Parents' Organization Counts Chapters in 26 States

Cincinnati

Parents for Public Schools, which was conceived in a Jackson, Miss., living room in 1989 by parents who were determined to resist middle-class flight and send their children to public schools, has come a long way in less than 10 years.

The national network now has 54 chapters in 26 states, recruiting people to support public schools and advocating that parents be equal partners in making decisions about them. So when Kelly Allin Butler, the executive director of pps, invited 15 leading school reformers to join members at their May 1-3 national leadership conference here, every...