E-mail me at jenbie44@hotmail.com if you would like to become a co-signer on the following request to PDA to add Public Education to their agenda:

Dear Mr. Carpenter and Progressive Democrats of America:We, the undersigned, appreciate and congratulate PDA on its work to build a party and government controlled by citizens, not corporate elites -- with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just private interests. To be named “Most Valuable Political Group” by The Nation is indeed a well-deserved honor.

We write today to ask for your consideration regarding adding a sixth core priority for Progressive Democrats of America: Public Education. As an educator yourself, you know the importance of public schooling to the preservation of our democracy.

Just as health care and environmental policymaking have been usurped by corporate interests, so has education policymaking. In the 1980s, corporate CEOs slowly and systematically began taking control of our public schools by pushing current major education reform known as "High Stakes Testing," a punitive approach to holding schools accountable for learning.  CEOs from American Express, AIG, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Motors, Morgan Stanley, and 146 other big businesses currently serve as members of the Business Roundtable, the association pushing the agenda for our public schools.

In the last 20 years the Business Roundtable has worked to:

•Set the agenda for President Bush’s 1989 National Goals Education Summit
•influence the training of superintendents and school board members
•train people to start other organizations that push standardized, high stakes testing in schools
•create an organization that provides pro-business agenda information to the media
•seat members on the Education Commission of the States
•replace school boards, or make them mayorally elected
•partner with dozens of state and national business organizations, state and federal governments, private foundations and non-profit organizations
•lobby state governors and legislators for its pro-big-business agenda
•pressure teacher unions and parents to conform to their agenda
•create state-level BRTs in every state
•meet with President-Elect Obama to influence his transition teams

As the BRT's influence grows, community, parent, and educator influence has become almost non-existent, and our national interest in public education becomes framed by failing and misguided corporations.

We, the undersigned, thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, 
Jennifer C. Parker, MEd, JD
Academic Program Coordinator
Department of Hematology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
jennifer.parker@stjude.org

Co-Signers

Brad Kerwin, EdD
Accreditation Coordinator, Variety School of Hawaii
President, The Reading Company
Honolulu, Hawaii
DrBradK@gmail.com

AnitaMarie Murano-Sweetman
ELA Resource Teacher
Denver Public SchoolsDenver, CO

Michael Pinkava
NYC Public School Teacher

Phoebe Plank
Teacher/VolunteerFauquier County (VA) Public Schools

Fred Schreiber
Prof. of BiologyCal State Univ., Fresno
freds@csufresno.edu

Tanya E. Sharon
Retired Teacher
Detroit Public Schools

Dr. William Spady
Director, New Possibilities Network