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Public Education Network

Join Public Education Network (PEN) to improve public schools and mobilize resources for equitable education across the nation. Discover how local education funds drive change for low-income communities.

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Public Education Network

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  1. Public Education Network Every day, in every community, every child in America benefits from a quality public education. To build public demand and mobilize resources for quality public education for all children through a national constituency of local education funds and individuals.

  2. Public Education Network Public Education Network (PEN) is a national organization of local education funds (LEFs) and individuals working to improve public schools and build citizen support for quality public education in low-income communities across the nation.

  3. Our Communities Face… • The least qualified teachers teaching in the lowest performing schools • Modest alignment between standards, curriculum, assessments, and professional development • Low expectations of children from poor families • School reform agendas that change with new superintendents • Lack of public responsibility for public education

  4. A Powerful Base of Local Education Funds PEN 2005 87 LEFs in 34 states + the District of Columbia • 87 members in 34 states and the District of Columbia • 7 of the top 10 cities • 17 of the top 25 cities • Key states of California, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas • 11.5 million students (22%) • 1,600+ school districts (9%) • 16,000+ schools (17%)

  5. Our Members • Reduce the Achievement Gap • Small schools • Deep professional development • Serve as intermediaries • Studies on unions • Build Community Within Schools, and Capacity Outside Schools • Information • Parent training • Promote common definition of schooling • Business partnerships

  6. Resource Power of the Network • Raise roughly $200 million annually to improve public schools and increase student achievement • Raised nearly $4 billion for quality public education • Invested over $1.5 billion in teacher quality • Donated over $2.5 billion in volunteer time

  7. Civic Power of the Network • Leveraged roughly $13 billion in public dollars by supporting local bond and tax referenda, state and local budget increases, and litigation • Changed the composition and improved the quality of school boards in 50 school districts • LEF boards serve as the meeting place for building common ground amongst educators, corporations, philanthropies, and policy and public officials

  8. Public Engagement: The Missing Element Public engagement is important because: • Public education is essential to a democratic society • 20 years of school reform have had limited success—not gone to “scale” • Accountability needs to become “public” • Public takes responsibility

  9. Purpose of the NCLB Hearings • To learn from the public about the impact of the law • To engage and educate the public about the law • To build constituency for public education

  10. Our 2004 Hearing Sites and Local Partners • Harrisburg, PAPennsylvania Public Education PartnershipMay 20 • Boston, MARennie Center at Massachusetts Institute for a New CommonwealthJune 2 • Sacramento, CALinking Education and Economic DevelopmentJune 8 • Los Angeles, CAUrban Education PartnershipJuly 21 • Cleveland, OHOhio PTA and Ohio Fair Schools CampaignSeptember 14 • San Antonio, TXIntercultural Development Research AssociationSeptember 28 • Memphis, TNPartners in Public EducationSeptember 30 • New York, NYCampaign for Fiscal EquityOctober 7 • Chicago, ILCross City Campaign for Urban School ReformOctober 13

  11. PEN Thanks • Open Society Institute • The George Gund Foundation • The James Irvine Foundation • Nellie Mae Education Foundation • The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation • New York Community Trust

  12. NCLB Hearing and Survey Participants • Over 1,700 people attended the hearings • Over 300 people provided 1,000 pages of testimony • Approximately 12,000 GiveKidsGoodSchools.org activists completed online survey

  13. Structure of the Hearings • Format: • Panel of 4-6 hearing officers • Multilingual presentations and dialogue • Child care provided • Live testimony from: • Parents • Students • Business and civic leaders • Community advocates • Members of the general public • Three questions: • What do you know about the law? • How is it working? • What would you change?

  14. Hearing Areas of Focus • District and state accountability • (Identifying and responding to low-performing schools) • Teacher quality • (Quality teachers for every student) • Parent and community involvement • (Need for good information and active involvement)

  15. What We Heard From the Public • Public appreciated the opportunity to speak • Broad agreement on the goals of NCLB • Significant problems with implementation • The law is not benefiting those for whom it was designed • Stigma from labeling schools • Lack of financial resources

  16. What We Heard From the Public • Highly qualified teachers’ definition problematic • District and state capacity to implement the law • Assessment and accountability are problematic • Information: accessibility and accuracy • Parental and public involvement is neither valued nor welcomed

  17. Recommendations From the Public • Count significant progress towards AYP • Provide SES before choice • Reduce reliance on high stakes tests • Provide teachers with professional development and incentives • Build district and state capacity to implement the law

  18. What We Heard from GiveKidsGoodSchools.org • Who We Heard From: • 12,000 members of GKGS.org from all 50 states • Over 80% female, over 35, white, and had completed at least four years of college; 58% are educators • 60% reported that schools in their communities have been identified as “needing improvement” or “failing” based on NCLB requirements

  19. What We Heard from GiveKidsGoodSchools.org • Over 95% believe every child should have a qualified teacher. • 90% do not believe every child will have a qualified teacher by 2005. • 80% or more feel that NCLB has made no difference in student performance, parental involvement, or teacher quality. • Nearly 75% feel that choice will not help improve student academic performance, but that SES will.

  20. What We Heard from GiveKidsGoodSchools.org • Half believe in the law’s disaggregated data requirements. • Over 2/3 do not believe that every child will score at grade level or above by 2013. • 2/3 think the law requires too much testing. • Nearly 3/4 do not want the law to be repealed. • But 2/3 believe it needs to be changed.

  21. Additional PEN Recommendations • Keep the public in the conversation • Enforce the law, especially in providing information and ensuring parent involvement • Hold states accountable, not just children, schools, and districts

  22. Local Education Funds in Pennsylvania • Members of the Pennsylvania Public Education Partnership: • Lancaster Foundation for Educational Enrichment • Mon Valley Education Consortium • Philadelphia Education Fund • Pittsburgh Council on Public Education Advocates Conveners Brokers

  23. Choosing Partners for Public Meetings Across the Commonwealth • Seven public meetings were held in 2004: • Altoona • Belle Vernon • Erie • Lancaster • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Uniontown • LEFs • PA State PTA • Local PTOs • Good Schools PA • Other Local Partners

  24. May 2004 State Hearing in Harrisburg, PA • The national panel of experts included: • Wendy Puriefoy, Public Education Network • Ron Cowell, Education Policy & Leadership Center • Edward Donley, PA State Board of Education • Michael Churchill, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia • Additional presenters: • Parents, Community Members, Educators & Students

  25. Observations at PA hearings: • From a Parent:“There’s so much emphasis on testing, I’m afraid my 8-year-old will lose his love of learning.” • From a Parent:“The school kept emphasizing how important it was for every child to do well and help the school score high. My special ed student was heart-broken because she knew her score would hurt the outcome.” • From a Student: “My school actually paid students to come to school on test day and complete the test. Why didn’t they spend the money on new books and supplies? All I wanted to do was dissect a frog.”

  26. PEN NCLB Resources • NCLB Community and Parent Action Guide • Over 25 PEN/NCPIE NCLB Web Based Action Briefs • Weekly Federal Legislative Updates • National and Local Hearing Reports • NCLB Online Survey Results • Hearing Toolkit • Interactive NCLB CD-ROM (future tool)

  27. Public Education Network Every day, in every community, every child in America benefits from a quality public education. To build public demand and mobilize resources for quality public education for all children through a national constituency of local education funds and individuals.

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