The propaganda campaign for the parent trigger law created by charter school operators and promoted by ALEC is in full swing.

The big kick-off event is a concert called "Teachers Rock." Like the "parent tricker" itself, this concert pretends to honor teachers while promoting a movie, "Won't Back Down," that is designed to get a lot of them fired and replaced by Teach for America newbies.

The concert will take place this Tuesday, Aug, 14th, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. CBS will air a one-hour special using footage from the concert and the WBD movie, tributes to teachers from stars, etc. on Friday, Aug. 17th, at 8 pm EDT.

We know that most of the performers, like the actors in the movie, don't have a clue how they are being used to promote school privatization in the guise of parent empowerment, but this concert and WBD movie are going to put the issue front and center and we need to make sure that our voices are heard.

Here's what you can do:

We've written about the Won't Back Down movie in our newsletters before, but if you don't remember details, take a few moments to read PAA's review of the WBD movie trailer (which is all we have been able to see so far - we are requesting a screening) and fact sheet on the WBD movie. 

Then reach out to everyone you can about this movie and concert. This movie is designed to be even more powerful than Waiting for Superman, and we need to counter it with every thing we have. How do you fight Hollywood? Make the movie controversial, not feel-good. Take it to the stars who mean well but need to open their eyes to what they are doing. Everyone needs to write to CBS, too.

Everyone wants to write to a star, right? A list of contact info for a few of those involved in the Teachers Rock concert follows (gleaned from posters on Diane Ravitch's blog here). The easiest thing to do is to facebook and tweet them, keeping on mind that they are not the enemy.  Post your thoughts on their facebook pages, twitter feeds, use their e-mails, write to their publicist! This is the big one and we need all hands on board!

Here are a few message points:

The Won't Back Down movie and the 8/17 Teacher Rocks concert are propaganda for the parent trigger law created by charter school operators and promoted by ALEC.

Won''t Back Down  is a "feel-bad" movie for parents and t
teachers who support public education.

The controversial WBD movie promotes charter takeovers of schools, yet charter schools are no better than our regular schools.

No real teacher was  depicted in the filming of the WBD movie.

Parents won't be fooled by the "Parent Tricker" or the Won't Back Down movie.

Teachers Rock performers:

1. Dave Grohl: Manager-Gabby at 323-856-8222
2. Adam Levine: Receptionist will take message at 310-776-7640
3. Jack Black: email to sjackson_asst@WMEentertainment.com
4. Meryl Streep: publicist's voice mail at 212-277-7555
5. Viola Davis: email to ewolff@apanewyork.com
6. Morgan Freeman: email to stan@sra-pr.com 

1. Dave Grohl - Foo Fighters - Agent: Don Muller - WME 1325 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY 10019 T.212.586.5100 F.212.246.3583
2. Adam Levine - Maroon 5 singer - Manger: Career Artist Management - 1100 Glendon Avenue, Suite 1100 | Los Angeles, CA 90024 | 310.776.7640 (p) | 310.776.7659 (f)
3. Jack Black - Agent: WME 1325 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY 10019 T.212.586.5100 F.212.246.3583
4. Meryl Streep - Publicist: Leslee Dart. Dart Group. 90 Park Avenue. 19th Floor. New York, NY 10016. Phone: 212-277-7555.
5. Viola Davis - Agent: Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) 45 West 45th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10036 T. 212.687.0092 F. 212.245.5062
6. Morgan Freeman - Publicist: Stan Rosenfield & Associates, Inc., 2029 Century Park E., Suite 1190, Los Angeles, CA 90067, USA. Phone: (310) 286-7474, Fax: (310) 286-2255.
7. Josh Groban
8. Maggie Gyllenhaal (last, but not least)
 

Caroline in USA Today on the "Won't Back Down" movie: PAA founding member Caroline Grannan, from San Francisco, calls parent trigger laws a "'destructive idea' that amounts to little more than a misguided populist bid to privatize public education."

Caroline's PAA blog post on the Adelanto parent trigger situation is referenced in this Education Week blog:
"Parents Across America reports that many parents who signed the petition in Adelanto are not in favor of turning Desert Trails into a charter, and that charter operators, preferring to start new schools, may be reluctant to take over an existing school."

Dov in WaPo Answer Sheet: An article written by PAA South Carolina member Dov Rosenberg was published in Valerie Strauss's Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post. He lists the 10 most damaging corporate reform lies. Here are three:
Lie #3. Testing anxiety is rare, affects mostly low-achieving students, and has a minimal impact on test results.
Lie #6. Poverty and high class size don't matter when you have high standards.

Lie #10. Business leaders should run public schools and school systems because they are usually successful when permitted to apply a corporate model to public education.

 

Sharon on Gulen charter schools: This quote from PAA founding member Sharon Higgins from Oakland, CA, headlined a post in the Daily Censored about the largest charter school company in the US:
"This increasingly well-rooted network provides the Gulen Movement with daily access to the minds of over 45,000 students, and yearly access to hundreds of millions of hard-earned tax dollars."
The author paid special tribute to Sharon's hard work exposing this Turkish network, and also referenced an article about Gulen's influence with Indiana legislators by our Indiana PAA member Doug Martin. 

PAA co-founder Leonie on the Common Core and technology companies: A New York Times blog article on the e-learning industry and the Common Core standards includes this quote from Leonie Haimson, PAA's New York City-based co-founder: "They're literally salivating at the prospect of enhanced profit potential."

More shout-outs from Diane: This week on her blog Diane Ravitch praised Leonie for her stand against StudentsFirst's attack on teachers, mentioned the "good news from New Jersey" PAA affiliate (see below), and encouraged people to get involved with PAA:  "This is a national organization of activist parents who understand what is happening. They oppose high-stakes testing and privatization and they support teachers and professionalism. They are smart and they are fearless." The feeling is mutual, Diane!

Somehow new blog posts from last week did not show up here in the last issue, so here they are:

• •  Video: Karran Harper Royal and Jose Vilson at Netroots 2012  
  •  Video: Diane Ravitch speaks out at the AFT convention  
  •  Video: Mario Savio on whether education is a business  
  •  Louisiana's Worthless Accountability Plan for Voucher Schools  
  •  Students1st offering gift cards to those making "pro-reform" comments 
  •  Judge: Parents can't rescind "parent trigger" signatures
  •  Video: ALEC's plot to raid our schools through virtual learning