PSAT for 5-1-12: Petition day!
Petitions may seem like mere couch potato activism, but they can work.
One that I was going to urge you to sign today has already done the job! Nearly 1000 people signed a petition asking Kenneth Cole, the clothing designer, to take down a billboard in New York suggesting that teachers’ rights conflict with students’ rights. Within hours, the company tweeted that the billboard is coming down.
Score one for our side.
But there are more battles to be fought, one signature at a time! Don’t let your clicker finger wear out, but here are three digital actions for today’s Public Schools Action Tuesday.
The big drive this week is for more signatures and more groups to sign on to the National Resolution against High-Stakes Testing. So far over 5000 people and 220 organizations have signed.
Please sign on today if you have not already done so, and share it with your networks.
It’s also important for LSCs to put the Resolution on the agenda for your next meeting and vote to sign on, and for PTAs to consider signing, too. The National PTA has sent around an advisory to local PTAs urging them to sign. Let us know if your LSC or PTA are considering the Resolution!
Support arts in school! From the arts advocates Ingenuity Inc:
“For the first time in 25 years, Chicago is creating a plan that will lay out ideas to support the arts and artists throughout the city. But to transform the plan into real wins for the people and children of our city, we first need the broad support of thousands of Chicagoans who care about culture—people like you.
“We already know the arts have a tremendous impact on students. In fact, according to a new study by the White House ‘students with high involvement in the arts, including minority and low-income students, performed better in school and stayed in school longer.’”
Please click on this online petition to show your support for more arts in the schools and across the city.
Last but not least, I thought you may want to join others who are grading Rahm’s first year in office on Crain’s … and please pass it on!
Julie Woestehoff is PURE's executive director. Julie's work has earned her a Ford Foundation award and recognition as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Chicago.