Update                          

May 26, 2022

Dear Secondary Teachers,

At the high school level, we have reached Stage I, Step IV of the transfer process (attached). Therefore, the voluntary transfer process has begun for high school, and opportunities for transfer for probationary and permanent teachers have been posted today on the district website.

This means teachers probationary and permanent teachers from overstaffed schools, those returning from a leave of one year or more, and any teachers returning from a special assignment have been placed at a school site for 2022-23. It also means that administrative and site teams have had the opportunity to choose to retain high performing temporary teachers and interns if enrollment has allowed this to occur.

Read more - click here

May 20, 2022

COVID-19 Testing Update

PFT has received some questions recently about COVID-19 testing, and specifically, whether to use Phamatech for testing. Attached is a fact sheet from the Department of Managed Health Care saying insurance companies must pay for COVID testing. However, we are hearing some insurance companies are refusing to reimburse testing companies for rapid antigen tests, as well as refusing to cover tests unless people have symptoms or exposure. If you experience this, you can appeal to your insurance company. If this does not resolve the issue, you can contact the Dept. of Managed Health Care. But instead, the info below may help avoid this issue.

Read more - click here Attachement - COVID Testing Fact Sheet

May 18, 2022

Dear PFT Members,

It’s been another challenging school year, but we are getting close to summer! Here is some info regarding the one-time payment, the transfer process, and negotiations for next year.

In Unity,
Kelly

Read more - click here Attachment - May Revision COLA Article

May 5, 2022

Dear PFT Members,                                                                      

Good news! We have successfully bargained a one-time payment for PFT unit members, in recognition of your tireless efforts navigating the COVID-19 pandemic since March of 2020. This was a bargaining priority of membership that we have been working to negotiate for a very long time. The MOU is attached to this email. We will be discussing it with your elected PFT Site Reps at our monthly meeting tomorrow night, so they will be able to answer any questions you might have on Thursday.

COVID Appreciation Bonus MOU

In Unity,

Kelly

Click here for previous PFT Updates

Congratulations to our 2022

Teachers of the Year!

Jean "Nay" Flinn		Aimee McCoy		Andrea Ford

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is proud to announce that Nay Flinn, Kindergarten Teacher at Connect Academy; Aimee McCoy, 8th Grade Humanities and AVID Teacher at Mesa Verde Middle School; and Andrea Ford, Spanish Teacher at Westview High School have been chosen as the PUSD Teachers of the Year for 2022.

 Read more

The joint PUSD/PFT IBPS team is pleased to announce we have reached agreement on a Supplementary Retirement Plan (SRP) for the PFT bargaining unit! 

Click here to read the agreement

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. 

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

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.  

Attachments:

FAQ Classroom Supplies
CSOLD Parent Handout

In Unity,
Kelly