Recent Articles

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Statement in Support of RAP & BENTE

 

Saturday, August 15, 2020

The Rochester Organization of Rank-and-file Educators stands in solidarity with our RAP and BENTE union sisters and brothers in the face of the anticipated layoffs following Thursday’s announcement that the RCSD will begin the first ten weeks of school remotely. The district is projecting to cut 113 paraprofessional positions and “a number” of BENTE members. While we fully support the decision to shift to a 100 percent remote learning model for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, it is unconscionable that the RCSD would seek to eliminate these essential positions in the midst of a global pandemic which has already put unprecedented pressure on the members of our community, both personally and professionally. 

As fellow educators, paraprofessionals and non-teaching employees provide invaluable support to students, teachers, and administrators despite the fact that these positions are among the lowest-paying jobs in the RCSD. RAP members have worked alongside teachers to educate students through this pandemic, often with fewer resources and less support themselves. BENTE members were on the front lines from the beginning ensuring our children were fed and that our buildings were disinfected and secure. In the coming weeks, our students, their families, and teachers are going to need more support, not less, as we acclimate to this new model. Instead of outsourcing the work to keep students safe and engaged, the RCSD should rely on its staff that already have relationships with our students and ties to our community, as many RAP and BENTE members are city residents themselves. 

This decision to eliminate these workers is inhumane and ill-conceived. Considering the advancements made in the fight for racial and economic justice by Black Lives Matter, a movement the RCSD claims to support, it is reprehensible that the district seeks to terminate these positions which are made up of predominantly Black and Latinx union members. RORE calls on superintendent Lesli Myers-Small to honor former superintendent Terry Dade’s promise that BENTE union members be paid through the pandemic, recognize the dire need for paraprofessionals, and reverse her decision to lay off these truly essential workers. 

Your fellow workers, 

RORE

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Tell City Council: Money for Families, Not a Police Station

 

On Tuesday, August 18th, Rochester City Council will vote on a proposal to spend $16 million dollars ($12.5 million is construction) on a new police substation on East Main Street.  About seventy-five percent of this money will be borrowed which would cause a $12.6 million debt.

Meanwhile, the Rochester City School District made the correct decision in starting the 2020-21 school year online in order to prevent our children and their families from becoming sick.  But that means our parents need support. 

Therefore we are asking all concerned citizens to contact City Council to tell them to vote against funding this police station and instead to use the money to support families who are now scrambling to make arrangements for their children for the upcoming school year. 

Contact City Council and ask them to do the following:

1.  Vote down funding for this police substation.

2.  Use earmarked money to support families with rent/mortgage assistance, utilities assistance including internet, and food. 

3.  Consider issuing bonds for the same amount of money you were going to for the police station to support families.

4.  Enact a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures within the City of Rochester at least through June 2021.

Some talking points to may want to include are:

*There is an immediate need for support for families struggling to make arrangements for their children.

*Some parents may literally need to be paid to stay home with their kids in order to be able to pay their rent/mortgage, buy food, etc.

*Money spent on the police station could be used to help families get suitable wi-fi in order for their children to participate in online learning.

*Funding a police station while not helping Rochester families in immediate need shows a perspective in which punishment of citizens is more important than supporting them.

Speaking at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting may be too late.  That is why we are suggesting calling or emailing them BEFORE Tuesday.  There is not a lot of time so do this now, or join RORE in a Zoom meeting for help in doing this, followed by all of us taking direct action and making contact with Council members.  This Zoom meeting will take place:

Sunday, August 16th at 4pm.

The link to register for the Zoom meeting is:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIofuirrDwoHtFAnKF4_AN187uEWWi8-svr

The Zoom meeting will be recorded and posted online if you need help but cannot make it.  See our website www.rocore.org after Sunday at 3pm for the video.

But of course you can contact us with questions at rore49united@gmail.com.

City Council Members

Loretta Scott        Loretta.Scott@cityofrochester.gov or 585-482-0407

Malik Evans        Malik.Evans@cityofrochester.gov or 585-428-7538

Mitch Gruber       Mitch.Gruber@cityofrochester.gov or 585-428-7538

Willie Lightfoot    Willie.Lightfoot@cityofrochester.gov or 585-478-4603

Jacklyn Ortiz       Jacklyn.Ortiz@cityofrochester.gov or 585-325-1960

LaShay Harris     LaShay.Harris@cityofrochester.gov  or 585-235-5168

Mary Lupien        Mary.Lupien@cityofrochester.gov or 585-406-4709

Michael Patterson Michael.Patterson@cityofrochester.gov or 585-451-2024

Jose Peo             Jose.Peo@cityofrochester.gov or 585-690-2984

 

Friday, August 14, 2020

Internet For All Petition

After COVID-19 forced Rochester public schools to cancel in-person classes, thousands of students have been unable to continue their learning online. Spectrum promised low-income households two free months of its discounted “Internet Essentials” package, but many have been left unconnected due to restrictions and requirements placed on this offer. This digital divide is especially felt by Black students, nearly half of whom lack internet connectivity at home. After July 1st, our most vulnerable Rochestarians will be expected to pay for the Internet Essentials package, which is slower than 89% of connections nation-wide. Even as Black and low-income students struggle to even log on to class, Spectrum has yet to open existing higher-speed networks for free to those in need.

This callous stance appears even worse given the years of support Spectrum has received from Rochester taxpayers. Spectrum has received billions in assistance from a 20% property tax cut, city tax allowances since 2007, as well as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In 2019, such corporate welfare enabled Spectrum to post a profit totaling $16.9 billion, 5.0% higher than in 2018, and CEO Thomas Rutledge made $8.16 million in salary and incentives in 2018, a 5% rise over his 2017 total compensation.

Despite calling Rochester its home and receiving billions in support from its neighbors, Spectrum has failed to support our most vulnerable students in this unprecedented time by refusing to provide students with the assistance they need. Though Spectrum has pledged to take action against digital disparities, the urgency of this pandemic calls for current efforts to be directed toward what is most needed—access to reliable, high quality internet.

To meet the needs of our most vulnerable students, we are petitioning Spectrum to:

1) Offer the Internet Essentials program for free to all low-income Rochester homes with students now throughout the end of the 2020-2021 school year

2) Increase the upload speed of Internet Essentials from 3 Mbps to 25 Mbps and the download speed from 25 Mbps to 100 Mbps

References and further reading:

1) Auxier, Brooke, and Monica Anderson. “As Schools Close Due to the Coronavirus, Some U.S. Students Face a Digital 'Homework Gap'.” Pew Research Center, 16 Mar. 2020, URL (petition banner image)

2) Nasr, Amir. “The Perilous Future of Internet Access for Students of Color.” New America, 12 July 2018, URL

3) Paul Ericson. "Why Digital Disparity Persists" Rochester Beacon, 31 January 2019, URL

4) Paul Ericson. "The cost of digital disparity in a pandemic" Rochester Beacon, 15 April 2020, URL

Click Here to Add Your Name

Monday, August 3, 2020

Monroe County School Reopening Proposal

Background and Context

In the same way that the state is taking a deliberate and careful approach to reopening the economy, the state must take an equally deliberate and careful approach to reopening our public schools. Having spent approximately 25 percent of the 2019-2020 school year in crisis mode and learning remotely, all of our students — regardless of socioeconomic status or race — will be coming back with social, emotional and academic needs that we don’t yet fully understand. The health and wellness of the students and staff of the Rochester City School District is intrinsically linked to that of students and staff in all of Monroe County. Any reopening plan must be uniform across the county to acknowledge the interconnectedness of our communities. Public health crises do not recognize town boundaries.

The nearly 60,000 students whose families are living in poverty will have even more acute trauma than they carried before the pandemic. The intersection of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement compels us to examine and dismantle structures of racism and classism in society and in the institution of public education. Our schools cannot go back to the conditions under which they operated before COVID-19 or we will fail our students, families, educators and communities at the time of their greatest need. This moment provides us with an exciting opportunity to transform public education to adapt to our new reality.

Educators will need to develop new skills, strategies, teaching methodologies and curricula that match the conditions we will be returning to under any of the three models (remote, in-person or hybrid). Students and their families have ongoing needs that must be met — before and upon return to school. School buildings across Monroe county are not yet equipped to meet environmental health and safety standards. To be ready to return, we need time to prepare buildings and physical settings; plan and learn new skills; and welcome and acclimate our students and families. And we need full funding and staffing to address the myriad facets of teaching and learning during a global pandemic.

Local associations and local districts should determine the plan to start the year with that best suits their context — be it remote, hybrid or full return with health and safety protections — and then determine a secondary plan for changes in context. Standing labor management committees should be established immediately to provide opportunities for regular communication and feedback to the district regarding reopening planning and implementation. MOUs should be negotiated as dictated by local governing practices. Additional stakeholders such as families, students and community members should also be given ongoing and systematic opportunities to be engaged and to give input. The local plan should be a living document, the goal of which is to provide a vehicle for ongoing partnership and collaboration with educators, families, communities and students.