For example, "The most popular answer to their question about what to do about underperforming schools was 'devote more resources while keeping the staff intact' (37%). The least selected answers were 'close the school and transfer students to a higher-performing school' (only 6%) and 'allow an experienced nonprofit to come in and run the school' (18.8%) (question 24). The Trib left these results out of its editorial report.
Julie also noted that 50% of the survey respondents were white, while the Chicago Public Schools enrollment is only 9% white.
More Than a Score, a group convened by PURE to resist standardized tests in Chicago, was written up in a recent
Chicago Reader article about the excess of tests in Chicago schools. We wrote about MTAS's testing forum in last week's newsletter. If you missed that story, you can read about it
on our blog.
PAA co-founder Pam Grundy on the parent trigger in Ed WeekThere was a great quote about parent trigger laws in
Education Week from PAA co-founder Pamela Grundy, leader of PAA affilate Mecklenburg ACTS in North Carolina. Here's part of that piece:
"Some opponents of the parent-trigger concept see its backers as poised
to sweep into other states and effectively set the agenda for supposedly
grassroots efforts.
"Pamela Grundy, the co-founder of Parents Across America, a Chicago-based
group opposed to parent-trigger laws, said such bills continue to be
pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative
Washington think tank, and the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a
Tallahassee, Fla.-based organization led by former Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush, a Republican, that advocates policies such as A-F school grades
and charter schools.
"Part of the strategy, she contended, is to support 'a tremendous
scattershot of legislation,' especially in GOP-dominated states, to
spread groups like hers thin. (Republicans control the Florida, Georgia,
and Oklahoma legislatures, but Democratic legislators are in charge in
Connecticut and California.)
" 'There are a lot of very conservative legislatures across the country,'
Ms. Grundy said.
"Ms. Grundy also said she believes that Parent Revolution is gearing up
to take over many parent-trigger efforts around the country."
Read more parent trigger news below in PAA Chapter and Affiliate News.