General – Page 31 – The Official Website of the PJSTA

Dimino: “You have awoken the mommies!”

In front of 900 in the Ward Melville High School auditorium, and several hundred more in the overflow cafeteria, PJSTA President Beth Dimino shredded NYSED Commissioner John King, Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, and New York State Senator John Flanagan. She first called out King for what his agenda is: child abuse. Then she urged Tisch to fire King, citing the 350 letters she has collected supporting this stance. Finally she warned Flanagan that he had “awoken the mommies” and that “The mommies in New York don’t abuse their children and they’re not going to let bullies do that either!” She walked off to a rousing standing ovation.

Tisch later stated to the crowd, “I know you are passionate. We hear you, we get it.” But of course we know she doesn’t. We know that as currently constituted, NYSED, the New York State Board of Regents, the state legislature, and the governor have no plans to abandon their abusive reform agenda. Plutocrats like Tisch stand to make far too much money to abandon the agenda. Instead they may make minor alterations that change very little. They will claim these alterations are examples of them listening to parents, students, and educators. Nobody will buy it. Their agenda is now crystal clear. Too many people can now see what’s going on here. That’s why nothing short of a full withdrawal from Race to the Top, the Common Core, and test based evaluations is acceptable. Not waivers for special needs students. Not a three year moratorium. Only a full withdrawal from the entire agenda is acceptable.

Community members like the ones who filled the auditorium last night can’t fire the puppet John King. We also can’t fire puppet master Merryl Tisch. But next November we can vote out John Flanagan. We can vote out Andrew Cuomo. Then we can let a new state government deal with Tisch.

Flanagan, who hid in his office two weeks ago when 1,000 people rallied outside, looked like he wanted to slither away and hide under a rock last night. Don’t let his arrogance fool you. He knows the days of shoo-in victories in his senate district are over. He knows, that palling around with John King and taking big money from Michelle Rhee have now attached him to this agenda as much as anybody else. He knows that next November he will have to answer for the child abuse that he has supported as the chairman of the New York State Senate’s Education Committee. He knows now that he has awoken the mommies!

There was a slew of coverage of last night’s event. Just a bit of it is below…

YouTube sensation Dimino:

Fox NY’s coverage.

Newsday’s story.

News12’s coverage.

Perdido Street School’s story.

Diane Ravitch’s story.

PJSTA President Beth Dimino Speaks at Ward Melville High School

PJSTA President Beth Dimino calls NYSED’s agenda “child abuse”, calls for John King’s firing, questions whether the cowardly John Flanagan is really hearing us, and receives a rousing standing ovation from 1,000+ people at tonight’s forum at Ward Melville High School. More follow up to come tomorrow. Enjoy the video below…

Election Day Roundup

Election Day roundup…

PJSTA endorsed John McManmon lost in his race in the 2nd Assembly District. Given his stance on public education, here is hoping that Mr. McManmon runs for state legislature again. Like maybe next year when his opponent, Anthony Palumbo will be up for re-election in the Assembly. Also when noted enemy of public education, Ken LaValle, is up for re-election in the State Senate. Next year is a very important year for us and the PJSTA will be working dilligently to get the right people elected.

Running as a progressive, Bill de Blasio won the mayoral race in New York City. He will take over for the plutocrat Michael Bloomberg who wielded his power and money to do great harm to NYC’s public schools over the course of his twelve year reign. Still, over at Peridio Street School, Reality-Based Educator warns, “Don’t get too excited.”

Chris Christie won re-election last night. This after last week’s incident featuring Christie yelling at a teacher, saying, “I am tired of you people.” When asked by the teacher why he continues to spread the myth than New Jersey’s schools and teachers are failing (sounds like Andy Cuomo, right?).

Bully Chris Christie yelling at a teacher.

Nearly 1,000 Rally Against Senator Flanagan

The PJSTA’s thoughts on Flanagan.

click on a picture to enlarge

This afternoon, approximately 50 members of the PJSTA stood with nearly 1,000 people total at a rally outside of Senator John Flanagan’s office. Joining their teachers today were many Comsewogue parents and students, along with Superintendent Joe Rella and other district administrators.

Senator Flanagan is not just a representative of a portion of the Comsewogue School District, but also the chairman of the New York State Senate’s Education Committee. We have detailed Senator Flanagan’s failings many times before on this site. To recap, he has known ties to ALEC and accepted large amounts of out of state money last year from Michelle Rhee’s group, Students ~~Last~~ First. Along with others such as Andrew Cuomo and Merryl Tisch, he has been at the forefront of the movement to privatize public education in New York, using his position in the Senate to push legislation through the Senate that has inflicted great damage upon New York students.

The Patch has PJSTA President Beth Dimino calling Flanagan’s reforms child abuse. Flanagan attempts to deflect criticism in the article, citing his role as a parent of students who are through school already. But Flanagan’s actions tell the whole story. While 1,000 voters stood angrily in front of his office demanding to be heard, Flanagan cowardly hid in his office, refusing to come to the phone or come outside to address concerned constituents. But perhaps that’s because he and fellow coward John King are giving districts four minutes each (and not a second more!) to share their experience with the Common Core and high stakes testing at a forum at Ward Melville High School on November 12th.

Following the rally approximately 20 members of the PJSTA, along a member of the Port Jefferson Teachers Association decided that if Senator Flanagan wasn’t going to come out to hear them they would go in to visit him. Dimino very calmly shared with one of Mr. Flanagan’s aides a few of the concerns that we have after being told that Flanagan was “in a meeting.” It’s pretty laughable that as 1,000 constituents were rallying outside Flanagan’s office he had a meeting that was more pressing. Towards the end of the conversation the aide seemed to pretend that he knows nothing about the money that Flanagan received from Rhee. But let’s be clear, Rhee’s Sacramento based Students First group contributed $10,300 to Flanagan last November, topping the list of Flanagan’s “Top Contributors”.

Below is the video of the exchange (Thank you Michele Smith of the PJTA!)…

Comsewogue Returning RTTT Funds!

Via the Port Jefferson Patch…

Beth Dimino, president of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association (PJSTA) said she thinks Superintendent Joseph Rella made the right call to ask for the boards support in sending the funds back.
“The PJSTA stands in solidarity with Dr. Rella and the Comsewogue BOE’s decision to return the RTTT funds,” said Dimino. “The strings attached to those monies serve only those groups that are working to destroy public education.”

Flanagan and King at Ward Melville November 6th

I have no confidence in either of these buffoons.

**Update** The date of the meeting has been changed to November 12th.

On November 12th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Senator Flanagan will be hosting a forum for his friend John King to address the Common Core. This is one of the forums that is being held in place of the PTA Town Hall meetings that King cowardly canceled earlier this month.

In the least surprising news of the morning, the meeting will not be open to the public. I repeat it will NOT be open to the public. Senator Flanagan, no friend of ours, has called each school district in his senatorial district and told them that they can invite two people to speak for two minutes each at this forum. Each district will be allowed to have 50 people total attend. No word on what will happen if somebody tries to speak for longer than two minutes. Or if thousands show up and attempt to get inside.

Once again John Flanagan is standing up for his friend John King. Placing the protection of King’s ego above giving his constituents a voice in their democracy. This is Flanagan and King’s way of placating parents and educators. Of throwing them a bone. They don’t really wanna hear from anyone, so they’ll only give a handful of people two minutes each to speak… then they’ll hope those people stop sending letters and making phone calls calling for King’s resignation and New York State’s withdrawal from Race to the Top.

John Flanagan is a politician of the worst kind. This is just one more reason to vote him out next November. Typically the Democrats run only a warm body against Flanagan. Hopefully next year they will choose more carefully and select a candidate who supports not just public education, but somebody who is interested in giving their constituents an opportunity to have their voice heard.

As a reminder, we will be picketing at Senator Flanagan’s office in Smithtown tomorrow afternoon from 3:30 to 5:00. Rain or shine. Please come. Tell everybody you know to come. We promise to give you more than two minutes to express your feelings!

Friday Notes

The NEA, to whom we pay dues, continues to sell out it’s members.

The AFT, to whom we pay dues, continues to shill for the Common Core. Here is Randi Weingarten in tandem with John King.

President Obama, whom the NEA and AFT endorsed twice, is bringing in a new education aid to join his team. He’s just what we need too… the leader of a philanthropic group who raises money for charter schools!

While we are on the topic, B-LoEdScene speaks of Upside Downland.

Andy Cuomo thinks John King should not step down. After all “change is hard.”

The Race for the 2nd Assembly Seat

Typically elections for the New York State Legislature are held in even numbered years. However this year there will be a special vote held for New York State’s 2nd Assembly District on election day. Former Assemblyman Dan Losquadro stepped down earlier this year to become the Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways, leaving the 2nd Assembly District without representation in the New York State Assembly. That will change following Election Day when residents of the 2nd Assembly District will vote for either John McManmon or Anthony Palumbo.

Like many of our PJSTA members, I am a resident of the 2nd Assembly District, which begins just to the east of Comsewogue and extends out through the North Fork. With the current education climate being what it is and knowing the importance of the state legislature’s role in it, I decided to reach out to each of the candidates to see where they stood on education issues. I made it clear that as a voter my decision of who to vote for would be made based on their stances on education.

Mr. McManmon, who grew up in Riverhead and currently resides in Aquebogue, responded with the following (emphasis mine)…

As you know, implementation of the Common Core in New York has been deeply flawed. I was profoundly disappointed that Commissioner King cancelled community meetings to discuss this issue and am pleased that some have been rescheduled. I have asked Commissioner King specifically to hold at least one public meeting on Eastern Long Island.

My concern about the Common Core stems from my belief that our children’s education is essential to their success in a global economy. To that end, I have called for comprehensive reform of the Common Core in New York State, including (1) reduction in high-stakes testing, which is particularly inappropriate for younger students and their teachers, (2) de-coupling of test scores from teacher, student and school evaluation, (3) limited the data collection and dissemination by private entities and (4) rethinking from the ground-up (not top-down) how best to implement the Common Core, if at all.

Education is very close to my heart. In my immediate family are public school teachers who face many of the issues you describe below. In my pro bono legal practice, I represent families of autistic children seeking the best possible education in our school system.

Our children’s education is, quite literally, our future. In the Assembly, I will be an staunch advocate for education reform and a loud voice for the dedicated parents seeking to provide their children with the skills to succeed in the 21st century.

Mr. Palumbo, who grew up in Patchogue and currently resides in New Suffolk, responded with this…

As your Assemblyman, I will be an unrelenting advocate for our children and our education system. Though we pay among the highest taxes in the state and nation, the majority of state education aid continues to be funneled into New York City. We simply do not receive our fair share. As your Assemblyman I will advocate not only for an increase in education aid for our communities, but for a complete restructuring of the formula by which state aid is calculated.

I also believe more must be done to help school districts, students and parents come to terms with the Common Core curriculum and I think all options should be left open. One proposal put forward in the Assembly is to review the Common Core and evaluate the program’s strengths and weaknesses. I believe this could be a positive step—if it takes into account the input of parents, teachers and administrators. Another proposal put forward would be to opt out of the Common Core curriculum entirely. While there are some merits to this position, that decision ultimately lies with the State Board of Regents.

In the meantime, I believe the state can be doing more to ease the transition. This program is yet another unfunded mandate by Albany, but I feel that if the state is going to require it, they should pay for it. I will strongly advocate for state government picking up the cost of testing, the cost to implement the program and the cost of training teachers, should the Common Core system continue.

I heard better things from both candidates than I was honestly expecting. I was particularly impressed with Mr. McManmon’s ideas of reducing standardized tests, de-coupling of test scores from teacher evaluations, and re-thinking “from the ground-up (not top-down) how to implement the Common Core, if at all.” Of course talk is cheap without action behind it. I thank both of these gentleman for taking the time out of their busy schedules to answer my concerns regarding public education. One thing is for certain. If the winner of this election goes on to make their support of public education a priority throughout their first year in office, they will receive significant support from the PJSTA as they seek re-election next fall.

If you want to find out what assembly district you live in click here.

November 1st- Save the Date!

On Friday, November 1st the PJSTA will be holding informational picketing outside the Smithtown office of Senator John Flanagan. Picketing will start at 3:30 pm.

Senator Flanagan, an ally of NYSED Commissioner John King, is one of two state senators who represents parts of the Comsewogue School District. Additionally he chairs the New York State Senate’s Committee on Education. He has been hosting hearings around the state on the effectiveness of New York State’s education reforms. The hearings, naturally, have been by invite only. Senator Flanagan makes sure he invites a representative from NYSED to every hearing. He has not invited a representative from Comsewogue. This picket will be an opportunity to make him hear us, whether he wants to or not. Tell him that we demand to be heard from. Tell him to stop hanging out with John King! Tell him to stop taking money from Michelle Rhee’s Students First! Tell him to stop taking his marching orders from ALEC and to start putting the people he represents first!

NYSED Commissioner John King and Senator Flanagan

What are Pols Saying About NYSED’s King?

A few state legislators have begun to weigh in on John King’s cowardly acts from last week.

State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk writes…

Dear Dr. King,

I was greatly saddened to read about your decision to suspend four planned PTA-sponsored Town Hall Meetings on the Common Core.Common Core and the standardized testing mandates we’ve placed on our schools, teachers and students are among the most significant challenges ever faced by our public education system. They deserve a full airing, and those involved — parents, students and teachers in every part of the state — must have the opportunity to be a part of the process and to have their concerns addressed.One of the recurring complaints on common core and testing is that parents and teachers were not brought in to the planning process. To now refuse to hold future meetings would only reinforce the perception that State Education Department is forcing the curriculum without proper planning and public input.I think the Friday night meeting in Poughkeepsie can be taken as a teachable moment. I am certain that the Town Hall events can be structured in such a way that they provide for a useful give and take, and I strongly urge you to restore these community meetings. Further I am hopeful that you will attend an education forum I am hosting with other State Legislators on October 22, at Kingston High School from 5 pm to 7 pm.Your attendance would help assuage the frustrations, fears and concerns of the parents, teachers and school administrators in my district.Sincerely,

State Senator Jack Martins has a lengthy reply here, and ends with this…

At the moment New York needs a caring pragmatist willing to address real concerns raised by caring parents and educators who see a system being manipulated from above to the detriment of their children. Unfortunately, we have John King. He should immediately reschedule these forums or he should immediately resign.

State Senator Timothy Kennedy urged King to reschedule the meetings.

It should be mentioned that State Assemblyman Steve Englebright initially called for King’s resignation in August. He was ahead of the curve!

The state senators representing Comsewogue have been curiously silent. However, they say a picture speaks a thousand words…