Two months ago, a number of public school parents wrote a letter to Congress and President Obama expressing our concerns about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Blueprint for Education proposed by U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan for changing this federal education law.The signers and hundreds of other parents sent this letter to their congressional representatives.  

Today I faxed the Parents Across America letter to every member of Congress as they return from their Independence Day break. I added a copy of the recent Education Week essay (p. 1) (p. 2) on the same topic I wrote with Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters in NYC. 

This might be a good time to make a follow-up call to your Senator and Congressman. While many are saying that a revised (reauthorized) ESEA is unlikely to be voted on before the fall elections, revised language is being hammered out in committee right now, and it may be too make meaningful changes later on in the process.

Here are a couple of things that many in Congress still seem unaware of:

• Parents, students and community members join teachers across the nation in opposing the major elements of Race to the Top
• Charter schools are not working as hyped, and in fact the majority are not performing as well as regular public schools. Rapid expansion of charters is a dangerous idea.

What we DON'T want: Charters, turnarounds, and school closures, standardized tests, mayoral control, and privatization.

What we DO want: More parent involvement, real multiple assessments, smaller class size, and equal resources for all schools.

Don't forget to sign the Parents Across America petition and sign up for our Facebook page!