GNTA News Blog

75 Years Strong

5/24/2013

Jennifer Snyder & retiree Esther Weiner

On May 22, GNTA and friends gathered at the Westbury Manor to salute our retirees and celebrate GNTA's 75th anniversary. Congratulations to John Liotta (SMS), Diana Murad (SMS) and Esther Weiner (EMB) on their retirement, and we thank them for their years of professionalism and dedication to the children of Great Neck.

GNTA was founded in 1938, coinciding with the implementation of the New York State tenure laws. For 75 years, GNTA has fought to protect teachers, improve working conditions, and obtain a fair contract--all conditions necessary to maintain the best educational environment for all.

Bill Toto, Retired Educators Chapter President, toasts GNTA

Frank Bua speaks on behalf of retiree Diana Murad

Click on the slideshow below for many more pictures from our gala!

Rally in Albany: 6.8.13

5/7/2013

Sheila Scimone

Recently many of us attended the NYSUT convention and came home feeling slightly more heartened than we have in the last few years. More and more parents are seeing the negative effects of high stakes testing on their children. More and more respected journalists and social critics are writing about the flaws in current approaches to teacher evaluation and to public education in general that are either politically or commercially motivated-or both. We in the field of education, who have been ducking for cover for the past several years, are beginning to find more supporters in the world outside our schools.

As a result, NYSUT is sponsoring what we hope will be a massive rally in Albany on June 8 in support of public education. The logistics are as follows: The rally is planned for noon, ending at around 2 pm. GNTA, in cooperation with NYSUT, has chartered a coach bus for the day, which will leave at 7:30 am from the South High School parking lot, returning some time around 6 pm. Attendees should bring lunch, snacks, etc. All GNTA members who attend will receive our first-ever GNTA t-shirt! Spouses and children are welcome.

I've been in all of your buildings, and I've heard your concerns regarding budget cuts, APPR, and testing. It's not enough to tell me; you have to tell the governor...your legislators...the Regents. They're the ones who have control over these issues. While I'm not always a fan of rallies, in some cases the time is right for gathering to raise one united voice. Think March on Washington...Million Mom March...the recent gatherings in Hartford that helped push the Connecticut legislature into passing ground-breaking gun control measures. The time for this is RIGHT.

To reserve your seat on the bus, please call Rosemary Cook at the Cottage, 829-9070. I hope to see you there!

Great Neck Takes Action!

5/3/2013

Keynote speaker Diane Ravitch

On May 1st Take Action Long Island (TALI) hosted a forum, “Public Education at the Crossroads.” TALI is composed of a group of Nassau and Suffolk teacher union locals who want to address educational challenges facing educators on Long Island today. In attendance from our district were teachers, Board of Education members, administrators and parents. The event was both informative and empowering. The keynote speaker, Diane Ravitch, spoke in depth about the interconnectedness between politics, private corporations and charter schools. She highlighted the dangers of the privatization of public schools and how there has been a rampant increase in this practice across the United States. Ms. Ravitich also provided specific evidence citing the fallacies of a system like APPR that uses testing in a high stakes and non-diagnostic way. In her words, “Testing does not close achievement gaps, it measures them.” She was articulate and extensive in pointing out the many ways in which educational reforms are really “educational deforms.”

Following the keynote speaker was a panel of four individuals who play different roles in a variety of school districts from Long Island. Each panel member spoke about the economic dangers of the tax cap for Long Island public school districts. In fact, if the tax cap was put in place 10 years ago, Massapequa School District would have to be functioning with approximately one-third less of their budget this year. By the end of this forum it was clear that the current reform movement in education is fraught with problems and needs to be stopped. The most effective way we can do this is to unite together: teachers, parents, administrators, and community members. There is an upcoming Rally for Public Education in Albany on June 8th to use one voice to fight for the future of our public schools. - MICHELLE SORISE

Great Neck teachers, administrators, board of education members, and parents taking action!

75 Years Strong

Rally in Albany: 6.8.13

Great Neck Takes Action!

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