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.
An estimated 2,000 people converged on Comsewogue High School yesterday to tell the powers that be what they should do with the Common Core State Standards. The crowd, a mixture of teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens turned out despite only having a week to organize the rally.
Speaking at the rally were Comsewogue Board Trustee Ali Gordon, PJSTA President Beth Dimino, NYSUT President Dick Ianuzzi, Comsewogue Superintendent Dr. Joseph Rella, Comsewogue High School student Arya Hezarkani, parent Gina Renard, New York State Assemblymen Steve Englebright and Al Graf, and former Suffolk County Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher.
Perhaps the highlight of the rally was Assemblymen Englebright saying, “Somebody’s head should be on the block and it should be John King!” He was right of course, but he neglected to mention King’s host of other ed deform cronies: Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, Andy Cuomo, John J. Flanagan, Ken LaValle, Chris Christie, Cory Booker, Mike Bloomberg, Merryl Tisch…. and the list goes on and on and on.
PJSTA members should be taking the next few days to bombard their elected officials with their feelings on these matters. Ask them if they are with us or against us. Tell them there is no middle ground. They will earn our votes or they won’t. It should be noted that 2,000 people at a rally in Comsewogue is a nice turnout with only a week’s notice. However it is hardly enough. It’s nice to gather together, make signs, wear green laces, show our community and union pride, and scream and shout a bit. However it all means nothing without sustained further action. The PJSTA will again provide you with ample opportunities in the coming school year to work towards our agenda. It’s time for you to decide whether or not you are willing to get involved. Yesterday was the fun part. Today the work starts.
Just a reminder, not that you should need it, that tomorrow is the “Students, Not Scores!” rally that grew out of Dr. Rella’s letters following the release of the NYS Common Core test scores. The rally begins at 12:00 and is at Comsewogue High School. There is an enormous crowd expected, so carpool, arrive early, and park wherever you can. Speaking will be Dr. Rella, PJSTA President Beth Dimino, NYSUT President Dick Ianuzzi, and several others. New York State Assemblymen Steven Englebright and Al Graf will be there in support. Kudos to politicians willing to put their neck on the line to stand up for what’s right. Be sure to thank them and to vote for them if you live in their district. Not all politicians have the guts to do what they are doing (I am looking at you John J. Flanagan and Ken LaValle!)
Spend some time to make some signs tonight for tomorrow’s rally. Be creative. Have fun. I know of at least one group of PJSTA members having a sign making party tonight. If you want in let us know in the comments or email Beth Dimino.
Be sure to wear your PJSTA garb tomorrow (or BAT apparel if you are cool enough to own any!)
There is not much more to be said. Tomorrow has been a long time coming. The general public is finally catching on to what teachers have known for several years now. To quote Karen Lewis, who seemed to speak for all of us during the CTU strike last year, “We’re tired of being bullied, belittled, and betrayed. We have done everything asked of us, yet we continue to be vilified and treated with disrespect.” Tomorrow’s your chance to fight back. I know I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Some new links of note:
Students Not Scores! now has a website! Click here to view it and sign the petition.
Port Jefferson School District Superintendent, Dr. Ken Bossert weighs in on test scores here. Feel free to set the commenters straight.
The UFT’s MORE Caucus has been a tremendous help in getting the word out about this rally. Please visit their site. They stand for everything that is right in education and we would all benefit if they were at the helm of the country’s largest teachers union.
Our friend Diane Ravitch today called for the resignation of New York State Education Commissioner John King. Citing the harm King has done to children and educators, Ravitch is calling on all concerned parents, educators, and citizens of New York State to contact the New York State Board of Regents to demand the resignation of John King. Regent Roger Tilles represents Long Island. Merryl Tisch is the chancellor at large. Tell them how you feel about the harm done to your students, your own children, and your profession.
We were
fortunate enough to grab a few thoughts from Dr. Rella on his
recent celebrity, his interaction with our elected officials,
mainstream media’s creative filtering, and most importantly, what
we can do to continue to stand up for public education.
Dr. Rella
PJSTA: You obviously
couldn’t have imagined that your letter to elected officials would
go viral as it did. When you sat down to write it what were
you hoping to be able to accomplish?
RELLA: Last Thursday, I wrote a letter to each of our state
legislators in light of the release of the test
scores. I also wrote a letter to our parents in
anticipation of the avalanche of negative press and press releases
from the State – lots of spin and magical thinking. I
posted them on our district
website Thursday evening. On a normal weekend
in early August, it would get about 30
hits. By Friday morning I was getting emails
from all over Long Island, California, Louisiana, Indonesia,
etc. Apparently, my words have found resonance beyond
Comsewogue.
PJSTA: What has surprised
you most about the response to the letter?
RELLA:There’s
one common theme. It was expressed best by a
teacher:
I am an elementary teacher in the Plainview
School District for almost 30 years. I cried when I read your
letter. It was such a relief to read that someone influential (like
yourself) in a school district gets it!
Thanks for being so “right-on” in your
appraisal of the current testing situation and for speaking so
eloquently for me.
Most appreciatively,
I cried when I read her
email!
PJSTA: When did you realize
that it was going to be a rallying point for groups who support
public education?
RELLA:By the
weekend people from around the Island – more
correctly, teachers, from around the Island
–were emailing and calling. Teachers who have
set up major blogs, etc.
PJSTA: Which elected
officials did you write to?
RELLA:Our three
local legislators, Senators LaValle and Flanagan
and Assemblyman Englebright.
PJSTA: Have they all
responded to you? If so, what have their responses
been?
RELLA:I spoke
with all three. They understood my
points.
PJSTA: When you say they
understand your point, are they in agreement with you? Did
they express to you whether or not they are supportive of the
Common Core and it’s implementation or is it something that they
oppose?
RELLA:Let
me phrase it this way. Steve Engelbright said that
he supports the views I expressed in my letter. He
said he would be proud to stand next to me in the “public square”
and do just that. He’s coming on
Saturday. I’m proud to know him.
PJSTA: Why should people
attend Saturday’s rally?
RELLA: The Common Core implementation and testing is hurting
children. We need to stop it now. We need to
fix it now. If it can’t be fixed – we need to SCRAP
IT! STOP IT – FIX IT – or SCRAP
IT!
PJSTA: What would make the
rally a success in your eyes?
RELLA:We’re
going to need hundreds of thousands of emails, tweets, etc. to get
to the Governor, Commissioner, Regents, and the legislature.
The rally last June had over 10,000 people – it didn’t get a single
word of coverage down here. The traditional media is
OUT. The power of social media is the way we will communicate
with those hundreds of thousands. In fact, that’s why I’m
doing this here, on the PJSTA blog.
Channel 12’s editorial director was looking to
speak with me. They’re done. The filtering is too much
for me. Last Sunday’s NEWSDAY had a
two sentence quote from my letter. Given the tone of the
article, it looked like I was saying: “I can’t understand why so
many of our kids failed.” I can perfectly understand
it. The Commissioner told us last fall that it would happen,
he designed a test to make it happen, and then it happened.
I’m done with them.
PJSTA: What can people do
after the rally? What is the next step?
RELLA:Contact
that group above – weekly! An email or a tweet is no big
deal. We’ll probably have a “day” to do it en masse.
Numbers matter. The first question I was asked by one of our
legislators was: “How many emails did you
get?” With apologies to Will Shakespeare: They have
taught us well but we “will better the
instruction.”
PJSTA: Have you now
eclipsed Clinton Kelly as the most famous
person from Comsewogue?
RELLA: LOL.
PJSTA: Any final words or
thoughts?
RELLA:WE (ALL of
us collectively) ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN GET THIS
DONE. Up until now, no group has gotten it done – NOT
the educational leadership – schoolboards, superintendents,
administrators – NOT the unions – NYSUT, UFT, AFT, NOT the
parents. NOT our State representatives. ONLY
COLLECTIVELY DO WE HAVE A SHOT AT DOING THIS. Also, keep
in mind that none of the rhetoric used in the past has
worked. Time to try something
different
No one is going to help
us – EXCEPT ALL OF US TOGETHER
Thanks again to Dr. Rella for taking time out of his busy schedule
to provide us with his thoughts. We are looking forward to
throngs of people at Saturday’s rally. Just a reminder it
will be at Comsewogue High School at 12:00 pm.
For more information on the rally you can follow Students Not
Scores on Twitter or use the hashtag #studentsnotscores.
We received word late this afternoon that NYSUT President Dick Ianuzzi will attend and speak at Saturday’s “Students, not Scores!” rally at Comsewogue High School. Ianuzzi will be joined by Comsewogue School District Superintendent Joe Rella, New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright, and a host of others.
“This is about raising our collective voice for all policymakers to put kids first and to get testing right.” Ianuzzi said.
The Official Website of the PJSTA 