"The School Reform Handbook puts all the right information in one place for parents concerned with their children's future. Very handy, very useful, very smart. The author knows of what she writes," -- William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education
Finally, the definitive guide to reforming your schools. This easy-to-read guide contains everything you ever needed to know about what to do with our schools, from making community-based changes to far reaching state reforms. Learn the real scoop on:
- What you need to know about your schools
- Who's really in charge
- How to best present your ideas
- How to talk to the media
- How to organize a meeting
- and hundreds of other important points to help an effective reformer.
The School Reform Handbook tells hundreds of real-life stories about our schools -- highlighting the experiences of parents, teachers, and children. It will put you in a position to make lasting improvements in public education.
Note from the Authors: Since The School Reform Handbook was published in 1995, much about educating our children has changed, but much remains the same, too. What has changed is that because of parents, civic leaders, bold policymakers and many more, parents today have more opportunity than ever to make fundamental decisions about how their children are educated.
What remains the same, however, is that those decisions are still limited by where you live, and the educational success of our schools nationwide is still vastly uneven. Despite massive effort at every level - from school boards to state capitals and beyond - parents still have very little say in how their children are educated and the result is uneven, often mediocre schools, even in communities which have fewer social or financial challenges. Rich or poor, black or white, special-needs or highly motivated, US students suffer from a school system that is still largely a result of a 19th century design and decades of increasing bureaucratic control.
When The School Reform Handbook was written, there were only a few bright spots on the horizon. Since then, reformers, armed with more information, the ever-extending reach of the internet, and renewed energy and awareness, have taken up specific causes from community to community and state to state. The results are clear. Improvements in educational quality are evident, the grassroots revolt has made a difference.
But until we move from an education bureaucracy that protects adults at the expense of children to a system of schools which open or close depending on performance, there can be no wide-scale improvement.
But you can make it happen. All you need is the knowledge to start. Turn to The School Reform Handbook to find out what’s working in the world of education reform, who’s calling the shots in the current system, and how you can become an active, effective agent for improvement.
The School Reform Handbook is a call to action and a motivation to help make the problem of bad schools go away once and for all. Use it to pursue change in your community or state - and please call on us to help you make it happen. Your work is important to us, and your progress and your stories will help others like you to succeed.
We thank you for your dedication.
The School Reform Handbook is available for purchase from the CER Store or Amazon.com
. Or call 202-822-9000 or email cer@edreform.com to order your copy.
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The Center for Education Reform (CER) creates opportunities for and challenges obstacles to better education for America’s communities. Founded in 1993, CER combines education policy with grassroots advocacy to foster positive and bold education reforms. For more information, contact CER at (202) 822-9000 or send us email. 
