» school closings

Congress: Listen to parents!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

Please share this fax with your Congressional representatives and senators (downloadable pdf) Listen to Parents! Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax July 25, 2013  Survey: Parents oppose testing, school closings and “choice” American Federation of Teachers survey shows most parents want less testing, charter schools and school closings and more support for neighborhood public schools. From the AFT press release: Most parents with children in public schools do not support recent changes in education policy, from closing low-performing schools to shifting … →

Position paper: Why PAA opposes mass school closings

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

What are mass school closings? Mass school closings occur when school districts decide to close large numbers of public schools in a community within a single year, citing a variety of reasons like “underutilization” or academic failure. These closures go far beyond the periodic need to close schools because of drops in a district’s school-age population. Rather, they result from policies pushed by the corporate education reform movement and its privatization agenda, and embraced by the U.S. Department of Education. … →

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 … →

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C.

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

“We don’t just have failing schools; we have a failing system of epidemic proportions. Community and parent voices have been removed from the process and the privatization has removed all checks and balances so that the system is no longer accountable to the public,” said Karran Harper-Royal, parent with Parents Across America, New Orleans. “The answer is not charter schools, the answer is fortifying traditional public schools through a community-driven process.” FOR MORE INFORMATION: Laurie R. Glenn Phone: 773.704.7246 E-mail: … →

PAA’s Karran Harper Royal and others to testify in DC on school closings’ discriminatory impact

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Julie Woestehoff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2013 MEDIA ALERT  18 CITIES CONVERGE IN WASHINGTON D.C ON “JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE,” CALLING ON DEPT. OF EDUCATION TO END DISCRIMINATORY CLOSINGS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS National Movement Forms In Wake Of Mass School Closings & Turnarounds That Violate Civil Rights & Promote Divestment In Low-Income Communities Of Color WHAT:  Students, parents and advocacy representatives from 18 major United States cities will testify at a hearing before the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. … →

School closing protesters take over Chicago board meeting

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Julie Woestehoff

By Julie Woestehoff, PAA-Chicago TIME Magazine just named “The Protester” their “Person of the Year,” saying, “In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice complaints; they changed the world.” Today in Chicago, parents and teachers are demonstrating just how that happens. After camping out overnight in frigid rain in front of the Chicago Public Schools central office, people furious about the district’s years of failed, top-down school interventions took over the Board of Education meeting. driving school board members from the room … →