State of the Union - Weekly Update #3 – 04.15.12Greetings SOTU Activists,
We hope everyone had a relaxing spring break. However, there is a very exciting week coming up to prepare for, culminating in our membership meeting on Saturday April 21st at noon, where we will make important decisions about the Points of Unity and the upcoming UFT elections!
There will be an crucial demonstration for closing “turnaround” schools on Thursday, a forum on the new teacher evaluation system on Tuesday, and an important Delegate Assembly on Wednesday.
Also, coming up will be an big march on May Day with an educators’ contingent as well as major citywide forum against Mayoral Control on May 5th.
Please see below for details everything that is going on. To join the SOTU discussion group and receive additional emails, click here or reply to this email.
Our next planning committee is meeting tomorrow, Monday, April 16, via conference call at 8:30pm. The committee is open – click here to join.
1) Saturday, April 21, 12-3PM – Membership Meeting – at Graduate Center for Workers’ Education – 25 Broadway, 7th Floor (4/5 to Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry). Proposals and agenda were sent out over the break – reply if you would like another copy. Responses and additional proposals due by email to [email protected] by Tuesday 4/17, and a final version will be sent out on Wednesday.
2) Tuesday, April 17 at 5:30 PM – Grassroots Education Movement meeting: Teacher Evaluation Nightmare! a forum on testing, teacher evaluations and our schools at Murry Bergtaum High School Auditorium (411 Pearl Street, Manhattan – 4,5,6 to City Hall / 2,3 to Fulton / J to Chambers)
Speakers include
- Carol Burris: L.I. Principal, co-author of the letter signed by 1400 principals against test-based evaluations
- 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
3) Wednesday, April 18 – UFT Delegate Assembly – 4pm at UFT HQ (52 Broadway) – Help SOTU distribute flyers, raise resolutions and advertise the member meeting – reply to this email if you can help make copies or distribute before the meeting.
4) Thursday, April 19 – Rally against School Closings - 4pm at Tweed (52 Chambers) – Based in part on a growing sense that the UFT is not doing enough to fight school closings, chapter leaders, delegates and members from seven of the 33 (now 27) closing schools have called a rally to be held in front of Tweed, DOE headquarters, a week before the Public Education Panel will vote on closing their schools.
And be sure to mark your calendar for these upcoming events.
- Tuesday, May 1 – Join an Educators Contingent on May Day! Occupy the DOE will gather at 4pm in front of the main entrance to Washington Irving HS at 40 Irving Place between 16th and 17th Streets.
- Saturday, May 5 – Coalition for Public Education citywide people’s assembly on organizing against mayoral control and for a people’s board of education. Click here for flyer.
- Saturday, May 12 – Proposed date for our May membership meeting
- and don't forget the Labor Notes Conference in Chicago on the weekend of May 4-6.
