District 6 Feb. 16 Shael Suransky - the DOE operating concepts pertaining to Teaching, Learning, & Accountability: Teacher-activist Julie Cavanagh will respond

NOTE: Just heard from Julie - she is real sick and can't make it. Suransky also postponed. Even to be rescheduled in April.

Josh Karan a parent leader in District 6 (Washington Hts) has established a program to engage parents in the educational debate.


Tomorrow's session will have Shael Suransky and GEM/CAPE's Julie Cavanagh presenting.

Deputy Chancellor Shael Suransky will present the DOE operating concepts pertaining to Teaching, Learning, & Accountability, to which teacher-activist Julie Cavanagh will be responding. 

Next - March 7:

DOE Charter School Division Chief Recy Dunn will present the DOE view on the value of Charter schools, to which Mona David will respond.

Josh described the program with the hope it will be emulated in other districts:

The purpose of the program is to provide a roadmap for parents --- to enable them to see a way from here to there, after first defining what the here and there mean for them:  Examining what kind of education parents want for their children, and exploring what currently is being provided.  Presently many parents struggle to do any of this -- understand the current system, articulate what they believe the system should provide, and assert what their role should be in the crafting of a different system, operating under different structures, provision of resources, and values.

This is intended to be a pilot program in my District.  Hopefully it will continue, so that after a few years, in time for the 2015 next round of School Governance legislative consideration, there will be 150 to 200 trained and motivated parents in District 6 who will provide leadership to mobilize our community for a different direction for educational policy. 

Kudos to Josh for his proactive efforts. I can't make the event but it should interesting to see how Julie, a special ed classroom teacher in a school invaded by a charter interacts with the 2nd in command of the school system. If you go (sorry, I don't have the location) send a report.

I put up the entire program at Norms Notes:  District 6 Parent Advocacy Training Program