In case you missed the #kidsnotcuts Twitter party with our expert Lily Eskelsen (@NEAToday) as the featured guest, I’ve collected some of the tweet highlights.
Good morning, all! Let’s get #kidsnotcuts Twitter Party started! Thanks for joining us Lily. Use @neatoday 2 any Qs u have re fed school $
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
A brief excerpt from Ms. Eskelsen’s bio:
President Obama recently appointed Lily to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, whose goal is to expand education opportunities and improve education outcomes for Hispanic students. She is one of 30 leaders from the education, labor, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors to serve on this national commission.
She began her career in education as a lunch worker in a school cafeteria. She became a kindergarten aide and was encouraged by the teacher to go to college and become a teacher herself. She worked her way through the University of Utah on scholarships, student loans, and as a starving folk singer, graduating magna cum laude in elementary education and later earning her master’s degree in instructional technology.
After teaching for only nine years, she was named Utah Teacher of the Year, using that title as a platform to speak out against the dismal funding of Utah schools. A year later she was elected president of the Utah Education Association. Lily was president of the Utah State Retirement System, only the second woman to ever be elected to the position; president of the Children at Risk Foundation; and was a member of the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education.
We had as featured guests social media consultant and writer @jpippert, education activist @leoniehaimson, public school principal and writer @mochamomma, and writer and co-coordinator of MOMocrats @socalmom, all of whom have written about the impact of cuts to federal education funding.
Here’s the 30 min podcast w/more details about “fiscal showdown” cuts to education + Intvw w/ @neatoday bit.ly/YLmBzM #KidsNotCuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
MUST READ @leoniehaimson What Should Be Done Instead of Pushing Our Kids Off the “Fiscal Cliff” bit.ly/T1ciFe #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
MUST READ @mochamomma Kids, Not Cuts (Don’t Make the Wealth Gap Bigger With Tax Cuts for the Rich) bit.ly/TZzjcl #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
Also @k12nn Fiscal Showdown & Reduced Federal Spending on Education? We Say Kids, Not Cuts bit.ly/W8ZcIY #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
New on @blogher Wildly Optimistic? I Think We’re Going to Keep, Not Cut, Fed Funding to Education bit.ly/T4vD9s #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
Our first question, a conversation-starter:
@k12nn Nearly all federal #edu programs are at stake. bit.ly/SsUWhk And nearly 80,000 educator jobs. #kidsnotcuts.
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
Fed dollars are an important part of delivering high-quality education; the states can’t make up the difference. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
A teacher writes powerfully about state cuts in IL: must read @mochamomma bit.ly/TZzjcl. #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
And here are 5 reasons why you should care about the fiscal showdown. bit.ly/Txbmo9 #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
A #kidsnotcuts guest wanted to know about special ed, a key federally-funded program through the IDEA law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act):
@lisseintheworld Funding IDEA is critical. We could lose as much as $1 billion in cuts to IDEA. bit.ly/Txbmo9 #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
RT @mochamomma: $1 billion in cuts to IDEA wd impact almost > 1/2 million students w/ disabilities. Kids w/ IEPs would suffer. #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
RT @mochamomma: Those cuts wd affect me as mom of a kid w/an IEP & one who had a 504 Plan. These cuts CANNOT be on their backs. #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
#sped kids need 1-to-1 help. Special training. Patience. That disappears in 30:1, 40:1 classroom. NO 2 #fiscalcliff #edu cuts, #kidsnotcuts!
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
@k12nn #1 message: parents, time to stand up & let your Congressperson know we want to invest in our kids bit.ly/TNk2JR #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
RT @jpippert: We need to protect middle-class priorities like education & healthcare. Pledge bit.ly/YSFXmG #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
@k12nn SIG would be cut by $44 million, hurting 67,000 students in our neediest schools. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
[SIG = School Improvement Grants, used to improve the lowest performing schools]
@k12nn For starters, Head Start cuts would eliminate slots for almost 80,000 young children #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
Once again, posts for more on #fiscalcliff: @jpippert Value Kids Over Cuts: Why Head Start is Crucial bit.ly/SZkENp #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
Listen 2a teacher-> RT @mochamomma: Part of those cuts=(ELL) English language learner grants, wd face a $4.8 bn reductn in 2013 #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
I wrote about the #fiscalcliff impact on my blog, Lily’s Blackboard, this morning. Check it out: bit.ly/XcRuiy #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
MT @mochamomma What part of No Child Left Behind will we do away w/? Which child can we afford to lose? ELL? #SpEd? Head Start? #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
RT @momocrats: Also, “We can cut our way to great schools — said no teacher ever.” — @mochamomma #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
@leoniehaimson @k12nn Ed funding has already been cut too much, we can’t afford any more. Fewer teachers = larger class sizes #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
@leoniehaimson @k12nn and ed programs for homeless children would be cut by $5.3 million. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
RT @mochamomma: That’s not to mention the $5.3 million cut for homeless students. That’s a non-negotiable for me. #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
More than 9 million students could lose essential services if these cuts go through bit.ly/Txbmo9. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
Fiscal showdown? Nov 6, voters said NO CUTS to education. Take the #kidsnotcuts pledge at: bit.ly/YSFXmG
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
MT @leoniehaimson: Class size reduction #1 priority parents nationwide as Obama knows; crazy to cut funding for 80k educators #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
THIS RT @mochamomma Agree w @leoniehaimson on not cutting Title I&II. Go after RTTT. Unless, we all *want* high stakes testing. #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
In answer to the question, what can parents do?
@nationalpta @k12nn What a great resource! Parents have a huge role in making sure Congress does the right thing. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
Parents, you = your child’s strongest advocate. You know what they need. bit.ly/Tb7Dz3 #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
@k12nn Everyone will be affected by these cuts. Help educate your networks. Share our pledge bit.ly/TNk2JR #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
RT @jpippert: Did you know: these cuts cd actually cause #edu programs to drop to pre-2003 levels? Pledge bit.ly/YSFXmG #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
Don’t miss @socalmom Real Family Values = Kids, Not Cuts! bit.ly/Zt95AY #kidsnotcuts
— K-12 News Network (@K12NN) November 15, 2012
Thank you everyone, it’s been great chatting with you all on this important topic. #kidsnotcuts
— NEA Today (@NEAToday) November 15, 2012
And with that, we were done! Join us the next time we have a Twitter party — sign up for updates and announcements of the next events we do.
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