Re: Congressional Progressive Caucus

[Diane Aoki <dkeikoa@hawaii.rr.com>]

As an optimist/idealist/activist who was verging on cynicism /hopelessness I
thank you for this glimmer of hope.
Diane


On 7/30/10 8:55 AM, "George Sheridan" <learn@jps.net> wrote:

> Colleagues:
> 
> Did you see the June 14 announcement of the official position of the
> Congressional Progressive Caucus on reauthorization of the Elementary and
> Secondary Education Act? Portions look like they were copied from CTA/NEA
> statements on ESEA. The document, entitled "CPC Principles for the
> Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," is online at <
> http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=201&ParentID=0&SectionID=93&;
> SectionTree=93&lnk=b&ItemID=199
>> If you are unable to use this link, go to < http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/>
>> and
> click on "Official Positions." Representative Lynn Woolsey of California is
> one
> of the co-chairs of the caucus. She recently hosted a town hall in her
> district
> in which Secretary Duncan got an earful from educators and community members.
> California Representative George Miller (Chair of the Committee on Education
> and
> Labor) is also one of the 81 members of the CPC, so the fact that the caucus
> has
> issued an official statement may indicate a shift in his position, or at least
> that he no longer is in a position to impose his views on his committee.
> 
> Combine the Progressive Caucus position with the two important reports issued
> this week,* and it appears that momentum may have shifted. After years in
> which
> neo-liberal "reformers" pushed high-stakes testing, school choice and merit
> pay
> as the moral equivalent of voting rights, fair housing and Brown v Board,
> important parts of the establishment are backing away from the assault on
> public
> education. As Winston Churchill said, this is not the end. It is not even the
> beginning of the end. But it may be the end of the beginning. Diane Ravitch's
> book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, has also had a
> major role in creating a window for serious criticism of the Obama-Duncan
> agenda.
> 
> * The first report, by a coalition of civil rights groups, said the government
> should stop using low-income neighborhoods as laboratories for education
> experiments and criticized the administration's education policies on a number
> of
> issues -- including funding equity and charter schools. "Framework for
> Providing
> All Students an Opportunity to Learn through Reauthorization of the Elementary
> and Secondary Education Act" is available at <
> https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B36JWPh1Vfr7OTc3ZWI0NDctODVlMC00N2I2LWExN
> mItZmIyZGEzY2E5Yzlm&hl=en&authkey=CNG2pP4E
>> .
> 
> The second, entitled "Our Communities Left Behind: An Analysis of the
> Administration's School Turnaround Policies," was published by a national
> coalition of 24 community-based groups and includes a proposal for a new
> school
> transformation model that emphasizes community involvement. <
> http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/analy
> sis-blasts-obamas-school-turnaround-policy.html
>> 
> 
> So far, the Administration is not modifying its position. But that line may
> not
> be sustainable much longer, as illustrated by Monty's trenchant comments on
> President Obama's speech to the Urban League.
> 
> 
> George Sheridan