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NFT Updates
The December NFT Update is now available online.
After tragedy, AFT turns to supporting Newtown community
The AFT is mourning the deaths of 26 children and educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and has begun transforming our grief into comfort and support for the community, as well as advocating for saner national policies on guns and mental health services.
AFT campaign takes on issue of excessive testing
The AFT has launched the second phase of its campaign against excessive testing, Learning Is More Than a Test Score, which will include a policy agenda that takes into account what we learn from teachers, parents and others.
AFT report proposes bar-like exam for new teachers
"Raising the Bar—Aligning and Elevating Teacher Preparation and the Teaching Profession," issued by the AFT Teacher Preparation Task Force, urges a move toward a systemic approach to preparing teachers and a more rigorous threshold to ensure that every teacher is ready to teach. The report says that all future teachers should be required to meet a universal and rigorous bar that gauges mastery of subject-matter knowledge, much like the bar exam lawyers must take before they can enter the legal profession.
Certificated Salary Schedules
New salary schedules for NUSD certificated employees are available. Please click here to view the schedules.
Ethics and Teacher Reviews
This article, written by Penelope Swenson, is an excellent description of the non-reelecton process and questions the ethics of the process. The author offers administrators options to offer the teacher who may be good but may need more "seasoning." She suggests that administrators reflect and ask themselves, "How did I try to help? What could I do or could have done?" Administrators should look at teachers as the greatest resource for improving student learning.