July 19th 2018
Puerto Rican Teachers on Strike
August 2018 NewsBlast
SOS NEWSBLAST
News From
Puerto Rico
and


 

California
New Mexico 
Illinios
Missouri
Maryland
   

Puerto Rico
San Juan 
The Puerto Rico Teachers Federation (FMPR by its Spanish initials) said a strike on
Aug. 15 will demonstrate its members' "indignation" and "outrage" with "the government and the
Department of Education."
 
The union, which has thousands of members, issued a release urging others to join its march from
Plaza Colón in San Juan to the governor's office, La Fortaleza, that morning.
"The public education system, together with its fundamental components, the students and their
teachers, have suffered the most brutal attack in history. Secretary of Education Julia Keleher has
decreed the closure of some 450 schools in two years and has reduced the number of educators
from 31,000 in 2016 to around 22,500 today.
 
"Despite saying the student population does not justify more schools, the government is poised to
push the creation of dozens of private charter schools, subsidized with public funds. Today, we are
witness to one of the most disorganized new school year beginnings in history," FMPR President
Mercedes Martínez Padilla said in the release, which lists the following issues:
 
1. A hurried process of appointing teachers, calling thousands of educators "available resources."
2. The forced transfer of children from schools to be closed even against the will of their guardians.
3. The violation of shifts and seniority in the appointment of transitory positions.
4. A humiliating drug testing process, making teachers wait long hours to be able to work.
5. Arbitrary imposition of work programs and school organizations without faculty participation.
6. Starting the semester with hundreds of teachers who still do not know where they will be assigned
 

THE WEST
California  
Using team-taught classes and an innovative curriculum, Seaside has also prepared a high rate of first-generation students of color for its multiple AP courses. The school seamlessly pairs career-pathway courses with rigorous college-preparation classes for every student.
 
 
THE SOUTHWEST
New Mexico 
 
Judge Rules  Funding for Public  Education is Unconstitutional  By Wendy Lecker

In a major victory for New Mexico public school children, the district court, in a July 20 ruling, found that inadequate school funding violates the education article of New Mexico's constitution, as well as violating the constitutional equal protection and due process rights of economically disadvantaged students, English Language Learners and Native American students.

THE MIDWEST
Illinois

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
Chicago, Illinois

Locate on the last working farm within Chicago's city limits, this magnet school has an interdisciplinary college-prep and agricultural curriculum with authentic assessments of student work and internships for all students. This diverse school supports all kinds of learners, notably its considerable autistic population, with full inclusion models in academic and agricultural courses with real work on the farm.

THE SOUTHEAST
Missouri

Missouri Voters Reject Right to Work (for less)Law Overwelmingly

There are very few unionized workers in Missouri, but nonetheless voters rejected a law passed by the Legislature to cripple labor unions. The legislature passed the law in 2017. The labor movement gathered enough signatures to force a referendum, which was decided yesterday. The vote was overwhelming - 63% opposing the law. In politics, 63% is a landslide.
The bill to make Missouri America's 28th state with a "right to work" law was passed by the legislature in 2017 and signed by then-Republican Governor Eric Greitens. But the labor movement qualified a ballot initiative overturning the measure, and it passed by a margin of 2 to 1, including in very conservative parts of a state carried overwhelmingly by Trump.

THE NORTHEAST
Maryland

  Hammond High Named National School Of Opportunity

Upon realizing that their own students had been following national trends of low enrollment in advanced classes by students of color and students living in poverty, Hammond's staff developed an initial strategy: Encourage students to take at least one course at one higher level each school year.
Recognizing that students entering advanced courses were struggling, they also designed a series of supports to ensure student success. These included a summer Step It Up Workshop for students enrolling in Honors, Gifted and Talented (GT), or Advanced Placement (AP) classes; Alpha Achievers to support African American males; an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Homework Club; and elimination of prerequisites for advanced courses.
Please watch the vimeo. You will see SOS's own Bess Altwerger!   https://vimeo.com/252378864

SOSDntNwBttn  

 

Save Our Schools is dedicated to public education as the cornerstone of a democratic society. We are committed to education policy and actions that allow students, teachers, families, and communities to work together to meet the needs of all children.