Dimino Refuses to Administer State Tests

PJSTA President Beth Dimino has notified the Comsewogue School District that she is refusing to administer state tests this spring. Via the Long Island Press… “I find myself at a point in the progress of education reform in which clear acts of conscience will be necessary to preserve the integrity of public education,” she writes. …

Stronger Together Letter to NYSUT

The Stronger Together Caucus has authored a letter to the NYSUT officers, Board of Directors, and members.  The letter addresses NYSUT’s seeming reluctance to push back against Governor Cuomo and Merryl Tisch regarding their APPR agenda. Click here to view the letter.   Click here to contact the Stronger Together Caucus.

Let’s Try Something New

I’d like to take a bit of a break from our typical posts on here, consisting of news related to unions and public education in general to focus on something new.  Across the school district we are employed in, PJSTA members can be found doing extraordinary work of all different varieties.  Much of this work tends …

NYSUT, School Funding, and the Coming APPR Sellout

Yesterday NYSUT held a Moral Monday rally on the Million Dollar Staircase in the state Capitol.  Kudos to them for protesting funding inequities that rob our students of the education they deserve. One thing I noticed in the coverage of yesterday’s events was that, deservedly so, there was lots of tough talk aimed at Governor Cuomo. …

Resolution to Support the “I Refuse” Movement

New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE), NY BATs, Lace to the Top (LttT), STCaucus, Long Island Opt-Out (LIOO), and the Port Jefferson Station Teacher’s Association (PJSTA) have collaborated to write the following Test Refusal/APPR Resolution. The above organizations are in full support of this resolution and encourage its use as a working template …