All are invited to attend a conference, Saving Our Schools: Defending Public Education, on Saturday, March 27, at UMass-Amherst in Thompson Hall, Room 102.

Parents, students, community leaders, educators, activitsts, policy makers and anyone interested in the education and welfare of our children is encouraged to come.

Pauline Lipman, author of High Stakes Education: Inequality, Globalization, and Urban School Reform, will be the keynote speaker.

The event is co-sponsored by Citizens for Public Schools and the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM).

Come discuss public education funding, charter schools, high-stakes testing, privatization, education for Democracy, vocationalization and teachers under fire.

To register online, click here. For more information, call 413-687-8150.

Download the Save Our Schools Conference poster here.   → Read More

Citizens for Public Schools’ 28th annual meeting honored a distinguished group of activists for public schools. On Thursday, March 4, CPS presented Activists for Public Schools awards to Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) (a candidate for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Richard Tisei), Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville, Medford), Judge Luis Perez and Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education (CARE) organizers Lisa Guisbond, Jacqueline King and Larry Ward.

“With our public schools increasingly under attack, CPS presents these awards as part of its decades-long tradition of recognizing those who are willing to stand up for public education,” said CPS Executive Director Marilyn Segal. “Each one of our honorees exemplifies the value of struggling against the forces of privatization and standardization and struggling for equity and quality for all public schoolchildren.”

“Rep. Clark and Sen. Jehlen have been stalwart supporters of adequately funded, strong, vibrant and equitable public schools for all and thoughtful skeptics when it comes to unproven and destructive policy proposals,” said CPS Co-President Barbara Fields.   → Read More

Tomorrow, March 4, 2010, is a National Day of Action to Defend Education.

What started with public higher education advocates in California has become a nationwide effort, with events planned around the country. A web site has been set up with information about these events. There are several events around Massachusetts, including one today, Wednesday, March 3, in Boston at 5:30 p.m. to protest budget cuts and charter schools.

Here’s the web site with details about all the events.

And of course a great way to express solidarity with this movement is to come to the Citizens for Public Schools annual meeting tomorrow, March 4, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Lisa Guisbond   → Read More

See the letter to Governor Deval Patrick from CPS’s co-chairs asking that he use his powers to rescind the charter granted under “indefensible circumstances in Gloucester.   → Read More