Teachers Converging on Washington for 4-Day Schools Rally
By guest blogger Nirvi Shah
Today kicks off the four-day Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action, a gathering and rally in Washington, D.C., organized by teachers who say they are fed up with test-driven accountability for public schools—and, increasingly, for teachers.
The group, which maintains that it is a grassroots, from-the-ground-up organization, hopes to send a message to national and state policymakers about their displeasure, as well as highlight a variety of principles for improving public education. The group has developed a series of position papers outlining its views on high-stakes testing, equitable funding for all schools, unions and collective bargaining, and changes to curriculum, among other issues. For the most part, the position papers aren't yet at the level of detail of formal policy prescriptions, and it remains to be seen whether such proposals will emerge from the gathering.
As part of a pre-march conference to be held today and tomorrow, teachers, education professors, and others will gather at American University to share ideas about a variety of topics. 
According to the conference guide, they include sessions about how to reform public education, become community activists, engage parents—especially black and Hispanic parents—
