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PAA Action News
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Feb.26, 2015
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Welcome to PAA Action News, the information and action newsletter of Parents Across America.
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PAA Action Alert
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 ACTION 1: Contact your Senators and
Congresspeople on ESEA today!
We expect the full U.S. House of Representatives
to vote on HR 5, the "Student Success Act," any day.
The Network for Public Education has sent over 8,000 letters to Congress opposing HR5 - their user-friendly form is here.
You can also email PAA's 1-page chart outlining PAA's position on HR 5 to your Congressional representatives.
Senate proposal not yet out of committee
There's still time to weigh in on ESEA on the Senate side. PAA has prepared another 1-page chart with our positions on various items in Senate education committee chair Lamar Alexander's ESEA proposal. Please share it with your Senators today!
 ACTION 2: Sign up for our
March 2 webinar!Sign up for our March 2, 8 pm ET webinar on the important topic of the Impact of Poverty, Race and Cultural Bias on Educational Opportunity. Join PAA Board member Nate Harris, Dr. Paul Thomas of Furman University, and other PAA leaders for this webinar which builds on a great session we had on this topic at our July 2014 national conference. Dr. Thomas blogs at "Radical Scholarship" and has published many important books on poverty, the corporate takeover of education, parental "choice," teaching and learning, etc. We'll share important information about some of the key social issues that impact education, and some disturbing data that every parent and public education advocate ought to know. We'll talk about the real agenda behind corporate reform and what PAA is working for instead. Register here for this important event. Even if you if can't attend, you might want to register so that you will receive the webinar recording link as soon as it's posted. We will share the link in our next newsletter as well.
Thank you!
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Mark your calendars!
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April 24-26: Network for Public Education Conference
Looking forward to seeing lots of friends at the NPE conference in Chicago. PAA will offer a workshop on the Impact of Race and Poverty on Education. We also hope to have a PAA get-together as the NPE conference gets underway. Register here if you have not already done so.
Looking way ahead....
PAA annual conference in DC
We have set tentative dates for our annual conference in DC - July 21-24, 2015. Pencil us in!  |
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Join us!
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If you share our overall goals of progressive, positive education reform and more parent input in education policy making, we invite you to affiliate with us if you are an existing group, or to form a new PAA chapter. The more of us there are, the stronger our voice will be at every level. Here's how! |
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PAA chapter and affiliate news
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 QUEST news
When we haven't been shoveling snow, PAA's Boston affiliate QUEST (Quality Education for Every Student) parents have been engaged in advocacy and education around the school budget, and the search for a new superintendent for Boston Public Schools. QUEST recently held a successful forum that engaged a diverse group of parents in discussions and strategizing to about city and state budget cuts. QUEST also has been part of community partner and parent panels that have interviewed candidates for Boston superintendent.
PAA Suburban Philly screens Standardized 
Parents Across America - Suburban Philadelphia supported a local screening of the documentary, Standardized - Lies, Money, and Civil Rights: How Testing is Ruining Public Education on February 25th to a packed house. The Q & A panel included the film maker, Dan Hornberger, PAA Suburban Philadelphia leader, Danielle Arnold-Schwartz, Alison McDowell of United Opt Out, as well as several local parent activists. The screening was also attended by a number of local students who feel strongly about standardized testing and support their schools. The evening was dedicated to the late Todd Marrone, a beloved art and gifted teacher who was a passionate supporter of all children and our public schools. His wife generously gave permission for his artwork and quote to be used on t-shirts, which read, "No one ever changed the world by choosing the best of five possible answers." |
| | Danielle in custom t-shirt |
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PAA blog highlights
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Keep up with our blog for more news and commentary on public education from the parents' point of view. |
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To learn more...
| If you have questions, comments, suggestions or stories to share, please e-mail us at info@parentsacrossamerica.org or visit www.parentsacrossamerica.org.
Looking for regular updates on key education stories? Join the PAA News List by e-mailing PAAnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
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