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Petition Tag - teachers
1. Bring Back Xhosa and Zulu in Schools 
16 June 1976 marked a dawn of an era where the attestation of languages, particularly Afrikaans in schools, was laid down. 36 years later we, black South Africans, find ourselves in the very same position - a position that still disadvantages the black majority of this country by positioning English and Afrikaans as the dominant languages in the national school curriculum.
As reported by the Sunday Times (22/01/2012 - "Xhosa, Zulu being axed at state schools") state schools are "scrapping" African languages and forcing pupils to study Afrikaans as their alternate second language. Particularly in the Western Cape province.
This cannot go unchallenged and necessitates resistance as well as a call to rally behind African languages in schools.
2. Allow students to gift teachers at Tafes and Universities
A lovely and incrediable teacher was forced to return her gifts that I gave her to say I appreciate you as a teacher, she is an inspiration to all with what she been through who had her gifts cruely snatch off her, because centre management said they weren't allowed to accept gifts from current or former students which is CRAZY I have actually checked with the public policy and they stated they do not prevent the gifting of teacher from students, it is organisation decision. What makes me mad is a number of other teacher who were given gifts by others and myself were able to keep their gifts.
3. Save Jobs of North Carolina Teachers
Across the state of NC, as the education budget thins, our children are getting the short end of the stick. Teachers are being let go, resources are being lost, class sizes are increasing, teacher assistants are being eliminated, and schools are disappearing altogether. In order to help with the budget crisis, public schools are being asked to cut their budgets.
When NC already ranks 44th in the nation in spending on education, can we really afford to cut spending? By cutting the education budget our children are being deprived of the best possible education. Education is paramount to the future success of our children.
A cuts-only approach will not begin to solve the problems we are experiencing; in fact, it only ensures we will pay an even higher premium socially & economically, personally & professionally, for decades to come. As a teacher, a parent, a home-owner, and a tax-payer -- as well as a human being -- we are horrified by all the cuts that directly impact children in our state, especially those to education. You are creating further inequality between the have's and have-not's, ensuring that only those families, schools, districts, and communities with money will be able to bridge the gap between the ideal of high expectations and the practicality of financial resources.
There is a saying that goes, “Those who can, can; those who can’t, teach.” This saying truly disgusts me because as a teacher, I have found that this is one of the most rewarding and important jobs to have. Without our teachers, there would be no other jobs. Not only are we overworked and substantially underpaid, but based on the cuts public schools are being asked to make, we are also underappreciated. In order to teach students, the strategies and techniques that are used span across all of the content areas; therefore, it is the responsibility of all teachers.
Governor Bev Perdue states “Every kid – no matter where he or she lives in NC – must graduate from high school with what it really takes to succeed in a career, in a two- or four- year college or in Technical training.” How can those trusted to protect NC public education even consider eliminating positions within school systems? Sadly, by making the proposed budget cuts, you are affecting the future of our children by limiting how much they learn and how well they learn.
As the Governor, do you really believe that every kid should receive an education that will enable and prepare them to become our future leaders? If so, how will eliminating positions in the schools and increasing class sizes help kids perform at or above grade level so that they can graduate and become successful, productive members of society.
4. Against the Massive Teacher Layoffs in California
Over 19,000 layoff notices were given to teachers throughout the state of California, a state that has seen periods of crisis similar to such before. An Educational cut of this magnitude will effect classrooms throughout the state substantially.
"These current cuts are sure to push us further down the scale. Our future depends on our ability to prepare the next generation for success in the hyper-competitive global economy. The budget crisis and the teacher layoffs we are now witnessing makes that challenge much, much harder. In order to deliver the quality education our students need we must get off this budget roller coaster and find a stable, long-term solution to education funding. Our future depends on it."
Jack O'Connell- State Superintendent of Public Instruction
5. Meet the demands of our striking teachers
In 2010, precisely the latter part of the year, leadership of the Ghana National union of Teachers were agitating for a speedy migration of their members on to the single spine salary structure(SSSS). After three month, the government finally migrated the teachers onto the SSSS with disparities.
As compared to the Police Service that had a significant pay rise, the teachers had a reduction in their pay contrary to the promise and manifesto promise made by the ruling party.
Proposed cuts in public funding for ESOL
People who move to the UK need English language skills to access training, gain employment and participate in society. Enabling new arrivals and longer-term residents to fulfil their potential is essential. Migrants bring with them valuable skills, qualifications and experience which can lie untapped unless they have the chance to learn English.
The best way to achieve this is through publicly funded English language provision known as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages).
Adequate and sustained funding of ESOL is not a luxury. It is an essential public service. This was recognized by Skills for Life, the national strategy for the improvement of adult literacy and numeracy. Thousands of migrants achieved levels of English which enabled them to join the jobs market, access training and participate more fully in their local communities. The strategy created a national curriculum for ESOL, training and qualifications for ESOL teachers and a research centre, the National Research and Development Centre. But now, the funding made available through the strategy is under threat and the good work begun by Skills for Life could be lost.
The government proposals indicate that:
- Full funding will be only be available for unemployed people on job-seeker’s allowance (JSA) or on employment support allowance (ESA), described as ‘active benefits’.
People on other benefits, described as ‘non-active benefits’, such as income support, or on low wages, and their dependants will have to pay the co-funded rate of 50% or the full cost of the course.
- Asylum seekers and people on Section 4 support will not be eligible for full public funding - they will be expected to pay 50%.
- There will be no public funding for ESOL in the workplace. Learners or employers will be expected to pay full cost.
- Since 2007, ESOL learners on benefits or low incomes have been able to get help towards fees from the discretionary Learner Support Fund for ESOL. We fear this will be unavailable in 2011-12.
- The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) grant which provided support for 16 - 18 year old ESOL learners will be withdrawn.
- The weighting for ESOL and Literacy, which was reduced from 1.4 to 1.2 in 2009, is to be further reduced to 1.0.
We predict devastating effects on ESOL provision, teachers' jobs and ESOL students. We believe that people on low wages, women and asylum seekers are likely to be worst hit.
7. Say "No" to further pension changes
ATL believes modestly-paid education staff deserve good pensions as part of a fair remuneration package with enough income to live independently and with dignity in retirement.
The coalition government plans huge reforms to public sector pensions, potentially telling education professionals:
You must pay more for your pension;
You must work longer before getting it;
You will get less money in retirement;
Say no to paying more, working longer, getting less!
Sign this petition to join ATL in speaking out for pensions; rejecting attempts to force reform on recently reviewed schemes; and telling the coalition government that this triple whammy of change is unacceptable.
8. Change the name "National Institute On Drug Abuse" to "National Institute On Diseases Of Addiction"
Potential Institute Name Change - H.R.1348/S. 1101 - On March 6, 2007 , Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and John Sullivan (R-OK) introduced H.R.1348 to re-designate the National Institute on Drug Abuse as National Institute on Diseases of Addiction, and to re-designate the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as the National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health.
Similarly , on March 28, Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced S. 1101, the Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007 , which would make the same changes. In a press release, Senator Biden said the intent of the legislation is to recognize addiction as a preventable and treatable neurobiological disease, and to better identify the roles and missions of our research institutes. "Addiction is a neurobiological disease - not a lifestyle choice - and it's about time we start treating it as such", said Sen. Biden. "We must lead by example and change the names of our federal research institutes to accurately reflect this reality. By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction, both of which are critical steps in getting past the social stigma too often associated with the disease. "
The House bill was referred to the health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee; the senate bill was marked up and passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on June 27 , 2007. The bill has been placed on the Senate calendar under General Orders. The bill is currently being "held" by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). He must release his hold if the bill is to receive full consideration in the Senate.; Exert taken from 2008 edition of N.I.D.A Publication.
9. Support Forgein Language Teachers at Soldan HS
The petition is to keep the foreign language teachers at Soldan High School. These teachers are the most valuable and exciting teachers to learn from. Foreign language are the classes that all the students love to go to and enjoy. Learning a new language is a great opportunity to most students that really want to travel to different countries.
The foreign language teachers have really got a hold on the students they are like mothers and fathers from another country. If the teachers are to leave how would we ever understand another teacher and would have to be a whole new process of learning. Change may be good but the students of Soldan would be just fine with the teachers that we have known all our high school year/s.
10. Bring our aftercare program back to Vernon teachers where it belongs!
Up until the week of May 10, 2010 Vernon teachers and staff have run our schools aftercare program which has been a great success ever since they opened their doors 4yrs ago thanks to Linda Nasarow and her staff. That was until the Sparta teachers came in this week, pushed our teachers out and treated both the parents and children very rudely and with a great deal of disrespect.
Sparta only has 20 aftercare children while Vernon has 70, Sparta is pushing our teachers out and using OUR money to pay their salaries! They've referred to our children as commodities and don't have the teaching background or credentials that our Vernon teachers do.
We need to come together and bring our program back to Vernon where it belongs. Currently all of the staff is from Sparta, why should we pay Sparta salaries? It’s time to take a stand for what’s right and send the Sparta staff back to Sparta and bring our Vernon teachers back!
11. Increase teachers' salaries
-Teachers are highly certified but do not get paid accordingly.
-Teachers only make about $47,100 to $51,180 annually, with about half of them having master degrees.
12. Support Classroom Preparation Day
At the beginning of each school year, teachers spend the first week in staff development workshops.
Traditionally, teachers are given one day during this week to set up their classroom in preparation for 1st day of school and the entire year. Last year the principal did not give us time to prepare our classrooms during the week. Consequently, teachers had to spend time on Saturday, on their own time, to prepare.
As a consequence, many teachers were not prepared and had to continue their preparation during classroom time, conference time, lunch time, and after school. The principals at the other schools in the district did give their teachers time to prepare for school.
13. Alberta Schools - Principles for 21st Century Education
Alberta should be proud of its school system. It ranks second in the world behind Finland in terms of educational outcomes. Our schools are also ranked by several studies to be the best in Canada and are strongly supported by local communities. Of course, there are challenges – there always will be. But our students, working with their teachers and supported by parents and the community, are generally doing well and our schools are amongst the best in the world.
The challenge for Alberta is that doing well now may not be good enough for our future. As a small jurisdiction – just 3.5 million people – we face growing competition from others for talent, capital and resources. “Good” may no longer be good enough – we need our schools to be great so that Alberta can build its next generation economy, enhance and develop our communities and sustain our environment.
It is time for change.
Our social and economic well-being requires a different kind of school and learning from that which helped build such a successful Province. Essential skills (literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, digital navigation) remain essential, but so are other skills – social networking and team skills, problem solving, participatory democracy skills, Imagineering and creative skills, design…there are many such lists and different conceptions of what these lists mean. The point is simple: we need to rethink what it is our schools are doing and how they are doing it, building on our success in doing so.
What we have to do as citizens is decide what our schools are for – “what is the purpose of our schools in the 21st century?”. Then we can work out just what schools should work on to continue to be amongst the best in the world.
Schools are the foundation of civil society and they lay the foundation for life long learning. They are the hub of communities. Teachers, as professionals, need to be nimble and adaptive as knowledge and understanding changes so quickly. They also need to be respected as professional. Parents need to be engaged in their child’s learning. Students need to be seen as citizens in their own right and their rights should be respected.
We are preparing our young people for a world that is different from the one we grew up in, for jobs that don’t yet exist and for the reality of constant and faster change. What is clear, is that the new economy is driven by knowledge and the speed at which people adapt and learn will become critical to both their success and the future of the Province.
Also clear is that an old reliance on basic skills will not be enough to secure the long term well-being of individuals, families or communities. We need to see education is the primary investment we will make in our Province’s future – they are the foundation for lifelong learning.
Education is also the bedrock of democratic society. Education is the great leveller – it allows people to develop to the potential of their intelligence and hard work, and breaks down the cultures of entitlement based on social class, bloodlines, race or religion. Citizens must be literate, have a decent understanding of history, science, politics, math, and be able to apply reason, evidence and critical thinking both to his or her own life and to the broader context of society and the environment. They must be encouraged to use their own minds and conscience to guide their decisions, rather than abdicating this responsibility to authority figures. They should also learn the difference between scepticism and denial of evidence.
Critical thinking should not be confused with criticism of thinking.
An investment in education and learning should be driven by some core principles – principles that commit us to a vision of schooling that focuses on excellence, supports differences and makes sure we do not loose out on the global “war for talent”.
We know that the Government of Alberta intends to introduce a new School Act. This should be an Act that stands the test of time, that helps Alberta build its future and enhance its position in the world.
The Act and the work associated with it needs to be based on some key principles. We should make these principled commitments as a Province so that our schools continue to be amongst the best in the world. You can help by signing up to these principles – we will let you know how to do so shortly, but use this blog to register your interests.
14. Support CUSD 200 Teachers and Staff
In response to the petition asking residents to support a wage freeze and benefits cut for teachers and staff of CUSD 200, how can we in good conscience ask those responsible for the education of our children to take a paycut or have their benefits taken away?
15. Save Meadows Upper Elementary School
Due to Avondale School District's financial crisis a Building Utilization Study was conducted in the fall of 2009. This study was charged with the analysis of current and projected student enrollment, anticipated per pupil funding, residence trends, demographics, school building utilization, and school configuration.
The recommendation proposed was to close one of the five elementary schools in the district. The result of which will maximize opportunities for student achievement to deliver the best instructional program possible within the Avondale School District.
16. Ban punishment, rationing and denial of bathroom use in schools
District 87 has no restroom policy. It is left up to the teacher's discretion and at Irving Elementary that equates to, if you need to use the restroom frequently or when it is inconvenient you will receive a disciplinary mark equal to if you hit, bite, name call, or destroy property. I have contacted several teachers through out the years and this remains the same. I contacted the principal this year and yet it remains the same.
OSHA protects an adult right to use the restroom at anytime yet it is up to us to protect this right for our children.
Some might say just hold it is good practice as to not interrupt the class learning environment. To that I ask you to remember sitting at a desk doing the potty dance. Did you recall anything the teacher said? Were other student busy giggling at you instead of listening to the teacher?
http://www.nospank.net/frbw.htm
17. Hawaii Community Stands Ready to Help Offset Impacts of Teacher Furloughs
The decline in Hawaii’s economy and state tax revenues have necessitated corresponding cuts to public programs. There are plenty of unnecessary government programs available to cut.
However, instead of cutting the Department of Education (DoE)’s singularly over‐large central bureaucracy as appropriate, the DoE and the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), have determined to meet the DoE budget reduction mandate by, in part, furloughing public school teachers for 17 days each year.
The government option has failed and the burden is being thrown onto students, frontline teachers and families. In addition to bearing job losses while having to pay the already increasing taxes that the Hawaii legislature is pursuing, Hawaii families now have to bear the additional financial burden of providing child care or suitable private instruction for their children on the furlough days. Plus, our teachers are out of work for 17 days.
18. Child Sex Offender Protection: Ambertrax
Please send a copy of this on your letter head if available to your local Senator and Congressman and delete this sentence. 1/2
AMBERTRAX
REAUTHORIZATION PETITION
A blind spot exists in law enforcements ability to protect our school children / grandchildren from registered sex offenders, whose void is about to get much bigger unless confronted, assigned our symbiotic mandates and a federal oversight program and support is passed into law.
19. Support San Lorenzo High School Health Teachers
The Health teachers at San Lorenzo High are wonderful teachers. In their classes they teach anatomy, sexual health, street smarts, the effects of drug use, CPR, and other useful tools that students can take to adulthood. They have recently been notified that they are being laid-off, and will not be returning next year to teach health.
Health classes have been a graduation requirement for over 30 years, and have helped students to really understand their bodily functions and the effects of bacteria, diseases, drugs, etc. to their health. Health classes should remain a graduation requirement, because it is important for all students to know about their health.
20. Keep Mrs. Linda Dysart Teaching
On May 11, 2009 Mrs. Linda Dysart's class was informed that she would not be returning as she was being let go. Holding back tears she explained to the class how all of her classes had been redistributed to other teachers or completely taken off the available classes. Classes like drama, speech, and psychology were all given to other teachers to instruct. Classes like creative writing were gotten rid of.
She also coached both flags and show choir; she herself has not been informed of what is to come of those and is not even sure if she will be allowed to continue coaching them. Linda Dysart is an exceptional teacher and lady. If she is let go so many people will be let down. All the students taking, or planning to take, her prior mentioned classes will not be able to experience what an amazing teacher she is. If let go students in drama, psychology, speech, flags, and show choir will all be let down as they will not have the teaching of Mrs. Linda Dysart behind them.
She is an exceptional role model for Delta High School students and is one of the best we've seen in communicating, sympathizing, and directing students.
21. No School Uniforms in Craven County High Schools 2009
We the teenagers of Craven County School District feel strongly about the uniforms and would like to inform you of somethings since we never really get a chance to say how we feel about any of this. I'm using this as an opportunity to speak out for the thousands of voices that were hushed or told this decision is made.
I am not criticizing the decision of my teachers or school board, I am just asking them to take the time and sit and talk with a student and ask them has uniforms benefited us or is the behavior still the same at many high schools? The answer to these questions will surprise many of these teachers to have a student speak how they feel but I thought that's what we are supposed to be able to do have a voice freedom of speech.
22. Petition for Adequate Staffing of CPS Schools
We demand an end to the sabotage of our schools. Every year, many schools, often the same schools CPS later wants to “turnaround”, end up short staffed. New staff are not hired until at least the 20th school day, causing classes to be overcrowded, without teachers, and resulting in massive schedule changes in October. Because enrollment is underestimated, kindergarteners are forced into classes of 40 students while the school waits for the board to approve another teacher.
In most cases, this travesty contributes to the educational disparities of students who already have social and economic disadvantages. The CPS formula for assigning teachers allows for no flexibility, and leads to split level classes, dropped electives, and overcrowded classes.
A formula that took into consideration the students’ needs would allow for smaller classes and more teacher availability.
23. Stop California's Budget Cuts
People around California are losing their jobs. Why? These budget cuts are meant to save money that are supposed to be used for their salary. The plan for them is to fire thousands of Americans so they can 'save teh economy'! People affected are number one, teachers; the government will fire a countless amount of them and make the ones who aren't to take the responsibility of more kids-their classes can grow up to 40 kids! Second, people affected include people for law enforcement. We will see many investigators and such fired and sections of jails shut down. How can we do the work of justice if this happens? How can we disadvantage our children, the futures of America?
Would you want your children to be in a class of 40 kids? This would bring a disadvantage to their education, as the teacher will have a great number of kids to educate already. Do you want more crime to come by shutting down whole sections of jails and thousands of law enforcers? Signing this petition would help bring a stop to the firing of thousands of more teachers, educators, and law enforcing workers who are at a risk of losing their jobs. Think, how does making teachers lose their jobs, giving kids learning disadvantages, and allowing the stop of law enforcement helping the economy?
24. Stop ExCEL, Let Sartorette Parents and Teachers Vote!
Cambrian School District is currently planning on implementing a program called RTL using the ExCEL model (Excellence:A Commitment to Every Learner): within Sartorette beginning Fall 2009 meeting the requirements of the law for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
The district has already decided upon the ExCEL model which will mimic those currently in place for Fammatre and Bagby without considering our individual student requirements.
We are requesting a postponment of implementing such a program until parents and teachers are comfortable with the changes this will force upon each and every student within our school.
25. Improving Education for Special Needs and the Disabled in Public High Schools
About 1 in 150 children has been diagnosed with autism, based on a 2002 study done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This can be rephrased as being a rate of 6.6 per 1,000 children. This outdated census is based on results conducted in only 14 out of the 50 states in the United States of America. Nor does this study include the most populous states such as California, Texas or Florida. Clearly the study is limited and the numbers reflect only the tip of a monumental and critical iceberg. There is little interest or regard for a problem that needs to be solved.
One problem is that children are being diagnosed too late, a good amount of time after they have already started school. Autism is hard to detect in its early stages, and its symptoms are not obvious until its victims have reached school-age. That is when there is a distinguishable difference between the child and its companions as well as the rate of learning and progress. Many studies prove that autism can be diagnosed by age 1. That is true. However, that is if parents take their children to doctors and specialists for evaluation. If there are no symptoms and no ways to look for early signs, about three-fourths of children will begin to appear to have the condition at age 9 years. This is according to a report in the June issue of archives of General Psychiatry. This means that before the child reaches the age of nine, he/she will be shuffled through his/her early years of school and then fall far behind other students upon diagnosis.
Another problem is that after these children have been diagnosed, they are placed in cramped environments labeled “Special Education”. Overcrowded classrooms and scarce teachers for the growing population of autistic students is one obvious aspect. These classes consist of teachers who work with a wide variety of disabled students from learning disabilities to speech or language impairments, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, multiple disabilities, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, visual impairments, autism, combined deafness and blindness, and traumatic brain injury. These classes are not much better in providing aid, the only difference is that the students with disabilities are removed from “normal” society and grouped together where teachers will attempt to educate the wide variety of disabilities similarly. According to executive director Kim Sweet of Advocates for Children of New York, only “a small number of special education teachers work with students with severe cases of mental retardation or autism, primarily teaching them life skills and basic literacy.”
A fourth problem is pointed out in an article by Thurlow, Sinclair and Johnson. Published in the Publication of National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, it states that “the dropout rate for students with disabilities is approximately twice that of general education students (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996)… and have been identified as being among the lowest performing students on current high-stakes tests… These scores have consequences for schools and often for students. Increasingly, high-stakes tests have significant consequences for students—they determine whether they are promoted from one grade to the next, or graduate from high school with a standard diploma (Thurlow & Johnson, 2000). Students who experience failure or who see little chance of passing these tests may decide not to stay in school—because either they will not be promoted or they will not graduate with a standard diploma… Accountability without the necessary opportunities and support for youth with disabilities to achieve high standards may increase the rate at which they drop out of school and fail to successfully complete school.”
In today’s state, helping students develop emotionally, feel comfortable in social situations, and be aware of socially acceptable behavior is not enough “general education” to equip them for the real world. The effects of general certifications versus advanced certifications to teach in private schools for autism are vastly different. The difference is that private schools receive enough funding (from parents) to effectively train students while public schools only have enough to get by. One example of an effective private school is the McCarton School. By the end of 2007, five of the 23 children in the school will be mainstreamed back into their districts into regular classes. Private schools use many tools that public schools can’t afford to use which include: intensive speech therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration, etc. to “teach the children to function in their community and in their homes—in the places they actually live”, according to Feldman who is an instructor at the McCarton School holding a PhD. in psychology. The key is that their teachers have specialized training- something that many schools lack.
Does it make any sense at all that in a society where the rate of autism is steadily rising year after year, our school budgets continue to be cut more and more year after year? That is like withdrawing from a deposit in the bank while obliviously expecting to never run out even without making more deposits and at the same being shocked that the interest rate of return in our savings is decreasing. The more you put in, the greater the interest rate of return that our society will have. Children are the future. To take money from the future, is to set the nation up for doom. What kind of nation will it be in 20 years from today or even 30 years, when high school drop-outs are our voters and politicians while special needs adults join the growing number of homeless people? It will be a nation void of stable citizens producing stable incomes to support the social security system. Eventually, the system will crumble from the burden.
If governments need further proof that this crisis is real, let them look no further. Let them observe the increasing rate at which private schools are opening to make up for the obvious lack and inefficiency in public schools. Dr. Cecilia McCarton, Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine founded the McCarton Center for Developmental Pediatrics in 1998. She founded the McCarton School based on the increasing number of parents searching hopelessly for a cure, for treatment, for improvement, a sign or anything to relieve. “The numbers of autistic children we began to see in our Center suddenly became an avalanche. We would be giving therapy to these children and there would be no schools for them, no places for them to go to after age five. Autism overtook us,” she writes.
Let governments observe the flooding of public schools with autism and the inability of small private schools to keep up with demand. Additional solutions for inadequate education involve the increase of funding so that the range of influence and therapy can expand and provide more benefit from the use of IEP’s rather than requiring the use of such plans and not providing tools to carry them out. Public schools can be slowly turned into similar replicas of private school systems.
A small but growing number of districts are modeled after private schools with their personalized environments and highly qualified teachers. Health coverage is often brought up as an alternative to private schools, except health coverage does everything but that…cover. The responsibility is left to the schools.
Today, under P.L.102-119, all schools must offer special educational services and, unfortunately, the government ensures that only the bare minimum is done.Public education is not broken, we just spend too little on our schools and waste too much on less important issues.
26. Save the West Milford Parks and Recreation Pre-School
The West Milford Parks and Recreation Pre-School has been educating the young children of our township for over 25 years. However, the students, teachers and parents alike are worried that this will be their last year in their beloved school.
The West Milford Parks and Recreation Pre-School is a small, family oriented school that promotes not only the highest education available, but also a family friendly atmosphere for our children and their parents. Our children spend their days with devoted and loving teachers. These teachers have collectively dedicated over 50 years to educating our young children. Our teachers deserve job security and our children deserve the best that we can provide for them.
So, the families of students past, present and future have banded together to let the Township of West Milford know that we will not allow this to happen to our school. If the program must be moved to a new location, it must be one that is appropriate for our young children. One with opportunities for safe and structured play, both indoors and out.
Please sign this petition in order to keep the West Milford Parks and Recreation Pre-School open. Our children deserve the best academic and social education possible and that is found at the West Milford Parks and Recreation Pre-School.
Petition Prepared by:
Melissa Pritchett
Petition Circulated by:
Tracey Clark
The General Teaching Council have just allowed a teacher (who can't be named for legal reasons) to carry on teaching after he viewed porn and used school telephones to call premium rate sex lines during school times, yet they are trying to strike off a teacher Adam Walker for viewing the BNP website and contributing to a local community forum.
Mr. Caputo is a highly trained and skilled professional.
He has been helping the class with the computer troubleshooting and the ROP web page design courses.
29. Campaign For Filipino Teachers and all Government Employees
Our Stand: A Genuine GSIS for Government Employees
As an institution, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is supposedly catering to the needs of its members, acting as the ever-dependable helping hand when times are tough.
As GSIS members coming from various government institutions, we can no longer stand silently as our rights are violated by the commission and omission of a government agency entrusted to safeguard the hard-earned contributions of government workers.
With the assumption of PGM Winston Garcia to GSIS, our contributions are denied from us, if not outrightly withheld through nefarious policy pronouncements and program adjustments such as Board Resolution No. 219 and Board Resolution No. 188 that run counter to the spirit and intent of RA 8291.
These programs and resolutions have replaced the Life Endowment Policy (LEP) with the Enhanced Life Policy (ELP) doing away with benefits like Total Permanent Disability, Policy Maturity, Accidental Death Benefits, Cash Surrender Value as well as the implementation of Claims and Loan Independent Policy (CLIP) that can ‘clip the benefits’ of the unsuspecting!
Enough is Enough!
Thus, we stand for the following demands:
• Stop all unjust deductions from members of interest and surcharges due to institutional lapses or under-remittance of government agencies to GSIS.
• That said lapses in remittance by institutions like the DBM and DepEd be not taken from members’ funds.
• That all undue hardship in the procurement of pension for retirees as well as all unjust and questionable deductions from retirement benefits be stopped immediately.
• Stop the continuous deduction from members with cancelled and foreclosed housing loans.
• Implement and/or apply the options afforded by Republic Act 6552 otherwise known as Realty Act or more popularly known as Maceda Law to members who could no longer afford to pay their housing loans.
• Junk the Premium Based Policy of Winston Garcia!
• Implement correctly the one grade promotion upon retirement as stated in the Magna for Public School Teachers (RA 4670).
• Restoration of the 16% annual increase in pensions of all retirees.
• Call for an immediate Congressional Inquiry on the continued violation of DBM, DepEd, GSIS/ Winston Garcia and other agencies of the provisions of RA 8291 and RA 4670.
• Conduct a comprehensive AUDIT and ACCOUNTING of GSIS financial transactions and prosecution of liable parties to the fullest extent of the law.
• Create a competent and speedy reconciliation of membership records from the GSIS.
• Remove PGM Winston Garcia and his incumbent Board of Trustees and depoliticize the selection process in the appointment of Board of trustees of the GSIS.
30. Support Laid Off Teachers of E.P. High School
About 50 teachers of the East Providence High school that have been here less than 3 years have gotten a letter stating that they are to be laid off at the end of the school year.
