Parent Power - Coming to a theatre near you!
PublicSchoolOptions.org had the opportunity to get an advance preview of the new movie "Won't Back Down" coming out this fall. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, the film captures how restrictions on school options can compel parents to make real change happen. It is an inspiring story on the change that can happen when parents, teachers and education leaders put students first. Congrats to those who saw the power in this story and brought it to the big screen for others to learn. We don't want to give anything away, but you will see some familiar scenes - parents marching to rally together in matching shirts armed with homemade signs and megaphones - just like many of the photos you see throughout our scrapbook and on our website!
In the News...
Gov. Rick Snyder got some hands-on experience with the type of cyber charter school program that will be expanding next fall under a new Michigan law. The self-described nerd's tech skills came in handy as he read a book to a class of children who watched and listened online through the Michigan Virtual Charter Academy.
The School Committee voted 5 to 2 to direct School Superintendent Susan Hollins to prepare a request for proposals to submit to the state by April 22 for the continued operation of Massachusetts Virtual Academy.
PublicSchoolOptions.org Blog
Nearly 2,000 students and families rallied in Harrisburg Tuesday at Pennsylvania's Capitol Day. Those present represented 157 charter schools and 15 cyber charter schools. The size of the crowd gave force to its message: Don't slash funding for our alternative public schools.
A Virginia parent spoke out today about the impact of Carroll County's recent decision to shut down Virginia Virtual Academy (VAVA). In response to a one-sided op-ed published by The Roanoke Times, one New Castle, VA mom explained "The real raw deal here is the more than 400 children (including my son) who just found out they have no school to attend next year."
The Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted virtual school's role as a valuable public school option in Karen Rile's "Virtual Shout-out for Cyber Schools." Rile, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, debunks a few virtual school myths and describes the success her two daughters found with cyber learning.
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