» Stand for Children

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 … →

Will the real parents please stand up?

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Julie Woestehoff

The following article by Chicago public school parent Wendy Kattan was originally published in Catalyst Magazine. Parents don’t want a “war.” They want a district that’s looking out for all children, that is capable of collaboration and able to hear the views and voices of real parents in the system. By: Wendy Katten / October 1, 2012 Now that the strike is over and parents, students and teachers are finally settling into the routine of the school year, many parents … →

From Oregon SOS: Why We Need to Move Away From High-Stakes Testing

Posted on August 16, 2012 by admin

This is Oregon SOS’s latest blog post about high stakes testing — a response to a newspaper opinion piece by Sue Levin of Oregon Stand for Children” In response to Sue Levin’s commentary in the Oregonian on July 31st regarding high-stakes testing, the real question shouldn’t be how many times does a student test, but rather why have high-stakes testing at all? All of the nation’s best testing experts say that testing should not be used to make high stakes … →

Parents! Know the truth about Stand for Children

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

Tomorrow is Stand for Children Illinois’ “kickoff” event at Roosevelt University here in Chicago, but you would have a hard time finding out where and when it is from their web site, which says that registration is “closed.” Is the event – which starts at 10 am Saturday April 14 at Roosevelt University, 430 S Michigan Avenue – just so wildly popular that they had to stop taking new registrants? Fire code concerns, maybe? Or are they perhaps hiding, afraid … →

Portland struggles with SFC scandal – Colorado braces for SFC invasion

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Julie Woestehoff

Posted by Julie Woestehoff – PURE, Chicago For a small city, Portland OR is dealing with a big dust-up – the Stand for Children scandal. SFC originated in Portland, and was respected and popular among parents as a strong advocate for fair school funding and other important school supports until it was hijacked by the corporate school “reformers.” Yesterday, the Portland Tribune reported on the coincidental timing of an essay by disaffected SFC-Portland parent leader Susan Barrett, which was posted … →

Jonah Edelman and the Illinois Way: Model for the nation??

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Julie Woestehoff

We in Illinois have just convicted yet another Illinois governor. This one was a Democrat. The last one was a Republican. We need to realize that it’s not about political party these days, it’s only – and completely – about who’s buying. Makes the Tea Partiers seem like they’re on to something, doesn’t it? In case you’re not already convinced that our state legislature is a disaster, or you think Blagojevich was just an aberration. read this transcript prepared by … →

Stand for Children: A Hometown Perspective of its Evolution

Posted on July 8, 2011 by admin

by Susan Barrett   I recently stepped down as a volunteer co-leader of a Stand for Children (SFC) team in Portland Oregon, the headquarters of this organization.  Being a SFC member has meant fighting for the needs of children and better public schools for all students in this state (see this pdf.) However, things have started changing here in Oregon, and I worry that SFC is headed down the path that disaffected parents, like me, identify as the corporate reform movement. I was … →