Dump the PTA?

For those who have followed the slow decline of the PTA here’s a bit more information which may accelerate that death.

The PTA has claimed that it is neutral regarding Common Core. However, the only information the PTA hosts is information supporting Common Core. In Facebook postings as well as email exchanges with Washington State PTA personnel they continue to claim their neutrality while REFUSING to allow any disagreement or materials pointing out the many flaws of Common Core.

Now, the PTA has taken an official stand IN FAVOR of high stakes testing. Here is the information from their press release:

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Jan. 21, 2016) — As movements to opt children out of assessments have increased, National PTA’s board of directors adopted a new position statement on student assessment and opt-out policies during its January board meeting. The statement calls for all students to participate in high-quality, comprehensive assessments that measure their growth and achievement so all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

“Assessments provide valuable information that is used to guide instruction and other educational decisions to better meet the needs of students and ensure they receive necessary resources and supports that prepare them for long-term success,” said James L. Accomando, president-elect of National PTA. “We highly value family engagement in education and respect the rights of parents to make decisions on behalf of their children, however, National PTA believes the consequences of non-participation in state assessments can have detrimental impacts on students and schools.”

Comment: The Gates Foundation has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into groups and organizations to get them to support Common Core and the destruction (reconstruction) of education in the United States. Pearson and other “educational service” companies have apparently been “spreading the wealth”. Is the PTA a recipient of the largess of groups like the Gates Foundation and Pearson and others? Has the PTA sold itself for a few pieces of silver?

Consider dropping your PTA and creating a PTO (we’ll have a future article on how you can create a PTO). Instead of paying dues to an organization that supports Common Core (when a majority of parents don’t) and now support the SBAC and PARCC (which are major failures and more and more states are dropping) are the PTA’s “true” intentions finally coming to light? You ask the questions and make your own decision…if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…it is a duck.