Angry parents in the Washington suburbs have organized in recent weeks with rare force, determined to save Cadillac school programs from the budget ax.
Their advocacy sets up a quandary for county politicians aiming to balance the needs of a vocal few with those of the less-active majority of residents.
In Fairfax County, Foreign Language Advocacy for Grade Schools, or FLAGS, has collected about 2,000 signatures on a petition to save the county's 13 language-immersion schools, as well as a program in 32 schools that offers two days of foreign language per week.
"If you lose these programs that make our schools a different quality school system, then you've taken away a lot of what attracts people to this area," said Sandy Knox, who said she has been working nearly 60 hours per week as co-leader of the effort.
The Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education, or FACE, organized a rally earlier this month to garner support for the elementary band and orchestra program that serves about 25,000 of the county's upper elementary students. A spiffy Web site lists contact information for co-chairmen representing classes from theater arts to guitar, while a list of "advocacy links" encourages parents to become lobbyists.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Parents-organize-to-fight-for-prized-programs-82118877.html#ixzz0dAK5ptga