[ProgressiveEd] Poltical Contacts

[BYMJSK4@aol.com]

Dear friends,
We want to urge you to contact any and all politicians that you have a 
relationship with.  Let them know the urgency that they support all of our 
small schools.  Tell them what we stand for.  Here's the list of principles 
from our first leaflet.
• Small schools where the focus is on knowing each student as an individual 
and where students work to their fullest through teachers’ understanding of 
each child’s abilities and needs,
•Schools where teachers help each other to become experts in curriculum 
development and assessment,
• Schools that practice equity, where all students are considered special and 
where students of mixed abilities and backgrounds are included in all classes,
• Schools where various types of assessment are utilized including: projects, 
exhibitions, observations by teachers, tests, portfolios, etc., 
• Schools where students are encouraged to think creatively and learn to be 
activist citizens in our democracy,
• Schools in which parents are valued participants in their child’s 
education, 
• Schools in which the entire staff - administrators, pedagogues, and aides - 
are collaborative partners in implementing a clear philosophy and vision 
dedicated to the education of the students.
Then, please let us know whom you've contacted and how the conversation went. 
 What do we want them to do?  We want them to support the integrity of our 
schools as they are, we want them to support our right to continue to create 
curriculum and to assess students as we have been doing, and wewant them to 
support our inclusion in progressive networks.  (Get them to sign your 
petitions.)  Thank you.
Bruce Kanze