Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Are These Groups?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Are These Groups?:

Who Are These Groups?

In my effort to keep up with who's who in ed reform in Washington State, here's a list of some groups you may run into.

Campaign for Student Success (a coalition group) 

We are a diverse group of education advocates, parents, community leaders and fighters for equity.

This group runs the gamet from Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, Coalition of Immigrants, and Refugees and Communities of Color and Statewide Poverty Action Network to DFER, LEV and Stand for Children as well as Washington State Charter Schools Association and the Washington Roundtable.

The group says:
Collectively, the coalition sees McCleary as a unique demand to positively impact public education on behalf of Washington kids.

And yet, over and over, we have seen virtually no visible support for McCleary action from the Washington State Charter Schools Association.  Beware of groups that make claims that have no real evidence behind that claim. 

Our state legislators can create equal opportunity for our kids, and our coalition is urging them to create a sustainable solution based on three key pillars:

• Funding & Fairness: Sufficient funding must also be equitable and fair, meaning we must support those students who need it most; 
• Talent: Educator compensation must be funded with a focus on equity, growing the pipeline of excellent educators and matching them with students who need the most help; 
• Accountability: Funding and talent must be accompanied by a robust accountability system that sets clear goals, tracks progress over time, and provides appropriate supports and programs for under-performing schools and struggling students.

You can send them your e-mail address for updates but there is no contact info, no info on leadership or funders.  Their Facebook page has mostly generic kid shots.  The phone number there - one with a (415) area code actually goes to someone in San Francisco at a company called Rally.

RALLY is a communications firm that works to influence the way people think about and respond to political and social issues.

Rally is also the voice behind the group for charter school students in Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Are These Groups?:

Letters to Betsy

by Melissa Westbrook / 11h

That's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The first letter is from the head of the NEA , Lily Eskelsen García . Key points (bold mine): I must ask you to give us the substantive answers that I did not hear you give to the senators at your hearing 

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers