We are the 1150 teachers of the Northshore School District’s students. We teach pre-school, elementary, junior high, and high school. We are librarians, counselors, school psychologists, occupational and physical therapists, speech learning pathologists, and athletic coaches. Together, we are the Northshore Education Association, NSEA. We dedicate our working lives to our community’s children. Most of us live in this community, and moved here for the same reason others did—our great schools.
The success of our students is our highest priority. Here are some of our core beliefs that, together, create a plan for the success of our students.
EDUCATE THE WHOLE CHILD.
Every child deserves a well rounded education. The Northshore Education Association believes that children deserve a strong academic foundation based upon our state standards. This includes standards for all subjects, not just math, science, social studies, reading, and writing. The standards for physical education, art, and music are equally important. STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) also address the needs of our children in the ever changing global economy. Our students need, and deserve, an educational environment that fosters: creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. Additionally, students need sports, drama, music and after school activities.
Students of all ability levels should have access to courses and curriculum materials to meet their individual educational needs. A Northshore education should prepare students for success at the end of their K-12 experience, whether they are on a career or college path. Each student, no matter where they fall on the ability spectrum, should be educated and inspired to achieve their highest potential.
Children require support from a wide variety of professionals. Every child needs a full time nurse in every school. They also deserve a counselor or a social worker in all elementary schools. We are reminded on an almost daily basis of the need for early intervention to solve many social and behavioral problems facing students today.
OUR STUDENTS NEED CLASS SIZES THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR LEARNING.
The students of the Northshore School District deserve a class size that allows them to have individualized instruction. Washington now has the third highest class sizes in the nation and the Legislature is preparing to increase those numbers with the elimination of funding designated to reduce K-4 class sizes. The most effective instruction and assessment requires smaller class sizes. When a student gets individualized instruction, extra support, one-to-one instruction, and the opportunity to build a positive relationship with a teacher, their academic success is bolstered.
EFFECTIVE TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS ARE KEY TO STUDENT SUCCESS.
Students deserve the most effective teachers and principals for every school. Last year, with our support, the State legislature passed a law creating the framework for a new evaluation system. This Four Tier Evaluation System, for teachers and principals, is mandated to go into effect by 2014. The Northshore Education Association and the administration will work to tailor this system to meet Northshore’s needs when work is completed in the pilot school districts around the state later this year. This new evaluation system will help all teachers improve, and not just those who are struggling.
The Northshore Education Association believes that the education system is made up of professionals. Teachers and principals who are not meeting the standards of professional performance should be placed on a plan of improvement with assistance provided. If the teacher or principal does not improve, they should be removed from the profession. The Northshore Education Association has worked together with Northshore’s administration to implement high performance standards in a climate of respect, and with the due process rights agreed to in our collective bargaining agreement. This year alone the Association and administration have worked together to remove six teachers from classrooms. Additionally, the Association and administration jointly maintain a fund to provide assistance to any struggling teacher.
Northshore students deserve highly trained teachers. Our professional development program, agreed to through our collective bargaining process, is our commitment to providing high quality educators to our students. Additionally, the Washington Education Association’s Jump Start Program for National Board Certification has helped many Northshore teachers obtain this prestigious certification. Finally, the Northshore Education Association has, through the collective bargaining process, created a mentor program for teachers in our district. This program assists new and struggling teachers. This is another example of our commitment to providing a highly effective teacher for all students.
Our students deserve the best and brightest teachers we can attract. Mentor programs, fair and concise evaluation systems, professional development opportunities, and a professional compensation package comparable to other similarly educated professionals will draw and help us retain the best and brightest.
Teachers should be able to afford to reside in the Northshore School District, thus strengthening our entire community.
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES ARE ESSENTIAL.
Students need the most effective current curriculum, sufficient textbooks, fully staffed libraries and other educational materials to reach their highest potential. The recent work of the Northshore Education Association and the Northshore School District to create the Curriculum Materials Adoption Committee, and our recent adoptions of new math, reading, and assessment programs is tangible evidence of our strong commitment to this. This committee was designed through the collective bargaining process and includes parent members. To educate the whole child requires specific materials to address the needs of all ability ranges. It also takes a wide range of supplemental materials to augment the adopted general curriculum materials.
Under current state funding formulas, districts can afford to refresh their curriculum once every 18 years. Northshore voters have approved our levies every year and for that we are thankful. However, due to state budget cuts, our local monies are being used to pay for things that have been identified as being the financial responsibility of the state.
TEACHERS NEED PROFESSIONAL TIME TO BE EFFECTIVE.
Northshore students deserve teachers that have enough time to meet the needs of all students. Teachers need time to observe each other and provide feedback about instructional practices, analyze assessment data and adapt plans to meet individual student needs, conference with students about how to meet their individual needs, and to communicate with parents in our ever changing electronic mediums. This work, along with lesson planning and grading, consume a great deal of time. As a community of parents, teachers, students, and educational professionals, we must have the critical conversation to determine where this time will be created in our school year.
The quality of instructional time is as important as its quantity. Seat time without high quality instruction does not produce success.
TESTING MUST BE USED APPROPRIATELY.
Students need instruction that is informed and driven by assessment. Assessments should be used to inform instruction and prepare students for their next academic challenge and to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses. Students should be able to demonstrate their learning and understanding in a variety of ways and need multiple sources of measure, not a single high-stakes test. Student test results are not an appropriate way to pay teachers or make staffing decisions. Instead, they should be used to drive instruction.
A BALANCE OF UNIFORM AND DIFFERENTIATED PROGRAMS AND SCHOOLS BEST SERVES OUR STUDENTS.
Northshore students deserve schools that have their own unique identities and strengths. There needs to be a balance between district-wide uniformity and differences based on the diverse needs of our students. Our students need specialized programs for those who want to follow a career path, college path, struggle with learning, or excel at learning. We need to educate the whole child and every child. One size does not fit all students.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PARTNERING WITH PARENTS.
Our students need parents talking and working collaboratively with our teachers, principals, and education support staff. Volunteering is not, and should not, be a parent’s only involvement in our schools. The Northshore Education Association has agreed to involve parents in the Curriculum and Materials Adoption Committee. We would like to explore ways to include parents on school leadership teams and other committees in our district.
Parents have the responsibility to their student to send children to school ready to learn. Mutually, we must monitor their progress and communicate with each other about concerns and how they could be best addressed. Together, we have the answers to the many different facets of raising children in the 21st century.
Together, we need to press our elected officials to fully fund education. Studies and the decision from the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools (NEWS) lawsuit conclude that the State is not complying with the State Constitution, establishing its “paramount duty” to fully fund the education our children. For our children’s sake, this collaboration between District leaders, parents, and this Association to secure adequate funding must be ongoing and deep. We must restore cuts to our schools as the economy recovers and increase funding to the level mandated by our State Constitution.
QUALITY EDUCATION REQUIRES COOPERATION, NOT COMPETITION, AMONGST EDUCATORS.
Our students need collaboration modeled for them. We should be role models of collaboration between different interests. The Northshore Education Association is committed to carrying on our collaborative relationship with the administration in operating our school district. We share ideas through regularly scheduled meetings between Association and administration leaders. We provide feedback to one another for the purpose of improvement. The Association and administration have shared costs of important program reviews such as an evaluation of our special education program. We will soon collaborate on the development of our new evaluation system and a new collective bargaining agreement.
Our teachers need to do the same things: share good ideas with each other, mentor and provide feedback as a way to continually grow as educators, share effective teaching methods, materials and strategies, and collaborate to implement curriculum, professional development, and effective lessons. The expansion of our curriculum and the growing complexity of the work teachers do require more time to collaborate to prepare highest quality instruction for the students we serve. Reforms based on competition amongst educators would stifle this work
The Northshore Education Association is committed to continuing to provide the excellence in education that our students, their parents, and the entire community expects and deserves. Please feel free to contact the Northshore Education Association to discuss your views or to find out how you can become more involved. We value your voice and your assistance in providing a world class education for our children.
Click here to download a PDF version of the Plan.
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