July 10, 2012:
"After spending the first year trying to keep my head above water, I began asking myself difficult questions--am I morally meeting the needs of my students and are they getting what they need?"
- Michelle Crawford, a third year teacher at Environmental Science and Technology High School in Los Angeles
Charter schools are responsible for ensuring that all of their students receive an excellent education. After noting that the special education program at her school wasn't actually specialized enough to meet the unique needs of her students, one LA teacher spoke out and fought to ensure that her school was devising and testing new methods to elevate their special education program. If her school was truly to have high standards and be on the forefront of collaboration and innovation then she needed to bring their special education program "out of the bungalows and into the spotlight."
- Read more from Michelle in this great interview on the Educators 4 Excellence web site.
- Read more about CCSA's advocacy work around special education.
About Educators 4 Excellence
Educators 4 Excellence is a teacher-led organization that seeks to ensure that teacher voices are included in the policies that shape their classrooms and careers. Its members sign on to a declaration of beliefs, which guides all Educators 4 Excellence decisions and actions. Educators 4 Excellence began as a group of teachers working in New York who sought to change the way that policy-making tended to alienate teachers rather than include their voices. It has now expanded from New York to Los Angeles and includes both charter school and district teachers. Learn more at www.educators4excellence.org.
