Mayor Garcetti has a chance to help kids in Los Angeles, 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 Garcetti 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 Johnson has a chance to help kids in Sacramento, 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 Johnson 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.

Since 2010, inadequate levels of state funding have forced the Shippensburg Area School District (SASD) to repeatedly raise property taxes and eliminate 65 full-time teaching and support staff positions. SASD has eliminated the middle school shop and family and consumer science programs, many kindergartners sit in classrooms crowded with 26 students, young children who struggle to read have lost their reading teachers, and many class sizes are have increased to levels where effective teaching and learning are becoming a serious challenge. Our community and our children cannot afford another year of inadequate state funding to our schools. Our quality of life and the future of our children are dependent on the legislature’s ability to do the difficult work of governing and adopting a responsible budget that meets the needs of our communities.

Hopkinton has not had the chance to thoroughly discuss the new online high-stakes test called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) as a replacement for MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) and what it will mean for our kids, teachers, and K-12 schools.

Student loan debt represents 1/15th of the U.S. economy. That means 1 out of 15 dollars is being funneled to a few oligarchs, rather than being invested in new business. Let's stop the upward flow of money to the entitled patrician class, where it is hoarded in offshore accounts, and get this money into the hands of those who would be entrepreneurs and investors. Future forgiveness does little to help the country TODAY. Let's get the American economy moving again through small business and innovation!

We are asking all Anne Arundel County families (which include all current Monarch families) to support the opening of Monarch High School. Many of our children are looking for a smaller high school experience with a special educational philosophy (e.g., expeditionary learning) that enhances their educational path. Moreover, many children who enter the county's Monarch elementary and middle school programs want to continue within this unique learning culture at the high school level. Let's join together to give all of our children MORE CHOICE when it comes to high school options in our county!

The Westford Community has not had the chance to thoroughly discuss the new assessment test called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) which may, or may not be a replacement for MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). As a result, we think it's best for Westford to hold off implementing PARCC for the 2014-2015 school year.

We always told our daughter to worry about her grades, and we would worry about the rest. Well, she did her part, and got into her dream school early decision (NYU). Once her savings were gone, we were forced to take on incredible debt after her dad lost his job, and could not find another. We wanted her to graduate, and she did. We now owe close to $200K, and can't even start paying it back without income. The federal government should give some assistance to the parents who tried to help their kids achieve their dreams at the same time as the economy was bottoming out.

The state of Texas has a long history of demanding that text book publishers include Creationism or "Intelligent Design" in science textbooks. Texas has also insisted on serious misrepresentations and omissions in history textbooks. These historical misrepresentations include downplaying the struggle for civil rights, ignoring LGBTQ people entirely and portraying the countriy's founding fathers as staunchly religious individuals to name just a few. Because of the large population in Texas and the high cost of printing multiple additions, many publishers simply acquiesce to Texas' demands and these textbooks become the standard for all states. This petition aims to correct that by using the even larger population of the state of California as a counterweight to the excessive influence of right wing Christian political influence that has unfortunately robbed many Texas school children of true and accurate study materials free of religious and political bias.

We are concerned citizens of Arlington.

With the recent developments in public education, we have witnessed a general trend: the increase of emphasis placed on standardized testing, along with an increased quantity of the tests themselves.This is seen in the implementation of the Ohio Graduation Tests 2005 and onward, as well as the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Next Generation Assessments, the latter two of which have caused dissent among both educators and students, as well as the entire community. The reasons behind this unrest include the exorbitant amount of time said testing takes away from learning, the heavy reliance they place upon technology, and the lack of consideration towards both socioeconomic background and educators’ opinions. We are concerned that these tests do not address the realistic issues we are faced with. The shift towards an emphasis on standardized testing averts the focus of teaching from actual learning and expanding on the curriculum to solely preparing for tests . In addition, the increased number of tests requires a greater amount of time spent taking the tests rather than time spent in a class setting and limits the time and resources available to both educators and students. Thus, the sheer volume of mandated tests should not be imposed as it will take an excessive amount of time that could otherwise be devoted to other educational purposes. While these “reforms” are a disadvantage to every student involved, we recognize specifically the risks they pose to the more underprivileged districts, especially in regards to technology. Not every school has the resources/budget available to make online-only tests possible. Even the schools that have sufficient existing computers may need them for other projects and classes online. Other technological problems may ensue; if a student takes a time-sensitive test, for example, poor internet connection could lead to an inaccurate score. These online tests use software that is difficult to keep up with, and many require introductory courses on how to use this new testing software, taking up even more class time. Emphasis on technology, as well as its subsequent problems, creates a greater disparity between school districts of varying economic backgrounds. Part of the reason why there is a generally negative attitude towards these new policies is that educators feel as though neither their opinions nor their experiences have been considered, and they are not involved in any sort of decision-making. They have had little to do in developing the “reforms” that they themselves must carry out. If there was more productive and multilateral communication between policymakers and educators, new policies and testing mechanisms would be well-informed and better serve the public education system. We have already experienced firsthand the effects of the new ponderous testing system: the loss of enriching projects, a relentless concern for our more economically-burdened peers, and an exam-induced exhaustion of students and teachers.

The University of California (UC) system was built by Californians to serve Californians and should continue to prioritize Californians. The UCs have been turning away record numbers of qualified California high school students in favor of out-of-state candidates who can pay a greater price -- “full freight” -- for tuition. Meanwhile, California families are struggling as income inequality hits record highs, and tuition at the University of California has increased more than 300% since 2000. Despite all this, the Governor refuses to prioritize increased funding for higher education. While we recognize that including students from all over the country and the world is valuable to enhance diversity, the University of California must prioritize California families who have paid to support the system all their lives. Further tuition increases for in-state students is not the answer. The state, led by the Governor, must increase funding for higher education so the UC system can once again provide an affordable, world class education for all qualified Californians.