Dr. Joseph Rella, former PJSTA music teacher, principal and Superintendent passed away on Friday, February 21, 2020. All of the teachers and staff are mourning the loss of the man that gave his own heart to the students and community everyday over the past 25 years. Our hearts go out to the Rella family.
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In Solidarity,
Katie Kleinpeter
The PJSTA wants to make sure we do our part in being counted in the 2020 Census! Being counted can determines how many congressional seats New York Stat has and school funding from the federal government. Please make sure to fill out your census form.
Here are some links explaining the benefits of your participation in the 2020 Census and how to fill out a census form online.
Our own Mrs. Reduto of Terryville Elementary School was honored with the ASSET Bright Light Award at the BOE meeting Monday night for incorporating technology to strengthen the language skills of her ELL learners. This past year Mrs. Reduto utilized Spheros robots for block based programming and STEAM skills, Kahoot to provide quick and fun formative assessments and Epic e-books that are leveled for each students reading skills into her lessons that help create a meaningful connection for her students and the content they are learning in class. By incorporating these diverse technologies into her lesson Mrs. Reduto has created a dynamic and versatile learning experience for the students and continues to innovate her approach to learning with technology. Congratulations Mrs. Reduto!
Audrey Amrein Beardsley is one of the leading experts in the nation in the field of value-added assessment and also one of the nation’s leading skeptics of the claim that teacher “effectiveness” can be measured by the test scores of their students.
Recently, a study was published by economists that purported to measure the effect of teachers’ on their students’ height. The study was a blatant lampoon of VAM (value-added modeling or measurement).
It turns out that I was one of about 25 people who promptly forwarded it to Amrein-Beardsley.
Beardsley reminds us of a paper written by economist Jesse Rothstein nearly a decade ago in which he lacerated VAM by showing that it could be twisted to show the effect of teachers on students’ past achievement, a feat that is clearly absurd.
When a policy idea like VAM becomes the target of satire, you…
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Saturday we co-hosted the Public Education Forum 2020, and I want to know what you thought.
We had an incredible day, with seven of the major presidential candidates discussing public education and taking questions in front of an audience of nearly 1,500 people, including American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association members, parents, students and community allies. The candidates addressed how the narrative has changed regarding the promise and purpose of public education and what we need to ensure all children have opportunity regardless of their demography or geography.
I talked to many participants who felt that, while it was a marathon, the forum was riveting and historic. They felt heard.
If you had a chance to watch the forum, let me know what you thought.
One of the things that struck me during the forum is how far we’ve come. A decade ago, the popular trend was privatization, austerity and deprofessionalization. Even some Democrats loved the idea of competition and high-stakes tests and used them to measure everything for a variety of purposes, including to close struggling schools, leave kids back and fire teachers.
But Saturday, when the major Democratic candidates came to a forum dedicated to public education, they rejected that DeVos and Trump agenda. Even candidates we disagree with on some policies showed a true commitment to public education.
We got to hear about plans to substantially increase funding for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and community schools. The candidates talked about equity and justice. They talked about regulating for-profit charter schools and stopping voucher schemes that would drain money from public schools. They talked about fixing public service loan forgiveness and the need for affordable and debt-free college. They talked about the right to organize—for school staff, teachers, higher education professionals and even graduate workers. And they talked about school lunch and meal debt, helping students with self-confidence, and the need for wraparound services.
Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren took time from the campaign trail to specifically answer questions on topics we haven’t heard enough about during this campaign. In fact, the first question of the day came from a student, which reminded us that teachers really do want what students need.
All of our collective work lifting up public education and putting it at the center of our communities has gotten us this far. And I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished together.
There’s still a lot to do, but Saturday’s forum showed that these Democrats are ready to work with us to fund our future.
I’m so proud of our partnership with the NEA, the NAACP, the Schott Foundation’s Opportunity to Learn Action Fund, Journey for Justice, the Service Employees International Union, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, which made this forum happen.
I want to hear from you about what you learned from the forum. While this is the end of the first phase of our AFT Votes presidential endorsement process, member input is key to our endorsement. So tell us what you think.
In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
P.S.: If you missed the forum, you can watch it here.
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