By EMILY SORENSEN
APRIL 23, 2020 | 7:15 AM 

A Poway Unified teacher has gone above and beyond to make her students feel comfortable in their virtual classroom.

Erin Summit is a special education transitional kindergarten and kindergarten teacher at Rolling Hills Elementary in Rancho Peñasquitos. Her classroom mainly consists of children with autism. She has been with Rolling Hills for about four years and teaching for about 13 years.

“My students work well with a schedule and consistency,” said Summit. “(The classroom schedule) is structured very tightly so (the students) know what is going to happen next.”

Adapting to distance learning is rough on every child, but especially for young students with autism.

Summit said she started distance learning by giving each of her 10 students an hour to speak to her over Zoom to talk about anything they wanted. She also showed them her house so they could see where she would be teaching.
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COVID-19: Union toolkit for California educators and staffSummaries of state guidance by education division

The CFT is posting key resources here as they become available. This toolkit is divided into information for preK-12 schools, community colleges, UC, retirement systems, and state labor agencies. We also include the basic facts about the coronavirus with links to public health agencies. 

Congratulations to our 2020

Teachers of the Year!

Laura Snow		Aaron Smith		Amy Hillebrecht

The Poway Unified School District is proud to announce Laura Snow, Aaron Smith, and Amy Hillebrecht as the three 2020 District Teachers of the Year. All three PUSD Teachers of the Year will be submitted for consideration for County Teacher of the Year.  Read more

 Tentative Agreement Reached!

We are pleased to announce that the PUSD School Board ratified our 2018-19 and 2019-20 Tentative Agreement on September 12, 2019. 

To read more about it, please see links below:

Tentative Agreement
Tentative Agreement FAQ's
Updated salary and retro pay information
Is my paycheck correct?

On May 22, 2019 We Take A Stand For Public Education

This Wednesday thousands will gather at the State Capitol for a statewide #RedForEd Day of Action in support of public education. Our demands are simple but profound: Full funding for public schools, and putting a stop to the privatization and corporatization of public education.

Following the historic UTLA strike earlier this year, the drive for dramatic change in how we fund and protect our schools has gained momentum across the state. Communities are standing side by side with educators and school workers as we demand that our schools, colleges, and universities have the resources we need to give every student in California a quality public education. Together we are also holding charter schools and the chancellor of California's community colleges accountable to local communities, not their billionaire and corporate backers. 

May 22 is our opportunity to speak with one voice to our elected representatives in Sacramento: We are here today to stand for public education and we won't back down.

If you can make it to Sacramento on Wednesday, please let us know by registering here. If you can’t make it, but would like to show your support, please wear red and take a picture with your colleagues in front of your school or workplace, tagging @CFTunion on social media!

TPLES - Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System

Dear Colleagues,

The demands on a teacher's time are endless, and the school year seems to go so quickly from this point on. The below link Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet is intended to provide support and suggestions for teachers in the evaluation cycle this year, as they monitor and document progress on their SLO/PLO.  It can also help make the final evaluation conference, for both traditional and alternative evaluations, more meaningful for the teacher and administrator.

Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet - click here

In Unity,
Kelly

Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System What is meant by "Multiple Measures" in relation to Teacher Evaluation?

Evaluating teachers fairly and accurately requires the use of multiple indicators of effectiveness AND multiple ways to measure those indicators. Read more

Classroom Supplies using Online Donation Site

What teachers need to do first to be eligible for donations: Go to www.pusddonate.org. Click your grade level (elementary, middle, high), click your “Site”, click “Teachers”. Please be sure your name is listed. The website is linked to the district’s payroll system.  Therefore, the donation website uses the same name you are using for payroll purposes (legal name).  Unfortunately, we cannot change that name.

What the Online Donation website provides:
1. Parents have the option of donating directly to their child’s teacher(s), program, department, grade level, program, or the school site’s general fund using this online donation website. The website is designed to provide parents with an easy and convenient way to help fund our instructional supply needs. Teachers and schools have received more than $100,000.00 in donations using this website. It works.

2. Parents may access the donation website by going to www.pusddonate.org.  Parents receive a tax deduction and email confirmation when donating. The website also includes a “Matching Gift Program” if a parent’s employer provides that benefit.

3. Teachers receive an automatic email confirmation stating the amount of the donation, donor’s name and email, and student’s name, if provided by the parent. Our District uses a spam filter. Therefore, to receive confirmation emails from the donation site you must check your spam folder. When you see the link, pusdonline@firstlinemerchant.com that’s the Online Donation secure banking (when using a credit card) email address. Please “whitelist” this email address. For accounting purposes, your site finance clerk or site secretary receives a monthly report of all donations. If you have not received an email confirmation but think you have received a donation, check with your site secretary or finance clerk.

Donation: Teachers access these donations the same way they would their regular supply budget/s at the site.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: Teachers may communicate this website to parents via their MyConnect site, newsletter, and/or during Back-to-School Night (see Common Message on Q&A attached). To promote greater equity among all our classrooms, we suggest grade-level teams or departments come together to identify their “collective” supply needs and request donations be made to the grade-level or department, rather than individual teachers.

Please note: Donations to this account may only be used for instructional supplies (e.g. school supplies, software, workbooks, art and science materials…). If requesting donations for technology, check with your principal. The primary function of your site Foundation is to purchase software and technology and teachers should be coordinating their efforts.

Field Trip Fees: The Classroom Supplies ~ Online Donations website now offers the option of collecting Field Trip fees. More information and directions for teachers will be coming soon in a separate email.

I've attached an FAQ and a handout you may wish to provide to parents.  Questions or concerns, contact Kris Hizal PFT Director, khizal@powayteachers.org or  khizal@powayusd.com 

Attachments:

FAQ Classroom Supplies
CSOLD Parent Handout

In Unity,
Kelly