AFT had a busy summer. This summer, I attended CFT’s summer school for presidents. We elected and sent three delegates to the AFT national convention where our union voted on national resolutions and heard about similar issues educators face across the nation. We sent our treasurer to a CFT treasurer training. We also started our EC year with a training retreat. The focus of my summer with AFT has been learning and training. I strongly believe that this training allows AFT to provide our faculty members excellent support so they may focus on the important things, like teaching and helping students learn.
We have important work to accomplish this semester and AFT is eagerly awaiting the district to engage with us for the Article Three Reopener and to reach agreement on release time for our compressed calendar negotiations team.
The start of the semester is an exciting time. I am an instructor at Oxnard College and during mandatory flex day, we had a panel presentation where students shared their experiences and insights with us. The phrase that kept being repeated was “Oxnard College is the college with a heart”. The students on the panel felt that sentiment. They also called the college their home. It’s not just Oxnard College that creates the atmosphere of welcome belonging, Ventura College and Moorpark College also do. As faculty, we give our blood, sweat, and tears to our profession. We care a great deal about our students and our colleges. We want to see our students thrive and we put in the work to foster educational growth.
As the AFT president, I want to acknowledge the dedication, care, and professionalism of the faculty at Moorpark College, Ventura College, and Oxnard College. We have exceptional faculty and AFT is proud to be their advocate.
Teresa
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