The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed. This week has been a slower news week than usual for obvious reasons but the internet is burning up with announcements of new Facebook pages sprouting up started by an array of parents and teachers from around the country standing with their teachers and students and against the privatization of their schools. Just this morning I was invited to like four Facebook pages related to education. They are: … →
We just e-mailed this letter to Senators-elect Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who will be new members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. We will send similar letters to other new members as well as any new members of the House Education and the Workforce committee, as we learn of their appointments. December 20, 2012 Dear Senator-elect: Congratulations on your election! There are so many challenges ahead and we wish you the … →
Parents Across America grieves with the community of Newtown, Connecticut over the loss of their precious children and educators. The following letter, sent yesterday to President Obama from the founder of Parents Across America-CT, expresses some aspects of what many of our members are feeling at this difficult time. Hon. President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: As a public school parent of three in Stamford, Connecticut, I wanted to thank … →
We share this San Francisco Chronicle story about how teacher Steve Rubenstein, the husband of PAA founding member Caroline Grannan, talked to his students about the Sandy Hook school tragedy: Back at Buena Vista Horace Mann in San Francisco’s Mission District, another teacher, Steve Rubenstein, learned of the tragedy by phone as he and his sixth-graders trooped back to class after seeing a play. A former newspaper reporter, Rubenstein felt it was important for the students to know. He teed it … →
The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed. “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.” Frederick Douglass I keep wondering when folks in this country are going to say enough is enough. Until then the Wendy Kopp’s, Michelle Rhee’s, the Waltons and the Gates will continue to plow on and plow us under. Today, we’ll begin … →
Two parent triggers have been deployed in California, total, and there have been no other parent triggers anywhere. Here’s what’s happened in those two cases: McKinley Elementary, Compton, CA Parent Revolution orchestrated this one entirely without the involvement of the parent community. After the petitions were delivered, many parents protested and said they did not want the school to become a charter. Many said they had been told the petitions were to beautify or improve the school. Parent Revolution had … →
Dec. 5, 2012 To Superintendent Dorn: Parents Across America of Washington State, the local chapters of the national organization dedicated to the preservation of public education, has concluded that Initiative 1240 is in violation of the Washington State Constitution on multiple counts. We therefore urge the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to pursue a legal challenge to I-1240, based on the following grounds: 1. I-1240 would establish a charter school commission comprised of politically appointed members with … →
Yesterday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin convened a hearing on the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a way of describing the way some school policies and practices may simply push students – particularly low-income students and students of color – out of school and into jail. Zero tolerance policies, school closings, high-stakes testing, and other factors contribute to this devastating situation. This was an unprecedented hearing, and, unlike the panels of corporate reformers we more often see gathered to share their positions, this time … →
Welcome new chapter in Utica, MI We are excited to have a new chapter in Utica, Michigan, called Parents Across Utica Community Schools. They reached out to PAA for help with their Broad superintendent and a Board President who also runs a “virtual learning academy.” They are asking for our help – please “like” the Parents Across Utica Community Schools Facebook page and follow them for updates and action alerts. Their story, which follows, can be found in somewhat … →
Welcome new chapter, PAA-Atlanta/GA/Atlanta Public Schools! We’re delighted to welcome another new chapter, this one in Atlanta. Founder Kimberly Brooks is a former PTA president who is studying for her masters degree. Parents in Atlanta are discouraged by the well-known test cheating scandal and recent passage of charter school expansion laws in the state. They feel their voices are not being heard. Kimberly brings a lot of enthusiasm to our national network! You can contact her at kimberlybrooks.kim@gmail.com Welcome, Kimberly … →
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