You hold the future of hundreds of thousands of students across our state. On Tuesday, you get to say whether their school budgets should pass or fail. In so many communities, there are many feel good events (regardless of what some politicians might be telling you.) Here’s photo gallery of just one school district’s efforts [...]

School boards across the state are passing resolutions asking the State Education Department to ease its reliance on standardized test scores in making decisions ranging from student placement to school accountability status to teacher evaluations. The West Irondequoit school board in Monroe County went a step further. Click here for the full letter signed by the [...]

Members from the Yorktown Congress of Teachers recently received the gift of a chocolate bar from their local union. Here’s a photo of the front of a special wrapper for the candy bar. On the back is the following message: The YCT will join with our brothers and sisters from all over New York state [...]

It’s now one week before most school districts submit their annual budgets to voters. NYSUT United brought you the news more than two weeks ago that fewer districts are trying to override the tax cap and that many are staying well within the cap. That story was based on a NYSUT survey of districts before [...]

This time of year the apple trees are stunning. Delicate, paper-like pink flowers crown the crooked branches in a halo of soft color. Once the blossoms drop, it is time for farm workers to sort out the branches of the apple trees to make more room for the apples to receive the sun, and to [...]

Jennifer Moore, president of the Sherburne-Earlville TA, notes her members got national attention for their stance against high-stakes testing last week. “I’ve received a number of emails from all across the country, thanking us for what we’ve done and even calling us heroes,” she said. “Some even want to buy our shirts!” You might recall [...]

Perhaps Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” song is one of the most parodied. Here’s another, thanks to Peter DeWitt, a principal in the Averill Park school district, and the Averill Park Teachers Association, led by Michelle Smead. You may recall Michelle Smead has also written the Top 10 reasons to rally on June 8 [...]

Across the state, NYSUT locals are taking action against high-stakes tests. In rural Sherburne-Earlville, teachers wore their maroon local union shirts on Tuesday that had the message: “I care more about the people my students become than the scores on the tests they take.” Others quoted Margaret Meade: “Children must be taught how to think, [...]

What if students had to pass a quiz if they want to have lunch? Canandaigua students in Ontario County think that the testing situation in New York has almost become that crazy. So they created a scenario where they’re banished from the lunch line if they can’t correctly guess the meal for the day. And they [...]

Kati Haycock is a straight-shooter. The president of the respected Education Trust, Haycock is known in education circles and beyond for her objectivity and seriousness when it comes to what’s happening in America’s schools. Her positions do not always align with NYSUT’s. That’s why her recent post on the HuffPost’s blog, headlined “Slowing Down to [...]