What Goes on in Charlotte Doesn't Stay in Charlotte

Karran Harper Royal

Last Update: Monday, Sept. 3, 10PM

Parents Across America, a national grassroots parent organization Leonie Haimson helped found, along with amazing people like Karran  Harper Royal from New Orleans (see the wonderful video I shot of her as SOS - see Afterburn for more on Karran), and with outlets in many cities across the nation, is taking action this week in Charlotte, North Carolina and not letting people claiming to be Democrats off the hook.

For immediate release: September 3, 2012
Contact: Pamela Grundy, 704-806-0410, shamrockparent@earthlink.net
           
Members of MecklenburgACTS.org and Parents Across America will be rallying and distributing literature at two events associated with the Democratic National Convention here in Charlotte.

We will call on President Obama and other Democrats to reject the ineffective "reform" measures being pushed by well-heeled organizations such as Students First and Democrats for Education Reform, and instead join parents and education experts in support of a more proven, community-based set of changes.

As the Charlotte Observer and the Huffington Post have noted, Democrats differ significantly over ways to improve the nation's schools. We will be highlighting this debate.

On Monday, we will be at the Students First-sponsored showing of the controversial movie "Won't Back Down" at the Epicenter complex, 201 E. Trade St., from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Although several of us signed up to see the movie and attend the discussion some weeks ago, we were informed early this morning that we would not be admitted. So we will make our case outside.

On Tuesday, we will be at the "Town Hall" sponsored by Democrats for Education Reform at the Knight Theater, 4:30 S. Tryon St., from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

We will present the following statement:

Our Children Need Education Reforms that Work

Students First, Parent Revolution and Democrats for Education Reform are pushing for education policies that have no track record of success:

• An expansion of high-stakes testing that turns schools into testing factories and drives families and top teachers away from public education.

• Relentless charter school expansion even though charter schools regularly perform less well than comparable public schools.

• School closings which disrupt families and communities and send most students to schools that perform no better than the ones they left.

• Parent trigger laws which divide parents and have yet to improve a single school.

We've seen here in Charlotte how these policies destabilize communities, anger parents and demoralize our best teachers. We call on President Obama and other Democrats to reject these policies and join parents and education experts in support of a more positive set of changes that includes small classes, a well-rounded curriculum, more meaningful parent involvement and greater investment in teachers and families.

For REAL solutions visit MecklenburgACTS.org and ParentsAcrossAmerica.org.

Afterburn Update:
Leonie Haimson posted a link on PAA to the Karran Harper Royal SOS video I shot with this perfect comment summing up ed deform:

How did some African-Americans get on wrong side of ed reform?

How can you tell if you’re on the wrong side of reform: Does the policy shut down open debate? Does it remove the democratic process? Do parents get to elect the charter board? Do the policymakers have to focus on a villain, in this case, teachers and unions as the bogeyman? Do they insist on closing schools rather than improving them? Do they impose on high stakes decision for children or teachers or schools? Do they talk about return on investment and are there billionaires pulling the strings? Do they focus on “school choice” over civil rights? These are signals that they are on the wrong side of education reform. And yet it’s easy to fall into the wrong side. Check out Karran’s brilliant analysis why -- video link here   or here

Duncan Playing With NCLB Rules is Blatant (and illegal) Attempt to Forcefeed States into More Ed Deform

 Arne Duncan announced that any state promising to lower class size drastically would be eligible for relief from onerous NCLB laws.

NOT!!!!!

In fact, the only states eligible are those meeting the ed deform agenda being pushed by the Obama Admin - and hey gang - let's not make believe that somehow Duncan and Obama are not on the same page- like calls for firing Duncan meam anything. That was one of the weak areas of SOS - the focus on Duncan and not on Obama. How interesting that Obama sat by helpless while Republicans gutted us while he is so blatantly willing to break the law on education. (Like how about him just declaring the debt ceiling is raised and Go Fuck yourselves!) Yes, he views us as patsies.

Well, a lot of people are not buying the Obama/Duncan doodoo.

National organization Parents Across America rejects Duncan's "waiver" proposal and calls for complete overhaul of No Child Left Behind 

The national organization Parents Across America opposes the proposal by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to offer "waivers" to states, exempting them from provisions of the law known as No Child Left Behind if they adopt education policies favored by Duncan.  

While Parents Across America (PAA) agrees that No Child Left Behind is an unrealistic, rigid and punitive law, the waivers that Duncan has now proposed are likely to be equally bad, if not worse. The Department of Education could force more states to adopt the Common Core Curriculum thus continuing to ignore the fact that it is illegal for the federal government to impose a national curriculum. The proposal is also likely to expand the destructive agenda of over-testing, school closings, and privatization, despite the fact that these policies have no scientific evidence to support them and are causing tremendous distress in communities across the nation.   

Natalie Beyer, school board member in Durham NC, says: “Parents agree that American students are spending too much class time on standardized testing, but these new proposals would do nothing to help.  Instead, the proposed waivers would further extend federal control over local school issues.  We request a study from the General Accounting Office of how much No Child Left Behind has already cost states and local districts and the estimated costs of implementing Common Core Standards under Race to the Top.  We implore Congress to include parents, teachers and students in an immediate thorough overhaul of NCLB before going any further down this dangerous road.”   

Adds Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, “Duncan’s heavy-handed and prescriptive approach would only continue the trend of spending billions to build up the bureaucracy and provide excessive profits to testing companies and consultants, while teachers are being laid off and class sizes are growing throughout the country.  Whether the system of rewards and punishments will be based on value-added test scores instead of absolute goals, the result is the same for our schools and our children: more money and time spent on testing and test prep instead of real learning.”

Says Karran Harper Royal of the Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center in New Orleans, where more than 70% of students now attend charter schools, “Race to the Top has been far worse than NCLB and has done little to help our most academically needy students.  Yet what Arne Duncan is now proposing through these “waivers” could produce even worse outcomes for our children.” 

Rita Solnet of Palm Beach County School District Curriculum Council agrees:  “Numerous studies conclude that incentives linked to high stakes tests do not increase learning.  In fact, long term studies conclude this leads to a climate of cheating and gaming the system to survive. Every month we read of another major cheating scandal created by high-stakes testing.  Stop wasting taxpayer money on failed policies. I am pleased Secretary Duncan acknowledged the destructive flaws within NCLB.   NCLB is a train wreck. Let's not replace it with another one. Let's do this the right way so every child,  regardless of disability, ELL status, family income level can be assured a high quality public education delivered by respected professionals."

 Pamela Grundy of Mecklenburg Area Coming Together in Charlotte, NC concludes, “We need real reforms based on evidence, and partnerships with parents, teachers and communities, not a unilateral and autocratic agenda imposed from above. As parents watching our children’s education suffer, we are saying, “Enough.”

And at Schools Matter

R Lucido: price of NCLB waiver - agree to much worse Race to the Top

Rog Lucido: The feds are offering "a waiver from an oppressive and failed NCLB policy only to be switched to a much more sinister and stifling program."

Sent to the Fresno Bee:

Yesterday Education Secretary Duncan admitted that this year 82% of America’s schools will have failed under NCLB’s test and punish provisions, which he called an ‘impediment’. So, he is going to offer waivers so that our 100,000 schools who are receiving federal funds (approx. 5-10% of their budgets) will not have to meet NCLB’s test score provisions and the associated sanctions. He admitted that the law is faulty and schools need to be free from this ‘impediment’. But there is a price to pay for the waiver. He will gladly give schools a waiver only if they agree to more testing to judge students, teachers, schools and districts, adopt a new set of standards, then the states would need to replace NCLB’s test score targets with their own. Surprise! These are the core requirements of the ominous and educationally perverted ‘Race to the Top’, which is his blueprint for the replacement of NCLB.
This is nothing more than ‘bait and switch’ applied to education. Offer a waiver from an oppressive and failed NCLB policy only to be switched to a much more sinister and stifling program. States, parents and teachers need to reject this ploy to regain their educational autonomy.

 

Education Radio Blog Launches!

Stay tuned for more information about upcoming shows...our debut show will focus on the issues, people and events of the July 2011 Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action.
 http://education-radio.blogspot.com/
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