More on Next Weekend’s Rally

Want to get even angrier about the testing? Read today’s Newsday!

It’s very clear that the spin was in long before the test scores were released…. Newsday’s slant is that all Districts are thinking about now is how to improve the scores of all the students who failed… Channel 7, this morning had a report about how programs are being instituted in NYC to deal with failing test scores and there was a Pearson banner hanging in the background!!!

Dr. Joseph Rella, Superintendent Comsewogue School District responded this morning with, “We MUST find our voices again! We’ve lost our voice because we haven’t used it!!”

Make your voice heard and join with others who demand that public education continue to belong to the people not profit mongering corporations… Next Sat., Aug. 17, noon, Comsewogue High School, Rally for Students and Against Testing!!!!

Let’s Have a Rally!

The testing insanity has to STOP and every one of us needs to join together to make that happen….   Comsewogue Superintendent Joe Rella and the PJSTA invite you and everyone you know to a rally next Saturday to make our voices heard… Right now Engelbright will be there and we are working to get other State and Federal Representatives to the rally too…. Please post this on your facebook pages, distribute it to your members, Superintendents, school boards and every friend of public education you know… Click below to read the letter Dr. Rella wrote to our local leaders and community members…. . Ask your Superintendent to do the same….

Dr. Rella’s Letter to Ken LaValle

augustrally

Know Your Friends… and Your Enemies!

I hope that everybody is enjoying their summer so far.  Whether you have been traveling, laying on the beach, working at another job, or just enjoying some extra family time it can be nice to have a few weeks away from the stresses of your day job.  With that idea in mind, while we are away from school the powers that be continue to look for new ways to disrespect and destroy our profession.  At the same time we have a growing number of friends looking to fight back against those powers that be.  Naturally those allies of ours will need as much help as they can get and we should be willing to provide just that.  If you are new to following this fight… or if you are not new but find the sheer volume of it overwhelming, don’t worry, thepjsta.org is here to help!

Beginning this summer, as our blog celebrates it’s first anniversary and enters it’s second year of existence, we will be looking for ways to improve how this site can benefit our members.  One of those ways will be through two new special series that we will be writing.  The purpose of these series, which will pop up throughout the year, will be to educate you on who are your friends and who are your enemies.  By this we mean who are the forces fighting to protect public education and who are the forces attempting to destroy it.  These two series will be appropriately titled, “Know Your Friends” (KYF) and “Know Your Enemies” (KYE).  We will cover people and organizations such as Bill Gates, Diane Ravitch, Michelle Rhee, Barack Obama, Arnie Duncan, Karen Lewis, Corey Booker, Teach for America, Badass Teachers Association, and many, many more.

Some of you may be surprised at who is a friend of public ed and who is not.  Understand that the lines drawn over public ed do not correlate with political party lines.  They often make for strange bed fellows as well.  However, going forward, it is essential for us to educate ourselves, know the issues, stand up for ourselves, attend rallies, engage in civil disobedience when necessary, and make our voices heard at the polls.

Saturday’s Rally

7:15am – Meet at Suffolk Regional Office

7:15pm – expected time buses will return
The PJSTA has rain ponchos, drinks, snacks and lunch for 55!!
There are still a few seats available on the bus…
YOU CAN STILL BE THERE TO SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION!!!!

Vote YES Today!

I’m going to keep this very simple.

Vote “YES” on your school budget and visit the NYSUT Action Center on Facebook to help us spread the word and MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

Today, in districts all over the state, we have an opportunity to vote on our local school budgets. Your “yes” vote can make the difference between your local schools–and your local students–winning or losing.

Vote “YES” on your school budget and visit the NYSUT Action Center on Facebook to help us spread the word and MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

On Tuesday, May 21, please go to the polls and vote”YES!” Please make sure that your family, your friends and your co-workers go the polls and vote “YES!” And please post this message on your own Facebook wall to spread the word across your community and across the state