Dear fellow teachers,
Welcome back to Albany, where we take pride in having some of the best schools in the Bay Area. I’d like to start by expressing my appreciation for all of our returning teachers who have persevered through the most difficult years of our profession, and welcome all of our new educators. You’re joining an incredible faculty and a strong union, both of which contribute to the outstanding quality of education in our schools. My name is Chris Knight, and Kim Gray and I are your ATA-co-presidents. I want to start by introducing our ATA executive board, officers, and leaders, if you could please stand up when I call your name. Vice President: Patty Bruns, Secretary: Jen Gripman, Treasurer: Tobias Bodine, Bargaining Chair: Emily Surowitz, Membership Chair: Jamie Shepherd , Grievance Chair: Karen DeHart , Elections Chair: Jared Law, Organizing Chair: Linda Kaiser, Social Media expert: Toni Martinez-Borgfeldt, Website guru: Sean Morris.
You might have noticed the beautiful red t-shirts. After Kim and I attended the CTA Presidents conference this summer, the e-board applied for a grant with the help of our amazing CTA support staff member, Zev Kvity. Zev, will you please stand up. With that grant money, we were able to fund new union-made and union-printed ATA t-shirts. We chose “red for ed” to show solidarity with our fellow teachers throughout the state. After this is over, please pick one up, wear it proudly, and stay tuned for actions where we’ll all be wearing these shirts.
We encourage you to join us in ATA leadership. We’re calling all teacher-leaders to serve as ATA site-reps. Site reps serve as the Congress of our union, making sure the voices of our members are heard and acted upon. Our monthly rep council meetings are usually the 2nd Thursday each month, in AMS room 212, from 4:15-5:30. Check our website: www.ata-ausd.org for more details on being a site rep, and a list of the 2022-2023 meetings dates.
One priority for Kim and I this year is communication. If we learned anything during zoom school, it’s that communication is often more difficult without any in-person contact. Therefore, the ATA executive board and rep council will be meeting in person this year. We hope other district groups will follow suit. We’re also going to be printing as well as emailing out a monthly newsletter. The first edition is at our table right over there, I encourage you to pick up a copy.
Kim and I are also going to be doing regular site visits this year. We’ve divided the work. Kim is going to be focusing on Ocean View, Cornell, and Albany Middle School. I will be at Albany High, Marin, and Albany Children’s Center. Some of that grant money is going to be funding food during those visits. We’ll reach out beforehand so that you can let us know your site’s favorite snacks.
This Fall we have a school board election. There are 3 seats up for election, which is a majority of the 5 seat board. Board decisions have a real impact on the classroom, and for that reason being a school board member is a tremendous responsibility. In the next month, ATA’s executive board will be creating a process where teachers will be able to get to know the candidates and their views better, with the ultimate goal of deciding whether our union will endorse any of them for the election. We’re also looking for a Political Action Committee (PAC) Chair to help coordinate our electoral activities this Fall. If you’ve got a knack for politics and a passion for informing teachers of the important issues on the 2022 ballot, please let us know.
As many of you know, we are currently bargaining our 2022-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Will the bargaining team please stand up: Emily Surowitz, Tedra Grogans, Beth Dunn, Dan Gottheimer, Sara Haller, Jamie Shepherd.
Keep in mind that the reason Albany’s schools are the best in the Bay Area, is because our teachers are amazingly good at what we do. But we know we face challenges with inflation, the growing cost of living in the Bay Area, and a teacher shortage. With education funding at an all-time high, we must prioritize our ability to recruit and retain the best educators if we want to keep our schools in Albany among the best in the Bay. So let’s do it.
That’s all I’ve got. Don’t forget to get a t-shirt on your way out and stop by Zev’s table if you have any questions about how to join ATA or anything else union-related.
Thanks.