Video: Rose Fernandez, Parent, State of Wisconsin

Rose Fernandez and I were talking this morning. She is a parent in Wisconsin who has a pretty compelling story to tell. After legislators bowing to union pressure closed a virtual charter school there, she rallied local parents in only five days and got that decision reversed.
She later ran for public office and got the local union and anti-charter folks to spend over a million dollars to defeat her. Kind of interesting, when you consider that she’s never had any political experience, and is a nurse by training and career.
She’s a big proponent of blended learning, online learning, and virtual charters. Here’s her thoughts on why parents are a great lever for education reform in America. And why there needs to be more of them at conferences like #VSS2010.

Rose Fernandez, Parent, State of Wisconsin from Douglas Crets on Vimeo.

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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1 Comment

Suzanne Schuelke
11/20/2010

Hear, Hear. So glad to have Rose as a spokesperson! Not all parents are able to, or want to, take the responsibility to oversee their child's education - but it is still ultimately the parents' decision, and the parents must stay involved and be respected.

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