Series: 8 Powerful Voices in Defense of Public Education

“The greatest educational malpractice in the United States happens in the statehouse not the schoolhouse.” What’s wrong with the way we fund our schools? Here is Texas Superintendent John Kuhn’s powerful explanation.

Diane Ravitch talks about threat posed by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the privatization of public education. This is the first release in a series of 8 short films for The Network for Public Education.

Teacher Jesse Hagopian shares a devastating classroom story and talks about why teaching to the test cannot meet the needs of America’s children.

“Privatization is as much about limiting the power of the average citizen as it is about increasing profits.” Linda Lyon President, Arizona School Boards Association

Father and activist Jitu Brown tells the story of ordinary people taking extraordinary measures to preserve what so many take for granted: a neighborhood public school.

How do you heal the inequities that plague our schools? Parent Johanna Garcia speaks movingly about the the damage that ensues when you “make it about the tests.”

Jeanette Deutermann knew something wasn’t right. Then she found other parents who knew it too. The test refusal movement springs from parents like them and maybe you?

Political leaders use test scores to close schools and hand them over to charters. Kymberley Walcott graduated from Hunter College this year. She came from the “failing” Jamaica High School which was closed right after she graduated.

Johanna García, madre y líder en nueva york, comunica un poderoso y sentido mensaje contra los exámenes estandarizados de altas estacas. Específicamente sus efectos en comunidades de imigrantes e urbanas.