Public Education Network

Please do read (and act on) this from Monty Neill:

The public education network http://www.publiceducation.org/ 
conducted hearings that led to a report on NCLB. The text of
the report contains detailed condemnation of the law from
parents, students and community activists -- it was excellent
and powerful. Unfortunately, the recommendations made by PEN
bore little resemblance to the findings.

Pen is now doing more hearings in a number of cities
http://www.publiceducation.org/nclb_hearings.asp, and they
have a short survey. Here is the text from the home page
about the hearings.

We recommend that people go to the hearings and let them
know about how NCLB affects you, your children/students,
your school. You might bring up the issue of whether PEN
really will bring forward recommendations based on what
they are hearing if theydid not do so last time. And it is
worth a few minutes time to fill in the survey.


PEN Continues Its No Child Left Behind Initiative with
A New Series of Ten Public Hearings in 2005

The No Child Left Behind Act, the federal government's
landmark education legislation, is entering its fifth year
of implementation. Is it working for students? How can
the law be improved? What should be done to ensure that
No Child Left Behind achieves its goal of a high quality
education for every student? In the next few months, PEN,
in partnership with local education organizations, is asking
citizens across the country to share their views in ten
statewide hearings on howthe landmark education law is
playing out in their schools and communities. We need
your help in shaping public policy by giving voice to your
thoughts and experiences on what is working and what is not,
and sharing your vision of what strong public
schools can and should look like.

After the 2005 hearings, we'll take your views to the
White House, Congress, and local policymakers to make your
ideas and opinions known. An educated and active citizenry
and community involvement is our best hope for education
reform to help realize the goals of this far-reaching federal
law. We need to hear from everyone, because every voice counts.

Hearings have already been scheduled in the following cities:

New York City, NY - September 29, 2005
Chicago, IL - November 17, 2005
Columbus, OH - December 5, 2005
Pittsburgh, PA - December 8, 2005
Orlando, FL - December 14 or 15, 2005
Austin, TX -January 12, 2006

Other hearing sites (dates to be announced) include:

Boston, MA
Memphis, TN
Detroit, MI
California



Please check back for more details. Please contact Andrea
Grenadier with an questions.

And, if you can't attend a public hearing, please join
thousands of others who are already speaking out on No
Child Left Behind, and share your views through a short
online survey. In 2004, the online survey garnered over
12,000 responses, provided a much-needed opportunity for
citizens to voice their opinions about important public
policy issues.

Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Co-Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
http://www.fairtest.org