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.”
Tag: RTTT
Barack Obama and the Destruction of American Public Education
You may remember Bill Ayers for the whole “Barack Obama pals around with terrorists” bit that the McCain/Palin ticket played during the 2008 election. Bill Ayers is actually a Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Last week he eloquently penned a letter to President Obama, calling out the president and many others for their destructive education policies. Every teacher should read the letter, given that it states much of what we would love to scream from the top of our lungs.
Keep in mind that Obama, endorsed twice by the AFT and NEA, has looked into a camera on multiple occasions and claimed that teachers need to stop teaching to the test. All of this as he hypocritically has pushed Race to the Top onto us, forcing public schools to become only about testing.
A National Campaign to Stop Race to the Top
Education/Labor blogger Fred Klonsky is imploring teachers across the country to contact the White House weekly to urge the president to abandon Race to the Bottom Top and stop privatizing public schools.
Here is what he has to say…
Contact the White House weekly at 202-456-1111 on your state’s designated day.
Message: Give all students the same education your girls are getting! Abandon Race to the Top and stop privatizing public schools.
MONDAY
1. Alabama2. Alaska3. Arizona4. Arkansas5. California6. Colorado7. Connecticut8. Delaware9. Florida10. Georgia
TUESDAY
1. Hawaii
2. Idaho
3. Illinois
4. Indiana
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Kentucky
8. Louisiana
9. Maine
10. MarylandWEDNESDAY
1. Massachusetts
2. Michigan
3. Minnesota
4. Mississippi
5. Missouri
6. Montana
7. Nebraska
8. Nevada
9. New Hampshire
10. New JerseyTHURSDAY
1. New Mexico
2. New York
3. North Carolina
4. North Dakota
5. Ohio
6. Oklahoma
7. Oregon
8. Pennsylvania
9. Rhode Island
10. South CarolinaFRIDAY
1. South Dakota
2. Tennessee
3. Texas
4. Utah
5. Vermont
6. Virginia
7. Washington
8. West Virginia
9. Wisconsin
10. Wyoming
More Opposition to RTTT
Recently we shared with you the story of the UTLA, who would not sign their district’s application for Race to the Bottom Top (RTTT). We recently received the message of gratitude posted below from the UTLA:
Dear President Beth Dimino,
UTLA President Fletcher asked that I write to on his behalf. Thank you so much for your post: http://thepjsta.org/2012/11/02/bravo-utla/
UTLA and Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association stand in solidarity!
In Los Angeles, as you know, signing a RTTT grant application commiting more than $43.3 million to bring in $40 million, with undetermined on-going costs, at the same time we’re seeing higher class sizes due to the number of layoffs we’ve endured for five years in a row now — that would have been irresponsible. $4.3 million equals roughly 39 teachers and health and human services educators. Our classrooms and communities need smaller class sizes, not more beauracracy, which is what the RTTT grant would have created.
From our hearts to yours, thank you again for your post. It really means alot to us to see other locals recognizing that Race to the Top does not equate to reform and/or progress.
In Unity,
David
David Lyell
UTLA Secretary (elected)
213.368.6244UTLA.net<http://UTLA.net>
Twitter.com/UTLANow<http://Twitter.com/UTLANow>
Facebook.com/UTLANow<http://Facebook.com/UTLANow>
Youtube.com/UTLAnow<http://Youtube.com/UTLAnow>
Utlanet.tumblr.com<http://Utlanet.tumblr.com>
Now another teachers union is emerging heroically in the fight for the soul of public education. Ronnie Greco, President of the Jersey City Education Association, has refused to sign his district’s application for RTTT as well.
Jersey Jazzman (a blog all of us should be reading) has a great summary of the situation. Diane Ravitch has added Greco to her “honor roll of heroes of public education.”
Jersey Jazzman says:
This is very, very important for any teacher who cares about the future of his or her career to understand: this grant would have enshrined a series of practices that would have destroyed teacher protections, compensation, and work conditions – and have never been proven to increase student achievement.
and goes on to say…
It seems that the issues here are largely the same as the ones that came up during theChicago strike: teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. If you can’t show that any of these practices are going to help students learn – and, let’s be clear, as Greco outlines them, you can’t – then no teachers union should agree to them.
Bravo Ronnie Greco JCEA! Your fight is our fight!
Bravo UTLA!
Kudos to the United Teachers of Los Angeles who refused to give in to pressure from LA’s public schools. The district attempted to use the the Race to the Top application to strong arm the UTLA into accepting a new teacher evaluation system based on high stakes standardized testing scores.
As a result the Los Angeles Unified School District lost out on $40 million in federal funding. Of course we know from experience that RTTT money actually isn’t used for anything useful in school districts. It seems the UTLA’s president Warren Fletcher knows that too. “Race to the Top costs more than it brings in,” Fletcher said. “You’re essentially setting up a system with a lot of bureaucracy, and those pieces have to stay in place after the grant period.”
The Official Website of the PJSTA 