October 14 2018
 
October 2018 NewsBlast
SOS NEWSBLAST
News From
Hawaii  

 

Washington 
New Mexico
North 
 Dakota
   
      
Florida  
 
Maine


   

THE WEST
HAWAII
 
Hawaii State Teachers Association is working hard to educate voters about a ballot item to amend the state's constitution to establish the state's first dedicated fund for public education. Hawai'i is the only state in the U.S. that does not fund public schools with property taxes yet has a statewide school district in which per pupil funding formulas eliminate the issue of unequal funding based on zip code. Urge any voters you know in Hawai'i to vote YES on the Constitutional Amendment to fund public education
 
WASHINGTON  
  Northwest Progressive Institute has just celebrated 15 years by opening the Northwest Progressive Foundation, which travels around the state educating people on building healthier communities by speaking with legislators and finding out how the legislator voted. InWA state, you can find this information by going to leg.wa.gov and typing in your address. They also have a speaker who explains the state budget.
To contact the NW Progressive Foundation,    https://www.nwprogressive.org/    
If you are not in WA state, you can find your legislative info at
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES   https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIirfD2Y_w3QIVEODICh06UAPvEAAYASAAEgLEVfD_BwE
   
 
THE SOUTHWEST
New Mexico
 
Four recruiting agencies have sprung up in New Mexico. Each is run by a working teacher, a recently resigned PED employee, a district superintendent, or the close relative of a superintendent.
Such close relationships to the school system give recruiters an edge in helping immigrant teachers navigate licensure and hiring protocol. But they also raise concerns about conflicts of interest and ethics violations.

Community schools a way forward in New Mexico

Mary Parr-Sanchez, Vice President, NEA Published 12:06 p.m. MT Oct. 9, 2018
Since District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled the New Mexico education funding system unconstitutional this past July, there has been a chorus of voices both supporting and attacking the decision, and broad speculation about the tangible effects on our students and classrooms.
As a 25-year history teacher, I always emphasized to my students the importance of learning from the past. It seems like our state may also benefit from a glimpse of the not-too-distant past. Three decades ago, in 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that its state's education system was failing to fulfill its constitutional mandate to "provide an efficient system of common schools throughout the state."


MIDWEST
North Dakota
 
High school graduation rate for ND Native Americans ticks up, but gap still persists

BISMARCK-The high school graduation rate for Native American students in North Dakota continues to rise in 2017, and yet a significant gap persists when compared to the overall student population.
According to the latest data from the state Department of Public Instruction, the graduation rate for Native American students in 2017 was 67.3 percent, up from 65.2 percent in 2016. Dropout rates continue to decrease for Native American students, as well.
State graduation and dropout rates were presented at DPI's second annual Dropout Prevention and Re-Engagement Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the state Capitol. The summit serves as a precursor to the department's Fall Educators Conference, which will be held Thursday and Friday at the Bismarck Event Center.
The report showed there's still a significant gap in graduation rates between Native American students and their white counterparts - about 23 percentage points in 2017.
 
Native Americans represent about 10 percent of the K-12 student population in North Dakota
 

THE SOUTHEAST
Florida

This teacher's favorite textbooks were taken from her classroom. Her principal did it.

Audrey Silverman arrived at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High last week ready to finish "The Necklace," the English class staple short story about the deceptiveness of appearances and the dangers of martyrdom with her gifted, honors ninth-grade students.
But when the literature teacher entered her classroom Thursday morning, 50 textbooks, including the teacher's edition with years of annotations Silverman said she personally purchased, were missing from the baskets beneath the students' desks. A student told Silverman she saw the books carted away the prior evening.
"They're gone," said Silverman. "Nobody knows where they are."
What happened next has culminated into a tussle between teacher autonomy and embracing new, digital curriculum. Silverman filed a pre-grievance with the teachers' union against her principal, Allison Harley, for breached academic freedom.
Ceresta Smith, a 10th-grade intensive reading teacher who returned to Krop after a decade at John A. Ferguson Senior High, said she doesn't use any of the approved material. She uses a collection of materials she's put together over her 30-year teaching career.
"I said to the principal when I ... came back to Krop, I said, 'Don't expect me to follow the pacing guide. I'm a veteran and I'm a professional and I know what I'm doing.' "
Smith said school officials are taking all of the ninth- and 10th-grade teachers' textbooks so they only use tablets. Silverman said one of her 12th-grade students took a photo of McDougal textbooks stacked against an outdoor wall.
THE NORTHEAST
Maine

Some Maine school districts have yet to receive funding to help support homeless students due to what the Department Of Education says is a "scoring issue." The issue has delayed the application process for schools to receive thousands of dollars in federal grant funds.
 

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I hope this message finds you well! The WeChoose Communication Committee had a recommendation that I want to present to you all .The idea is the use the #WeChoose Wednesday Power Hours  each Wednesday at 8PM Eastern over the next few weeks leading up to the elections to highlight and break down some of the powerful Education Justice Reports that have been released in the last several months such as Failing Brown, the AROS Investment Report, Grading the States, etc. to electoralize education issues. 
The following are scheduled social media themes:
  I will send out sample tweets and art work to go with each weeks theme by email the day before. the first week report is Failing Brown v. Board 
 
Week 1: (10/17) - Failing Brown v. Board
Week 2: (10/24) - Grading the States
Week 3: (10/31) - AROS Investment Report 
Week 4: (11/7) - Lift Us Up, Don't Push Us Out!
 
   

 
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.