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CER LEADERS FORUM SHOWCASES
LOCAL REFORM EFFORTS  
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(Washington, DC 4/4/01) Education reform may be on the front-burner in the nation's capital, but a diverse and concerted effort by grassroots reformers is critical to making change happen throughout the country. The hard work of local reformers - from parents to local school board members -- is sustaining the demands for national reform. "It is unlikely that the real advances with charter schools, school choice and certainly standards would be happening at the state or national levels were it not for people toiling at the local level. We call it the great work of the grassroots," said CER president Jeanne Allen.

The Center for Education Reform was proud to host a day-long event - Lessons from the Front: Grassroots Spring into Action - bringing together local reformers making headway in their communities and states. With the help of lead sponsor Dan Spalding, CEO of School Specialty, Inc., the nine talked with a Washington audience of more than 100 to discuss their reform accomplishments, the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned.

Charting the Course - New School Choices for Children
Grassroots leaders from Washington state and Maryland shared their experience in moving their states to act on passing charter schools laws. Jim and Fawn Spady, Co-Founders of the Education Excellence Coalition in Washington state talked about their "journey" to activism when, upon enrolling their son in school, were told that the school had "tried parent participation last year, it didn't work so we dropped it." That was when they determined that they would not "sacrifice their children to the system." It began a 6-year quest (and still counting) into finding alternatives for their family and numerous families who felt the same way, "Public schools aren't supposed to be for those who can't afford private schools - public schools are supposed to be for everyone and really improve education for kids." The Spady's became the hub of a very active network of concerned parents who sparked 2 state-wide charter school ballot initiatives and numerous attempts at getting a law passed in the Washington state legislature. With no law yet, the Spady's vow to "keep on keeping on."

Leslie Mansfield, Founder of the Center for Charter Schools in Frederick County (Maryland) shared her entry into the world of grassroots activism when she tried to get her child's nursery school to extend its program to elementary grades. She was surprised at the opposition from different quarters when she and her growing band of parents started their push for charters. They were successful in getting the Frederick County Board to adopt a charter policy and have plans to open a school in two years. She remains active in the fight to bring a charter law to Maryland.

Janice Womack, a founder of Wyoming Citizens for Educational Choice described their efforts in promoting a change to Wyoming's charter law that could actually result in charters! After creating a large network of parents, they found that "if we were to accomplish our goals, we were going to have to get political ourselves. The powerful monopolistic nature of the system needs to be changed." Womack also voiced a common theme heard again and again from each panel that "the desire for educational choice truly does cross philosophical, economical, religious and political lines. Everyone needs to understand that better education for children - all children -- is a laudable goal."

Raising the Bar - The Quest for Accountability
From Virginia in the south to Massachusetts in the north and California to the west, setting standards and making them stick is no easy task. Our panelists represented the many sides to getting and keeping good standards. Paul Clopton, Founder of Mathematically Correct turned his efforts into improving the math content standards for the state of California. Their efforts have raised the bar and improved educational opportunities for California school children. "In California, we have standards that have been rated #1 in math in the country. Most of the standards we have are not very good. In California we have taken the word standards back. Standards now mean what we wrote for the state's standards." Clopton's advice to the group, "No matter how tired you are ... keep on fighting."

John MacDonald, School Board Member from Middleborough, Massachusetts talked about education reform and said that, "Education reform has caused us to study - study the education in general, the funding, what we're teaching, how we're teaching it and to study accountability." He discussed the current controversy surrounding the state's high stakes test the MCAS and, defending the test saying, "If you take away the high stakes component you take away the effectiveness of education reform in the state."

Karen Jones-Budd of Virginia is a leader of Parents and Students Supporting the Standards of Learning (SOL). She talked about her entry into the world of education reform activism after her dissatisfaction with the math curriculum in her children's schools. She shared her experience in fighting against the adoption of "fuzzy" textbooks and defends Virginia's high standards. "If we have standards, strong standards, and if our tests and assessments match those standards and if we have accountability in the right place, we will eventually get good test scores."

Making Choice an Option - Good Schools for All Children
Evidence mounts daily on the effectiveness of vouchers in getting both schools to react and children to succeed. Our choice panelists were able to share their experiences, goals and successes with those assembled. Panelist Gail Foster, Founder of the Toussaint Institute talked about her movement into the school choice arena when she found parent after parent who were unhappy with their children's schools and unable to leave them. She was able to set up a network of support for these parents to find other options. She urged any grassroots group to make sure they know their community and by doing that you can provide them with the information that will lead to empowerment.

Cary Stidham, School Board Member of Escambia County (Florida) talked about the impact Florida's Opportunity Scholarships have had on the community since two of Escambia's schools became the state's first and only schools to be eligible for Opportunity Scholarships under Governor Jeb Bush's A+ Plan. Because of that, she said that "Our students did improve and will continue to improve."

Kaleem Caire, Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Educational Options shared the BAEO story and what lead to its formation. He discussed the importance of information and the importance that in the balance of power between parents and teachers, parents should hold the power. In impassioned remarks he told those assembled that, "We must radically redefine public education in this country in the ways that meet the needs of our children and our families. If you give parents a choice, you give kids a chance. We're going to win this fight. We're ready."

The luncheon featured remarks by Beth Ann Bryan, Senior Advisor to Education Secretary Rod Paige. Ms. Bryan spoke of the challenges facing education reformers in Washington, and reviewed the reform legislation supported by Secretary Paige and President Bush.

Stated one participant: The Forum "pumped up the tires of everyone in the room. It's really an inspiration ... the amount of hard work that continues around the country." CER was able to provide this forum thanks to the generosity of sponsors School Specialty Inc., Chancellor Academies, LearnNow and SABIS Educational Systems.

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More info on 2001 LEADERS FORUM AGENDA

To view coverage of the event go to:Activists Trade Tales from Charter Wards, Education Week April 4, 2001.

Panelist Dr. Gail Foster presented dramatic testimony recently on school choice before the House Education and Workforce Committee. For the full text go to: www.capenet.org/new.html.

Photos from the visit to DC Charter schools: Click here for Hyde Leadership Public Charter School and Dupont Park Adventist School tours

Click here for LEADERS FORUM 1999

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The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.

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