From Secretary Duncan's recent speech to the National PTA:

Finally, our blueprint to reauthorize ESEA supports family engagement in a host of ways. We support programs that actually ask families how they feel about their child's school and educational experience—giving parents a real voice and opportunity to engage. We must do a much better job of listening to our children and to their parents. Their honest feedback will absolutely drive improvement....The blueprint enhances information and transparency in school report cards about academic performance and school climate for parents. And it empowers families with additional high-quality school options.”

This sounds a lot like the parent survey which Arne started here in Chicago the year after PURE carried out our own parent survey. It was a good idea to ask for parental input, but the information was not used in an effective way. The results were boiled down into one data point on Arne's scorecard, offering little insight into what was really happening at the school with parents.

Arne's vision for parent involvement also sounds a whole lot like the Gates-funded astroturf parent organizing that has been 

going on in Chicago for a few years now, where folks are paid to go door to door explaining to parents how bad their schools are and trying to convince them to enroll their children in charter and turnaround schools.

ArneSpeak on “ambitious parent engagement”

Let me give you an example of what I mean by ambitious engagement. When parents demand change and better options for their children, they become the real accountability backstop for the educational system. Parents have more choices today than ever before, from virtual schools to charters to career academies. And our schools need empowered parents, although I know not all school administrators welcome that. We need parents to speak out and drive change in chronically-underperforming schools where children receive an inferior education. With parental support, those struggling schools need to be turned around now because children get only one chance at an education.

Maybe when he says “I know not all administrators welcome” empowered parents, he is making an honest admission. When Chicago parents spoke out, he sure didn't welcome it and he sure didn't listen.

Clearly the kind of ambitious parent engagement Arne wants is having parents doing his dirty work, demanding that schools close. No, thanks. We wouldn't help when Arne closed schools and fired people in Chicago and we sure aren't going to help him do it from Washington D. C.

Please note that ArneSpeak on ESEA includes no mention of parent voice in school decision making, which is considered by parent involvement experts to be a critically important component. We know why Arne doesn't mention it – he doesn't want it. He tried to get rid of as many of Chicago's parent-majority local school councils as he could, and to turn them into advisory bodies appointed by – you guessed it – Arne himself.