​Dear Public Education Allies,
As an alternative to NYSED and NYS Education Commissioner Elia's controversial Common Core 'AimHighNY' survey, please complete NYSAPE's user-friendly Common Core Surveyon the Common Core standards, curriculum, and testing. 
The NYSAPE survey results will be made public and presented to the Board of Regents, Commissioner Elia,  the Governor's Common Core Task Force, and the NYS Legislature.
Please read NYS Allies for Public Education's newly released press release regarding NYSED and Commissioner Elia's misleading and controversial Common Core 'AimHighNY' Survey.
Thank you for your tremendous advocacy. Together, the people of New York will continue to fight for the education all children deserve!
If you have any questions, please email us at nys.allies@gmail.com.
Thank you,
NYS Allies for Public Education

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There is an upcoming election to determine the Delegates to the NYSUT Representative Assembly. 
The candidates are:
   Neal Madnick (Calhoun)
   Brian Moeller (Calhoun)
   Bill Morris (Mepham)
   Mark Steinberg (Grand)
   Rob Walsh (Mepham)
 
The election will take place on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.
If there are any questions please feel free to ask. Attached please find the biographies for the above candidates.

Dan Vessely/JFK
Election Chair

As we are sure you are well aware, our current contract expires at the end of this school year.  The negotiations team has held its first meeting and has visited Merrick Avenue Middle School.  As we continue the process of developing our package we would like, in fact we need, your input to help us develop our proposals.  Please take some time to consider your responses and fill out the survey by Friday, December 11.   We welcome your ideas and creativity as well as your attendance at our building meetings.

Thank you in advance for your time and your thoughtful responses.
 
The survey can be found here.
 
Remaining Building Meeting Dates with Negotiations Team:
Kennedy High School -  Tuesday, November 17 @ 3:15 PM
​Meadowbrook Alternative Program, Monday, November 23 @12:30 PM
Mepham High School - Tuesday, December 1 @ 3:15 PMGrand Avenue Middle School - Wednesday, December 2 @ 3:15 PM
Calhoun High School - Tuesday, December 8 @ 3:15 PM
​
Mark Steinberg/Grand Avenue
BMUST President

Rob Walsh/Mepham HS
Peter Brideson/Grand Avenue
Jason Elias/Calhoun

A Memorial Service for Doug Smestad (A Celebration of Life) will be held at Calhoun High School on December 22. Doug was a beloved friend, co-worker, Social Studies Teacher, and active BMUST member. Please share the information attached with your staff members and encourage their participation.
​
Thank you!

​As you may be aware, Commissioner Elia is providing all superintendents with a toolkit to reduce the number of opt outs in their districts. This is a very high priority for Elia and she will undoubtedly exert great pressure on superintendents to comply. The toolkit includes same letters and other materials to persuade (intimidate?) educators and parents not to support opting out. Needless to say, all of these materials of riddled with misconceptions, deceptions and outright falsehoods.
 
The full toolkit may be viewed at http://www.nysed.gov/assessments-toolkit.
 
Attached to this email are two of the items from the toolkit – a sample superintendent letter to teachers and a discussion guide for educators to use in talking to parents about the assessments – with rebuttal points added to highlight some of the misinformation being promulgated.
 
Please let your members know that the commissioner is promoting this anti-opt out effort with superintendents and inoculate them against the deceptive claims contained in the toolkit materials.
 

​Please share and consider attending the community forum - A Conversation about Public Education. 
Wednesday, November 18, 7:00 American Legion, Valley Stream - 51 Roosevelt Avenue, VS.
Please see the attached. Hempstead TA association member and parent, Elias Mestizo will be one of the presenters, along with Dr. Joseph Rella, Superintendent, Comsewogue UFSD; Jeanette Duettermann, founder and administrator of Long Island Opt Out; Jamaal Bowman, Principal, Cornerstone Academy for Social Justice; and Maribel Padin-Canestro, Parent and founder of Opt Out En Espanol National.
 I hope to see you there.

In Unity,
Barbara Hafner