CALL CONGRESS NOW TO SPEAK UP FOR EDUCATION & KIDS
1-866-608-6355
Take Action:
- Call 1-866-608-6355 to contact your representative in Congress.
- You will hear talking points and will be connected to the United States Capitol Switchboard – ask for your House Member. To find out who your House Member is, either ask the operator or click here.
- Tell your Representative to protect the future of our children by supporting funding to save education jobs in the emergency funding bill.
- With 300,000 education layoffs expected, our students are the ones who will suffer – in overcrowded classrooms, with less time in school, and without the teachers and school staff needed to give them individual attention and help.
- Share this call-in information with your friends, Ask them to call Congress and inform their friends about this crucial legislation
Other Actions You Can Take to Speak Up for Education & Kids:
- E-mail your Members of Congress to support funding to save education jobs in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
- Become a “fan” of Speak up for Education and Kids on Facebook – a community of educators and concerned citizens – now more than 34,000 strong – who believe our nation has a responsibility to invest in education and avoid the short-sighted cuts that could deprive our students of the bright futures they deserve.
- Print the poster for our event and post at your school or workplace.
Congress can’t ignore a strong message from all across the nation. Make your voice heard! Participate in the National Call-in and speak up for education and kids!
Resources, media and materials:
- “Speak Up for Education & Kids” event poster
- “If I were a Wall Street banker, would Congress listen to me?” poster/print ad
- Florida – Teacher of the Year audio news release
- National – “Speak Up” audio news release
- National – “Speak Up” radio ad
Children in need of clothing and school supplies. Single father just can’t provide enough money for these items. He is feeding them and putting a roof over there head. PLease can we get some help.
Today I found out from our school board president that our district received nearly half a million dollars from the Education Jobs Act, but they will not be bringing anybody back because this year’s budget is already settled. Instead, they are “sitting on it” until next year.
As a third year cut teacher with 16 years of experience and a master’s degree, I am happy for those that were called back and rehired but I know I will have difficult time ever teaching again in this state. School started Mon. The bill has passed but no one knows where the money is and it is too late for those of us in the district I was in. I am devestated and disappointed in how educators have been treated. I feel sorry for the children and really wonder how this bill will change anything in IL. The class size in my district is 37-1 for 3-5th grade and 35-1 for K-2. I find it hard to believe they will rehire teachers after school has been in session for weeks!
This year, Colorado cut retirement benefit increases from 3.5% per year to 2% or less less per year without any increase for 2010. Denver Public Schools has stated, “They are hiring because they cut costs earlier”. If this is true, they do not need the “windfall” money. Nationwide, other school districts are saying, “We included this money in our budget. We can’t hire new teachers.” Student education levels will not increase, and we keep throwing “good money after bad”. In the old days this money would be called “Pork”.
My district let go all the aides. They did rehire, but the part-timers got the short end of the stick. They weren’t given ANY seniority, and as far as cuts go, they weren’t receiving any benefits, so I don’t understand how my district really saved any money. I understand special ed & kids with IEPs come first, but some of those aides were there 7 years or longer. The sad part is, they were mostly aides for Kindergarten – where I feel the children should have extra hand, especially since it’s only a 2 1/2 hours class. It’s quite a challenge cramming everything the state/federal mandates require in that time frame, and still allow for art, music, gym, snack, holiday parties, assemblies, bake sales, plant sales, etc . . .
The real problem is that next year our state will face the lack of funds again. Then where do we get the money? To think that Iowa used to be 1st in the nation in education 30 years ago before the federal government got involved and in control. I am also disapointed that our dues go to pay union leaders who really do not see the bigger picture, that being that the country cannot sustain the deficite spending we are running up. We should have bitten the bullet this time, made decisions on a local level and worked to make ends meet.
To say we should not help students and teachers now because we won’t have the money next year is cold comfort to students facing ballooning class sizes, fewer school days and school program and curriculum cutbacks. Besides, the Education Jobs bill is paid for and will actually reduce the national deficit by more than $1 billion. Most people agree that it is better to keep teachers in the classroom, paying taxes and suporting local businesses than to have them in the unemployment line. The surest long-term way to grow our economy is to make sure our children have the resources they need to compete.
I am a laid off teacher in the Antioch Unified School District in California. Approximately 95 of us have been laid off. As of today, we have not been re-hired. We have heard nothing from the district or from our union. School starts on Monday and k-3 class size is supposedly set at 30-1 instead of the normal 20-1. The rumor is that nothing will be done until the state passes the budget, and even then that the district will try to use the funds elsewhere. Has anyone else actually been re-hired yet due to the Education Jobs Bill?
This is powerful. It is poignant and heart breaking, more so because it is true. I am a teacher, and also not sure how long I can survive being micro-managed, unfairly judged, bullied, isolated and disrespected. But I will forever be an educator in my heart.
With the destruction of teacher tenure and the layoff of so many educators, are we sure we want to view OBama as a “jobs President?” It seems ironic that at this time when jobs are hard to find that teacher tenure is being abandoned and teacher evaluations are at the mercy of politically motivated administrators. What next?
I just confused and would love some clarity on a few questions:
If this was really about the kids, then why wouldn’t teachers and education workers be willing to take a pay “freeze” like the parents of most of the children you are teaching?
If the Union can spend millions to lobby and advertise, why doesn’t it use those dollars to fund the pensions and other benefits promised?
Why are the rest of the tax payers of this nation on the hook for promises of pay and benefits that most of us do not get?
Will this comment actually make it to your board? Probably not…
dallenh:
Teachers and other educators across the country have taken pay cuts, benefit reductions or had their salaries frozen, some for years now. Thank God for unions like the NEA, that stand up for students and educators, fair salaries and retirement security. Want to know if teachers are overpaid? Compare other professionals with similar education, training and experience, and you’ll see that teachers don’t fare well. Some people call us a special interest group. If fighting for students, the professionals who teach and care for them everyday, and public education makes us a special interest, then sign me up. Unfortunately, it’s become popular to blame teachers and public schools for a laundry list of society’s problems. I would urge you to join us in making you local schools the best they can be. Our future as a nation depends on it.
I see that the article above mentions the legislation is “fully paid for” but fails to mention that a large chunk of that payment comes in a big cut in food stamp funding.
The “cuts” to the SNAPS (food stamps) program are actually a return to pre-stimulus funding levels. This change will not take effect until 2014 and NEA is dedicated to working with officials to address the issue before that time.
So in actuality it is very possible that the legislation isn’t really “paid for” because many of the legislators who voted for this legislation have alrady said they do not intend for the cuts to actually be made. I would say this is at the least disingenuous, if not outright dishonest. Please tell me (a dues paying member of NEA by the way) that our organization will not be participating in lobbying for the proposed bail-out of government pension plans. That would just be another example of Washington rewarding the irresponsible who spent what they did not have and punishing those who chose to live within their means.
May I have my job back?
Education needed a win.
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Wonderful news for our students, our teachers, our educators, our communities, indeed, for America. Goes to show that the good guys still can win ‘em. Thank you, NEA, for never giving up!
Yes, let the government print the money to bail out government employees and their parasitic unions on the back of all the productive members of society.
These teachers should have lost their jobs and looked for employment in the private sector, paid for by willing customers instead of by the point of a gun demanding tax dollars.
The biggest WINNERS in the education jobs bill signed into law by President Obama are STUDENTS, who are after all the reason teachers join the profession to begin with. Not only is the bill paid for, it will actually reduce the nation’s deficit by more than $1 billion. Thank you, NEA, for not giving in to the overheated political rhetoric of the moment. Thank you for defending the right of every worker to have the protections teachers enjoy. Reasonable wages with security, benefits, and a pension should be the norm, not the exception.
The best way to fix the problems with education is to eliminate the unions.
I am one of those ’senior’ teachers who has become too costly for my school district. After achieving a Master’s degree and 60 hours beyond my Master’s, I am now ineffective. Up until this last year, I had received wonderful appraisals. The economy takes a nose dive, the schools lose money and I am given the choice to retire or be placed on special evaluation. Now that my state has abandoned Teacher Tenure a greater number of teachers’ jobs are being threatened. I always thought that tenure was a property right that could not be threatened on a whim by administrators practicing nepotism, favoritism and politicism. When all our schools are filled with inexperienced newbie teachers fresh out of college or “Teach for America” teachers, then, at some point, maybe some district leaders will wake up to the fact that they have done a true disservice to the young people they are paid to care for in terms of education.
Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) is against American kids from obtaining a a quality education. Why would the citizens of Ohio allow him to continue the serve as the representative for the wonderful state of Ohio? He should be impeached.
I agree. It wont help CA. In my (old) district (laid off now) we needed to cut 28 million in teachers alone, in ONE district! I doubt we will see any of the jobs come back.
How much does each state get? Will it be enough? My district needed to cut 28 million just in teachers alone, in just ONE district! CA needs 10 billion just in education. I dont think this will help. Maybe in some states. But there are over 300,000 teachers nation wide who are unemployed at this moment. Its a start, but not the call we need.
Thanks for the comment Michele! Based on US Department of Education estimates, it looks like CA will be receiving $1.2 billion, which will save an estimated 13,515 jobs. You can see a chart of all the state estimates here.
What is there about reducing the deficit that the rank and file Republicans don’t understand? It is embarassing to have only two intelligent Republican votes on such an issue. I don’t want to believe that a part of their platform requires that access to a high quality education should be limited to the few, the rich, the priveleged.
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A bad idea, what then another 10 billion next year? States and local school boards need to get there fiscal house in order, and not be dependent on a handout. Local and state control of education goes hand in hand with the fiscal responsibility to pay for what you want to do?
And for the record, I am a teacher.
As a teacher myself, I’ve always thought — “Would it be interesting if parents were held as accountable as teachers?”
I’m a teacher with 15 years experience and your article reassured me because we must teach to love to learn so our children have an innate desire for holistic knowledge. Thank you
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I hope this activity will help in the efforts of getting this bill passed. If not all state presidents, which ones were there? Thanks to all of them.
It’s about time someone stood up to the greedy, immoral business/government environment we find ourselves today. It’s just further proof that you can only expect sensationalistic news reporting from FAUX NEWS. Rather than being true patriots and standing together to build our country, media fools like FAUX NEWS [and others who do not give the education issue time] are TRAITORS to the ideals of the Bill of Rights. We know for a fact that education is the #1 institution that can transform a nation for better or worse. I am embarrassed at what the Republican Party has become. Moreover, I am embarrassed for the Democrats who haven’t stood up to the insanity. Perhaps, the two party system is really an illusion.
Speak Up For Education and Kids Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid will be at Netroots Nation at 3pm Pacific today. He needs to address educator job losses! Please watch live and ask him the following question at link below: What’s your plan to get the education jobs bill passed before students go back to school? How will senators explain to constituent…s why kids are in classrooms of 40 students or more?
Everybody should read about DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM. That group has been recruiting, financing and bribing politicians, mayors, governors secretary of education and president. They have been working for several years and what we are experiencing today is just a nation wide effect of their work. We should not vote for any of the politicians who have received funds or openly endorse this organization. It is hard to believe that people who were educated mostly in public schools can sell themselves to the power of companies, hedge funds, who want to profit from public funds. The creation of charter schools is nothing else that becoming the middle man to pay teachers and be able to receive loans and funding from private organizations who will make money out of tax breaks of up to 35% designed for this purpose.
http://www.dfer.org/
http://www.actblue.com/partner/dfer
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00417733
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/committees/democrats-for-education-reform.asp?cycle=10
State employees across the nation need to get together. Not only teachers. Same day, Nationwide actions are the only way to stop all this nonsense going on against state employees.
No Child Left behind helped companies to make money for 8 years but they never attempted to leave teachers without jobs nor benefits. Today is different, most of the teachers are accomplices because they are not involved, many states have more than 100,000 full time teachers that do not get together because they are separated by school districts, what a mistake; get united and march together, only way to bring back sanity to education. Lets elect teachers to the senate and governors.
Oh, please, please, please. Why do we have to fight and beg to keep our jobs? We have a Secretary of Education who could care less. How did he get this job? We now have a person who is running for governor in Florida who wants to make it easier for principals to fire teachers. What is going on? Is the whole world going crazy? It is frighting what is happening. I personally know teachers who have been bounced around year and year and then let go because they have changed schools too many times. What is going on? I am close to retirement and hope that I can hold on to my job till I can retire. It would also be very supportive if the Secretary of Education and the President of the United States step up and make sure the “human” thing is accomplished. These are our jobs and our passion.
Teachers win awards for being motivators, not for understanding economics. There is NO MONEY people. What is so hard to understand about that? our president has put us 1 Trillion in the hole so the pity spending MUST STOP. I am sorry you lost your job and even sorrier for the students of these great teachers, but to give them work simply because its their passion of life is just as bad as putting someone to work because of the color of their skin, or building a road to nowhere so that people can get a paycheck. Let’s get some sense into this country, into this congress and into this presidency!! We are headed to the next Great Depression if the spending does not stop. Did we not learn from FDR? He spent and spent trying to fix the Depression and did NOT fix the high unemployment rate but DID create a higher national debt. Sound Familiar??????
Welcome to the new Third World.How do you get there. You start with education. Cut it and strip it down. Make it only accessible to those who can pay. Close libraries. Strip funding down to nothing. Then penalize schools and teachers, because they failed, so you can even fund them less. The super-rich don’t live here full time. The U.S. is old news. It was a great exploit, but it’s time to move on to China, India, and other emerging economies. We’re going down the tubes folks. Time to have a fire sale.
Ms. McCabe, I really appreciate this article. I had not seen this essay until now, but I cried as I read through it. This is my professional life to the letter, and I just can’t take it anymore. I went to the best school in Texas for teacher education, and yet I’m treated like a peon. Personally, my students do very well on the state test, but fail to meet expectations and requirements in every other aspect, and I’m being treated unfairly for grading them truthfully. It’s not exactly what Mrs. Miller is saying, but it’s similar in the reverse, I suppose. We are gearing up to return to our classrooms and all I can think about is how I would rather do ANYTHING other than this. I’ve even considered selling my house and moving into an apartment just so I wouldn’t have to worry about making a mortgage payment and I could quit the job I spent years training and learning to do effectively. All of the problems Mrs. Miller outlined are problems in our district as well and it’s frustrating. Holding a teacher accountable for student achievement – when we’re faced with so many roadblocks – is like blaming the salesmen for General Motors’ failure. If my evaluations show I’m a competent teacher, then why should I suffer just because my students genuinely see no point in doing well on a test when only certain grade levels require passing for grade promotion? Make the test relevant to what they really need to know, and leave it up to me to show them the relevance. Only then you can pay me accordingly.