Press Conference to Keep the Cap

We’re going to keep it short and sweet this evening, and we hope you’ve had a marvelous day. It was truly a beautiful day!

Tuesday, June 4, at 2 pm, we are holding a press conference in room 222 at the State House to show our support to keep the cap on charter school growth throughout the commonwealth. At 4:00, on the same day, there’ll be a rally just outside the State House across Beacon St. Both efforts are sponsored by real representatives of the BPS–its students, some recent graduates, its teachers and paraprofessionals, and its parents. We’re actually the real users of the system–not the so-called outside spokespeople the Boston Foundation brought in to the State House hearing a few weeks ago proclaiming that charters ought to be expanded at the expense of our public schools.

So we need your help, and we’d like you to attend the rally at 4, which will probably run until 5:30 or so. The rally will be filled with energy and pride. All are invited.

We are proud of our schools. Proud that we welcome all students and educate all. Proud that we try  to retain as many students as we can. We wouldn’t have it any other way. We don’t push students out right before the 10 grade MCAS, as so many charters do–nor do we want to. We’re also proud that our schools strive for equity in services to all children regardless of their needs.

Those who support charter schools at the expense of our own public schools often paint a discouraging picture of our schools, saying that few wish to attend and even fewer have confidence in them. They’re wrong. We’re rallying to show that our schools do have a concerned constituency,  and that they are worth fighting to preserve. We’re rallying to ask our lawmakers to keep the cap on charter schools, so as not to continue to foster the growth of a dual system–one that educates all, the other that educates the select.

We hope to see you Tuesday at 4:00.

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Remember the union election is Wednesday, June 5, and the polls open from 9-7.