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Dear (Contact First Name) 

While some aspects of the 2016 national election may seem more like open mic night at the comedy club, now that the primaries are underway it's time for us to get serious about the future leadership and direction of our country. Do you know what the parties and candidates are saying about education? See more below.

PAA ACTION OF THE WEEK
Where do they stand?


PAA does not endorse candidates, but we are committed to educating parents and the general public about where the candidates and parties stand on education issues.

We have prepared a table comparing the education positions of the two remaining Democratic candidates for President, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and the top six Republican Presidential candidates according to today's polling: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. The information on their positions was retrieved today from
www.ontheissues.org/education and
www.ballotpedia.org.
 
What can you do with this information?

You can use this chart to talk to your neighbors and family about the education issue and in reaching out to the candidates campaigns to urge them to take positions that we believe are in the best interests of our children, our families, and our communities. For example, we don't find evidence of any of the candidates talking about parent empowerment and parent voice in education, at least not in any way that resonates with us.  

We'll talk next week about the party campaign platforms and how you can have a say there as well.  

Meet us in Philadelphia!

Don't forget to save July 18-20 for the PAA annual meeting in Philadelphia. Ours is not a huge convention but a fun/serious time for PAA members and friends to gather, talk about our work, share our successes and challenges, get to know each other better, and make some progress on our education equity agenda.   

We will also enjoy some time (and a special dinner) with founding member Helen Gym, now Philly Councilwoman Gym! 

We are still working out the accommodation and scholarship details - stay tuned!  

PAA NEWS
PAA affiliate Public Schools First NC urges

timely registration for NPE conference

PAA leaders to present workshop

PAA's workshop, "Parent Voices on the Impact of Race, Poverty and Cultural Bias on Educational Opportunity: a Call to Action," will be offered at the NPE conference this April. Presenters will include PAA Board members Nate Harris and Khem Irby, with PAA President Dora Taylor and Sheila Warren, president of our newest affiliate, the Portland Parents' Union. 

A message from PAA affiliate Public Schools First's Yevonne Brannon:

Wanted to make sure you know about the NPE conference HERE in downtown Raleigh this April 16-17.

Public Schools First NC is working hard as a local partner to make this a great SOLD OUT event because we believe this conference will be a powerful and important opportunity to learn more about the threats against public education and how we can advocate to support, defend and transform our public schools!

Keynote speakers include Rev. William Barber and Dr. Diane Ravitch. I have seen the list of panelists and workshops and I know you will not want to miss this event.

Click here  for other keynote speakers.

The cost is $150  -- your ticket pays for both your registration and 3 meals during the conference - breakfast and lunch on Saturday and brunch on Sunday so you don't have to worry about meal plans- it's all included in one price.

Registration is limited and over half the tickets are already sold.

Register here.

We are very excited about what I believe will be a phenomenal weekend in Raleigh, NC on April 16 - 17, 2016.
 
PAA President Dora Taylor publishes
another great Progressive article

We're very proud of our very own "progressive" writer, PAA President Dora Taylor, whose second article was just published in the "Public School Shakedown" segment of The Progressive magazine.

Dora's article, "Washington's Charter School Fight -- Let's Set the Record Straight," is a follow-up to her first Progressive piece, "What the Washington State Supreme Court Decision on Charter Schools Achieved," which detailed the court's finding that charter schools are unconstitutional in the state due to lack of public accountability.

The new story exposes the many financial conflicts of interest that may contribute to some of the state legislators charter school support, information that parents need to know!

New chapter PAA-Marin (CA) shares some thoughtful comments

Our newest chapter, PAA-Marin, has been engulfed in a major charter school controversy in their district, and they wanted to share with us the very thoughtful comments made by the district superintendent prior to the vote of the state board of education which chose to override two local school board decisions and approve a charter school for the district.

Read more about this story, and the superintendent's full comments here on our web site.

JOIN US!


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! 
If you have questions, comments, suggestions or stories to share, please e-mail us at [email protected] or visitwww.parentsacrossamerica.org.

Looking for regular updates on key education stories? Join the PAA News List by e-mailing [email protected].

 
 


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