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State Education Groups Look to Facebook for Organizing

Tag activist, facebook, Speak Up!, Your Voice

Scroll down for a list of state Facebook pages and groups.

The 2010 elections sent a shock wave through Washington, D.C.  But the aftershocks for children, public education, teachers and other educators in state after state will be especially harmful and long-lived unless educators, parents and other supporters of public education join together to keep the pressure on governors and other state elected officials.

Governors are central players in formulating education policy.  State and local legislators approve education budgets, and more than 90 cents of every dollar spent on education comes from state and local governments.

The challenges are daunting: School budgets across the country being slashed; shrinking state and local revenues; emergency federal funding coming to an end; and one in five children living in poverty.

Against this troubling backdrop, state lawmakers are expected to take up legislation in the weeks and months ahead that would harm students, teachers and public schools.  Under consideration are bills to:

• Fund vouchers, which do nothing to improve public schools.
• Link teacher salaries to student performance on standardized tests, ignoring factors outside a teacher’s control, especially poverty but also medical care, nutrition, exposure to books and other educationally enriching experiences, and school attendance.
• Eliminate or restrict educators’ right to a hearing before being fired, otherwise known as due process.
• Weaken educators’ retirement security by switching to plans tied to the Stock Market’s ups and downs, even though teachers have foregone salary increases for years in exchange for a decent standard of living when they retire.

More than ever, being informed, organized and involved can mean the difference between drastic rollbacks and risky schemes and helping students and teachers avoid becoming budget scapegoats.  With that in mind, here are some selected Facebook groups and pages from various states that can keep you up to date and tell you how to help when the time comes to take quick, coordinated action.

Know of a Facebook page or group we missed? Leave a comment on this article and we’ll add it to the list.

National (NEA)

• Speak Up for Education and Kids
• Education Support Professionals
• National Education Association
• NEA Priority Schools Campaign
• NEA Retired

National (non-NEA)

• SOS Million Teacher March
• Children are More than Test Scores
• Testing is not Teaching

Alabama

• Alabama Education Retirees Association

Alaska

• NEA-Alaska

Arizona

• Arizona Education Retired
• Arizona Education Association

Arkansas

• Arkansas Education Association

California

• California Teachers Association
• Student California Teachers Association
• California Teachers Association – District A
• Vacaville Teachers Association
• Escondido Elementary Educators Association
• Antioch Education Association
• Vallejo Education Association
• Santa Rosa Teachers Association
• Inglewood Teachers Association
• Stand Up 4 Anaheim City Teachers
• Sweetwater Education Association
• Carlsbad Unified Teachers Association
• Madera Unified Teachers Association
• San Diego Education Association
• Oakland Education Association
• Fresno Teachers Association
• Stockton Teachers Association
• Garvey Education Association
• Associated Calexico Teachers
• United Educators of San Francisco
• Ventura Classified Employees Association
• Sacramento City Teachers Association
• Tahoe Truckee Education Association

Colorado

• Colorado Education Association

Connecticut

• Connecticut Education Association

Florida

• Florida Education Association – Make Our Schools a Priority

Georgia

• Georgia Association of Educators

Hawaii

• Hawaii State Teachers Association

Idaho

• Idaho Education Association
• Boise Education Association
• IEA – Region One
• Post Falls Education Association
• Coeur d’Alene Education Association

Illinois

• Illinois Education Association

Indiana

• Indiana State Teachers Association

Iowa

• Iowa State Education Association
• Des Moines Education Association

Kansas

• Kansas National Education Association
• Prairie Fire UniServ KNEA

Louisiana

• Louisiana Association of Educators

Maryland

• Maryland State Education Association
• Montgomery County Education Association
• Carol County Education Association
• Education Association of Charles County
• Education Association of St. Mary’s County
• Frederick County Teachers Association
• Harford Students Count on Us!
• Howard County Education Association
• Washington County Teachers Association

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts Teachers Association

Michigan

• Michigan Education Association
• Huron Valley Education Association

Minnesota

• Education Minnesota

Missouri

• Missouri National Education Association

Montana

• MEA-MFT

Nebraska

• Nebraska State Education Association
• Lincoln Education Association

Nevada

• Nevada State Education Association
• Clark County Education Association

New Hampshire

• Amherst Education Association

New Jersey

• New Jersey Education Association

New Mexico

• NEA – New Mexico

New York

• New York State United Teachers

North Carolina

• North Carolina Association of Educators
• Wake NCAE
• Pitt NCAE
• Duplin NCAE
• Cabarrus NCAE
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg NCAE-CMAE
• Union County Association of Educators NCAE

Ohio

• Columbus Education Association
• Ohio Education Association

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma Education Association

Oregon

• Oregon Education Association
• Eugene Education Association
• Grants Pass Education Association
• Salem Keizer Education Association
• McMinnville Education Association

Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania State Education Association

Rhode Island

• NEA – Rhode Island

South Dakota

• South Dakota Education Association

Tennessee

• Tennessee Education Association

Texas

• Texas State Teachers Association

Utah

• Utah Education Association

Vermont

• Vermont-NEA

Virginia

• Virginia Education Association
• Orange County Education Association

Washington

• Washington Education Association
• Evergreen Education Association
• Seattle Education Association
• North Central WEA UniServ

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin Education Association Council
• Green Bay Education Association
• Monona Grove Education Association