This week the U.S. House is likely to pass HR 10, what we call the charter expansion bill. Then it is on track to move to the Senate. So, now’s the time to contact your Senators and tell them that parents’ CHOICE is more resources for local schools, not more money for charter schools. It wouldn’t hurt to contact your Congressman, too – they haven’t voted yet! Here’s what PAA faxed to every U.S. Senator today (and you can send … →
By Danielle Arnold-Schwartz, leader of PAA-Suburban Philadelphia I am grateful to live in a country where we have had First Amendment rights since 1791. “This clause prohibits the government from banning speech because it does not agree with the message… James Madison pointed to freedom of speech as a vital aspect of a healthy republic. While originally written to apply to actions of the federal government, the Supreme Court incorporated it into state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment in the … →
From Deb Mayer, leader of PAA affiliate Oregon Save Our Schools: Oregon Save Our Schools and other interested parties, with PPS school board member Steve Buel at the helm, has put together a resolution calling for a three-year moratorium on CC$$ in Oregon. Here’s the article in today’s Oregonian and the statement from Buel below, followed by the resolution, which Deb suggests could be used as a model by other communities. COMMON CORE PPS RESOLUTION Here is the copy of … →
By Steven Norton, PAA Board of Directors member and head of PAA affiliate Michigan Parents for Schools After a bruising vote in the House, the Michigan Senate is slated to take up the latest version of HB 4369, the state school takeover bill. Most people, including us, have been calling this the “EAA bill,” but that’s a misnomer. The latest version of the bill doesn’t even mention the Education Achievement Authority by name, though it would allow the EAA to … →
(En Inglés) La Voz de los Padres Facsímil sobre la Educación 10 de abril de 2014 Padres se OPONEN al Proyecto de Ley de la Cámara de Representantes HR 10, Éxito y Oportunidades Mediante las Escuelas Charter,” ( Success and Opportunity Through Charter Schools”). La posición de PAA: La organización nacional de padres, Parents Across America ( PAA), se opone a cualquier intento de privatizar la educación pública mediante la expansión de las escuelas charter, los vales, o cualquier otro … →
After months of parent pushback on the threat to student data privacy, a campaign spearheaded by PAA co-founder Leonie Haimson of NYC’s Class Size Matters, inBloom today announced that they are closing their offices. We congratulate Leonie and all of the parents, teachers, students and others around the country who stood up and spoke out against the potential commercialization of our children’s school information. Here’s Leonie’s statement: Today’s announcement that inBloom is closing its doors will hopefully make government officials, … →
By Maria de Lourdes Pérez Ramírez, MA, President, Founder, HispanEduca, Inc. After a follower asked me if I knew of any legal action submitted or was pending against the common core standards’ testing to ELLs, I embarked on a search. I asked, emailed and called Hispanic national organizations. Unfortunately, not even national Latino/Hispanic advocacy organizations such as LULAC, NALEO, MALDEF, and others have undertaken a legal action against common core testing for ELLs. In fact, also unfortunately, most of these … →
Congress does not seem to be able to agree on the proper role of the federal government in public education. They have not been able to agree on how to revise the No Child Left Behind Act, which expired in 2007. NCLB is now referred to as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), an act in search of substance. PAA has shared our suggestions for an improved ESEA, as have many other progressive groups and individuals that support our … →
We are delighted to announce the new Board of Directors for Parents Across America! PAA has been in a year-long process of filing for our 501c3 and setting up our permanent structure. The election of a 7-member Board of Directors is the next important step. Please join us in welcoming our new Board of Directors for 2014! Elected March 2014 New Directors Dawn Collins (Baton Rouge, LA – chapter, PAA-Baton Rouge) Dawn D. Collins, MPA is a political consultant … →
Parents Across America, Parents United for Responsible Education, and More Than a Score strongly support the teachers at Chicago’s Saucedo Elementary school and any other teachers in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinoiswho are refusing to administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test to their students beginning on Monday, March 3. –>Parents Across America, Chicago-based Parents United for Responsible Education, and the Chicago coalition More Than a Score strongly support the teachers at Chicago’s Saucedo and Drummond schools and any other teachers in Chicago or … →
