PAA ED testifies about successes,
challenges of local school council model PAA's interim executive director, Julie Woestehoff, testified before a committee of the Nevada legislature last week on the benefits and successes of Chicago's local school councils, which PAA has adopted as a model of parent empowerment.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reported:
(Woestehoff) explained the pros and cons of the Chicago approach to a 24-member committee studying how to reorganize Clark County's sprawling school system before the 2018-19 academic year.
"We think that it saved our schools, to a large extent, from a much worst state," Woestehoff said. "When I go around the country to talk to other parents...they get it immediately. Their eyes light up, and they say, 'This is exactly what we need in our district.....'"
"We definitely like the fact that in Chicago parents have a majority (vote) and in particular have an active decision-making responsibility, rather than just an advisory role," said Anna Antolick, director of information for Honoring Our Public Education, or HOPE..... State Sen. Becky Harris, who chairs the committee that invited Woestehoff's testimony, called her presentation "compelling." Harris, R-Las Vegas, noted the Chicago model stemmed from a groundswell of frustration within the African-American community poor-quality schools. "It started as a grassroots movement that ended in a solution," Harris said. "We've also got parents who are frustrated, and although I have no (idea) what the outcome of this reorganization looks like, it will look different than Chicago."
Her committee, which includes local mayors and chambers of commerce representatives, will canvass the Las Vegas valley to gauge whether residents support any particular model to increase parent and community engagement in schools. They will present their findings at meeting next month." | 
