Frederick Education Reform - for your school board, paper, & PTSA

I think the PowerPoint presentations at Frederick Education Reform are probably the single most important and most potentially effective grass-roots reform documents I've ever come across. These parents have managed to pull the whole thing together: not just the math wars but the reading wars and the education wars, too.

I'm going to forward several to my school board, the PTSA, and the local newspapers.

Tactics Used to Maintain the Status Quo

Tactic #1: Tell parents that “You are the only one who complained.”

O-M-G ! ! ! !

How many times did I hear that one?

Moving right along:

Tactic #2: Claim that “The research shows that what we are doing is best.” CHECK

Tactic #3: “We are the experts. You should trust us to know better than you.” CHECK

Tactic #4: Claim that children will suffer if the budget is not significantly increased. CHECK

Tactic #5: Accuse critics and parents who ask too many questions of being “against public education.” Hah! They don't dare try that one around here. Too many folks already sending kids to private school and too many other folks who would if they could scrape together the money after paying the highest property taxes in the known universe.

Tactic #6: Claim that FCPS is prevented from making changes by the No Child Left Behind act. No one has used this one around here, and that is to the district's credit.

Tactic #7: Avoid taking actions to change the system by ignoring good ideas. CHECK ^*

Frederick Education Reform briefings

^*I'm adding this one to my list of "Signs that your child is attending a public school." Actually, I could add all 7 of these to my list of Signs that your child is attending a public school.

Forum for School Board Candidates

How can parents be involved in their child's public school education?

Check out the CANDIDATE FORUM in the "briefings" section here:

Frederick Education Reform