Just a note on progress on the Vote Yes on Question 9 - Protect our Public Schools plans. By next
week the campaign should begin to surface.
1. Brian Conway of Conway Design has volunteered to lay out the flyer as a three fold brochure
to stuff in mail boxes. We hope the first run will be available on Sunday. (The text, though not laid out, follows at the end of this message - thanks to Mark Breneman, Jackie King, Marty Jukovsky for help).
If you are willing to distribute the flyers to houses on your street and adjoining streets please
e-mail Charlo Maurer at charlom@mediaone.net with street address and nearest cross street, and
cc to jonking@mediaone.net We will deliver them to your house.
We also hope you will find ways to distribute them to parents and teachers in your schools, at
youth soccer, hockey, football games, etc.
2. After the flyers have been distributed, Brian will also design a yard sign. We need a volunteer
to contact printers who do yard signs, and be the liaison.
Once yard signs are printed we will get them around to you, and also organize some "visibilities"
in Central square.
3. A draft text of a letter to get announcements of the ballot question into school newsletters will
follow. These can be personalized, and then given to whoever in your school is responsible for
newsletter/announcements. We are hoping that Cambridge parents and teachers on this list can
self-organize for this. If you are willing to tackle your school, just post that to the list.
4. Later in October we hope to produce 1 page flyers that can be posted in schools, coffee
shops, or distributed at appropriate events.
5. Letter will be going out to Cambridge Teacher's Association for their endorsement and
support. If you know of an organization who might be approached for endorsement or support, and
would like a delegation to go with you, please post accordingly.
6. We will try to meet sometime in the next week to discuss how to proceed; watch for call to
meeting.
7. Of course, for an election, we need an End the MCAS Vote Yes on 9 rally, probably around
first weekend in November.
Jonathan.
[Front panel]
 | Protect and Enhance Our Public Schools! |
| Vote Yes on Question 9! |
| Question 9 identifies six goals necessary to support our students, public schools, and teachers. |
| Equitable state funding of local schools. |
| Reduce class size. |
| Suspend the MCAS test as criteria for promotion or graduation. |
| Institute fair and authentic assessment. |
| Exclude use of voucher programs. |
| Bar for-profit schools from public funding. [Inside three panels] - Continue state investment in local schools: These investments keep communities moving toward more equitable funding of schools, as well as lowering the local property tax burden. - Reduce Class sizes: This is the single most effective step to improve our childrenšs educational opportunities. - Suspend the MCAS test as a criteria of promotion or graduation: These punitive and unfair tests damage our children and their schools, narrow and dilute curricula, and will prevent large numbers of students from graduating high school. The tests discriminate against low-income and minority students, as well as bi-lingual, special needs and vocational students. - Institute fair and authentic assessment: Our students and their schools deserve evaluation using multiple means of assessment, as called for in the 1993 Educational Reform Act, to provide information that will be of value to parents and teachers. - Exclude voucher programs: These would give our public tax funds to privately-run schools, causing serious difficulties for public school budgets, and circumventing democratic oversight of education. - Bar for-profit schools from public funding: Some companies are intent on entering K-12 education as a business, for example by managing charter schools for profit. These companies are accountable to their shareholders, and not to students, parents or our school committee. Such arrangements undermine the possibility of providing our children with an education designed for their benefit. - [Back panel] Send a message in support of education to our State Legislature! Question 9 is on the ballot in this 28th Middlesex State Representative district, which includes Cambridgeport, mid-Cambridge, and Area 4. It is also on the ballot in other State Representative Districts in Somerville, West Roxbury, New Bedford and Holyoke. "Shall the Representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that equitably invests state funds in local public schools for quality education; reduces class size; excludes use of voucher programs which siphon funds from public education; bar for-profit schools from public funding; suspends the MCAS tests as the criteria for promotion or graduation; and establishes an authentic and fair assessment system of educational progress for our students and their schools" Question 9 is not binding, but is intended to express voters views to our elected officials. Please ask your friends and neighbors to support our children, teachers and public schools by voting Yes on Question 9! You can participate in this important local campaign effecting all Cambridge public school students; To help or for more information visit www.massparents.org |
call 441 0863, or e-mail to massparents@igc.topica.com
Sponsored by:
Cambridge Parents for Education not MCAS
Coalition for Authentic Reform of Education
Massachusetts Green Party
Massachusetts Labor Party
{Address page for use as mailer]
[Upper left corner]
Cambridge Parents for Education not MCAS
5 Porter Park
Cambridge, Mass 02140
