JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Prove demographics don’t
have to be destiny

We can’t remake our public schools without you.

 
Contribute
Fix poverty by fixing schools

MarylandCAN needs your support right now to make sure that every child in Maryland, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class, has access to a great public school.

In the News
Sun, 02/24/2013
Parent Talk Live

Parent Talk Live radio host Dr. Michael Robinson interviews MarylandCAN Executive Director as they discuss MarylandCAN's community engagement and its impact on parental engagement in education advocacy efforts.

Listen to the full interview here.

Fri, 02/15/2013
The Launch Pad

Harry Washington, host of The Launch Pad cable television show, interviews Curtis Valentine about MarylandCAN's efforts to close the achievement gap in the state of Maryland.

Please watch full interview here.

Thu, 01/31/2013
WBAL 1090AM

Ten years after Maryland's charter school law was enacted, more than 200 student, parents and teachers from charter schools around the state were in Annapolis today to urge lawmakers to make changes to the charter school law.

The effort was organized by MarylandCAN, the Maryland Campaign for Achievement Now.

Sun, 01/13/2013
94.7 Fresh FM

MarylandCAN Executive Director Curtis Valentine interviewied about MarylandCAN's work, especially as it relates to our advocacy for changes in Maryland's charter school law.  

Listen to full interview here

Aired January 13, 2013, on "Fresh Perspectives" (94.7 Fresh FM) and streamed live at CBSDC.com.

Also aired January 15, 2013 on 1580 AM Gov.Biz Radio.

Sat, 12/22/2012
All News 99.1 WNEW

 Check out these soundbites from an interview with Curtis Valentine featuring him as "Hometown Hero of the Week" and highlighting the work he does with MarylandCAN

Click here for Soundbite #1

Click here for Soundbite #2

See All News

Social Networking
Talk to us on

Blogging Fellows Blog Post Archive

Parents need time off to attend school meetings!
Tue, 10/09/2012 - 13:05

Meet Michelle McKnight, a Baltimore County parent who lost her job as a licensed practical nurse for being too engaged in her five-year-old son’s education. Her son, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, was having trouble transitioning into kindergarten and his school called her many times at work. Unhappy with the distractions, her employer fired her before she could even get to her six-month...

Maryland, say goodbye to automatic three-year teacher tenure!
Thu, 09/06/2012 - 10:14

Every time I visited my son’s first-grade class, I heard the teacher next door yelling at her class. I reported this to the principal, but the principal could not fire her because the teacher in question was tenured. The principal had been observing the class often and accumulating evidence of poor teaching, but she had to go through a long process to fire the teacher. She finally did—but not before the...

How to exercise your parental rights in Maryland public schools
Mon, 08/20/2012 - 11:24

A friend of mine knows her rights as a parent. And she goes to her autistic son’s IEP meetings with her rights listed in her Kindle. But when she wants to make an impression, she carries her well-worn and tabbed copy of Wrights Law: Special Education Law.
 

How to advocate for special education services for chronically ill students
Mon, 08/06/2012 - 11:18

On February 27, 2009, my fifth-grade son stayed home from school with what we thought was the flu. But he didn’t get better. He was dizzy and exhausted. He threw up when we took him in the car. He had to lie down in elevators. We took him to doctors and labs 23 times before we had a diagnosis and a plan for how to help him. Finally, he was diagnosed with POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Because...

Parent involvement: Beyond school support
Mon, 07/30/2012 - 12:02

As many parents know, involvement in your child’s education goes beyond school hours and days. As parents, it’s essential to the success of your child. As parents we are given the opportunity every day to be involved in our child’s education. The statistics show parents that are involved in their child’s life do better in school. However, parent involvement happens both within and outside of...

Change MD Charter School Law
Mon, 07/23/2012 - 11:52

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Ujima Village Academy is a middle school in one of the roughest areas of in Baltimore, with 86 percent of its students eligible for free/reduced price lunch. Yet it is nationally recognized...

Charter schools: A parent's perspective
Mon, 07/16/2012 - 12:15

Many parents may wonder what are the benefits of charter schools, how do they apply and is it the best choice for their child. "According to PublicCharters.org, “Charter schools are independent public schools allowed freedom to be more innovative, while being held accountable for improved student achievement...

By Beth McCracken-Harness, MarylandCAN Blogging Fellow

What the PTA is for
Mon, 07/09/2012 - 11:08

When my first child was in kindergarten, I walked him to school with his two-year-old sister. The road did not have sidewalks, and cars came dangerously close to children walking to school. I brought the matter up with the school, and the receptionist told me that the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) might be best able to address the safety issue. I went to a PTA meeting, and ended up serving as publicity coordinator...

Ready at Five
Mon, 07/02/2012 - 07:47

Quality pre-K programs can be life-changing for the children they serve. As a parent, I can speak from firsthand experience about how my children’s pre-K prepared them for future success: in their preschool they developed literacy and cognitive skills--the foundation for reading, writing and math. Pre-K also taught my children teamwork--all critical skills for budding scholars. Even now that my children have...

Full day preschool gives low-income kids a fair shake
Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:37

When my son was in kindergarten, I tutored reading to his peers and quickly discovered they had a wide range of abilities: some of the children in his class did not know the alphabet, but others knew how to read. Sadly, they came to the educational experience with different levels of preparation. Some parents had obviously read a lot to their children. By that age, some of the children had already begun to visit...

Share |