​Open Letter to the Parents and Educators on inconsistency between 3‐8 proficiency
rates and Regents proficiency rates and graduation rates
New York State’s students and educators have made great strides in recent years in the
classroom. Statewide four year graduation rates are up from 75% in 2013 to 80% in
2017. Since 2007 the overall graduation rate is up from 68.6%. Also, for black students
the four year graduation rate rose from 60% to 69% and for Hispanic students the
graduation rate rose from 59% to 68% over the past four years. These increased
graduation rates are a testament to the dedication of our educators, students, the
families of public school children who are all working together to improve educational
outcomes for our students. The increase in the graduation rates since 2013 mean that
over 10,000 more students every year are graduating high school on time compared to
four years ago.
The vast majority of students are passing the high school Regents exams required for
graduation and the percent of students graduating with advanced Regents Diplomas is
on the rise. This is all great news and shows how hard our educators and students have
been working.
There is of course more work to do on student performance. Also, there remains a
clear connection to the wealth of a community and the academic performance of
students. Low need school districts have a 95% four year graduation rate and average
need districts have an 88% graduation rate. However, the graduation rate drops to
70% for high need urban/suburban school districts. Sadly this speaks to the unequal
access to high quality education programs in many low wealth, high need school
districts for far too many children and the need for additional funding for these
districts.
Nonetheless, the challenges that lie ahead do not diminish the successes that have
been achieved in our public schools.
Student performance on the state grade 3 – 8 tests is contrary to the vast academic
successes at the high school level. 60% of grades 3‐8 students are identified as not
proficient on the state 3‐8 ELA and Math exams. Statewide proficiency rates that
hover around 40% are wholly inconsistent with the excellent performance levels on
Regents exams and with rising graduation rates.
It would be reasonable to assume that if students were not proficient on their 3‐8 state
exams that they would not be prepared to successfully pass Regents exams. However,
this is not the case; for example, in 2016 24% of the 8th grade students that took the 8th
Grade Math assessment were identified as proficient, but one year later when most of
these students took the Algebra I Regents exam 74% passed. Similarly in 2013, only
31% of 7th graders were proficient on the state ELA exam and four years later in 11th
grade, when most of those 7th graders took the ELA common Core Regents exam, the
Regents passage rate was 84%.
We all know that the long standing Regents exams are high quality whereas the grades
3‐8 exams have been the source of much controversy in recent years. Parents and
teachers should be asking why the proficiency rates on the 3‐8 assessments are so low.
What is wrong with these assessments? They are clearly not measuring student
performance and proficiency levels in an accurate manner.
SED has shortened the length of the grade 3‐8 exams from three to two days. This
modification was supported by NYSUT and this will improve the test experience for
children. However, shortening the length of these tests does not address the issue of
how SED determines proficiency levels on grade 3‐8 exams. SED must address the
process by which they determine proficiency levels on grade 3‐8 ELA and math exams
to properly align the outcomes with Regent exams and graduation rates.
Parents, teachers, and all those who care about our public education school children
must join together to demand that SED fix this problem.

​NYSUT Member Benefits - Winter 2018 MB E-Direct Newsletter
 
I am proud to present to you the Winter 2018 issue of the NYSUT Member Benefits MB E-Direct electronic newsletter.  I hope that you will find the content useful and ask that you pass this publication along to as many of your NYSUT contacts and members as possible.
 
Each issue of this electronic publication is put together with great thought and effort as we strive to ensure that we offer helpful information and tips to our members -- an added benefit of NYSUT membership provided at no cost to NYSUT members.  We want all NYSUT members to know that membership in this labor union provides access to a variety of Member Benefits-endorsed programs & services available exclusively to them and their families.
 
Click the following link to view this issue of MB E-Direct -- http://online.fliphtml5.com/pwms/isqi/
 
This publication includes a number of embedded links that will allow you to learn more about our various endorsed programs & services.
 
One of our goals at NYSUT Member Benefits is to reach the maximum number of members, and we have seen that we are most successful with this goal when people like you share our materials with your colleagues and friends.  We continue to increase the number of members who are aware of the endorsed programs & services that we offer but still have great potential for growth in this area.
 
We are also pleased that the number of members who participate in our endorsed programs & services continues to grow each year; with your help in forwarding this email and e-newsletter link to your membership, we are confident that this growth will continue in the future as well.  Thank you.
 
-- Lynette A. Metz
Director, NYSUT Member Benefits Trust
CEO, NYSUT Member Benefits Corporation 

Stay the Course
A ‘bullheaded group’ inspired by students is hard to stop 
By John Rosales
It was three days before Thursday’s regular 7 p.m. board meeting in the Selah School District (SSD) of Washington state. People in this close-knit community near Yakima can set their watches by the long-standing gathering.
On that Monday morning in April, members of the Selah Education Support Personnel (SESP) and Selah Educational Office Personnel (SEOP) posted fliers on bulletin boards at five schools and the administration office announcing their Rally for Respect starting at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
“They Can Run But They Can’t Hide,” the fliers read.
Tensions were already high. For 18 months, both unions and SSD had been bargaining a joint contract.  Notices of the rally strained negotiations further since it called for protesters to assemble just outside the board room building.
“We wanted board members to see all the support we had as they entered the parking lot,” says Cindy Huntamer, SEOP president. “We made signs and buttons…ordered pizza and sodas.”
But when it came time for the 7 p.m. meeting, the board room was deserted. School administrators had changed the meeting’s start time. It had already taken place—at 7 a.m.

Solidarity Wins the Day
District officials had apparently ignored a Washington state law requiring state agencies to provide 20 days notice to change a regularly scheduled meeting of this type.
“[They] claimed the decision was made the week before, but they didn’t announce it until the day before,” says Huntamer, a federal programs secretary at the district’s early learning center. 
“We found out by email,” Huntamer adds. “We were not pleased over the sudden change or that the meeting was now at a time when most people are at work.”
Unfazed, some members attended the early part of the meeting before checking in at work. Similarly, union officials decided to proceed with the demonstration.
“We’re a pretty bullheaded group,” says Butch Thompson, the district’s lead custodian and a former SESP president. “We had strong community support for that rally, so we decided to see it through.”
Despite knowing the board meeting was cancelled, more than 50 determined education support professionals (ESPs), teachers, parents, students, and community members appeared later in the day—closer to the rally’s planned start time. They carried signs, chanted, and passed out leaflets as planned.
“That rally was one example of how the community got behind us,” says Thompson, chair of the bargaining committee. Within weeks of the rally, a three-year agreement was reached.
“They had a large cash reserve and just didn’t want to give any of it to us,” Thompson says. “They (district negotiators) were more willing to talk after they saw what was happening.”

Dear Ms. O'Donnell:
We write in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the BOCES TA and share their frustration of the pace of bargaining for a fair new contract.
​
Over 1,000 days is too long to wait for a new contract. SW BOCES is an integral part of our community and the BTA services some of the most vulnerable students in Westchester County. The BTA is being faced with increasing demands and decreasing benefits.

We urge you to respect your teachers and staff.  We also call on you to respect the collective bargaining process, end the delays, and come to the table in good faith to resolve the remaining contract issues.
 
In Unity,
The Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body AFL-CIO

​Dear Member,
Attached is a flyer announcing a forum scheduled for Monday, September 25 at the Mahopac Public Library.  The forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Putnam County.  NYSUT Regional Political Organizer, Mike Grubiak, will be on the panel. 
 
The League of Women Voters has publicly stated their support for a convention.  We ask that you attend to show your support of Mike and the importance to VOTE NO on the Constitutional convention!

Thank you, 
the BTA Political Action Team!