Throngs of cheering phone bankers greeted Laura Gillen, Congressional District 4 candidate, at a rally in support of her campaign at the NYSUT regional office in Nassau on the second leg of the Long Island Common Ground Over Chaos bus tour in late October. It featured scores of NYSUT’s dedicated cohort of local retirees and in-service members, activists working tirelessly to get out the vote for the Nov. 5 election.
“You understand the value of public schools in your community and know that the teachers who taught your children do more than just teach math and science and English, that we also wrap ourselves around your children and take care of them,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person in introducing Gillen to rally participants. “So, there is no doubt in my mind that you will go to Washington, and you will fight for us and for our students and the people that we serve.”
“I appreciate your support and advocacy … this grassroots action really matters, and you can make a difference,” said Gillen, who was joined at the event by Noah Burroughs, a Hempstead Classroom Teachers Association member running in Assembly District 18. “There is so much at stake in this election, we cannot take our foot off the gas for one minute!”
Earlier in the day Gillen joined a roundtable discussion with Person, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and a slate of local NYSUT activists. Topics ranged from school funding to the impact of poverty. Person noted that schools increasingly provide basics like food, clothing and hygiene products for students further stretching already tight budgets.
“In Hempstead, our middle school is our community school, and we have wraparound services for students … but in addition to that we hold clothing drives periodically throughout the school year to make sure that parents who can't get to the middle school can go to their neighborhood school and get clothes and shoes,” said Nicole Brown, Hempstead CTA president.
Weingarten noted that before No Child Left Behind, Title 1 funds could be used for projects like this, efforts hamstrung by the later focus on testing. “If we could get more Title 1 funding, like we did under the American Rescue Act … it could provide more funding for services,” she said explaining that the change would reduce the amount educators often contribute out-of-pocket to make sure students have essentials like food and clothing. “That’s what federal education policy should be doing, creating these models … of how you do wraparound services.”
Student mental health challenges post-COVID-19 have grown exponentially in Perry Fuch’s district. “You can’t just teach your class anymore,” said the Plainedge Federation of Teachers president. “We’re counselors, parents, psychologists … it’s something that we really need to focus on in education.”
Addictive social media algorithms were also discussed. Since removing student cell phones during classtime “we’ve seen the biggest improvement in classroom engagement,” said Karen Bloom, Long Beach Classroom TA president. “So, the more you could promote less phone use in school, I think the better off we are in general.”
Participants advocated strongly for standardized testing reform. Lori Gross, Nassau BOCES Central Council of Teachers president, said the harm being done to students with special needs is also real. “They’re being put in a position where they can’t do these tests … It’s a shame.”
“I look forward to continuing this dialog when I get to Congress and working together to make sure that we are providing the best for our schools and students,” said Gillen. “You are the people on the ground.”
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