In recent days, as John White has been appointed the new head of the New Orleans Recovery School District, there has been much written about how NOLA schools have created unprecedented “choice” for parents. Here what Karran Harper Royal, founding member of Parents Across America – New Orleans, believes about the question of “choice”.  See also the response from a NOLA parent below. Recently, the Times Picayune published a story that said “most charter schools outperform traditional schools.” The traditional … →

South Korean students get high marks on the international competitions like the PISAs.  In his State of the Union speech, President Obama said we should emulate its educational system.  Arne Duncan has repeatedly extolled South Korea as well,arguing that  parents in the United States should demand the same sort of excellence that Korean parents demand of their children. In several speeches,  he has repeated the story about how Obama asked the President of South Korea “”What is the biggest education … →

by Michele Gray, Parents Across America – Central Pennsylvania (originally posted as oped at the Centre Daily Times) The PSSAs are upon us. Notices from schools advise parents that our kids get enough sleep, stay hydrated, eat a healthy breakfast and take breaks from after-school activities. It sounds like students are going to be running a marathon. With the support of education experts, some parents in State College and neighboring communities are choosing a different path. Under Pennsylvania Code Title … →

Choppers and charters by Julie Woestehoff, cross posted at http://pureparents.org Even though the story was not even carried in the Tribune print edition, the World’s Greatest Newspaper ran a letter today tearing into a recent Trib blog post about the PURE/Parents Across America position against the parent trigger. Here’s how they put it: “As parents, we are outraged by statements in a story you ran about PURE’s fight against parent engagement in schools.” Right. That’s PURE – always fighting against … →