Daily Archives: May 31, 2012

Stop tweeting @Soledad_OBrien

http://battleofourtimes.com/i-can-hear-you/

The Jefferson Parish public school system Wednesday sent notices to about 500 employees telling them their positions are getting eliminated as part of an ongoing reorganization push. The 200 central office administrative workers and 300 teachers from schools that recently closed have not been laid off, said Acting Superintendent James Meza. Instead, they were notified their slots are expiring and told they can apply for other jobs in the system.

Meza said another 1,000 central office employees received notice that their job descriptions are changing.

“It’s starting now,” Meza said about an administration overhaul meant to reorient the central office as a support service for schools instead of an oversight entity.

While the reorganization aims to achieve reform goals, such as giving school sites more decision-making power, it coincides with a need to cut the budget. An expected deficit for 2012-13 could rise as high as $30 million, Meza said. Layoffs could be coming over the summer.

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2012/05/jefferson_parish_school_system_19.html#incart_river

(RNN) – Photos of two military women breastfeeding their kids while in uniform have evoked strong emotional feedback.

The pictures were part of a series done for Mom2Mom, a support group at Fairfield Air Force Base in Spokane, WA. Photographer Brynja Sigurdardottir captured several women nursing their children on the base grounds, but shots of two Air National Guardsmen received national attention.

Terran Echegoyen-McCabe and Christina Luna both sit with their Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) jackets unbuttoned as they breastfeed their children. For the most part, people commenting on the pictures have been either strongly for or strongly against public feeding in uniform.

The photographer issued a written statement on Facebook, saying no one expected the photo to be “shared around the world and back twice over.”

“This was going to be for the local airmen at Fairchild,” Sigurdardottir stated. “However, we want everyone to realize that we never meant to cause commotion, disrespect or attention. These are just two beautiful women, who are in the military, breastfeeding their babies.

“We do not regret what we have done, we just hope the military and everyone else sees that just because you are in uniform … you can breastfeed your baby without shame. We have done nothing wrong, and we hope this will make changes to protect all women to breastfeed in public, in uniform or out.”

Echegoyen-McCabe told the Today show she was proud to wear a uniform while breastfeeding. She also hoped it would encourage others to know they can breastfeed, whether they are active duty, guard or civilian.

“There isn’t a policy saying we can or cannot breastfeed in uniform,” Echegoyen-McCabe said to Today. “I think it’s something that every military mom who is breastfeeding has done. I think we do need to be able to breastfeed in uniform and be protected.”

http://www.kplctv.com/story/18665421/military-moms-breastfeeding-receive-national-attention

Washington Air National Guard spokesman Capt. Keith Kosik said it’s a violation of regulations to use the uniform to promote a civilian cause.

He said the two nursing mothers likely will not be disciplined for the photos but that the incident would be used as an opportunity for education.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MILITARY_BREAST_FEEDING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT