http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elizabethminter Faculty can find Elizabeth Minter's foundation at this link. She has established a foundation to raise money for research for a cure for rare brain cancers. The h.s. dance, this weekend will donate some of the proceeds to this cause and Elizabeth has been encouraged by the launch of her foundation. Faculty members may be interested to read about it or donate.

Marcia Sklar has agreed to take over the coordination of our holiday cards for retirees.  Expect an announcement about these soon. 

If you are a tenured teacher, you are not required to fill out the forms for a pre-observation or post-observation meeting with your supervisor.  These are the basis for the questions your supervisor will ask you in those meetings.  If you are untenured, you are required to complete the paperwork. 

Your current NYSUT membership cards expire on 12/31/2011.  You should be getting a new one in the first couple of weeks in December.

Enjoy the short week, and the time spent with family and friends this weekend.

What do you think?  You can post a comment about the BTA News.

Check out the link to NYSUT Education & Learning Trust:

www.nysut.org/elt

Please support the PTA by contributing dues.  You can contribute online or by giving a check or cash to our PTA liaisons, Karine Schaeffer, Nick Rastegar, and Justine Rutherford.  I contributed online at www.bronxvillepta.org.  It took no time at all.

Congratulations to retirees Jeff Zuckerman and Clare Gorman who recently had a new granddaughter!

Using We the People, a feature on the WhiteHouse.gov website, the AFT has created a petition calling on the administration to repair and modernize America’s public schools and community colleges. You can sign the petition right here. 

The repair and modernization of public schools was a large part of the American Jobs Act, but Republicans in Congress are blocking this bipartisan proposal, putting party lines before schoolchildren and the desperate need to create jobs. 

This proposal would be the third portion of the blocked AJA sent to the Senate. Today (Thursday) GOP senators blocked the second component that had been pared off AJA. It would have created jobs for transportation infrastructure and created a national infrastructure bank. The first portion of the jobs act to fail was to provide funding to prevent layoffs and hire teachers, firefighters and police officers.

The We the People web tool allows Americans to develop, sign and share petitions calling on the Obama administration to take action on a range of issues. If the new AFT petition receives 25,000 signatures by Nov. 30, the White House will review it and respond. It’s easy. Go to the petition, create an account if you don’t already have one, and sign.