Free Republic

Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., and Goldman Sachs Senior Director Philip Murphy will join Institute for America's Future President Robert Borosage and Center for American Progress President John Podesta Thursday to deliver a major speech on restoring excellence in public education in America. Napolitano and Murphy will introduce an initiative designed to create an agenda to renew public schools by engaging business, public policy, education and community leaders in a series of public hearings with people across the country. TASK FORCE TO RENEW OUR SCHOOLS ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: Thursday, April 22 TIME: 12 noon Preset time: 11:45 a.m. Final access: 12 p.m....

No Name-Calling Week Coalition Announces National Plans for Week Aimed at Ending Name-Calling and Bullying in America’s Schools Thousands of Schools Taking Part in “No Name-Calling Week” New York, NY - The No Name-Calling Week Coalition today announced local and national plans for its inaugural No Name-Calling Week project. During the week of March 1 - 5, 2004, thousands of middle schools from around the country will take part in a week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling and verbal bullying of all kinds. To date, over 3,500 school administrators and educators from all 50 states have come on...

<p>Democrats running for president often target the nation's new education reform law that demands higher school standards. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean calls the law "mindless." Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri says it's an excuse to push private-school vouchers. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina complains that President Bush has ruined his own law by failing to fund it adequately.</p>

<p>Among the greatest responsibilities we have as parents and citizens is to educate our children. A sound, basic education is an essential asset for one to have a realistic shot at the American Dream. In fact, I fear that failure to acquire an education in 21st-century America more likely than not will lead to second-class citizenship - an outcome anathema to the very word America.</p>

On August 30, I wrote of my decision to dive into the public school system of Oklahoma – and it's been quite an experience. This coming Monday, many Oklahoma public school students will be returning to school on the first day of the second semester. I won't. I won't be returning to the government schooling system. Why? Because I'm a failure. I've fallen short of the bar, and I'm nothing short of a disappointment to society. I've fallen short by failing to adopt the art of vulgar language in common speech. I'm assuming this falls under the subject of socialization,...

Do you know what your family pays for public education? You probably don't, because it is a number that the establishment media do not tell you and that the government and the National Education Association do not want you to know. If you knew, you might not put up with their incessant begging for more money. If you own a home, your property tax bill shows how much of your property taxes goes to public schools, but that is only about half of what you pay. The other half is hidden in your state and federal income taxes and other...

Tucson LINKS encourages students to get involved in after-school activities. Here, Eli Medvescek, 10, and teacher Laurie Burrell work on a project in Lulu Walker Elementary School's science club. The school found such programs cut problem behaviors. They can be saved, these children who come from homes of addiction and chaos. Schools are helping children to rise above the disarray in their lives, with some of the most basic tasks of parenting falling to teachers. "Kids used to come with life skills, with empathy, with understanding. We have many more kids arriving at the school doors who have not learned...

<p>Gov. Janet Napolitano today is taking a small group of educators and business leaders to North Carolina to shop for an academic miracle.</p> <p>Napolitano wants to jump-start a statewide program that could give Arizona the same kind of education turnaround seen in North Carolina.</p>

(Phoenix-AP) -- Governor Napolitano says she will look to North Carolina for ideas on how to improve early childhood education in Arizona. Napolitano told an education conference in Phoenix today that she will lead a team that will travel later this month to North Carolina to learn about that state's decade-old Start Smart child care program. The North Carolina program provides state money for child care subsidies for children in poor families and also for improvements in training and programs at day care centers. Improving early childhood education is a major element of Napolitano's education agenda. The Democrat who took...

A friend was inquiring about the quality of Harcourt textbooks that are used in the public schools. If you have any comments, please let me know. Thanks.

<p>Phoenix Elementary School District, eager to fortify its enrollment, on Wednesday sent its employees to the streets as part of a districtwide, door-to-door campaign to get more pupils.</p> <p>The district enticed its employees to volunteer for a one-hour walk through neighborhoods with a bonus, up to $250 per employee, if district enrollment increases.</p>

A survey of some Pennsylvania students this fall may raise more eyebrows for its questions than for its answers. The anonymous Pennsylvania Youth Survey will ask personal questions not only about the students themselves, but about their families: whether their brothers or sisters take drugs, how close they feel to their parents, whether yelling and insults are common at home. The questionnaire is designed to find out how many young people are at risk for drug abuse, violence and other problems, said Alison Delsite, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Crime and Delinquency Commission. The information is used to target state and...

As the war over education reform -- Goals 2000, school-to-work, and "outcome-based education" -- rages on, the time is more than ripe to ask ourselves, "Are public schools constitutional?" Looking at the United States Constitution, no provision is made for education, but the Constitution does instruct that ... "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment) In other words, education is reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Why, then, do we have a cabinet level...

If you follow the link, you will see a breakdown state by state of the National Education Associaiton's professional and support staff salaries.

1) Dam Begins to Burst in DC Union Investigation 2) Wisconsin Is Latest Union to Spin New Unionism Wheels 3) No Data? Just "Input" Your Own! 4) Anti-War Resolution Meets Stiff Resistance in San Francisco 5) Accountability Lite 6) Quotes of the Week 1) Dam Begins to Burst in DC Union Investigation. The December 23 EIA Communiqué included this comment about the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) scandal, in which former President Barbara Bullock and other union officials allegedly used member dues to support a lavish personal lifestyle: "Even if Bullock and Company's spending was partially financed by the dues overcharge,...