Join Us for our Fall Issues Conference!
By Lisa Guisbond
The Backpack | 2010 Fall Edition
In this issue:
- Don’t Wait for Superman, Speak up for Public Schools Now
- Boston Coalition Organizes to Defend Public Schools
- Meet James McDermott, new member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
- Scarce School Funds Flow to Charters
- A Report Card for School Quality, Not Just Scores
Welcome to the fall edition of Citizens for Public Schools’ newsletter, The Backpack. CPS’s mission remains the same: to promote, preserve and protect public schools and public education. The goal of our fall issues conference on Oct. 16 is to devise action plans for how to do that in a challenging environment where the blows to public schools and teachers seem to be falling faster than the autumn leaves.
This issue includes a description of our fall conference, titled “Taking Back our Schools: Promoting Excellence and Equity in Public Education.” We also cover the controversial documentary, “Waiting for Superman” and a Boston coalition working to defend public schools. New Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member James McDermott shares his thoughts on “writing to learn.” We look into the fiscal blow to public school budgets from charter schools in the wake of the “Achievement Gap” bill. And finally, longtime teacher and CPS organizer Ann O’Halloran shares her vision of a way to hold our schools and our communities accountable for authentic educational excellence and equity.
Let us know what you think, and if you like what we have to offer, pass it along to your friends and colleagues.
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Lisa Guisbond is editor of The Backpack and a CPS Board Member. Thanks to the outstanding contributions of Backpack editorial committee–Paul Dunphy, Jackie Dee King, Jonathan King, and Ann O’Halloran–and to CPS Director Marilyn Segal.
