National Policy Watch

Romney issues his first statements on class sizes, and education policy, with changes to how Title I and IDEA money is spent. He names his George Bush-era potential education advisors.

Obama issues rebuttals, pushback on expansion of vouchers and big class sizes under Romney.

Take Action

United Opt Out [ongoing]

Save Our Schools March/Conference, August 3-5, 2012

Best Practices

See our Early Childhood Education Group for recommendations against Race to the Top guidelines by members of the Defending the Early Years coalition.

New recommendations to the states on Learning Disability diagnoses from the National Center for Learning Disability in our Parents of Disabled Children Group.

Arts Education -- we all know it's good for kids. Why do we treat it like an "extra"?

Authentic Parent Engagement -- examples from PEPs, the Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center.

Project Based Learning, what is it? A quick video exploration and more resources.

Go to the Best Practices Group for more.

State Surveys

Watch this space! Join as a member and you'll have a vote and a voice on education issues you care about.

The November 2012 Save California Public Schools Toolkit

Posted on by admin

Step 1: Get informed. We’re on the verge of either saving our public schools from an annual cycle of disinvestment caused by budget cuts ($20 billion in the past 5 years) — or setting off harmful triggers if the November 2012 ballot initiatives to fund K-12 (or K-14) don’t pass. Proposition 30 and Proposition 38 [...]

California Secretary of State’s Official Titles and Summaries of Proposition 30 and Proposition 38

Posted on by admin

These are reproduced from pdfs found on the California Secretary of State’s website and are the official titles and summaries of Propositions 30 and 38. Proposition 30: Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. CA Proposition 30: TEMPORARY TAXES TO FUND EDUCATION. GUARANTEED LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING. INITIATIVE CO… [...]

California Budget Project’s Analysis of Propositions 30 and 38, For November 2012

Posted on by admin

California Budget Project‘s Senior Policy Analyst and specialist in education issues, Jonathan Kaplan, recently released Budget Briefs analyzing the potential impact of two ballot initiatives in California that propose to fund K-12 education. This November, voters will decide if they want to vote for one, both, or none, and in order to do so, they’ll [...]

Here’s A Great Stock Tip For You All!

Posted on by Joseph K.

If you want to make a lot of money and screw over millions of children, particularly inner-city children, all at the same time (and who doesn’t want to do that?), then join my favorite Governor Paul LePage and invest heavily in on-line learning. Studies have shown on-line learning to be a total sham when it [...]

What My Students Wrote in a Free Write About the Strike

Posted on by David

The Friday before the strike was anticipated to possibly start here in Chicago. I asked my students the simple question at the end of a quiz, “Should your teachers go on strike?” Here is a sampling of their responses. This was a free write so I just typed what they had written. “I Support my [...]

Chicago Teachers Union Strike: A Proxy for Deep Teacher-Parent Dissatisfaction With Current Education Policy

Posted on by admin

This is a must-read from The Nation on why the Chicago teacher’s strike is much more than a local issue. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel share roots in the city that was Obama’s training ground as a politician, and so they’re deserved targets as well as proxies for all that [...]

Chicago Teachers Strike: Why I’m On Strike & What I’m Telling My Family and Friends

Posted on by David

As the strike makes national news I am finding along with many teachers that many people are weighing in on the strike who really have no idea what is going on and are basing their opinions off a 2 minute news clip. Here are the talking points and explanation I will share with my family. [...]

Public School Supporters Meet With Governor Dean and Randi Weingarten at the DNC

Posted on by admin

While at the DNC, I was lucky enough to be invited to a small gathering of public education supporters with Governor Dean and Randi Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). I’m a tremendous fan of Governor Dean — in fact, I was a Deaniac before there was a netroots. I still think [...]

What Backers of the “Parent Trigger”/Parent Tricker Law Don’t Want You to Know: Real Democratic Involvement in Public Schools Works

Posted on by admin

Around the country, REAL parent heroes are putting the lie to the version of the story told in the movie Won’t Back Down. The “parent trigger”, or “parent tricker” law is in the news again, this time with a glossy film starring popular actors Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The heart-string-tugging movie is called Won’t [...]