Wish-list to Obama for Public Education -- Parents-Students-Teachers & Technology in Public Education

MEMO
To: Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education Designee; Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor Designee; Tom Daschle, Secretary of Health & Human Services Designee;
Science and Technology Team & Technology Czar (if position is created)
RE: Parents-Students-Teachers and Technology

Dear Designees: Your MegaChip is full, but please consider recommendations requiring inter-agency collaboration and cooperation. There’ll be a substantial federal fund request to spur the economy. Rumors are it will include a 21st Century version of 30s Roosevelt WPA projects & 60s Kennedy VISTA volunteers. In that vein, please consider the following projects to fund:

VISTA-CHIPS (Volunteers in Service to America’s Children in Public Schools) Teachers for Family& Student Leadership working with schools, student leadership & parent leadership in education -- campus based but also community-organization connected.

Parents-in-Education (PIE-ChIPS) Outreach Workers

Tech-savvy promotoras (community outreach workers) with a dual school and community organizational base. Primary tasks: 1) to conduct home-visits, 2) identify and nurture emerging parent leaders & 3) identify & mobilize neighborhood and school feeder-pattern assets in support of the academic achievement of all students.

Community Technology Centers for Children in Public Schools (CTC/ ChIPS) Partnering Community Based Organizations, Public Schools, & Businesses into partnerships that support excellent neighborhood public schools for all children.

Community Technology Center - Community Technology Access Projects CTCs partner with existing public school computer labs and also provide new community center labs to facilitate and increase computer & internet use by the communities that have limited access to computers and the internet. These new CTCs would be staffed by the Parent-Leadership in Education outreach workers listed above.

Barrios in Technology / Children in Public Schools
(BIT-ChIPS) Parent Leadership Project Providing technology in homes without computers and internet access – Multi-pronged project, managed out of new & improved Community Technology Centers, to identify computer presence in Title 1-school feeding- pattern neighborhoods, provide computers and fast internet access in homes, not just based on lack of technology but as a reciprocal offering to documented family leadership in education and support of student academic success in the home.

If interested, I can elaborate on each recommendation, with research and experience to indicate the potential for impact on the academic achievement of all children, most especially those who are poor, minority, of color, speak a language other than English or are underserved for any other reason.

I'll be breathlessly awaiting your e-response.