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Decision confirms parents' freedom of speech when warning parents about bad charters Equality Charter School in the Bronx recently lost its bid to silence parents who had been speaking out through online media about the school's many problems.  Equality Charter School had taken action to shut down a website, www.equalitycharterschool.com, alleging incompetence, misuse of school funds, and nepotism on the part of the school administration.

The organization that claims to represent the voice and interests of K-12 students and their parents is the Parent Teacher Association, widely known as the PTA. The organization aims to provide "parents and families with a powerful voice to speak on behalf of every child while providing the best tools for parents to help their children be successful students." Founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers, the PTA declared that it was "up to the mothers of the country to eliminate threats that endangered children." Today, its goal is a "quality education and nurturing environment for every child."

Some parents at a top middle school are fighting to stop special education students from "taking seats" from students whose test scores may be higher. The parents at Brooklyn's IS 187/Christa McAuliffe, where students must ace standardized exams to be admitted, fear that combining special and general education students in the same classrooms will reduce the level of education. "No parent is going to want their kid in those classes," said IS 187 PTA co-vice president Virginia Cantone. "The truth of the matter is that the wide spectrum of challenges is too great for any of the children to learn, it's too great of a difference."

As the DFER veneer for right-wing "parent trigger" laws wears off, and more and more people see the privatization agenda for what it is, charlatans like Gloria Romero and Ben Austin have been scrambling to hide or minimize their ties to right wing extremists. The good news is that it isn't working, and that aside from shills like Andi Rotherham and Alex Russo even mainstream media journalists are starting to see through what the distinguished Professor Diane Ravitch refers to as the "Parent Tricker." Josh Eidelson's "Parent trigger": The latest tactic for fighting teachers' unions is a good example.

The departure of half the core teaching staff at an elite Upper West Side elementary school has roiled parents who worry test prep is destroying the school's creative spirit. In July, close to half of the parents at the Special Music School signed a letter decrying the "apparent shift in school culture" and the new principal's leadership.  "This is not the same place it was three years ago," said a 3rd-grade parent, who like most interviewed, asked to remain anonymous for fear of negative repercussions for their children. "There's a lot of talk about data and test prep, and I didn't used to hear that." The school, which until recently was a program at PS 199, provides an almost private-school like experience for musically gifted students who must audition in kindergarten and again in 5th grade for middle school.

NYC Parents Union, a public-education advocacy organization strongly, condemned Governor Andrew Cuomo's education remarks that invoked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory. "Yesterday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo violated the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by exploiting and manipulating Dr. King's legacy of empowerment to promote a cynical political agenda that victimizes public school students, their parents and the teachers who are the foundation of public education," the Parents Union's statement began, calling on the Governor immediately change course on the issue.

The Tea Party dominated New Hampshire Legislature on Wednesday overrode the governor's veto to enact a new law allowing parents to object to any part of the school curriculum. The state House voted 255-112 and Senate 17-5 to enact H.B. 542, which will allow parents to request an alternative school curriculum for any subject to which they register an objection. Gov. John Lynch (D) vetoed the measure in July, saying the bill would harm education quality and give parents control over lesson plans.

My hard-working, middle-class parents, like millions of American families, depended on their neighborhood public schools to provide quality education for their children, and rightfully so. Certainly, all parents in the U.S. should be able to choose the educational option that works best for them and their children. Most important, in this nation, every family in every community should have access to good schools. The only difference among schools should be perhaps each having a different focus. No parent anywhere in these United States should have to move or risk arrest in order to secure quality education for her/his child(ren).   How is it then, that millions of American children live in neighborhoods with schools chronically neglected by the same political/educational system that now wants to condemn them as "failing"?  In such settings, it is hypocritical and cruel to use the illusion of "choice" and "free-market competition" to justify closing or taking even more resources from those same schools; sending parents scurrying for scarce or non-existent schooling options. 

...Towards the end of each school year, the school sends parents a form with about four questions on it which ask parents and guardians to describe their child's strengths, weaknesses, personality, etc. The staff and faculty then work as a team using what they already know about your child (especially if the child is already a student at the school), the dynamics with their peers, the information the parent provides, what they know about the style, strengths and weaknesses of each teacher to form each class and to place each student.

"The Wall Street Journal this morning failed to report ties between the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and controversial "parent-trigger" legislation that would allow parents to take over and convert public schools to charter schools. They also failed to report that the Journal's parent company, News Corp, is a member of ALEC. The Journal's treatment of the legislation also cited no criticism of the proposal, which has been described as an effort "to manipulate parents into letting [the charter school lobby] privatize more public schools."

Restless parents pack into the room, waiting to ostracize the commission for the near $1 million buyout of Ackerman. It's clear that, in their eyes, she's still their choice for superintendent. Throughout the meeting, audience members heckle the SRC, demanding its removal. Some parents voice desire to have an elected school board. "Out, out, out," parents chant - a simple, yet direct message to the SRC.

Yesterday morning, parent groups, including Class Size Matters, the NYC Parents Union, and individual parent plaintiffs, took the city to court over charter co-locations, and the way in which DOE provides free space and service to charters for free, which we believe violates state law.

At the schools I was most involved with we attribute a lot of our success not to our brilliant teaching, staff skill, etc., etc. (all of which I vouch for), but to what parents and families offered us in support of their youngsters. It was as true for 5-year-olds as 15-year-olds. Maybe, in fact, it's more important in high school when young people are testing authority at home and at school-and must do so as they grow into their own adulthood. If parents and schools are sending mixed, and even outright hostile, messages about each other, it isn't helpful to most kids. And while teenagers may claim to want teachers and parents to get out of their way, they need them more than ever. But they need them in different ways.

"Did you know that our students were subjected to field tests again last week? Probably not. The New York State Education Department doesn't do an adequate job of informing parents about them. But there are four things every parent and taxpayer should know about these tests."

According to its web site, "Parents Taking Action (PTA) is a coalition of New York City parents who believe every child should have access to a great public school. We are standing up for our children, holding the Department of Education accountable and ensuring children are put ahead of special interests." A grass roots organization of public school parents? Think again: "PTA is a project of Education Reform Now, a non-profit organization that envisions an America in which every child, regardless of class or race, has the social and economic opportunities afforded by an excellent public education."

Right before the New Year, Judge Feinman ruled against our request for a preliminary injunction against the DOE's provision of free space and services to charter schools, in the lawsuit that Class Size Matters, along with other parents and the NYC Parents Union, filed in July.  His decision, which was publicly disclosed today, is posted here.  Here is a fact sheet about the case. One of the reasons he denied our request is that he determined that the payments of more than $100 million owed by the charter schools  would not necessarily be used by the DOE to benefit our kids in any way or restore the egregious budget cuts their schools have suffered, so it was difficult to prove irreparable harm. Nevertheless in his decision, he fired a shot across the bow to DOE & the charter school industry, saying that they should not take this as any sort of signal that when the case comes to trial, he will necessarily rule in their favor.  Below is the press statement we put out with the NYC Parents Union.

Several years after relocating from Ecuador to Chicago, Shirley Reyes found herself living a lonely life, anxiously waiting at home each day for her children and husband to return from school and work. Ms. Reyes' isolation ended, however, when she joined the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a community-based group that shakes up the traditional approach to parent involvement in schooling by focusing on altering school culture, empowering parents, and breaking down barriers between parents and schools.

Putting Parents in Charge is a condescending NY Times column on parent engagement that was written by Peg Tyre.

One week after the state Board of Education approved final rules on how parents can use a landmark new law to demand sweeping changes at their low-performing schools, parents say the hardest work lies ahead. They must organize themselves, one by one, to push for changes on their children's campuses.

A federal district court in Florida has ruled that parents of a student with autism have stated a valid claim that charter school employees' use of excessive force constituted a violation of the student's substantive due process rights. The court concluded that the parents had alleged facts sufficient to show: (1) use of excessive force that "shocks the conscience;" and (2) the charter school employees acted under color of state law. It found, however, that the parents' allegations of emotional injuries and psychological harm were insufficient to rise to the level of conduct that shocks the conscience.