The Basic Education Funding Commission will be making recommendations about a funding system to the General Assembly. Every public school must have the resources necessary to enable every child the opportunity to learn, to meet state academic standards, to be prepared for post-secondary success, and become productive, knowledgeable, and engaged adults. The Commission must focus on the learning needs of children, not just the mechanics of distribution. The calculation for setting up a baseline funding level must be based on the real costs of sufficiently providing the programs and experiences that students need to meet any standards that are set by the state. Furthermore, the Commission must recommend a funding level that meets the Constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” education and creates an equitable approach to allocating funds that reduces the influence of politics on school funding. We must ensure that the the public and our new Governor-elect have a reasonable opportunity to participate in this process.

My child attends public school in Philadelphia. There are many people--teachers, administrators, parents and students--working very hard to improve public education in Philadelphia in the face of incredible funding shortages. Ms. Simms' actions are an unacceptable insult to genuine efforts to make things better for Philadelphia's students. Her behavior just makes things worse; in these difficult times, we don't need people like Sylvia Simms having any role in governing our city schools.

This is concerning the FBISD's recent proposal to rezone students, who live in Lake Olympia, from Elkins H.S. to Hightower H.S. We are asking the Board of Trustees to reconsider and keep Lake Olympia residents at Elkins . It is our neighborhood school and has been the high school for Lake Olympia since it opened 23 years ago. In addition, it is the closest high school, just 1 mile away, whereas Hightower is 6 miles away, down a major state highway or over a toll road with many natural and commercial barriers in between. Sign the petition and keep Lake Olympia residents at Elkins!

Our projected move in date of a new school being built is August 2018, but our students need it now! Our school is very old! We have the following problems that our STUDENTS, TEACHERS, STAFF, and PARENTS have to deal with on a daily bases: Parking lot/ dismissal area in need of repair and redesign, recurring pot holes, parking lot size not adequate, safety concerns with dismissal ( accidents on Dean road,45 mph speed limit and no school yellow light or zone indicator ), traffic back ups to 50 East Colonial, rocks and gravel from parking lot spread over side walk area, flooding issues in parking lot, Kindergarten building and PE area, A/C unit inconsistent temperatures. Temperature are below 60 degrees in some classroom,which is not good for our students health. Concrete walkways and inside flooring / carpeting are very old and need to be repaired or replaced. The common area bathrooms are in need of renovation. We do not have bathroom in or around the cafeteria . Overall our school is ugly and we are losing students and funding. Instead of putting a band aid on UPE by doing repairs, we demand a new school! Schools that were built after UPE are being rebuilt before us. DON'T YOU THINK OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF DESERVE A BETTER PLACE TO LEARN!!!!

I have two school-aged children attending an elementary level Chicago Public School. CPS is using sexual health materials at the elementary school level that appear to be promotional materials for how to perform sexual acts to enhance pleasure versus being a modest, objective and age appropriate approach to teaching our children comprehensive health education inclusive of sexual health. They themselves admit that they are inappropriate for elementary students. These materials must be removed district-wide.

This school has been a huge stepping stone for those of us and has a great impact on many professionals in our community. Please try to look further in your plans and not close this school for it has a rich history and great results in the City of Baltimore.

Let's Save Our School.

I am in debt because of my student loans and see no way out. Many others are in the same situation.

Because common core is not teaching our kids correctly....

It is imperative that the bright, talented and hard-working Immaculate Conception students be allowed to be in a position to be academically competitive as they approach their high school career. It is my belief that at this time letter-based grading in 6th, 7th and 8th grade is what will best prepare Immaculate Conception students to be academically competitive as they apply for and enter high school. 1. Letter-based grades allow for parents to better gauge their student’s grades. For example, with standards-based grading, in some cases a student could get 70% to 100% correct to receive “meets standards” on an assessment. Students have little motivation to push for an “A” when percent correct results in the same grade on the report card. 2. With standards-based grading, students can reassess if they receive an “I” (improving) or an “N” (does not meet standard) so some types of students (even good students) don’t have the sense of urgency to do their best the first time. 3. When applying for high school admission and scholarships, standards-based-grading paints a very ambiguous picture of academic performance. It is difficult to convert standards-based grades to a format to compare to letter-based grades that other diocesan grade schools and high schools use, which makes it difficult for our students to compete. 4. The difficulty in conversion mentioned in issue #3 is also a concern when placing high school freshmen in course levels.

The owners are regular, common Americans plus the pension funds of teachers, firemen, policemen, factory workers, etc. In the chaotic reaction to the financial crisis in the early 2000's, decisions were made in haste and mistakes were made. We are asking for these mistakes to be corrected and that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be returned to hardworking Americans. Thank you!

Scientific research has proven that there is a shift in the circadian rhythm of adolescents. During this shift teens have difficulty falling asleep at night and they continue to produce melatonin well into the morning hours which makes it difficult to wake up. This shift coupled with early morning start times, results in chronic sleep deprivation which is bad for our kids on so many levels. The following is directly from the AAP policy statement released 8/25/14: In a new policy statement published online Aug. 25, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty. “Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, “School Start Times for Adolescents,” published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics. “The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” Dr. Owens said. “Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.” Many studies have documented that the average adolescent in the U.S. is chronically sleep-deprived and pathologically sleepy. A National Sleep Foundation poll found 59 percent of 6th through 8th graders and 87 percent of high school students in the U.S. were getting less than the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights." *** To continue depriving our kids of adequate sleep is unconscionable. You can help make this very important change by signing this petition. Thank you!