Susan Aiea High Gravatt Linda Hana High and Elementary Hasegawa Mitzi Hana High and Elementary Henderson Holland Mililani High Higashi Lee Jami Pearl City High Ida Michael Kalani High Idica Tracey Aiea High Ikari Yvette CentralDistrictOfficeJackson Mariko Kahuku High and Intermediate Kanaya Jenna Mililani Ike ElementaryKim Suanne Palolo Elementary Kim-Bautista Bo Wailuku Elementary Koanui Angie Gov. Wallace R. Farrington High Ling Janelle Henry J. Kaiser High Michaels Andrew Waipahu High Mizumura Jennifer Lincoln ElementaryMorgado Christian Kauai High Morgan Carina Mililani High Morikawa Kristie Moanalua High O’Reilly Amber Kahuku High and Intermediate Omura Diane Henry Perrine Baldwin HighPerry Malia Waiakea Elementary Sanderl Julia Kapaa Middle

ADVANCING THE PROFESSION s What is National Board Certification?http://www.nbpts.org/national-board-certifications Candidate Centerhttp://www.nbpts.org/future-revision-national-board-certification

s Invitation to join the new Hawaii groupforBoardCertifiedteachers: All NBCTs are invited to join HSTA’s newNBPTSNetworkAffiliate,called“HSTA NBCTs.” This organization is a venue for teachers to connect with Association leadership opportunities, professional development events, research, politics, and advocacy for NationalBoardCertification.Joinbycompletingamembershipformat:http://tinyurl.com/kjk6gob. The group isalsoonFacebookat:www.facebook.com/hsta.nbcts

I touch the future. I teach. ~ Christa McAuliffe

Congratulations to public school teach-ers who earned advanced teaching credentials this year, joining more than 100,000 teachers nationwide who have obtained the prestigious National BoardCertification.HSTAmembersrecentlyearnedthecertificationaftera rigorous testing and evaluation program, bringing the state’s total of NationalBoard-Certifiededucatorsto469. That represents just over 4 per-cent of classroom teachers in the isles — higher than the national average of 3 percent for school districts.Aspartofthecertificationprocess,teachers need to analyze their teach-ing context and students’ needs, submit videos of their teaching and provide student work samples that demonstrate growth and achievement.

Seals Linda Wahiawa IntermediateSilva Sean Mokulele Elementary Stanley Amber Hahaione ElementaryTadaki Kimberly Holomua Elementary Takatsuka Joy King Kamehameha III ElementaryTanabe-Hanzawa Jodi Aiea High Thompson Joanne Kilauea Elementary Toriano Travis Hilo Intermediate Van De Verg Gail Heeia Elementary Van Weemen Haley Lahaina Intermediate Van Noord Welch Kate Pomaikai Elementary Yasui Kara Holomua Elementary

National Board Certified Teachers - continued

(l-r) Amber Stanley and Wil Okabe celebrate after Honolulu NBCT ceremo-nies. Presentations were also held in Hilo and Wailuku.

EES Member Feedback: First Semester Poll Results Thank you for participating in the monthly polls. The data provided al-lowed for chapters to have conversa-tions about what is going on in theschools, to accurately representthe HSTA member’s voice. This data is also being used in conversations with the DOE in reviewing thedesign and implementationof the EES. Chapters also provided qualitativedata that was summarized into themes. “Should the Tripod survey beused in a teacher evaluation?”

Yes (357) No (1850)“Do you understand the NCEscoring method?”

Yes (160) No (2052)“Should the DOE change the weighting of Tripod in ateacher evaluation?”

0% Change (458) Less% (1553)More% (35)

“Do you feel that you have been given the knowledge and support necessary to write SLOs?”

Yes (416) No (969) “Do you feel that your studentsunderstand the Tripod survey ques-tions?”

Yes (170) No (1170)“In your experience, is the EES a “system of support,” for teacher improvement?”

Yes (186) No (576)“Using your professional opinion, who is the most effective evaluator of classroom instruction (or working portfolios)?”

Admin (158)Peer State (141)

Peer School (446)

These survey results were shared in the February Lead the Profession bulletin. Lead the Profession contains information on where to go for help as well as timely news on topics teachers need to know about.

Educator Effectiveness System

Joint Survey This month, teachers have a chance to respond to a Joint HSTA-DOE EES Survey. A link to the survey is scheduled to go out via Lotus Notes. When you do receive the sur-vey, you will have two weeks to complete the survey. It is pro-jected that the average teacher will take about 20 minutes to complete the survey. A couple tips for survey takinginclude:s Plan to take the survey in one sitting. s Ward Research assures us that thesurveyiscompletelyconfiden-tial. However, to accommodate personal preferences, you may forward the survey e-mail message you received in Lotus Notes to a personal e-mail in order to take the survey at a location of your choos-ing. We encourage all members to take this survey to help inform changes in the EES.

EES Feedback Formhttp://tinyurl.com/n946u79

Watch President Wil Okabe’s video message on VIMEO, http://vimeo.com/87244543

Member Benefits

Advocate Contact: info@hsta.org

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

ACCESS CARDMember only discounts

Login at www.hsta.org

NEA Member Benefitswww.neamb.com

EUTFQuestions about health benefits? Please contact the Hawaii Employer-UnionHealthBenefitsTrustFund: http://eutf.hawaii.gov/

HSTA VEBA Trustwww.hstaveba.com

HSTA Lobbying Team

Kendra Ito-MizotaGovernment Relations Specialist

kito-mizota@hsta.orgEd Garcia

Teacher Lobbyistegarcia@hsta.org

Wil OkabePresident

Al NagasakoExecutive Director

It’s the transfer (TATP) season, and many members are asking about the process. The key sections of the collective bargaining agreement are Article VII-Assignments and Transfers (pp. 34-42) and Appendix IX (p. 114). Article VII provides a general overview of all the relevant issues, while Appendix IX speci-fiesdatesandthetimelinerelevanttothepostingperiods.Inaddition,teachersshould refer to the DOE memo dated January 27, 2014, which can be accessed at:http://ohr.k12.hi.us/tatp/chap_portal_tatp_teachers.html. The site also has links to the necessary forms. Key dates related to the transfer process are as follows:sFebruary14,2014:TentativeteachinglinesarepostedatschoolssFebruary28–March13,2014:Firstpostingperiod(teachersmayapplyforposted positions)sMarch14–April3,2014:InterviewandSelectionperiodforfirstpostingsApril11–April17,2014:SecondpostingperiodsApril21–May2,2014:InterviewandSelectionperiodforsecondpostingsMay30,2014:Tentativemasterschedulesareposted,andteachersarenotifiedoftheirassignmentsforschoolyear2014-2015inwriting(thoughsomechanges may still occur due to resignations, retirements and/or changes in return dates of teachers on leave). Finally, remember that teachers are allowed only one transfer per TATP period. However, a teacher who is not selected for a vacancy may pursue other vacancies following the same procedures. Any new vacancies that result willthenbefilledinaccordancewithDOEGuidelinesfortheFillingofVacantTeacher Positions. If you have further questions, speak with your SASA, or con-tact Wilfred Keola, Jr., DOE Personnel Specialist at (808) 586-3649 or by e-mail at Wilfred_K_Keola_Jr@notes.k12.hi.us.

Your WalletDues turned into savings

Help offset the cost of dues by using member only group discounts on car, home, long term care insurance, and life insurance offered through the HSTA VEBA Trust, HSTA Access Membership Card, and NEA Member Benefits.

Plan for Spring Break•Takeadvantageofmembers-only discounts at restaurants, on oil changes for your car, and items at name-brand stores.•Finddiscountedmembertravelof-fers.Saveonhotelrooms,flights,car rental, cruises, and vacation packages.

Government Relations

s HSTA Legislative Action CenterFollow current legislation at:

http://capwiz.com/nea/hi/issues/bills/

These are some of the bills that we are following:

s Mandatory KindergartenHB14, SB2768 SD1s Realistic Bell ScheduleHB1675, SB2139, SB2922s Constitutional AmendmentHB2276, SB2826s Healthy EnvironmentsHB 2596, SB2424

The HSTA Voluntary Employees BeneficiaryAssociationoffersactive HSTA members life insur-ance, long term care, critical care, long term and short term income protection insurance.

Sign up for hearing notices at:http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/