MORE Tonight at the PEP: Connecting charters to renewel to high stakes testing to opt out to ATRs -

58% of schools targeted for charter co-locations in NYC are Renewal Schools.... 60% of the renewal schools have class sizes of 30 or more

Charters Invade Renewal Schools Where Teachers Must Reapply for Jobs Leading to More ATS - get it?

Everything is connected. What some shortsighted people think is that a battle for ATRs is just a battle for ATRs and not connected to the bogus use of high stakes testing used to brand schools and teachers as failures, along with the charter movement to replace public schools with their unionized teachers. And then there's the opt out movement. Understanding all these connections was the basis of the original ICE offshoot, the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), the mother of both Change the Stakes (the leading opt out parent movement in NYC) and MORE.

Thank goodness some of my pals at MORE still see the big picture. Some of us have been going to charter school hearings. Even some UFT officials in certain districts - ie Dist. 21 (Coney Island, Bensonhurst), have also helped organize protests at charter hearings. (Kudos to UFT Dist 21 rep Judy Gewirtz). Tonight a MORE contingent will be at the PEP meeting to advocate for many of these issues in addition to supporting rubber roomed teachers David Garcia-Rosen and Maria Damato of NYCLetemplay (See SEGREGATED AND SIDELINED : A CIVIL RIGHTS STORY that documents the students beautiful civil rights struggle for equality and The students of NYCLetEmPlay are paving a path that will end  New York City's "Separate and Unequal" school system.)

Here is the MORE announcement.

The School Renewal Program rolled out last November was designed to support "low performing" schools. Since then, a disproportionate number have been the targets of charter co-location proposals. While some have already been approved, more are on the way. This Wednesday three charter school co-location proposals targeting Renewal Schools will be put to a vote by the Panel for Educational Policy. This opportunism on behalf of charter operators is not only shameful but it defeats the promise of The School Renewal Program. Show your support for public schools and demand the PEP vote NO on all charter co-location proposals!

Panel for Educational Policy Meeting

WED April 29th @ 6pm

M.S. 131 

100 Hester Street, Manhattan

New York, NY 10002