While education critics dwell on the negative, NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira chose to celebrate the "everyday heroes" she's met in classroom visits from one end of the state to the other. "Those critics have not seen what I've seen," Neira said in her RA address. "They haven't seen what you do every day."
Neira recalled an inspiring visit last month to Albany's Giffen Elementary School: "I visited Ms. Turner's class and saw students excited and energized about learning. I saw her kindergartners who were reading, writing and spelling - obviously the result of a strong pre-K program and an excellent kindergarten program." When Turner's students read a complex sentence, she told them to "kiss their brain," Neira said. "The children loved it - and so did I."
In a visit to rural Sharon Springs, Neira was inspired by the dedication of the special ed teachers who are working to ensure students with special needs meet higher standards.
At Lynch Middle School in Amsterdam, she learned how teachers applied for grants so that students would have access to computers and the Internet. And she visited teachers in Manhattan and Central Islip who are ensuring English Language Learners have access to appropriate services.
Despite all the individual success stories she's witnessed, Neira stressed there is much work to be done. "Call it the achievement gap, the performance gap. ... The gap is in urban, rural and suburban schools," Neira said. "It is also in our colleges. Geography alone does not account for the gap."
Neira praised unionists for their recent work in administering the grade 3-8 ELA and math tests required by the No Child Left Behind Act. "Thank you," Neira said. "You administered and scored 3.9 million assessments - the largest single test administration in New York state history."
She acknowledged frustration with the expanded testing demands. "You have shared your concerns about districts becoming overly prescriptive about what and how teachers should teach; about how much time can be appropriately spent on math and reading at the expense of subjects that are not tested; and about the need to have appropriate assessments that meet the needs of all learners," Neira said, to much applause.
She said the union will press at the federal and state levels to ensure sound revisions to NCLB. "President Bush and Congress got away with raising standards and requiring tests and didn't give us the resources to succeed," Neira said.
She shared a vision for the year ahead that includes pressing for:
- Assessment requirements that are balanced with the need to educate the whole child.
- Assessments appropriate for students with special needs and for English Language Learners.
- Quality universal pre-K programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
- Needed changes in Academic Intervention Services regulations.
- Funding to meet the goals of the State Master Plan for higher education.
- Compliance and necessary funding to keep schools and students safe.
- Ensuring union members are part of the debate over high schools.
- Expanded professional development opportunities through Teacher Centers and the Education & Learning Trust.
She closed with a tribute to a special coach and student (see below) who are representative "of the everyday heroes in classrooms from one end of our state to the other."