A holiday greeting from Diane Ravitch
Holiday greetings from the Network for Public Education! We wish you and your family a joyous season and a healthy New Year.
We hope you will join with us in 2016 to continue the battle for better education for every American child and for policies that address the needs of children, instead of policies that label them, punish their teachers and principals, and close their schools.
With a new federal law in place, those of us who want better schools and better education have to organize and push hard to make sure that state officials act to help children and schools rather than to maintain the failed policies of the past 15 years.
Your voice is needed more than ever to protect the children of this nation. Join with us, join the organizations in your state and district that together are fighting for what is right for children.
Visit our new website and support us! We have great plans for 2016, but we can’t make them happen without your help. Ask a friend to join NPE and help our ranks grow!
We are many; they are few. Together we will transform our public schools so they are right for every child.
Thanks for all you do,
Diane Ravitch
There will be a lot happening at Network for Public Education in 2016
We have a new design for our website.
During 2016 our new website will expand, providing grassroots organizations and friends of public schools with the information and educational tools they need to make a difference in their communities and states.
We will issue our first national report card
What is your state doing to keep public education vibrant and strong? We will be issuing our first national report card, Valuing Public Education: A 50 State Report Card, which will evaluate states on their support for public schools. Look for it in February.
We will be expanding our organization.
NPE Action will launch. As we reorganize in the coming month, we are
Our twitter feed and Facebook page are temporarily dormant. Get ready for exciting things to come when we re-launch in 2016.
Teachers speak out about the “reform” evaluations
NPE will issue a national study on teacher evaluation based on an extensive survey of teachers. You will hear, in the words of classroom teachers from across the nation, how the new evaluations are affecting their work and their students.
Come join us in April!
NPE’s 3rd Annual National Conference, “And Justice for All: Strengthening Public Education for Each Child,” will take place April 16 – 17, 2016. Registration for the conference will open on January 1, 2016.
On Friday night, April 15, 2016, education advocates from around the country will begin gathering in Raleigh, North Carolina for NPE’s 3rdAnnual National Conference which will run from Saturday morning, April 16th until Sunday afternoon, April 17, 2016.
Aligned with the theme, “And Justice for All: Strengthening Public Education for Each Child”, keynotes and workshop presenters will tackle the challenges facing our students and schools as we all work towards a more just system of public education in America.
As previously announced, Saturday morning, April 16th will kick off with an inspirational welcome from our President, Diane Ravitch and a keynote address by Rev. William Barber, the President of the NC NAACP and co-founder of the Moral Mondays Movement.
Additional Keynote Speakers Announced!
We are now able to confirm two additional exciting keynote presentations by two friends of public schools: Bob Herbert and Superintendent Phil Lanoue.
Bob Herbert is an award-winning reporter, and author of LOSING OUR WAY: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America, which courageously speaks about the need to better fund and support our public schools.
You can read more about Mr. Herbert here.
Dr. Phil Lanoue is the Superintendent of the Clarke County School District in Athens, Georgia, and was recently named the 2015 AASA National Superintendent of the Year for his work in building community and school relationships as they work to close the achievement gap. He is an outspoken opponent of high stakes testing and corporate reforms.
You can read more about Dr. Lanoue here.
An agenda and initial workshops will be announced in January. At that time we will solicit workshop proposal submissions from the public as we continue to make this a conference for and about our members.
Be sure to check back on January 1 to register during our Early Bird special and reserve your spot so you can join other advocates from around the country. As Diane always says, “We are many. There is power in our numbers. Together we will save our schools.”
But to do that, we need YOU there.
Happy Holidays and thanks for all you do,
Carol Burris Executive Director, Network for Public Education
