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 Your ODE Member Newsletter
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From The President's Desk
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 Greetings
As we approach the 2020 election, mobilizing working men and
women to vote in these historic elections is paramount. Our goal is to
elect candidates who will advocate for our students and members. We
know that our vote is more important than ever, it is imperative that
we observe the early voting dates and poll locations, as they are ever
changing. With renewed voter suppression efforts, and attacks on
voting rights and our democracy, we urge you and your households to VOTE!
2020 IMPORTANT Georgia General Election Dates
OCTOBER 2 - LAST DAY to Request Absentee Ballots* (Recommended)
OCTOBER 5 - VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE
OCTOBER 12-30 - EARLY VOTING IN-PERSON
OCTOBER 17 & 24- SATURDAY EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING
ABSENTEE VOTING BY MAIL
Georgia law allows for absentee ballots to be requested up to 180 days before an election. To request an absentee ballot, voters should complete an absentee ballot application and return the absentee ballot application to their county registration office. Absentee ballot
applications can be returned by mail, fax, email (as an attachment), or in-person to the local County Board of Registrar’s Office. Additionally, you can request an absentee ballot through the online portal if you have a Georgia Driver's License or State ID by visiting ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov. Don't forget to check the status of your ballot by visiting www.mvp.sos.ga.gov
Please, do your part!
If not you, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
In Solidarity
Deborah
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Letter from NEA President Pringle on the Passing of Justice Ginsburg
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 NEA Family,
Our hearts are breaking. With the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we lost an American icon tonight in the fight for gender equality, women’s rights, civil rights, labor rights and justice…for all. Her loss is more than a seat on the nine-justice Supreme Court. The death of Justice Ginsburg is a devastating loss to a society in desperate need of this powerful and brilliant champion. It’s a loss that will be felt for generations.
In less than an hour after news of Justice Ginsburg’s passing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised that Donald Trump’s “nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” Less than an hour.
The news media reports that Trump “will move within days to nominate his third Supreme Court justice in just three-plus short years,” a move that will shape the court for decades to come. While we all attempt to process this news, our NEA team is already in touch with partners, the Hill, and other leaders in the movement. Below is NEA’s statement as well as the statement issued from the Biden campaign. We will take time to pay tribute to Justice Ginsburg next week during our Board meeting, as well as discuss the implications of her passing.
To honor her legacy, we must redouble our efforts to fight for justice and fairness and equality. We must leverage the full power of the nation’s largest union to win for our students, our communities, our country. We have no doubt you will dig deeper, individually and collectively, to stand up for our democracy. That’s what is at stake on November 3. It is the work we have been called to do together.
In unity,
Becky and Kim
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Letter from GAE President Lisa Morgan on Superintendent Woods's proposals regarding Georgia Milestones
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 Dear GAE Colleagues, This afternoon Superintendent Woods released his “list of actions and recommendations to reduce the pressure of high-stakes testing in Georgia classrooms for the 2020-2021 school year.”
We are pleased that the recommendations include the following:
- Virtually eliminating the 20% End of Course Milestones grade weight – the new weight will be 0.01% (due to state law it cannot be zero).
- Waiving End of Grade Milestones consideration in promotion/retention – the official directive from DOE is that these tests are not the basis for promotion/retention decisions.
- Providing flexible options for winter administration of End of Course assessments – districts will be granted as much flexibility as possible to administer Georgia Milestones appropriately and safely.
Under the next steps, the DOE announcement indicates that they have worked with the Governor’s Office on a proposed Executive Order that would waive the full TKES/LKES process for the 2020-2021 school year.
As I said in both the statement and letter to Governor Kemp, educators’ only focus during this continued time of crisis should be the physical, social, emotional, and academic well-being of students.
I am asking you to reach out to Governor Kemp concerning this issue, as well. Call his office or send an email.
Some things you might want to include in your message to Governor Kemp:
- Identify yourself as an educator and talk about your school community.
- Educators are spending a great deal of time in Professional Development to improve our instruction in the various models. This is more beneficial to students than spending that time preparing for or responding to a TKES/LKES observation.
- Asking administrators to adapt TKES to the various hybrid and remote instructional models eliminates the validity and reliability of the instrument.
You may hear from those who believe that our support of this action is a desire to avoid accountability. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our support of this action is to promote shared accountability and mutual support amongst educators, families, and the community to ensure that our students emerge from this crisis physically, socially, emotionally, and academically healthy.
As always, thank you for being a member of GAE and for all you do for our students!
Lisa |
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Phone Banking Opportunities
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Call an d text fellow members to register to vote, request a ballot online, connect with endorsed candidates, and get out the vote from the safety and comfort of your home.
- 9/29 Text Bank (6pm)
- 10/1 Phone Bank (6pm)
- 10/3 Phone Bank (10am)
- 10/6 Phone Bank (6pm)
- 10/8 Phone Bank (6pm)
- 10/20 Text Bank (6pm)
Sign up to volunteer at gae.org/campaigns
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NEA Member Benefits - Featured Benefit
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NEA Click & Save!
Save on everyday purchases from top retailers online. Check out NEA Click & Save. This popular online shopping platform for NEA members and their families can help you save time and money by quickly finding great deals on everything from local restaurants and everyday items to fun getaways and big-ticket purchases.
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