PRESS RELEASE: DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION: COUNTER THE EDUCATION DEFORMERS

Conference/Strategy Session on fighting testing/school closings/ATR

WHEN: SATURDAY MARCH 28 FROM 12-3 PM.

WHERE: JOHN JAY COLLEGE, RM 1311 NORTH HALL BUILDING, 445 W 59TH ST
A,C,D,B, 1 TRAINS TO 59TH ST

Will charter schools and small elite schools drain away the highest performing students, leaving the public schools and the teachers in them to be branded as failures because they are working with the students who need the most help but are denied the resources to do an effective job? Have we seen the end of the zoned neighborhood schools in poor urban school systems? As school after school is closed, often for nefarious reasons, will we end up with a corps of teachers forced to move from school to school teaching in subject areas for which they were not trained in what is fast becoming a dead end career? And a corps of children and parents shut out of their own neighborhood schools?

We see this conference as a first step in building a coalition of teachers, parents and students to plan campaigns to take back public education from the privateers.


Angel Gonzalez, Sam Coleman and Norm Scott, three of the organizers of the "Stop the School Closings/Defend Public Education" Conference at John Jay College on March 28 appeared on WBAI radio Thurs. Mar 26. at around 7:40. Education At The Crossroads WBAI - 99.50 fm with Basir Mchawi http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/090326_190001eatcrossr.MP3

See the video ad produced by Education Notes for the March 28 conference to save public schools at John Jay College in NYC, is a prime example of the manipulation of the community by charter school advocates. Harlem Success, led by Eva Moskowitz has pushed its way into public school spaces with the support of the NYC Department of Education. The push by Bloomberg and Klein to support charter schools is a prime example of their failure to solve the problems that exist in public schools. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI

The CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY:
THE INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY OF EDUCATORS AND
THE NEW YORK COALITION OF RADICAL EDUCATORS

Endorsers: ATRs-School Closings Committee of ICE/UFT, Justice Not Just Tests (JNJT), Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico – Support Committee of NY, Teachers for a Just Contract - TJC/UFT, Teacher Advocacy Group NYC – TAGNYC, Teachers Unite, People Power Coalition, Center for Immigrant Families

Conact:
Norm Scott: normsco@gmail.com, norscot@aol.com, 917-992-3734
Angel Gonzalez: asc-ice@gmail.com, 718-601-4901
Sam Coleman: sam_p_coleman@yahoo.com