Friday, October 23, 2015

Say NO to PARCC and YES to a moratorium on high-stakes tests!

Come to BESE's final public hearing on PARCC.  

Malden High School  

Less than one month before the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is scheduled to vote, the commissioner has come up with a new plan that he's calling MCAS 2.0. It's a new MCAS test infused with PARCC items. When the plan was unveiled on Monday, one BESE member said that she had "approximately a million questions" about it. So do we. Go here for more on PARCC and here for more on the moratorium.

Now is a great time to spread these messages: LESS TESTING, MORE LEARNING and NO TO PARCC. Member activism made a huge difference in the debate over tying licenses to test scores and mandating TS GOLD. Together, we have changed the public conversation about testing, charters and funding issues. Let's keep up the momentum. If 25 or more members from a local or region need transportation to the hearing, the MTA will pay for a bus. Talk to your local association president. Also stay tuned for an easy-to-send message to BESE members on this issue.

Update on the "Millionaires' Tax": Great work so far getting signatures for the Raise Up Massachusetts ballot question. MTA members have signed the petitions themselves and collected thousands of signatures from others. MTA staff members drove all around the state on Wednesday, delivering thousands of petitions to city and town clerks for certification. We have just over three weeks to collect the remaining signatures needed.

Senate focuses on charters: Testimony from MTA members and our allies against charter schools at the hearing on Oct. 13 is making a difference in the State House, as are your e-mail messages to legislators. An important meeting is scheduled for next week in the Senate. Please go here to send your e-mail if you haven't done so already. Together we can #KeeptheCap.

From local to statewide actions, there's a lot going on. Keep an eye on MTA's website, Facebook page and Twitter account for updates on all of our issues

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

NOt to worry. Celcia Dos Santos will get rid of testing. She said so. And Chris has been to the school committee meetings and is concerned that parents dont use public comment enough to publicly call out nurses and teachers.

Anonymous said...

I worry about having no teachers left to publicly call out.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone on the school co care about the fact that teachers at Keith are resigning or being put on administrative leave in record numbers? Perhaps something may be wrong with policies and leadership?

Anonymous said...

How many people are you talking about? You need to be more specific without names of course. Gives your statement credibility. Like a poster stated, the elementary experience is failing.

Anonymous said...

Article in the paper said that New Bedford was slightly better than Lawrence. So that is what happens when the state takes over a district. Please mayor stop using that idle threat of state takeover. Let DESE take us over. I disagree though. New Bedford performed the worst of not only the Gateway Cities but all cities. So lets now use the not enough time or it's not a quick fix excuse. So predictable.

Anonymous said...

Now you can understand why the old admin left.

Anonymous said...

Specific: 3 Keith teachers have resigned in the last 2 weeks. At least 2 gave notice due to new positions in other districts.

Since the start of this school year: At least 3 Keith teachers have been put on administrative leave pending investigations by HCR.

There seems to be a rash of lifelong educators abusing students.

What's the difference between a state takeover and a Pia takeover? NOTHING!

When did an Accelerated Improvement Plan mean "Hey, this might take at least 5 years to show any real improvement?"



Anonymous said...

If only we could go back to the glory years of Francis

Anonymous said...

Were there every glory years? Not in the 25 years I have worked in the district. However, these are the most distorted data years we have ever experienced. Please don't tell me how fantastic the road we are on is when you just ran me over and backed up again.

Anonymous said...

Remember the community piece of the superintendent's evaluation? The meetings around the city. How did that go last year? How about this year? Is the schedule out? More new teachers mean bigger crowds or at least a quorum in someone's eyes.

Anonymous said...

This district has gone down the toilet since old Pia flew in ! She has created an environment of bullying like I have never seen in my 20 years! She has hired people who don't know their ass from their elbow when it comes down to handling the behavioral problems that TEACHERS have to deal with day in and day out! I asked DeFalco to model correct procedures and he ran out of the room! She and her minions are Jokes! They have made incredible teachers not care anymore and many have gone to districts that value and appreciate their efforts. Listen to Giesta and Rogers, GET RID OF HER! She is Toxic!