News from PAA’s Boston affiliate, QUEST: This past winter and spring, QUEST (Quality Education for Every Student) participated in multiple local advocacy coalitions that were active in the search process for a new superintendent of Boston Public Schools. QUEST and its coalition partners criticized the abbreviated search process and the lack of diverse parent and stakeholder representation on the search committee. But they came to believe that one candidate, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, former Minnesota commissioner of education, offered the best … →

Parents Across America board member and leader of Parents Across America-Roanoke Valley, Laura Bowman, attended a listening session yesterday headlined by the Commissioner of Virginia Department of Social Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The focus of the session was school readiness for Virginia’s at-risk three and four year olds. In July, 2019, Virginia’s Governor signed an executive order establishing the Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness. The Team is responsible for creating recommendations that would unify Virginia early … →

On June 21, the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) selected Teach for America alum and interim superintendent Alessia Johnson to be the district’s leader. She was preceded by Dr. Lewis Ferebee, a Broad Academy fellow who helped close and/or privatize Indy’s public schools and sell off the assets of IPS to the businesses, community, who is now the superintendent of D.C. schools. Parent Power predicts under the Johnson regime, IPS will mimic New Orleans and become a business-model privatized school district … →

From John Harris Loflin, a leader of Parents Across America’s Indianapolis affiliate, Parent Power Indianapolis: The hidden influence of Teach for America ideology on education in Indianapolis: A commentary on why Aleesia Johnson must not be Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent. Parent Power Indianapolis has published a commentary about the negative ramifications to Indianapolis Public Schools if interim superintendent Aleesia Johnson becomes the school district’s leader. They’ve connected the dots among Indianapolis’ Teach for America alumni (Indianapolis Public Schools interim leader … →

Deb Mayer, leader of Parents Across America-Oregon, is running for Portland Public School Director, Zone 3. While PAA does not endorse candidates, we’re thrilled to see one of PAA’s chapter leaders run for elected office, as several other inspiring PAA leaders have done over the past eight years. Deb has been endorsed by both Network for Public Education Action and Willamette Week. Here are Deb’s answers to the Oregonian’s school board candidate survey. Find Deb’s website and Facebook page, here … →

We are especially happy to have four of our strong, accomplished, dedicated board of directors members back for another term on the PAA Board of Directors! Dora Taylor, Nathan Harris, Steven Norton, and Deb Mayer were recently re-elected to serve two-year terms on our seven member Board. We look forward to another year of PAA growth under their leadership. You can read all about these exceptional people here. From left, Nate and Carrie Lynn Harris, Julie Woestehoff, Dora Taylor, Deb … →

Julie Woestehoff, PAA co-founder and interim executive director, and the executive director of PURE for 20 plus years, is taking a well-deserved retirement at the end of this year. Julie helped established PURE as a powerhouse parent voice in Chicago, which earned her recognition as one of the 100 most powerful women in the city, along with a Ford Foundation team leadership award and regular appearances on the Today Show, Talk of the Nation, the New York Times, and other … →

UPDATE: Boston Globe article on continuing concerns of parents and others about superintendent search here.  Excellent letter from QUEST and other groups regarding needed process and participation for search here. A while ago we received the following request from QUEST, one of our Boston affiliates: QUEST is wondering if PAA members in cities where there has recently been a Superintendent search (for example LA and Seattle) have information about how the search was funded. Boston’s mayor recently fired our superintendent, Tommy … →

Parents Across America was formed by public school parents who were not only concerned about our own children’s educational opportunities, but that every child receive a quality education. Our work is focused on advocating for each child to be recognized, served and protected as a special and precious individual. Yet our society as a whole clearly values and treats some children far better than others, a difference that falls mainly along lines of race and economic status. This is shockingly … →

PAA Board member and co-founder of PAA-Oregon recently attended a march organized by the revitalized Poor People’s Campaign. She shared the following thoughts on the PAA-Oregon blog, which we reprint here: I knew I was at the Poor People’s Campaign when I arrived at St. Mark’s Church in Salem, and in lieu of a $20 t-shirt which I can ill afford, I was presented with the option of a printed logo cloth and two safety pins to attach it my own shirt … →