Member Matters, 12-4-2015

Red for Education and Unity Wear your red shirts on Tuesdays! Mililani High School members are unified in their commitment to student success. Send your pictures to info@hsta.org.  Mahalo. Teacher Sabbatical Leave for School Year 2016 -2017 The Department of Education circulated a memo this week announcing that teacher sabbatical leave applications are now being accepted for school year 2016 - 2017  Teachers may apply for one semester or for one entire school year. Read Memo HERE>>> House votes overwhelming for new ESEA, Senate expected to vote Tuesday! Mahalo for your calls, emails, and Tweets.  Educators spoke and Congress listened!  This week, the House overwhelmingly passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by a vote of 359-64   The vote is a historic step to usher in a new era in public education that will ensure every child has equal opportunity to a high-quality education, regardless of ZIP code. For the first time since No Child Left Behind was enacted nearly 14 years ago, ESSA empowers educators as trusted professionals to make school and classroom decisions while keeping the focus on the students most in need. The Senate is expected to vote by Tuesday and the White House has indicated President Obama will swiftly sign it into law. Help bring the bill across that final finish line of one more vote by urging our senators to vote yes on ESSA (S. 1177).  CLICK HERE>>> According to the Fall 2015 ERS publication Holomua (page 3), all active members, inactive vested members and retirees are eligible to vote for this trustee position. You should have received a voting packet consisting of a ballot, candidate information sheets and a return envelope. Voted ballots must be received by KMH LLP at 1003 Bishop Street, Suite 2400, Honolulu, HI 96813 andpostmarked by October 21, 2015 to be considered valid. The new ERS Board Trustee will be announced in December. If you did not receive a voting packet, please contact Garet Sasaki of the election auditing firm KMH LLP at: (808) 543-3302 or by email at: ERSBallot@kmhllp.com as soon as possible. - See more at: http://www.hsta.org/index.php/news/2015-ers-trustee-elections-scheduled-for-september#sthash.6FzRMVMp.dpuf Professional Development Register for second semester PD classes now. Download Oahu details HERE>>> Sample of course offerings: Building Teacher Leaders Through Facilitation 21st Century Classroom Introduction to STEM Teaching How to Survive Inclusion Integrating the Stock Market . . . and, more! Coming soon . . . Please watch for an announcement of neighbor island professional development registration information. New!  HSTA On Line Learning Opportunity! Register by February 4, 2016 Click HERE for details. News you can use Professional Development  Website     HSTA 2016 Legislative Priorities Deadline to nominate: January 11, 2016 Friend of Youth Award Pono Award Free Resource: PBS Learning Media