 For the past 28 years, the East Williston Teachers’ Association has awarded scholarships to graduating seniors whose plans are to study education and to become a teacher.
The teachers in East Williston are proud to support our students as they begin their academic pursuits that will ultimately culminate in what we know will be a rewarding career as an educator. We cannot think of a more fitting way for a group of teachers to honor our profession and give back to the community. “ The David K. Israel Scholarship, is a $12,000 scholarship, named after a 40 year veteran English teacher who served as the East Williston Teachers’ Association President for more than a quarter century and was a founding trustee for the EWTA Scholarship Foundation. This year’s David K. Israel Scholarship recipient is Ms. Rachel Tomei. One of her teachers describes her as someone who loves learning. She is extremely diligent, contentious and efficient. She is a good planner, and manages her time wisely. She is kind, easy to get along with, and is a team player. Another teacher describes her as dedicated, unbelievably reliable, and organized student. She is described as an open and accepting person who has the ability to build strong relationships. Rachel has already had success working with struggling students. She is a highly sought out peer tutor. Additionally, she has been volunteering to work with special needs children assisting them in improving their skills. When describing her work with a special needs student, Rachel reflects on her ability to help a frustrated young man develop skills, build confidence and find success. She spoke of the privilege she feels to work with children and the desire to “connect” with kids to foster their learning. Rachel will be attending Binghamton University. Tax deductible contributions can be made to the David K. Israel Scholarship Foundation c/o The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY, 11568
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I have connected with some amazing education leaders through their blogs. They work tirelessly to expose the truth about the systematic dismantling of our public schools through "education reform". I have complied a list of my favorite bloggers. Happy reading!
Bruce Baker, School Finance 101 – http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/ Carol Burris – http://roundtheinkwell.com Daniel Katz - http://danielskatz.net/ Mark Naison - http://withabrooklynaccent.blogspot.com/ Diane Ravitch – http://dianeravitch.net/ Morty Rosenfeld - http://pobct.org/ATM/ Mercedes Schneider – http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/ Valarie Strauss, The Answer Sheet - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/ It is a sad fact that our Governor has chosen to go to war with those of us who have committed our life's work to educating children. We, the teachers of the East Williston Teachers' Association, feel strongly that the policies and initiatives this Governor supports are NOT in the best interest of the children or the community we serve.
The members of the East Williston Teachers' Association are wearing red, every Tuesday, to demonstrate our opposition to the corporate “reform” movement that is systematically attempting to destroy public education. We do not accept the rhetoric that public education in this country is broken or that American teachers and students are incapable of competing with their international peers. Under the guise of “reforming” education, corporations, in conjunction with politicians from both parties, have been working to pass legislation that imposes economically crippling unfunded mandates on public school districts. These corporations are making tens of millions of dollars on the backs of our children and colleagues, and we will no longer silently tolerate this behavior. Different Paths to Privatization Privatization takes many forms… High stakes testing, Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluation systems based on test scores, merit pay, the proliferation of charter schools, co-located schools, closing public schools because they were “failing”, staffing schools with Teach for America “teachers”, the property tax cap, unfunded state mandates, the stripping of collective bargaining rights. Each of these “reforms” makes corporate “reformers”, like Bill Gates, Walmart, and Pearson, huge sums of money which they then use to make contributions to politicians, like Governor Cuomo who will pass legislation allowing the cycle to continue. NONE of these “reforms” has ever been linked with increased student learning. The EWTA’s Vision for a Robust Public Education System The East Williston Teachers' Association imagines a public education system that truly serves the needs of a democratic society. It should be a system that endeavors to develop individuals who will be capable of assuming all the responsibilities of citizenship, by preparing students to be successful after graduation in either a career of their choice and/or further university study. We believe that the government is constitutionally obligated to fund public education. Its obligation is to provide the funding so that every student may achieve their fullest potential. We know that state and federal governmental unfunded and underfunded mandates significantly reduce a school district’s ability to provide these opportunities to students by severely limiting a school board’s local control of these allocated governmental funds. Because, school board trustees are locally elected officials that represent the taxpayers in each community, we believe that those boards should be able to make the determination for how those taxpayer monies are spent. Public schools must be able to offer rich, vibrant and diverse curricula that includes but is not limited to the following; art, music, foreign language, science, history, literature, civics, geography, mathematics, and physical education and class size must be kept small enough for students to be afforded individual and small group instruction. In addition, schools should offer a varied array of extracurricular activities that allow students to further explore their diversified interests and enables them to develop the skills necessary to work with others. All school buildings should have libraries that are staffed with certified library media specialists and resources that support student learning. Additionally, each school should be staffed with nurses, guidance counselors, school psychologists, and social workers, and additional professionals that can facilitate the medical and social needs of the students. The EWTA believes that when parents, students, and teachers work together to demand that elected officials maintain, at a minimum, the above items in every public school the needs of each student, community, and society as a whole will be positively impacted. Adapted from http://thepjsta.org/red4ed/ The following information was printed on the Half Hollow Hills Teachers' Association website. http://www.hhhta.com/if-long-island-were-a-state/ It was reprinted in a blog post by Carol Burris. http://roundtheinkwell.com/2015/02/24/governor-cuomo-if-long-island-were-a-state/ It is worth reprinting here! If Long Island were a state, we would be ranked #1 in high school completion rate.  If Long Island were a state, we would be ranked #1 in Intel Semifinalists.  If Long Island were a state, we would be ranked #2 in Siemens Semifinalists.  Students earning a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation  Newsweek compiled a list of the Best High Schools in America. 19 high schools from New York made the top 100. Nine, or 47% of the NY schools are from Long Island.
21 Long Island high schools rank in the top 300 of America's best schools. The Washington Post ranked the top 1,900 high schools in the United States. The top 7% of 27,000 schools includes 54 Long Island high schools. Nearly half (54 of 116) of the high schools on Long Island are among the top schools identified by The Washington Post. On Thursday, the Executive Assembly of the EWTA met. Part of our agenda was a discussion of the upcoming elections. As you already know, NYSUT has decided to withhold any endorsement for Governor, leaving locals the ability to act as they see fit.
We have all seen the damage that Cuomo has done to our school district by imposing an undemocratic property tax cap that has made it impossible for critical programs to continue, an over-emphasis on testing, the narrowing of curriculum and finally the intrusion of the common core, which has done more to frustrate creative and talented teachers than improve instruction. Cuomo is a governor who incites communities to doubt school professionals and prefers to blame teachers instead of providing needed resources and support. Many believe that Cuomo has done more damage to our public school system than any governor before him. Challenging the Governor is Westchester County Executive Republican candidate Rob Astorino. While some have taken notice of Mr. Astorino’s anti-common core platform, a simple scratch beneath the surface reveals a candidate who puts all his faith in charter schools and would further decimate schools through a reduction of state aid and making the property tax cap permanent. Equally alarming is Astorino’s opposition to teacher tenure, as well as, his vow to eliminate the Triborough Amendment. Fortunately, there is an alternative this year to both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Astorino. Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins and his running mate for Lieutenant Governor, Brian Jones have produced an education platform that is completely in sync with what we believe and know to be sound education policy. Hawkins and Jones believe that: · New York needs to opt out of Race to the Top and the Common Core Standards. · Schools need to return to meaningful teaching and learning and move away from the over-emphasis on testing. · Schools should be allowed to develop authentic assessments that are organic to the learning process. · Zero-tolerance discipline policies are the wrong way to produce responsible and productive citizens. · The state-mandated anti-democratic tax cap must be eliminated. · The State should provide equitable funding for all schools so there can be a reduction of class size and the restoration of music, art, health, and all other vital programs that have been taken away from this generation of students. In light of these pro-public education initiatives, the EWTA Executive Council voted unanimously to endorse the Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones. Many of you have expressed concerns regarding the anti-union and anti-public education positions of both Cuomo and Astorino. This frustration may lead you to not cast a vote for governor in this upcoming election. WE NEED YOUR VOTE! VOTE YOUR JOB! A vote for Hawkins/Jones represents a vote for education and faith in the job that each of us perform each day in the classroom. A vote for Hawkins/Jones also sends a message to Cuomo that we refuse to let him win by default or inaction. We encourage you to visit their website at http://www.howiehawkins.org/platform to learn more about Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones. We must have leaders in Albany who truly understand the needs and challenges of public schools today. VOTE YOUR JOB! and spread the word to friends, colleagues and family members.  On November 4th, 2014 I will cast my votes based solely upon my job – and the voting record the candidates have with regard to public education. I am asking you to do the same. I will vote for candidates who may not support the social issues I feel are important. I have made this choice because the issues we, as public educators, feel strongly about: APPR, Student Testing, Tax Cap, Vouchers, Charter Schools, Triborough, Collective Bargaining Rights, Pensions and Tenure are all being discussed/decided at the legislative level. WE MUST SUPPORT THOSE CANDIDATES THAT SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION!
Last election year, only 50% of the registered voters in the EWTA voted. It is CRITICAL that WE ALL VOTE. The politics/policies of education are being driven by billionaires. We CANNOT compete with their money. What we DO have is numbers. If EACH and EVERY one of us VOTE; Game Over! The first of the elections is on Tuesday, September 9th , the Democratic primary for the Governor’s seat. It is CRUCIAL that ALL registered Democrats vote. To assist you in your decision making I have provided you with the candidate’s educational platforms. Additional information has been compiled by New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) which can be found here. Please,VOTE YOUR JOB!  Welcome back. I hope you all had a wonderful summer and that you had time to rest, relax, recharge and prepare for the coming school year.
My summer included a decent balance of work and play. I guess it could best be described as the summer of Art and Politics. Circumstances dictated that my vacation be cancelled so we took it as an opportunity for a staycation. Home became our base and each day we explored. We enjoyed the Walkway over the Hudson, Storm King Art Center, we visited MOMA, the Noguchi Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park (which I really wouldn’t recommend), MOMA PS1 and the Brooklyn Museum. We found new restaurants and we learned new things. We took a painting class and a gelato making class. All in all, staycation proved to be an amazing vacation! The politics portion of my summer was much less vacation-like and I will save that discussion for the next meeting. I must confess, I really find writing these welcome back remarks to be a difficult task, so this year I procrastinated more than usual. Each time I sat to write I supplemented my writing with eating, with making phone calls, by stepping out to shop for that most important purchase of the day - an ice cream cone. Then I paused yet again, to finish reading my book, because I was sure the inspiration to write these remarks would come from there. And then it didn’t. I did the only reasonable thing left to do - read the newspaper. And there is was! My inspiration! David Kirp, a UCal- Berkley professor wrote in the NY Times an opinion piece that spoke to me. His piece is entitled Teaching is Not a Business. He states, and I quote, “Today’s education reformers believe that schools are broken and that business can supply the remedy. Some place their faith in the idea of competition. Others embrace disruptive innovation, mainly through online learning. Both camps share the belief that the solution resides in the impersonal, whether it’s the invisible hand of the market or the transformative power of technology.” He continues that, “Neither strategy has lived up to its hype, and with good reason. It’s impossible to improve education by doing an end run around inherently complicated and messy human relationships. All youngsters need to believe that they have a stake in the future and a goal worth striving for, if they’re going to make it in school. They need a champion, someone who believes in them, and that’s where teachers enter the picture. The most effective approaches foster bonds of caring between teachers and their students.” And therein lies the strength of the East Williston Schools. Our success rises from the commitment we have to our students, with our ability to connect with and nurture the students in our charge. Each of us, every day, provide the opportunity for our students be become their best selves. We provide them with the tools to be much more than, forgive me, “college and career ready”. Kirp argues logically and with research based evidence that every successful educational initiative aims at strengthening personal bonds by building strong systems of support in schools. Repeatedly, he found: · That the best schools, like our schools in East Williston, create intimate worlds where students become explorers and attentive adults are close at hand. · That the forging relationships of mutual respect and caring, like those relationships we build with our students in East Williston, is what counts most; and, · That students say they’re motivated to get an education because their teachers, and I quote, “have our backs.” Just like our students feel here in East Williston. As Kirp concludes, the work that we do - the process of teaching and learning is an intimate act that neither computers nor markets can hope to replicate. There is no substitute for the connections we make and the extraordinary education we provide. I know as we embark on this new school year each of us will foster relationships, provide guidance and nurture this new group of students to learn and to grow. We will make connections and provide them with another year of an extraordinary education. I wish you all great success!  The David K. Israel Scholarship, is a $12,000 scholarship, named after a 40 year veteran English teacher who served as the East Williston Teachers’ Association President for more than a quarter century and was a founding trustee for the EWTA Scholarship Foundation.
This year’s David K. Israel Scholarship recipient is Ms. Cloe Southard. One of Cloe’s teachers describes her as someone who continuously strives to be the best person and the most voracious learner she can be, inspiring those around her to do the same. Another teacher noted Cloe’s willingness to give of her time to act as a role model for students with special needs. Cloe spent many of her lunch and free periods, after school hours and summers volunteering to assist special needs students with learning and socialization. English teacher, Lauren Blum remarked, “Cloe deserves a million words to describe what a caring, enthusiastic and dedicated person she is. Since I can only give you these thousand (which may perhaps seem like too many), I trust that they have conveyed how truly special she is, and trust that you will understand how effective and influential she will be in her future career as a teacher. I offer Cloe my absolute most emphatic recommendation for this scholarship and if you take my recommendation, I congratulate you on honoring one of the kindest, most passionate students you will ever meet! Cloe will be attending Wheelock College in Boston. Tax deductible contributions can be made to the David K. Israel Scholarship Foundation c/o The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY, 11568  SAVE THE DATES! On May 21-22 New York Democrats will hold their state convention on Long Island. The convention will be held at the Hilton Long Island/Huntington hotel in Melville. Join us as we greet the Governor and share with him how we feel about his plans for public education. On Monday, April 28th 500+ union members, including our own John Coyne, Jen Fatone and Henry Kupstas protested outside Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook where Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke at the Suffolk Democratic dinner. The protesters called the Governor to task regarding the Tax Cap, APPR and Standardized testing. The loud boisterous crowd carrying signs and bullhorns let the Governor know how angry we are with his education policies. Then on May 4th NYSUT organized “Picket in the Pines” where the group DFER (Democrats for Education Reform) were hosting their Philosopher’s Camp on Education Reform. Andrew Cuomo was to be speaking at the event but instead of attending, at the last minute he spoke by video. It should be noted that DFER attendees are neither true Democrats nor educators. They are hedge fund managers and millionaires who are working to privatize education. In fact, public educators who attempted to register for the conference were turned away. Click here for more information about DFER.  |
