California Educator

FEBRUARY 2010

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for Students H Start the Day Urgent Statewide Day of Action for Students and California’s Future March 4, 2010 This year, in the wake of all these cuts, our students and schools are being threatened again. We can’t let that happen. We need your help in this urgent effort to speak out about the painful effects cuts are having on our students, schools and communities. In the last two years: •• $17 billion was cut from schools and colleges. •• More than 16,000 educators were laid off. Large California corporations enjoyed tax breaks. Entire art, music and PE programs were eliminated. Members want action, organize March 4 events ow teachers and administra- tors in one Bay Area school district mobilized to sched- ule mock disaster drills the morn- ing of March 4 shows why this statewide Day of Action against state cuts is sparking teamwork among all education stakeholders. “We worked with our adminis- trators, and our superintendent asked all of our principals to hold a disaster drill — because education funding is a disaster,” says Mike Noce, president of the 1,670-mem- ber Mt. Diablo Education Associa- tion in Contra Costa County. Due to state cuts, the 34,000-stu- On March 4, 2010, “Start the Day for Students” and be a part of the campaign to fight for the resources our students deserve. CTA is asking all members to participate in an event at their school that morning. Contact your local chapter to get involved. We all know that education is essential to building a better California. Working together, we can make sure our students get the resourc- es they need to succeed. dent Mt. Diablo Unified School District laid off about 200 teachers last year and must cut $45 million over the next three years, giving a special urgency to the disaster drills. “These will be real drills for the stu- dents at our 40 schools, but we are asking our teachers to wear disaster attire, like hard hats, Red Cross T- shirts or fire hats to stress our alarm about the cuts,” says Noce. “We will be holding a news conference early in the morning to kick this off.” Noce’s Alcosta Service Center Council came up with the disaster drill concept, taking into account that most schools already have a spring drill scheduled. The Council chair, Charmaine Kawaguchi, took the idea to the CTA State Council of Education, which passed a resolu- tion in January urging all Education Coalition partners to reschedule spring disaster drills on March 4. Disaster drills were also being planned in San Francisco, Oakland and Dublin school districts, among other locations. “CTA is taking a strong state- wide role in March 4 demonstra- tions because our members want their union to be more involved in this ongoing battle against class- room cuts,” says CTA President Da- vid A. Sanchez. “We hear the frus- trations voiced in our ongoing rela- tional meetings with members held by chapter leaders that began last year — and how teachers want CTA to take the lead in this fight, and work with communities and coali- tions as part of our long-term orga- nizing strategy to protect our stu- dents and schools.” Teacher mobilizing led to CTA’s “Start the Day for Students” cam- Continued on page 32 • • Join this urgent action for our students and our future. Start today by making plans for March 4 and joining the conversation at www.standupforschools.org. •• • 30 California Educator | FEBRUARY 2010 A sampling of March 4 events Burbank Unified teachers are rallying in front of all district schools before classes start. United Teachers Los Angeles is urging members to take part in several events, including a 4 p.m. Pershing Square gathering followed by a rally at the Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles (see www.utla.net). CSU Northridge is holding a 4:15 p.m. march and 5 p.m. rally. Teachers Association of Long Beach is staging a protest at 4:15 p.m. at the Wilson High School gymnasium in Long Beach, where the school district is sending out pink slips for nearly 750 educators (see www.talb.org). United Educators of San Francisco (facing 400 district pink slips) is holding a regional “Defend Our Classroom!” rally at 4 p.m. at the state PUC building (see www.uesf.org). Visit CTA’s social networking website — www.standupforschools.org — to see a more complete list of protest events and to communicate with other members. MARCH 4 SAVE THE DATE issue find your “Window cling” In this

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