We must raise teacher salaries to be competitive with other states and stop the loss of teachers in our public schools.

Cameras in special needs classrooms are necessary. Cameras WILL prevent teachers from becoming Ogres and Monsters and beasts because they have proven that they will behave ONLY when the paycheck signers are watching them. Let me take a step back and say not all teachers are this way. But for those who are not this would help them prove that they are good teachers, and help the parents to see what is going on. My reason for wanting camera's is very easy my child is nonverbal and can not tell me what is going on. When he comes home with bruises with no explanation of why, yes it upsets me. Other children in the class room as well have limited vocabulary or could easily be manipulated. They can not say or may not even understand what is happening to them. My son started acting out and trying to run away from school, never a problem before. Came home with bruises and several times with scratches. I started making reports of every mark my child came home with, and then suddenly he was acting out home. Trying tell us in his own way to communicate there was something wrong. He then came home with bruising on his gentile area and I was aghast and horrified. Made a doctors appointment and to my horror she said the one thing I wanted to deny sexual abuse. I felt like i was being sucked under and about to drown. How, why, when, I has so many questions circling in my head. I felt like the worse mother in the world. I would like to make certain that this never happens to another child again. Going through the justice route and the school board did no good. It is a sad day when a child has to suffer due to the fact he is non verbal. I would like to help protect our children to the best of my ability. Cameras protect our most vulnerable members of society from our most depraved and evil monsters. Once again this will also help the good and caring teachers out there as well. Cameras should be MANDATORY in ALL special needs classrooms.

A new bill has just been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that could rob Virginia students of a quality science education. If passed, students could lose out on a science education that includes climate change and evolution. This legislation is bad for our kids and must be stopped. State Delegate Richard Bell’s legislation says teachers would be allowed to “help students….critique and review….the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in science class.” This is well-known code for “teaching the controversy” of climate change instead of the facts about climate science. If this legislation passes, school boards, superintendents, and principals will be unable to hold teachers who cite fringe climate deniers and other crank theories accountable. Tennessee and Louisiana have already passed bills that call out climate change as an example of a “scientific theory” subject to debate rather than understanding. Unless we speak up now, Virginia could be next. According to a story in Climate Progress, “the bill is part of a national trend of legislative proposals, led by creationist organizations like the Discovery Institute and climate-change deniers such as the Heartland Institute.” (1) While the Virginia Assembly considers Bell’s anti-science bill, other states across the country have begun adopting 21st century science standards that include solid climate science education. The Next Generation Science Standards -- developed by the National Academy of Sciences and 26 states -- teach the known and accepted facts of climate change, rather than treating it as a debatable theory. Virginia should follow suit. At a time when Virginia is already experiencing climate impacts such as rising sea levels that threaten Hamptons Roads and other sections of the Virginia coast, our kids deserve to be taught the truth about climate change so that they can be part of the solution. Thank you for taking action for our kids and grandkids! Aimee Tavares, Mom Arlington, VA (1) Climate Progress story: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/06/3124961/virginia-teach-controversy/

I am concerned about the lack of funding crippling school districts around the state, especially the large urban school districts. Lack of counselors, libraries closed and locked in the schools along with the lack of full time nurses in every school is disturbing and unfair to the students.

The arguments in favor of limiting enrollement are fallacious. The new policy states: Active participatory courses (such as physical education, visual arts, and performing arts) that are related in content are limited in the number of enrollments. Most individual courses that were previously repeatable no longer are and further restrictions apply. The new policy extends retroactively to your entire academic history. Community colleges used to be about the community and life-long learning. With the obesity epidemic should we really be prohibiting people from taking P.E. classes? I am not allowed to take swimming classes because 20 years ago I swam at our community college when I was on the high school swim team because my high school did not have a pool. There is no way one can learn an art or any physical skill in one semester. Atheletic and creative activities can help one stay physically and mentally healthy into old age. Obviously students who need the classes to transfer to four year institutions and those who have not taken the classes before should have priority, but these people are not getting to take the classes now either, because without people like me re-taking classes, there is not enough interest and the class gets cancelled. If there are 30 students taking the class instead of 20 because 10 of them are repeating, how is that not bringing in more money? Is it the goal of California to just keep all these campuses empty without classes? The cost of maintaining the campus and administration are better supported by more people paying tuition than they are when students are denied the opportunity to enroll. The institutions are more sustainable with fuller enrollment.

This week alone, January 12 th to the 18th, there have been two school shootings in our nation. We can easily implement lockdown drills, which are proven to save children's lives when an active shooter is on campus. I was sickened by Sandy Hook, and continue to be sickened by the increase in school shootings.

I moved to Concord, North Carolina from New Jersey with my husband, 6 year old daughter and 3 year old son in 2009 for a better quality of life in general and to Cabarrus County in particular for its excellent public school system. Five years later, I am now worried that with North Carolina ranking 46th out of 50 States for teacher’s salaries, the quality of this system will decline and force caring and highly qualified teachers, Principals and staff out of the state or the profession. Studies show that a quality public school system correlates with high student achievement, which is directly dependent upon high quality teachers. Our teachers, Principals and staff have not received a raise in the past 6 years and as of July 1st, 2014; our Master’s level teachers coming out of school will no longer receive the 10% salary incentive. All of this sends the message that our legislators do not value our public school educators or the concerns of constituents with school-aged children. It is our hope that all of the Cabarrus County PTAs will work together to convince our legislators to give our educators a substantial raise and bring back the 10% salary incentive to our Master’s graduates. Our children’s education should be a top priority. One of the ways to accomplish this is by offering a competitive salary that allows us to attract and retain the best available educators. Please sign this petition by February 12th, 2014 so that I can bring it to the February 17th 2014 County Commissioner’s meeting to show our collective support and concern as parents for our educators; who’s hard work significantly impacts the future success of our children and should be compensated.

As students of Blacksburg High School, we feel that we would be limited in our academic success with only seven classes. Many students would not be able to take all the classes they desired, therefore limiting their own stride to become more educated people. Students who wish to take electives, fine arts, and career/technical classes will also be restricted in their choice because they will not have as many periods to do so. School spirit and morale will decline when students do not have a community that they enjoy participating in. If students DO take an eighth class after school as offered, they cannot participate in athletics and other extra-curricular activities that they formerly have. Therefore, having eight classes AND a lunch is the best way to serve the Blacksburg community.

Washington Heights is full of young kids. Parents in District 6 (the most crowded district in New York City) compete for a handful of available spots in local public pre-Ks. Mother Cabrini High School is closing at the end of this school year. We urge the City to acquire this soon-to-be empty school building and convert it into pre-K and kindergarten to serve our under-served neighborhood.

Public education in New York State and across this land is being subjected to a movement that demands the acceptance of an arbitrary set of common core standards and the use of one-size-fit-all standardized tests. In spite of claims to the contrary, these standards and tests do not address the higher level cognitive processes of synthesizing and critically/creatively evaluating required for problem solving in today’s world. (Bloom et.al.) The products created by these higher level intellectual processes are unique to every individual; therefore, they are not measurable with a standardized test. Using the legislative process, decision makers responsible for this movement have deliberately prevented effective alternative assessment and evaluation strategies from being demonstrated in our public schools. There are examples of tested alternatives available that accurately measure higher level thinking such as The Constructive Assessment, Recordkeeping and Evaluation System (CARES) prepared and field tested by Robert L. Arnold, SUNY Professor Emeritus of Education. The common core and an arbitrary version of standards must be challenged to enable our citizens to make intelligent judgments about the most effective strategies available for their schools, before any further damage by current versions of standardization is done to the lives of our young citizens. Alternative assessment and evaluation strategies must be allowed to demonstrate their superiority over the existing strategies of testing, testing and more testing. For further elaboration, access on-line: AdirondackDailyEnterprise.com, January 7, 2014, “Guest Commentary” by Robert L. Arnold, SUNY Professor Emeritus of Education.

The Goodrich school board no longer deserves our support after they failed to represent the community which elected them into office.

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!