Parent Power Growing!

(5th) State Policy Changing
(4th) Reformie Ladies Lunching
(3rd) A Global Hub for Technology
(2nd) Model Legislation
And a Nominee for Opportunity!

The 6th in our 12-ish days of Christmas series, intended to bring gifts to education reformers everywhere!

Parent Power is growing and evolving – not just in practice,
but in the way we think about and talk about what this term means. The lingo may have changed slightly, but the goal is still the same.

Let us explain.

The Center has more than two decades under its belt working to empower parents. And since 1999, CER has been providing Parent Power!, a program aimed at helping parents make sense of schooling. Parent Power! started out as a quarterly magazine, but as the World Wide Web grew, so did Parent Power!  CER has helped develop and network over 10,000 grassroots groups all across the country.

The Parent Power Index is CER’s vision for the next generation of Parent Power!

Why the switch from the alliterative title? Throughout 2016, The Center for Education Reform reenvisioned its focus and mission and began the important work of reframing the debate about education in America. No longer content just to reform education, CER is now dedicated to expanding educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans.

Our vision is a country and states that provide increased, quality educational opportunities that secure our nation’s freedom and future prosperity. At the heart of that prosperity is freedom, and the ability to apply the entrepreneurial spirit of this country to all education, where it is most urgently needed. And at the heart of that freedom is giving parents the fundamental power to choose the kind of education and

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Indeed, paying attention to data and facts is important. But when data and facts are one-sided and lack the bigger picture, it does an injustice to those trying to become educated about an issue.

When it comes to charter schools, there’s still much work to be done when it comes to getting out the facts and truly educating the public.

Take the Black Lives Matter and the NAACP call for a moratorium on charter schools, for example.

“Can’t understand why the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Movement for Black Lives have issued proclamations opposing the expansion of school choice and Parent Power for the very black families for which they proclaim to care?,” writes RiShawn Biddle of Dropout Nation. “The answer can be found in the annual financial statements of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions.”

Black leaders nationwide are pushing back against moratoriums and proclamations against charter school expansion.

“The fact that the NAACP wants a national moratorium on charter schools, many of which offer a high-quality education to low-income and working-class black children, is inexplicable,” Jaqueline Cooper, president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options told the Washington Examiner.

Data reveals black students in public charter schools gain an equivalent of 36 learning days a year in math and 26 in reading respectively. And the learning gains are even higher for poor minority students.

In Massachusetts, where there’s a debate about expanding charter school learning opportunities to meet the demand of more than 32,000 on wait lists, charter schools have been an important part of education, offering choice and opportunity for children especially in low-income areas. Massachusetts charter schools are among the highest performing in the nation, and serve 31 percent more Black

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