It’s time to reclaim the promise of public education – not as it is today or as in the past, but as we imagine it for our children – to fulfill our collective obligation to help all children succeed.

Reclaiming the promise is about fighting for neighborhood public schools that

Background: "Parent trigger," a concept first enacted in state legislation in California in 2010, lets the parents of students in a low-performing school collectively to petition the state or school district to allow for alternative school governance, like conversion to a charter school. Now enacted in a handful of states nationwide, parent trigger is supported by corporate backers like the Koch brothers.
 

•  A bill, HB 123-also known as the "Parent and Teacher Empowerment Act"-has been introduced in the Georgia Legislature to allow a majority of parents (more than 50 percent) or a majority of

Participants will gather at the AFT-Maryland office, 5800 Metro Drive, in Baltimore at 4:45 p.m. to board buses bound for the state capitol.

All participants will receive briefing materials that identify the bills of interest to union members and AFT-Maryland’s positions on those bills. Lobby Night participants will visit their elected representatives and inform them of the federation’s positions on legislation that affects working families in Maryland. Lists of the legislators associated with the bills of

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -

One of the nation's largest teachers unions wants to take the profession up a notch.

The American Federation of Teachers wants educators to take a tough written exam before they step into the classroom at schools across the country.

"We want to see our profession respected and if that's what it takes to earn the respect to attract highly qualified applicants then by all means that's what we need to do," said Ron Fowler of the Georgia Federation of Teachers (GFT).

The whole idea is to raise the bar to ensure kids get the best education possible.

Teachers in Georgia do test

It’s time to reclaim the promise of public education – not as it is today or as in the past, but as we imagine it for our children – to fulfill our collective obligation to help all children succeed.

Reclaiming the promise is about fighting for neighborhood public schools that

Background: "Parent trigger," a concept first enacted in state legislation in California in 2010, lets the parents of students in a low-performing school collectively to petition the state or school district to allow for alternative school governance, like conversion to a charter school. Now enacted in a handful of states nationwide, parent trigger is supported by corporate backers like the Koch brothers.
 

•  A bill, HB 123-also known as the "Parent and Teacher Empowerment Act"-has been introduced in the Georgia Legislature to allow a majority of parents (more than 50 percent) or a majority of

Participants will gather at the AFT-Maryland office, 5800 Metro Drive, in Baltimore at 4:45 p.m. to board buses bound for the state capitol.

All participants will receive briefing materials that identify the bills of interest to union members and AFT-Maryland’s positions on those bills. Lobby Night participants will visit their elected representatives and inform them of the federation’s positions on legislation that affects working families in Maryland. Lists of the legislators associated with the bills of

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -

One of the nation's largest teachers unions wants to take the profession up a notch.

The American Federation of Teachers wants educators to take a tough written exam before they step into the classroom at schools across the country.

"We want to see our profession respected and if that's what it takes to earn the respect to attract highly qualified applicants then by all means that's what we need to do," said Ron Fowler of the Georgia Federation of Teachers (GFT).

The whole idea is to raise the bar to ensure kids get the best education possible.

Teachers in Georgia do test