NYC Public School Parents: Call to Action! Keep the cap on charters!

NYC Public School Parents: Call to Action! Keep the cap on charters!

Call to Action! Keep the cap on charters!

The Education Council Consortium (ECC) invites all stakeholders to make a Charter Cap Call to Action. Please find more information in a letter from the ECC to the community, below: 

Dear fellow advocates of public education and concerned families,

We need your help. We advocated hard for a cap on the number of charter schools that could operate in New York City, and we won—but now, the charter school industry is lobbying hard to remove that cap. Even though they could easily open charter schools in other parts of the state, and even though NYC has over 80% of the state’s charters, they still want more in NYC. StudentsFirst, a pro-charter political lobbying organization formed by Michelle Rhee to pass state laws facilitating charter school expansion, has released results from their poll claiming NYC Democrats want more charters. Parent advocates don’t have lobbyists or market research firms to game the system, but we have our voices and our elected representatives. 

Phone Banking

Please reach out to 10 or more friends—SLT and PTA members, grandparents, really anyone you know, and ask them to call or write their state legislators. We are aiming to have 50 calls made in each community school district, surpassing 1,500 calls.

The Charter Committee will hold a virtual phone bank on TONIGHT, Thursday, May 27th at 7pm. Please register in advance for this event. 

Letter Writing 

You can also send a letter to your elected officials here. The letter writing site has a sample letter and it will look up your legislators, so that all you have to do is sign your name! Please do it today and share with others.

NYC Public School Parents: Call to Action! Keep the cap on charters!

CAROL BURRIS: Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education + ACTION ALERT - Network For Public Education

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education - Network For Public Education

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education

By Carol Burris

Charles Siler worked for two privatization organizations, including the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, where his job was to persuade legislators to pass laws that privatize public services, especially K-12 schooling.

In March, Siler had a conversation with education historian and activist Diane Ravitch as well as with podcaster Jennifer Berkshire, in which he provided insight into the playbook used by “school choice” proponents, the belief system that drives them and their long-term objective. He makes it very clear: Their ultimate goal is to dismantle K-12 public schools.

Carol Burris, a former prizewinning principal and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group the Network for Public Education, did a Q&A with Charles Siler on the same issues. Here’s the interview Burris did with Siler:

You can read the rest of Carol’s post in The Answer Sheet here.

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education - Network For Public Education

Tell Congress: Stop Funding Charter Schools Run for Profit

Representatives Mark Pocan and Jamaal Bowman have drafted a “Dear Colleague” letter that asks members of Congress to support a reduction in funding, greater oversight, and an end to CSP money for schools run by the for-profits.

We need you to ask your member of Congress to sign on to their Dear Colleague letter.

Members of the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - https://www.congress.gov/members?searchResultViewType=expanded

Florida Alert! Save Public Schools from Privatizers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Florida Alert! Save Public Schools from Privatizers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Florida Alert! Save Public Schools from Privatizers!

SB 48 Will Be Heard at 3:30 p.m. on 2/17/21 in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Your Voice is Needed!
What you can do . . .
1) Make calls and/or send emails – We are urging all those connected to Pastors for Florida Children to contact the members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and encourage them to vote “NO” on this bill! We are hoping to flood their offices with calls/emails up until the committee discussion on SB 48 at 3:30 p.m. on 2/17. If you live within the districts of any of the Senators on the subcommittee, be sure to indicate that in your call/email. Ask your family members, friends and colleagues to contact them as well. Below is some more information as well as talking points about the bill: 
SB 48 is moving through the legislative process and will divert more tax dollars away from public schools and further remove public oversight, transparency and accountability. If passed, SB 48 would expand eligibility for school-voucher programs, consolidate existing choice programs and allow parents to use taxpayer-backed education savings accounts for private schools and other costs.
Private schools that take state scholarships also do not have to meet state standards for teacher qualifications, facilities, curriculum or finances. Also, within the last calendar year, evidence has been presented that private schools that accept state money are currently able to discriminate against some of the state’s students without any repercussions.
SB 48 will outsource the oversight of Florida’s $1 billion voucher program to private organizations that will profit from the program expansion. There is no local oversight from elected officials and private organization audits are also reduced from annually to every three years.
The almost 3 million schoolchildren in Florida deserve better! Every child in Florida deserves to have access to a high quality education as is mandated by the Florida Constitution. 
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Members and Contact Information:Chair Doug Broxson (R)broxson.doug@flsenate.gov850-487-5001@DougBroxson
Vice Chair Manny Diaz (R) — *Bill Sponsordiaz.manny@flsenate.gov850-487-5036@SenMannyDiazJr
Sen. Janet Cruz (D)cruz.janet@flsenate.gov850-487-5018@SenJanetCruz
Sen. Audrey Gibson (D)gibson.audrey@flsenate.gov850-487-5006@SenAudrey2eet
Sen. Joe Gruters (R)gruters.joe@flsenate.gov850-487-5023@JoeGruters
Sen. Travis Hutson (R)hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov850-487-5007@TravisJHutson
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R)passidomo.kathleen@flsenate.gov850-487-5028@Kathleen4SWFL
Sen. Tina Polsky (D)polsky.tina@flsenate.gov850-487-5029@TinaPolsky
Sen. Tom Wright (R)wright.tom.web@flsenate.gov850-487-5014@SenTomWright
2) Get Educated – The League of Women Voters of Florida hosted a Lunch & Learn program dedicated solely to the detriments that this legislation will cause, featuring Rev. Rachel Gunter Shapard, one of the co-founders of Pastors for Florida Children. If you would like to view it to learn more about SB 48 click here. If you were not able to attend the webinar hosted by Public Funds Public Schools entitled “Fighting Voucher Legislation in 2021: An Update on State Voucher Bills and Tools to Oppose Them,” you can view the recording here. The webinar featured representatives of Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS), the Network for Public Education (NPE), and the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE). It is worth your time!
3) Write an Op-Ed – if you are a writer, we need you! It is imperative that we tell the other side of the story. Privatizers are bringing in parents and students who have benefited from vouchers to testify before legislative committees, but the problem is that private school students only represent 10% of the school-age population in Florida. We need to help amplify the stories of students who attended voucher schools and due to a negative experience had to return to public schools, or of public schools that are in underfunded that are doing incredible work, but need more resources to make a truly transformative impact. Contact us if you would like to write an Op-Ed. 
4) Make a connection – If you know of students who have utilized a voucher “scholarship” who had a negative experience and had to return to a public school, please connect us to them! Now more than ever it is imperative to share the other side of the story. 
Sincerely,
Rev. James T. GoldenChair, Social Action Committee,Florida African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Joyce Lieberman Executive/Stated Clerk,Synod of South Atlantic – Presbyterian Church (USA)
Rev. Rachel Gunter ShapardRegional Vice President, Together for Hope – Black Belt

Pastors for Florida Children | PO Box 488 , Bradenton, FL 34206 Phone

Charles Foster Johnson, Pastor, Bread Fellowship of Fort WorthExecutive Director, Pastors for Texas ChildrenP.O. Box 471155Fort Worth, TX 76147

(c)

210-379-1066

www.pastorsfortexaschildren.comwww.charlesfosterjohnson.com

Florida Alert! Save Public Schools from Privatizers! | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC Public School Parents: Getting it Right: Reopening our Nation's Schools. A National Town hall on Sat. Aug. 15 from 12-4 pm.

NYC Public School Parents: Getting it Right: Reopening our Nation's Schools. A National Town hall on Sat. Aug. 15 from 12-4 pm.

Getting it Right: Reopening our Nation's Schools. A National Town hall on Sat. Aug. 15 from 12-4 pm.

This Saturday August 15, I will be co-hosting the second half of a four-hour program called "Getting it Right" from 12 -4 PM EST on school reopening and how best to educate students during the pandemic.   My panels will focus on issues with remote learning and health and safety.  There is an amazing set of panelists; see below. 

You can watch at the Washington Teachers' Union Facebook page; listen live on WBAI 99.5 FM in NYC or at wbai.org; and/or register at Zoom at https://bit.ly/31mpSfh.  

              National Town Hall: Getting It Right: Reopening Our Nation's Schools

Educators, Health Experts, Civil Rights Leaders to Discuss the Chaos, Complexities, How Best to Reopen Schools

Melissa Harris-Perry to Moderate Opening Panel

WASHINGTON-The Washington Teachers' Union, WPFW-FM and WBAI-FM are co­ sponsoring a national town hall on Aug. 15 to discuss the chaos, complexities and most effective ways to reopen our nation's schools; it will feature national education, health and civil rights leaders, teachers and social workers.

"Getting It Right: Reopening Our Nation's Schools" will be aired live on WPFW 89.3 FM in Washington, D.C., and audio streamed on wpfwfm.org; aired live on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City and audio streamed on wbai.org; and can be seen live on the Washington Teachers' Union Facebook page- www.facebook.com /WTU1ocal6.

The four-panel, four-hour town hall will be on Aug. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. EDT:

Noon-1 p.m. EDT:

The opening panel, moderated by Wake Forest University's Maya Angelou Presidential Endowed Chair Melissa Harris-Perry, will focus on the state of reopening schools, the chaos and politics involved and the inequities for disadvantaged children that COVID-19 has exposed. Panelists include:

•       American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten

•       Washington Teachers' Union President Elizabeth Davis

        •       Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram

        •       Dr. Reed Tuckson, co-founder, Black Coalition Against COVID-19

•       April Goggans, core organizer, Black Lives Matter DC

  1  p.m. - 2 p.m. EDT:

Moderated by WPFW's Askia Muhammad and D.C. teacher Michelle Bollinger, this panel will focus on what's happening on the ground across the country and lessons learned from the spring months of remote learning. Panelists include:

•       Texas AFT President Zeph Capo

•       Dallas-area teacher Misty Griffin, who resigned rather than be forced to teach remotely from her school

        •       Detroit Federation of Teachers President Terrence Martin

        •       Providence, R.I., first-grade teacher Ashley Davis

•    Western Washington University professor Joheen Neem will address concerns about the future of public education as well as how the COVID-19 situation could encourage more privatization

2  p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT:

Moderated by WPFW's Askia Muhammad and WBAI's Leonie Haimson, the panel will focus on technology for remote learning: how effective it has been; how to do it well; problems providing disadvantaged children access to devices and Wi-Fi; advice for parents; and lessons learned from the spring.

•       WTU President Elizabeth Davis 

•       United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats

•       Washington, D.C., teacher Ashley Kearney

•       Lyndsie Galizia, Fairfax County, Va., school-based tech specialist. The county had a very difficult remote rollout in the spring.

•       Grace Hu, Washington, D.C., parent/ community activist will address tech issues and lack of investment for disadvantaged children.

3  p.m. - 4 p.m. EDT

Moderated by Aslda Muhammad and Leonie Haimson, this panel will focus on the physical and mental health issues that families, educators and others are dealing with.

•       Dr. Melissa Clarke, health educator and member of the Black Coalition Against COVID-19

•       Dr. Jennifer Lighter, NYU Langone Health pediatric infectious disease specialist

•       Mary Balla, Washington, D.C., teacher on task force about moving a portion of law enforcement funds to social and emotional learning programs

•       Maureen Eigenfeld, New York City school social worker, works in a high-needs Bronx middle school.

 NYC Public School Parents: Getting it Right: Reopening our Nation's Schools. A National Town hall on Sat. Aug. 15 from 12-4 pm.

Deadline on Friday to sign up for remote or in-person learning next year | Class Size Matters

Deadline on Friday to sign up for remote or in-person learning next year | Class Size Matters 

Deadline on Friday to sign up for remote or in-person learning next year 

Dear friends–

Late on Friday, the DOE released the outline of a plan for school reopening in the fall, to be submitted to the State Board of Health.   They promise more details at the school level will follow. They released a rubric and protocol for individual school closures if Covid cases emerge among students or staff. The Mayor also announced that he will not reopen schools unless the positivity rate citywide remains under three percent by early September, while the Governor’s benchmark is a less restrictive five percent. As of today, the city’s rate is one percent – one of the lowest in the country. According to the Governor, there have been no Covid deaths in NYC for three days in a row.

The DOE is also letting parents decide whether they want to keep their children home for 100 percent remote learning next fall. Parents need to decide by this Friday, August 7 by registering their decision online.  Families can change their mind to choose full-time remote learning at any time, but if they alter their original choice to opt for in-person learning, this can happen only a few times a year.

This will be a difficult decision for many parents to make, especially as much information is missing in the DOE’s reopening plan, which does not say whether all schools will have nurses; doesn’t say how widely available busing will be; and doesn’t allow parents to know how many days per week their kids will be able to attend school if they opt for in-person learning. The disparities across the city regarding how little in-person learning will be available result from the awful inequities of class size and school overcrowding that plague our public schools.

Parents also do not know yet what full-time remote learning will look like and whether it will be improved from the version their children were subjected to this spring. The model used in summer school has apparently not gone well.

Rather than the DOE’s current plan, with all students offered “blended” learning and attending school only 1-3 days per week, other officials including City Council Education Chair Mark Treyger and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams issued proposals recommending that DOE should focus in-person instruction on elementary school children and those students with special needs, English Language Learners and living in temporary housing.

This makes sense as especially as children under ten are believed to transmit Covid less effectively and youngest students generally do worst with remote learning. If middle schools and high school buildings were closed with their students engaging in full-time remote learning, then younger students could theoretically be provided with smaller classes in those buildings and attend school nearly full time – if there were enough teachers.

Neither the UFT nor the CSA is satisfied with the current plans, and their opposition may prevent schools opening at all. Infection rates may also rise higher as the fall progresses, with schools closing at that point, but at least some kids will then have had the chance to meet their teachers and each other in person before that happens, as this epidemiologist points out.

In any case, no one can possibly fault you whatever choice you make for your child and family. Again, here is the link to fill it out by this Friday, August 7 .

Yours, Leonie

PS Please also check out the blog to see how in the midst of budget cuts to our public schools, 108 NYC charter schools received a windfall of federal funds averaging between $940,000- $2.2 million each, meant for small businesses.

Deadline on Friday to sign up for remote or in-person learning next year | Class Size Matters