U.S. Representative Grijalva stands with NPE in call for hearings on testing!

Six-term Arizona Representative Ra�l Grijalva (D-AZ-3), a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, has responded to NPE's call for Congressional hearings. Representative Grijalva released the following statement in support of NPE's call for action.

"The need for an impartial and transparent hearing on mandatory testing and privatization efforts directed at public education, is critical. We need to have an open discussion about the dismantling of public education. I hope the leadership of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will hold hearings that allow our public schools and the families they serve the opportunity to have an open and honest hearing."

Over the next week, we are asking our Friends & Allies to call members of Congress to voice support for Congressional hearings. Phone, email, or tweet the need for Congressional hearings. Below are links to the websites of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate where you can find contact info for Congressional delegation.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Support The Network for Public Education

The Network for Public Education is an advocacy group whose goal is to fight to protect, preserve and strengthen our public school system, an essential institution in a democratic society. Our mission is to protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools and the education of current and future generations of students.

Over the past year, donations to The Network for Public Education helped us put on out first National Conference - an incredible success. In the coming year, we will hold more events, webinars, and work on the issues that our members and donors care about the most!

To become a Member or to Make a Donation, go to the NPE website and click on the PayPal link. We accept donations using PayPal, the most trusted site used to make on-line payments.

NPE calls on Friends & Allies to join in Call for Hearings mail-in campaign

For the next part of our campaign, we're going old school. During the month of April, we are asking our Friends & Allies to print out and mail a copy of this letter to the offices of our friends at the Education Opportunity Network in Washington D.C.. On May 17 - the 60th anniversary of the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision - we will deliver our letters to members of Congress.

We are asking our Friends & Allies to take an extra step - print out a copy, slap on a stamp and drop it in a mail box. You might want to make copies and bring them to PTA meetings or pass them out to your friends and family. In this age of email and electronic media, mail in campaigns are not very common. This will make our presentation to Congress that much more effective.

Please share this campaign via social media and remember to send your letter before the end of April! More information about this latest part of our Call for Congressional hearings can be found on the NPE website. http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org

Student Activists to gather for EmpowerED 2014

On Saturday, March 29, at the University of Southern California,

Students United for Public Education (SUPE) will host

EmpowerED: Los Angeles Student Power 2014, a student-led education conference that will engage the local student community in discussing and strategizing what it will take to transform our education system to serve all students.

Hannah Nguyen and Stephanie Rivera (SUPE founders) will be joined by Providence Student Union's Cauldierre McKay, Portland Student Union's Sekai Edwards, Newark Students Union's Kristin Towkaniuk, LA's Coalition for Educational Justice organizer Taylor Broom, Alliance for Educational Justice's Tre Murphy, and Chicago Students Union's Israel Mu�oz.

These students are the future of our movement and they are the reason for our fight to strengthen and preserve public education. Please support them any way that you can.

There will be a Livestream of the event for those who cannot make it to LA to attend. For more information about the EmpowerED 2014 conference and to access the Livestream video on the day of the event, go to empowerED2014.com.

NPE Twitters Storm on Congressional Hearings reaches 400K

On Wednesday, March 19, The Twittersphere thundered with a message of #TESThearingsnow as NPE Friends & Allies bombarded social media with a call for Congressional Hearings on Standardized Testing.

Our dear friend and social media maven, Susan DuFresne, organized the Twitter Storm that trended #1 for 5 hours and brought a message about the abusive testing regime that has enveloped our public education system. Please help out by spreading our message to everyone you know about the out-of-control policies and practices that are harming a generation of students.

NPE Board endorses candidates in New Mexico Governor race

The NPE Board of Directors has decided to endorse three candidates for Governor of New Mexico. Public education has been eroded in recent years in New Mexico, and students there need a governor who will stand up for their schools. In the upcoming Democratic primary, we have endorsed Howie Morales, Alan Webber and Linda Lopez. All three of these candidates have thoughtful platforms and are worth supporting. If you would like to better understand their positions, we have posted their responses to our candidate questionnaire here.

Kevin is also a renowned musician who performs with the Walt Disney World Symphony Orchestra

Teacher donates Florida "A" school bonus to NPE

Kevin Strang, a music teacher from Florida has made an $810.87 contribution to NPE. This is the same amount that he received for his "A" school bonus.

Kevin has made a strong statement in choosing to give away his bonus. He said, "This money represents the EPIC failure of Florida education policy and is wrong and unjust. I believe that there is extraordinary teaching and learning taking place in every public school throughout the state of Florida and factors that determine school grades teachers have little control over, namely poverty. Teachers should neither be rewarded nor penalized for the socioeconomic status of their students."

Let's face it, $810.87 is a lot of money - especially for a teacher. Kevin's statement is proof that the educators can't be bought off and will continue to fight for what is right and just in public education. Thanks, Kevin. Your contribution carries a lot more than $810.87.

United Opt Out in Colorado March 28-30

United Opt Out, the organization behind the highly successful Occupy the DOE, is back with another big event. UOO will gather in Denver, CO March 28-30 with a clear agenda. Activists will create "a plan of action stating exactly what parents will do, what students will do, what teachers will do, and what community members will do" to address the harmful reforms that have been thrust upon Colorado's schools.

On Saturday, Finnish Education expert, Pasi Sahlberg will deliver a keynote address. Check out the United Opt Out website for more information about their annual spring action,

NPE endorses Pennsylvania's Daylin Leach for U.S. Congress

NPE has decided to endorse Daylin Leach in the Democratic primary for the 13th Congressional district in Pennsylvania. Leach grew up in poverty in Philadelphia, and understands the challenges many of our students face.

In his responses to our questions, he wrote: "I have been a tireless advocate for public education, writing legislation to make college affordable for everyone to leading the fight against vouchers, to working to save a failing school. I know I would not be where I am today without the public education provided for me - and I believe that we owe it to all future generations to provide the same for them."

We encourage voters in the 13th district to support Daylin Leach. You can find more information about Daylin Leach, at http://votedaylin.com.

Contact:

http://networkforpubliceducation.org