Student Metrocard rally Feb. 1st

GEM meeting this week, Forum next

Come to the next GEM meeting!
Feb. 2nd, 4:30 pm
CUNY Grad. Center, 34th at 5th Ave., room 5414
Manhattan

Get involved in the Grassroots Education Movement and Help Defend Public Education!

Bloomberg’s Cycle of Closing Schools:
The past 8 years of Mayoral Control have made Bloomberg’s plan for public schools clear: Close them down. Bloomberg/Klein’s education reforms are centered on business model tactics that pour public money into private hands and destroy democratic control of schools. As public schools close, privately run charter schools open in their place with boards accountable to nothing but a bottom line.

We Say NO! To Bloomberg’s ATTACK on OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
THE FIGHT DOES NOT END HERE!!

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FORUM:
The Impact of Charter Schools on Public Education
How to Become an Advocate for Your School

Thursday, February 11th, 2010
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Polytechnic Institute, 6 Metrotech Center
Brooklyn

Take the A, C, F, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Borough Hall

Come to a Forum to find out first hand how charter schools are taking over public space and how teachers and parents are becoming advocates for their schools. Walk away with a helpful toolkit full of resources and information that will help you join the fight to defend public education.

Presentations by:
GEM—Grassroots Education Movement: Grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com
CAPE—Concerned Advocates for Public Education: Capeducation.blogspot.com

Props to all for super Jan. 21st protest to Stop School Closings

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUTS TO:

The Emergency Coalition to Stop School Closings
Norm Seigel's Legal Team
PS 15K
Jamaica HS
Maxwell HS (good to the last drop!)
Concerned Advocates for Public Education — CAPE
Grassroots Education Movement — GEM
Class Size Matters
Independent Community of Educators — ICE/UFT
Teachers for Just Contract — TJC/UFT
New York Collective of Radical Educators - NYCoRE
Coalition for Public Education — CPE
Center for Immigrant Families - CIF
Concerned Parents of East New York
TAGNY
keepSCRLalive
PS 123 — PTA Harlem
DC-37 Local 372 (NYC Board of Ed Employees)
NY State Senator Perkins
University Heights HS
iCOPE
Metropolitan Corporate Academy HS
Columbus HS
Global HS
Beach Channel HS
Facing History School
John Dewey HS
Patrick Sullivan, Manhattan PEP member
Richard Barr, VP, Political Action in School District 3
Marvin Holland, TWU 100 & Take Back Our Union

Join the emerging coalition by sending representativess to our GEM meetings or formally endorsing our coalition.

If your UFT School Chapter or Parents Association will not get involved in this critical struggle for the preservation of public education and/or endorse our campaign, you can create an active local Save Our School Committtee (with schoolworkers, parents, students, community) and endorse GEM's citywide work. Even if Bloomberg-Klein's PEP votes to close your school or to have a charter school invade, our work to overturn Bloomberg’s destructive actions & policies will not stop.

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Notables Absent at Jan.21 Rally:

• King Bloomberg

• Duke Chancellor Klein & his Panel for Educational Policy Puppets (PEPp)

• NYC Dept. of Education (TWEED officials)

• UFT — Teachers Union Officialdom (controlled by Pres. Mulgrew, UNITY & New Action Caucuses)

• UFT Brooklyn Charter School Administrators (who have invaded 2 Brooklyn Public Schools)

• Green Dots Charter School Network (supported by the UFT & provide no teacher tenure rights)

• NYC Democratic Party Politicians (with noted exceptions)

• Educational Equality Project (Sharpton-Gingrich-Duncan Alliance for Mayoral Control & Charters)

• Bill Gates

• The Walton Foundation (Sam's Club & Walmart)

• Eli Broad

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From Rafael Feliciano, President FMPR (Puerto Rico Teachers' Union):

“Para mi es esperanzador el trabajo que esta realizando el GEM. Tenemos muchas cosas para compartir; es la misma lucha”. For me the work that GEM has achieved is a hopeful sign. We [of Puerto Rico] have much to share. It is the same struggle."

From John Dewey HS Colleague:

It was an honor to be out there with you all, and, like you said here, the students kept the spirits flying!!!

My 2 colleagues and myself came from John Dewey HS in Bklyn, and we ended up over near the park, but when we walked passed the mayor's residence, it was a real show of unity and strength, very impressive (as it was near the Park, only I wish we had gotten to the main area. Cops told organizers only the 100people there could be there,but there were MANY 100' when we passed cross the street at 5:30 pm or so!!!

Now to build on the momentum. Maybe Unity [UFT party in control] can learn something from the beauty and brilliance of your organizing power and our unified resistance- they certianly don't lead in any viable way, and haven't since Randi W. joined her (OUR) wagon to the "Green Dot" star!!!---- that is 5 years or so ago. When will the 1000's of our colleagues wake up to being sold down the river???? Ms. W has gone Corporate very blatantly since. She can be a poster child for the charters at this point...some "family" she is to us!!!

From new member of our Emergency Coalition:

Very important to put this in context, historical and conjunctural. Bloomberg's current school closings and creation of a privatized, "parallel" set of schools takes place in the social context of massive drive to corporatize the public domain. Health care, the right to pollute the atmosphere, and now candidates for public office! See, for example, "Privatizing Everything ". But the historical background is important, too.

We "oldtimers" remember the opening salvos of the attacks on public education in the late 80s and 90s.

Waves of cutbacks, privatizing services, imposition of standardized testing, attacks on due process, etc. . . . leading in the last several years to the generalization of the "business model" and charters. This means that the movement against school closings has the potential for tremendous breadth in the domain of educational reform, both here in NYC and around the country, and, eventually a link-up with other opponents of the neoliberal project. It also means that we need to organize for the long-haul, build lasting and activist organizations of educators (including us adjuncts), parents andcommunities, and young people.

From a GEM member:

Thursday at Bloomberg's was the beginning of a movement. Whether or not you think the PEP is a rubber stamp and that we should be preparing for the loss, which is what I have been hearing from many in the organizing groups. I would like to raise the more important issue that we ought to focus not so much on the outcome of the PEP but the fact that we are in the beginning stages of a movement--a movement to protect our democratic rights and the right to a public school system that provides a safe environment where students,their families are valued respected and receive as much education as their minds can absorb.

What I am saying is even if all 22 schools were voted to remain open we all know we still have work to do. Remember 90 schools have already been closed under this administration and there are deep concerns about the policies that are in place inside these public schools.
One example here:
http://www.nyclu.org/news/nyclu-aclu-file-class-action-lawsuit-against-nypd-over-excessive-force-wrongful-arrests-new-yor.

So regardless of the outcome of Tuesday PEP we approach the event with this mindset.

Rally to STOP School Closures at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Home 1/21/10

The Mayor's block on East 79th Street was packed on Thursday evening with New York City students, parents and teachers who are furious over Mayor Bloomberg's overt attempt to undermine public education. Closing 22 more schools and giving public school space to charter schools are two of the many destructive tactics being utilized by the Mayor.

Students, parents and teachers understand what the Mayor does not.

Norman Siegel and students from Beach Channel and Jamaica High School spoke with protesters after they marched in front of Mayor Bloomberg's home.

The march was a powerful protest against Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Education's efforts to pull the rug out from under and destroy public education.

Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to hand over NYC children to private interests must be stopped!

Students from the 22 schools understand that Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein are the ones who've failed.

Protest at Bloomberg Home

Protest at Bloomberg Home, Jan. 21, 2010. The finale at the gathering area on Central Park and 79th St. Led by GEM's Angel Gonzalez, student speakers Rachel Ali and Chris Petrillo, CAPE/PS 15'a Lydia Bellahcene an Julie Cavanagh,Jamaica HS James Eterno, Norman Siegel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0F16OS7wIY




Please feel free to use this video from the: "Teachers Protest School Closing and Charter School Invasions" event.

http://vimeo.com/8931307

In Solidarity
ArtAndStruggle.Com
artist & activist collective

UFT Officialdom Dons Empty Militant Rhetoric

Mulgrew+Weingarten=UNITY UFT SELL-OUTS
Cut from the same corporate management -collaborationist cloth! Don't be fooled!

The UFT officialdom, in their quest to appear militant, has been adopting GEM's and opposition caucus' language & behavior. RECENTLY there have been some sightings of the UFT :

• displaying GEM's Don't Privatize banner twice in propaganda pieces.
• adopting GEM's colors (black & yellow) in their UFT buttons. What happened to the UFT sky-blue & white colors?
• grandstanding & talking our grassroots' militant rhetoric at the hearings, DA. (But is empty rhetoric without a militant strategy.)
• mobilizing citywide to the Jan. 21 PEP.

But there is no evidence of one single UFT educational and analytical flier at any of the recent local school "closings" protests or hearings!

Today, the UFT are doing last minute advertizing for the PEP Jan. 26 meeting (Congrats, but will the UFT sign up and mobilize every school?) GEM & Coalition groups have been mobilizing since December '09. With all our dues money, shouldn't take this long to follow their GEM members "good foot" steps.

We need to see through the UFT Officialdom's attempts at cooptation and manipulations. GEM is emerging as a leading advocate educational and teacher justice. But lately the some , UFT officers have been also sighted as going out of their way to sabotage our good work and members. In some cases, district reps or UFT-UNITY chapter leaders have harassed and have attempted to scare away teachers, students and parents away from GEM and its good work. Some UFT-UNITY officials have gone around to either harass and even threaten to take away their bribes, perks (e.g. getting paid UFT convention trips, wine & cheese parties or patronage UFT jobs).

NOW, having a big rally (see UFT ad below) doesn't necessarily equal militancy? We've got to analyze the content of their work. What are the militant messages and organizing efforts that are being called for by the UFT? The right wing(e.g. the recent Tea Party rallies) and the Democratic Party liberals mobilize but those actions doesn't necessarily equal an effective strategy. Will the UFT do more organizing to reverse the school closing decisions that the puppet PEP Bloom-Kleiners will make????? If the UFT officialdom (Unity & New Action Caucuses) would embrace and adopt GEM's winning strategy, then the UFT would be really talkin' and walkin' the militant walk.

Put your money where your mouth is, UFT. Imagine what a powerhouse: the UFT Officials united with the militancy of a militant democratic rank & file! GEM promotes a strategy of building the organization of its members with a bottom-up democratic decision making. GEM seeks to mobilize in a broadly and massively its members in unity with parents, student and community in order to reverse the decades of deterioration of education and the conditions of educators.

UFT continues to utilize strategies that historically have failed education and instead have benefitted the corporate powers' neoliberal agendas and the officialdom's pockets. Strategies that have focussed primarily on either:

• legal-judicial wrangling
• endorsing & financing politicians
• legislative reforms
• being at the table or in-bed with management or corporate heads

have brought us to the sorry state we are in. Millions of members dollars wasted to bring us to this sorry state we are in. It took about a decade to get a CFE ruling that produced more dollars for the DOE privatization drive. The recently announced "Small Class Size Lawsuit" will again fail and drag on for years without a member-based strategy.

Our UFT members and our school community constituents can wait. GEM will continue to educate, organize, and mobilize our members. Join us.

Opinion of Angel Gonzalez, GEM

UFT ad for Jan. 21 Protest:

UFT RALLY TO PREVENT DOE'S PROPOSED SCHOOL CLOSINGS! Protest at the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) - Join in solidarity to protest the Department of Education's proposed school closings. Closing schools is not the answer!! WHO: United Federation of Teachers WHEN: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 @ 4:00 PM WHERE: Brooklyn Tech High School - 29 Fort Greene Place - Brooklyn, NY. (Rally to be held on South Elliott Place between Lafayette &DeKalb.) DIRECTIONS via MTA: Bus: B25, B26, B52 to Fort Greene Place & Fulton Street; B38 to Fort Greene Place & DeKalb Avenue. Subway: B, M, Q, R to DeKalb Avenue; C to Lafayette Avenue; G to Fulton Street; 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins Street. For an event flyer click here and for info on proposed school closings go here. BRING YOUR UNION BANNERS!!

THE SUN WAS ON OVERTIME TONITE!

Thanks to Ellen D. for the photos, which we're trying to re-mount on this post. Stay tuned.

Also see Maura Walz' piece at Gotham Schools.

Angel writes:

Thanks all for supporting in every way that you did to make this a historic & monumental day against King Bloomberg's threats to close 21 more of our schools in his quest to privatize. You made sun radiate on overtime this evening on behalf of our children. We have launched an unstoppable united movement of students, parents, teachers, labor and community and are beginning to unleash the mighty power of our awakening giant, our working class communities. The corporate billionaire thugs, represented by Bloomberg and Klein, will be stopped and pro-public education forces will prevail.

Let's find ways to build on our strengths and overcome the many weakness. It ain't gonna be easy but we've got no other alternative but to fight on. We have to figure out creative ways to build school-based democratic organizations that will be able to take on the corporate-government DOE that relentlessly assaults our public education.

Please send us your reflective comments, perspectives and analyses regarding today's event, the organizing efforts, where we are at and on what needs to be done. We can post those views on our websites and thus encourage the necessary dialogue, questioning and debate.

Keep on educating, mobilizing and organizing. Let's work to double, triple, . . . today's' 4 to 500 . . . next time !

— Angel Gonzalez of the emerging Coalition TO STOP THE CLOSINGS & GEM

As I would tell my six grade students, you are:

"the bomb-diggety-cool-fresh-hip-hot-smokin-groovy-radical-dope-DYNOMITE!"

(say that 10 times real fast)