Why we asked our Board of Education to stop our state’s new tests
This past Tuesday, a group of North Carolina parents and educators asked our local school board to stop giving a set of federally mandated tests known as Measures of Student Learning (MSLs). Essentially, we are calling on our board members to consider civil disobedience. It is a lot to ask. But we believe the situation is dire enough to warrant it. The MSLs rolled out this past spring with disastrous results, especially at high schools, where the bulk of tests … →
“Expose the Gulen Movement” report
Reprinted from Sharon Higgin’s Perimeter Primate blog On Saturday, August 31st, I was one of the speakers at the “Expose the Gulen Movement” protest rally held on a farm in the rural, rolling hills around Saylorsburg, PA. We assembled less than two miles from the compound where Fethullah Gulen lives. Gulen is considered to be one of the two most powerful men in Turkey. Those who attended the protest have a common interest in shedding light on the Gulen Movement’s … →
Charter school debate with PAA affiliate HispanEduca’s Lourdes Perez!
New affiliate member Lourdes Perez, leader of PAA Florida-based affiliate HispanEduca, shared the transcript of an Education Week webinar she recently participated in on the topic of facilities funding for charter schools. The discussion was apparently supposed to center on ways charter schools can access more capital funding (it was subtitled: “The Pursuit for Equity”…) but as you read the transcript, you will see that the participants, lead by our own Lourdes, took the discussion in a far more critical … →
PAA founding member Helen Gym on PDK/Gallup poll parent results
PAA founding member Helen Gym, of Philadelphia’s Parents United for Public Education, was an analyst and commenter for the newest Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll showing some of the strongest public support in decades for public schools and teachers while rejecting many of the current education reform practices like high stakes testing, vouchers, and de-funding of schools. Helen’s comments, to be found on p. 23 of the PDK/Gallup poll report, are as follows: As a public school parent in Philadelphia, I’m … →
Confessions of a Bad Teacher: Buy the Book!
We were delighted when teacher/author John Owen asked for a book jacket blurb from PAA, and even more thrilled to see that he concludes “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” by recommending that people join Parents Across America as a first step in addressing the concerns raised in the book. He even includes our What Works/What Doesn’t Work statement (see page 232). The book went on sale on August 7. The publicity material calls it “The book ‘school reformers’ don’t want … →
TAKE ACTION to start the new school year off right!
What you can do about some of the hot issues in public education Here’s a list of actions PAA co-founder Julie Woestehoff, of Chicago’s Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE), shared at last week’s Democracy Convention in Madison: Track federal ESEA reauthorization (PURE and PAA have news services to help you – see below). The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) expired in 2007 but Congress has yet to agree on how to fix it. Unfortunately, the “bipartisan” take … →
Georgia opts out of PARCC
By Kimberly Brooks, leader of PAA-Atlanta/GA/Atlanta Public Schools News in Georgia applauds the success of delaying/opt-out of the PARCC consortium-designed Common Core assessments. While I believe that this article deserves recognition, there is much more work to be done. For starters, the Georgia Department of Education has yet to be composed of a staff that would accommodate such a great responsibility. From the Iowa Test of Basic Skills when I was younger and the Georgia Graduation Test to the EOCT … →
Support for teachers in North Carolina
PAA affiliate MecklenburgACTS.org joined several thousand other activists for the final “Moral Monday” protest against the broad range of ALEC-driven legislation enacted in the just-concluded session of North Carolina’s legislature. In a sweeping series of bills, state legislators lowered taxes on corporations and wealthy residents, while cutting education, health care, unemployment and a wide range of other programs. They also took aim at many basic rights, enacting one of the nation’s most stringent set of voting restrictions as well as … →
Press release: Parents to Rep. George Miller: For “National Parents Day,” listen to parents!
Press release: For Immediate Release July 26, 2013 Parents to Rep. George Miller: To celebrate “National Parents Day,” please listen to parents! Parents Across America, a network of grassroots parents and parent groups across the U.S., has learned that Rep George Miller, ranking Democratic member of the House education committee, is holding a teleconference today to celebrate the July 28th National Parents Day. The teleconference is taking place today, July 26, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. EST Toll-free U.S. dial-in #:866-952-1907 …→
Congress: Listen to parents!
Please share this fax with your Congressional representatives and senators (downloadable pdf) Listen to Parents! Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax July 25, 2013 Survey: Parents oppose testing, school closings and “choice” American Federation of Teachers survey shows most parents want less testing, charter schools and school closings and more support for neighborhood public schools. From the AFT press release: Most parents with children in public schools do not support recent changes in education policy, from closing low-performing schools to shifting … →