ONE VOICE UNITED

Fighting for the Future of Public Education

June 8th • noon • Empire State Plaza • Albany

The time is NOW.  Please join us on June 8th to send a message to our politicians in Albany that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  All interested parents, teachers, community members should contact Andrew Gibson at agibson@ramapocentral.org to reserve your seat on the bus.

Be There June 8 - Flyer 1

Why are We Going? - Flyer 2

For additional information on the rally 6.8.13, please visit NYSUT’s website at

http://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/one-voice-united

NYSUT: Text the word voice to 5186313202

to receive updates from NYSUT including 6.8.13 rally info.

Click for Rally details

Look around your building and notice all the good work being done. Every day, RTA members make a difference in the world. We teach and mentor. We listen and help. And the benefits are felt by all, not just the kids. So celebrate us. Nominate someone in your building to receive the Unsung Hero Award. One winner from each school will be honored at the RTA Retirement Dinner being held on June 19th.

To nominate an RTA member, click here.

Christine Van Dyke

To ALL RTA MEMBERS:

I want to thank all of you, personally, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. For those of you who were doing what we do, (working with kids) I know you were there in spirit. Patty Marina represented us with dignity and honor, as usual. A special thanks to the retirees who attended, especially former art teacher Harry Lee. Give ‘em hell Harry!

Over 250 members and retirees showed up to Save Our Schools. I’m always proud to be RTA, but Tuesday I was especially proud to be standing beside you. I’m privileged to work with so many amazing people.

We will discuss things in more detail at our May General Membership meeting on May 6. Remember this is only the beginning of the fight!

SOS and Solidarity,

John
RTA

Shown below is an excerpt from an article posted on SloatsburgVillage.com on the April 23rd Board of Education meeting. Click here to read the entire text.

The Ramapo Central School Board of Education met Tuesday evening to a standing room only audience. With people once again lining the halls, walls and meeting room itself, the BOE was set to make its final proposed budget presentation to the public and then take a vote on the item…
…The Ramapo Teachers Association showed up at the meeting in mass and wore blue Save Our Schools t-shirts to show solidarity. The blue shirts were scattered everywhere in the meeting hall. When the floor was opened for public comments, John Canty, president of the Ramapo Teachers Association, took to the podium wearing an S.O.S blue shirt and went to bat to bust the cap.
“The elephant in the room is not the tax cap as suggested in the budget workshop last Thursday,” Canty said. “It is a question: will the teachers do something financially helpful during this time? And it’s crystal clear the teachers have helped the school district. No teachers in this county have done more during this financial crisis. I’ll go one step further,” he said.
“No group of public employees in Rockland have done as much to help their community financially as the teachers in this room,” Canty ended and the room broke out into applause. Canty referenced both a salary freeze and increased contribution to health care costs for Ramapo Teachers.
Canty called into question the board’s plan to keep to the state mandated tax cap in the face of losing important programs and people. He said that if the district tax levy was at the county district average of 3.2%, the budget could be balanced. He ended his appeal by quoting what another district that intends to break the state cap told him, “We based our tax levy on educational needs and fiscal prudence rather than arbitrary numbers sent down for us from Albany.”…

Click here for entire article.

“Taking action to support the issues that are important to you and to all NYSUT members has just gotten easier.”

With the launch of the NEW Member Action Center smartphone apps for iPhone/iPod Touch and Android phones, you can TAKE ACTION on the train, walking between appointments, or waiting to pick up your kids! It literally takes just a few seconds to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Plus, you’ll be able to receive push notifications from NYSUT whenever a pressing issue needs our collective voices to move the needle in our favor – to add YOUR voice with just a few swipes.

And if you use the app to take action consistently, you could end up on the MAC Leaderboard!

The app is FREE, so go download it to your iPhone/iPod Touch or Android phones today.

To get the NYSUT MAC app for your iPhone/iPod Touch:

Visit the App Store on your iPhone or iPod Touch and search for “NYSUT.”

- or -

Click here, use the link on the Web page to open iTunes, download the MAC app, then synch your iPhone or iPod Touch with iTunes to transfer the app.

To get the NYSUT MAC app for your Android phone (v 2.3.3+):

Visit Google Play on your Android Phone and search for “NYSUT.”

- or -

Click here and follow the onscreen directions.

NYSUT United – November 20, 2012 

NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi encourages teachers, including Ginny Seaman, a seventh-grade science teacher, left, and Tracey Jachnert, an eighth-grade math teacher, both Arlington TA members, to “Tell it like it is” in their classrooms. Seaman and Jachnert are using NYSUT’s online letter to State Education Commissioner John King and the Board of Regents to set them straight about the impact budget cuts and the testing obsession have on students and the learning environment. Add your voice! Go to www.nysut.org/tellit.

NYSUT Media Relations – April 13, 2013

 http://testing.nysut.org

 WASHINGTON, D.C. April 13, 2013 – Just days before New York state students sit for yet another round of standardized tests, delegates to New York State United Teachers annual policymaking convention unanimously passed a resolution criticizing SED’s rocky implementation of new Common Core standards and demanding that this year’s test results not be used for high-stakes decisions affecting students and teachers.

Close to 2,000 delegates to NYSUT’s 41st Representative Assembly unanimously passed Resolution No. 10 – Common Core Testing Unfair to Students – after roaring “Let us teach” in a chant directed at the State Education Department.

Delegates, who represent more than 600,000 members across New Yorkstate, made it clear during a question-and-answer session with State Education Commissioner John King that the state’s flawed implementation and obsession with commercial standardized tests is hurting students and narrowing curriculum. One teacher questioned why the rush to test, given that the state has produced only five of the promised 39 math modules for middle school. A teacher called it “heart-breaking” to see special education students and English Language Learners struggle through the grade-level tests “when the data does not support having them sit for those tests.” Another spoke of the devastating impact on student morale from test scores which SED has acknowledged will drop dramatically.

NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said that, while the Common Core holds the “potential” to enhance student learning, the State Education Department rushed the tests. “No experienced teacher would test what hasn’t been taught, but that is exactly what the state is doing,” Iannuzzi said.  “Delegates continue to send a loud and clear message to the State Education Department that our students are more than a test score.”

In an impassioned speech to delegates, NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira stressed: “Parents and community members want what educators want for our students – fairness, equity and the opportunity to learn. This year’s tests must not be used for high-stakes decisions involving students and teachers!”

The new standardized tests are being given next week based on Common Core guidance that SED is still rolling out to teachers. Parents and teachers have spoken out against the state’s rush to test, using NYSUT’s statewide media campaign and parent petition (http://testing.nysut.org/).  The union has been sending SED and the Regents 100 letters a day from educators detailing the harm caused to students by these high-stakes, one-size-fits all-tests and offering solutions. At the convention, NYSUT officially delivered to SED the aggregate 10,000 educator letters received to date.

“Teachers and parents are united, speaking in one voice against the state’s obsession with tests.  Parents and educators can’t be wrong, but the Education Department and Regents are not listening,” Neira said. “We need the SED and Regents to make the needed course correction now.”

NYSUT, the state’s largest union, represents more than 600,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.

On 6-8-13, NYSUT, in conjunction with parent organizations and other concerned groups throughout the state, will be holding a rally to support public education in Albany.  A rally like this can only be effective with a strong showing of NYSUT members from around the state.  Planning for this event is in the initial stages, but we wanted to get the date out so that you may put it on your calendars.  NYSUT is also looking to arrange buses for transportation from Rockland County.

 MORE INFO TO FOLLOW

Jason Kahn
Rockland BOCES Staff Association

RA 2013 – April 8, 2013

Jason Kahn is a 12-year veteran as a school social worker serving the mental health needs of a diverse population of students at Rockland County BOCES. He also has spent 12 years as a building rep and serves as a member of the negotiating team and the Local Action Project team for the Rockland BOCES Staff Association.

Kahn is a highly respected member of his local union noted for his active involvement in numerous union-related activities. He developed and organized the local staff association newsletter that unifies the membership. Kahn promotes and demonstrates excellence through his position as a union representative as well as a BOCES social worker.

Kahn participates and collaborates at various NYSUT sponsored programs, such as the NYSUT BOCES Leadership Conference. He continually advocates and promotes harmonious working environments by modeling positive work styles and image. His peers at the high school where he works relish the cooperative work environment he promotes and supports throughout the school day.

His unfailing support and endless commitment to union activism and the membership’s goals in education is exemplary.

 http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/honors_18868.htm

The RTA would like to congratulate Jason for being selected by NYSUT for this honor.