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Greetings everyone, I wanted to share this with you all and hope you share it with everyone you know. This is informational only with no intent to debate, discuss and/or convince anyone personally to take or not take the state tests. This is asking for a waiver to not even give the state tests, this year, amidst this pandemic. If you read this, learn more and agree you'd like to push and fight for these state tests to be canceled this year, below is a toolkit you can use to take action (make calls, emails, post on social media, etc.). In Unity, Rasheedah Harris Although Miguel Cardona was officially confirmed as The Education Secretary yesterday, this action is still relevant to Rosenblum EXCEPT we have revised the email action (because the cc's were bouncing back).
Instead of what's below use this: ACTION #2: EMAIL We've made it easy! Go to this page and click on send an email to Rosenblum. An email window should pop open with text already filled in. Be sure to sign your name at the end and consider personalizing your message by including your relationship to schools (student, parent/guardian/grandparent, educator, etc) and where you live (city/state). Once you've done so, forward to two friends and ask them to email, too. BLOW UP THAT INBOX AND MAKE PHONE CALLS! FYI: The U.S. Dept. of Education shut down their call center yesterday after an overwhelming amount of phone calls from parents, students, educators, school staff, community members and advocates demanding the cancellation of mandated state tests amidst this pandemic. (Keep the pressure on!) Also, if you are looking for some specific tweets related to this campaign & Cardona' confirmation, see below (and retweet please): https://twitter.com/NYCOptOut/status/1366545688436301824 https://twitter.com/NYCOptOut/status/1366534538705403905 This tweet lists out all the actions, but need to be revised to delete the cc's on the email action (do not email the cc's b/c they are bouncing back): https://twitter.com/NYCOptOut/status/1366433589957718016 Be sure to "tag" the newly confirmed Secretary Miguel Cardona on all your tweets @SecCardona ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NYCOptOut Date: Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 12:18 PM Subject: Ian Rosenblum: Cancel State Tests NOW To: Hello folks, In case you hadn't heard, a letter went out last week to all state school chiefs telling them that they could not cancel 3rd-8th grade state tests. That letter wasn't sent by the secretary of the federal education department because Miguel Cardona, Biden's nominee for that position, hasn't even been confirmed yet. So who did send out this letter ordering states to give the tests even as a pandemic rages, killing half a million people and disrupting schooling beyond recognition? An acting deputy assistant secretary, Ian Rosenblum. We've organized a campaign aimed directly at Rosenblum to urge him to reverse this disastrous, impractical, and cruel decision. We've got: + a brief phone call you can make + an email you can send + a tweet you can re-Tweet + a FB post you can share Details on all below. Please do as many as you can, AS SOON AS YOU CAN; each should only take a minute or two. A lot of people are unhappy about Rosenblum's decision. Let's take advantage of our numbers; together we can turn the tide--or: When we fight, we win! ACTION #1: CALL Once you've done so, find two friends and ask them to call, too. BLOW UP THAT VOICEMAIL BOX! Ian Rosenblum (202) 245-7448 Dialing will likely deliver you direct to voicemail. That’s OK. Phone script (You don't have to say this word for word; give it your own flare) Hello, my name is _____________________ and I am a (parent/guardian, student, teacher, principal, grandparent, etc). I live in _________________________. I am calling because I recently learned that you were the person who signed the letter informing state education leaders that they must give the annual state tests to public school 3rd-8th graders. I want you to know that I strongly oppose your decision in this matter, and I believe that it runs completely contrary to what President Biden promised on the campaign trail. In your role at the Department of Education, you must act to uphold the president’s promise to honor the professionalism of teachers and the social-emotional well being of students. I am asking you to act like Betsy DeVos is no longer in charge, and reverse your very misguided “guidance” on test cancellation. These tests are the last thing our children need, especially in a pandemic year. ACTION #2: EMAIL Once you've done so, forward to two friends and ask them to email, too. BLOW UP THAT INBOX!You can write your own email, or if easier, cut and paste this template, personalizing it with some details about yourself. If you or your students have been learning remotely you can include something like: "My children, like the majority of children in NYC, have not had a single in-person school day since March 2020." to: Ian.Rosenblum@ed.gov subject line: Cancel state tests NOW Dear Mr. Rosenblum, I am a (parent/grandparent/guardian of # public school students*) (student) (teacher/principal/etc with x years of experience) in (city, state). I am writing to urge you to reverse the decision to administer state tests this year. To begin with, this decision runs contrary to public promises President Biden made during the campaign. He stated unequivocally that we must trust teachers to draw on their expertise as they work to support our children. Even in a normal year, inappropriate and expensive standardized tests do little more than tell us what we already know—that is, they confirm where resources are lacking. But to give tests now? The pandemic has killed over half a million Americans and triggered financial and mental health crises. It has exacerbated inequities in our schools and in society as a whole. Asking staff to go through the complicated logistics of setting up classrooms for testing in these conditions is a waste of valuable time, energy, and resources; telling students to sit for the exams is heartless. It is not too late to pull back your guidance to administer these tests—they are the last thing our children need. Sincerely, ACTION #3: TWEET Please Retweet out Action #1 +Use the hashtags #cancelthetests #optout2021 and/or #Fthetest + Aim your tweets at: Secretary Miguel Cardona @SecCardona Congresspeople Senators Vice Presidents @VP Presidents @POTUS First Ladies Who Happen To Be Teachers @FLOTUS Acting Asst. Secretary @ianrosenblum & Chief of Staff @sheilanix ACTION #4: SHARE our Facebook Action Comments are closed.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. |
