Educator Roundtable

John included this link to the Educator Roundtable in his comments. Worth a visit! :)

I'll add it to the links here too.

http://www.educatorroundtable.org/

From the website:

Action

Teachers, parents, scholars, and policy analysts have convened this roundtable in hopes of repealing the CURRENT authorization of the ESEA (No Child Left Behind Act). While we recognize that many individuals signed onto the legislation with the best of intentions, it is our hope that we can help them see the damage NCLB has done. While no one has yet leveled an effective, widespread challenge to the law, we are hopeful. We are hopeful that the thousands of disenfranchised educators, disillusioned parents, overburdened students and hyper-regulated school districts will work together to reclaim our free, public, and locally controlled schools. From there we can explore multiple paths of learning...

continue reading about what we are trying to accomplish

Teachers With "Chutzpah"

Looking for inspiration? Read about some people putting their money where their mouth is -- or, more to the point, not selling out!

A teaching moment

Pinellas County educators recently rejected a state merit pay plan by a huge margin, saying no to millions. Here's what they want state legislators to learn from their vote.

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published March 20, 2007

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Sherry Brock knows exactly what an extra few thousand dollars could buy.

New wall-to-wall carpeting for her living room. A cushy couch and a matching love seat. Hubcaps to replace the ones someone stole from her '92 Caddy.

Yet when the moment came for her to approve a plan that would bring Pinellas County schoolteachers $6.1-million - as much as $3,100 of it for herself - the district's 2007 Outstanding Educator checked the little box that said "No."

Brock, a math and journalism teacher at Dixie Hollins High in St. Petersburg, wanted the hubcaps. She thought she deserved them. But her years in the classroom have taught her that some things are more important than money.

"I have not been able to see how this can be fair," she said of the merit pay plan state legislators dubbed Special Teachers Are Rewarded, or STAR. "I think it's divisive."

. . .

In a stunning display of chutzpah not seen since the teacher walkout of 1968, Pinellas educators stood together last month, rejecting a legislative mandate they considered demeaning and demoralizing. From one end of the county to the other, their votes reflected years of frustration with the FCAT, years of frustration with politicians.

The final tally: 217 for STAR, 4,517 against.

Districts across the state posted similar results, sending legislators back to come up with a new plan they hope educators will find more palatable.

In Pinellas County, the teachers are still angry.

. . .