I co-wrote this essay in today's Education Week with Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters in NYC to express the frustration of parents across the nation with the Duncan administration's policies and practices:
the parent voice has been missing so far from the national debate on education, and is entirely absent from the top-down, often draconian policies put forward by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The letter outlines a number of problems parents have with Duncan's Race to the Top and ESEA proposals, and offers a different approach to school improvement that aligns more with what parents look for in schools:
putting an end to unfair funding disparities, reducing class sizes, providing a balanced curriculum with multiple methods of assessment, and requiring that schools and districts involve parents in decisionmaking.
We're hoping that Duncan will go beyond the rhetoric and begin to truly hear and value the input of parents.
You can help by signing the Parents Across America petition!
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