An Open Letter To RTA Members

This is an open letter to all members of the Rochester Teachers Association. The RTA "leadership" endorsed a candidate for Rochester City School Board without interviewing all the candidates (if any).

Fellow RTA Members,

My name is Dave Atias. I am a teacher at School Without Walls and I am also running for a seat on the Rochester City School Board. You may not have heard this because our union decided to endorse my opponent, first for the Democratic primary, which I was not a part of, then for the general election. I was not considered for the endorsement at any point in the process despite the fact that during the primary season, I was already on the ballot for the general election on the Green Party line.

So I am writing to tell you a little bit about my campaign.

My platform is seven pages long and can be read online at my website: www.schoolboardforkids.org. While my platform is extensive, my primary reason for running is to reduce the district’s emphasis on high-stakes testing. Also included at my site is a position paper on the role of teachers in the district as well as audio and video clips. I highly encourage you to check out the site. Suggestions are always welcome.

It will be difficult to step down as a teacher in the district in order to serve on the board. Teaching is what I am meant to do, but I feel that it is imperative that the direction public education is going be changed and this is how I am doing my part.

I am disappointed that the leaders of a union I am a dues-paying member of, would not even consider endorsing me. But, I am excited to have the opportunity to get on the board and work with them to help give all of us the tools we need to thrive as educators and to help our students. We have a lot of problems within RCSD, but I am confident that with an educator on the board we can start solving them.

One political party has dominated the Rochester City School Board for thirty years. It is time to focus on issues. I hope I can count on your support in November and beyond. When you go to vote on November 2^nd, I will be on Row I.

 

Thank you,

Dave Atias