Grassroots Education Movement

Teacher Evaluation Nightmare! Forum – Tuesday, April 17 at 5:30 PM

Grassroots Education Movement — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:01:14 +0000

Teacher Evaluation Nightmare !
a forum on testing, teacher evaluations and our schools

Tuesday, April 17 at 5:30 PM
Murry Bergtraum High School Auditorium
411 Pearl Street, Manhattan
(Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Station 4,5,6 -Fulton Street Station 2,3 – Chambers Street Station J)

Come to a Meeting to Discuss:

Why are the new teacher evaluations bad for teachers, students, and families?

How can we organize to change them?

Speakers:

Carol Burris:
L.I. Principal, one of the co-authors of the principals’ letter against evaluating teachers by student test scores, which has been signed by nearly 1,400 New York principals.

Leonie Haimson:
parent activist and Exec. Director of Class Size Matters

Gary Rubinstein:
Math teacher at Stuyvesant High School and critical analyst of the Teacher Data Reports

Arthur Goldstein:
E.S.L. teacher and chapter leader at Francis Lewis High School in Queens

Come hear speakers explain how the new evaluations will work and the implications for students, teachers, families, and education. Join the discussion of how we can organize to change the final outcome.

On February 16^th an agreement was reached on a new teacher evaluation system.
A teacher’s rating with be based upon:

40% student learning (state and local test results)
60% teacher performance (administration evaluation)
The NYC DOE and UFT must still negotiate a local assessment piece (half of the “student learning” component) with the state education department giving final approval.

Read More:
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2012/02/testing-expert-points-out-severe-flaws.html (NYC Parent Blog) This article also contains links to many other articles detailing the problems with the new teacher evaluation system

Leo Casey “Sets the Record Straight” on the New Teacher Evaluations (Assailed Teacher blog)

Sponsored by: Grassroots Education Movement and The Change the Stakes Campaign, Class Size Matters, and Parents Across America

Blog : http://gemnyc.org/ or email: gemnyc@gmail.com

For more information about the negative effects of high stakes tests or opting your child out of high stakes testing, please visit: http://changethestakes.org

Filed under: Announcements, Events

Please share our OPT OUT OF HIGH STAKES TESTING Flyer

Grassroots Education Movement — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:19:14 +0000

Please share with your personal contacts, schools, CECs, community education groups, other coalition groups and elected officials.

Testing opt out flier 3-12

Filed under: Uncategorized

HIGH STAKES 101: What does high stakes testing mean – March 19, 6:30PM

Grassroots Education Movement — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:50:41 +0000

GEM’s Janine Sopp sent this along. She has been a major player with the GEM high stakes testing committee, which has involved with the opt-out movement in the Change the Stakes campaign.

Hello All!

I hope this finds you well. Together with many others, I have been busy putting together a panel* on high-stakes testing that will take place at BNS on Mon March 19. It’s being sponsored by the BNS/BCS (PS146) PAC and PS 29 and we are hoping for a full house of folks–from lots of schools and throughout the community.

I am sure you are learning about our event through the numerous listservs we are all connected to and have possibly been invited already. I’d love to invite you to help spread the word on your listservs and with our posters in advance and also invite you and your organizations to bring information about the great work you are doing around these issues. We will have 2 or more information tables for hand outs, books, petitions, dvds or any other literature you have to share, and if you would like to speak with visitors, this would be a great way to explain what you are doing.

Please let us know if you will attend or send someone, or can leave materials for us to display. Also, let us know if you have any special requests.

I am attaching a jpeg here that is good for sharing electronically (to listserv, FB page, etc.) as well as 2 color posters and on b + w.

Since we are providing childcare and pizza for the children, we hope this makes it even easier for families to attend what we expect to be a timely, lively and informative panel. (See details below)

All the best,

Janine Sopp

HIGH STAKES 101

What does high stakes testing mean

for our children?

our teachers?

our schools?

MONDAY, MARCH 19 at 6:30pm

*Education reporter Meredith Kolodner (Daily News, InsideSchools)

will moderate a panel discussion with distinguished guests:

Shael Polakow-Suransky
Chief Accountability Officer of the NYC Dept. of Education

Sean Feeney

Principal of the Wheatley School and Author of the New York Principals APPR Position Paper

Elijah Hawkes

Former Principal of The James Baldwin Expeditionary Learning School

Q&A TO FOLLOW

If interested in CHILDCARE and PIZZA (starting at 6 PM, $5 suggested donation), RSVP to rsvp@bns146.org

THE BROOKLYN NEW SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

610 HENRY STREET @3rd PLACE

F or G to Carroll St. station, exit 2nd Place

Filed under: Uncategorized

VIDEO: Los Sures fights against Success Academy Charter School!

Grassroots Education Movement — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:57:15 +0000

Watch the latest video from Real Reform Studios about Success Academy’s planned occupation of Middle School 50 in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Hear Williamsburg city council members, educators, parents and students voice their opposition to co-location.

Filed under: Video

REGISTER ONLINE for State of the Union – Part II: Next Steps – 3/10/12 – 10AM to 4PM

Grassroots Education Movement — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:30:23 +0000

*** Register online here ***

STATE OF THE UNION

Part 2: NEXT STEPS

MARCH 10: 10am-4pm
Graduate Center for Workers Education (25 Broadway)

On February 4, over 200 people attended State of the Union – Part 1, featuring 15 workshops focusing on issues facing the UFT in the age of ed deform.

That was only the beginning.

Join us on March 10 to help plan the next steps in moving our union forward, and unite those who came together on February 4th into a common organization.
As the UFT and NYSUT agree to an evaluation system that requires 40% of evaluations to be based on state or local high stakes tests, mandates unannounced observations, and allows for an independent appeal on only 13% of first time ineffective ratings, it becomes even more urgent to discuss how we can build a movement in our union to fight for an alternative to the concessionary approach.

We are asking for a $5-$10 contribution at the door to pay for expenses incurred for this event.
Childcare available upon email request before Thursday 3/8

For more info, find us on Facebook: State of the Union or email sotuuft@gmail.com

Filed under: Uncategorized

The Truth About High Stakes Testing

Grassroots Education Movement — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:12:25 +0000

Please download GEM NYC’s The Truth About High Stakes Testing in NYC pamphlet. Find out why high stakes testing is ultimately a destructive force for children and schools and what alternatives exist!

Click here to download a three fold legal sized pamphlet:
Truth About Testing legal size pdf

Filed under: Uncategorized

The Truth About Charter Schools

Grassroots Education Movement — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:51:41 +0000

What Is The Truth About Charters?

Find out by downloading our brochure here!

Filed under: Official Statements, Updates

Upcoming Event: National Day of Action to Defend Public Education

Grassroots Education Movement — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:28:55 +0000

COME OUT ON THURSDAY MARCH 1ST TO DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION. For more information please visit www.occupyed.org/nyc.

Filed under: Announcements, Community Actions, Events, Uncategorized

The State of the UNION Conference, Saturday, February 4, 2012

Grassroots Education Movement — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:37:38 +0000

The State of the UNION Conference

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

10:00 am – 4:00 pm

@ The Graduate Center for Worker Education

Public Education is under attack!

Stand Up, Fight back!

As educators we are strongest when our voices are united.

That is what a UNION is for.

The UNION makes us strong.

For far too long the leadership of our union, the United Federation of Teachers,

along with the national American Federation of Teachers, have been silent, thrown up minimal defenses too little too late, and have even collaborated in the assault on our profession, our students and their families.

Come meet other UFT members who want a new kind of union.

It’s time to re-image our teachers’ union.

Workshops include:

UFT 101: Introduction to the UFT

Organizing 101: parents and teachers working together–a vision for a community oriented teacher union with Leonie Haimson, Class size Matters

The UFT past and present

Social Movement Unionism? With Lois Weiner, Editor of The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers and their Unions

What happened to Brown vs. Board of Education:

re-segregation of our schools with Brian Jones and Sam Anderson

High stakes testing with activists from Grassroots Education Movement

Tenure – A Job for Life??

What’s the 1% want with our schools? (Privatization 101)

Mayoral Control vs. A People’s Board of Education with

Coalition for Public Education

Building your chapter: how do you organize at the school level? With long time UFT chapter leaders and activists.

Federal, State and local policy and our schools

What does democracy in our union look like?

Strategy and Tactics: Lessons fro Occupy Wall Street for our movement

With activist from Occupy the DOE

STATE OF THE UNION CONFERENCE

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

10:00 am – 4:00 pm

@ The Graduate Center for Worker Education

25 Broadway, 7th Floor, NYC

Directions: http://workereducation.org/contact-us

Please register online for the State of the Union Conference: http://stateoftheunionconference.eventbrite.com

Find us on Facebook: State of the Union

$10 pre-registration

$15 at the door. Registration Fees will be used to cover expenses

Scholarships available, please email stateoftheunionfeb4@gmail.com

For childcare services at the conference please email Peter Lamphere no later than Jan. 29th at peter.lamphere@gmail.com

STATE OF THE UNION CONFERENCE

The time is NOW

Filed under: Announcements, Events

Give New York State Parents the Right to Opt Their Children Out of High Stakes Testing

Grassroots Education Movement — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:24:44 +0000

In recent years, New York State has expanded the use of high stakes standardized testing. We are concerned about the ever-increasing over-reliance on results from standardized tests to measure student learning. We are calling on Governor Cuomo, the State Education Department, the New York State Board of Regents, and New York’s legislative leaders to develop and implement a process by which parents/guardians concerned about the impacts of testing on student learning can voluntarily opt their children out of standardized testing.

That’s why we created a petition to The New York State House, The New York State Senate, and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

http://signon.org/sign/give-new-york-state-parents?source=c.em.cp&r_by=1929140

Thanks!

Filed under: Announcements, Community Actions, Events