Bus travels, Tour and transport

On yesterday a group of parents, educators, community leaders, and more participated in the Parent Power Express Bus Trip, a two-day, 9 stop bus tour which involved cities/towns from San Diego to Sacramento, CA.

The event was co-sponsored by The Parent Revolution and the Los Angeles View Park Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). The bus tour’s mission was to highlight the organization efforts of parents throughout the state, on how they are utilizing the new “Parent Trigger Law” to help improve their children’s low-performing schools. The tour started with a breakfast workshop in San Diego.

This writer picked up the tour in South Central Los Angeles when they arrived at the home of a Woodcrest Elementary Parent. At that location a group of the school’s parents (from Woodcrest) hosted a presentation on the local school district’s Public School Choice program. Some of the parents also shared information on what they perceived to be obstacles to their students receiving a quality education – and some solutions. In addition this group of parents has formed their own independent parent organization.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan just returned from a three-day bus tour of schools in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities that are struggling economically. He speaks with host Michel Martin about his tour and how investing in schools relates to President Obama's jobs plan.

MICHEL MARTIN, host: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. The school year is just beginning and already some students are learning hard lessons. At the University of Akron, an email meant to advise black male students on how to deal with the police has sparked an uproar. We'll hear from a critic of the email plus a university official who is himself a black man about why he thought the email was tough to swallow but necessary. But first, a newsmaker interviewer with the secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

He started this school year by heading back to class himself. As part of his back to school bus tour, the secretary has met with students, teachers, and administrators in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and other schools in the Great Lakes region to drive home the message that, quote, "education is the economic strategy for the 21st century." The bus tour wrapped up this past weekend. We caught up with Secretary Duncan earlier and he joined us from his Washington, D.C. office.

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