GARFIELD Gleanings
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It’s that time of year, near the end, when we start to move into high panic to get everything done. Yet at the same we should look back calmly, and see what has been accomplished and where we go from here.
A lot has happened at Garfield this year, some good, some at the time terrible, but luckily, the problems have been resolved.
Let’s start with the good.
Continuity is strong at Garfield. In fact, Claire Ingels, of the
ESL staff, just received an honor for 40 years of service. Claire, a
multi-lingual individual, says she taught French and Spanish at the
main campus before moving over to ESL. This year we have seen
increased participation and involvement of Garfield faculty in
shared governance at GCC. Starting with myself, which sounds a
little immodest, this was the first year I was an elected official
on the Guild, with full voting rights as a member of the Exec. By
the time of my election, I had begun to catch on to the mores and
byways of the Guild, and I hope that it’s been beneficial to the
faculty at Garfield and other satellites. Many other faculty are now
The economic news, of course, was not heartening. Just before the beginning of the fall semester, adjuncts (about 90% of the Garfield faculty) were hit with the news that we would no longer receive a parity bonus from Sacramento. This turned into a salary cut of about 3.7%. The good news? Well, that depends on how you look at it. Basically, the Guild has negotiated that no more salary cuts will be taken from adjuncts for the ‘10-11 year, even if more parity money is cut. The latter is very likely. All that does, however, is give us breathing space this coming year.
In March, we were hit with a new edict. In an effort to ward off future Peralta violations (adjuncts with too many extra assignments or long-term subbing, which could force full-time salaries with benefits) it was suddenly announced that both the basic teaching position and substitute teaching could not amount to more than 67% of a full-time load.
Trouble was, that interpretation was in complete violation of the Ed Code, which clearly states that day-to-day subbing is not to be counted in the contract salary work. Unfortunately, this could not be resolved immediately, and some teachers who had begun to rely on the extra work were suddenly and inexplicably told they could not sub more than once a week. Meanwhile, the department chairs and their staff had to scramble around trying to find myriad subs to change each day—a task which turned out to be impossible, and forced classes to be closed for that day or night. Finally, it was understood by the District that such a decision was not only impracticable, but also there was no basis for it. Day-to-day subs did not threaten a Peralta violation unless they subbed for a long period, following other overloads in previous semesters.
The future looks good. Essentially, the policy on substitute teachers, which had existed for decades, will continue, with a stronger emphasis on rotation and participation by as many as wish to sub. Unfortunately, this took about six weeks to clarify, with legal experts giving guidance, although some from the District’s side was misguided. Finished. Let’s just go on.
Helping our students and outreach to the community
Jan Young and Deborah Robiglio have worked tirelessly to produce a welcome packet in English, Spanish, Armenian, Farsi and Korean, as well as a welcome CD. Research showed that most of the students knew very little about the various programs and how one could move easily from one program to another and to credit classes on the main campus. This brilliantly colored brochure clearly shows how an ESL or GED student could follow those classes with business education, for instance, or how business students could learn about the certificate programs and advanced classes in the credit program that can help them progress. It introduces them to the counselors and aid givers who can guide them on their way.
The Garfield Campus
Presently Garfield is: the main building, new trailers, an adorable childcare center; and mud, cement, poles and some steel. The plan is that there will be a beautiful new addition ready for the fall of ’11. We are now in a temporary situation, and there’s not too much point in complaining as long as the students can learn and survive. I find the trailers a vast improvement over where I last taught (the old social hall at the CC Baptist Church at the corner). However, there have been complaints about broken chairs, the air conditioning (which has been a demon ever since the main building was completed in 1994), and definitely lack of space for a teachers’ lounge or a decent-sized workroom. Anything I’ve forgotten? Meanwhile the crane and steel pillars are now being placed, making for very exciting viewing during break time.
One area that I believe we have to work on is student participation in college activities. Our students have no elected representatives—something that exists in all high schools and colleges—and hence no practice in participatory democracy Yes, their schedules are different, and many “don’t care,” but some do, and there is a wealth of cultural and political activity on the main campus, virtually none of which filters down to our students.
The last weekend in April a wonderful staff development overnight in lovely Ventura was arranged by Jane DiLucchio, with help from many others. Faculty, classified, administrators, all came together for this congenial learning experience. I was especially gratified to meet faculty from the main campus—such as from Parent Ed and Lifelong Learning. With my daughter graduating college, I think I’m free of parent ed for a while, but always ready for lifelong learning.
So that’s it from the big hole on Garfield Avenue. We’ll be here in the summer—shorter hours, fewer classes, but we’re hanging in, helping our student population as best we can in these difficult times.
Have a great summer. &
Solidarity, Marcia Walerstein-Sibony
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