Change the Stakes
Mission: Change the Stakes is a group of parents and educators working to build and unite opposition to high-stakes testing in New York City and beyond. They work collectively to expose the damaging effects of high-stakes standardized testing and advance alternative student assessment models.
Contact: changethestakes@gmail.com
Website: www.changethestakes.org
Additional Information: Change the Stakes has initiated a petition to demand that NYS give parents the right to opt out. Sign the petitioni here.
They invite parents and educators to join the Change the Stakes Open Forum discussion group.
Citizens for Public Schools
Mission: To promote, preserve and protect public schools and public education. The goals of Citizens for Public Schools are to keep public resources for public schools under public control in innovative, inclusive, democratically accountable schools; to increase funding to ensure high quality public schools for all children; to ensure equal access and educational opportunities for every child; to guarantee every student a well-rounded public education that meets the needs of the whole child; and to implement multiple forms of assessment to evaluate and improve student learning and the quality of schools.
Contact: Marylyn Segal (Executive Director), 18 Tremont Street, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02108. Phone: 617- 227-3000 ext. 16. E-mail: marilyn@citizensforpublicschools.org
Website: www.citizensforpublicschools.org
Additional Information: Citizens for Public Schools includes news, a range of resources, and outlines of the problems, addressing specific issues of focus.
Class Size Matters
Mission: A non-profit parent advocacy group dedicated to achieving smaller classes in the New York City public schools and the nation as a whole.
Contact: Leonie Haimson, 124 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011. Phone: 212-674-7320. Email: info@classsizematters.org
Website: www.classsizematters.org
Additional Information: Class Size Matters examines the research on class size, analyzes and monitors class size data, and provides summaries and fact sheets to parents, public officials, advocates and school board members around the country on the benefits of smaller classes.
The Coalition for Better Education, Inc.
Mission: Created to dignify the autonomy of our children and their teachers. The Coalition for Better Education, Inc. exists to give parents a voice to resist the draconian effects of high stakes standardized testing and support parents and teachers who decide that the time is now to take action.
Contact: Professor Laura Manuel, Email: adelies@comcast.net); Don Perl, Phone: 970-351-2746, Email: donald.perl@unco.edu; Francis Young, Email: young2home5@msn.com.
Website: www.thecbe.org
Additional information: Raised funds for billboards to alert parents to their exemption rights, provides documents and contact information enabling parents to get involved with stopping NCLB and Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP).
Education for Liberation Network
Mission: The Education for Liberation Network is a national coalition of teachers, community activists, researchers, youth and parents who believe a good education should teach people—particularly low-income youth and youth of color—how to understand and challenge the injustices their communities face. Education for Liberation Network provides a space for members to share knowledge and work together to create tools for liberatory education.
Contact: Tara Mack (Director), Email: tara@edliberation.org
Website: www.edliberation.org
Fair Test: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing
Mission: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.
Contact: FairTest, P.O. Box 300204, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Phone: 617-477-9792
Website: www.fairtest.org
Additional Information: FairTest advances quality education and equal opportunity by promoting fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial evaluations of students, teachers and schools. FairTest also works to end the misuses and flaws of testing practices that impede those goals. It publishes a free quarterly newsletter as well as many fact sheets and in-depth reports.
Fact Sheets from FairTest are found in the Practical Materials section of this website.
Grassroots Education Movement NYC
Mission: The Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) to Defend Public Education is a coalition of NYC groups that educates and mobilizes educators, parents, students and our communities against the corporate and government policies that under-fund, undermine and privatize our public school system. GEM advocates both within and outside the United Federation of Teachers for the equality and quality of public education services and the rights of school workers.
Contact: Email: gemnyc@gmail.com
Website: http://gemnyc.org/
Additional Information: GEM wants to offer its help in any way it can to educators, students, parents or community members who wish to build a school-based committee. GEM offers articles, relevant blogs on current struggles and a network for all to discuss happenings within local communities.
Metro Atlantans for Public Schools
Mission: Metro Atlantans for Public Schools (MAPS) is a network of progressive public school employees, parents, students, and allies who communicate on-line and meet monthly to share resources that enable them to become more effective advocates and activists for public education.
Contact: Mary Anne Smith, PO Box 82326, Hapeville, GA 30354. Phone: 404-217-5039. Email: mary_anne_smith@hotmail.com
Website: sites.google.com/site/metroatlantansforpublicschools
New York Performance Standards Consortium
Mission: The New York Performance Standards Consortium represents 28 schools across New York State. Formed in 1997, the Consortium opposes high stakes tests arguing that “one size does not fit all.” The New York Performance Standards Consortium has developed an assessment system that leads to quality teaching that enhances rather than compromises our students’ education. Consortium school graduates go on to college and are successful. We invite others to join our effort to preserve and extend performance-based assessment.
Contact: Phyllis Tashlik, Center for Inquiry, NY Performance Standards Consortium, 317 E. 67th street, New York, NY10065. Email: phyllis@performanceassessment.org. General Information: info@performanceassessment.org
Website: www.performanceassessment.org
Additional Information: The consortium offers alternatives to high-stake testing, information on parent coalitions, performance assessments, opportunities for activism, as well as research, reports and data on assessment.
Parents for Public Schools
Mission: Parents for Public Schools is a national organization of community-based chapters that promotes and strengthens public schools by engaging, educating, and mobilizing parents.
Contact: Anne Foster (National Executive Director), 200 North Congress St. Suite 500, Jackson, MS, 39201. 800-880-1222, 601-969-6936 (Phone). 601-969-6041(Fax), ppschapter@parents4publicschools.org
Website: www.parents4publicschools.org
Additional Information: The national office of Parents for Public Schools works with 16 chapters across the country who are actively engaged in their local school districts.They also run a statewide program in Mississippi, Schoolhouse to Statehouse.
Parents Across America
Mission: Parents Across America is a grassroots organization that connects parents and activists from across the U.S. to share ideas and work together on improving our nation’s public schools.
Contact: Julie Woestehoff, JulieW@parentsacrossamerica.org; Leonie Haimson, LeonieH@parentsacrossamerica.org
Website: www.parentsacrossamerica.org
Additional Information: Parents Across America believes in proven reforms, sufficient and equitable funding, diversity, and meaningful parent involvement while showing how privatization of schools and high stakes tests just don’t work.
Parents United for Responsible Education
Mission: Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE) exists to build support for and enhance the quality of public education in the city of Chicago by informing parents about educational issues, bringing the views of parents into the decision-making process, and acting as an advocate for parents in their relationships with the school administration.
Contact: Julie Woestehoff, PURE c/o Siegel and Associates, 11 E Adams Street, Suite 1401, Chicago, IL 60603. Phone: 312-491-9101. Email: pure@pureparents.org
Website: www.pureparents.org
Additional Information: PURE challenges damaging “reform” strategies such as high-stakes testing, reckless school closings, and top-down interventions; we promote high-quality, research-supported educational improvement strategies including parent-majority local school governance, meaningful parental involvement, and quality assessments.
Fact Sheets from PURE are found in the Practical Materials section of this website.
Parent Voices New York
Mission: Parent Voices New York (PVNY) is made up of public school parents determined to make their voices heard in the debates around children’s education. They are a grass-roots democratic organization, committed to bringing together diverse parents, taking action together and using our power as citizens and voters to influence policy around public education.
Contact: Lisa Edstrom, Email: info@parentvoicesny.org
Website: http://www.parentvoicesny.org/
Additional Information: Past actions include a boycott of June Field Tests in NYS, co-organized with Time Out From Testing and a Demonstration on June 7, 2012 at Pearson’s NYC headquarters co-sponsored by various local groups. For more information on these events, please visit our press page at www.parentvoicesny.org/?page_id=320.
Save Ethnic Studies
Mission: To raise funds to pay for the costs of litigation of the Acosta et al v. Huppenthal et al case. The Acosta plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s HB 2281, the ban on Mexican American studies.
Contact: Deyanira Nevarez Martinez, 307 S. Convent Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701. Phone: 520-975-1485. E-mail: info@saveethnicstudies.org
Website: www.SaveEthnicStudies.org
Additional Information: The Acosta Plaintiffs are currently in court. Attorney Richard Martinez recently argued a motion for summary judgment in front of Judge Tashima.
Save Our Schools
Mission: Save Our Schools is dedicated to (1) equitable funding across all public schools and school systems, (2) full public funding of family and community support services, (3) full funding for 21st century school and neighborhood libraries, and (4) an end to economically and racially re-segregated schools.
Contact: E-mail: saveourschoolsmarch@gmail.com
Website: http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org
Additional Information: Save Our Schools has hosted national marches in Washington, D.C., to bring thousands of people together to demonstrate to save public education. Some states have local SOS organizations as well.
SusanOhanian.org
Mission: It started in 2002 to expose the corporate roots of No Child Left Behind. Since then, the website has expanded to include other assaults on public education and teacher professionalism. It includes news, research, and commentary. Subscribers receive e-mail updates on new content.
Contact: Susan Ohanian, PO Box 26, Charlotte, VT 05445. Phone: 802-425-4201, Email: susano@gmavt.net
Website: http://www.susanohanian.org
Additional Information: The website received the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.
Time Out From Testing
Mission: Time Out From Testing is a statewide coalition of parent, educator, business, community, and civil rights organizations in New York State committed to a “time-out” from excessive and high-stakes exams. We call for a comprehensive review of the Regents exams and state-initiated third- through twelfth-grade standardized tests and the impact they have had on our children, our schools, and our communities. We wholeheartedly support standards for all students, but we also recognize that we have not yet established the appropriate role for standardized testing within a larger, more comprehensive assessment system, one that employs a variety of methods to assess children’s progress.
Contact: Email: info@timeoutfromtesting.org
Website: www.timeoutfromtesting.org
Additional Information: Time Out From Testing provides an array of article archives, testimonies, press releases, and data on current issues as well as resources focused on the DOE, Board of Regents Review, and mayoral control.
United Opt Out National
Mission: We support students, parents, teachers and community members in opting out of corporate education reform.
Contact: Peggy Robertson, 6095 S. Cook Street, Centennial, CO 80121. Phone: 720-810-5593, E-mail: writepeg@juno.com
Website: www.unitedoptout.com
