Garfield High School teacher and MAP test boycott leader Jesse Hagopian told the crowd at the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago last Thursday night that he agreed with Arne Duncan that education is the civil rights movement of our time. But history teacher Jesse reminded us that the last major civil rights movement started with a boycott….and this time it might just be a test boycott. All the speakers for our “The…
PAA Board member Karen Miller shared this update on the threatened voucher amendment to the Senate budget proposal which she alerted us to last week: The US Senate pulled an all nighter last Friday, passing its first formal budget in four years. The Democratic-drafted budget was approved narrowly by a 50-49 vote, largely along party lines with all Republicans opposing the plan. They were joined by Democratic Senators Baucus (Montana), Hagan (North Carolina), Pryor (Arkansas), Begich (Alaska). Eighty nine year … →
TX Senate Education Committee Hearing Public Testimony of Lorie Barzano, March 26, 2013 Good afternoon, Committee members, guests. My name is Lorie Barzano, a public school parent, taxpayer and Chair of the Coalition to Strengthen Austin Urban Schools, a local affiliate of Parents Across America. We are a parent led group committed to quality, accessible Public Education for all children. I come here today as a parent to speak on behalf of countless parents who cannot miss work, find childcare … →
PAA affiliate MecklenburgACTS.org has launched a North Carolina-wide petition drive aimed at the high-stakes standardized tests that are doing so much damage to our children’s education. The petition builds on our successful campaign against testing madness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools two years ago. It calls on state legislators and school officials to reduce the number of exams required by the state and to remove all high-stakes consequences such as A-F schoolgrading and any connection to teacher pay. Our goal is to … →
One of our eagle-eyed members has alerted us to the fact that the Senate may be voting this afternoon on an amendment to the FY14 budget to divert some Title 1 money to private and religious schools in the form of vouchers. Please consider calling or e-mailing your Senators as well.You can watch the vote here on C-Span. Here’s the fax we just sent to the members of the Senate education committee voicing our opposition to vouchers. Parent Voices Emergency … →
Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax March 20, 2013 Support democratic governance of public schools The story: Legislative proposal seeks to strengthen local control of schools Last November, voters in Bridgeport, Connecticut rejected a corporate reform-backed effort to strip voters of their right to an elected school board. PAA Connecticut member Wendy Lecker wrote, “Bridgeport’s voters were not fooled by the reformers’ claims. A sound majority elected to retain their right to vote, maintaining public accountability for education.” 87% of … →
Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax March 13, 2013 Replace massive standardized testing with meaningful assessment The story: Parents and students across the U.S. are opting out of standardized tests A Texas mother and her son share outdoor learning while his schoolmates are indoors taking the state test (http://tinyurl.com/axwmhgq). Teachers and students in Seattle boycotted the state high school test (http://tinyurl.com/a4zmrqs). Chicago parents are passing petitions to stop the explosion of tests (http://tinyurl.com/a7pwkx9). Oregon parents are standing behind their high school … →
Philadelphia parents are currently engaged in an active struggle against a particularly extreme form of school district “transformation,” which includes many school closings. Their actions have included a March 5 sit-in at the Philadelphia mayor’s office. Here are the thoughts of PAA founding member Helen Gym, originally posted on the website of the Philadelphia parents’ organization “Parents United for Public Education.” Helen notes that: “Last week’s release of the District’s teacher proposal was a clear wake-up call: School closings aren’t … →
(Originally posted on Seattle Education.) By the way, the third MAP test which is given in the Fall is solely for the use of NWEA. That’s why it’s “optional”. We’re spending precious resources and time so that NWEA can have more test scores to plug into their database. That’s right people. You will note on the Seattle Public School (SPS) website that the Fall test is optional. It’s not needed by SPS for the purpose of tracking student data. NWEA … →
Here’s the fax update PAA sent to the Congressional education committee members this week. Please share it with your Congressmen and Senators! No sequestration cuts to effective education programs! The story: Looming cuts to education Congress needs no reminder of the major story of the week concerning education (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/education-budget-cuts_n_1703442.html) and other vital programs that keep our nation strong. Three federal programs critical to education across the country — Title I funds for poor students, state grants for special education and … →
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