This week Starbucks announced that they were making college free for their employees. Turns out, it was a PR stunt promoting online college and not paying upfront for college. They employees are still left having to shell out money to pay for college, meanwhile Starbucks is getting wall to wall positive PR for free college. They are a very profitable company and can afford to invest in their employees and make college free for all their employees. I have a lot of student loan debt so I know what a life changer it would be if Starbucks invest in their employees fully.

•VIOLATED THE SUNSHINE ACT •ILLEGAL PARENTAL AND STUDENT SCHOOL LOCKOUT • LACK OF OPERATIONAL TRANSPARENCY •TERMINATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF WITHOUT DUE PROCESS • FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT •malfeasance jeopardizing Charter renewal •obstructing and acting in the purview of school administration •improper and inappropriate Board Meeting procedure and process •multiple violation of the Sunshine act •flagrant abuse of Board authority •non-compliance with the School's Mission Statement •showing no stewardship of the school •showing no support to the Student Body •flagrant disregard of the stakeholders • disrespectful and unwarranted attack on the dedicated founder and CEO Documented proof that the rogue board wants to silence Mama Chris to prevent her from telling the TRUTH about their harmful an unlawful actions. Petition background: Although known nationwide and celebrated for its reputation of academic excellence and of its innovative way of getting the job of educating children done well, Mama Christine Wiggins and Imhotep Institute Charter High School (IICHS) located at 6201 North 21 Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19138 are under attack. For not only has the dedicated founder and competent CEO developed and enhanced a formula that works she also has documented proof of its effectiveness. This urban school has ethically and proficiently managed to produce many student scholars and leaders, enjoys the ongoing support of strong parents, teachers, and community, and created a much needed respect for cultural competency. Unfortunately at the hands of an incompetent principal and rogue board of directors, the parents, students, teachers and the school are seriously suffering. IICHS has an impressive seventeen year track record of taking all children regardless of their academic achievement and bringing these children’s academic levels up, cultivating a productive attitude towards learning, improving their study and research skills, and instilled the importance of becoming lifelong learners. Educational management organizations and other school districts have approached Christine Wiggins, affectionately known by the students and community as “Mama Chris,” to find out how to do what she and her team have been able to do and do well. Our children's education should be our top priority. We must stop the rogue board and any other entities in their tracks and keep our school open, restore the cultural focus and return Imhotep to its original mission.

When I signed the contract to take out my loans, I knew I would have to work hard after graduation to pay them back. I thought Sallie Mae would make that process simple. I was wrong. My bills were sent to the wrong addresses. Payments I made on time were marked late. And it was up to me to fight through hours on the phone to fix it. After graduation, Sallie Mae sent notifications to my school email and address, which were both deactivated when I left campus. When I started making payments, they never recorded them, so my paper bills had added penalties. I was always on the phone with Sallie Mae trying to fix their mistakes. Sallie Mae is the country’s largest private student lender, with more than 6 million borrowers owing more than $166 million. I don’t understand how so many mistakes could happen in the lending process. On June 25, the Nathan Cummings Foundation will present a resolution calling for a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the board of directors at Sallie Mae’s annual shareholders meeting. We need more diverse voices on Sallie Mae’s board, voices of those who can speak up for borrowers and our families. A vote of NO CONFIDENCE will show the current board members that they can no longer treat their customers with disrespect. Join me to vote NO CONFIDENCE in Sallie Mae’s board of directors and ask for a change in leadership at the company.

Extreme violence is occurring at an alarming rate throughout our nation’s schools and campuses. We need to rise together as one nation and protect our children and the very future of this country. As a result, we’d see less shootings, stabbings, and acts of violence in general, as well as less bullying, and less alcohol and drug abuse.

All children need to learn Black African History. It is where civilization began. There are so many heros and sheros that our children have no idea existed. Our Rich History in Africa, the Islands, and the America is being suppressed. Children of African descent have a thirst to know what their Ancestors accomplished before enslavement, like building the Pyramids in Egypt to inventing the Traffic Lights here in this country. They must be told the truth! Please put this amazing history in all school curriculums across this state. Parents of children of African Descent are descendants of Africa. Not only did their Ancestors build this country with free labor, but they now pay taxes. Their children deserve to know their history.

This petition was started by parents at PS 29 in Brooklyn. We join with public school parents across the city to ask Chancellor Fariña to stand up and lead the transformation of the New York City public school system into a model of equity, fairness, and innovation. As a legendary educator, Fariña knows that teachers are equipped with student work and assessments, which, in comparison to a flat test score, can provide far more accurate and comprehensive information with which to gauge students' qualifications for school admissions. She also knows that volumes of evidence prove that using test scores is an ineffective way of measuring teachers' competence.

Eileen DiNino of Reading, Pennsylvania, died in her cell last Saturday. [1] The mother of seven children had been sentenced to serve 48 hours in jail for owing $2,000 in fines and court costs due to her children's truancy from school. Within hours, she was dead and her seven children had lost their mother. The cause of death is unknown, but what we do know is that since 2000, the State of Pennsylvania has sent 1,600 other people, mostly women, to jail just in Berks county over truancy fines. Why is Pennsylvania running what amounts to debtors' prisons for poor families with serious problems? How do they think it works that sending an impoverished parent to jail helps a family support children who are struggling in school? State budget cuts have led to a judicial system that tries to pay for itself by charging defendants for everything from computer fees to postage costs, and then jailing people who can't pay in a national penal system infamous for medical neglect. It's a horrible system that shouldn't take a woman's death to wake people up to want to change. But Eileen DiNino's children have to suffer the horror of having their mother taken from them so cruelly for the rest of their lives, and to have this happen one time is to have it happen too many times. Stand with us to demand that Pennsylvania stop punishing truancy by imposing costly fines and jail time on struggling families. [1] - "Woman Dies After Being Sent to Pennsylvania Jail Over Unpaid Children's Truancy Fines," Tara Murtha, RH Reality Check, June 12, 2014. http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/06/12/woman-dies-sent-pennsylvania-jail-unpaid-childrens-truancy-fines/

Mayor Coleman has a chance to help kids in Columbus, OH, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Coleman and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Kriseman has a chance to help kids in St. Petersburg, FL, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Kriseman and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Buckhorn has a chance to help kids in Tampa Bay, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Buckhorn and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

County Manager Donnellan has a chance to help kids in Arlington, VA, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from County Manager Donnellan and her colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Leffingwell has a chance to help kids in Austin, TX, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Leffingwell and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.