My Daughter Haley attends Horizon Elementary, I called to let them know I would be sending some all natural supplements to school with her to take during her lunch hour. With these supplement we have been able to get her off her ADHD medication. I was told that Herbal supplementation was not allow in the school per their policy. I could send her in with Phyc meds and no one would bat an eye but an activated B complex and OPC3 which comes from grape seed extract and pine bark not allowed? This is not right! This a nation wide problem lets make a change and stop this starting right here in our home town!

Years ago when my husband and I went to a financial advisor, he recommended we consolidate our student loans. Now we are going through a divorce. My soon to be ex has stopped paying all of his bills, including his portion of the student loan. I cannot afford to cover his portion, so his lack of payment is destroying my credit. A quick internet search lead me to many similar stories. These loans are no longer allowed due to exactly these kind of issues. However the law also prevents the separation of these loans. I would happily pay back my portion, even at a higher interest rate. Student loans should be allowed to be returned to separate loans so one spouse cannot ruin the credit of the other even years after a divorce.

Did you know that the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world with 52.1 births per 1000 women ages 15-19 according to the report sent out by UNICEF, “A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations.”. This is a staggering rate compared with the rate in Canada, 20.2 births per 1000, and in France, 9.3 births per 1000. The inevitable truth is that teenagers are going to have sex, so why not do everything we can to ensure they are having safe sex? The report by UNICEF in 2001 demonstrates how the relationship between teenage birth rates and overall birth rates varies considerably from country to country, suggesting that national differences in teenage birth rates are in large part caused by factors that affect teenagers on an individual level. Many factors affect teen pregnancy rates. Some examples include the geographic location of teens and their financial background, but the factor most predictive of teen pregnancy is the level of received sexual education. Despite this known fact, only 22 states in the US mandate that secondary schools must offer sexual education, and only 19 of these states require that this education be medically factual and technically accurate according to Steve Siebold of the Huffington Post. The states with the highest teen pregnancy rates lack robust sexual education in secondary schools according to a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute. New Mexico, which does not require medically accurate sexual education in their schools, has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the US at 93 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19. Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas also do not require sexual education to be taught and have some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country other than New Mexico. In comparison, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Minnesota have between 33-42 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19. All three of these states require medically accurate and mandated sexual education to be taught in secondary schools. While the federal government has mandated “abstinence-only-until-marriage education,” under Section 510(b), individual states have varying policies that dictate whether or not sexual education is taught in schools. As teenagers living in a modern world, we want to encourage the states that do not require any form of sexual education in their schools to consider changing their laws. The world’s future population will be substantially larger if this problem is not addressed. Please join us in asking these state legislatures to mandate comprehensive and medically accurate sexual education classes as a required component of secondary school curriculum.

Indiana children deserve the best in education. We believe Indiana State Senator, Scott Schneider is endangering the success of our children by not preparing them for college and career. "Pausing" the progress of the past three years is a critical mistake when instead our children need for him to continue supporting the existing Indiana Common Core State Standards.

State Rep. Maria A. “Toni” Berrios has introduced legislation to use the surplus funds in Chicago's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to help finance our underfunded Chicago Public Schools. We want to show the overwhelming support this legislation has in our community.

In my experience, the personal connection between teacher and student is a powerful means of motivation and learning. LAUSD has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the needs of low-income students of color by recruiting and training culturally and linguistically skilled teachers who will make their careers in our classrooms. Let’s attack disparity and the achievement gap right now!

Our children should not be used as pawns in this game of teacher evaluations based on test scores. The " incentive pay" seems more like a bribe to get teachers to accept and embrace the Common Core and high stakes testing. Too many government officials are not taking into account the effect, this pressure box of teaching to the test, is having on the children.

To keep all current Embassy Creek Students in Embassy.

If sixth grade is added to the elementary schools, the schools would be right back into the same situation we just corrected -- Ocean Bay Middle overcrowding issues would be solved, but it would be at the expense of three elementary schools which will be over capacity again. We need a better solution. Please sign, COMMENT and share if you agree.

Liberty School is in need of an additional entrance or exit immediately. Our children are at risk if we continue to use the current process. There is not enough parking to only have one line of traffic flowing.

We parents value excellence in our teachers. We value their ability to effectively teach and to inspire our children to learn and develop myriad types of success throughout their lives. Our teachers should never need to compete with each other in this way; they should work together for the good of all of our children. This competition for “merit” pay will also lead to an increased emphasis on testing and teaching to those tests – rather than on teaching our children how to learn and how to develop their best talents and abilities. It will discriminate against teachers who work with ELL students, Special Needs students and students who live in poverty, and lead to an exodus of experienced teachers from high poverty districts.

The problem in New Bedford is not the quality of teaching, it is poverty, high needs, and a lack of adequate support. An over-emphasis on test scores only makes things worse. We need to teach, and to value, the whole child. According to statistics available through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in New Bedford 73 percent of students come from families with low income, 78 percent of students are considered “high needs” (as compared to 47% statewide), and 21 percent do not have English as their first language. Despite these challenges, expenditure for the schools dropped by $3 million between 2011 and 2012, and per pupil spending is below the state average. Indeed, in the 2012-2013 school year at least 100 educator positions were lost to cuts, almost half of those at New Bedford High School. Firing half the teachers at New Bedford High School will not improve education or help students. Turnaround plans are notoriously used to break contractual obligations, introduce unqualified new faculty from fast-track programs such as Teach for America, feed distrust and disrespect, and open the door for public education to be dominated by private interests. This is not how we create strong community schools that value the whole child. If you care about student well-being and achievement, you should fight for economic justice, give teachers resources that they need, recognize and celebrate the critical work teachers do that is not measured by a test score, and make room for teachers, parents and community to share and grow knowledge in a spirit of trust, commitment, and goodwill.