MORE Reports on The #ProtectOurSchools Rally

I won't comment at this time on the effectiveness of a rally that the uft helped organize that drew a reported 2000 people - the uft will spin the budget deal as a victory - [satire alert] maybe those 2000 people in front of his office scared Cuomo into giving up --

Perdido sees things like I do ---

NYSUT, UFT Bring Us Another Disaster

So much for all those rallies, ad and rhetoric from union leaders that they're not going to let Governor Cuomo destroy public schools. The budget agreement was announced last night and in it we got details of the new teacher evaluation system and other education reforms agreed to by Cuomo, the Assembly and the Senate.
Three parts should be particularly galling to you if you're a teacher:

 We don't need no stinkin' details to know we were screwed -- if there were no rallies or actions, would the result have been much different? I'll do some details another time.

For MORE, though, the rally was a win, with some of our key people - Jia Lee, Patrick Walsh and Mindy Rosier - all current or past members of steering - playing roles.

Here is the report (morecaucusnyc
#ProtectOurSchools Rally) from the MORE blog:

UFT members, parents, and supporters of public schools all around New York State took part in rallies, protests and forums, created wonderful signs, reached out to the press and used social media to spread our love for public schools. These actions culminated in a rally at Governor Cuomo’s Manhattan office with thousands of people demanding that the Governor work with us, not against us.

MORE believes these actions should be the start, not the end, of a mass mobilization of educators and parents to have our voices heard. Too many decisions have been made without our input. This needs to change now!

Our due process tenure rights are under attack as is the very concept of being in a union. We must continue to build actions alongside parents, students, and the communities we serve to show our strength.

MORE was well represented at the Rally To Protect Our Schools on March 28 with Mindy Rosier, Jia Lee, and Patrick Walsh all featured as speakers.

Noah Gotbaum - Parent Advocate
http://youtu.be/tl_j-qQ9va4

Mindy Rosier - Jeremy Dudley - Teachers
http://youtu.be/bhHlmaCD21E

Patrick Walsh - Teacher
http://youtu.be/JwSrN_nT3EA

Jia Lee - Teacher
http://youtu.be/gyFpIuJWxIQ

Thousands joined to #protectourschools in Manhattan today! Speakers included Zephyr Teachout, Robert Jackson, Lisa Rudley, PS 321 principal Liz Phillips, Karen Sprowal, Noah Gotbaum, and more!

Here's the lone press report on the rally

Students, parents, and teachers protest New York governor's plan to tie standardized tests to teacher evaluations

Thousands Rally Against Cuomo's Billionaire-Backed Education Scheme