Paid Common Core Cheerleaders???

Momma Bears just got an email from TN Parents and we agreed we need to share it with our followers:

Who is picking up the tab for the Common Core Cheerleaders? 

The Common Core coaches in TN have all been summoned to the Capitol to support Common Core and the PARCC test.  

These Common Core coaches (who all received a very nice bump in salary and job title) will be absent from their teaching jobs with their students during the school day to be in Nashville.  How many days?  We are not sure.  We do know that substitute teachers have been booked to cover their classrooms.  We are unable to find out who is paying for the cost of the substitutes, but we have a feeling that it is our tax dollars footing the bill.  

Like the atmosphere of the Senate Common Core hearings in September, seats will be reserved in the committee chambers for these Common Core Coaches.  Ordinary citizens will be stuck in the remaining seats on the back rows or watching the committee broadcast on the screens in the hallway.

It is important to note that the jobs and big salaries of these cheerleaders, as those of the corporately-funded and well-paid SCORE organization, and the Chamber of Commerce businesses who stand to profit from Common Core (like Ingram) all depend upon Common Core and PARCC happening in TN.  They are there for the money.

It is also important to note that the parents and teachers stuck in the hallways and/or those who couldn't get a paid day off from work to be there but are watching online, are very much against Common Core and PARCC.  They are fighting for the children.

Just keep that in mind, Legislators, when you see all those glossy stickers across their chests from SCORE and hear their cheers of "rigor."  They do not cheer for our children.

     from: http://www.tnparents.com/2/post/2014/02/paid-common-core-cheerleaders.html

---

Last year, some of us Momma Bears attended the 2 days of Senate Education Committee hearings about Common Core.  It was a wild story (you can read about it HERE if you'd like).  We Momma Bears felt so out of place, having never been to anything political like that before.  We learned a lot and we sure saw a whole lot of generously paid Common Core cheerleaders wearing those "glossy stickers" (TN Parents got those words from our Momma Bear blog!)  Anyway, that trip was before our blog really took off and before we'd recruited more Momma Bears.  
(Can you believe our last week's blog post got 245,000 hits over the past 5 days? and 20,000 likes on facebook??  We're thrilled!  Thanks for reading and sharing, everyone!)

One of our Momma Bear teacher friends has some friends who were hired as Common Core Coaches.  They told her that they make at least $10,000 more per year, plus travel expenses.  And they also told her that "coaches who attend training and express "unsavory" remarks about CCSS are quickly asked to leave, essentially "fired" from the position - no stipend."

WARNING:  MOMMA BEAR RANT:  
GRRRRRR!!!! That is NOT the kind of atmosphere we want for our children's teachers.  We want teachers who are leaders, not followers!  We want teachers who are unafraid to speak up to do what is right for our children.  This Common Core garbage is being forced on our children because of MONEY.  We must get it out of our schools!!!  They are picking on the wrong Mommas here in Tennessee!!!!

---

We gotta do something about this, Momma Bears!
Now, we know most of us are well past the acceptable age to wear any type of cheerleader attire, but it is time for Momma Bears to take action and root for our children:

---

Please call and/or email legislators as soon as possible and let them know that you support these bills:

• Testing Opt-Out (HB1841/SB2221): “This bill permits parents to opt their children out of participation in high-stakes testing.”
• Funding for State-Mandated Tests (HB1826/SB1986):  This bill requires that the state pay for any future state-mandated tests. This is important because many districts and schools are having problems finding the funds to pay for Common Core/PARCC testing.
• 1-year Waiver of PARCC High-Stakes for Teachers (HB2043/SB2122): This bill, “…prohibits use of results from the first year of student assessments based on common core standards to be used for teacher evaluations or for promotion, retention, termination, compensation, tenure or other teacher employment decisions.”
• 1-year Waiver of PARCC High-Stakes for Districts (HB 1975/SB 2102): This bill prohibits the use of scores on the PARCC/Common Core testing to evaluate districts during the 2014-2015 school year.
• Reimbursement for Common Core Tests (HB 2290/SB 2057): This bill requires the state of TN to reimburse school districts for any costs related to purchasing and implementing Common Core testing (PARCC) and standards.
• Repeal Common Core (HB 2332/SB 2405) This bill would Repeal Common Core Standards in TN!!!
• Postpone Common Core (HB 1825 /SB 1985)  requires the state board of education and the department of education to postpone any further implementation of Common Core State Standards beyond those standards implemented as of June 30, 2013, until further implementation is approved by the general assembly.
  

We will even put their email addresses here to make it easy for you:

HOUSE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE PHONE & EMAIL:
Harry Brooks 615-741-6879 [email protected] 
John DeBerry 615-741-2239 [email protected]
John Forgety 615-741-1725 [email protected]
Roger Kane 615-741-4110 [email protected]
Harold Love 615-741-3831 [email protected]
Debra Moody 615-741-3774 [email protected]
Joe Pitts 615-741-4575 [email protected]
Dawn White 615-741-6849 [email protected]

FULL HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Contacting your elected officials from your own District is a great idea, too!
Click here to find YOUR Legislators: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/  

Not sure you have the guts to contact legislators?  
They won't bite, we promise.  The TN Parent website has some great tips on how to do it effectively.  Click HERE to visit the TN Parents Take Action website