We’ve come to the end of the 3^rd Marking Period. Thanks to all AFT members for the contributions you’ve made in getting our students to this point with their education.  Your efforts to keep our students motivated, using a wealth of programs and applications from lesson plans to classroom management, are duly noted.

    Dr. William J. Banach, has said, "People who work in a school-no matter what they do - are ambassadors for the school...If you work in a school you are the people who shape the school’s image and reputation by what you do and what you say and how you look... everyday."

"To most people, in fact, you are "the school!" We salute you!

    You’ve received your salary increases and now your retro from 9/1/01 to 12/1/01 (520 hours) Some members have had problems with the calculations. Kindly notify our office or Payroll in Education. We have been following up on cases. We are also following up on the classroom pay for PARAS at @4.50 per hour for those who haven’t received it. Grievances are being handled on the Building Level as well as the Superintendent’s Level. There was a memo sent in regard to corporal punishment. Some of the hearings have been with such cases. Members, I’m asking that you refrain from administering such and at the same time protect yourselves. Let’s work together to help each other. I’ve asked Superintendent Rosalia Payne to put into writing what is expected with the K-3 checklist, so that there is uniformity. My understanding was that comments (summaries) are made on the checklist form and not repeated on the report card. It should be attached. This cuts back on duplication of the same information. Members’ concerns are addressed as we are notified and in many cases preventative measures are taken to avert crises.

    You have the right to expect support for your professional development and you have a right to be treated as the professionals you are. Enjoy your Cultural Carnival activities and use as many as you can as teaching tools.

    At Cancryn we started the 2001-2002 school year by turning over two new leaves. First, a new administration, led by our new Principal, Mrs. Yvonne Pilgrim, and her team assistants, Avery Evans, Ahmed Popo, and Selassie Francis (former Sr. Rep at ACJHS). Second, our first year of full block schedule academic teams. Under the able leadership, of Sr. Rep, Brother K. Leba Ola Niyi, our team of Reps, (veterans) Linda Francis, Bridgette Julius, Rochelle Jackson-Todman, and (alt) and Neema Francis-Gilkes polices our CBA and works with the Administration to deliver a better quality educational product to our students. There are regular monthly meetings with the Union and the Administration, with the Union faculty and staff, as well as meetings to resolve grievances and complaints. Although it is not perfect, communication usually flows well.

    We have had a myriad of positive events at Cancryn School this year. We will start from the present and work back. March, being Women’s History Month, as well as, Girl’s Month, will feature our annual Mother & Daughter Tea on March 17^th and other activities for our girls. February was Black History Month as well as, Boy’s Month. All of the academic teams held Black History Month assemblies where the students celebrated the achievements of famous BLACK people. The boys went on field trips and the annual Father & Son Night was held on Feb 28^th with the theme: "Young Men & Men Making a Difference". The Cancryn National Jr. Honor Society held a clean-up on Sat. March 2^nd . Cancryn is a Beacon school and offers several after school programs, including the Arts & Culture Workshop, tutoring, computers, just to name a few . The positive activities at Cancryn are so numerous that they can’t all be listed here, but some more are, our first ever Cancryn Fundraising Bazaar, a jazz workshop for the students, choir performances, our "famous" Cancryn Marching Band, Foreign Language & Bilingual Dept., activities, and many clubs and athletic teams.

    Although the Media focuses more on the negative behavior, i.e(fights & violence) one can see that there is a lot of good things happening here. The last thing that we would like to share with you is the Cancryn Oral Reading Exchange(C.O.R.E.). We believe that reading is a fundamental part of a good education, so this committee is staging our first ever Cancryn Book Parade on April 19^th. This parade will allow the students to use their creativity to bring books and characters to life and hopefully inspire them to READ more.

    National School Nurses Week was celebrated January 20-26 2002. Our focus this year was on Public Relations. We want the schools and the community to know what the job of school nursing entails. To accomplish this, school nurses were featured on TV and Radio. AFT Speaks featured Nurse Sheridan (Lockhart) on Monday on WSTA. Brownie’s show featured Nurse Francis - EBO and Nurse Todman - C.A.H.S. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, which was National School Nurses Day, we celebrated with our annual luncheon at Caneel Bay, St. John. In the evening, Nurse Woods-Kirwan and Nurse Francis-EBO were featured on Face to Face TV program on WTJX. On Thursday, Nurse Woods-Kirwan was featured on Sam Topps’s talk show. To close the week Nurse Sheridan-Lockhart was on Bro Ferrari’s morning show, WGOD.

    Also throughout the week 30 seconds spots were heard about school nursing on Knight Quality Stations. These were written by Nurse Taylor- Muller/ Cancryn and recorded by Natalie Malone Student at Cancryn. Star studded halos are sent to all school nurses for the wonderful contribution you make to the health of our children.

    Leonard Dober Elementary has just started its Junior Honor Society. Rep. Mark Meyers has started a garden club to aid with beautification of the school.

    The VI Board of Education is trying once again to make the case; that they, are best suited and prepared to manage, run and operate all aspects of Public Education here in the Territory. Notwithstanding, all of the "illustrious" individuals who have in the past, been elected to serve with and as part of this body; the question that AFT must ask is: that absent of any significant contribution or even suggestion, to improve the effectiveness of Public Education here in the Territory; why should this Union and its members - or any other segment of this community - believe or accept any of the Board’s claim, that under their direction, public schools and our students, can and/or will be better off?

    The Board - thinking vacuously - has managed to convince itself that the V.I. Government bureaucracy will simply stand aside and accede to the Board’s desires, and allow it to proceed unfettered without any complications. Even if, the Government were so inclined, there are a myriad of details for which it remains doubtful that the Board has even considered.

    Not surprisingly, the Board has adopted a "go it alone" approach; in attempting to address the needs of Public Education; while choosing to ignore the concerns of AFT, whose members face daily, the challenges of dealing with our children; the inconsistencies of policies and direction; the growing atmosphere of intimidation: the lack of appreciation for the sacrifices AFT members make; as well as having our Union being portrayed as the villain, while the bureaucratic powers that be, continue to muddle their way through the realities of Public Education..

    Example: When talking about reading, some teachers talk about "phonemic awareness decoding and word attach skills." That’s just so much education jargon to a parent or anyone else who may be listening and thinking, "What the devil does that mean?"

Try using some of these questions: