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Today, January 21st,
2013, is a remarkable day in history – a day that pays tribute to
leadership, civil rights, and the power found in the voice of each
individual.
In his second inaugural address, President Obama declared, “You
and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time
– not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in
defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.”
Martin Luther King, Jr., years earlier, also emphasized the
importance of our voice and actions when he stated, “The ultimate
measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Today, in honor of this moment in history, the administration of
United Opt Out National proudly kicks off the official launch to Occupy
DOE 2.0: The Battle for Public Schools and March to the White House.
These are the times of challenge and controversy of which MLK spoke. It
is also time that, as our President mandated, we lift our voices in
support of the ideals that we value.
We cannot and will not stand silent as forces threaten to
dismantle our system of public education, erode respect for the teaching
profession, and erase opportunities for comprehensive and meaningful
learning and development. We will stand tall and meet our obligation as
citizens to be heard.
Please join us as we explore opportunities for resisting
destructive ed. reform policies and for rebuilding our public education
system.
The following is a detailed schedule for April 4-7, 2013. Click this link for a shortened schedule to print. The event takes place at the U.S. Dept. of Education at 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington D.C., 20202.
April 4th – Day One: The Battle for Public Schools
9:00 a.m.
Occupy the DOE 2.0: The Battle of the Public Schools begins with introductions from United Opt Out National Administrators: Shaun Johnson, Morna McDermott McNulty, Laurie Murphy, Peggy Robertson, Tim Slekar and Ceresta Smith.
So, who are we?
Shaun Johnson is a former public school teacher, current teacher educator, blogger and online radio show host of
At the Chalk Face.
Contact Shaun at 412-965-1196 and shpjohns@gmail.com .
Morna McDermott
has been working in, with, and around public schools for over twenty
years. Currently she is an Associate Professor at Towson University, in
Maryland where she teaches various theory and methods courses in the
College of Education. Her scholarship and research interests focus on
democracy, social justice, and arts-informed inquiry in K-post secondary
educational settings, and working with beginning and experienced
educators. She explores how the arts serve as a form of literacy that
challenges traditional classroom learning and dominant narratives.
Recent art work and installations have emphasized the value of art as a
“public pedagogy” in creating grass roots social-political-educational
change. Dr. McDermott currently serves as the Arts Based Educational
Research section editor for the
Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy. In addition to publishing in educational journals and books, she writes ongoing columns for
www.examiner.com. She currently lives in Baltimore with her husband and two children.
Contact Morna at mcdermottmax@yahoo.com or 410-294-3223.
Laurie Murphy
is the Director of Resource Development for a nonprofit agency serving
multiple counties in central Florida. She has worked in the nonprofit
sector for over 15 years. Laurie has strong ties to the educational
community, as her husband, two of her children, and countless others in
prior generations have all served their communities as teachers. Laurie
was a charter member of Save Our Schools March and National Call to
Action, Organizing Committee.
Contact Laurie at murphylauriet@gmail.com or 863-381-8755.
Peggy Robertson
has taught kindergarten, first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade,
beginning her career in Missouri and continuing in Kansas. She was hired
by Richard C. Owen Publishers in 2001 to serve as a Learning Network
Coordinator and spent the next three years training teacher leaders and
administrators in educational theory and practice in the state of
Colorado, as well as around the country during the summer months. In
2004 she was hired as the Literacy Coordinator in Adams 50 School
District in Westminster, Colorado. While working in Adams 50 she
mentored teachers and administrators and supported their development as
reflective practitioners. She earned her master’s degree in English as a
Second Language at Southeast Missouri State University. She is in her
sixteenth year of teaching as an instructional coach at an elementary
school in Colorado. She is a member of the Aurora Education Association
(affiliate of NEA), a writer, and a devoted education activist through
her work at United Opt Out National. She is a contributor to the book,
Pencils Down,
by Rethinking Schools. Peggy is “basecamp” in terms of organizing the
occupation – if you have questions, give her a ring. Her blog can be
found at
www.pegwithpen.com .
Contact Peggy at writepeg@juno.com or 720-810-5593.
Timothy D. Slekar
is an Associate Professor of teacher education and Head of the Division
of Education, Human Development, and Family Studies at Penn State
Altoona. Dr. Slekar began his career in education as a 2nd grade teacher
in Williamsburg, VA. He also taught 5th grade in York, PA. Dr. Slekar
attended the University of Maryland at College Park where he earned his
Ph. D. in social studies education. During his studies Dr. Slekar worked
with 7th and 8th grade teachers in the city of Baltimore. Dr. Slekar
has published research in some of the top educational research journals
(Teacher Education Quarterly, Theory and Research in Social Education,
Journal of Thought). Dr. Slekar also co-hosts a local talk radio show in
central PA (Tuesdays at 11:00 am eastern on
WRTA 1240 am). The show is devoted to teachers and teaching in public schools. Dr Slekar and Dr. Shaun Johnson also host
At The Chalk Face (BlogTalkRadio) Progressive Education Talk. Contact Tim at tds12@psu.edu or 412-735-9720.
Ceresta Smith
is a twenty-four year veteran educator and member of United Teachers of
Dade. She earned her National Board Certification in Adult/Young Adult
English/language arts in 2002. In September of 2008, she moved from a
school deemed “high performing” to serve as a teacher leader and
literacy coach in a school deemed “low performing.” While there, she
became a 2009 – 2010 recipient of a Jordan Fundamental Grant that
facilitated the implementation of Text Titans, a literacy building
initiative designed by her and funded by Brand Jordan, a private
foundation created by basketball great Michael Jordan, that honors
teachers who motivate and inspire students toward achieving excellence.
She currently mentors teachers and teaches language arts at John A.
Ferguson High School in Miami-Dade County.
A committed unionist and education activist, Ms. Smith served as
Designated Building Steward at Dr. Michael Krop High School and
currently serves as the Designated Building Steward at John A. Ferguson
High School. Additionally, she served as a delegate to NEA, FEA, AFT,
and AFL/CIO. Along with her role as an administrators for
United Opt Out, Ms. Smith is one of the original organizers of and is an active Steering Committee member for
Save Our Schools March,
an organization that promotes and defends equitable and quality public
education. Within the framework of both, she has organized national
events, engaged in student outreach, and built coalitions between
education activists, union leaders, and civil rights organizations.
Contact Ceresta at cerestas@yahoo.com or 786-303-4785.
9:30 a.m. Socialize with your peers, enjoy recess, music, art, PE or the library
10:00 a.m. Leonie Haimson
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Leonie
Haimson is Executive Director of Class Size Matters, a non-profit
advocacy group working for smaller class sizes in NYC and the nation as a
whole. She is also a co-founder of Parents Across America, a national
grassroots group, that supports progressive and proven education
reforms. She is a graduate of Harvard University, worked at the
Educational Priorities Panel, and founded Class Size Matters in 2000.
She writes for several blogs, including NYC Public School Parents and
Huffington Post. Leonie will be discussing class size, class bias, and
online learning; and the mechanistic notion that putting kids on
computers while increasing class size will deliver “personalized”
instruction, when what is actually happening is removing personal and
human contact from the equation.
10:20 a.m. Pam Zich
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Pam
Zich is a journalist and a former special education teacher well known
within the education activist world as “Rebel Speducator.” Pam recently
worked in a school in which the disparities between her new school and
the one where she previously worked were obvious from the first day.
Resources that were plentiful at her neighborhood school were scarce at
her new school. When those inequalities extended to include the special
education staff, Pam sought help from the district office. That action
led to months of harassment and the birth of her alter ego. As her
supervisors carried out a plan to destroy her career as a special
educator, she discovered a new voice as someone who has seen first-hand
the inequalities in our public schools caused by prejudice. Pam’s voice
can be heard at
Forget the Label.
10:40 a.m. Mark Naison
Mark Naison
is a Professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham
University. He is the author of four books and over 100 articles on
African American politics, social movements and American culture and
sports. Dr. Naison is the Principal Investigator of the Bronx African
American History Project. When not doing historical research, Naison
likes to play tennis and golf, post commentary on his blog “With a
Brooklyn Accent” and make periodic forays into the media. During the
last five years, he has begun presenting historical “raps” in Bronx
schools under the nickname of “Notorious Phd.”
11:00 a.m. Mic check, music, art, PE, library – take your pick
11:30 a.m. Jim Horn
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Jim Horn is Professor of Educational Leadership at Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. He is also an education blogger at
Schools Matter and
has published widely on issues related to social justice in education.
His presentation will present highlights from a new book that examines
the background, rationale, and possible outcomes for value-added high
stakes testing.
11:50 LUNCH, mic check, planning time, recess and games
1:00 p.m. Kris Nielsen
Kris Nielsen
is a former teacher with Union County Public Schools in North Carolina.
After his resignation letter went viral internationally, he chose to
continue his fight against the trio of powers that are ruining public
education for our students and their teachers. You can find his work at
http://www.mgmfocus.com. Title and description of presentation:
This is How Democracy Ends.
Kris will speak about the three main parts of education reform that are
working together to do the most damage to our public education system
and what we can do to fight back.
1:20 p.m. Dr. Henry Taylor
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Professor
Henry Louis Taylor, Jr., a historian/urban planner, is a full professor
in the University at Buffalo Department of Urban and Regional Planning
and is founding director of the UB Center for Urban Studies. Taylor is a
nationally recognized scholar on distressed urban neighborhoods in the
United States. His research focuses on the Cuban Studies, anchor
institutions, distressed urban neighborhoods and urban education. He has
written and/or edited five books and published more than 90 articles,
book reviews, commentaries and technical reports. His most recent book
is Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-Up View of Castro’s Cuba. He is currently
the planning coordinator for the Buffalo Municipal Housing Perry Choice
neighborhood revitalization project, funded by the US Department of
Housing and Urban Development. Dr. Taylor will be discussing
The Education War.
1:40 p.m. Susan Horton Polos and Melissa Hecker
Susan
Horton Polos and Melissa Heckler are public school librarians and
education activists from Westchester County, New York. Susan Polos was
present with UOO last year as we occupied the DOE. Currently a member of
the 2014 Newbery Committee, she is a National Board Certified library
media specialist who serves on the board of the School Librarian Section
of the New York Library Association and is active in other professional
organizations.
Melissa Heckler, a professional storyteller and the co-author of
Who Says?: Essays on Pivotal Issues in Contemporary Storytelling
(August House, 1996), founded the first in-village schools for the
Ju/’hoansi in the Kalahari in Namibia, Africa. Melissa is a board member
of the professional library organizations as well and has published
articles about her experiences in indigenous education and storytelling.
Both Susan and Melissa are committed to the power of play, education
for a democratic society, the role of stories and storytelling in
teaching and learning and advocacy for equity for all children. Melissa
and Susan along with others will give voice to the critical importance
of school libraries and school librarians. As Ginny Beall, Las Vegas
school librarian, so aptly says, school librarians are an endangered
species. In this time of limited resources and misuse of educational
funding, school librarians, public librarians and parents must work
together to ensure access to stories and information for all children
and to provide qualified reading guidance. Presentation title:
Occupy the School Libraries.
2:00 Mic check, music, art, PE, or library…take your pick
2:40 p.m. Phillip Cantor
Phillip Cantor is
a science teacher at North-Grand High School – a neighborhood public
school on the northwest side of Chicago. He was a strike captain during
the Chicago Teachers Union strike and is an active member of Teachers
for Social Justice and CODE – Communities Organized for Democracy in
Education, which is fighting for an elected school board in Chicago. He
began teaching in 2002 after a career in multimedia production as a
cinematographer, director and producer. He has a master’s degree in
education policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Presentation title and description:
Fighting for the schools our students deserve.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike of 2012 was a turning point
that marks a new chapter in the fight for schools that are equitable,
just and relevant to students and their communities. The CTU fought back
against corporate style reforms, but they also demonstrated that
teachers are fighting FOR well resourced schools with smaller classes,
rich curricula, respected teaching faculties and wrap around supports
for students. By highlighting this positive message the CTU built strong
alliances with parent and community groups setting the stage for
further progress.
3:00 Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch is a historian of education at NYU.
She is author of the best selling
Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.
A champion of teachers.
A champion of public education.
A champion for a great education for all children.
3:20 Planning time
4:00 Closing remarks from United Opt Out National
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bus Boys & Poets at 5th and K: Barry Lane’s Cabaret
Barry Lane received his BA from the University of New Hampshire in
1980 and his MA from The University of New Hampshire 1984 where he
taught in the world renown writing program started by Donald Murray.
Today he heads
Discover Writing Company
and lectures and teaches on writing worldwide. Because of his
experience as both a writer and teacher he brings a unique perspective
that teachers of all levels find enlightening. In recent years he has
also begun performing a nightclub show for teachers called Barry Lane’s
Literacy Cabaret. The satirical show uses parody song, dance and stand
up comedy to lift the spirits of teachers and help them remember the
importance and power of their profession.
April 5th – Day Two: The Battle for Public Schools
9:00 a.m. Opening remarks from United Opt Out National
9:20 a.m. Stephen Round
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Stephen
Round is a former Rhode Island elementary teacher currently tutoring
Dyslexic/Dysgraphic primary students at New Hope Academy in Killingly,
Connecticut. His recent viral YouTube resignation, entitled RI Teacher
Says, “
I Quit!”
struck a nerve with teachers, parents and students alike, condemning a
“One-Size-Fits-All,” testing obsessed approach to education which leaves
many children behind – both socially and academically. His website on
which you can view his approach to tutoring struggling readers is
www.pireading.com. He and his wife, who is also a teacher, live in
Foster, Rhode Island. They have four children and six grandchildren.
Presentation title:
One Size Does Not Fit All.
9:40 a.m. Sam Anderson
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Dr.
Samuel Anderson is a retired New York City Mathematics and Black
History professor who has taught at various colleges and universities
for more than forty years. He is also the author of books on science,
technology and the history of slavery.
Sam
has been active in the Civil Rights / Black Liberation Movements for
nearly a half century and has combined his activism with his scholastic
work via numerous community organization and Black Studies Departments.
He is also co-chair of the Board of Trustees of the Brecht Forum, the
Malcolm X Museum, a member of the Black Left Unity Network
, Coalition for Public Education and Black New
Yorkers for Educational Excellence (BNYEE). Sam Anderson is also a
parent of two sons who have successfully navigated the New York City
public school system. Presentation title:
Education Is a Human Right Not a Corporate “Gift.”
10:00 a.m. Kevin Kumashiro
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Kevin
Kumashiro is professor of Asian American Studies and Education at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, founding member of Chicagoland
Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE),
director of the Center for
Anti-Oppressive Education,
and president of the National Association for Multicultural Education
(NAME). He is the award-winning author or editor of nine books on
education and social justice.” Presentation title:
Bad Teacher! How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture.
In the current debate on educational reform, the scapegoating of public
school teachers, teacher unions, and teacher educators masks the real,
systemic problems and rationalizes market-based reforms that are making
problems worse. This presentation highlights the common and
commonsensical ways that both the public and influential leaders think
and talk about the problems and solutions for public education, and
suggests ways to help us see the bigger picture and reframe the debate.
10:20 a.m. Mic check, music, art, PE, recess, or library
11:00 a.m. Barbara Madeloni, Dani O’Brien with Can’t Be Neutral
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Barbara lost her job at Umass Amherst when she supported students who
chose to opt out of a Pearson-Stanford field test of the edTPA. Dani, a
doctoral student at Umass Amherst, and other students, faculty,
teachers and community members organized to support Barbara, grow a
movement to fight the corporatization of education and demand education
for democracy and liberation. Thus was
Can’t Be Neutral was born. Presentation title:
See something, say something, organize!
11:30 a.m. LUNCH, mic check, social time, and recess
12:30 p.m. Karen Lewis
Rethinking Schools
states, “Four years ago, Karen Lewis was a chemistry teacher, one of
eight Chicago teachers who formed the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators
(CORE) to fight school closings (see “
A Cauldron of Opposition in Duncan’s Hometown: Rank-and-File Teachers Score Huge Victory”).
This September, as president of a transformed, democratic Chicago
Teachers Union (CTU), she led the 30,000-member union in a successful
strike in the city that has been a launch pad for the neoliberal
education strategy. ”
1:00 p.m. Katie Osgood
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Katie Osgood is a special education teacher in Chicago. She currently
teaches on a child/adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit. Before that,
she taught in a Chicago Public Elementary School as well as spending six
years teaching in Japan. She is a member of CORE (Caucus of Rank and
File Educators) and Teachers for Social Justice in Chicago. Find out
more about Katie at her blog,
Ms. Katie’s Ramblings.
1:20 p.m. Ruth Rodriguez
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Ruth
Rodriguez holds a BA in social work and did graduate studies in
Bilingual Education at Boston University. She was a Community Fellow in
the Urban Studies Department at MIT where she researched school
violence. She has spent most of her life time career in the field of
education, as a kindergarten teacher, school/family and community
coordinator, and promoting parent/teacher collaboration. Ruth served
on the MA Governor Deval Patrick’s Readiness Project on MCAS and
Assessment, an initiative that brought together a diverse group of
educators, from superintendents, principals, parents, teachers and
community advocates, to advise the governor on the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System (MA high stakes exam for promotion and
graduation requirement). Unfortunately, the governor did not accept the
group’s recommendation, and Ruth was disappointed when told by former
State Secretary of Education, Paul Reville, “MCAS is here to stay, and
you just have to live with it.” Ruth is a member of the national Save
Our Schools Steering Committee, and sits on the Advisory Board of
Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) in Boston, MA.
1:40 p.m. Jessie Ramey from Yinzeration
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Jessie
B. Ramey, Ph.D., is a historian of working families and U.S. social
policy, and an ACLS New Faculty Fellow in Women’s Studies and History at
the University of Pittsburgh. She writes about public education
research and policy on her blog,
Yinzercation,
which also serves as the on-line home for a grassroots movement in
Southwest Pennsylvania. Dr. Ramey is the author of the book,
Child Care in Black and White: Working Parents and the History of Orphanages,
which won the Lerner-Scott Prize in Women’s History from the
Organization of American Historians (OAH), the Herbert G. Gutman Prize
of the Labor and Working Class History Association (LAWCHA), and
the John Heinz Award of the National Academy of Social Insurance
(NASI). She is regularly published in the national media and has twice
been recognized by the White House with invitations to meet with
President Obama’s senior policy advisors. Presentation title:
Yinzer Nation + Education = Yinzercation: The Grassroots Movement in Pittsburgh, PA.
2:10 p.m. EDU4 with Ruth Powers Silverberg and Diayu Suzuki
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Daiyu
Suzuki is a former schoolteacher, a Fulbright Scholar from Japan, and
the co-founder of Edu4. Currently a doctoral student at Teachers College
at Columbia University, his research explores the trivialization of the
teacher and the truncation of teaching and learning in the U.S.
neoliberal educational landscape. Reflecting on his own intense
relationship with a mentor teacher during the 7 years that he taught in a
public junior high school in Japan, his research pursues one guiding
question: “What does it mean to have a teacher?”
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Ruth
Powers Silverberg is Associate Professor of Education at the College of
Staten Island, CUNY, where she coordinates the Post Masters Advanced
Certificate Program for Leadership in Education. She received her
doctorate from Hofstra University after serving public and private
schools for 25 years in early childhood and music classrooms and as an
assistant principal. Since connecting with anti-corporate education
activist groups in 2010, Ruth has devoted her time to opposing the
privatization of public education, including preparing critical school
leaders, critiquing local and national reform policies, and coordinating
the Edu4 Parent-Scholar Collaboration for Educational Justice Working
Group.
Edu4 is an education initiative that seeks to create and maintain
public spaces to attract, organize, and coordinate diverse educators and
other concerned citizens resisting the multi-layered attack on public
education. Edu4 has expanded quickly within the U.S. and beyond, and now
consists of about 500 educators, including scholars, teachers, school
administrators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens.
2:40 p.m. Mic check, music, art, PE, library or social time
3:00 p.m. Philip Arnold
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Phillip Arnold is a veteran educator with twenty years experience teaching fifth and second grade. He is also the founder of
Educators AGAINST Tony Bennett.
He began this page in 2010 as an “angry” educator wanting to vent about
Tony Bennett and his extremist tactics and overwhelming policies. The
page grew to be a statewide movement for educators, parents,
grandparents, and PUBLIC ed. supporters to take him out during the 2012
elections. Since November the page has taken on a new role with a
nationwide mission to prevent Tony Bennett from becoming a National
disaster for Public Education as he makes his way to Florida. Phillip
has changed the FB page name to: Citizens Against Tony Bennett and he
will use this page to support citizens in organizing and fighting
Bennett’s corporate education agenda. Presentation title:
Grassroots – Using Social Media to Move Mountains.
3:20 p.m. Nancy Carlsson-Paige
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Nancy
Carlsson-Paige is Professor Emerita at Lesley University where she
taught teachers for more than 30 years and was a founder of the
University’s Center for Peaceable Schools. She is the author of five
books and many articles and op eds on a variety of education and
parenting topics. Her most recent book is called
Taking Back Childhood: A Proven Roadmap for Raising Confident, Creative, Compassionate Kids.
A strong advocate for public education, Nancy is a critic of current
education reforms that promote standardized tests and the privatization
of schools. Nancy has received numerous awards for her leadership and
advocacy in early childhood and peace education. She advocates for
justice in education, the equal right of every child to a high quality
education. Presentation title:
Ed Policy Gone Wrong: How Young Kids Get Hurt.
3:45 p.m. Planning Time
4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks from United Opt Out National
Day Three – April 6: The Battle for Public Schools
9:00 a.m. Opening remarks from United Opt Out National
9:20 a.m. Ankur Singh
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Ankur
Singh is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has
taken his second semester off to travel the country to make a
documentary about the affects of high-stakes testing on students. When asked what he will speak about this was Ankur’s response: “Title:
As a direct result of high-stakes testing Ankur Singh is too uncreative to come up with a title for his speech.
Education has become so politicized that the vague rhetoric used causes
the people it is meant to be for, us students, to fall through the
cracks ignored. No longer are we seen as individuals, but as test scores
and statistics.”
9:40 a.m. Change the Stakes
Change the Stakes is a group of parents, teachers and other concerned
citizens exposing the damaging effects of commercial high-stakes testing
for students, teachers, schools and communities. They actively oppose
punitive testing in New York City. They believe high-stakes testing must
be replaced by educationally-sound and balanced forms of student,
teacher, and school assessment.
Change the Stakes is an affiliate of the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM-NYC).
10:10 a.m. Mic check, music, art, PE, or visit the library – your choice
10:40 a.m. Matt Farmer
Matt Farmer is a Chicago Public Schools parent. In the lead-up to one of Matt’s recent
education-related TV appearances, a local host introduced him as “Matt Farmer –
musician,
rabble-rouser,
attorney, blogger, just kind of a general
in-your-face kind of guy.” Matt
writes frequently about education for The Huffington Post.
11:00 a.m. Michelle Strater Gunderson
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Michelle
has worked for the Chicago schools for 20 years and is a fourth grade
teacher. She is a member of CORE (caucus of rank and file educators),
and a doctoral student at Loyola University, where she is studying
Curriculum and Instruction. Presentation title:
Chicago Teachers Union, Organizing Building by Building.
11:30 a.m. LUNCH, mic check, recess, and socialize
12:30 p.m. Bess Altwerger and Rick Meyer
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Bess
is a founding member of Save Our Schools, a current Steering Committee
member, and a key organizer of the summer 2011 SOS rally, march and
conference in Washington, DC. As a former elementary teacher, longtime
teacher educator/researcher, and lifelong education activist, Bess has
devoted her life’s work to exposing and opposing the inequities and
injustices of U.S. public education. She has worked with teachers on the
Navajo reservation, in the barrios of NM and AZ, and in urban school
districts in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states to support
multicultural/multilingual, democratic and child-centered education.
Bess has published and presented widely on the negative impact of
federal policies on our schools and classrooms, particularly in the area
of literacy. Her books include
Reading for Profit: How the Bottom Line Leaves Kids Behind, which
exposes the corporate agenda behind federal literacy policies and the
negative impact of mandated commercial reading programs on the literacy
development of young children in urban schools.
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Rick
Meyer is a professor at the University of New Mexico where he teaches
courses in reading process, family literacy research, and writing. He
taught young children for almost twenty years before earning his
doctorate at the University of Arizona. Rick is committed to progressive
literacy practices and works to help children, teachers, and families
understand the importance of identity, relationships, power, and agency
in every literacy activity in which they engage. Rick has authored nine
books (most recently “Reclaiming Reading”), many articles, and many
chapters. He is the immediate past president of the Center for the
Expansion of Language and Thinking (CELT) and current president of the
Whole Language Umbrella (WLU). WLU is the only worldwide progressive
literacy organization; WLU holds a yearly conference at which educators
and supporters of public education advocate, share strategies, and plan
actions. Rick is also an active member of the Latino Education Task
Force in New Mexico and secretary of a parent activist group. He was one
of the organizers of the Save Our Schools march, rally, conference, and
congress held in summer 2011. Rick is also the father of two beautiful
children and grandfather of three. Presentation title:
Hijacked: The Corporate Take Over of Literacy Learning in Our Schools.
1:00 p.m. Lois Weiner
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Lois
Weiner is a professor of education at New Jersey City University. She
brings to her wide-ranging scholarship on urban teaching and teacher
unionism first-hand experience, as a classroom teacher and union
officer. Her first book “Preparing Teachers for Urban School” was
honored by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for its
contribution to research on teacher education. Her newest book, “
The future of our schools: Teachers unions and social justice,”
published by Haymarket Press, analyzes how US teachers can turn back
the global project that is reshaping education to suit the demands of
transnational corporations. Presentation:
The future of our schools: Why we need transformed teachers unions and how to get them.
Professor Weiner will analyze why teachers committed to social justice
need to unite the energy for teaching with efforts to create social
movement teachers unions. Drawing on research, her experience as a
public school teacher, and as a union activist, she will outline why the
future of public education depends on a new social movement of teachers
developing alliances with parents and communities to push back on:
privatization, deprofessionalizaton of teaching, and the tyranny of
standardized testing.
1:20 p.m. Sue Schutt and Jean Schutt-McTavish: NYC High School Administrators
Sue Schutt and Jean Schutt-McTavish are sisters from New Jersey. They
are both education activists and NYC high school administrators in
“high needs” schools. Jean has 2 children she opts out of high stakes
tests. These NYC Principals will speak about the difference between high
stakes test driven “reform” and authentic education for democracy.
1:40 p.m. Pamela Lewis
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Pamela
Lewis is an educator, writer and activist currently living and working
in the South Bronx. A native Bronxite and product of the urban public
school system, Pamela’s commitment to the children in which she teaches
runs deep. As a servant of her community, Pamela uses both teaching and
writing platforms as a means to improve, empower or educate its members,
as well as others about the people, culture and needs of her
community. Her presentation,
Teaching with the Enemy,
denounces the current vilification of teachers in today’s public
schools. She further explains how teacher attacks and current approaches
to school reform not only diminish the quality of teaching but serve as
distractions to the real reasons behind the achievement gap.
2:00 p.m. Helen Moore
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Helen
Moore has been a life-long advocate and warrior for the children of
Detroit, beginning with her days as a State of Michigan Social Worker
and continuing with Black Parents for Quality Education and The Keep the
Vote No Takeover Coalition. She is also a member of Detroit’s Council
of Elders.
Ms. Moore educates her community on school district policy, student
rights, and other education-related legal issues and parental
involvement efforts. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State
University and a juris doctorate from the Detroit College of Law. In
2002, she was presented with the Michigan Association of School
Administrators Region 10 “Champion for Children” award.
During activist Mary Shoemaker’s funeral, Ms. Moore recalled their
battles as social workers and militant members of UAW Local 6000. “I was
a union steward,” said Ms. Moore. “Mary and I with the others fought
the state over our building conditions and the racism there. Even though
they were writing us up like crazy, we won.”
Ms. Moore’s fighting spirit continued during the struggles against
state takeovers of the Detroit Public Schools. In 1999, she co-founded
Keep the Vote No Takeover (KTVNT), which fought former Gov. John
Engler’s takeover of Detroit’s schools. The takeover resulted in massive
school closings, privatization and corruption. Moore was the lead
plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against it, which went all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
She led many protests in Detroit, at the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court in
Cincinnati, and in Washington, D.C. at the Supreme Court. Although the
Court ruled against KTVNT, she continued her activism at school board
meetings during that takeover period, protesting the actions of that
board, even being hauled out, brutalized and arrested by DPS police.
Ms. Moore has remained active in the current battles against DPS
Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, state legislation granting
unlimited powers to EFM’s, and Governor Rick Snyder’s budget cuts.
2:20 p.m. Stephen Krashen
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Stephen
Krashen is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of
Southern California. He is best known for developing the first
comprehensive theory of second language acquisition, introducing the
concept of sheltered subject matter teaching, and as the co-inventor of
the Natural Approach to foreign language teaching. He has also
contributed to theory and application in the area of bilingual
education, and has done important work in the area of reading. He was
the 1977 Incline Bench Press champion of Venice Beach and holds a black
belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is the author of The Power of Reading
(Heinemann, 2004, second edition), Explorations in Language and Use
(Heinemann, 2003) and co-author, with Jim Crawford, of English Learners
in American Classrooms (Scholastic, 2007). His recent papers can be
found at
http://www.sdkrashen.com. Presentation title & description:
The Case Against the Common Core:
The movement for national standards and tests is based on these claims:
(1) Our educational system is broken, as revealed by US students’
scores on international tests; (2) We must improve education to improve
the economy; (3) To improve education, we must have national standards
and national tests that enforce the standards. Each of these claims is
false, and that the common core movement ignores the real problem:
Poverty. The billions to be spent on standards and unnecessary and
excessive testing should be used to protect children against the effects
of poverty.
3:00 p.m. March to the White House (details to follow)
6:30 p.m. St. Stephens for dinner, planning and socializing (details to follow)
Day 4 - Sunday: The Battle for Public Schools
9:00 a.m. Opening remarks from United Opt Out National
9:20 a.m. Faya Rose Saunders (details to follow)
9:40 a.m. Dave Greene and Nikhil Goyal
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David
Greene taught Social Studies and coached in NYC, Woodlands HS,
Scarsdale HS, and Ardsley HS since 1970. Retired from teaching in 2008,
he presently is a member of WISE Services, an organization that helps
high schools create and run experiential learning programs for seniors.
He is also the treasurer of Save Our Schools March Committee. He blogs
as
dcgmentor.com and has spoken on the hidden truths of TFA at both the first SOS march and Convention in 2011 and
Occupy DOE
last year. He is also currently working on a book tentatively titled,
So You Think You Know Education? A Teacher’s Perspective.
Nikhil Goyal,
age 17, is the author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s
Assessment of School by the Alternative Education Resource
Organization. An international speaker, Nikhil has spoken at NBC, Dell,
Cisco, Fast Company, M.I.T., Florida International University, College
of the North Atlantic, and other conferences around the world. He is
also a guest lecturer at Baruch College. Nikhil currently serves on the
board of FairTest. Dave and Nikhil’s title presentation:
Reinventing American High Schools, One Size Does not Fit All. Student-author
and teacher-mentor team up to discuss how to revolutionize American
schools and spree creativity and the love of learning within young
people.
10:10 a.m. Denisha Jones
Denisha Jones
is a visiting assistant professor at Howard University. She teaches
courses in early childhood education and serves as a mentor for action
research projects. Denisha is interested in protecting public education
as a right, not a privilege. Title and description of presentation:
The De-professionalization of Teaching: Is the Role of Traditional Higher Education Teacher Preparation Programs on the Decline?
Traditionally, teachers have been trained at public and private four
year colleges and universities. However, with the growth of charter
schools we have seen an influx in business oriented models offering
expedited pathways to become a teacher. This presentation will examine
how many states have adopted for-profit and other alternative
certification programs and the impact these programs can have on
preserving public education as a right, not a privilege.
10:30 a.m. Tom Poetter
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Tom Poetter is Professor of Curriculum Studies at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. His book
The Education of Sam Sanders
(2006, Hamilton Books), a novel set in 2029 about the future of public
education, anticipates the anti-democratic, corporate takeover that is
already underway! He is the founder of
TRAAN (Teacher Resistance and Action Network), whose annual meeting is held in Oxford this year on May 4. Presentation title:
You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide!
10:50 a.m. Stephanie Rivera
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Stephanie
is a junior at Rutgers University, a future life-long educator, and a
fighter for quality education for all. She is one of four founders of
Students United for Public Education (SUPE) and runs her own blog at:
teacherunderconstruction.com.
11:20 a.m. LUNCH, mic check, recess, and socialize
12:20 p.m. United Opt Out National Administrators: How We Organized
12:50 p.m. Brian Jones
Brian Jones
is a teacher and doctoral student in New York City, and a member of the
Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), the social justice caucus
of the United Federation of Teachers. He co-narrated the film, The
Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, and contributed to the
book, Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation.
Presentation title and description:
What Will It Take to Save Our Schools?
The struggle over the future of public education has escalated on both
sides. Those who favor privatization have been able to dismantle entire
school systems in major American cities. Those who fight to defend and
improve public education have been galvanized by the Chicago Teacher’s
strike and the test boycott initiated by teachers at Garfield High
School in Seattle. Brian Jones will discuss lessons from these and other
battles in the war to save our schools.
1:10 p.m. Chris Cerrone
Chris Cerrone
is a husband, parent of two elementary school children, veteran middle
school teacher, community volunteer and youth sports coach in Western
New York. As a parent, Chris is an opt out organizer in New York
State. Chris also is a member of the Hamburg Teachers’ Association
which recently was one of only five districts in New York State which
did not agree to a teacher evaluation system using student test scores
as a factor. Presentation title and description:
Standing up to carrot/stick policies.
Educators and parents need to fight the federal and state policies
which create a climate of fear in order to achieve compliance.
1:30 p.m. Sherick Hughes
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Dr.
Sherick Hughes is an Associate Professor with tenure at The University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a former public school teaching
assistant, G3 Teacher of urban youth in foster care, and a member of the
NC-ERC, the former education research wing of Governor Jim Hunt’s
Education Cabinet. His research, teaching, and service have earned him
leadership roles in the national Save Our Schools movement and
recognition from Phi Delta Kappa, the Harvard Family Involvement Network
of Educators, AESA, AERA, and Border Crossers-New York City.
Presentation title:
Why We Can’t Wait.
1:50 p.m. Final mic check of Occupation
2:00 p.m. Deborah Meier
Deborah Meier
is a senior scholar at NYU’s Steinhardt School, and Board member of the
Coalition of Essential Schools, FairTest, SOS and Dissent and The
Nation magazines. She spent 45 years working in K-12th grade public
schools in New York City (East Harlem) and Boston (Roxbury) including
leadership of several highly successful small democratically run public
urban schools–the Central Park East schools and Mission Hill. Her books
include The Power of Their Ideas and In Schools We Trust. In 1987 she
was the first educator to receive a McArthur “genius” Award and
currently blogs for Ed Week with Pedro Noguera (
Bridging Differences).
2:30 p.m. Closing remarks from United Opt Out National administrators
Additional details regarding the occupation:
The occupation is held right outside the Dept. of Ed. in D.C. at 400
Maryland Ave, SW , Washington, DC, 20202. We have permits to be there.
Please rsvp
here.
United Opt Out National Administrators will be staying at the
Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol, which is in close proximity to the Dept. of Ed. If you need roommates please post requests on our
FB group page and our
Occupy DOE in DC page.
Should you decide to stay at the Holiday Inn and you are a public
school teacher be sure to request the state employee rate which is
approximately $220.00 per night and can be divided between four
roommates! There are many other hotels, bed & breakfasts, etc.,
please post requests on the pages mentioned above for more information.
Free sleeping is available at St. Stephen beginning
the evening of April 3rd for those arriving the night before, as well as
through Sunday morning, April 7th. Please read for more information:
http://www.saintstephensdc.org/Sleeping_Info.html
We are also lucky to have livestream once again by
Vincent Precht (Califather). Please check out his
excellent work from last year’s occupation.
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Our
goal this year is to educate and share successful actions that we can
take back to our communities and implement immediately to fight
corporate education reform. Also, we are committed to our belief that
the narrative must change – we must reclaim public education and
preserve and improve real teaching, real learning and acknowledge the
importance of social and civic education as a right and a necessary
component to caring communities within public schools. The business
model of education is cold and defined by numbers. Education is messy.
Teaching and learning are messy and involve human beings who must be
nurtured and supported as individuals
who will be the future citizens of our country.
We cannot minimize human beings to “numbers” or “data” and we cannot
attach high stakes to these numbers; this is harmful to our children,
our educators, our schools, our community and our democracy. We are much
more – come to D.C. and hear us roar. We are here to DEMAND that
education policy meet the needs of children, not corporate interests.
We DEMAND an END to high stakes testing and other fear-based punitive
policies. We are here to TAKE BACK the narrative around public
education; it’s time to replace sound bites and spin with truth and
reality. We are here to make the voices of children and teachers HEARD.
JOIN US and make your voice heard too.
See you this April,
United Opt Out National Administrators