ZaragozaForCreighton[PHX]SchoolBoard:CallToAction!
davidcedor | | 
0
Please help elect one of TFA's very own even if you can just spare an hour or two in West-Central Phoenix. You can even hand out campaign lit. to Trick-Or-Treaters' parents bored to death on 10/31. It's better to ACT NOW than to react later! Call Carl for exact details @ (602) 920-7831. Tell Carl that David "sent you" as a treat, not a trick...
AZPollsOpen6amVoteBeforeSchoolStartsOrEarlyVoteStillThisWeek!
davidcedor | | 0
Avoid long lines: Vote Early @ Glendale Adult Center next to Main Library until 5pm daily. Otherwise vote before school to avoid the long lines- 2006 witnessed some polling places with 3 hour waits after work! If you've got an early ballot, you can drop it off at any polling place & can head to the front of the line.
Rather than experience shocking budget cuts to ED in 2009, work for candidates like Jackie Thrasher (ASU West Area/Glendale/Phoenix) for AZ House and Angela Cotera for AZ Senate (Avondale/Goodyear) in this final phase of the election.
Check it out @ jackie@jackiethrasher.com
AZVoteEarlyInMaricopaCtyAvondaleCityHall7am-6pmM-Th
davidcedor | | 0
AvondaleCityHall@AvondaleAveSouth of I-10: M-Th: 7am-6pm
Glendale Adult Ctr next to Main Library South of Peoria& 59thAve:8AM-5PM
Avoid confusion at the polls; VOTE EARLY w/ Drivers' License!
Hold Signs @ Polls on Election Day for TFA School Board Candidate Carl Z. in Creighton ESD!
AZ:Earn$50MillionForEd!Walk&TalkForThrasherinPHX!!
davidcedor | | 1
Stand&(Re-)Deliver LegDistrict10 for Teacher(s)JackieThrasher! Last time Jackie won by about 200 votes. 5 teachers walking/talking in NorCentralPHX/Glendale [ASU West] will make a difference again. Having a teacher in the AZLeg makes Ed a higher priority, and big bucks (& CUTS) are at stake here.
Donate 2 hrs. fo your time & help earn $50 million more for Ed in AZ!
Each SATURDAY until election- 9-12
Each SUNDAY until election 5pm-7pm
AND IT'S CHEAPER THAN HEALTH CLUB MEMBERSHIPS!
Call JACKIE directly @ (602) 434-6171
Chicago Panel on Policy and Politics: The Audacity of ....?
Chicago education reform...truly an interesting topic in an interesting city. The recent Teach For America event highlighting this included an especially interesting panel chosen to weigh in on the problem and solutions. Guest panelists included Linda Lenz of the education reform magazine Catalyst Chicago, Chicago Public Schools Officer Mike Lach, and Polaris Charter School Principal Tracy Kwock (the latter two both Teach For America Alumni). I had the opportunity to discuss the event in-depth with a couple colleagues, and I want to quickly share our general reactions to the discussion.
We were very intrigued by what the panelists, given their different roles and backgrounds, agreed upon. All said that school funding reform was needed (though Ms. Kwock qualified her assertion by saying that principals are amply provided with enough funds as is). All expressed a strong belief in the need for a longer school day. Most interesting, however, was the collective agreement that better school leaders were needed to tackle this problem. Though this might sound quite obvious, what most drew our attention to this last point was the fact that, when asked if they thought a Michelle Rhee-type figure would be possible in Chicago, all answered with a resounding no, with Ms. Lenz blaming the mayoral-based system and Mr. Lach intimating that Ms. Rhee, while ambitious, may have bitten off more than she can chew.
The aforementioned diversity of perspectives, as well, added a degree of nuance to the discussion much more obvious in hindsight than during the panel itself. While the panelists, on the whole, seemed rather lethargic and at times (especially Ms. Lenz) hesitant to offer an opinion outside the confines of the expected response, the general tenor of the answers of each panelist provided a fantastic look at the majority realm of thought each panelist respectively represented. Mr. Lach, for example, clearly brought the voice of the central office, acknowledging the "brokenness" of many policies while providing few, if any, substantive solutions. On the question of school funding reform, for example, he explained that the central office has endorsed no particular policy despite the "myriad" potential solutions. Ms. Kwock, on the other hand, brought a degree of enthusiasm as an individual who has effectively brought together school and community within the confines of a budget less than half that of other schools in more affluent districts (i.e. Lake Forest, Evanston, etc.). She offered a glimpse of what schools and school leadership could look like, and hence infused listeners with some sense of hope. Despite this, however, her viewpoint did seem somewhat limited, given the massive scope of the problem and the reality that not all principals will, in fact, do what she is doing. Ms. Lenz, on the other hand, offered the "seasoned veteran" perspective, though quite sparingly. Following a ten-minute overview of school reform history, she was rather quiet and defaulted to her co-panelists on many occasions. After perusing a sample of Catalyst Chicago, a colleague remarked, "I wanted so much more...she neglected to say more than I will know in my lifetime."
On the whole, we drew the conclusion that the system is broken and that we need new, improved leadership. We saw the lack of concrete, specific solutions that currently exist, and the need for new leaders to step up en masse and take on this issue, front and center. We saw the mindset of the current leadership, and the obstacles ahead. In sum, we saw the bleak outlook of the current situation. And while hope might seem silly, while optimism might seem farfetched, we cannot help but pick up the latest issue of Newsweek...open to the article "An Unlikely Gambler" ...and know that if Ms. Rhee can do it in D.C., we still have reason to believe.
