A few weeks ago the Network for Public Education made our first endorsement. We asked you to send support and make donations to teacher Monica Ratliff for her runoff election against a candidate supported by billionaires like Michael Bloomberg. 

We received this message from Monica:

"Dear friends, your contributions made a difference. Together we will turn the tide and restore American education to focus on children and learning and collaboration, not data and profits and budget cuts."

NPE's president, Diane Ravitch, wrote on her blog:

"Thank you, Monica, for the lessons you taught us all: people matter more than money. Experience and knowledge count. Courage in the face of overwhelming odds is essential. Teaching is an honorable profession, and teachers must be heard and involved in decisions about schooling.

For your courage and Integrity, I add you to our honor roll as a champion of American education. And a Giant Slayer. 

We hope this will be the first candidate of many we will support in reclaiming our public schools.

The Network for Public Education has endorsed another candidate. Marie Corfield is running for the state assembly, in an election that will take place on June 4th. 

Marie became an art teacher in 2001, and has taught at Robert Hunter Elementary School in Flemington since 2004. She Vice President-elect of the Flemington-Raritan Education Association and is also the legislative chairperson.

After challenging Governor Chris Christie at a Flemington town hall meeting in 2010 about his derisive rhetoric about public education and teachers, the governor posted the video on his You Tube channel where it went viral.  

 The students of New Jersey need legislators who understand what they need - and it is not more tests and budget cuts to the classroom. Our endorsement means that we strongly believe Marie is a candidate worthy of our support. If everyone who reads this sent her $10, she would have a very sizable boost to her campaign. Her campaign website is here.

Please go here to the ActBlue website and make a donation. 

Are you frustrated when corruption goes on and nobody even seems to notice? Do you want to learn how to uncover the truth about what is happening to our schools? We are presenting a special webinar where two outstanding experts will share tips and techniques. 

Michael Corwin, a licensed investigator with twenty-five years of case preparation experience will discuss techniques for identifying, locating and using public records in researching public officials. 

Mercedes Schneider will be sharing techniques for discerning truth versus "hype" in research on educational reform, including tips on critically reading data and research studies. Her excellent blog is here.

The online webinar will take place at 8:30 pm Eastern time, 5:30 pm Pacific time, June 4th. Register for the webinar here. You will be sent an email with a reminder and a link to the webinar a day or two prior to the event. 

Our friends over at Yinzercation have been getting organized, and one of the things they have done really well is putting pressure on their legislators. Sometimes just a few phone calls are enough to let a lawmaker know the folks back home have their eye on the ball, and are tracking the key policies that affect our students and schools. Here is our latest Call Your Legislator Day toolkit, with detailed suggestions, models, and even a "how to" video!