GEA President, Michele Jones, presented at the November Granite School Board meeting to bring awareness of burnout. 

The Granite Education Association announces elections and encourages all interested members to run for office. As a member of GEA, you have an opportunity to be actively involved and be a voice for teachers and our Association.

You may run for only one (1) Board position. Board members and officers elected by the general membership qualify as voting delegates at the Representative Assembly (RA)* and as a delegate to the UEA House of Delegates.

If you are interested in being involved, but not on the Board of Directors, you can run for the Representative Assembly Delegate position. Members elected by the general membership to attend the RA qualify as voting delegates to the RA, the governing body of NEA. Elected delegates travel to the RA during the summer to make policy for the NEA.*

We will email your statement and picture to building reps with the elections materials. Please plan to attend the AR meeting on Weds., November 10th and be prepared to make a short campaign speech.

* GEA Board members’ travel to the RA is funded in the middle year of their term of office. Among
members elected as delegates to the NEA RA, the top two vote-getters will have their travel funded.

Granite School District has self-funded health insurance, which means that GSD takes on the cost of benefit claims.  Because our insured members have become wise consumers the District is able to keep the cost of the insurance low by comparison with neighboring school districts.  There are some things about this benefit that catch people by surprise, and GEA wants to make you aware of a couple of exclusions within your GSD health insurance.  These exclusions and more are listed towards the front of your insurance booklet.  It’s a good idea to become familiar with these to understand your benefits
 
First, dependent maternity care is not covered, no matter the age of the dependent.  Federal law stipulates those maternity expenses be covered for employees and spouses which is the law your insurance follows.  When the Affordable Care Act, or ACA was passed, children were allowed to stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 26.  Which means some children are pregnant during their time on their parents’ plans, but their maternity costs are not covered by your GSD health insurance. This exclusion has often caught people unaware, and if it had been known, they would have opted for alternate insurance.
 
The second most common exclusion that is not well known is bariatric weight loss surgery.  Not only is this surgery not covered, but any complications also resulting from weight loss surgery will not be covered as well.  Along the same vein, medications and programs for weight loss are also not covered. 
 
One huge plus of Granite’s insurance plans is there is no waiting period for preexisting conditions.  Another perk is the Granite Wellness Center.  Anyone on District insurance has access to the benefits of this facility at no out of pocket cost to them.  Below, please find a list of services, and if you haven’t had a chance to utilize this benefit you can learn more about it here.

​Due to GEA’s relationship with the District, patrons were encouraged to participate virtually in fall SEP conferences.  Since the beginning of the school year, we have been hearing from many of you via email, phone calls, and social media messages with concerns regarding face-to-face meetings, but especially SEP conferences.  GEA heard you loud and clear, and worked with the District via various communication methods to strongly encourage virtual conferences.  Following member Lynda Davis’ comments during a teacher town hall regarding this very issue, a District letter was sent to families encouraging virtual attendance at SEP conferences.  We heard from Lynda via email stating, “Thanks for being there to support all the teachers and students in Granite School District. It wonderful to know that we have you to advocate for us.  I am beaming right now. After 28 years of being a GSD teacher, I finally felt heard!”

​Have you ever wondered whether you should call GEA and ask for help? Your membership allows you to do so, and we are here for you to help you navigate different types of situations.  For example, many years ago, a teacher was hired in Granite School District.  After school had been in session for a bit, she looked at her paystub and realized she was being paid hourly instead of on the salary schedule.  Thank goodness she was a GEA member and called the office!  Once GEA heard what happened we were able to work with Human Resources (HR) to get her pay straightened out.  She received the back pay that was due to her, and the District made her financially whole with URS.

Fast forward to summer 2021, and this same teacher met with HR to go over her retirement benefits.  She was surprised to learn that .21 years of service was missing in URS from her first year of teaching.  Even though she had worked her entire first year and was paid for it, she was told that she would either need to work the extra time or buy out that portion of the missing year. She made another call to GEA.
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Following the call, GEA asked HR to check their records for this teacher’s misfiled paperwork from her first year of employment.  It took a lot of digging around, but we are happy to let you know that HR found the documentation that indicated the teacher had indeed worked a full year her first year. HR was able to then contact URS and approve the full benefits the teacher is entitled to.  We are so glad this member allowed us to advocate for her and to help navigate this situation!

​Deadlines
 
Did you know that you can set reasonable deadlines for submissions and assessment retakes in your classroom?  Granite School District has a Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.  One of the responsibilities is, “honor your teachers’ deadlines for submissions and reassessments and to take advantage of reassessment opportunities."  For so long it has felt that teachers should give students umpteen chances and the deadline of the end of the term to get things done. 
It is reasonable to have set deadlines, and to follow them.  Deadlines happen in life and students need to learn how to navigate them.  Having deadlines helps students to manage their time as they work:   almost like a training mechanism for the brain as they set up time lines and work flows.  Self esteem can be improved with deadlines because when students manage their time well their grades will be better than if they had not.  With good grades often comes specific praise for doing what is expected.  Structure and praise help our students to produce more of what is necessary to be successful in class.

As educators know the mad dash at the end of a grading term can be frustrating as it seems students turn in work willy nilly to try to “bring up their grades.”  Many teachers feel compelled to spend up until the last possible minute grading these assignments.  Deadlines will ensure there is less scrambling at the end of the grading period in turn giving educators a more manageable workload.  The work will be more meaningful to both students and teachers ensuring more learning will take place in your classrooms as deadlines become common place.

Deadlines for reassessment must be reasonable, clearly communicated, and have some way in which a student can prepare for reassessment.  For example, you could let students know that after they have received feedback from you, they have x number of days to complete some relearning activities.  Relearning can include, but is not limited to completing missing assignments, test corrections, redoing low scoring assignments, small group reteach, etc.   Once evidence of relearning has taken place then a reassessment should be given within a certain timeframe.

Please keep in mind that your professional judgement as an educator is important in determining proficiency of a standard.  Our gradebook can calculate proficiency, but grading is both art and science, so please keep this formula  handy when determining proficiency under PBL:  MODE + RECENCY + PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT.  (See the District’s February 2021 PBL Points newsletter for more information).
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John Steinbeck said, " I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists.  Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit." These words have never been as true as they were this school year.  Your hard work and dedication to teaching and the Association has helped to better the lives of so many students as well as your peers.  We thank you for your commitment, membership, and willingness to change on a dime.  Enjoy your retirement!

Kaye Adams
John Alexander
Darin Banks
Ronald Barnett
Cindy Bateman
Christine Brent
Sherrie Brown
Renate Brunsvik
Tanya Byland
Richard A. Clawson
Maryanne Coke
Joyce Crocker
Carmen Diaz
Susan Dyer
Dana Easton
Laurie Erney
Kristine Evans
Glen Fuller
Gina Graham
Kathy Green
Karen Grim
Mark Hadnot
Patrice Hafen
Thomas Hansen
Michelle Hanson
Janet Harrison
Karen Harward
M. Kevin Harward
Collette Hayes
Irma Hofer
Ruth Hollander
Barbara Homer
Terry Hughes
Colleen Jensen
Pamela Johnson
Wendee Johnston
Sandra Jorgensen
Kevin Kingdon
Luann Kluge
Laney Long
Julie Lopez
Julie Lorentzon
Barbara Lowe
Shelley McMurrin
Jerry Miller
Carolyn Mulvaney
Jane Nate
Lanay Page
Robin Pavlakos
Kathleen Peake
Colleen Pieper
Valeri Reynolds
Terry Reynolds
Deanna Rigdon
Jeffrey Rolan
Margo Roper
Ronald Rushton
Judy Skeen
Virginia Smith
Shauna Starr
Pamela Svikhart
Larae Thomas
Alan Thomas
Catharina Thompson
Barbara Thornley
Lisa Tonge
Valerie Turner
Lori Vreeken
​Dawn Wasden
Colleen Willardson
Loralee Workman

​Confused by the Evaluation Process in Granite? 

The following documents will help you best understand what’s to be expected.  Please note that if your administrator didn’t email you a copy of your observation prior to debrief, they should have submitted it in Frontline for you to review before you meet.  This submission does not take the place of your acknowledgement on Frontline or the administrator’s finalizing of the observation.  Please see the document entitled  “Observation and Evaluation Explanations” for more information.