La Cañada Elementary Teachers
School Board Statement
August 10, 2021
Today I stand before you on behalf of the staff of La Cañada Elementary School.
We are united in the belief that we are a professional learning community dedicated to continued growth despite the recent leaking and manipulation of private conversations.
We are united in the belief that the care and love we foster for our students provides them with the best possible educational experiences.
We are united in the belief that all students and educators have the right to a safe place to learn.
We are united in the belief of the district’s mission statement. We “foster and promote environments, relationships, and experiences where every student, staff member, and family is welcomed, valued, feels safe, and is treated with dignity and respect.”
We remain fiercely dedicated to being considerate, compassionate, and inclusive educators.
Mandy Redfern, LCTA President
School Board Statement
August 10, 2021
Today I stand before you on behalf of the staff of La Cañada Elementary School.
We are united in the belief that we are a professional learning community dedicated to continued growth despite the recent leaking and manipulation of private conversations.
We are united in the belief that the care and love we foster for our students provides them with the best possible educational experiences.
We are united in the belief that all students and educators have the right to a safe place to learn.
We are united in the belief of the district’s mission statement. We “foster and promote environments, relationships, and experiences where every student, staff member, and family is welcomed, valued, feels safe, and is treated with dignity and respect.”
We remain fiercely dedicated to being considerate, compassionate, and inclusive educators.
Mandy Redfern, LCTA President
2021-2022 Back to School
Dear Members,
We recently closed one of the most challenging years in our professional life. Now we turn our attention to another unprecedented year ahead as we navigate the developing pandemic. Your leadership has been hard at work this summer planning for the year ahead and doing our best to ensure that it is a successful year.
First, a list of the amazing members of the 21-22 LCTA leadership team are attached. We have excellent advocates who have stepped up into leadership roles at all 5 school sites. We are all here to help in any way that you need during the 2021-22 school year. You are invited to reach out to the leadership team in person or by email at lacanadateachersassociation@gmail.com.
Additionally, you can find the list of our monthly leadership meetings, social events, and a few scheduled all member meetings on the website. We are going to continue to host meetings for all members through our Zoom platform. Our social events will be in person and held in an outdoor venue if allowed by the LACDPH (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health) at the time of the meeting.
Please mark your calendar for our first all-member meeting on August 11 from 3:30-5:00 on Zoom. This will be an opportunity for the leadership team to review summer negotiations and answer any questions you have as you begin the new school year.
While the ever-evolving coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the work that we do, I am confident that our members will rise to the challenges ahead. As the protocols change, the bargaining team will continue to meet with the District to make sure that your needs are met. If at any time during this process you need help, please do not hesitate to let us know.
We also want to share the Welcome Back ad that LCTA has purchased in the local newspaper. Please be on the lookout for the article in the paper on August 19th. We want to make sure our students know how excited we are to welcome them back to campuses and to work with them.
Finally, I want everyone to know that we are welcoming more than thirty new educators for the 21-22 school year. The La Cañada Teachers Association welcomes you! We are here for you every step of the way. If you are a veteran teacher, please take the time to reach out to our new educators to mentor and support them along the way.
Wishing you a very joy-filled return to campus in the coming weeks.
In solidarity,
Mandy Redfern, President of LCTA
We recently closed one of the most challenging years in our professional life. Now we turn our attention to another unprecedented year ahead as we navigate the developing pandemic. Your leadership has been hard at work this summer planning for the year ahead and doing our best to ensure that it is a successful year.
First, a list of the amazing members of the 21-22 LCTA leadership team are attached. We have excellent advocates who have stepped up into leadership roles at all 5 school sites. We are all here to help in any way that you need during the 2021-22 school year. You are invited to reach out to the leadership team in person or by email at lacanadateachersassociation@gmail.com.
Additionally, you can find the list of our monthly leadership meetings, social events, and a few scheduled all member meetings on the website. We are going to continue to host meetings for all members through our Zoom platform. Our social events will be in person and held in an outdoor venue if allowed by the LACDPH (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health) at the time of the meeting.
Please mark your calendar for our first all-member meeting on August 11 from 3:30-5:00 on Zoom. This will be an opportunity for the leadership team to review summer negotiations and answer any questions you have as you begin the new school year.
While the ever-evolving coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the work that we do, I am confident that our members will rise to the challenges ahead. As the protocols change, the bargaining team will continue to meet with the District to make sure that your needs are met. If at any time during this process you need help, please do not hesitate to let us know.
We also want to share the Welcome Back ad that LCTA has purchased in the local newspaper. Please be on the lookout for the article in the paper on August 19th. We want to make sure our students know how excited we are to welcome them back to campuses and to work with them.
Finally, I want everyone to know that we are welcoming more than thirty new educators for the 21-22 school year. The La Cañada Teachers Association welcomes you! We are here for you every step of the way. If you are a veteran teacher, please take the time to reach out to our new educators to mentor and support them along the way.
Wishing you a very joy-filled return to campus in the coming weeks.
In solidarity,
Mandy Redfern, President of LCTA
March 15, 2020
Hello LCTA,
First…
1.) You are amazing!
Next first…
1.5) Take care of you and yours.
I am so proud to teach alongside some of the best educators in the USA! Your dedication to your students, and each other is truly remarkable. Not one of you balked at the overnight shift to Distance Learning Opportunities!
Sometimes our dedication to our craft and practice brings a need for a few reminders. I apologize up front for the length of this communication.
- If your own children need you, be there. Remember to care for yourself. Do you have what you need at home? Make that happen first. You will need to create stability in your own environment before you can come to the “virtual classroom.”
- Stress and anxiety: The entire world is on edge, and of course you are too. How are you managing that stress? Have you created a schedule for your “new life” under this school closure? Take care of you. Are you a runner? Go do it, or uncover that treadmill acting as a clothes hanger. Get on that stationary bike. Take a walk, download that too expensive yoga app…take a hike.
If you need anything! Access to food, help with child care, please email your representatives, or me. Now is the time when we come together to support each other.
- Remember, you are not required to hold a virtual class every day, nor must you post videos of yourself teaching, there are many ways to send out lessons/collect lessons/work, etc. Do you need help with this? We have each other.
- Remember, this is an unprecedented situation, please be kind to yourself through this transition. We are classroom teachers who have the ability to utilize tools that exist online (at varying levels), but truly “online educators” are required to take coursework prior to practicing this type of education. Manage your personal and professional perfectionism. This is not the time for self-judgement, or judgement of others.
- Whether or not we are on a campus, or in a virtual world, we are here to support each other. Reach out to each other often.
If you need something to support learning that has not been offered as a free tool/item, please send an email to tech, and to me, so that I may follow up in your behalf.
2.) Evolution of this shift: Equity
A few notes about expectations and moving forward with curriculum:
When we teach in our regular classrooms, we are able to instantly assess student understanding through visual cues, quick formative check-ins and assessments. Students can ask to go to the nurse and we know something is up, our students exist in front of us, our eyes, with relatively few distractions (not babysitting their younger siblings while parents work), etc. Right now, our normally “in-tune” teacher Super-Vision is temporarily obstructed, but more importantly our student’s “vision” of us is obstructed as well. This creates inequity where we usually have a more level educational environment.
The variance of access to technology, internet continuity, shared space/devices, family responsibilities, and other unknows creates an inherently inequitable situation. Please be mindful of this in your lesson designs, when students present work to you, access you during “office hours,” in planning assessments, and if they never show up to “virtual class,” they may have a good reason. Not all students will take to this mode of education. And that is okay.
A note about our “lens” as educators:
Please be mindful that you are not speaking directly to students in an environment where clarifying statements are regularly made in large group, small group, and in one-to-one learning situations. Your students cannot come up to you after class and ask questions. Although it may seem like ‘office hours’ will take care of such “clarification and communication,” remember that your students are not at all used to this format. Essentially, they have had instant gratification for their entire educational life. You teach something, they ask questions in real time, and the need is met. To write down a question, wait for a meeting, and then ask that question including all of the items required to get a full and exact understanding is a honed skill. And if this takes place in writing, there is yet another layer of understanding required. Many adults and professionals do not have these skills in their tool belt. Do not assume skills.
Interaction with administration:
Let administrators administrate. If you feel that you are being asked to do too much let me know. Remember the humanity in us all is dealing with anxiety, perfectionism, and stress including the LCUSD admin team. As you manage the communication with students, parents, and the stress that comes with that, so do our administrators. As this new experience unfolds, many shifts will occur. Let me know if you are in need of support understanding administrative requests, or directives at your site. No one should be doing more than can fit into our contract day. The LCUSD Board made this decision to keep all of us safe and healthy.
You should not feel overwhelmed as this reduces the ability for your immune system to fight off illness. Your students need you, but right now you have many other pressures at home as well. Manage your expectations of you and the expectations of others. Reach out to me if this is becoming too difficult.
The direction of our Superintendent has been that we are providing Distance Learning for enrichment and learning opportunities. When we get underway next week, please let me know if you are not experiencing this in reality.
I am available to all LCUSD teachers at: LCTAcontact@gmail.com Don’t hesitate to seek me out for whatever you may need. Remember that your site reps are also available to support you in whatever way you need! I will hold a google hang out at 2:15 Monday 3/16, Wed 3/18. Every teacher will be invited. If you know someone who is not getting the invitation, please share the invite.
LCTA leadership will meet with District Leadership 3/18, and the next LCUSD board meeting will take place 3/19.
Please pass this message on anyone who you know who did not receive this email.
My very best wishes for you & your family’s health!
In solidarity,
Sue
