The 2014 Parent Power Index (PPI) rankings are here! The 2014 rankings reveal that most states are still below average, and there is much work to be done when it comes to giving parents fundamental power over their child’s education.
The education scorecard below reveals state summary data, while full state-by-state details, including methodology, can be found at parentpowerindex.com.
Download or print your PDF copy of the 2014 Parent Power Index Scoring Rubric here.
Deborah Simmons, The Washington Times
The first occurred several years back, when Mr. Hense discovered there were no D.C. license plates in a Northern Virginia parking lot filled with science and technology experts and other professionals.
That sight led to vision No. 2: Build a high-tech school for D.C. kids, and they will come.
Well, that vision will produce the first graduates of the Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy in 2015.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the brand-spanking-new schoolhouse was held Wednesday, and prior to that students attended classes in an adjacent school building. And what an eye-stunner the new building is. (Disclaimer: I served as emcee for the ceremony on Wednesday and toured the school.)
Every square inch of Tech Prep is state-of-the-art, focusing on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) — including environmental science — as no D.C. school has done before it.
An $18 million price tag. Two biology labs. Two chemistry labs. A robotics lab. A rooftop greenhouse. Innovative teachers. Inquisitive students. Parent-infused leadership and faculty.
Even the kitchen facilities are top-notch.
While there’s no chalk dust flying about classrooms, the technology, whiteboards and projectors left more than one parent saying, “Nothing like when I was in school.”
This is what they want for their children, and their children deserve it: a high-quality teaching and learning environment.
Two generations ago, Tech Prep was unthinkable. D.C. had just gained home rule authority in 1974, and academic achievement was sliding while political one-upmanship was a sign of the times. By the 1980s crack and its senseless violence grabbed headlines while academics slid off everyone’s radar screens.
After the turn of the century, public schools had become warehouses, while charters began sprouting up everywhere and being maligned for competing. Sure, McKinley Tech was brought online, but today, as the city closes traditional schools for any drummed-up reason, charters surge ahead.
Indeed, Tech Prep is even located in an auspicious community — an up-and-coming neighborhood where mentally ill patients of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, drug dealers, panhandlers and ne’er-do-wells used to ply the area because no one was watching.
Now its Southeast neighbors are the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, and IT industry projects are on the horizon. The potential for partnerships is high, and the location — near Metro stations, major roadways (I-295 and the Beltway) and a gateway corridor (MLK Jr. Avenue) — means transportation is a good draw as well.
Mr. Hense had that first vision that I mentioned.
TJ, as it is commonly called, just this month was named the nation’s best magnet school by Newsweek (again) and is a perennial high-ranking high school with U.S. News & World Report. TJ is a mecca for geeks and nerds, and we need to send up prayers that Tech Prep students and faculty do as well, if not better.
I got a glimpse of what’s going on in a Tech Prep robotics class, where teacher Joshua Brown, a Howard University grad with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, and several pairs of students were bent over texts and working with their hands. A student explained their assignment as I nodded and smiled — then giggled outside the classroom, thinking “The Big Bang Theory: Next Generation.”
To be sure, parents, faculty and other supporters need to flank Mr. Hense and Tech Prep right now. Anti-school choice and anti-charter elements are on the prowl this election year. They think charters take top-drawer students and money from traditional schools, and they say charters are winning
the enrollment numbers race. Their goal is to strangle public charter schools with as much red tape as possible.
What they should realize is that Mr. Hense is showing them the way with Tech Prep, and that all charter schools ask for is a level playing field for charter students.
We’ll have to wait and see if Tech Prep makes the best-of lists in the next couple of years. What’s certain right now is that Tech Prep is a game changer, raising the bar on teaching and learning.
Tori Fater, Indiana Daily Student
More than 29,000 people submitted applications to enroll with vouchers during the 2014-15 school year, Department of Education Spokesman Daniel Altman said.
Not everyone who submitted an application is guaranteed a voucher, but the quantity of applications this year is still an increase over the close to 19,800 Indiana students enrolled using vouchers in the 2013-14 school year.
Through the program, parents can apply to direct a portion of the state funding that would pay for their child’s education to a school of their choosing instead. Some parents use the voucher funding to enroll their children at a private or charter school.
According to the Center for Education Reform, a pro-voucher organization, the number of students in Indiana’s voucher program has doubled each year since it was instituted.
Indiana’s voucher program was passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2011. Conditions for eligibility are considered less strict than in other state programs, partly because students can be eligible whether or not they are currently attending a failing school, according to the Center for Education Reform.
According to the Indiana Department of Education, Indiana students ages five to 22 have several different claims to receive a voucher, including financial need, disability, attending a failing school or having received a voucher the previous year.
The CER recently named Indiana’s Choice Scholarships program the top state voucher program in the country for its flexible requirements and capacity.
CER Communications Director Michelle Tigani said she believes voucher programs allow parents to make the best decision about their children’s education.
“It means that private schools are no longer off-limits or out of reach for families who feel a private school would be best for their child,” Tigani said. “It provides access and opportunity for families.”
She said she believes the best voucher program would be available to all students in the state and would not have a cap own the number of vouchers that could be issued.
Vic Smith of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, a nonprofit group against privatizing schools, disagrees.
“It takes away money from the public school,” Smith said.
An expansion of the program in 2013 meant students did not have to attend public school before applying for a voucher for private school tuition.
Smith said this meant 7,000 students who received vouchers last year were not transferring away from a public school but already attending private school.
“The savings to the state comes when students are at a public school and they transfer to a lower-cost private school,” Smith said.
In addition to this, the voucher program has received criticism because it indirectly provides some public funds to private schools that were founded on religious principles, according to an article published in the IDS in February 2014. Smith said that, in addition to the economic issues, this is why ICPE doesn’t support the voucher program.
“It’s not a choice that taxpayers should make, to provide a religious education,” Smith said. “We believe public schools are available for everybody and should be supported strongly so everybody can go.”
The Department of Education will release full numbers on the number of vouchers granted for the 2014-2015 school year in mid-October, Altman said.
Blake Neff, The Daily Caller
York, Penn., desperate to turn around major holes in its budget and major shortfalls in academic achievement, is considering the drastic step of turning every school in the city into a charter school run by one of two for-profit companies.
To do so, however, it will have to overcome major resistance from both parents and organized labor.
York, which already has several small charters in operation, is considering hiring one of two charter school companies, Mosaica Education or Charter Schools USA, to take over all of the city’s remaining schools starting next year.
The measure is primarily driven by York’s failing finances and subsequent efforts to negotiate with the town’s teachers’ union. David Meckley, the state-appointed chief recovery officer for the school district, says without a new collective bargaining agreement with local teachers, the city simply won’t have the money to run the schools in a suitable way.
Despite the prospective takeover potentially costing dozens of teachers their jobs, so far the union has held firm, resisting possible changes that were initially agreed upon in a school district recovery plan. Instead, teachers are hitting back hard by trying to harness public sentiment against the “charterization” of the city.
Several hundred people rallied Wednesday night to oppose the plan. Protesters said that an all-charter system would make York’s children “guinea pigs” in a radical experiment and argued that such a system would make a mockery of the “school choice” typically advocated by charter proponents.
Clovis Gallon, one of York’s teachers, told a local Fox News broadcast that he couldn’t trust anybody “in it to make money” to run the city’s education system.
The battle has drawn in some major players in organized labor, with National Education Association vice president Becky Pringle participating in Wednesday’s rally.
Charter school advocates, such as the Center for Education Reform, argue that for-profit firms can do little worse than the current regime has already done running York’s schools. Besides its recurring budget troubles, the city’s schools have persistently failed to achieve yearly progress mandated by No Child Left Behind, and a ranking of Pennyslvania’s approximately 500 school districts conducted by a state business journal placed York almost dead last.
Defenders counter that York has suffered worse than most from draconian spending cuts at the state level, as well as from wider societal issues of poverty and inequality.
An all-charter system is not without precedent in the United States. Last spring, Louisiana’s Recovery School District, which operates most public schools in the city of New Orleans, closed its last conventional public schools and shifted to an all-charter model.
Matt Carmel, New York Post
We’ve all heard the jokes about students taking courses in “basket-weaving.” It’s not so funny when your kid’s school actually forces him to take one.
My son, Kalman, just started 10th grade at Columbia HS in Maplewood, NJ — which is supposed to be a pretty good public school. But it’s making him waste his time on basket-weaving.
OK, the official name of this art class is “Fibers.” But the Web site — and all the pictures of knitted baskets — make it clear that title is just, uh, spin.
And despite all my huffing, puffing and foot-stamping, Kalman has to take it. You can imagine how my blood boiled.
This past summer, Kalman skipped sleep-away camp — where he could’ve swum, sailed and launched pantie raids on the girl’s bunk line — so he could take 10th-grade math in summer school and qualify for 11th-grade math this year. With an eye on majoring in engineering at college, he wanted to get a leg up.
The basket-weaving requirement doesn’t exactly send a message of support.
Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate the arts — even fabrics and fibers, if not baskets. My dad worked in haute couture women’s fashion in the Garment District; I grew up in a home littered with Chagall prints, sculptures and early American furniture — plus model ships I built. I even have a portfolio of my own.
But that’s not what school should be about — certainly not a required course. It should be about giving our kids the tools they need to become successful entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, researchers, doctors, lawyers (well, let’s stop at doctors).
That means a focus on the sciences, math, English, history and other traditional courses. Not laudable — yet wholly dispensable — esoterica, the kind of thing kids can do on their own time.
The waste of valuable class time is only more infuriating when you’re paying $18,000 a year in property taxes — much of it for the public schools.
It gets worse: When I took my complaints to school officials, a seasoned interference-runner tried to cheer me up by saying, “Don’t worry — it’s an easy class!”
Not exactly what a father who wants his son to be challenged, to get the best education possible, wants to hear.
The general public, particularly taxpayers, will also be troubled to learn that students are being taught that their education isn’t something they need to work hard at.
Next, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Susan Grierson, told me the district wants “well-rounded” students.
“The district wants”: Who’s working for who, here?
I don’t need a well-rounded son who can’t get a job. I’ll take a triangular son who can earn a good living and can afford to round himself out later. (And, I hope, with something that tops basket-weaving.)
Fine, so schools all over the nation have art-class requirements. That just means the whole country’s taking an unserious approach to education.
This, when world competition is on the rise — particularly in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
The Programme for International Student Assessment is a key global measure of academic achievement among 15-year-olds (my son’s age).
On the latest test, American kids performed below average in math, ranking 27th out of the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. We also ranked 17th in reading, 20th in science.
Then again, we did beat Kazakhstan (take that, Borat!).
China ranked No. 1 in math. If the top Chinese kids have to take basket-weaving courses, I’ll eat my hat (my well-rounded son can weave me one) in Macy’s window.
True, I’m just a parent. But folks in the field share my horror. Kara Kerwin, president of the DC-based Center for Education Reform, laughed out loud when I told her about Kalman’s class. Another expert called it “crazy.”
As for Kalman, he’s now in his third week of basket-weaving class. We’re dealing with it — and I’m confident he’ll stick to his engineering dreams, despite the obstacles his school puts before him.
But I also know this: If America is to retain its economic edge, our attitude toward education needs to get a whole lot more serious.
THE FIELD GUIDE TO EDUCATION REFORM:
HOW TO SPOT A REAL EDUCATION REFORMER
These days, everyone is “for” education reform. But when everyone claims to favor “reform,” how can you tell the real reformers (“the doers” who are focused on real results for students) from the rest (“the talkers” who are more concerned about maintaining the status quo)? The answer is, listen carefully to what they say and observe closely what they do!
One of the most important things you can do as a parent or advocate for children is to stay informed on education issues and specifically your elected officials views and actions on education reform. In order to advance education, it’s vital to take time to spot the real reformers and seek out candidates that share your views, regardless of party or politics.
Let this toolkit be your guide to determine whether or not a candidate is truly walking the walk, or just talking the talk when it comes to real results for kids.
EDUCATION IN GENERAL
While specific details about what to watch for when candidates discuss certain education issues follows below, first are some general guidelines to spotting a true education reformer.
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
TEACHER UNIONS
When discussing unions, how does the so-called reformer behave?
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
SCHOOL CHOICE
When the so-called reformer talks about “school choices” pull out your binoculars for a close examination!
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
CHARTER SCHOOLS
With over 2.5 million students in charter schools today, charter schools have become a much more commonplace education reform than when they first appeared on the scene in the early 1990’s. The flip side, however, is that figuring out who is a true education reformer when it comes to the topic of charter schools has become more difficult, as charter schools are in danger of being overregulated and loved to death, and are becoming too much like the school system of which they sought to break free.
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
PERFORMANCE PAY
If this so-called reformer talks about “judging teachers based on student improvement,” ask this question: HOW MUCH?
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
Although the newest hot topic from a national perspective is Common Core, during the last few elections it was Race to the Top (RTT), federal waivers and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policies stealing the show. But, because Congress has yet to reauthorize NCLB, don’t be surprised if you hear candidates mention this Bush-era policy.
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
DIGITAL LEARNING
What are this so-called reformer’s policies on digital learning and technology-based instructional delivery?
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
CURRICULUM & STANDARDS
What about what’s taught, not just how it’s taught? Does matter actually matter? Many reformers-in-waiting think it’s about just the teacher, the approach, the infrastructure and not the materials. It is worth finding out more before you start interviewing he-who-loves-standards most but neglects the rest of the conversation.
Real Reformer:
Faux Reformer:
September 24, 2014
Mrs. Margie Orr
President
York City School Board
31 North Pershing Avenue
York, PA 17401
Dear Mrs. Orr:
There’s an old saying that information is power. Yet, I was shocked to learn that very few people showed up last night to the public information hearing the district itself was hosting. I was further outraged by on the ground accounts from parents and the public that the York City School District staff was to blame for discouraging participation in the hearing but encouraging attendance at a rally poised for this evening to defend business as usual.
How can there be an honest debate and the public feel that this elected body has the best interest of its students at heart when its staff is responsible for encouraging the misinformation campaign launched by the very same entities that have put York City Schools in the deplorable academic and financial state it has been in for over five years?
This evening, so-called “thousands” will rally in York with little to no knowledge of what they are rallying against. I ask that this elected body put the interest of students ahead of adults and start working towards solutions that will bring about meaningful change. I also ask that unbiased information about charter schools be shared as actively as this district has worked to proliferate widespread ignorance on this issue.
Performance-based accountability is the hallmark of charter schools and reforms aimed at improving student learning. Performance-based accountability is exactly what the students of York City School District need to ensure success academically and in life.
Unlike all other public schools, charters must be proactive in their efforts to stay open. They must set and meet rigorous academic goals, and actually meet or exceed the state’s proficiency standards. Unlike the traditional public schools that intentionally remain under the radar, charter schools operate under intense scrutiny from teachers unions, the media, and lawmakers. In states with strong charter school laws that allow for objective oversight, it is clear that performance-based accountability is working.
In the $607 billion enterprise that is the U.S. K-12 education system, public-private partnerships have played, and continue to play an integral role. There are over a dozen high-quality management firms that are driven by capital operating in the public school sector. They are building public-private partnerships whose bottom line is for the greater good of the public interest. Their entire business model is predicated on student outcomes. If it’s not, they will lose “business.”
The Center for Education Reform (CER) is serious about educational excellence and why we are proud of the fact that Jon Hage, CEO of Charter Schools USA (CSUSA), is a member of our Board of Directors. CSUSA has an outstanding track record and has achieved outstanding results with all students—particularly low-income and minority students—that are significantly higher than the average academic achievement results for such students in the states where CSUSA operates. In Florida, for example, CSUSA’s net proficiency growth in reading, math, writing and science is almost 10 times higher than the state. Seventy percent of the network’s schools earned A or B grades with over 90 percent of schools maintaining or improving their scores. CSUSA was selected to turnaround several traditional public schools in Indianapolis, and in just one year the schools collectively experienced a 30 percent gain in reading on the state assessment.
Education management organizations bring investment and capital to the communities they serve, creating jobs, innovation, and cost-saving strategies. Most assume great financial risk to build infrastructure and facilities in communities that in any other industry would most likely not be considered ideal or open to business. In fact, like most charter schools, even those in public-private partnerships, they receive on average 30 percent less per pupil than their traditional school peers whose management has no accountability or incentive to improve student outcomes.
Education management organizations serving charter schools bring expertise, capital, quality service, and tremendous job creation to the communities they serve.
Public-private partnerships are important for schools to be successful. I’ve personally seen how these partnerships work first-hand to help local people with great intentions be more successful in turning around student outcomes. I’ve seen results-driven business models transform communities and the lives of children.
York’s families need charter schools that prioritize performance and outputs above all else. To do so, they need to have access to quality providers, regardless of their tax status.
Not all progress is progress and what has occurred over time has sadly been incremental at best in York. I respectfully disagree with the notion that a new negotiated teachers union contract is the answer to your district’s woes academically and financially. There is a perfect storm of opportunities brewing in your community and establishing such reforms would represent a monumental step forward in the improvement of your students’ lives.
I thank you for your time and for your efforts to turn around your failing school system as well as any efforts to turn around the misinformation campaign about charter schools.
Respectfully,
Kara Kerwin
President, Center for Education Reform
Vol. 16, No. 37
TIME FOR A CHANGE. Tomorrow, a cluster of union mouthpieces and status quo proponents are descending on York, PA to protest a much-needed effort to reverse a failing school district. After a year of refusing to make necessary internal changes to improve, York officials are rightfully moving forward with a charter school conversion plan, appreciating the urgency to fix a fledgling system before more kids are deprived of their right to a good education. It’s almost as if the protesters remain blissfully unaware that York City has consistently failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals, as long as their foothold in the district is intact. Make no mistake: Union resistance to change is about power and control, and the old guard will continue to resist even if it means students will have a shot at more and better opportunities. And they’ll continue to use the same old misguided arguments that adults in the charter world merely want to “line their pockets” and aren’t about results for kids, even though charters have proven time and again that their bottom line is about student outcomes.
PARENTS CHALLENGE. There’s no question education would be a lot better off if there was a group like Parents Challenge in every county. In the past decade, the Colorado Springs-based group has helped over 1,600 low-income parents make informed decisions to secure better opportunities for their children. Through informational workshops, school listings, and online resources, Parents Challenge recognizes financial assistance is maximized when parents are educated consumers. Income-eligible families can apply to Parents Challenge for donor-provided scholarships to access the school of their choice. As far as obstacles go, Parents Challenge told Newswire the biggest inhibition is meeting demand among Colorado parents, which isn’t surprising in a state that has room to grow when it comes to parent power, offering zero state-wide school choice programs. But Parents Challenge will continue its good work, and serve as an example of true Parent Power in action.
SOME SCHOLARSHIPS MOVE FORWARD. Approximately 2,000 students already enrolled in North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program are now permitted to receive vouchers following an Appeals Court ruling last Friday. Yes, you read that right: Low-income kids and their families had to receive legal clarification that they were in fact allowed to receive scholarships to which they already had access, and attend schools they already chose. The whole episode speaks to the absurdity of the lawsuit against Opportunity Scholarships pointed out by CER months ago, and how families just want to utilize this opportunity afforded to them. The legal challenge still needs to snake its way through the court system, which means more uncertainty for the future of school choice in North Carolina, a state that could certainly afford to give parents more options with a Parent Power Index score of 70 percent.
THE MISGUIDED BAN. In rather predictable fashion, a group of Michigan lawmakers are calling for a moratorium on charter school creation in reaction to the sensationalized and incredibly biased Detroit Free Press investigative series on charter schools, currently being analyzed by the Media Bullpen to set the record straight. The call for a ban could be construed as genuine, were it not accompanied by the set of shrill talking points that have been around for decades. As CER’s charter law rankings show, Michigan is in fact a model of charter accountability, compelling charters to operate under a strict system of oversight, a concept foreign to traditional public schools. Using their own ‘logic’ – for lack of a better word – lawmakers would need to ban the proliferation of traditional public schools until accountability provisions are put in place, but needless to say, that seems unlikely.
ATHLETICS MEETS ACADEMICS. During National School Choice Week earlier this year, CER had the pleasure of meeting Jay Cammon, a charter student and senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy in D.C. At the time, Jay spoke of his involvement in Friendship’s ‘Early College Academy’ program, allowing him to earn college credit through summer programs at Cornell and Stanford. With the start of football season, Jay is now being recognized as a model student athlete who excels both in the classroom and on the football field. The running back/exceptional student serves as an example to his peers of a student who effectively balances athletics with coursework, something kids across the country attempt to manage. So kudos to Jay for realizing his own ability to succeed, and the types of learning environments that provide for these opportunities.
A HEARTY CONGRATS to Gwinnett Co. Schools in Georgia and Orange Co. in Florida, co-winners of the $1 million Broad Prize For Urban Education, in recognition of their distinct approaches towards improving student achievement.
PARENT POWER. Notice those references to how much power parents have in Colorado and North Carolina? Well stay tuned to find out whether or not your state has improved when it comes to providing parents access to educational options and good information to make smart decisions about their child’s education – CER’s Parent Power Index will be released next week! These new rankings are just in time for elections, so you can vote with an eye towards candidates that will make changes to improve Parent Power, and ultimately, educational outcomes for students!
Danielle Dreilinger, The Times-Picayune
Negotiations are going well in New Orleans’ first collectively bargained teacher contract since Hurricane Katrina, at Benjamin Franklin High School, participants say. Yet despite the initial buzz, it hasn’t sparked copycats.
Larry Carter, president of the United Teachers of New Orleans, said Thursday the labor union is not organizing teachers at any other schools, nor has it been approached by faculty of a particular school. The group had 5,800 members before the 2005 storm and has 530 now, he said. It posted ajob description over the summer for a charter school organizer.
Collectively bargained contracts for teachers are rare in Louisiana, where school boards have the right not to participate. They exist only in St. Tammany, St. John the Baptist, St. Bernard, St. Helena and Vermilion parishes, union leaders said.
Jefferson and Orleans parishes had contracts in the past only because protracted teachers’ strikes forced school boards’ hands, said Les Landon of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, UTNO’s parent organization. Jefferson’s contract ended in 2012; its chapter’s leader is running for a school board seat.
Charter schools are public entities that operate independently of a local school system. Across the United States, the percentage of charters that are unionized fell 5 points to 7 percent in 2012, according to the Center for Education Reform. Indeed, unions and charter school advocates started off at odds, with organized labor saying charters dictated teachers’ working conditions and charters saying unions protected bad teachers and tied administrators’ hands.
Landon said the small size of charter schools is a disincentive to labor organizers. “The same amount of effort that it takes to negotiate a contract with a district, you spend on one school,” he said.
The American Federation of Teachers thinks charters should open admission to all students. Ironically, its only New Orleans chapter is at Franklin, a charter that requires students to pass an entrance test.
Franklin’s board chair, Duris Holmes, acknowledged the friction between charters and unions. “Some of the charter schools feel very strongly, as do we, (to) not be drawn into the old ways,” he said. “But you’ve got to balance that against – here’s my school,” where 87 percent of the teachers signed a petition to unionize.
No one involved in the Ben Franklin contract negotiations would share details, except to say that the contract’s duration is still being debated. The negotiating team, which includes a United Teachers of New Orleans staff member, has met regularly since July.
“Things are moving along well. We are positive about the direction things are going in negotiation,” said Greg Swanson, a Ben Franklin English teacher. The point is “just fairness and a little bit of job security and having a voice. … It’s about making our school better.”
He said the process had opened up a valuable conversation about real issues at the school, and that the union drive had made the board take teachers seriously.
Swanson said he had not heard from other schools considering a union chapter but that individual teachers elsewhere are curious and watching the Franklin process closely. “I think seeds are out there,” he said.
New Orleans’ only other charter school union, at Morris Jeff Community School, is affiliated with the Louisiana Association of Educators. So far, it has chosen not to bargain a contract. Aesha Rasheed, a member of the school’s governance committee, said teachers have gained a formal role in determining changes in school policy.
At schools without a collectively bargained contract, the two Louisiana unions say they offer legal representation, insurance and professional development to members. That includes suing the state to try to throw out Act 1 of 2012, which stripped away most protections of tenure. A state Supreme Court decision on that law is pending.
Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy Ceremonial Opening
On Wednesday September 24, 2014, I had the honor of attending the opening ceremony for the Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. I didn’t know what to expect but I knew from the moment I was greeted with a warm smile by the security and school personnel that I was in for a real treat. It was a very well planned and enthusiastic event.
The newly built school is beautiful, as you quickly notice vivid colors and words of inspiration on the walls as you enter the school. The auditorium was decorated in maroon and white and the seats were filled with media, school leaders, community leaders, parents and students. Everyone was united in the celebration of change, growth and creation of new opportunities for students.
The ceremony opened with presentations from the Friendship Chamberlain Drum Corps and the Friendship Collegiate Academy Leadership team. They stepped, marched, danced and drummed their way into our hearts. Deborah Simmons from the Washington Times was the Mistress of Ceremonies. She wanted us to take note of change right before us as we watched and enjoyed some girls playing non- traditional female instruments.
The principal, Doranna Tindle, gave the Opening Remarks. She was energized and excited for the opportunity to grow leaders and innovators. She wants to see that students “aren’t just using cell phones but they are building cell phones. “ Bishop Cheryl McBride Brown, was captivating as she offered her dedication and words of faith. As if her dedication wasn’t uplifting enough, The Howard University Gospel Choir lifted our spirits even more with two vocal selections and encouraging the students to “Hold On! Change is Coming!”
Ayanna Gregory, a daughter of the civil rights movement and artist, educator and activist, reminded the students that they are “Star People” and everything they need to succeed is inside of them. Dr. Gregory S. Prince , Vice Chairman of the Friendship Public Charter School Board of Trustees was humorous in his greeting but was very serious when it came to the topic of education in America. He believes one of the flaws in our education system is that the ideas are often from the top down. He is thrilled to give students a voice and a chance to make a difference, make a change from the ground up and to help save the education system. We were then greeted by the Honorable Marion Barry, Councilmember, Ward 8. He stated that education has to be a way out of poverty & mediocrity. Every parent ought to have a choice on what school his or her child should attend. The Honorable David A Catania, Councilmember At-Large and mayoral candidate delivered the keynote address. He shared statistics of the number of bachelor degrees, the unemployment rate and family incomes of Ward 3 versus Ward 8 (Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy is in Ward 8). The difference was alarming. He made the point that it was not fair but having a school like Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy is an opportunity to make a change. He said it best when he said; “The price of not getting out of bed <to come to school> is high!”
With much anticipation, Donald L. Hense, Chairman, approached the podium with a rousing round of applause. Strong in his presence, he very humbly acknowledged and thanked the many people who helped support his vision for the newly built Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. After the ceremony, I had a brief opportunity to meet Mr. Hense.
After the program, some of the attendees went on a tour of school, which was led by the students. We had the opportunity to visit some of the classrooms. One of the highlights was seeing the smartwalls. The students and teachers have the opportunity to write and easily erase on the surface while they are teaching and learning. One of the students had mentioned they LOVE that they can do that! It’s cutting edge technology at work!
Rita Burns, Administrative Assistant