Warren leads crusade for diversity at Fed
“I’m judging John Williams based on the last several years of him being wrong about the levels of maximum employment...
“I’m judging John Williams based on the last several years of him being wrong about the levels of maximum employment and pushing for additional [interest rate hikes] prematurely because that mistake puts millions of jobs at risk,” said Shawn Sebastian, who co-leads the Fed Up coalition comprising advocacy groups and unions.
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Parents, Community Leaders Want Dade Middle, Others To Become Community Schools
Parents, Community Leaders Want Dade Middle, Others To Become Community Schools
Dade Middle School in Dallas has had a history of problems. Some community leaders want the Dallas school district to...
Dade Middle School in Dallas has had a history of problems. Some community leaders want the Dallas school district to boost neighborhood involvement and turn Dade into what’s called a community school. Some folks believe more community and parental involvement would make a difference there.
One weekend afternoon last fall, parents and children streamed into the auditorium at Dade Middle School. Music in English and Spanish blared from the speakers.
People from around the country showed up to speak at the school and they talked about getting parents and more of the Dade community involved in improving the school.
Yesenia Rosales was at the school with her two daughters ages 12 and 16. They moved to Texas from Maryland and she said things at Dade seem pretty good so far.
"Teachers seem very interested in helping students," she said.
Not long ago, though, things were pretty rough at Dade. Fights broke out regularly, principals were being replaced frequently and parent involvement was dismal.
Community leaders like Monica Lindsey told parents at that meeting last fall that it was time for a change. Together, she said, they could convince the district to adopt a new model at Dade and other troubled schools.
“And we’re pushing to have 20 schools turned into community schools by 2020. Can you repeat after me? 20 by 2020. 20 by 2020 …, ” Lindsey told the crowd.
So, what is a community school? According to the Coalition for Community Schools, it’s one that’s built on partnerships between the school and community groups.
A district’s best teachers work there and the school offers extra social services, like mental health counseling. There’s also more parent involvement and the school doesn’t automatically suspend students who act up.
The Dallas school district has worked to stabilize Dade by adding higher-paid and more experienced teachers. Texas Organizing Project and others involved in community school reform, however, envision a broader effort.
“At a community school, you would have 100 or 200 folks participate in some way or another in that planning process,” said Allison Brim, organizing director for the Texas Organizing Project. “You get real buy-in and also input from a larger group of parents and teachers at the school and students as well to make sure that we’re really addressing all of the needs of the entire school community.”
For the past school year, Brim and other members have been meeting with parents, Dade’s principal and district staff to talk about turning the school around. They’ve hosted several community dinners in South Dallas. And, Brim has sent school board president Eric Cowan a letter asking him to consider the issue at a future board meeting.
Brim says she sees some progress at Dade.
“I would say while it’s still not officially our standard that we’re working toward in terms of a community school, a lot of the foundation has been laid," Brim said. "And there’s been huge improvement in terms of the academics and a lot of the key indicators at the school as a result," Brim said.
Advocates point to progress with community schools in places like Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
Last month, The Center for Popular Democracy released a report citing two schools in Austin that went from facing closure to becoming two of the district’s highest-performing schools.
At one of the Austin schools – Webb Middle School – enrollment, attendance and the graduation rate went up. The school now has a full-time community school coordinator and a family resource center that offers parenting classes.
Dallas school trustee Miguel Solis said he’d like the board to consider adopting the community school model or some variation of it.
“That’s not to say that the model will be 100 percent effective if it is implemented the exact same way in Dallas as it is in these other school districts,” he said. “But the principles and tenets of the model are, I think, perfect for our community and particularly the areas that are the most underserved and need the most support.”
Even if the Dallas school board takes up the issue sometime soon, Solis said turning Dade or other schools into community schools wouldn’t happen overnight.
“What the board is likely to do is at some point just have a better understanding of exactly what a community school is, what the goals of community schools are … ” Solis said.
In other words, when it comes to making a commitment about community schools, Dallas school trustees will want to do their homework first.
This story is part of KERA’s American Graduate initiative.
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Women workers vow to fight back after Supreme Court ruling
Women workers vow to fight back after Supreme Court ruling
“In early 2017, I became network president and co-executive director at the Center for Popular Democracy, a national...
“In early 2017, I became network president and co-executive director at the Center for Popular Democracy, a national network of more than 50 grassroots community organizing groups in 34 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. In this capacity, I’ve had the opportunity to meet working women all across the country, and I’ve seen firsthand the commitment Freeman Brown is naming. Women, especially women of color, know that being a union member gives them greater economic security than their nonunion sisters have.”
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Groups launch 'people's filibuster' against GOP health bill
More than a dozen groups opposing the Senate GOP's healthcare bill will hold a "people's filibuster" for two days on...
More than a dozen groups opposing the Senate GOP's healthcare bill will hold a "people's filibuster" for two days on the lawn of the Capitol.
Activists and Democratic lawmakers will speak out against the ObamaCare repeal bill Monday and Tuesday and possibly later in the week.
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Thanks to York School Board for Rejecting Charter Takeover
York Daily Record - November 4, 2014, by Rev. Aaron Willford, Sandra Thompson and Clovis Gallon - Over the past few...
York Daily Record - November 4, 2014, by Rev. Aaron Willford, Sandra Thompson and Clovis Gallon - Over the past few months, something remarkable happened in York. Parents, teachers, students, neighbors and faith leaders united to send a clear message that the education of York's children is more important than the profit margin of an out-of-state charter operator.
On behalf of that community, we would like to thank the York City School Board for standing up for our students, making sure their education comes first, and rejecting a charter takeover of our schools.
When the school board met on Oct. 15, Chief Recovery Officer David Meckley pressured board members to vote on an incomplete, poorly researched charter plan that was rolled out less than a week before. With so little time to review the plan and so many unanswered questions about it, the community urged the board to cast a no vote.
Rejecting the charter plan was not an easy decision for the school board, but it was the right decision — and we applaud their courage. If the plan had been enacted, money that should support students in the classroom would have flowed to a for-profit management company instead. City school children would have been treated like guinea pigs in a radical experiment, and their parents would have lost any say in how their neighborhood schools are run.
Perhaps the school board was looking into a crystal ball when it cast that vote. Just a week later, a federal judge appointed a receiver for Mosaica Education Inc., one of the two charter companies initially in the running to take over York city's schools. The heavily indebted Mosaica was sued by its primary lender in September after defaulting on its debt.
AdvertisementImagine where York's students would be if a charter operator took over their schools and, right out of the gate, found itself under enormous financial pressure for "a series of bad business decisions," as lender Tatonka Capital Corp. claims in its lawsuit against Mosaica.
The case against Mosaica followed a string of troubling studies questioning charter school oversight and accountability in Pennsylvania. A spring report from Auditor General Eugene DePasquale found that a lack of state oversight of charters was creating problems — with some observers comparing the current charter environment to the "wild, wild west."
A blistering report from the Center for Popular Democracy this fall revealed more than $30 million in proven or alleged fraud, waste, or abuse in Pennsylvania's charter school system over the past 17 years.
Giving Meckley a blank check on charterization in York would have been a big mistake.
Fortunately, the school board recognized how fraught with risk this plan was and chose to maintain local control of all the city's schools.
Now, it is critical for the school board to work in partnership with York's educators to improve the city's schools and give every child a shot at success.
Educators and administrators are already implementing a road map to fiscal recovery that will strengthen educational programs. We are glad that the school board is giving this "internal option," as it is known, an opportunity to work before taking any action that will negatively impact our schools, our students, or our community.
York city schools, like many other districts across the commonwealth, face a funding crisis created by deep cuts in state funding for public schools. All Pennsylvania school children deserve better from Harrisburg. It is high time our elected leaders reverse those cuts and put our schools back on track.
Until that happens, York's children should not be treated any differently than other Pennsylvania students. They shouldn't be guinea pigs in a charter experiment. And they shouldn't be deprived of the opportunity to attend their neighborhood schools.
Our school board agrees, and now it is up to all of us to take responsibility for the future of our city's public schools and the students who learn there.
We have no doubt that the York community is strongly committed to making our schools the best they can be. Working together, we can achieve truly remarkable things.
Rev. Aaron Willford is a member of York Concerned Clergy. Sandra Thompson is president of the York NAACP. Clovis Gallon is a teacher and York Education Association member.
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