Every day in every community every child in

Every day, in every community, every child in America benefits from a quality public education. Public Education Network To build public demand mobilize resources for quality public education Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 1

Public Education Network (PEN) is a national organization of local education funds (LEFs) and individuals working to improve public schools and build citizen support for quality public education in low -income communities Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 2

Our Communities Face… § § The least qualified teachers teaching in the lowest performing schools Modest alignment between standards, curriculum, assessments, and professional development Low expectations of children from poor families School reform agendas that change with new superintendents Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 3

A Powerful Base of Local Education Funds § § 87 members in 34 states and the District of Columbia PEN 2005 87 LEFs in 34 states + the District of Columbia 7 of the top 10 cities 17 of the top 25 cities Key states of California, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, • 11. 5 million students (22%) • 1, 600+ school districts (9%) • 16, 000+ schools (17%) Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 4

Our Members § Reduce the Achievement Gap § § § Small schools Deep professional development Serve as intermediaries Studies on unions Build Community Within Schools, and Capacity Outside Schools § § § Information Parent training Promote common Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 5

Resource Power of the Network § § Raise roughly $200 million annually to improve public schools and increase student achievement Raised nearly $4 billion for quality public education Invested over $1. 5 billion in teacher quality Donated over $2. 5 billion in volunteer Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 6

Civic Power of the Network § § § Leveraged roughly $13 billion in public dollars by supporting local bond and tax referenda, state and local budget increases, and litigation Changed the composition and improved the quality of school boards in 50 school districts LEF boards serve as the meeting place for building common ground amongst educators, corporations, philanthropies, and policy and public officials Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 7

Public Engagement: The Missing Element Public engagement is important because: § § Public education is essential to a democratic society 20 years of school reform have had limited success—not gone to “scale” Accountability needs to become “public” Public takes responsibility Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 8

Purpose of the NCLB Hearings § § § To learn from the public about the impact of the law To engage and educate the public about the law To build constituency for public education Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 9

Our 2004 Hearing Sites and Local Partners • Harrisburg, PA • San Antonio, TX • Boston, MA • Memphis, TN Pennsylvania Public Education Partnership May 20 Rennie Center at Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth June 2 • Sacramento, CA Linking Education and Economic Development June 8 • Los Angeles, CA Urban Education Partnership July 21 Intercultural Development Research Association September 28 Partners in Public Education September 30 • New York, NY Campaign for Fiscal Equity October 7 • Chicago, IL Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform October 13 • Cleveland, OH Ohio PTA and Ohio Fair Public. Schools involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 10

PEN Thanks § § § Open Society Institute The George Gund Foundation The James Irvine Foundation Nellie Mae Education Foundation The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation • New York Community Trust Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 11

NCLB Hearing and Survey Participants § § § Over 1, 700 people attended the hearings Over 300 people provided 1, 000 pages of testimony Approximately 12, 000 Give. Kids. Good. Schools. org activists completed online survey Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 12

Structure of the Hearings Format: • Panel of 4 -6 hearing officers • Multilingual presentations and dialogue Live • testimony from: Child care provided • Parents • Students • Business and civic leaders • Community advocates • Members of the general public Three questions: • What do you know about the law? • How is it working? • What would you change? Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 13

Hearing Areas of Focus § § § District and state accountability (Identifying and responding to lowperforming schools) Teacher quality (Quality teachers for every student) Parent and community involvement (Need for good information and active involvement) Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 14

What We Heard From the Public § § § Public appreciated the opportunity to speak Broad agreement on the goals of NCLB Significant problems with implementation The law is not benefiting those for whom it was designed Stigma from labeling schools Lack of financial resources Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. § 15

What We Heard From the Public § § § Highly qualified teachers’ definition problematic District and state capacity to implement the law Assessment and accountability are problematic Information: accessibility and accuracy Parental and public involvement is neither Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 16

Recommendations From the Public § § § Count significant progress towards AYP Provide SES before choice Reduce reliance on high stakes tests Provide teachers with professional development and incentives Build district and state capacity to implement the law Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 17

What We Heard from Give. Kids. Good. Schools. org Who We Heard From: § 12, 000 members of GKGS. org from all 50 states § Over 80% female, over 35, white, and had completed at least four years of college; 58% are educators § 60% reported that schools in their communities have been identified as “needing improvement” or Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 18

What We Heard from Give. Kids. Good. Schools. org § § Over 95% believe every child should have a qualified teacher. 90% do not believe every child will have a qualified teacher by 2005. 80% or more feel that NCLB has made no difference in student performance, parental involvement, or teacher quality. Nearly 75% feel that choice will not help improve student Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 19

What We Heard from Give. Kids. Good. Schools. org § § § Half believe in the law’s disaggregated data requirements. Over 2/3 do not believe that every child will score at grade level or above by 2013. 2/3 think the law requires too much testing. Nearly 3/4 do not want the law to be repealed. But 2/3 believe it needs 20 Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit.

Additional PEN Recommendations § § § Keep the public in the conversation Enforce the law, especially in providing information and ensuring parent involvement Hold states accountable, not just children, Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 21

Local Education Funds in Pennsylvania Advocates Conveners Brokers Members of the Pennsylvania Public Education Partnership: • Lancaster Foundation for Educational Enrichment • Mon Valley Education Consortium • Philadelphia Education Fund • Pittsburgh Council on Public Education Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 22

Choosing Partners for Public Meetings Across the Commonwealth Seven public meetings were held in 2004: LEFs PA State PTA Local PTOs Good Schools PA Other Local Partners Altoona Belle Vernon Erie Lancaster Philadelphia Pittsburgh Uniontown Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 23

May 2004 State Hearing in Harrisburg, PA The national panel of experts included: • • of Wendy Puriefoy, Public Education Network Ron Cowell, Education Policy & Leadership Center Edward Donley, PA State Board of Education Michael Churchill, Public Interest Law Center Philadelphia Additional presenters: Parents, Community Members, Educators & Students Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 24

Observations at PA hearings: • From a Parent: “There’s so much emphasis on testing, I’m afraid my 8 -year-old will lose his love of learning. ” • From a Parent: “The school kept emphasizing how important it was for every child to do well and help the school score high. My special ed student was heart-broken because she knew her score would hurt the outcome. ” • From a Student: “My school actually paid students to come to school on test day and complete the test. Why didn’t they spend the money on new books and supplies? All I wanted to do was dissect a frog. ” Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 25

PEN NCLB Resources § § § NCLB Community and Parent Action Guide Over 25 PEN/NCPIE NCLB Web Based Action Briefs Weekly Federal Legislative Updates National and Local Hearing Reports NCLB Online Survey Results Hearing Toolkit Interactive NCLB CDROM Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. § 26

Every day, in every community, every child in America benefits from a quality public education. Public Education Network To build public demand mobilize resources for quality public education Public involvement. Public education. Public benefit. 27