Modesto City Schools teachers this week spent the final days before winter break standing in the fog and cold, demanding more engagement with district leaders.
Roughly 500 unionized teachers with the Modesto Teachers Association rallied outside the district’s boardroom on Monday evening to call attention to the district’s recent contract proposal.
MTA says while the proposal expands generalized music and art access, it could possibly eliminate more specialized instruction and restructure the days of elementary schoolers.
According to the union, the new plan puts prep teachers’ jobs on the chopping block, unless they earn new credentials to fit into the next structure. Prep teachers typically are instructors for electives like music and the arts, in addition to some basic computer skills.
“The proposed schedule would create more uninterrupted learning time and reduce fragmented segments in the current daily structure,” the district said about the proposal in October.
Additionally, the proposal does not specify classroom population expectations and procedures, which could result in 70 or more students in one room, the union says. They argue that will put schools at risk of violating fire marshall codes.
During the Dec. 15 board meeting, unionized teachers said the proposed changes will ultimately spread resources too thin, overlook vital safety standards, and put students at a disadvantage.
“It’s not clear what they’re envisioning for us,” said Nelia Strachan, a second-grade teacher at Fairview Elementary. “And so with that unclarity, how are we supposed to be OK with saying goodbye to these teachers before we even have a plan in place? Because there’s just not a solid plan.”
In the district’s Nov. 26 update on negotiations with MTA, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources, Mike Henderson, summed up the changes to teacher’s schedules in a video, stating teachers would not be laid off and teachers would maintain their annual prep time, but did not elaborate further.
Union fears losing prep teachers under proposal
There are currently two options under discussion. Both would incorporate three physical education and two arts-based courses per week, per student.
In order to achieve this, teachers would lose prep periods and have more instructional time.
In the current schedule, prep instructors across the district provide students with arts and computer literacy lessons, giving elementary teachers time to grade, create lesson plans and more. Prep teachers, Strachan said, will likely look for employment elsewhere if they’re expected to get more credentials and work longer days to stay in the district.
Right now, students who opt into music instruction in fourth, fifth and sixth grades with prep instructors receive education tailored to their skillsets – including lessons on specific instruments. Under the new proposal, the union says this would go away if music lessons become generalized for all students under their regular teachers.
One of the other most vocal groups at risk are CLTs, or computer literacy teachers.
“We are in favor of doing what the district wants, which would be expanding music to all, expanding (visual and performing arts) opportunities for all students with arts and music, but keeping the employees that we have and not requiring them to get extra credentials,” said Jennifer McGrath, president of the Modesto Teachers Association.
VAPA, or visual and performing arts, is a designation of programs with supplemental funds from the state. MTA teachers said there are other ways to use the funding within the current elementary school day schedule and urged the superintendent to ask them how.
While changes would primarily affect elementary school teachers, many anticipate that an overhaul of foundational programs will make it harder for students to thrive in high school and beyond.
Foundational digital, music literacy at risk
Enochs High School senior Preston Silva, a member of the software and systems development pathway leadership team and former intern with the MCS information and educational technology services (IETS) department, said his success wouldn’t have been possible without the work of prep teachers.
“If I hadn’t been taught how to type by dedicated CLTs such as Ms. Bronwyn Jackson,” he said, “or if I hadn’t been taught how to make documents and presentations or receive lessons on the importance of online safety and ethics, without any of these lessons being taught right now in your computer labs, I wouldn’t have the tools needed to achieve any of my success, regardless of the field.”
VAPA orchestra coach at Enochs, Davis and Johansen high schools Anne Martin, a parent of a MCS graduate, said the proposal to expand generalized music accessibility to all students will tank enrollment and interest in music as they enter junior and high schools.
The current elementary school schedule, she said in a phone interview, is where students learn how to put down the phone and pick up an instrument, discover teamwork, discipline and find community.
“What is so incredible about music education is when students are in an ensemble, they get this sense of community,” said Martin, who is also a retired Modesto Junior College music professor. “The other thing is that the band room is a safe place. I teach at Johansen, those kids just practically live in the band room. They have community, they have support, they have a safe place to be.”
Martin believes mental health and music programs are intertwined, and leadership should take this into account. She said by the time students are in junior and high schools, music classes may be the sole reason some students look forward to school.
During the holidays, MCS students sing carols in their neighborhoods and play in marching bands featured in the local Christmas parade. Martin wonders what will happen to these traditions if students only get generalized music instruction.
“I mean, we want to get rid of (dedicated instruction)? We want them to march through the neighborhood sounding like dying cows? It’s hard when you start an instrument, you know?” she said.
More questions than answers, union members say
During public comment, teachers and union representatives urged the board to reconsider what they consider heavy-handed policies at the negotiation table and make the effort to visit the classrooms they plan to redesign.
The district has not responded to MTA’s concerns after Monday’s meeting.
“I actually am a mental health provider in my paid profession, and so that’s the area that I’m highly concerned about. And so when (the union is) talking about music and computers and the well rounded whole child, it is something that I’m listening to,” Jolene Daly, District 5 trustee, told Modesto FOCUS during recess.
Several teachers lined up to read lists of questions they have about the proposal. They wondered about sanitation standards for music instruments that would have to be shared in the new model, and how students can be expected to learn digital responsibility in shorter timespans.
Despite the frustrations, MTA leadership is hopeful that the new superintendent, Vanessa Buitrago, will build a better working relationship with the union.
“It’s kind of one of those things where she walked into this already going on. This proposal was already on the table, so this isn’t necessarily her mess, but I am hopeful that she wants a different working relationship with the union, and we’ve had a really good one so far,” said McGrath.
While the union’s energy focused in defense of its members’ classrooms and colleagues, McGrath said the proposal also fails teachers by ignoring the cost of living increases needed for a sustainable lifestyle in Modesto.
She said the new proposals for healthcare will leave several teachers and their families paying thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical expenses.
The next bargaining meeting could be scheduled for January or February, but nothing will be decided until after Jan. 12 when the district returns from winter break.
Learn more about the district’s latest proposal for MTA at mcs4kids.com.
Vivienne Aguilar is a reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact Aguilar at vivienne@cvlocaljournalism.org.