Posted 8-16-2018 (Dated 8-16-2018) 1 of 18 2 teachers win primary contests; Gov. and LG nominees thank HSTA; HTSB license/permit needed if you're a new teacher; Register for new website

Two teachers win primary contests A science teacher from Kailua and a social studies teacher from Mililani advanced in Saturday's primary election, winning the Democratic nominations for seats in the state House. Amy Perruso, a social studies teacher at Mililani High who just finished a three-year term as HSTA secretary-treasurer, triumphed over an incumbent to win the Democratic primary for the House seat that represents Wahiawa and Whitmore Village. "As a teacher going on 15 years now, education is my life and passion," said Kalaheo science teacher Micah Kalama Pregitzer, who won the Democratic primary for the state House seat that covers Kailua and Kaneohe Bay. Read the entire article about Perruso and Pregitzer's victories, and how fellow teachers helped put them over the top.

Ige, Green thankful to teachers for election wins Above: At Ige headquarters late Saturday night (L to R): HSTA Government Relations Specialist Mitzie Higa, HSTA President Corey Rosenlee, HSTA Deputy Executive Director Andrea Eshelman, Gov. David Ige, State Sen. Josh Green, HSTA Vice President Osa Tui, Jr. and HSTA Secretary-Treasurer Logan Okita. Gov. David Ige and State Sen. Josh Green are grateful to the Hawaii State Teachers Association for boosting their campaigns and helping them win the Democratic races for governor and lieutenant governor in the Aug. 11 primary election. "I really want to thank the teachers," said Ige, while Green said, "This campaign ended up being a lot closer than we thought. And HSTA came on with a powerful endorsement for us." Read the entire article about Ige and Green's tributes to teachers upon their election.   New teachers: You need a license or permit to teach in Hawaii All teachers, librarians and counselors serving at least half time in a Hawaii Department of Education or Charter school are required to hold a valid license or “Emergency Hire” permit. Obtaining and maintaining your license or permit is part of your professional responsibility as an educator. Be sure to check your status at www.hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org.   If you are unable to access your account, please email htsb@hawaii.gov and request your login information and temporary password. Include your full name and last four digits of your social security number in the message.   Hawaii law imposes a penalty of $500 for any teacher, counselor or librarian in a DOE public or charter school without a valid license or permit. The deadline to avoid this penalty or being placed on leave without pay is October 5, 2018. DOE principals/administrators who knowingly employ individuals without an active license or permit may also be fined $500 per employee. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the HTSB. They are here to assist you!   DOE, UH offer scholarship stipend to emergency hires, substitutes and EAs The state is offering a University of Hawaii scholarship stipend opportunity for emergency hire teachers, substitute teachers, and educational assistants on all islands at a secondary school with a bachelor’s degree.  Read about the UH scholarship stipend for emergency hires, subs and EAs. Deadline: Oct. 1. HSTA's new website is here; Members, please register for members-only content HSTA.org has undergone a major makeover! If you have not registered for web access since the website went live on July 18, 2018, you will need to go through a quick web registration process. Because it is a totally new site, you have to re-register. Registering on our site (same address — hsta.org) is simple and should only take a few minutes. After submitting your web registration request, an HSTA staff member will verify that you are an active member. That’s when you will receive a confirmation email granting you access to the new website. Verification of membership will be carried out during business hours, but most information on the website is available without the need to sign in. Maintaining accurate access to our members-only areas is important to us, and we hope you will understand our need to verify membership before granting that access. Read more about features of our new website, and members-only benefits once you register.   HSTA raises kick in this fall; How to increase your pay further   Because of the HSTA's collective work to push for a strong contract, public school teachers will see significant increases in pay this school year. Effective the first day of the second quarter, educators will receive a three-and-a-half percent (3.5%) across-the-board pay raise. That pay increase will show up starting with their Nov. 5 paychecks. In all, there are various raises worth nearly 14 percent over the four years of the contract, which expires in 2021. Also, this is a great time to move up in pay by reclassifying. Last year was the fifth year of the negotiated 21 hours and 3 credits. Even if teachers haven’t taken any additional professional development credits, as long as they have been teaching more than five years, and are not already Class 7, they can still move up in class and give themselves a raise. Go to PDE3 to learn how. Read the full story about pay hikes, supplemental pay and stipends available for teachers. HSTA updates members on lava efforts   Here is the latest information from HSTA with updates and resources about the lava eruption on Hawaii Island. There you can find the latest developments about the lava flows and how they are affecting schools, students and staff. Click here for the DOE's Kilauea eruption landing page. Click here for a story about HSTA's efforts to publicize the plight of teachers made homeless by the lava. The story also has links to each teacher's GoFundMe appeal.   Have college loans deferred or canceled! The feds have designated the following subjects as teacher shortage areas, meaning Hawaii public school educators who teach these subjects could qualify to have their student loans deferred or canceled: Career and Technical Education Language Arts -- English Mathematics Science Special Education World Languages World Languages -- Hawaiian World Languages -- Hawaiian Immersion  Here are the details of several programs that offer loan deferrals or loan cancellation, as well as contact information. Degrees not Debt is a student loan forgiveness workshop presented by NEA Member Benefits that focuses on how teachers who teach in "high impact schools" can get a portion of their Federal Loans forgiven. This workshop also covers the basics of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which applies to all full-time HSTA members who have federal Loans. Save these dates for the next Degrees Not Debt workshops: November 15 on Maui -- location, time, other details to be announced November 16  on Oahu (Virtual) at HSTA HQ -- time, other details to be announced. The Oahu workshop will be available by via video conference to members statewide who register in advance.   From Hawaii Public Radio: Nov. 6 constitutional amendment question: Investment property surcharge for education? A multi-part series on the constitutional amendment begins with a quick quotation from HSTA President Corey Rosenlee and then several critics of the measure. From Hawaii Public Radio: HSTA weighs constitutional amendment to help fund public education HPR speaks in more depth to Rosenlee and to teacher Cynthia Tong, winner of HSTA's Teacher of Excellence award this year. From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.com: HSTA President Corey Rosenlee optimistic early on primary night with Gov. Ige in the lead               RSVP to these Are You On Track to Retire? events by clicking here. New school year, new opportunities to save The promise of a new school year brings with it many new opportunities; a fresh start for students and school staff, a chance to reach a whole new set of students, and the endless pursuit of those “light bulb” moments when learning suddenly arrives. Another opportunity at the start of the school year is to review your plans for retirement savings. Will you have enough to live comfortably in retirement? Should you be saving more? How much do you need? These are great questions to ask your NEA Retirement Specialist who can help you plan for your retirement income needs. To see a snapshot of your retirement savings progress, take the Five Minute Retirement Checkup (http://www.nearetirementprogram.com/#15-minute-retirement-checkup/c20tm). The Five Minute Retirement Checkup can help answer those retirement planning questions and give you the answers you need to take the next steps to meet your goals. You might even get your own light bulb moment!   Popular HSTA Links: DOE's 2018-2019 official school calendar DOE's 2019-2020 official school calendar DOE's 2020-2021 official school calendar Classroom visit memo Please see this UPDATED MARCH 2018 chart for the EUTF and HSTA VB Health Benefit Premium Rates effective July 1, 2018. Hawaii Teacher Standards Board Read HTSB reminders here. Click here to look at the salary schedules. HSTA members can find a PDF searchable copy of the new 2017-2021 HSTA Collective Bargaining Agreement (contract) at this link. More information about the 21 hours of job-embedded professional development can be found in these DOE FAQs. Guidelines for Reclassification of Teachers