MORE Weekly Update #72: Petition vs. Evals, Parent Anti-test Revolt, PEP Protest, and MORE!

Protest Colocations at the PEP on October 30th! 

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Weekly Update #72

October 24, 2013

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The campaign for a moratorium on test-based evaluations continues!   Please make sure you have collected signatures on our petition from your colleagues. Print a copy here.   Sign and share the electronic version of the petition as well. Petitions can be returned before November 13th (scan and email to to more@morecaucusnyc.org or snail mail to 305 E 140th #5A, Bx, NY, 10454).  Support the Parent Test Boycott! 80% of families at Castlebridge elementary opted out of K-2 exams imposed by the new eval system. Sign a petition in support of them.  Read more from the Daily News, Real News Network, and Diane Ravitch. The latest from MORECaucusNYC.org... Media Lapdogs: DOE & the “Bad Teacher” Witch Hunt There they go again. The newspapers are filling their pages with stories about “bad teachers”.... It’s all part of this mayoral administration’s continued push to transform the profession of teaching into an ‘at-will’ job, so that it can fire as many of us as it would like. Read more... Carry out the UFT Resolution on Diversity! One of the defining features of mayoral control in NYC under Bloomberg has been a sharp decline in the hiring of Black and Latino educators since 2002. Read more... When “Advance” Really Hit Home: The Very Human Cost of High Stakes Testing My students did not take the news about the Performance Assessment well. In fact, it was kind of a wrenching experience- their faces could not have been more pained if I had run over their dogs. Read more... Please help out with this action. Click here for quarter sheet flyers to distribute to your colleagues. Outraged that teachers are evaluated on tests for subjects they don't even teach?   City-wide Chapter Organizing Happy Hour!   Share reports about how the new teacher evaluation system is being implemented and plan resistance to this unfair and fraudulent method of evaluating teachers. Friday, November 1st, 5pm The Ginger Man Bar: 11 E. 36th St (btw 5th & Madison) Any train to Herald Sq. or 6 to 33rd. Read more about the event and download a flyer by clicking above.  Join an ongoing support group of educators dealing with supervisory harassment by emailing DTOE+subscribe@googlegroups.com  Our Schools are Not for Sale! - Watch an 8 minute mini-documentary about the fight to defend public education in Philadelphia against massive budget cuts. MORE Newsletter Sign up to help distribute MORE's newsletter, "MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox," to your colleagues. Reply to this email if you can pick up copies or would like to help distribute it, or pick up copies at our general meeting. And read the newsletter online: morecaucusnyc.org/newsletter

Make Sure You Are On Our Listservs! Click below to join:  News (announcements/articles) Discussion (debate/back-and-forth) Chapter Leader (discussion for chapter activists) NEXT GENERAL MEETING Sat., Nov. 16th, 12-3pm 224 West 29th St 14th fl. (btwn 7th and 8th ave) COMMITTEES: Chapter Organizing Committee chapters@morecaucusnyc.org Happy Hour Fri., Nov. 1st, 5pm The Ginger Man Bar 11 E. 36th St (btw 5th & Madison). High Stake Testing Committee testing@morecaucusnyc.org Sat., Nov 2nd, 2pm Location TBA Steering Committee steering@morecaucusnyc.org Phone Meeting Mon. Nov. 4th, 8PM Reply for details Meeting minutes here Newsletter Committee news@morecaucusnyc.org Tue., Nov. 5th, 5PM Karavas Place 162 W 4th St @ 6th Ave Membership Committee membership@morecaucusnyc.org Media Committee media@morecaucusnyc.org Contract Committee contract@morecaucusnyc.org STAYING IN TOUCH:  Comments? Suggestions? Email update@morecacusnyc.org with items for future updates