How Student Leaders Brought Their Peers Together to Fight Against Unjust Reforms – an NPE Webinar
On April 30th, NPE hosted Dynamic Student Leaders for a Webinar about organizing.
The Network for Public Education continued its series of webinars focused on giving grassroots activists tools and opportunities to connect with others. We heard from student leaders from around the country, who shared their experiences in organizing on their campuses. Stephanie Rivera, one of the founders of Students United for Public Education, spoke about the value of social networks and blogging. Sarah Smith, a veteran of the Wisconsin war on teachers, talked about starting small and building from where you are. And Chicago high school student Israel Muñoz shared some of the challenges and triumphs of the work to save schools in his city.
The session was recorded and can be viewed here. https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2013-04-30.1737.M.106EB60C13C87949F5C9FF169D1534.vcr&sid=cm090828
When you click on the link, a small application will download, which you may need to click to activate. You also may need to download the latest version of Java.
Grassroots Report: “If They Can Make it Here, They’ll Make it Anywhere”
by Trisha McCombsdouglascountyparent.com
twitter: @dcsd_parent
Once upon a time there was an idyllic suburban setting with a top-performing school district. Families from across the Denver Metro area flocked to this picturesque, growing hamlet that boasted of community, family, and great schools. Then, recently, a dark force known as School Reform has taken a tight hold on this school district.
This area is Douglas County, Colorado, about 20 miles south of Denver. In 2012 our county was ranked the 6th wealthiest in the United States according to MSN. Our school district (known as DCSD or DougCo) has over 65,000 students, about 6,000 employees, and covers almost 900 square miles. I have lived here since 1998 and have seen the growth and subsequent prosperity. Along with it I’ve seen the DCSD schools excel in every possible way. Now I watch them being thrown under the proverbial bus by our current school board and Superintendent, Dr. Liz Fagen.
It all started with a School Board election in 2009 when a slate of politically motivated candidates were voted into office. Their campaigns were largely (and I do mean LARGEly) funded by the deep pockets of individuals that don’t even live in our county AND have ties to ALEC.
In the short span of 3 years, we have seen an erosion in the Douglas County School District while an agenda is being enforced. You may recognize the themes of this agenda: a voucher program which is currently tied up in
twitter: @dcsd_parent
Once upon a time there was an idyllic suburban setting with a top-performing school district. Families from across the Denver Metro area flocked to this picturesque, growing hamlet that boasted of community, family, and great schools. Then, recently, a dark force known as School Reform has taken a tight hold on this school district.
This area is Douglas County, Colorado, about 20 miles south of Denver. In 2012 our county was ranked the 6th wealthiest in the United States according to MSN. Our school district (known as DCSD or DougCo) has over 65,000 students, about 6,000 employees, and covers almost 900 square miles. I have lived here since 1998 and have seen the growth and subsequent prosperity. Along with it I’ve seen the DCSD schools excel in every possible way. Now I watch them being thrown under the proverbial bus by our current school board and Superintendent, Dr. Liz Fagen.
It all started with a School Board election in 2009 when a slate of politically motivated candidates were voted into office. Their campaigns were largely (and I do mean LARGEly) funded by the deep pockets of individuals that don’t even live in our county AND have ties to ALEC.
In the short span of 3 years, we have seen an erosion in the Douglas County School District while an agenda is being enforced. You may recognize the themes of this agenda: a voucher program which is currently tied up in