The P.L.E.D.G.E.
The SOS-squared PLEDGE:
The undersigned are policy-makers, parents, teachers and supporters of public education. Working beyond the divides of party, ideology, convention and philosophy, we pledge to work for systemic and substantive change to open unlimited learning for all students and smash the Achievement Gap.
P= Policies. We demand new policies for K12 education at the federal, state, and local levels. We demand recognition that current policies - as judged by NAEP and PISA scores - have been an abject failure for 60 years. We deplore the cowardly shaming and blaming of “failing” teachers and schools as the cornerstone of educational reform.
L= Leaders. Both political and educational leaders have been sleeping at the wheel and need to wake up. Where is the outrage, the advocacy, the hands-on work? We demand courageous leaders who are determined to break the mold of past educational policies. We demand the resignation of those who continue to support failed policies and who are unwilling to admit complicity for the collateral damage they have caused.
E= Equitable outcomes. We demand equitable outcomes for all students. We need to smash the Achievement Gap by 2030 and open unlimited learning to all students.
D= Develop new fail-proof policies. We need to fix the system so it focuses on the classroom lives of children and teachers. We need to envision a new Monday morning right away.
G= Get parents involved on an unprecedented and currently unimaginable scale. We demand systemic change to restore the traditional role of parents as the twin engine - together with classrooms - of education. We need standards that parents understand, on-demand assessment so parents always know how close their children are to meeting standards, tools for parents so they can help their children catch up and speed ahead at any time and enhanced school choice for families.
E= Educators who are unleashed and can run! We demand hands-on principals who are in corridors and classrooms and not behind their desks. We want to see happy and hopeful teachers who see a path to educational success for their children. We demand systemic change to make this possible.