Momentum Builds For SOS March and Rally in D.C.

Today's Edweek has a major article by Erik Robelen describing the momentum building for the July 30th Save Our Schools march in

D.C.Organizers say the effort aims to galvanize and give voice to those who believe policymakers, including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and state governors, have gone astray in their remedies for improving American schools
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Sabrina Stevens Shupe, in downtown Denver, says she's alarmed to see how testing-based accountability continues to increase. "We were very excited that, 'Oh, we're going to get Obama in office,' ...and we get this bait and switch with Arne Duncan and Race to the Top," says Shupe, a Save Our Schools organizer and former Denver teacher.  — Nathan W. Armes for Education Week

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A two-day conference is scheduled before the march and a “congress” the day after to discuss next steps. Among the organizations to endorse the Save Our Schools march are: the International Reading Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Council of Teachers of English, the nonprofit group Parents Across America, and the Virginia School Boards Association. Also, more than 30 state and local teachers’ unions, plus the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, have signaled their support.

Organizers of the Save Our Schools march say they expect 5,000 to 10,000 people to attend the Washington gathering on July 30. Nancy Flanagan, the Michigan teacher of the year in 1993, said the size of the rally isn’t the point. “The point is to start momentum toward a sea change, to bring together—physically and virtually—a network of people who want change,” she said. Social media have been key drivers of the march, with organizers using blogs, an SOS Facebook page, and Twitter to promote it.