Two new parent advocacy groups have emerged in The Ocean State: ProvParents and Parents Leading for Educational Equity. Leaders from each group teamed up to write an Op-ed in the Providence Journal yesterday, letting the public know that parents are saying “enough is enough.”

Here’s an excerpt:

Here’s a predictable cycle: test scores or other educational data get released; the media report on it; elected leaders make attention-grabbing statements; everyone blames someone or something else; and then, eventually, we all settle back into complacency and nothing changes. Not anymore.

In the face of the latest data, parents are saying enough is enough. We’re paying attention, we’re getting engaged, we’re telling our stories and, this time, we aren’t going to let everyone forget about our kids.

Since October, several hundred parents, caregivers, and community supporters have signed letters demanding more from public officials; gathered in groups large and small to dig into the data and its implications; and challenged our leaders at public forums. Our organizations, Parents Leading for Educational Equity and ProvParents, are helping to channel their energy, and we’re just getting started.

We are done with our kids having substitutes for the better part of a year. Done with having to fight, day in and out, to have our children’s special education needs met. Done with our second graders coming home asking why some kids get treated more harshly than others. Done with the “essay” assignments that only expect a paragraph of writing. Done with the assumption that our communities of color are too poor or too broken to meet high academic expectations.

To read the full op-ed, click here. 

You can also follow the groups on Twitter at  @ProvParents   and  @PLEERI.