5-10-12

Power of Ten Update
In this edition:
  1. Emergency Budget Meeting TODAY at Ramapo High School regarding school safety
  2. Neighbor to Neighbor program celebrates public AND private school talent!
  3. How to help with the May 15 election
  4. Message from the editor
1) Emergency Budget Meeting TODAY at Martin Luther King Center
The Concerned Citizens of East Ramapo, are having an Emergency Budget Meeting and Voter Registration at the Martin Luther King Center 110 Bethune Blvd in Spring Valley Thurs May 10th (TONIGHT!) from 6:30pm-9pm.
If you are not already aware of the cuts that face our community, we have eliminated all Elementary Level Assistant Principals, half of the HS Assistant Principals, 3 Guidance Counselors, and 11 of 12 Social Workers in our schools along with some HS ESL services for our most fragile populations. There are many other cuts of concern that pose many questions of our children’s safety and hope for a future that a quality education would otherwise provide.

 

2) Neighbor to Neighbor program event celebrates public AND private school talent!

Saturday, May 12, 7 PM, Green Meadow School, 307 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977

A celebration of our wonderful local talent, featuring performers from Green Meadow, Spring Valley High School and other East Ramapo public schools

A public-private collaboration in support of our public schools and neighbors

Find out how education in our district’s public schools is being affected by budget cuts and how Green Meadow’s Neighbor to Neighbor programs have been reaching out to public school students and their families

3) How to help with the May 15 Election
Are you doing everything you can do to help with the election? Of course you can spread the word to your contacts, neighbors, etc. What else can you do? Here are some ideas:
  1. Go to www.poweroften.us and sign up for the online phone bank. Start making calls, right from home!
  2. Get a list of voters in your area and pay them a visit. It can be a very enriching experience to have a meaningful conversation with your neighbors about the value of public education. Email Michael Miller at miller66@optonline.net to volunteer for the Get out the Vote effort.
  3. Donate to the campaign at www.ccoer.com
  4. Help on election day! Call 845 354 5809 or email at concernedcitizensofeastramapo@gmail.com for info on how to help!
4) Message from the editor
You may have heard the polarization that is occurring in East Ramapo referred to as ‘public school vs. private school’. This is not really an accurate way to describe the situation, as there are many private school parents who do care about the education that students receive in public school. The neighbor to neighbor event on Saturday promises to be one of those moments when the celebration of diversity shows us a path to a better future. I urge everyone to come out and see how beautiful our diverse community can be when the public and private school students are encouraged to work together as peers. – Steve White, editor

1-8-12

In This Issue:

Next School Board Meeting
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
105 S. Madison Ave, Spring Valley
7:30 p.m.

Martin Luther King Celebration
Monday, January 16, 2012
Ramapo High School Auditorium
4:30 p.m.
Find out more: http://www.martinlutherking-mpc.org/subpage.cfm?tbl=4&ID=71
Event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/256726381059066/

New Section: Tony Luciano’s YouTube Videos:
Starting with this issue there will be a section reserved just for the latest updates from Tony Luciano and his YouTube videos.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a 5 minute clip at 29 frames per second worth?

Treasurer’s & Budget Status Reports: Bad news! The question that is not asked is, are we broke? Did financial mismanagement by the board finally catch up?
Watch the video here http://youtu.be/oUsX_I4ppZU
Here are some videos from the last three board meetings to get everyone up to speed about what has been happening in East Ramapo:
Peggy Hatton speaks about unequal treatment http://youtu.be/ncYsxUu0fSU
Hempstead Children and overcrowding http://youtu.be/6l85fT7MfJo
Carolyn Watson asks about Progress reports http://youtu.be/ax2eJgdgh0k
Christine Theodore talks overcrowding http://youtu.be/7Lfg4MPrExI
K. Watson speaks about overcrowding http://youtu.be/UY9KoQbLu_8
Klein cant answer how kids are doing http://youtu.be/Ghw-CRBppEw
Thanks
Antonio Luciano

Former Superintendent Sues East Ramapo

Read about it in the Journal News
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011312260052

This caused another situation regarding the union contract:

Official Announcements

This section reserved for official announcements.  No announcements at this time.

School Board Campaign News
The 2012 campaign has begun. Visit http://poweroften.us/new/2012-campaign/ for more information

Message from the Editor
2011 was a year of many exciting moments.  Some exhilarating successes, some heartbreaking losses.  The readers of this email list know the focus will always be on building an informed, active and involved community.  The right to education has been at the heart of the fight for justice and equality.  Last year we made a special point to celebrate Thurgood Marshall who began his history-making work in desegregating education right here in Rockland County.  This year I ask everyone to re-examine the dream that Dr. King shared with us.  Every American today is living a better life thanks to Dr. King.  And yet how far we have to go.  For those who saw the movie “The Help”, remember how disturbing it was that the racists wanted to build separate bathrooms for the maids, to “protect our children”.  The parents imagination of terrible things that their children would catch from ‘the other’ seems tragically comic, almost quaint, today. Or does it?  – Steve White, editor