MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, SEPTEMBER 2017
Community is an interesting word, and an even more interesting concept. By definition, a community is “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common…a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals”.
Imagine a group of people with a variety of interests. Sports, fashion, culinary arts, literature, technology, film, political affiliation…. The list goes on. However, as members of a fellowship, or by extension a community, they share common goals. They share these common goals regardless of whether they are administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, secretaries, aides, grounds workers, maintenance workers, custodians, coaches or nurses. They are members of a school community, one in which John Dewey described as “a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.”
The teachers of Lindenhurst have been very successful in building relations with many people with whom we share common interests. Over the past two years, we have worked with parents in order to advocate for parent choice. As a result, our opt out numbers are among the highest in Long Island. We have also worked with administrators and the Board of Education in order to make projects, such as the Academy, successful. When working together, there is very little that we are unable to accomplish.
This year we will continue to face many challenges. Among these challenges is the possibility of a Constitutional Convention in Albany. This has the potential to devastate public education and public workers. Many of the rights that many of us take for granted are at risk such as: the right to a free public education, the protection of prohibiting reductions in public pension benefits, our right to workers’ compensation, and our rights to union membership and collective bargaining. Even state provisions for social welfare, of which many families of students across New York State depend, are at risk.
It is for these reasons that I am inviting everyone in this room, our school community, to an informational meeting on September 27th where we will receive information concerning these threats to public education and public workers. There are no disagreements that would justify ignoring our need to join together in an effort to combat this clear threat of a Constitutional Convention. “Summer is the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another….” Many of you may recognize that quote to be from a very popular television show. If not, I will simply leave you with this. Winter is here. It is time for us to face these threats to our livelihood together.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michael Pastore