Condolences Sent From HTA

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a relaxing February Break and enjoyed the time with family and friends. FYI, I received the information below on Monday afternoon.

It is my belief that during difficult personal times it is important to show our support for each other and our leaders. I attended the wake on Monday night and had a chance to speak to NYSUT President, Dick Iannuzzi. I expressed the HTA's condolences. Dick was surprised and touched by the thoughts and support I expressed on behalf of our members on the passing of his mother.

In unity,

Nidya Degliomini

President

Herricks Teachers' Association

Regents Update

The Board of Regents met on Feb. 10th and were poised to vote on some course corrections. The vote was held on Feb 11th with regard to the rollout of Common Core, state tests and APPR. You can read the press release and the proposed changes here. http://www.oms.nysed.gov/press/regents-adjust-common-core-implementation.html

The Governor did not agree with the Regents. You can read his brief comments here. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/02102014-governor-cuomo-statement

At Feb. 11th's vote by the Regents, as the pressure from the Governor mounted, the Regents pulled their “course corrections”

Will Cuomo retreat from the Common Core?

Dear Colleagues,

Thought you'd find this article regarding the State legislature's latest push to delay implementing the Common Core informative.

We have now used the last Snow Day on the calendar, so school will be in session on the fourth contingency day, Mon., April 14th. I am looking into what will be done regarding making up any other Snow Days that may be called this year. Enjoy today and hope you are safe and warm.

In unity,

Nidya Degliomini

President

Herricks Teachers' Association

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/02/8539850/will-cuomo-retreat-common-core

Article in The Williston Times

Dear Colleagues,

In the interest of keeping you informed, I am including a link to an article found online from one of the local papers about negotiations in Herricks. This identical article can also be found in the Jan. 31, 2014 edition of the Williston Times, entitled, "Teachers, board clash after 1st meet - Union prez blasts district for posting contract proposal online, sending in e-mail."

You can see the article online by clicking here

In unity,

Nidya Degliomini

President

Herricks Teachers' Association

Response to BOE

Dear Colleagues,

In the interest of keeping you informed I have included a letter I sent to the BOE regarding the actions they took on Fri., Jan. 24, 2014 after meeting only once for negotiations. I am awaiting a response from the Board.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

In unity,

Nidya Degliomini

President

Herricks Teachers' Association

BOE's Negotiations Update for the Community on Herricks' Website

Dear Colleagues,

We recently began negotiations on the Teachers' and Teaching Assistants' Contracts with the BOE and met only once. At that meeting we exchanged proposals. Our second meeting was cancelled due to the snowstorm on Tuesday.

We entered this process with expectations that negotiations were going to be very difficult during these trying times, but forged ahead as professionals wanting to work toward attempting to reach a fair successor agreement with the BOE.

On Friday afternoon, Jan. 24th, the BOE sent out a listserve memo to the community providing a "Negotiations Update for the