Update on parent trigger proposal in Texas

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

From PAA Houston member Karen Miller: This morning the Senate Ed Comm did pass the parent trigger bill, SB 1263 with some amendments, one, by bill sponsor Sen Taylor would require the school to be defined as low performing for three years rather than two. Sen Lucio was concerned about governing body of open enrollment charter school cannot coerce, bribe or induce a parent to sign a petition for the parent trigger. Intent is to assure this is grassroots parent … →

Parent speaks truth to Texas legislature

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

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 … →

Update on Adelanto Parent Trigger status

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Julie Woestehoff

Two parent triggers have been deployed in California, total, and there have been no other parent triggers anywhere. Here’s what’s happened in those two cases: McKinley Elementary, Compton, CA Parent Revolution orchestrated this one entirely without the involvement of the parent community. After the petitions were delivered, many parents protested and said they did not want the school to become a charter. Many said they had been told the petitions were to beautify or improve the school. Parent Revolution had … →

Stand for Children says Chicago LSCs make parent trigger unnecessary

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Julie Woestehoff

I was proud to share the Local School Council model with my co-founders at Parents Across America, and delighted when PAA adopted it as our alternative to the “parent trigger” school privatization mechanism. Unlike charter or private turnaround companies, LSCs have a significant track record of improving schools over time without any extra resources beyond the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers, administrators and community members. Now, to my astonishment, organizers for such pro-privatization groups like Stand for Children and New … →

Message from PAA to entertainment media about WBD movie

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Julie Woestehoff

As hype for the “Won’t Back Down” movie heats up, PAA sent this message to entertainment media: In case you are preparing to interview the stars of the controversial new film “Won’t Back Down,” or review the movie, Parents Across America would like you to be aware of the following facts: 1. Walden Media which produced the film also co-produced the movie “Waiting for Superman”. The people at Walden Media have admitted that they had a specific political agenda in … →

“Won’t Back Down” and “Will Stand Up”

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Julie Woestehoff

By Lorie Barzano Chair of Coalition SAUS (Strengthen Austin Urban Schools), a parent led group representing inner-city public schools working to ensure accessible, quality Public Education for all children and healthy, thriving Public Schools in Austin’s urban core. I saw “Won’t Back Down” last week with two other parents from Coalition SAUS. A free, pre-screening hosted by the Charter School Association, we sat in the dark theatre surrounded by a hundred charter school teachers and a smattering of charter school … →

MecklenburgACTS/PAA to Present Positive Education Reforms at DNC

Posted on September 3, 2012 by admin

For immediate release: Sept. 3, 2012 Contact: Pamela Grundy, 704-806-0410, shamrockparent@earthlink.net Members of MecklenburgACTS.org and Parents Across America will be rallying and distributing literature at two events associated with the Democratic National Convention here in Charlotte. We will call on President Obama and other Democrats to reject the ineffective “reform” measures being pushed by well-heeled organizations such as Students First and Democrats for Education Reform, and instead join parents and education experts in support of a more proven, community-based set … →

What’s NOT in the Won’t Back Down Movie

Posted on August 20, 2012 by admin

Today’s Washington Post Answer Sheet offers this common-sense response to the Won’t Back Down movie written by Rita Solnet, a founding member of Parents Across America. Rita went to a screening of the film yesterday and had this reaction to what she didn’t see: I didn’t see parents talking to teachers to help improve the school. No sign or talk of School Advisory Councils, of PTAs, not even parent friends talking to each other over coffee about how they could organize … →

Beyond the parent trigger hype & propaganda: Just the Facts

Posted on August 13, 2012 by admin

This fact sheet is also available as a downloadable pdf. Researched by Caroline Grannan, San Francisco Parents Across America founding member 1. There have been no successful parent triggers anywhere. Only two parent triggers have been attempted, both in Southern California. [i] 2. The organization that created the parent trigger, Parent Revolution, organized both of those campaigns.[ii] 3. Parent Revolution has been inaccurately described as “grassroots” and as founded by concerned mothers. Actually, Parent Revolution was created by charter school … →