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The recent emergence of teacher-voice organizations presents a new avenue for teachers to have their voices heard in education policy conversations. These grassroots organizations focus on a wide range of policy issues and have popped up at a time when new policy initiatives, from teacher evaluation reform to the implementation of the common core state standards, are directly impacting the work of teachers.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion about the emergence of these new teacher voice groups with the release of Kaitlin Pennington’s paper, “New Organizations, New Voices: The Landscape of Today’s Teachers Shaping Policy.” Kaitlin’s report analyzes the common characteristics of the numerous prominent teacher-voice organizations and fellowships while pointing out unique aspects of each group in order to highlight the many voices in a diverse movement. At a time when teachers are seeking new leadership opportunities and policymakers are proposing vast changes to the teaching profession, teacher-voice organizations and their members have a key role to play in shaping education policy.

 

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American democracy is beset by a sense of crisis. Seismic shifts during a single generation have created a country of winners and losers, allowing unprecedented freedom while rending the social contract, driving the political system to the verge of breakdown, and setting citizens adrift to find new paths forward. In The Unwinding, George Packer journeys through the lives of several everyday Americans over the past three decades. From every corner of the country, their intimate stories are interwoven with biographical sketches of the era’s leading public figures, from Newt Gingrich to Jay-Z, and collages made from newspaper headlines, advertising slogans, and song lyrics that capture the flow of events and their undercurrents.

The Unwindingportrays a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams; its elites no longer elite, its institutions no longer working, and its ordinary people left to improvise their own schemes for success and salvation. Please join us for a discussion with author George Packer on his new book.

Copies of The Unwinding will be available for purchase at the event.

Our second session in the new season of Progressivism on Tap will feature a discussion with New Republic reporter Alec MacGillis, author of the recent article “This Is How the NRA Ends.” MacGillis believes we are witnessing the emergence of a “bigger, richer, meaner gun control movement,” which could very well be a turning point in the politics of gun control. We will explore the implications of this change for the future of gun-control legislation, as well as, more broadly, for the role of social issues in fueling the rising progressive coalition.

Please join us for this stimulating and timely discussion.

 

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For a transcript of this event in English, please click here.

For a transcript of this event in Spanish, please click here.

Please join the Center of American Progress and the Inter-American Dialogue for an event featuring President Ollanta Humala of Peru. On the eve of his Oval Office meeting with President Obama, President Humala will discuss Peru’s growing global engagement and its connection to his work to advance economic and social inclusion in Peru.

President Humala’s remarks will be delivered in Spanish and will be simultaneously translated.

We’re excited to kick off a new season of Progressivism on Tap with a discussion with Salon editor-in-chief Joan Walsh about her latest book, What’s the Matter with White People?: Finding Our Way in the Next America. Walsh argues that the biggest divide in America today is based not on party or ideology but on two competing explanations for why middle-class stability has been shaken since the 1970s. One side sees an America that has spent the past 40 years bankrupting the country by providing benefits for the underachieving, the immoral, and the undeserving—no matter the cost to the majority of Americans. The other side sees an America that has spent the past 40 years catering to the wealthy while allowing only a nominal measure of progress for the downtrodden.

Please join us for an intriguing discussion about the intersection of culture, race, and economics shaping America’s political future.

Due to unforseen circumstances, this screening has been cancelled.

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, Bridegroom is a documentary directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that tells the emotional journey of Shane and Tom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship — a relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof. The story of what happened after this accidental death– of how people without the legal protections of marriage can find themselves completely shut out and ostracized– is poignant, enraging and opens a window onto the issue of marriage equality like no speech or lecture ever will.

Please join the Center for American Progress’ Reel Progress film series for the Washington, DC premiere of Bridegroom, followed by a brief panel discussion and audience Q&A.

 

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How can we reform our housing-finance system so that all Americans can access sustainable, affordable housing? How can we meet the credit needs of historically underserved populations and geographies? What role does the secondary market—which buys mortgages, packages them into securities, and sells them to investors—play in addressing these challenges? How can structural reforms support these core principles?

At this event, CAP and the National Council of La Raza, joined by a broad range of housing, civil rights, and consumer groups, will release a white paper that tackles these difficult questions. Following the presentation of the paper, a distinguished panel will comment on the recommendations and discuss their own views on how the housing finance system can address questions of access and affordability.

 

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America’s workers spend almost half of their waking adult lives at work. In return, the basic American bargain is that those who work hard can get ahead—no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they look like. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers, however, this bargain is broken.

Instead of prosperity, hard work is often rewarded by on-the-job discrimination, fewer workplace benefits, and higher taxes, simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In most parts of the country an employer may legally fire a worker just because that worker is LGBT.

Please join the Center for American Progress for the release of the most comprehensive report to date cataloguing the experience of LGBT workers. This report, A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers, examines the myriad injustices facing LGBT workers and offers commonsense policy recommendations that would combat discrimination and thus give all workers—regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity—a greater opportunity to make a living and support their families.

The report was authored by the Center for American Progress (CAP), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), in partnership with Freedom to Work, National Partnership for Women and Families, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, and SEIU—and features a foreword by Small Business Majority.

 

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On virtually every measure, student performance in the United States lags behind many other nations around the world. U.S. fourth graders’ performance in math and science, on average, is below that of their peers in many countries such as Singapore and Japan. While fourth graders perform relatively well in reading, U.S. students still underperform compared to their peers in other industrialized nations through high school. Given these skill gaps, U.S. students are substantially disadvantaged in the competition for jobs in the global economy.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion about how high-performing nations organize, manage, and fund their schools through the release of three new papers. Marc Tucker will explain the education systems in high-performing nations and recommend an expanded role for state education agencies in the United States. Ben Jensen will describe how Shanghai fosters close partnerships between low- and high-performing schools. Juliana Herman’s work highlights more equitable funding structures in some Canadian provinces. Panelists will also explore what lessons we can learn from around the world about how to govern our schools.

 

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Childcare can be more expensive than college. And with the majority of working moms earning less than $30,000 a year, too many low and middle-income families struggle to afford this basic work expense or to find quality early learning environments to help their children thrive. This shortage of affordable, high-quality pre-K and childcare slots carries consequences for women and families’ economic security today and children’s economic opportunity tomorrow.

As we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day, join the Center for American Progress for a lively discussion on the importance of investing in pre-K and early learning, and how a national plan to expand early education would benefit moms, kids, and businesses.