I am starting this petition to support the students at Simeon High School in Chicago and join the fight to save a program leading to JOBS...

We, the alumni of Amelia Love Johnson are concerned about its possible closure. We are actively united to help keep the doors of our dear Alma Mater open for future generations. We urge you to do your job in making sure that our desires are a reality.

The flexibility in areas including, but not limited to: faculty hiring, staffing, work rules, licensing, evaluation, school schedule and calendar, educational programming, budgeting, curriculum, assessment, leadership and management, and governance that is provided by innovation status will allow Northfield High School to fulfill its mission of providing every single student in this diverse high school with an excellent education. Under the leadership of Principal Avi Tropper and in collaboration with the community and faculty, Northfield High School is committed to implementing the innovation plan and building a school culture dedicated to inclusion and excellence.

Adults nationwide need access to lifelong learning, both physical and mental, at their local community colleges. Until now, lifelong learning has been a longstanding historical right enjoyed by adults at their community colleges. Now that right is being stripped away with frightening rapidity. As community colleges are governed at the state level, this has to be dealt with state by state. I live in California, so created a petition to The California State House, The California State Senate, Governor Jerry Brown, and the Board of Governors (appointed by the Governor and overseeing community colleges) that reads as set forth above. This petition can be used by others as a template for petitions in their own states. As a community adult, I have personally been affected by this development, as our local community college, after lifelong learning had already been cut off in Fall of 2013 for regular classes, on April 1, 2014 phased out the paltry substitute offerings for community adults (aka "community education classes") as well, reversing this decision (quite possibly only temporarily) 3 days later due to massive community backlash.

School- and classroom-level staffing in the Cambridge Public Schools is inadequate to meet the needs of a student population that is increasing in number, diversity, mobility, and complexity, and there is unequal and inequitable staffing across CPS elementary schools. The result is that too many CPS students are not getting their academic, intellectual, social, emotional, and cultural needs met in our schools, thus reducing their opportunities to learn and to become successful, civically-engaged, and efficacious adults.

In 1983 I decided to go back to school and finish my degree and pursue a masters degree in political science and public administration. I borrowed $7500. Due to my mother's sudden death and financial issues, I wasn't able to finish my degree (I lack one theology credit to do so) and I fell behind in my loan payments. Over the years I have paid back over $11000 on this loan, but since I didn't pay it all to the Dept of Ed and/or ONE of the myriad collection agencies that have held this debt over the years, it has once again been sold, and penalties, fees, and interests now total $14486.64. If paid, I would be paying back $25000 on a $7500 loan. Because of this egregious situation, I was able to get no funding from the SBA or anything tied to the federal government, including government and minority owned business status and the ability to bid on government contracts, and now I have no business. I will be 60 years old next month with failing health, and have filed for disability. Any tax refunds that I've been entitled to over the years have been seized for the debt. Now I fear that, should my disability claim be allowed, any funds that I deserve and have worked for will be seized for this unreasonable debt. It has ruined me financially and has inhibited my ability to make a living. After so many years, there MUST be some type of waiver put into place that would eliminate this kind of unfair and immoral financial burden, especially in this difficult economy. At least the laws passed in the 90's making student loan debt ineligible under bankruptcy should be reversed. My husband survived a heart attack, artificial valve replacement surgery and another surgery almost two years ago, and we struggle each month to make the insurance payment and pay for his medications, including the blood thinners that he must take on a daily basis to survive with an artificial heart valve. He is working at a very difficult job in the Texas weather simply because he is the only one now that can find work. I have my own significant health issues as well. We are burdened by debt and have seen everything we've worked for over the last decade disappear. We are truly the disappeared middle class and are financially devastated. We have suffered enough and we have paid enough. The government is making billions off these loans and becoming more and more entrenched with the collection agencies that are doing the same, to the detriment of the people like me who have met our obligations or are trying desperately to do so. Since I originally tried to launch this petition last year, two more agencies have been sold this note; the latest is calling me multiple times a day and refuses to stop unless I make financial arrangements with them, and they are threatening wage garnishment. We face each day with such physical and emotional stress and pain that this is something that we should not have to handle. I know that there are millions of us who are suffering through this unfair and unjust system.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was written by a business trade group that has had significant ramifications on public education. States agreed to these Standards, sight unseen, even though they are age-inappropriate, especially for our primary students, and make the false assumption that all children learn at the same pace, thus the use of the word "common." It is an affront to education, has resulted in the loss of local autonomy for learning, and has unnecessarily diverted millions from school budgets that would be better spent in the classroom. CC$$ is the means for rich billionaires like Bill Gates and The Koch Bros to profit from the billions spent on education. It is a covert attack to dismantle public education and it must be STOPPED!

With your help we can strengthen our movement to promote the legislation nationwide. Ask congress to help remove this roadblock preventing millions of students from generating IP, starting companies and creating jobs. Our goal is to reach to the most influential policy makers. Require our nation's public institutions to implement student-friendly IP policies in the upcoming Higher Education Reauthorization Act.

We cannot create an effective school board by undermining the local democratic control of our schools. Moreover, the proposed school board reduction: --Is not supported by a thorough review of business principles or typical business practices --Is not supported by practices of other school districts in Louisiana --Not one proposal reapportions the districts in line with the racial make-up of our school district --Has not been pre-screened by the Justice Department and leaves the school district vulnerable to legal challenges ◦ NAACP released statement of opposition --Increases the number of constituents each school board member must serve --Privileges candidates with more personal wealth or ability to garner support from wealthy contributors --Alters current map less than one month before candidates must qualify

Religion, namely Christianity, is a central part of American culture, especially in the field of politics. The trouble is, many Americans are ignorant to much of what is written in the Bible, as well as most, if not all, of what is written in the Koran, and other religious texts. This creates a society that is extremely susceptible to religious misinformation, which may lead to the justification of bigotry and oppression -- as can be currently seen with the LGBT movement for equal rights. As it is too late to separate church and state, the only hope for a rational and informed society is the raw, unbiased, and required reading of religious texts, including and especially the Bible and the Koran.

Currently, all California children are required to attend school, and parents and students can face financial and civil penalties if the student is determined truant. On top of that, poor families who receive CalWORKs are subject to a reduction in their family’s grant if their child fails to participate in school regularly. Taken together, both penalties are an unjust burden on the backs of poor families straining to climb the rungs of the economic ladder. Research from across the country shows that truancy penalties don't actually work to improve school attendance. AB 2382, by Assemblymember Steven Bradford, will eliminate the CalWORKs attendance penalty, thereby relieving this financial burden and helping families to achieve self-sufficiency.

The band program in our community has a longstanding tradition of excellence. Please help us to maintain that tradition by keeping the band program alive at Southlawn Middle School which feeds into G.W. CARVER HIGH SCHOOL. With the loss of this program, students at Southlawn MS will not be able to enter an instrumental music program until their 9th grade year at best. Can you imagine starting to do math, reading or science as a 9th grader? A program cannot survive without a thriving feeder, which currently exists at G.W. CARVER HIGH SCHOOL. G.W. CARVER HIGH SCHOOL takes pride in its Choral and Band program which is a tradition. Mr. Terry has cultivated so many students into budding artists. Former band director, Mr. Curtis Hollinger and Mr. Smart also have many students who have received scholarships to college and went further in their career because of them. If there is no band or choral curriculum offered at Southlawn which feeds into GW Carver HS. These schools will ultimately lose the best program offered in this county. If there is no band or choir at GW Carver HS the participation at football games will also be affected because many people will stop attending the games. We believe that these young people and all students in Montgomery County deserve access to quality music education in their schools. Sincerely, [Your name]