The MTA and other members of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance are holding a Week of Action on Charter Schools to raise public awareness about how these schools impact students in our district public schools. The messages will be spread through social media and local media outlets. Fact sheets and background information are available here.
Monday, Oct. 5: Public funds for public schools. Go here to an interactive map to find out how much your community is losing to charter schools. Wear the new Public Funds for Public Schoolsstickers, take photos of yourselves with stickers and share on social media. Locals that haven’t yet received stickers should contact their MTA field representatives.
Tuesday, Oct. 6: Public control of public schools. Let the public know that charter schools can be approved over the objections of a majority of local taxpayers and elected officials. And local officials have no say over how those charters are run. Spread the word by testifying at school committee meetings and through social media.
Wednesday, Oct. 7: Public schools serve all students. The MTA will provide members with “memes” and other information about how charters exclude English language learners, special needs students and the most economically disadvantaged students. These will be available on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed and on our website.
Thursday, Oct. 8: Stop the school-to-prison pipeline. The MTA will supply easy-to-post information on how charter schools’ discipline policies and high suspension rates lead to push-outs and poor outcomes for some students.
Friday, Oct. 9: Schools our communities deserve. We aren’t just against charters. We are in favor of creating and supporting the schools our students, our educators and our communities deserve. Let the public know the great things going on in your schools, and also how you would use resources that are currently being lost to charter schools.