Join us for our Conversations series.

Wednesday, June 11 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Larry Fullerton, Parents Reaching Out
"Using Good Record Keeping for Student Success"

Wednesday, June 25, 1:00 p.m. (CST)
John G. bendt, author, "A Roadmap to Career Success"

Randy Gaschler: "Stuff, not Fluff"

Are you curious about Randy Gaschler, the author of Parent-Driven Schools and the founder of IEM?

Here is the standard bio: Randy Gaschler is the father of five children and the founder of one of the nation's first and most successful charter schools. He is a graduate of UCLA, where he won All-American honors on the Bruin football team. Randy has five teaching credentials and has coached varsity high school sports. Today, he is the President of Innovative Education Management (IEM), a non-profit organization dedicated to managing parent-driven schools. He is a renowned and popular speaker on educational issues and has led seminars for parents and educators throughout the United States.

It's an impressive biography. Very impressive.

What lies behind it?

Let me use the words of the man himself: "Stuff, not fluff."

Actually, that inelegant yet graphic phrase was Randy Gaschler's request for the content of the IEM web page.

It made me think - could it be as simple as that?

These three words encapsulate the philosophy that drives Gaschler's education revolution. He is not an ivory-tower philosopher - All-American football players turned varsity high school coaches tend towards action. He is not a years-of-research theoretical statistician who can't make a move without a test group - successful businessmen rarely have that kind of patience. And he is not an unreasonable revolutionary who demands change with no regard for the means to achieve it - what father of five can afford to define his expected outcomes without considering the variables?

But the man who founded one of the first and most successful of U.S. charter schools, started a grassroots education movement and is now President of Innovative Education Management - a non-profit organization that establishes, administers and inventories charter schools - can and does demand "stuff" over "fluff."

Randy Gaschler believes that you should do the same.

In order to succeed - not merely as students but as future productive citizens of the real world - our children need to be not only educated but educable. They need to be learners for life, because if the twentieth century taught us anything, it is that things change. Americans put a man on the moon in the same century that my grandfather fought in a world war by driving a mule pulling a cannon - obviously the skills I learned in school needed to be different than his, and they have changed exponentially in the thirty years since then. If I could not keep up - if I could not learn new skills and technologies - what would become of me?

More importantly, if your children could not keep up, what would become of them?

That is a question parents ask with a depth of concern unmatched by that of politicians and "educators." Employers ask that question too, with a slightly different slant: if your children cannot keep up, who can we hire instead to run and grow our businesses?

Thus Mr. Gaschler's focus on "stuff." Parent-driven schools - because who cares like parents care? - will by their very nature concentrate on: methods that effectively advance children's opportunities for success; subjects that result in buy-in and attract internships from local business; and teachers and projects that inspire students to develop solutions to current issues using current skills built on a solid basic educational foundation.

Randy Gaschler has been called a warrior; his experience in California's educational system chronicled in the book Parent-Driven Schools made him a polarizing figure in educational circles. He has been called a pioneer; his non-profit organization, Innovative Education Management, is an inspiration as well as a practical resource for the parent-driven schools movement around the world.

Why?

It's simple.

He looked at his children's education and made one simple demand: "Stuff, not fluff."

Make that demand yourself. If you are a parent, IEM will be glad to help: click on our links, explore our resources, join our forums - you are not alone. If you are an educator, we welcome your input and your energy - we'll put you to work if you'll let us. If you are an employer, what can we do now that will make you want to employ our children at top dollar with room for growth in the future? Take our Employability Project survey. Get involved.

Lose the "fluff." Get the "stuff." Thank you, Randy Gaschler.

IEM Helpline available!

Having trouble communicating with your child's teacher? Are school administrators being difficult? Is your child having a hard time and you don't know what to do to help? Answers to these questions, and much more, can be accessed via the IEM Helpline. Just call the Helpline anytime during business hours Monday-Friday and an IEM Resource Specialist will get back to you within 48-hours.

Teachers are also encouraged to contact our Resource Specialists, too. Educators will find a wealth of parent-approved resources, ideas and help in providing their students with the best educational experience possible.

To contact a Resource Specialist, call the Helpline at (800) 979-4436.

What people are saying about Parent Driven Schools

I just wanted to thank you for mailing me a complimentary copy of Randy Gaschler's book about Parent-Driven Schools. What a nice surprise opening up my mailbox and finding that there - made my day!!!

As a parent of a soon to be Junior in High School, I've been wanting to purchase that book since starting with Connecting Waters Charter school since my daughter began her Sophmore year here. It has made such a huge impact on her life and mine, and I also have had the wonderful opportunity to be employeed here at this school.

I will be writing our success story soon because I don't think we realized how this school would chang our lives. My daughter (has changed) into a completely responsible person. She has grown so much and I thank her ES, Jessica Walker, for sticking with us through thick and thin.

Hope you all have a wondeful summer and I am looking forward to next year,not only with my daughter, but working in a wonderful school that I truly enjoy.

Thanks for listening...

Sincerely,
Julie Hutto