2003 MassCARE Convention

2003 MassCARE Convention

Working for Equity and Excellence in our
Public Schools, Not MCAS
Pubic School Parents! Teachers ! High School Students!
Participate in the 2003 MassCARE Convention
Saturday, April 12, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Small Science Auditorium, U/Mass Boston

The Massachusetts Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education (MassCARE) is inviting teachers and parents who are concerned about the MCAS graduation requirement to attend a convention on April 12. The MTA and MassCARE are both members of the Alliance for High Standards NOT High Stakes, which advocates for evaluating students, teachers and schools based on multiple measures of achievement, not a single test. Below is a copy of the MassCARE release announcing the convention.
MassCARE Needs You!
Come to the second annual convention, April 12,
to strategize and mobilize against the MCAS graduation requirement
MassCARE, the Massachusetts Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education, will hold its second annual convention on Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UMass/Boston in the Small Science Auditorium
Titled, Working for Equity and Excellence in our Public Schools, Not MCAS the convention's goals are as follows:

To press for diplomas for every deserving high school senior, regardless of MCAS scores.
To bring together parents and teachers from diverse communities engaged in the struggle to protect and improve public education.
To develop short and medium term plans to protect our public schools and students from efforts to undermine them.
To address the needs of limited English proficiency students in the post-Unz period.
To strengthen the identity and capacity of MassCARE as a statewide advocacy organization for public education.
Participants include: Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner and Felix Arroyo; elected School Committee members Alan Price (Cambridge) , David Kotz (N'hampton), Paul Dunphy and Michael Hussin (Amherst); Parent leaders Larry Ward (MassCARE), Jackie Dee King (MassCARE) , Angela Grattaroti (Leominster), Myanna O'Brien-Myers (Chicopee), Josiane Hudicourt-Barnes (Cambridge) and Ruth Kaplan (Brookline); Teachers Michael Heichman (Chelsea), Tracy Novick (Worcester), and Linda Sarage (Easthampton); Union leaders Richard Stutman (BTU) and Paul Phillips (Quincy MTA); Educators Jean McGuire, Meg Robbins, Monty Neill, Lew Gitelman and Rob Riordan; Student Leaders from Project Hip Hop, Teen Empowerment and SCAM; Legal experts Roger Rice, Jane Lopez , Tim Plenk and Sumner Kaplan.
10:15 AM Opening Plenary: The Attacks on our Public Schools.
11:00 AM Group discussions: Setting our agenda to respond to the most serious budget and equity problems facing our schools.
12: 30 PM Lunch
1:30 PM Working Groups: Tackling Tasks Ahead:

A) School Committee Initiatives to Grant Diplomas.

B) Legal Strategies to Suspend MCAS, and to Equitably Fund Schools.

C) Public Education Agenda for Legislation and for the 2003 Municipal and 2004 State Elections.

D) Waging the Public Policy debate in support of Public Education.

E) Student Actions and Organizing.
3:00 PM: Reports from Working Groups
3:30 PM: Closing Plenary: A Diploma for Every Deserving Senior!

Registration Form to Participate in 2003 MassCARE Convention:
Print, fill out and mail this form with your check,
or Register on line with a credit card at: http://www.caremass.org
Name ______________________________________________________
Address____________________________________________________

City or town __________________________Zip___________________

E-mail___________________________Phone______________________

Parent_____ Teacher_____Student_______Concerned Citizen_______
Registration Donation to offset Convention costs:
General - $25; Larger donations allow us to subsidize students and others.
Single Parents, Students, Unemployed - $12.00 or whatever you can contribute.
If you need child care please contact larry@fairtest.org. by April 1st.
Please make check or money order payable to CAREFUND and mail to:
MassCARE
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
Or, Register online at http://www.caremass.org

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