UCONN's Board of Trustees just approved a 6.5% tuition hike to attend Connecticut's flagship public university. For in-state students, that means a rise in cost of $1,000. With fees, room and board, the price to attend UCONN for an in state student is now $24,774 a year. For out of state students, the price will go up to $44,698, which is more than many private colleges. UCONN is also planning on raising tuition prices by 6.8% in 2016. Such a large increase in tuition means many students will not be able to attend UCONN in the coming years because they cannot afford it, or fall further in to debt. These tuition hikes are in response to underfunded government grants. If UConn needs more money, the state should fund it, not workers, who have already made concessions, or students, who can't afford to pay more. Public schools should be affordable to any student who wants to attend and qualifies to get in. The state should bare extra costs, not students. Tell the Board of Trustees and the Connecticut Legislature that if they want to raise UConn's budget, the state should pay, not students or workers.

The University of California, Berkeley administration, in collaboration with the International and Area Studies Department administration, is employing a set of drastic transitions which are infringing on the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Born in response to the tumultuous global political climate of the 1980s, the driving force for Peace and Conflict Studies was civic-minded students seeking to make peace a central focus of their academic experience. Focusing on the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies, PACS allows students the academic space to engage with advanced knowledge, transitioning from conflict to conflict resolution, violence to nonviolence, human rights violations to human security, and most importantly, instead of leaving students feeling unable and inept in a depressing lack of agency, PACS teaches students peace-building strategies to make a better world tangible. Integrating the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies is by far the most unique and significant facet of a PACS education in that it allows students to realize themselves as potential actors, using applicable knowledge to make effective sociopolitical change. Unfortunately, PACS is being slowly deteriorated, dismantled, and debilitated by greater administrative forces. Below are five central points as to what exactly is being seen within the PACS program and how this minimization has come to occur. 1. Although between 2001-2010 there was over 400% increase in PACS enrollment, between 2010-2014 there has been almost a 40% decrease in PACS enrollment. To keep it brief, due to the massive administrative changes, restructuring, and relocation of International & Area Studies (IAS) into another academic department on campus, a sharp transition in IAS operations occurred in 2010. In the last four years, all majors inside of IAS have experienced severely reduced enrollment except for Political Economy. This shift in IAS administration has begun to propagate, expand, and support Political Economy at the expense of PACS and all other academic programs in the Department as made apparent by the enrollment numbers, resources, and statistics below. Percentage change of enrollment between Spring 2010-2014: PACS - 36% decrease (106 students in Sp. 2014) Middle Eastern Studies - 40% decrease (12 students in Sp. 2014) Latin American Studies - 61.5% decrease (10 students in Sp. 2014) Development Studies - 36.5% decrease (47 students in Sp. 2014) Asian Studies - 53% decrease (15 students in Sp. 2014) Political Economy - 8% increase (385 students in Sp. 2014) 2. The PACS major’s design is being minimized to include only three academic concentrations instead of the previous six. Previously there were the following six concentrations: Conflict Resolution, Culture and Identity, Global Governance, Human Rights, Human Security, and Nonviolence. Now the major is being reduced to offer only three concentrations, homogenizing these vast fields within Peace Studies and disallowing students from opportunities in academic fields unique to Peace and Conflict Studies. 3. The recent loss of two core faculty, Dr. Julie Shackford-Bradley whose appointment was not renewed and former Chair of the PACS Program Dr. Jerry Sanders who has retired, leaves PACS understaffed and unstable. The loss of two core faculty has reduced the total core faculty of the Peace and Conflict Studies program to three part-time lecturers. In comparison to other top ranking universities’ Peace Studies programs, UC Berkeley’s PACS program stands incredibly inadequate. For example, American University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution School has six core faculty, five professors and one associate professor. In addition, The KROC Institute for International Peace Studies at The University of Notre Dame boasts almost two dozen core faculty members. With other top-ranking university Peace Studies programs having a much larger core faculty presence, in addition to their ladder-rank and professor status as opposed to UC Berkeley’s part-time lecturer positions, the minimal PACS faculty at Berkeley is now an embarrassment. 4. Due to the loss of two core faculty, the PACS program is no longer able to offer the number of courses it traditionally offered, as well as being forced to outsource core PACS courses to instructors outside of the PACS program. Compared to the total number of PACS courses offered previously (36), the number of courses being offered in Fall 2014 stands 64% lower at only 13. This stark reduction in the number of courses available severely diminishes the PACS program as well as eliminates students’ ability to engage with courses on pertinent topics such as Human Rights & Global Politics, International Conflict: Analysis and Resolution, and Global Change & World Order. Not to mention that some of the offered courses still stand in an uncertain “STAFF” status, meaning there is no set instructor for the course and that they could be cancelled. In addition to the reduction of courses, due to the termination of core faculty, we are seeing a shift in who is teaching which PACS courses. Now, lecturers from outside of the PACS program are being brought in to teach core PACS courses, such as PACS 190: Senior Seminar in which students finalize their PACS education by writing a capstone project. By outsourcing PACS education to academics from other fields, PACS students are unable to engage deeply with academic intellectuals who are experts in their “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies fields. 5. PACS no longer has any staff personnel, no PACS-specific advisors, and is therefore incredibly under-resourced. Due to this lack of resources, PACS no longer holds any events and no longer hosts any panels/panelists. Compared to other programs and departments on campus which frequently hold panels, discussions, lectures, and events, PACS’ complete lack of resources disallows the program from engaging in any substantive academic ev...

Some ideas shouldn’t be up for debate. The earth travels around the sun. What goes up must come down. Climate change is happening. If this sounds uncontroversial, that’s because it is. The truth of human-caused climate change is backed by resounding scientific consensus supported by data gathered from decades of rigorous, peer-reviewed research. But a loud and well-funded fringe have gone to war against our children’s right to learn about climate change. They’ve launched coordinated attacks in each state that has considered adopting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a set of education standards meant to ensure that kids learn 21st century science, including climate science. Worse, they’ve won some battles: in April, for instance, Wyoming became the first state to block NGSS. Now the fight for climate science education has come to New Jersey. The New Jersey State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on science education standards during its meeting on July 9. When Michael Heinz, the science coordinator for the NJ Department of Education, was asked whether there were any obstacles to adopting NGSS, his reply was clear: "External political influence that has an issue with human-induced climate change or evolution," he said. "Those are really the only two things." We must keep that from happening. With superstorms, flooding, sea-level rise, and other climate change impacts intesifying, our children must have the tools to understand, analyze, and formulate solutions to deal with a rapidly changing climate. That’s why it’s important that you, along with other New Jerseyeans and allies from around the nation, speak up now. Let's make sure that the Board of Education hears from parents, grandparents and other supporters of climate science education loudly and clearly before they vote this month. Tell them to vote to adopt Next Generation Science Standards that include climate science education.

We endorse Tom Hunt for this board position because of his extensive and diverse experience as both an educator and business professional. Tom Hunt will bring transparency, trust, and credibility to the college. We enthusiastically ask you to appoint Tom Hunt to the PTC Board of Trustees.

*Parents were never notified that kindergarteners were going to be assessed using Benchmark and MAP assessments. *Parents were never told in the beginning of the year or any other time during the year that local standardized assessments were going to be used as the sole factor in deciding grade placement; the district discarded teacher's assessments, report cards and teacher/parent conferences. *Parents received grade placement letters on the day before the last day of school. Parents felt mislead and lied to about the forced nature of the short notice regarding their children's academic performance. Teacher/parent conferences, report card and also home/school work never mentioned retention or placement into transitional grade. *Parents find out on the last day of school about the implementation of 2 new programs (Promotional Marker Program at grade K and a Transitional Program at grade 1). District never sent advanced communications to parents about placement of kids into new programs. *Parents find out on the day before the last day of school that for their kids to be able to be considered for grade promotion (instead of retention), their kids must attend Summer School. Parents have already planned their vacation; parents paid for summer camps, travel tickets, car rentals, hotel and cruises because no advance noticed was given from the Middletown School District that kids are mandated to attend summer school. Parents don't want their children to be assessed for grade placement by a computer test. Parents want local teacher-created assessments, home/class work, parent/guardian and teacher conferences to be used in determining children's grade placements. Parents want to have full and advanced communication with the school district about their children's future. Parents don't want their children to be enrolled on brand new programs without their consent; We are the parents! We have parental rights and the U.S. Supreme Court has "repeatedly held that parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children free from unreasonable state interferences”. Please revoke the Middletown School District’s last minute decision about retaining or placing into transitional grades kids from grade K-2 and consequently elimination of mandated summer school for 2013-2014 school year.

Educators are the most critical partners with parents in developing solid citizens who contribute to the strength and well-being of the State. It is unconscionable that they should not have the same access to health insurance provided other state employees. The attempt to even further restrict access to meaningful health care is a statement that they are devalued; yet, we all know -at least those who use public education- the importance of their contribution to our children and our state.

Because it is time to remind people: Education is a right, corporate subsidies are not.

Current Board Trustee of District 1 has been making ill-informed decisions against the will of the people of his district, despite obvious community dissent. Specifically, authorizing the continuation of litigation fighting TEA's decision to take over the Board of Trustees and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so, while at the same time laying off valuable teachers.

The Civics for All Initiative would lift civics requirements in the Seattle Public Schools (SPS)and thereby lift students' civic awareness and engagement. Currently, K-12 students in Seattle know little about civics, about how government works and about their rights and duties as citizens. This is because Seattle's civics education requirements are embarrassingly small. Support for Civics for All has been enormous but the school district has so far shown little interest in this three-year-old proposal. We need you to help convince them! Thanks! Please visit www.civicsforall.org

Every semester it is the same thing. Students begging for information regarding their student loan and federal Pell Grant refunds. We are told inconsistencies and flat-out lies by the administration of this school. This needs to stop. Having attended another college in Florida, I know that this problem is isolated to Seminole State College.

He is hurting the community and the students by continuing on this path. His malfeasance and lack of concern are appalling. I'll let the community give more details in their responses to this petition.

Growing up I was enrolled in Chicago public schools, by the time I graduated high school I was obese. After high school I weighed in at 365 lbs and was living a dangerous lifestyle. I Wanted Change So I took A trip to China and stayed for almost 1 year. The trip opened my eyes to the ancient mind body practices of yoga and qigong and it helped to transform my life. After my return to the states I quickly lost 200 lbs following the principles of the mind body practices. The entire Chinese population knew these ancient practices because they where introduced at a young age in grammar school. Most of the population is by far healthier and more focused to what they want in life and are happy. Lets give our future generations the meaning of life at a young age so that we don't have to worry about a pandemic of obesity, diabetes, and, the list goes on. The mind body practices also focus in on eating only nutrient dense foods, proper rest, relaxation, exercise, and community involvement making the world a better place one neighborhood at a time. All it takes is 20-30 minutes a day of practice to get the benefits of what these ancient mind body practices have to offer. A perpetual mind body practice gives us a Reduction in BMI, stress, depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, all while increasing focus, immunity, strength, and flexibility. Yoga in schools gives our future generations the head start they need to conquer their school day.