Business of the Day
Make Sure Your Vote Counts
There is no time like the present to check on your voter registration status.
It only takes a minute to check your status at http://sos.ri.gov/vic/
If your information is not found, go to http://www.elections.ri.gov/voting/registration.php
Simply download the Voter Registration Form, enter your information, print the form and either mail or deliver it to the appropriate Board of Canvassers. A link to the listing of the Board of Canvassers is located directly below the link to the form.
If you are not registered, whether you have never registered or have had a change of address or name since the last election, please take the above steps to make sure your vote can count during this important election cycle.
FIRST, LET'S FIRE ALL THE TEACHERS!
By Diane Ravitch
Imagine that you are a teacher in a high school in a high-poverty district. Many of your students don't speak English. Some don't attend school regularly because they have to earn money or baby-sit with their siblings while their parents are looking for work. Some come to school unprepared because they didn't do their homework. But you are idealistic and dedicated, you work with each of the students, you do your best to teach them reading, writing, science, math, history, whatever your subject. But despite your best efforts, many of your students can't read very well (they are struggling to learn English), and many of them don't graduate. If your school eliminated all its standards, you could easily push up the graduation rate.
Bob Kerr: The teacher, the dentist, and the numbers
Providence Journal Website
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
OK, can we at least admit that things have gotten strange and twisted when members of the Howard Beale Society give a standing ovation to a woman for putting people out of work?
What next — a bus tour of underperforming schools at which Society members could get out to yell “Send out the teachers!”
There is damage being done here. In this eagerness to support the wholesale firing of veteran teachers, people are not thinking about what comes next. Will good teachers want to go near schools that have been set up as free-fire zones for zealous reformers? And will teachers who are willing to take jobs in schools that are being forced to fit into federal guidelines have any understanding of the community they’re in or the particular needs of its students?
Former AFT President Sandra Feldman Dies at Age 65
Sandy's death is a great loss for the AFT personally and professionally and for the children of our nation, said McElroy. She was a leader without comparison and will be remembered for her vigorous commitment to better the lives of the teachers and school staff she represented and the children they served.
VNA Helps Flood Victims
The VNA helped flood vicitms during the historic flooding in March.
To see video, click here.
RI Educator Quality Issues
Rhode Island Federation of Teachers & Health Professionals
Educator Quality Issues
The RI Board of Regents adopted the RI Professional Teaching Standards in April, 2009. Additionally, the Regents are proposing adoption of the RI Educator Evaluation System Standards and the RI Educator Code of Professional Responsibility. Each document represents very laudable goals and standards to which we believe our members aspire. However, it is important for our leaders and members to be familiar with the standards and their indicators as well as their potential use in evaluation, support, continued employment and compensation. It is also important for RIFTHP leaders and members to advocate for the conditions and supports necessary for educators to achieve these standards and act upon these beliefs.
Carcieri Vetoes Teacher Insurance Bill
For the past five months, the RIFTHP, the NEA/RI, RIDE, the Governor’s Department of Administration, the School Committees Association, and a host of other interested parties have worked diligently to craft legislation that would change the system of obtaining medical insurance for classroom teachers. Despite his designee’s active participation in reaching compromises, Governor Carcieri vetoed the legislation on July 9.
Important Information on Pension Changes
To view information, click on the links below.
Overview of State Budget Article 7
State Budget - Article 7
When viewing the information contained in the Age Proportionality Estimator, the following conversion must be followed:
If the arrived at retirement age is listed as 52.3, it does not mean 52 years 3 months, it means 52 years and 3/10ths of 12 months.
James Parisi on WPRI Newsmakers
Newsmakers 3/22: Teacher Contracts
Chanel 12 WPRI Newsmakers
Guests James Parisi from the RI Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals and Timothy Duffy, former director of the RI School Committee Asssociation discuss teacher contracts.
