Category: General

Ann Romney Says Charter Schools Are the Answer!

Renowned education expert Ann Romney, when asked by Good Housekeeping about an issue close to her heart:

“I’ve been a first lady of the state,” the wife of the former Massachusetts governor replies. “I have seen what happens to people’s lives if they don’t get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers’ unions are preventing those things from happening, from bringing real change to our educational system. We need to throw out the system.”

So PJSTA members, while you are preventing people from getting a proper education today, please make sure to stay safe from the storm as well!

We love you too Ann.

You’re Now a Number…

Cartoon by Robert Rendo

Cartoon by Robert Rendo.

Robert Rendo gives free and permanent license to anyone who wishes to use this image in their literature, tweets, websites, blogs, etc. to fight the corporate education reform agenda and to restore public education to educators and cognitive scientists who are maintaining the same fight. While Robert Rendo retains copyright, he encourages everyone to use the free permanent license to utilize the image as advocacy. The sole condition for usage is that the name “Robert Rendo” is credited for the illustration. This notice of free licensure can be used as well and is equally encouraged. If image obtainment is a problem for the reader, please e-mail Robert Rendo at artwork88@aol.com, and he will e-mail the image in any file format the user requests.

 

Thursday’s Educate NY Now Rally

This past Thursday, October 25th, the PJSTA hosted an Educate NY Now! rally at JFK Middle School.  The rally, one of 14 that were held across Long Island on Thursday, featured an estimated 300 people who rallied against the tax cap, unfunded mandates, and excessive standardized testing.  The audience was made up of teachers, administrators, parents, and students from not just Comsewogue, but many surrounding school districts as well.  Locals from Miller Place, Port Jefferson, Rocky Point, Mount Sinai, and Half Hollow Hills joined the PJSTA at the rally.  Port Jefferson alone had 50 members show up, nearly half of their local’s total membership.  The rally’s speakers were:

  • Richard Haas, organizer for Educate NY Now!
  • Dr. Joseph Rella, Comsewogue School District superintendent
  • Dr. Ken Bossert, Port Jefferson School District superintendent
  • Joseph Gordon, 6th grader, JFK Middle School
  • Maria Navarro, President of CSEA Local 870
  • Ali Gordon, Trustee, Comsewogue Board of Education
  • Roger Clayman, Executive Director, Long Island Federation of Labor

Thank you to all PJSTA members who showed up.  A lot of people made a big effort, staying several hours later than normal, coming back to work after being home, or coming back to work with their own children.  The effort of those members is deeply appreciated.  If you were unable to make it, surely you are pondering how you can help in the following months.

To read more about the rallies across the Island that day, check out Betsy Sandberg’s blog here.

On December 5th there will be a bus to Albany to stand up for our schools and demand quality education from our elected officials.  The bus will be sponsored by Educate NY Now! To reserve your seat on the bus please contact Beth Dimino.

A special thank you to PJSTA’s first vice president Beth Shapiro for putting together the slide show below…

NYSUT at Terryville’s Career Day

On Friday morning, October 26th, NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Laura Graves presented to approximately 100 fifth grade students at Terryville Elementary School.  Ms. Graves’ presentation was part of the school’s Career Day activities, a day where guest speakers present to students on what their career entails.  The focus of Ms. Graves’ presentation was on:

  • What are labor unions
  • The history of labor unions in the United States
  • Important labor leaders in our country’s history
  • What her role within our state and local union is
She used a Youtube video of the story Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type to help illustrate to the ten and eleven year old students how unions can be beneficial for workers.

Ms. Graves is the LRS for the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association .

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All Members Please Read… ALL PJSTA MEMBERS SHOULD BE AT THIS

Please view the rally flyer.

All PJSTA members should be there.  Among the speakers at the rally will be Comsewogue’s own Beth Dimino and Joe Rella.  Additionally there should be BOE members, parents, and students as well.  The rally is not just for Comsewogue.  People from other communities will be there as well.  It is expected folks from Port Jefferson, Three Village, Mount Sinai, Miller Place, and Rocky Point will be there as well.  We have all felt the effects of the state’s new ed policies this year.  Now is our time to push back!

Feel free to bring your children, friends, neighbors, and anyone who cares about public education.  Making signs in protest of the tax cap and of standardized testing is also encouraged.  The CTU had a lot of funny and creative signs… look to them for inspiration if you’d like!

Don’t let this happen to public education!

Letter Writing to President Obama

The great Diane Ravitch, one of public ed’s biggest supporters, is organizing a letter writing campaign to President Obama.  All PJSTA members should have received an email about it sometime in the past two weeks.  Below is the text from this blog post by Ravitch.  She explains what should be in the letter and how you can submit your letter.

I will write about this every single day from now until October 17.

Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.

You can write it now and follow instructions here.

Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.

We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.

Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.

Here are the instructions:

You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.

Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.

Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.

1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.

2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.

All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.

In ADDITION to this,

3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500

4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.

One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.

Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.

Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.

Let’s act. Start here. Start now.

Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.

Diane