News release from FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION:
WHAT: Bridgeport Deserves Better: A Prayerful Demonstration
WHEN: Monday, September 26, 2016, 6:00pm
WHERE: Geraldine Johnson School, 475 Lexington Ave, Bridgeport, CT
WHO: FaithActs for Education, a non-partisan, faith-based organization dedicated to improving education for all children.
www.faithactsedu.org
Twitter @faithactsedu
WHY: Bridgeport deserves better from its elected Board of Education. We’re leading a public demonstration in the wake of the Board’s history of dysfunction and ultimate decision to stop meeting.This month we’ve heard a judge, lawmakers, and the media tell us what we already know: kids in Bridgeport are not getting the education they deserve. They’re not getting the resources they deserve, or the leadership they deserve.
On Monday, we’re coming together to demonstrate what we believe a functional board meeting should look like. We’re calling on all adults to do better for our children. The fighting and bullying has to stop.
Pastors, parents, educators and students will speak, and we will conclude in prayer that our city’s decision-makers fulfill their moral obligation to serve our children.
About FaithActs for Education: FaithActs for Education is a grassroots community organizing nonprofit based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We are people of faith building power to get our children the education they deserve. Founded in October 2014, our organizing model centers around two key activities: leveraging the power of faith leaders within their community, and directly engaging parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles–folks with a direct stake in their child’s education.
285 Fairfield Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06604
Okay, who are the real people behind this FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION. We need names.
FaithActs for Education can’t even be original. Wasn’t “Bridgeport Deserves Better” MJF’s tagline when she ran for mayor in 2015?
September 26th, is this not the date for the next supposed meeting of the BOE, which are not happening because of Bradley, Larcheveque and McSpirit (Ganim, Testa and Co)? It sounds like this is a pro-Bradley group.
I went to their website. The easiest thing is to donate money. Everything else is a lot of questions and no ability to leave messages.
I left a message.
Checking their FB page and website I found the following:
JAMILAH PRINCE-STEWART, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Connected to ConnCAN.
BRITTANY COLEMAN, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND PROGRAM. Connected to ConnCAN.
ALBERTHA BROWN, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. Connected to several charter schools.
KARA FALLON, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT. Connected to ConnCAN.
ConnCAN connected to the dismantling of our public schools with no public oversight.
I wonder what signs they will be carrying in the name of God?
The president of Faith Acts for Education is Reverend McCullogh who was featured on a piece of Dennis Bradley literature for State Senate.
He is a major charter $chool supporter. Three of the four Faith Acts for Education staff are originally from CanCON. Their number-one goal is to privatize our public schools.
They are funded by the same billionaires/millionaires and Wall Street investors funding Families for Ex$Ellent schools, Northeast Charter $chools, etc.
If this group is filing with the IRS Form 990 as a charity 501(c)(3), this activity on behalf of Dennis Bradley, Larcheveque, McSpirit, (Ganim, Testa and Co) seems to be putting them into political activities especially assembling at Geraldine Johnson School. Maybe they should be reported to the IRS.
Pastors who support Charter $chools, Charter $chool parents, Charter $chool educators (Teach for a little while), and Charter $chool students will speak.
Propaganda.
And exactly when did the “Board” make a “decision not to meet?”
The “Board” made no such decision. It was Pastor McCullough’s buddy Dennis Bradley along with charter $cool supporters Kevin McSpirit and Joe Larcheveque. Let’s not forgot Interim-Superintendent Rabinowitz who is 100% involved in this.
This is the content of business filing record with the Connecticut Secretary of the State:
Business Inquiry
Business Details
Business Name: FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION, INC. Citizenship/State Inc: Domestic/CT
Business ID: 1157720 Last Report Filed Year: NONE
Business Address: 285 FAIRFIELD AVENUE, BRIDGEPORT, CT, 06604 Business Type: NonStock
Mailing Address: 285 FAIRFIELD AVENUE, BRIDGEPORT, CT, 06604 Business Status: Active
Date Inc/Registration: Oct 21, 2014
Principals Details
No Principal Records found for Business with ID: 1157720
Agent Summary
Agent Name JAMILAH PRINCESTEWART
Agent Business Address
FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION, C/O PUBLIC SQUARE PARTNERSHIP, 1730 COMMERCE DRIVE #706 SUITE C, BRIDGEPORT, CT,
06605
Agent Residence Address 150 SECOND STREET, HAMDEN, CT, 06514
Thanks, Tom. The Fairfield Ave. address is the location of the BEEHIVE. It is a shared space that also housed a teachers “deform” group also.
I’ve heard Jamilah speak twice when I paid a visit to another church as a guest and both times she didn’t in any way talk about charter schools. She is a very gifted speaker, she spoke about the Bridgeport school system and she gave the numbers of where Bridgeport placed with testing and funding and she asked if those attending wanted better for their children’s education. She spoke about her background and experience, which is very impressive. She ended by asking people to sign up after the church service if they wanted more information on how they could assist in having a better education for their children.
Ron, I’m curious. Did Jamilah speak of solutions regarding testing and funding? I don’t know her, I’m sure she’s gifted as you say, I’m sure her background and experience is impressive, that’s why I’m wondering if in her comments and her solicitation of interested attendees, she had a plan to assist parents in obtaining a better education for their children, and if so, what it is. I find it difficult to believe she went that far into her experience with education and didn’t offer, or at least allude to, alternatives or possible solutions.
Lisa, it was more of who they were and how people needed to register to vote because they would have a part in telling those who are elected to support proper funding for education from the city, state and federal level. At no time did she speak about charter schools but she did ask people to sign up and give their email address and they would forward them more information on their organization.
That’s a good initiative. I think we need a rash of new voters, hopefully who will take more of an interest in what’s happening now, and will get out and vote. If that happens, we will attract real people, dedicated people to public service for the right reasons.
To summarize, FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION is a front/facade for charter schools. To hide behind faith is despicable.
Ms. Price does not live in Bridgeport. They do everything in their power to gather names, email addresses, and contact numbers to advance their only cause, which is the proliferation of charter $chools.
The only goal of FaithActs for Education is to privatize true public schools and to expand charter schools.
Every single individual on their board is tied to charter $chools.
They recruit naive members of the community, and even fly them out to conferences to “educate” them about how wonderful charter $chools are. They pay for all the costs including hotels and meals.
Charter $chools are a major problem in Bridgeport. Just last year alone the BPS lost $6 million to the six Charter $chools in Bridgeport.
It is not a coincidence three of their four employees resigned from CanCon and immediately went to launch FaithACTS for Education.
It’s all about the $$$.
It would be nice if the Paras showed up at the “meeting” to support a return to work for the striking board members who are keeping food from their mouths.
Did Ms. Price state during her speeches that the BPS has been the most underfunded school system in CT for over three decades?
Did she reference our true public schools serve all children including the three subgroups that perform the worst on standardized tests, which includes special ed., English language learners, and students who live in poverty?
Did she publicize that charter $chools significantly underserve all three of three subgroups, therefore it inflates their test scores because there is not an apples-to-apples comparison in the student body?
Did she explain the students in these three subgroups are the most expensive to teach therefore by leaving the vast majority of these students in our true public schools costs millions upon millions of dollars that charter $chools do not expend?
Did she share that most experts agree deciding whether a child or school is “failing” or not is a poor measurement?
Test scores don’t measure teamwork, attendance, tardiness, civic responsibility, respect, behavior, suspensions, etc.
I think any elected official who promotes testing as the sole indicator of a student’s or school’s success should have to take an annual test themselves, and if they fail this one annual test they should be removed from office and labeled a “failure.”
I just received a call from a parent who attended the CT Against Violence Back to School Event at Housatonic on Friday.
Dennis Bradley and Fran Rabinowitz had the nerve to show up and speak to our HS students for a photo-op but refuse to attend BoE meetings.
The parent overheard Ernie Newton and Dennis Bradley speaking about the boycott. Dennis told Ernie there is no point in meeting until “we” have a 5 to 4 voting bloc on the BOE. There you have it folks, that is what is important to Ganim, Testa, Bradley, Larcheveque, McSpirit and Rabinowitz.
It certainly isn’t our 21,000 students, parents and staff.
This is my last post on OIB. Goodbye and Good luck to all.
This announcement from this organization FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION just left me so disgusted. I independently confirmed the connection between officers of this group and ConnCAN. The fact they hide behind religion/faith/God is as low as one can go in my book. This group and its leaders are HYPOCRITES. Recently, I had my little experience with the handle MILKMAN (and I was told everyone here on OIB knows MILKMAN as Doug Wade/Wade Dairy). I gave Doug Wade the benefit of the doubt and trusted him that he was making an honorable effort to end the impasse on the BOE and then it turned out to be a TRICK. So I’ve encountered TRICKS and HYPOCRISY within a short period of time and left turned off to “blogging.” I have no interest in tricksters and hypocrites. I come here to OIB for some honest discussion with inevitable disagreements and sometimes heated discussion. But this FAITHACTS FOR EDUCATION produced a visceral reaction resulting in my above announcement. I think I will stay here on OIB because I have enjoyed the large majority of discussions and have also learned new things. Continued learning is a good thing.
Frank,
Please read Milkman (Doug Wade)’s post again.
[onlyinbridgeport.com/wordpress/walsh-listen-to-the-people-if-you-want-to-build-lasting-coalitions/#comment-118734]
He merely gave his opinion about the players and their motivations, just like you often do. He never said he had any juice with them, and never said he was going to or even could say anything to them. You were the one who hoped that was true
[onlyinbridgeport.com/wordpress/walsh-listen-to-the-people-if-you-want-to-build-lasting-coalitions/#comment-118737]
and when you were told who he was, you were the one who, unreasonably, felt “betrayed.”
[onlyinbridgeport.com/wordpress/walsh-listen-to-the-people-if-you-want-to-build-lasting-coalitions/#comment-118765]
I think you owe him an apology. Or perhaps the next time you say something nice about someone/something, we can all say your post shows you can and will do something you never said and you “betrayed” us all.
These people who started this march are full of shit, pure and simple. Mary Lee is building towards a run for the council president. Imagine that, you talk about a city in trouble.
Where have all these people been as kids in Bridgeport along with adults are being shot and killed or shot and wounded? Where have they been with the BOE flat-funded?
This is total bullshit as are charter schools at this point in time.