Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association

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Fund Our Future, Hernando

As a statewide teacher shortage grows, our professional association is advocating for meaningful changes in state and local policies that directly impact our classrooms. Fund Our Future is an ongoing campaign to recruit and retain teachers, promote student success, and invest in our neighborhood public schools. Every student deserves to have a highly-qualified teacher, but even here in Hernando County, the 2019-2020 school year began with 36 posted instructional vacancies. Our students need opportunities to learn and grow to their greatest potential, yet flawed systems of accountability lead to teaching to the test. Together, we are speaking up and speaking out for our neighborhood public schools -- and the students educated in them!

Red For Ed Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, HCTA joins teachers across the state of Florida in a visible show of support for our neighborhood public schools. We wear RED for Public Ed because we know all too well the compromises that have to be made --and the impact of those compromises on our students-- when funding for our schools is inadequate or bogged down in mandates. We wear red to call attention to the solvable problems in education. Recruiting and Retaining teachers can't be solved with flawed accountability systems. With more than 3,500 teacher vacancies in K12 classrooms across Florida at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, Florida schools aren't failing--FUNDING is FAILING Florida's schools!

HCTA CARES

Hernando Classroom Teachers know that in order for our students to reach their highest potential, our commitments need to extend beyond the classroom. We're giving back to the community all year long! Whether collecting supplies for students, offering mentoring or tutoring, or facilitating student organizations, we're dedicated to supporting EVERY student...And we're challenging ourselves to accumulate a collective 2020 hours of community contributions during the 2019-2020 school year!!! Members are encouraged to touch base with a worksite leader for more information on our HCTA CARES project.

October 14th - Bargaining Update

October 14, 2019 Bargaining Update

LANGUAGE:

HCTA and HCSB signed Tentative Agreement #5 providing high schools a pool of 20 summer days per school for guidance counselors. While varying numbers of days have been provided in some prior years, this TA marks the first time these paid days are prescribed in contract.

Rally to FundOurFuture Commitment Survey

We know that funding our future is going to require a sustained commitment from elected leaders in Tallahassee. If investment in our public schools is not prioritized during this legislative session, we can expect that Florida will continue to remain in the bottom 10 nationwide in public education funding...and it will be our students who will suffer the continuing impacts of a growing teacher shortage. This January, we need to ensure that all eyes in Tallahassee are on Funding Our Future!

Governor Pitches $47,500 Minimum for Teacher Pay

October 7, 2019 - Governor DeSantis Pitches Increase to Teacher Pay - From a schedule press conference in Jacksonville, the Governor released a plan to raise the minimum teacher salary in the state of Florida to $47,500 – impacting a little more than half of all of teachers in the state. Paired with the introduction of legislation by Sen. Rob Bradley to repeal the flawed Best and Brightest bonus scheme, the governor's announcement could be seen as evidence that the voices of FEA members and public education advocates are actually being heard.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

10 Questions to ask about the Governor’s Teacher Salary Proposal

For the past several months, FEA, our locals and our members have been bombarding media and elected officials with information about Florida’s national ranking in average teacher salary and that nearly 50,000 Educational Staff Professionals earn a poverty wage.

Clearly at least ONE politician is paying attention.

FundOurFuture Bus Tour is Coming to Hernando!

See you at a bus stop!

Starting Oct. 21, FEA officers and staff will roll out on a statewide, five-week bus tour for public education. We will be on a campaign for our students, public schools and YOU. Please plan to come out and meet us at a stop.

The idea is to focus attention on public schools and build community support well before January, when the Legislature will be making decisions that affect all of us. If we are going to win in the next session, we need to be seen and heard now.

The stakes are very high. We are fighting for improved funding for public schools and for better pay for all school employees. We want an end to the over-testing of students and a halt to the expansion of voucher programs that divert public money to private schools. We demand that this state support the schools that educate 90 percent of our students, and that lawmakers show proper respect to the people who devote their lives to Florida’s children.

In coordination with local unions, the Fund Our Future bus tour will make about 50 stops at events and schools from Pensacola to the Florida Keys. The first stop will be on Oct. 21 in the Panhandle, and the tour comes to a close on Nov. 23 in Orlando.

The Hernando stop is slated for the afternoon of November 1st! More details are coming. Be sure to save the date!

The VAM Scam

September 18, 2019 - FEA's second article in their series exposing how Florida policies are undermining student success focuses on the scam that is VAM. Since its introduction into teacher evaluation processes, educators across the nation have protested the use of this flawed measure to identify ineffective teachers and brand schools as 'failing'.