OTL Campaign Newsletter 
June 27, 2012
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Student Power Convergence 2012

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OTL HIGHLIGHTS

ACLU of Massachusetts Logo
Police in Schools Increases Student Arrests
A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Citizens for Juvenile Justice examines the rate at which MA's three largest school districts use on-site police officers to arrest students for minor, non-violent infractions and thereby contribute to the criminalization of youths. The report finds that all three districts overuse "public order" offenses as justification for arrests, and that students of color are disproportionately affected by these policing practices.  Read more>

Zakiyah and Ocynthia
NYC's "Parent Power" Advocates Go to Washington
Parents from all walks of life have the right to organize around education injustices and ensure their children receive a quality education. That's the message NYC parent organizers Zakiyah Ansari and Ocynthia Williams took to Washington, D.C. At a screening on Capitol Hill for lawmakers and parents, they showed "Parent Power," a documentary chronicling parent organizing in NYC. Read more>

We Need Systemic Solutions
We Need Systemic Solutions, Not Quick-Fixes
No matter how many state NCLB waivers the U.S. grants, we won't succeed in providing every student with an opportunity to learn until we address the inequities at the heart of our education system. In a powerful op-ed in the Jackson Free Press, Derrick Johnson, President of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP and One Voice Mississippi, states that "without an emphasis on inputs and resource allocation, inequalities in education opportunity and attainment will persist." Read more>

WI OTL
In WI, One Plus One Does Not Equal Two
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is asking residents to suspend all logic and believe that $1.6 billion in revenue cuts to public education is better and certainly no worse for the state's children, schools and communities. Tom Beebe, Program Director for Opportunity to Learn - Wisconsin, says we shouldn't buy the governor's bad math. The state's number one priority should instead be restoring school budgets and ensuring that schools and students have the resources they need to succeed. Read more>

Tina Dove
An "Opportunity" For Some, But Not For All
High-quality public schools for all D.C.'s children suffered a setback this week with the allocation of $20 million in public tax dollars to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. National Opportunity to Learn Campaign Director Tina Dove explains that the funding could be better spent providing high-quality, early childhood education; recruiting and training highly effective teachers; developing college preparatory curriculums; and providing equitable resources and policies for every student. Read more>

RESOURCES

Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card
Is School Funding Fair in Your State?
The Second Edition of "Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card" shows that far too many states continue to deny public schools the essential resources they require to meet the needs of the nation's 53 million students and to boost academic achievement. The National Report Card rates every state on the basis of four "fairness indicators" - funding level, funding distribution, state fiscal effort, and public school coverage. The report provides the most in-depth analysis to date of state education finance systems and school funding fairness across the nation. How does your state measure up? Read more>

IN THE NEWS
  • Poorest City in the U.S. Loses Pre-K: Reading, PA, will not be able to offer pre-kindergarten programs next year due to school budget cuts, thereby leaving some of the country's neediest students without access to the early childhood education programs that could give them the leg up they need to succeed in school. Read more>

  • Are We Ready to Commit to Equalizing Opportunity?: In the Sunday Dialogue section of the New York Times, John H. Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, advocates for a more just method for funding our nation's public schools. Read more>

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National Opportunity to Learn Campaign
675 Massachusetts Avenue, 8th Floor | Cambridge, MA 02139
www.otlcampaign.org | [email protected] | 617-876-7700

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