Parents must keep up pressure for public schools

NEIFPE member Anne Duff wrote this letter to the editor. In it she expresses her opinion on public school reform and school choice.

Parents must keep up pressure for public schools

Published: March 16, 2018

As a parent, former teacher and guidance counselor, and current school board member, I was pleased to see so many parents engaged and involved in the recent reinstatement of honors classes in Fort Wayne Community Schools.

While we all may view this as a victory, we must remain vigilant because the attack on public education continues in Indiana.

We have seen public dollars educating more children under the guise of “school choice.” We have seen an attack on teachers by stripping them of their unions, evaluating them with students' test scores and keeping their incomes stagnant for an incomprehensible amount of time.

We have been comparing apples to oranges as the legislature and State Board of Education constantly change how we grade schools and which high-stakes tests we will use to do this.

We have seen poorly performing charter schools be forgiven their debts while many public schools are struggling to sustain financial stability due to budget cuts and tax caps.

Parents have seen the strength a committed, determined group of parents can have. They've seen the power of persuasion work in their favor.

I commend them for their efforts, but I encourage them to keep the momentum going by becoming more informed and more active.

Our public schools should be the pride of our communities and should continue to provide a strong, equal education to all students. It's time to start paying attention. It's time to put an end to the attack on public education.

Parents, you can do this! Continue your fight – not just for your children, but for all children so that they, too, can have equal access to a great public education.

Anne Duff

Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education

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