Next PEP, Walcott’s First! April 28th, 6pm

Can Bloomberg cut down the opposition that has been building against his destructive policies simply by replacing his salesperson? We say NO!

On April 28th at the Prospect Heights Campus at 6pm, the Panel for Educational Policy will hold a meeting and then vote to co-locate 13 more charter schools in public school buildings.

Charter schools are a threat to everything we hold dear about education: they are privately-run education corporations that divert money from the public schools, underserve our highest-needs students, and do not offer the protections we know teachers need to be good at their jobs. Many charters encourage rote memorization instead of real learning and often times they engage in military-like discipline practices. Additionally, co-locations divide communities and create separate and unequal learning opportunities within one building.

Please join the Grassroots Education Movement at this PEP Meeting to demand an end to these disastrous policies and to Mayoral Control.

Thursday, April 28th
Prospect Heights Campus
Washington & Eastern, 2/3/4/5 to Franklin or Shuttle to Brooklyn Museum

Sign up to speak: 5:00
Meeting begins: 6:00

5 Reasons YOU should attend the Panel for Educational Policy Meeting on April 28th:

1. We must come out and make a public statement against the mayor’s destructive policies, especially because we have a new chancellor. Anything less and Bloomerg will argue that all the opposition we have built against his policies was nothing more than dislike for Cathie Black.

2. Charter schools often get significant turnout at these meetings to support them, particularly from teachers whose principals can require them to attend and say what they demand with threats of firing. They use school funds to pay for buses for parents and students, and provide t-shirts and glossy signs. We must counter with our own message and our own voices.

3. Mayoral control is a neoliberal policy that removes power from communities and places it in the hands of one wealthy individual. This is not progress! This is not justice! But only the people can demand a change, and PEP meetings are one place to make that demand.

4. As the DOE gears up to layoff 4,658 teachers in the upcoming budget, funding for charters is planned to increase by $139 million.

5. You may actually enjoy yourself! While it’s true that PEP meetings can be pretty devastating, they can also be entertaining and inspiring as well. You’ll hear amazing speeches from students, parents, teachers and elected officials. Join GEM at the mic for our anti-privatization song if you fancy. Sign up to speak and make your case to the new Chancellor. Meet interesting, inspiring people. It can be a really invigorating experience to stand up to the powerful forces we are facing. And who doesn’t enjoy a little adrenaline rush at a blood boiling event once in a while?