The Thirteen Most Impactful #EdReform Twitter Feeds of 2013

By Kevin P. Chavous

Earlier this week you read my reaction to the list of “top” education policy Twitter feeds released by Fordham Institute’s Michael J. Petrilli. Michael based his list on Klout scores, and as a result the list was absent many ed reformers who have actually made an impact in the lives of countless children.

Louisiana Families Celebrate Educational Options with Marvin Sapp

 

Over 2,000 of our friends in Louisiana had the opportunity to spend “An Evening with Marvin Sapp,” last night, in celebration of educational options for African American families.

The Grammy-nominated, Dove, Stellar and BET award-winning gospel artist and Michigan pastor was in Baton Rouge, LA as part of his multi-city tour, sponsored by the Black Alliance for Educational Options through its “Give Parents a Choice, Give Children a Chance” campaign.

Dr. Sapp is a proponent of school choice, as he opened a charter school in Grand Rapids, Michigan this school year for performing arts students.  The Grand Rapids Ellington Academy of Arts and Technology is the first performing arts school in the West Michigan area. 

In addition to a special performance for the crowd, Sapp also talked about the importance of educational options for all students, and the choices available in the state for families seeking better educational opportunities.

-American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, KMS

Virginia Walden Ford: "I am offended" by racist Louisiana teachers' union attacks

After the Louisiana Federation of Teachers took to Twitter to spread baseless rumors that the Black Alliance for Educational Options supported “teaching that the KKK is good,” longtime education reformer Virginia Walden Ford, who was instrumental in fighting for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, wrote the following letter:

Last night, I learned that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers took to Twitter to spread a false, ridiculous, and offense rumor.  They claimed that the Black Alliance for Educational Options—an organization that fights to provide a high-quality education to black children—supports teaching that the Kl Klux Klan is good.

I am offended.

The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) is a group that works tirelessly to ensure that black children have access to the best educational options.  The reality is that black children are being left behind: the achievement gap is far too large and more black men are in prisons than in colleges in this country.

In Washington, D.C., I worked side-by-side with BAEO to fight for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.  We worked together because the children of D.C.—just like the children in Louisiana and all across the country—deserve a great education.  It is our duty to ensure that all of our children, especially our disadvantaged children—receive a great education.  And it’s working.  In D.C. scholarship program, more than 85 percent of participating students are African American and the program has a graduation rate of 91 percent.  And just last week, the Brookings Institution and Harvard University released a study that demonstrated that African American students who receive a voucher are 24 percent more likely to enroll in college.

We have come so far as a nation, but we have so more work to do.  Growing up, I attended one the first desegregated high schools in Arkansas.  Today, we have leaders standing up for our children.  Great leaders, from Condoleezza Rice—who just yesterday called our education crisis the social justice issue of our time—to Newark Mayor Cory Booker, are fighting entrenched special interest groups that are more interested in protecting the status quo than in finding solutions to our education crisis.

I believe in school choice because the children that we have been left behind need an educational lifeline and they need it now.  Vouchers provide that opportunity.

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers owes BAEO an apology.  I have spent my life working—alongside BAEO and all school choice advocates—to provide a better education for our children.  And I didn’t do it to be accused of supporting a hate group that terrorized a generation of Americans by spreading hate and fear.

—Virginia

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice

Organizations Continue Fighting Back in Defense of Louisiana Voucher Program

Check out this video from WFAB in Baton Rouge, which not only highlights the importance of the Student Scholarship for Educational Excellence program -- the recently-expanded, statewide voucher program -- but also our friends the Black Alliance for Educational Options, who have fought for expanded school choice in the Bayou State for years. It also gives a well-deserved shout out to the Institute for Justice, the organization that is working hard to defeat special interests who are determined to use the legal process to deny families the right to choose their education.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice

BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Judge Allows Expanded Voucher Program to Proceed with August Enrollment

We've got great news from Louisiana: Judge Tim Kelley today ruled that the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program, which was expanded statewide earlier this year and faces several lawsuits from opponents to education reform, will be allowed to proceed in August.  The judge ruled against an injunction, citing a state law that says injunctions cannot be implemented if it would cause a budget deficit in a state agency, according to the Baton Rouge Business Report.

This is a minor sigh of relief for many Louisiana families, who will now be able to send their children to the school of their choice in August.  While the lawsuit is moving forward, the Institute of Justice—representing parents, the Black Alliance for Educational Options, and our sister organization the Alliance for School Choice—will defend this vital program.

School Choice Now! will keep you updated on all the legal happenings as advocates work to protect the expanded Student Scholarships for Education Excellence program.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Opponents to Education Reform are at it…Again

Families across Louisiana celebrated a legislative victory earlier this year thanks to a bipartisan coalition in the state legislature and the strong leadership of Governor Bobby Jindal. Together, they expanded New Orleans’ voucher program statewide, making almost 400,000 additional families eligible for school choice.  Later this week, we'll get official numbers as to how many of those families followed up and applied to participate in the program; early estimates put the number in the thousands. 

But not everyone was happy.  Opponents—including teachers unions and local school boards—are focused on maintaining the status quo.  They decried the expanded program, and, instead of focusing on giving all children an education that is tailored to their needs, they sued, wanting the court system to disband this program.  

But the Institute for Justice (IJ), a national civil liberties law firm has filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuits against the program.  Representing parents, the Alliance for School Choice, and the Black Alliance for Educational Options, IJ has a long track record of defending—and winning—these cases. 

Preventing disadvantaged children from accessing a quality education is shameful.  And AFC Senior Advisor Kevin Chavous, who has worked in the state for years building legislative support for private school choice, echoed that sentiment:

The demand for this program has been demonstrated by the thousands of Louisiana families pleading for more educational options not only in New Orleans, but across the entire state.  We’re confident that IJ’s strong legal presence will prevail for those families seeking the quality educational options their children have long deserved.

More than 380,000 students are eligible to participate under the expanded Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program, which is designed to help students from low-income backgrounds who attend persistently poor-performing public schools.  In the 2011-12 school year, more than 1,800 students living in Orleans Parish participated in the program.

Check out a release from the Alliance for School Choice on we're standing with IJ, BAEO, and parents from across the state.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG