What's Happening?
    January 15, 2008

  • The Executive Council met on 1/9 and had the pleasure and privilege of having Commissioner of Education Mark McQuillan address the council. Dr. McQuillan began with a summary of his vision for technical education and then took questions from the floor.(Click here to read transcript) Commissioner McQuillan spoke at length about his secondary school reform proposal. A summary of this can be found on the Connecticut Department of Education web site.Click Here to view School Reform Summary
  • Labor Management - The next Labor-Management meeting will be held on February 8 at Central Office. Representing the SVFT will be the officers, Rick Tanasi, Pat Keavney, Ed Lang, and Ed Leavy. Additional Committee Members in attendance will be Jean Ann Buck, English Teacher at Kaynor and Daniel Thibault, Collision Repair Department Head at Wolcott. Our agenda items will be sent to Central Office by February 1 and publicized shortly after.
  • Outreach - Our meeting with Representative Andrew Fleishman has been rescheduled for January 17 at 4:00 p. m. Joining Rick and Pat at this meeting will be Susan Williams, AFT-CT Lobbyist. The first meeting of the newly formed Outreach Committee will take place at the SVFT office on 1/24 at 4:00. Members who volunteered to serve on that committee are: John Kraigenow, Ed Leavy, Linda DeSousa, Ed DeSousa, and Kevin Bendell.
  • On January 3 Pat Keavney attended the State Economic Strategic Plan Information Forum at Naugatuck Valley Community College. Joan McDonald, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, has scheduled 10 regional forums to gather input for the legislatively mandated 5 year Strategic Plan for Connecticuts Economy. The purpose is:
    " To build a vision for the Connecticut wed like to see in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years in the future.
    " Move the economy forward through responsible growth, and
    " Improve housing, transportation, workforce competitiveness via a planned approach.
    The SVFT feels that no plan of this sort would be comprehensive without the inclusion of the Technical High School System. Our participation in this process will continue. A more complete review will be published in the February Vocational Instructor. Following the meeting Pat sent an E-mail to Commissioner McDonald stating that no plan to improve Connecticuts workforce or make it more competitive would be complete without consideration of the Ct. Technical High Schools.
  • Exploratory Program Survey- On the tail of the huge success of the DWTA survey, our Communications Committee has launched a second survey to solicit your opinions about the proposed changes to phases 1, 2, and 3 of the exploratory cycles. Your input is critically important and your united voice will be heard. The cut off date for this survey is January 21 in order to have time to work with and accurately compile the data. At this point the responses indicate a majority of teachers believe shortening the phase 1 and phase 2 exploratory cycles will negatively impact recruitment and retention and have potentially catastrophic implications for shop choice for these young people.
  • Survey Committee Formed- The Council approved the formation of a Survey Committee to formulate the topics and questions of future surveys. If you are interested in serving on this committee please contact Pat Keavney at the SVFT office before 1/25
  • SVFT to host "OPEN HOUSE"- On Friday, February 8 from 3p.m. to 6 p.m. at the new office location. Come see the new office, chat with friends and enjoy refreshments. Please contact Irene Sheades (800-378-8020) if you plan to attend. All are welcome!