Education

Education

Great American Public Schools for All of America’s Children

Overall Quest
Strong neighborhood public schools in every community in America, where we give each and every child the opportunity to learn and succeed, in college, in career and in life.

  • Strong neighborhood public schools are a foundation of the American promise of freedom and opportunity to create a better life for us and our children.

 

The problem – 
 We have great schools throughout America, but in too many communities we are not giving our schools the resources and support they need for every child to succeed.

  • In thousands of communities across America, the promise of attending a great public school is being kept every day.
  • But in too many communities, from cities to small towns, and too often in communities of color, elected officials are not giving our neighborhood schools the resources and support to assure that each and every child succeeds.
  • A child is more than a test score. It’s time to reduce the over-reliance on standardized tests, and let teachers teach.
  • Corporate CEOs and big campaign donors have pushed their own personal agenda to drain resources from public schools into charter and private for-profit schools.
  • Our schools shouldn’t be competing with each other for the resources needed for our children to learn. We don’t want winners and losers – every school should have the supports needed for our children to succeed.

Our solution –  Schools in every neighborhood in America should be provided with the resources and establish the educational environment needed for every child to learn and succeed in college, career and life.

  • Every child in every community has the right to attend a strong neighborhood public school – that opportunity should never depend on a child’s zip code, the color of their skin or a child’s abilities.

How we get there  We build great public schools by decisions we make together.

  • Every student should have a qualified, well-prepared, caring and committed teacher.
  • Every child should have a well-rounded education to develop the critical thinking skills they need to succeed today and as the world changes.
  • Early childhood education is key to a child’s long-term success. All our children should have the opportunity to get a great start with early education, including full-day pre-K and kindergarten.
  • Today, schools that serve low-income children, often children of color, get the fewest resources. That has to stop if America is going to move forward.
  • All of our children should be in a school with a positive, safe and supportive learning environment. This includes fair discipline policies, which keep classrooms safe and students in school learning.
  • Our neighborhood schools can become a center for thriving families in strong communities – staying open after regular classes are done, with classes, health services, music and art, career training for children, young people, adults and seniors.

Call to Action – It’s up to us – parents, teachers, school administrators, everyone who works in our schools and community members – to assure strong neighborhood public schools for all of our children.

  • It’s up to us to hold our elected officials responsible for providing our children and teachers in neighborhood schools throughout America with the resources they need to succeed. Instead of tax breaks for the super-rich and more loopholes for huge corporations, we should invest in our children to provide them with a brighter future.
  • We must insist that our public schools remain democratically controlled, so parents, teachers, community members and students have a real voice in how our schools are run.
  • We know how to do this. We have great schools throughout America. We can create strong neighborhood public schools in every community in our nation.


Download the Education Narrative