PAA sent the following letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to welcome her to the position and to raise some concerns about her intentions, especially in light of the parent town hall meeting she and President Trump held past week. Of the 7 parents who were invited, three were home schoolers, three were charter and private school parents and two were home schoolers. We suggested that they really should call PAA so that they can hear from a somewhat more … →

We apologize for our web site being down for a couple of weeks recently. We’ll try to catch up with a few pieces we wanted to share during that time, notably a series of blog posts by PAA President Dora Taylor who exposes the seamy side of the “personalized learning” and social emotional learning (SEL) trends. We’ll share the opening paragraphs and provide a link to Dora’s Seattle Education blog for the rest. Part 1 The endgame of corporate reform … →

PAA sent the following to every US Senator today: Please vote “No” on DeVos nomination We respectfully ask you to vote “no” on the appointment of Betsy DeVos for US Secretary of Education. We communicated our detailed reasons to all Senators by fax last week, and appreciate the fact that so many are considering a “no” vote on this most controversial candidate. Our main concerns are that: Mrs. DeVos’s opposition to charter school accountability calls into serious question her commitment … →

originally posted January 27, 2015 Polls and surveys show that the first choice of most parents is to send their child to a high-quality neighborhood school with adequate resources. Parents know by now that students in charter schools and voucher programs have not shown better academic progress than students in traditional schools. Parents do not want to have to shop around for a good school; consumerism is not the kind of “empowerment” that parents want. PAA does support the kind … →

PAA faxed the following to every U.S. Senator today: Parent Voices Education Fax January 26, 2017 Parents’ CHOICE is a strong public school for every child: Please vote “No” on DeVos nomination We write to ask you to vote “no” on the appointment of Betsy DeVos for US Secretary of Education. Our request is based in large part on clear differences between her education agenda and what Parents Across America believes our children and schools actually need to succeed.* We … →

PAA faxed the following to all members of the Senate HELP committee today: Parent Voices Education Fax January 13, 2017 Parents ask for “No” vote on DeVos nomination We write to ask you to vote “no” on the appointment of Betsy DeVos for US Secretary of Education. Our request is based in large part on clear differences between her education agenda and what Parents Across America believes our children and schools actually need to succeed. We also base our opposition … →

The hearing on Betsy DeVos’s nomination to be the next U. S. Secretary of Education has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 17, by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. We call on you all to reach out THIS WEEKEND to your Senators who serve on this committee (list including phone # below). Please urge them to vote “NO” on the DeVos nomination. WHY SAY NO? Betsy DeVos is one of the strongest pro-voucher proponents in the nation … →

Steven Norton, the executive director of Michigan Parents for Schools, our affiliate in Michigan, home of Betsy DeVos, shared the following piece responding to a recent op-ed by former MI Governor Mitt Romney’s endorsing DeVos’s nomination by President-Elect Trump as U.S. Secretary of Education. Taking the people out of public education Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney recently authored a spirited defense of Mrs. Betsy DeVos, president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the US Department of Education. Gov. Romney claims to … →

This Parents Across America webinar features educator/activist Jesse Hagopian who reframes education issues to clarify how bad education policies and practices such as high-stakes standardized testing, school privatization, and discriminatory discipline harm students of color. Jesse shares success stories from Seattle and elsewhere as a call to action for everyone who cares about high-quality public schools for all children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJSPJ0si4c