Another way to show appreciation for teachers is to participate in Screen Free Week, an event sponsored by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) that starts today. PAA supports this event for many reasons, but first and foremost because we hope to help raise awareness of the misuse and overuse of computer-based programs and testing and the excessive screen time our children are being exposed to in our schools. How do we support teachers when we challenge the take-over … →

…when the flowers bloom, the workers march, and the president tries to make everyone happy by proclaiming this week both National Teacher Appreciation Week and National Charter School Week. A Parents Across America appreciation of teachers comes in two forms. The first is below, the second is in the next blog post. PAA Teacher Appreciation Week Contribution #1 (a well-deserved slap at charter schools…): A reminder of a recent charter school scandal uncovered in March by the Chicago Sun-Times, which … →

Just how scared is the Big Testing cartel? Scared enough, apparently, to think it makes sense to make “examples” out of parents who speak out against the misuse and overuse of standardized tests. We told you last month about how Heather Hicks, the leader of PAA-Ocean County NJ, became the target of an entire cautionary presentation by the COO of iNACOL (the International Association of K-12 Online Learning) at a Pearson conference. The gist of the presentation was that “these … →

Parents Across America agrees with recent articles (in Blooomberg Views here and the Nation here for example) that the lack of attention to K-12 education policy in the current election campaign is a major concern, especially given the disappointing results of recent independent national achievement tests which make it clear that years of corporate-driven education “reform” have failed our children. The Nation interview with Jane Sanders, wife of candidate Bernie Sanders, touched on some of PAA’s major concerns. However, we … →

Heather Hicks, leader of our newest PAA chapter, PAA-Ocean County NJ, has just posted a devastating video showing how the chief operating officer of iNACOL (the International Association of K-12 Online Learning) gave a workshop at a Pearson conference focusing on her as the prime example of how parents must be managed so that they don’t get in the way of the blended learning steamroller. Here’s Heather’s story:      As a mother and an elementary special education teacher, I became … →

The Network for Public Education conference set for April 16 and 17th in Raleigh, NC, is looking great. The wonderful speaker line up includes Diane Ravitch, Chicago Teachers’ Union president Karen Lewis, Moral Monday founder the Rev. William Barber, Jesse Hagopian, Karran Harper-Royal and others. You can still register here. PAA is presenting an important workshop on Saturday morning, 4/16, at 11:35 am, “Parent Voices on the Impact of Race and Poverty on Educational Opportunity: A Call to Action”. That … →

We had a great start to our PAA Book Club last night. Unfortunately, the record function did not work and we were not able to record the session. So, instead, here is a written summary of the session. Summary of PAA Book Club meeting March 29, 2016 We discussed “Beware the Roadbuilders: Literature as Resistance” by P. L. Thomas, who graciously agreed to join us for the meeting. Julie Woestehoff, PAA interim executive director, welcomed everyone to the meeting and … →

We are hearing that there are some major problems with the way the SBAC and PARCC tests are going to be scored this year – specifically, that most of the language arts tests will be computer-scored, a process that experts consider unreliable. What’s worse, the test publishers have failed to deliver on promised results of computer scoring validity and reliability studies. Here’s some background information on this issue. PAA has endorsed the following letter drafted by PAA co-founder, Leonie Haimson, … →

Today, PAA sent the following message to the National Institutes of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics, asking for an investigation of growing student test stress: Parents Across America (PAA) is requesting an investigation into the increase in test anxiety in students across our nation and its effects on children’s mental health and ability to learn. PAA has gathered a significant amount of research showing that, as high-stakes standardized tests have multiplied, growing percentages of students have begun to … →

PAA Position Paper Parents Stand Up against Test Stress Updated January 2016 Across our nation, children of all ages are showing a jump in test anxiety. As high-stakes standardized tests have multiplied, growing percentages of students have begun to report test-related stress. More are seeking test-stress counseling. Media reports of psychological and physiological symptoms tied to testing have increased. Some students are able to manage the pressures of high-stakes testing. Others are overwhelmed. Parents, teachers, administrators, and mental health professionals … →