Grassroots Education Network- February 2021 Newsletter
The NPE Grassroots Education Network is a network of over 160 grassroots organizations nationwide who have joined together to preserve, promote, improve, and strengthen our public schools. If you know of a group that would like to join this powerful network, please go here to sign on.
If you have any questions about the NPE Grassroots Education Network please contact Marla Kilfoyle, NPE Grassroots Education Network Liaison at marlakilfoyle@networkforpubliceducation.org
Notes from Marla
February ushered in like a lion on the education front. As I sat down to put together our February newsletter, action alerts were happening all over the country against new school choice legislation. At a time when lawmakers should be focused on supporting families and children, they decided to focus on defunding the bedrock of our communities….public schools. As you read through this newsletter, you will see state after state fighting school choice legislation (vouchers and charter expansion). If you know anyone living in states fighting school choice legislation, please pick up the phone, or send them an email, so they can connect with the organization in their state fighting for our kids to have well funded public schools.
National Organizing
Network for Public Education co-hosted a webinar with Public Funds Public Schools this month. The webinar highlighted private school voucher bills introduced in 2021 around the country, additional legislative action to watch for and tools/resources for advocates. Thank you to the over 14,000 people who sent emails to Dr. Cardona telling him to cancel the tests! Defending the Early Years shared their monthly newsletter announcing the co-chairs for DEY’s Working Groups, their monthly blog and so much more. You can find it here In the Public Interest’s report in the Washington Post this month that California is wasting millions of dollars funding online charter schools. The Journey for Justice Alliance called on Mayor Lightfoot to keep her promise and support elected school boards. The Schott Foundation President Dr. John H. Jackson’s essay on the violent attack on the Capitol, placing it in the larger context of America’s history of undemocratic and racist violence is a must read and share. Fairtest Town Hall on Why and How to Suspend High-Stakes Testing featured U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, civil rights leaders, academic experts, and assessment reform activists who explained why the federal government and states should cancel spring 2021 standardized exams. Join the campaign today. Rethinking Schools highlighted Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, which began this month. Check out this roundtable discussion with the Black Lives Matter at School steering committee members to learn more about the movement. The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy celebrated Data Privacy Day by creating a survey for parents to find out about the online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions. The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy is researching which ed tech apps schools are asking students to use and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy. Please let them know what online apps and programs your district or school is using, and check to see if they have been transparent about their privacy policies. Your name and district will be kept confidential. Parents for Public Schools mourned the passing of Jane Beach – Parents for Public Schools stalwart for her entire adult life. Jane was there at the beginning of PPS and continued her devotion to the cause until the end of her life. To read their tribute to Jane go here. PPS also launched an incredible campaign this month titled Why Black Lives Matter: Then, Now, and in the Future. To access this campaign go here. Parents Across America provides position papers and key documents on their website. It is a great list to keep handy for advocacy work in your area.
Be sure to visit The Badass Teachers Association (BATs) blog. It is updated weekly with new pieces by educators from across the country. Trinational Coalition to Defend Public Education (USA) has a public Facebook group that features information from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. about how communities are navigating the worldwide COVID crisis. The Ontario (Canada) Secondary School Teachers Federation President, Harvey Bischof appeared on CTV Ottawa Morning Live discussing safety for all as Canadians head into winter break. To see this episode go here. Wear Red for Ed has an active open Facebook page that tracks the Red for Ed movement nationwide. It is also tracking education issues that are surfacing due to the shutdown of our schools. Uniting to Save Our Schools (USOS) hosted a Radical Love in the Time of a Pandemic webinar this month. To view that webinar go here. First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley wrote a powerful commentary in The Telegraph. Children Are An Issue That Can Unite the Country is a must read and share. Kinderchat continues to host its popular Twitter chat every Monday night at 9 PM EST. The chats are informative and provide great resources for teaching kindergartners during school closures. Check them out on Twitter at #Kinderchat. Kinderchat also has a fantastic website full of resources. Instituto Nueva Escuela hosted an event this month called Voices for Public Montessori (Voces por Montessori Publico). Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood reported that this year, almost every school in the U.S. has online learning as a part of its menu. Unfortunately, some platforms have taken advantage of families during the pandemic, exploiting parents’ desire to provide the best possible education for their children during this difficult time. Prodigy, a math game used by millions of students, parents, and teachers across the globe, is one of those platforms. This month, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint against Prodigy. Our complaint details how the game worms its way into schools by claiming to be “free forever” while actually putting relentless pressure on kids to nag their parents for an expensive Prodigy membership. In doing so, Prodigy commercializes education and amplifies inequities between students whose families can and cannot afford a premium membership… all while capitalizing on the pandemic. To help spread the word, we’ve created a website featuring 7 Reasons to Say No to Prodigy to help educators, families, and administrators to uncover the truth about Prodigy and work to get it out of our schools. The page also includes letter templates, social media shares, and more. Learn more here. Equal Opportunity Schools hosted Virtual Regional Convening this month. The convening taught how a partnership furthers your district’s pursuit of education equity for underserved students. When Public Schools Reopen is running two Study Groups for the book Black Lives Matter at School edited by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian. Four of its Administrators are also co-presenting a Keynote presentation at the AEROx Conference on February 13th. Uniting for Children and Youth (Canada) are concerned citizens of Ottawa-Outaouais. Their mission is to build awareness of how we can make life better for children and youth. Head over to their open Facebook page to keep up with news from Canada. National Educators United hosted a solidarity event for Chicago Teachers Union safe reopening.
State Organizing
Please use this clearinghouse of information to inform people in the various states about the NPE Grassroots Education Network organizations. Please encourage people to join them and support their work! Call on family, friends, and colleagues to join the fight to save public education. This section is also a place to get great ideas on organizing and actions.
Alabama
SOS (Support our Students) are reminding parents that they can refuse the test.
Arkansas
Please welcome Grassroots Arkansas to the network! They are our first group from Arkansas and we are honored to have them. To learn more about their work go here, here, and here.
Arizona
Voices for Education reported that Arizona legislators have created a coordinated attack against public schools with 5 bills that would expand vouchers, siphoning even more money from the public schools that 95% of AZ students attend. Arizonans for Charter School Accountability noted that Arizona State University is not doing a very good job at monitoring ASU Prep. Read more here. Save our Schools Arizona is fighting a coordinated assault on public education with three new voucher expansion bills this legislative session– the 9th, 10th, and 11th attempts since Arizona voters overwhelmingly rejected voucher expansion at the 2018 ballot. And there’s more. Other legislation includes bills for more tax cuts, more vouchers, and more ways to defund public schools — including a sneaky STO voucher expansion strike-all amendment. Senate Bills 1118, 1400, 1683, 1685 are a “package” of Koch-funded privatization legislation that seek to dismantle public education. Yes Every Kid, the latest Koch-funded effort to privatize public education, is on the ground in Arizona lobbying hard and testifying in committee. The good news: now more than ever citizens across the state are contacting lawmakers, bill sponsors, education committee chairs to make clear that we do not support voucher expansion. It’s time to prioritize our public schools and stop siphoning tax dollars to subsidize private education. To read more about this issue go here. Arizona Educators United joined the National Education Union and the #DemandSafeSchools Coalition in a twitter storm this month. To learn more go here.
California
California Educators United is a rank and file led network of educators and supporters of public education. They are part of the movement for, racial equity and social justice, fully funded public education through progressive taxation, and pro-public education and anti-privatization. To follow their movements go here. The Public Core program, Between Two Teachers, is informative. To view all their archived programs, go here. Head over to The Association of RAZA Educators open Facebook page and check out their “meet” the group members series. Get to know the amazing people who run RAZA. Check out Bay Area Collective Keeping Privatizers Away from Community Schools (BACKPACS) on Facebook to keep up with all their movements in fighting back the charter lobby in the Bay Area. Educators for Democratic Schools-Oakland joined the network last month. Head over to their Facebook page to learn more about them.
Colorado
Pueblo Education Coalition’s goal is to represent educators, parents, community members, students and all stakeholders towards positive change for Pueblo’s public education. To keep up with their movements go here.
Connecticut
In October of 2020, Connecticut Public Schools Advocates Children and Connecticut Workers Crisis Response hosted a critical dialogue regarding the dangers of in-person teaching during a pandemic, with Dr. Alison Galvani, Yale Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Modeling. Are More Than Test Scores have conducted live readings of various books for children through the pandemic. Here is Jesse Turner reading The Proudest Blue: The Story of Hijab and Family this month. Re:public Ed informs Connecticut residents about the state, local, and federal education policies that impact teaching and learning. New London Parent Advocates updates their open Facebook page weekly with all that is happening in the New London Public Schools.
Florida
Fund Education NOW published a powerful letter by Florida mom Marie-Claire Leman against SB 48 (a voucher expansion bill). Florida BATs continues to share, and circulate, the fact that the Florida voucher school industry continues to try and cover up their anti-gay policies. Broward BATs is also working to keep the public informed about the new voucher legislation. Pastors for Florida Children unequivocally opposes all voucher legislation because it takes away from the high quality public education promised to every child by the Florida Constitution. Check out their action alert launched this month to oppose SB48. Make sure to check in with the Florida Council of Churches Facebook event tab. They support, promote, and conduct powerful events in the state of Florida. Opt-Out Florida Network educated the public this month about the use of test scores for graduation. Pinellas Parents Advocating for School Improvements organizes on a private Facebook page. If you know of anyone in the Pinellas area, have them join to connect. Protect Our Public Schools, Manasota believes that free, quality public education is a right for all children and is necessary for the optimal functioning of a democratic society. To keep up with their movements during the COVID-19 crisis, go here. Miami-Dade County Public School District Parents shared information for ELL Parents: In a win for advocates of English-language learners, Florida is allowing students to opt out of taking an annual English proficiency exam that is administered in person. UnitED for Florida Children issued a Call to Action for residents to join the movement to voice concerns over standardized testing, especially this year! There is no way to measure a student’s progress fairly during this year’s flawed school reopening with students learning both in person and virtually, in Florida. “Schools should be a place of solace for students, both now and in non-pandemic times. Stressful, high-stakes tests have no place in a positive learning environment, especially during a pandemic. This is why many parents, teachers and grassroots groups across the state are calling for the FSA to be cancelled this year.” They asked all Floridians to add their voice to the movement! Laura McCrary of UnitED for Florida Children and Cindy Hamilton of Opt-Out Florida Network appeared on Spectrum News 9 about why testing children in a pandemic is cruel!
Georgia
If you live in Georgia, or know someone who does, make sure they connect with Public Education Matters Georgia. Moms and Dads Now Enduring Surrealistic Stupidity (MADNESS) has a vibrant public Facebook group that discusses how education in Georgia is going during the COVID crisis. If you are interested, here is the link to that public group. Opt-Out Georgia organized the opt-out movement in Georgia via a closed Facebook group of over 8,000 members. If you live in Georgia or know someone who does, encourage them to connect with this group. The Georgia Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) was founded in 1990 to bring together individuals from all academic levels and disciplines and from diverse educational institutions and other organizations, occupations, and communities who had an interest in multicultural education. NAME is committed to a philosophy of inclusion that embraces the basic tenets of democracy and cultural pluralism. To keep up with their movements visit their website.
Hawaii
Parents for Public Schools Hawaii hosted an event late last month for parents to help them understand their teenager’s brain.
Illinois
Illinois Raise Your Hand partnered with Equip for Equality this month for an event to assist parents in finding out about student specific corrective action and universal enrichment remedy. Illinois Families for Public Schools asked the citizens of Illinois to take a stand for inclusivity! Support ISBE new culturally-responsive standards for teacher education
Indiana
The Indiana Coalition for Public Education and Indiana Coalition for Public Schools – Monroe County issued a call to action this month to tell citizens of Indiana to say NO to HB 1005. ICPE joined in coalition with three former top Indiana education leaders in a letter opposing education scholarship accounts and voucher expansion The Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education year in review! According to Stu Bloom, “NIFPE has been tilting at windmills. We spent the last month lobbying (from home) against the current voucher expansion. The Republican supermajority in the House passed it anyway so now it goes to the Senate.” Northwest Indiana Coalition for Public Education hosted a webinar this month titled Education and Race: Webinar 1: Barriers to Learning for Students of Color. Be sure to check in on their event tab on Facebook for more important webinars in the future. Washington Township Parent Council Network meeting this month featured guest speakers from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education who provided an update and perspective on what is happening at the Indiana General Assembly. Here’s a link to the video from Part 1 of that meeting, which includes Joel Hand of ICPE discussing education-related bills that will have a direct impact on our public schools. Part 2 with Dountonia S. Batts will be coming soon!
Iowa
Iowans for Public Education held a Town Hall late last month on the disastrous education bills coming out of their Capitol.
Kansas
Game On for Kansas Schools headed to the Capitol this month to testify against HB 2119 (another voucher bill). To read about this event go here.
Kentucky
Dear JCPS had an important conversation this month with House Representative Tina Bojanowski about their opposition to HB258 (which seeks to change teacher pensions in the state.) To view that conversation go here. Kentucky SOS issued a call to action this month to stop pension theft. To read more go here. Pastors for Kentucky Children shared a fantastic article about fellowships in their area that are committed to their local public schools.
Louisiana
Step Up Louisiana hosted a virtual Mardi Gras Gala this month. Be sure to check out their event tab, share it with anyone you know who lives in Louisiana, and connect with this amazing organization doing great work.
Maryland
The Baltimore Algebra Project took part in a student strike this month to protest reopening of Baltimore schools.
Massachusetts
Citizens for Public Schools Executive Director Lisa Guisbond had the opportunity to argue that public school enrollment will and must be reversed after the pandemic — AND the state must ensure schools are equitably funded to meet the needs of our students and families. The New Bedford Coalition to Save our Schools celebrated the incredible conversation about #RadicalLove. SOUL Circle Leaders, Luvie and Johari, were brilliant. Watch the video here if you missed it.
Michigan
The Michigan Network for Equity in Education supported the Teachers for Good Trouble petition to end standardized testing. Save Michigan’s Public Schools uses their open Facebook page to inform the public about what is happening with COVID, school closures, and reopening. Go here to learn more about what is happening in Michigan education. Michigan Parents for Schools has an extensive website to help Michigan parents and educators. Be sure to check it out here. MI Ed Justice posts important events on their open Facebook page. To keep up with all that is happening in Michigan education check in with them on a weekly basis. Give Trusted Voices ED a follow on Twitter to keep up with their events and issues.
Minnesota
Parents for St. Paul Schools were interviewed in late December for an article in the Star Tribune about online schools. Minnesota Collective for Educational Equity shared on Twitter that for the first time in Minnesota’s history, Gov. Tim Walz’s budget recommendations include a proposal for statewide MTSS, specifically calling for an Equity-Centered MTSS framework. This means authentic collaborations between schools and families/communities.
Mississippi
Parents for Public Schools – Moss Point continues to support their community with information about education, meals, and much more. Parents For Public Schools of Greenwood and Leflore County are still hosting Early Childhood Development programs for their community. They have been doing this since March. For more information on their programs, go here. Parents For Public Schools of Philadelphia advocates for children and schools in the Philadelphia Public School District. Make sure you give them a follow on Facebook. Parents For Public Schools of Starkville is a local organization working to strengthen public schools in Starkville. They promote the great work being done in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
Missouri
Keep up with the Missouri BATs by giving them a follow on Twitter. Columbia Parents for Public Schools promotes parent engagement to improve education and build public support for public schools in Columbia.
Nebraska
Stand for Schools thanked each and every Nebraskan who used their voice to oppose LB 364. Under LB 364, private and parochial schools could receive public dollars and discriminate against children based on religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, language proficiency, disability, other characteristics, and even merit. Nebraska Loves Public Schools launched The Mind Inside Episode 3 this month.
Nevada
Educate Nevada NOW released a public comment to the Commission on School Funding this month about how the state finances public schools.
New Hampshire
Barrington Educators Association is the local chapter of the New Hampshire-NEA. You can view updated work here. To contact them about issues happening in NH, go here.
New Jersey
Save our Schools NJ launched an email campaign this month to request that New Jersey seek a waiver from testing. Be sure to check out the The Newark Students Union events tab on their Facebook page. They post events that students can take part in to have their voices heard. Delran Education Association is a local organization committed to ensuring excellence in public education. Give them a follow on Facebook. If you are a resident of Elizabeth, ask to join the Elizabeth Parents and Students Care closed Facebook group to connect. Montclair Cares About Schools uses its open Facebook page to inform the community about school openings and the COVID crisis. This article concerns ventilation in their High School. Give Our Children Our Schools a follow on Twitter to keep up with any future events. South Orange-Maplewood Cares About Schools organizes in its closed Facebook group. If you live in this area or know anyone who does, please ask to join the group here. Paterson Education Fund works hard to keep the community informed about Board of Education meetings, food distributions, school closures, and resources for Black History Month. Go here for more information and share it with anyone you know who lives in Paterson.
New York
Class Size Matters published an article telling Mitt Romney to educate himself about the importance of class size! New York Allies for Public Education Executive Director Lisa Rudley and Co-Founder Jeanette Deutermann (also founder of LI Opt Out) appeared on Leonie Haimson’s Talk Out of School radio program. To hear that episode go here. NYC Opt Out submitted a comment to the NY State Education Department in support of its request for testing and accountability waivers from the federal government. The Alliance for Quality Education continues their campaign to get NY Gov. Cuomo to tax the rich. Head over to their Facebook page to view this campaign. Give Change the Stakes a follow on Facebook to keep up with what is happening in NYC education during the COVID crisis. NY BATs published a powerful article by Jake Jacobs last month on taxing the rich and ending tax breaks for charter schools. To read that article go here. FUSE (New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees) are highlighting the work of their members on their website. They are busy making sure school is safe for teachers and children. MORE-UFT hosted an organizing boot camp this month. Jackson Heights People for Public Schools took part in a campaign to tax the rich this month. Parents for Public Schools- Syracuse are sharing Life Fantastic blog radio and addressing topics that impact families and their children. They have also updated information on their website. Croton Advocates for Public Education (CAPE) advocates for fair assessments, enrichment opportunities, and funding for their schools. The Port Washington Advocates for Public Education closed Facebook group is a place to connect and organize if you live in Port Washington, NY. North Country Alliance For Public Education works to end the reliance on high stakes testing and to stop the privatization that is taking over their schools. If you live in the North Country of New York, consider joining their closed Facebook group to connect. Visit the Rochester Coalition for Public Education website for all that is happening with Rochester education, meeting schedules, and information.
North Carolina
Public Schools First NC and Wake County launched a petition to stop HB32 and to inform the public about this attempt to expand vouchers. North Carolina Families for School Testing Reform gives up-to-date information in the fight to stop testing in NC, and across the nation, on their open Facebook page. Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods is recruiting for Resident Leaders in various neighborhoods around Winston-Salem. If you know someone in that area, spread the word and have them contact NBN. This month Pastors for North Carolina Children stood with their Communities for the Education of Every Child NC coalition partners and WRAL TV in supporting the Leandro requirements for NC students to receive a sound basic education as laid out in the NC Constitution. Parents for Public Schools of Pitt County has been conducting school tours on their YouTube channel.
Ohio
Ohio BATs exposed their new Senate President’s support of vouchers who pushed forth legislation to recognize School Choice Week. It Takes A Village To Tackle HB70 and It Takes A Village continues to fight state takeovers in Ohio. Northwest Ohio Friends of Public Education continue to share information about the fight for school funding in Ohio. Public Education Partners (PEP) supported the Ohio Education Association efforts to waive state required end-of-course exams and require the Ohio Department of Education to seek a waiver from federally required testing. Parents For Public Schools of Greater Cincinnati post upcoming events on their open Facebook page.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee and Pastors for Oklahoma Children are joining a broad-based coalition of parents, education professionals and community leaders, for focused opposition to voucher bills being proposed this session. The Public Funds for Public Schools Oklahoma Coalition will work to ensure public funds stay in public schools. Pastors for Oklahoma Children Executive Director Clark Frailey wrote an article that was published in The Oklahoman. Oklahoma should focus on improving all public schools is a must read and share. Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education, Oklahomans for Public Education exposed last month that Governor Stitt announced a change to the guidelines related to the quarantine of school staff and students who have been exposed to COVID-19. The guidance did not appear to follow CDC guidelines and deviates dramatically from best practice as it relates to mitigation efforts in school buildings. To read more on that go here. Oklahoma Teachers – The Time Is Now organizes in a private Facebook group of over 64,000 members. The purpose of the group is to unite all educators in the state of Oklahoma, so they can come together and educate, collaborate, and discuss what options they have moving forward to improve Public Education. If you know any Oklahoma educators, send them to this group to connect.
Oregon
Community Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) is sponsored by a coalition of community members, parents, teachers from Bethel, Eugene, and Springfield, and professors from Pacific University and the UO. CAPE is short for the Community Alliance for Public Education. Their goals are to raise awareness and build community around public education issues, as well as support an informed citizenry in having input into public education policies and practices. If you know anyone in their region of Oregon send them here to connect. Check out Oregon Save Our Schools on Facebook for all the latest in Oregon education. Oregon BATs organizes in a closed Facebook group. If you are an Oregon teacher or community member, ask to join and connect.
Pennsylvania
The Keystone State Education Coalition publishes a daily PA education policy roundup. Pennsylvania School Board Association latest Closer Look examines myths, truths and concerns regarding charter school funding issues. PSBA urges legislators to enact real charter funding reform to save school districts and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The Pittsburgh Task Force on the Right to Education posted the dates for their PGH-LTF meetings. Please share these dates with anyone who wants to connect and fight for Pittsburgh public education. Education Voters PA conducted an action alert this month to tell Pennsylvania’s newly-elected Auditor General to hold cyber charter schools to the same financial accountability standards as other public schools. Half of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools have never been audited. Cyber charter schools are projected to receive more than $980 million in taxpayer-funded tuition payments in the 2020-2021 school year. With no state oversight, the opportunities for waste, fraud, and abuse are staggering. Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools called on the Philadelphia School Board to reject applications for five new charter schools. APPS members, who have analyzed the applications and attended both rounds of hearings, call on the Board to deny all five. BASD (Bethlehem Area School District) Parents joined the network in January. To learn more about their work go here, here, and here.
Rhode Island
The Providence Student Union introduced their new Co-Executive Directors this month. Meet Diana Canales and Precious Lopez! To keep up with what is happening in Rhode Island, give the Parents Across Rhode Island Facebook page a follow.
South Carolina
The Quality Education Project launched an action alert to stop S208. S208 would give corporations and for- profits the ability to take over SC schools.
Tennessee
The Momma Bears outlined Gov. Lee’s education bill in their blog late last month. Make sure to give Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence (TREE) a follow on Twitter to keep up with all that is going on in Tennessee education. Pastors for Tennessee Children shared that Faith leaders are calling for an investment in our schools. The Southern Christian Coalition stated, “If lawmakers want to pass a public education agenda that claims to reflect Christian values, they should ensure that our public schools are invested in as well as any other state in the country.” Tennessee Strong continues to share articles written in the Tennessee Education Report. The latest set of articles encourage Gov. Lee to use the state surplus to fund Tennessee schools.
Texas
The NPE Grassroots Education Network, and all of our partners, want to let our Texas friends know that you are all in our thoughts during this difficult time.
Pastors for Texas Children Executive Director Rev. Charles Foster Johnson published a powerful article in Baptist News Global titled The New Secretary of Education Should Listen to Our Teachers. You can read it here. CFISD Community Leadership Committee is a volunteer group of parents, business people, and retirees who believe that having a strong independent school district is important to the economic well-being of the Cypress-Fairbanks community. To keep up with their actions and events, visit their website. The Coalition for Public Schools Texas published their latest news and archives of their powerful webinars here. Members of Texas Kids Can’t Wait are advocates for equitable and adequate funding for Texas public schools and for a sane assessment system. They strongly oppose the corporate takeover of public schools. To follow their movements go to their open Facebook page. RootEd publishes a monthly newsletter called The Branch. Go here to view their newsletter from last month. If you know of anyone in the Houston community, please have them connect with Parents For Public Schools of Houston. They post important activities for the Houston community on their open Facebook page. Community Voices For Public Education has an open discussion page on Facebook. To keep up with all that is happening in Texas public education and a continued effort to get Texas to not give the STARR exam, go here to join in the discussion. Our Schools San Antonio are educating the public on the movement to not give the STARR exam this year. For the latest on this head over to their open Facebook page. The Coalition for Equity in Public Education posts important community events on their open Facebook page. In an effort to educate the public they posted a webinar by the Austin Council PTA on understanding the STAAR test and standardized testing with a discussion on the validity and equity impacts of STAAR. Texas AFT fought hard to get educators to be among the first to get vaccinated. They were able to report this month that the State Board of Education has written to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine allocation panel to add educators and school employees to Phase 1B priority.
Vermont
The Vermont Coalition for Equity in Education has decided to dissolve their coalition.
Virginia
Virginia Educators United joined a light brigade with parents, the Virginia Education Association, The Commonwealth Institute For Fiscal Analysis, Legal Aid Justice Center and Fund Our Schools VA to tell the Senate Finance Committee to fund schools. Check out their picture here. Virginia BATs posts up-to-date information on their Facebook page about the fight that public school advocates are engaged in to fund Virginia schools. Go here and “like” their page to be notified of any important updates. Support Our Schools-Shenandoah County organizes to fight for public education in that region. You can connect here. Virginia Public Education Partners supports the passage of equitable funding for public schools. If you know anyone in Virginia please take a moment to share this with them and ask them to support public education.
Washington State
WA BATs has an active Twitter feed full of powerful graphics. Check it out here. Washington Paramount Duty is a non-partisan, grassroots group of parents and allies working to compel the state to amply fund basic education and swiftly fulfill its paramount duty. They envision a future where every child has equitable access to an amply funded basic education. To keep up with their movements, and all that is happening in Washington State, like their open Facebook page.
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Public Education Network issued a call to action asking Wisconsin citizens to support Gov. Evers budget which closes gaps, and opens doors for students. Schools and Communities United has a lot going on this month with MPS Reopening, MPS School Board Races and State Superintendent. Go here for an update on these three issues. Parents for Public Schools Milwaukee reminded Milwaukee citizens that there are FOUR MPS School Board seats up for election this spring. Two races were uncontested and two have four candidates each going into the Tuesday, 2/16 primary. PPSMKE provided information about the candidates so that citizens could make an educated vote.
NPE Grassroots Education Network – Resources and Graphics
The NPE Grassroots Education Network has compiled a list of resources to help communities navigate the COVID pandemic. We created a list of c3 organizations you can donate to help others in need. We have created a space for resources to help educators and parents trying to navigate remote learning. Finally, we are collecting stories highlighting how Public Schools are helping their communities.
Here is a link to our resources page. It will help you navigate resources covering a variety of topics. This is a live document and will be updated so check back for new resources.
Here is a link to our graphics page. It will provide powerful visuals for you to share on social media. This is a live document and will be updated so check back for new graphics.