Home
|
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 vote “YES” on the budget and the bus proposition.
May 11, 2012
|
|
The AFL-CIO has launched its 2012 AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch site—now called CEO Pay and the 99%—which includes the most comprehensive data available on 2011 executive pay. All the data available is searchable by industry, by state and by the top 100 highest-paid CEOs.
|
|
Get together with fellow teachers outdoors!
WTA Outdoors: The hike / bike schedule is as follows |
|
To Innovate, Look to Those Who Educate
 In her latest column appearing in the New York Times, AFT president Randi Weingarten describes how the AFT Innovation Fund is providing an alternative to school reform efforts that ignore the expertise of educators and their unions. The fund supports AFT affiliates that engaged in collaborative efforts that focus on promising ideas and proven programs that can be scaled up. Read the full column. |
|
BOE MEETING FEBRUARY 21, 2012 WHS
"Pat Ryan – President of the Washingtonville Teachers Association. I stand before you representing 400 dedicated professionals doing their best to meet all the challenges the state has bestowed upon us. We all realize we are in uncharted waters, we all realize this the toughest time to be an educator, and we all realize the financial strain our district is facing. I am proud of our Teachers, TA’s and Nurses. We will not fail the tasks thrown at us; we will get through this tough time. Standing with me are the dedicated members of the WTA asking you to settle a fair and reasonable contract for the Teachers, Nurses, and Teaching Assistants, so we can move forward with other pressing issues like APPR,SLO's, For us to move forward we need to work together to settle the contracts." |
|
Member Action Center - MAC
I'd like you to meet MAC.Now is our time. The movement that inspired the world was born right here in New York. People standing up, standing together, and making their voices heard. And every voice that joins that call for change makes the movement louder, stronger, and ever more inevitable. You can make a difference! Become an e-Activist through the NYSUT Member Action Center (the MAC)! The Member Action Center NYSUT's new, improved online action tool. It's here to help you make your voice heard and to build the movement around the priorities that matter most to all of us: education, healthcare, and issues that affect us all as working people. It is quick. It is easy. And it can be the difference between victory and defeat on the issues you care about. Click now to check out the MAC and become an e-Activist! |
|
Washingtonville Teachers’ Association
A to Z… It’s What We Do Advocating for our children Building learner confidence Collaborating in order to excel Dedicated to excellence Enriching the lives of the community Fostering creativity and problem solving Grounded in consistency Honoring the gift of knowledge Implementing new standards Joining art and science Keeping respect at the forefront of our classrooms Learning is our core value Moving forward in unity Nurturing identities and roles Orchestrating cooperation and success Proactive & professional Quietly reflecting on accomplishments Reaching out to families Supporting diversity Teaching to be the best Utilizing our resources within Visionary Washingtonville based, worldly ambitions Xperience and expertise Youth centered Zone of acceptance |
|
Many studies over the years have documented the need for smoother transitions from prekindergarten to the elementary level. A new AFT report reinforces that conclusion—and does it in a manner that puts frontline voices at the heart of the dialogue.
|
|
The citizens of Ohio took back their state with a historic vote on Nov. 8 to repeal Senate Bill 5. The vote, which marks the first time that the collective bargaining rights of public employees have been upheld on a statewide ballot, sends a clear signal that Ohioans will not sit idly by while politicians scapegoat hard-working public employees for an economic crisis they did not create.
|
|
President Obama's bold plan—the American Jobs Act—is the right antidote to help solve our persistent economic problems, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.
|
|
Two longtime union activists and education reformers are assuming new roles in AFT's leadership, AFT president Randi Weingarten announced on Sept. 9.
|
Every day, educators and other public employees, and the services they provide our communities, are being attacked. From challenging collective bargaining rights, to undermining the quality of public education and higher education, to decimating pensions and trying to put healthcare coverage further out of reach, working men and women across the country are under assault. And if this has taught us one thing, it's that Elections Matter.
|
Calling Young Teachers
The AFT is looking for young teachers to join our Generation Y online community. This supportive network of young professionals is a place to discuss issues that affect you and your work. You can interact with other members through the forums and member pages, learn more about what is going on in schools across the nation, and find out about upcoming events and activities you can attend.
|
|
Generation Y teachers—those in their mid-30s or younger—say that to keep them in teaching, schools should be transformed into workplaces that support high-quality teaching and learning, so eager but nearly overwhelmed novices will stay in the profession and can become highly effective, according to a new report by the AFT and the American Institutes for Research.
|
|
In a March 28 speech sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, AFT president Randi Weingarten challenged those who have blamed public employees and their right to collectively bargain as a cause of their states' fiscal problems.
|
AFT Members Will Stand Together for 'We Are One' Week of Action
Workers' fundamental rights are under attack in a growing number of states. But as we have seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere, those attacks have inspired and motivated tens of thousands of union members to stand together for their rights. The challenge now, as AFT president Randi Weingarten put it in a recent e-mail to more than 1.5 million AFT members and allies, is to take this moment and turn it into a movement. One step in that direction is a "We Are One" Week of Action, starting April 4, that will bring together members from the AFT and other unions, along with our allies, to participate in events around the country. First, take the pledge to help make a difference. Once you take the pledge, you'll see lots of ideas for how to join in the week of action.
|
|
AFT president Randi Weingarten on Feb. 24 proposed a new way to align teacher development and evaluation to due process for tenured teachers. Weingarten laid out a three-step process consisting of clear standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, a time-limited improvement and support plan for teachers deemed to be unsatisfactory according to the evaluation standards, and a hearing process that can take no longer than 100 days, which in many cases would be even more expedient.
|
|
On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy captured and crystallized a moment in history when he told America, "the torch has been passed to a new generation." To mark the 50th anniversary of this landmark inaugural address, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has created a new website filled with groundbreaking multimedia that invites young visitors to explore the JFK legacy through such core themes as public service, civil rights and innovation.
|
|
Board of Education Meetings
Signups Begin Today: |
|
Dear WTA Members, Below you will find a message from President Iannuzzi regarding the October 2nd rally. This is a one day event and bus transportation will be provided. If you are interested in going to DC please send me an email. Pat One Nation March on Washington, D.C.-Why I’ll be there! |
|
Some members in my building have asked about the payday schedule for this year. I have attached the paydays for the 2010-2011 in case anyone needs more info. |
|
Regents Approve Scoring Changes to Grade 3-8 Math and English Tests
Under current regulations, schools must provide Academic Intervention Services (AIS) to students scoring at Level 1 or 2 on the state exams. Because the new cut scores will result in fewer students scoring at Levels 3 and 4 and more at Levels 1 and 2 – and the financial impact that such an increase in the number of students required to receive AIS services would have on schools – the Regents today approved amendments that will provide greater flexibility to districts in meeting their AIS requirements, essentially holding districts harmless financially in 2010-11. Specifically, for the 2010-2011 school year only, AIS regulations will be adjusted so that cut scores by which students are mandated to receive AIS – based on 2010 assessments – will be identical to the 2009 cut scores that required students to receive AIS. Read more... |
|
The Answer Sheet: A letter to Secretary Arne Duncan
voices.washingtonpost.com Rita Solnet, a Florida businesswoman and education activist, sent me the following letter, which she wrote and sent to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. It raises some important issues, including what some people see as differences between Duncan's rhetoric and his policies. Solnet refers to an article in the Kansas City Star on July 14, which reported on a speech Duncan made to the NAACP during its annual convention in Kansas City. “The only way to achieve equality in society is to achieve it in the classroom," Duncan told the delegates in a speech that you can read in its entirety at the Department of Education website here. July 16, 2010 I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. However, the DOE’s Blueprint for Reform and Race to the Top competitive grants abandon the very children who desperately need to be educated--those who are English language learners, the poverty stricken, homeless, autistic, disabled, etc. Read More... |
|
Take action: Send a free fax to your elected officials!
The Contact Your Elected Officials page at NYSUT.org is your opportunity join thousands of grassroots activists who are using the Web to contact their elected officials at the state and federal levels on the important legislative issues of the day.
|
|
'First, Let's Fire All the Teachers'
She says that while the "mean and punitive" strategy of firing the teachers may satisfy the "urge to purge," it opens up a host of new problems and does nothing at all for the students. Click here for the Huffington Post column - and add your voice to the conversation in the comments section. Visit www.centralfallskidsdeservebetter.com for more information on the struggle in Central Falls and take action - and follow their tweets at www.twitter.com/SaveCFHigh. |
|
In the current issue of the American Educator, Arne Duncan discusses the problems and challenges facing teachers in America today. The article is filled with tremendous amounts of praise for classroom teachers as the article’s title implies, “Elevating the Teaching Profession”, but in the article he also makes arguments against teacher pay schedules, seniority, and tenure. Are these the "reforms” that the education system needs? Are benefits like job security, seniority, due process rights, and salary schedules the real culprits? Is this what is holding American kids back? Click the link above to read more. |
|
What is a Flex Plan?
Are you interested in opening up a Flex Plan account? Watch this video from the Preferred Group to find out more. Warning it is a sales / information video. |
