Speak up in support of teachers!

Thank you Mike Gondolfo, (President of Pinellas County Teacher’s Association), for your message to the Pinellas County School Board.

It’s time for lawmakers to step up and stop the unfunded mandates and abusive high stakes tests attached to teacher pay, along with larger class sizes! It’s time to listen to those speaking up for what is right! Teachers NEED and DESERVE so much more!

As a parent with a child in the public school system, I have seen exhausted teachers who bend over backwards for children, mine included! (Thank you so much! You are SO appreciated!) My child has an IEP, and I can testify that the supports needed for ESE students in the classroom to help general ed teachers just aren’t there.

A professional advocate once told me that only 5% of ESE kids (maybe less) are actually getting their needs met because even the BEST teachers are struggling to handle a normal caseload of typical children. This is contributing to the mass exodus of teachers and the shortage of guidance counselors and school therapists.

We NEED parents to fight for more support in the classroom for ALL kids and teachers! There are TONS of children who need more help!

So I ask you today, what are you doing to help your child’s teacher? How can we boost their morale? How can we help them? It doesn’t have to be huge, but if we all did something nice for them, it would make a big difference. In addition to supporting them in the classroom, we need more parents to send a message to the decision-makers in Tallahassee to let them know that we won’t stand for this any longer. Contact your legislators and other state leaders here.

Of course we still fight for our kids, but we can also be a teacher ally at the same time. Believe me, the teachers will thank you for it, and your children will be better off too.

A teacher’s work environment is a child’s learning environment.

~Laura McCrary
Concerned parent and child advocate in Pinellas County