Are You Mad Enough to:
-Educate Yourself, family and friends
-Register and Vote
-Donate to Vote Cope
Take Action Now! : https://mac.nysut.org/

Don’t Be a Baby….Make a Call NOW!

Legislators Need Push From Public to Fund Schools:

As Legislative leaders met with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resolve the state budget, some legislators continue to make their fervent wishes known. Five Democrats have written to leadership and Gov. Cuomo urging them to include more funding for education in the final pact — especially for struggling upstate rural and small city school districts.

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/209149/stewart-cousins-breslin-and-tkaczyk-push-for-more-school-funding/

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Common Core Delay in Budget? Gov Needs a Shove:

A delay in the implementation of the Common Core standards is being discussed for the final budget agreement. Lawmakers said changes to the standards will be dealt with in the state budget, due Monday, in order to pre-empt the coming round of testing set for next month.

The Democratic-led Assembly previously approved a two-year delay in implementing aspects of Common Core when it comes to teacher evaluations and student assessment.
But Governor Cuomo insists that he does not want any changes to the Common Core standards to impact the teacher evaluation law approved last year.

http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/03/common-core-moratorium-on-tap-for-budget/

Fight The Governors Bad Budget with Your Phone:
Only 2 business days to demand action from Governor Cuomo on fair funding for public education.
Call the Governor’s office at 518-474-8390. You can leave a message 24/7.
Tell him to:
-End the GEA
-Restore Funding to Public Schools
-Stop funneling $ to Charter Schools
I called did you?

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Teachers Deserve Fair Evaluations:

According to NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi, teachers deserve much better than "gotcha" evaluations based on discredited and invalid measures of student performance. Until the Regents and state education department fully get it right and can ensure that student assessments and teacher evaluations are accurate and fair measures of what happens in the classroom, New York must honor the intent of the teacher evaluation law and delay high-stakes consequences. For students and teachers, New York must make it right before making it count.

http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Teachers-deserve-fair-evaluations-5351682.php

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Tell Lawmakers Their Bad Budget Leaves Kids in the Cold
http://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/freeze

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Coming Soon:
Free Showing of the movie “Inequality for All” May 1st at 7:00 pm, Palace Theater, Syracuse, NY
A documentary by Robert Reich on income inequality and our shrinking middle class and how this has affected America’s economy and democracy.

NEW ==> NYSUT Appreciation Night with the Syracuse Crunch

NEW ==> NYSUT Launches Ad Blitz on Governor's and Senate's Bad Budget
from NYSUT.com, March 21, 2014

ALBANY, N.Y. March 21, 2014 - New York State United Teachers today launched a $1.5 million ad blitz to oppose a tax freeze plan that would put added pressure on school districts to cut programs, and blasted the Senate for favoring wealthy benefactors of private, non-public and charter schools over public schoolchildren.

The statewide radio and television ad campaign is aimed at the Senate and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who are backing what NYSUT called a "devastating plan that squanders hundreds of millions of dollars for tax breaks for the wealthy while denying students the programs and services they need." The campaign calls for a greater investment in public education and hits the Senate for supporting new money for corporate charters and its Education Investment Tax Credit plan that gives away expensive new tax breaks to wealthy New Yorkers who donate to private, non-public and charter schools. NYSUT said tax credits would siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed revenue that should be used to help public schools, which serve the vast majority of the state's students and have been decimated by cuts.

To read the rest of the story please click here.