• Teachers need a wejk off
    TEZCHER NEED OFF DAYS
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Golg I. Buss
  • The proposed Community Advancement Charter School
    To create quality educational opportunities for the children of Camden, NJ.
    42 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Natasha Hatcher
  • Thank Senators Durbin (D-IL), Warren (D-MA) & Reed (D-RI) for Pushing Congress to Overhaul Stude...
    With the national student debt average now over $29 thousand -- up 10.5% in a year -- students are in desperate need of a break. Senators like Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Jack Reed (D-RI) have been unhappy and dissatisfied with the interest rate hikes from July. They've been working tirelessly to make sure that students and families are high on the agenda for 2014. Senators Warren (D-MA), Reed (D-RI), and Durbin (D-IL) are proposing some major changes to student loans – among them include “forcing colleges to pay the Education Department if they have high default rates and allowing student debt to be wiped out in bankruptcy” and “calling to revive a dormant grant program for poor students that could give the federal government more influence over state higher education policy.” Please tell these politicians that they have our support!
    106 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Iris Maria
  • Stop "Leave Sexy at Home"!
    Why it's problematic: It objectifies and sexualizes young women. It promotes the idea that a woman's body is inherently sexual, and that it is her job to cover it up to avoid provocation or suffer the consequences. It instills a harmful mindset that "boys will be boys", and are not responsible for their own actions. This mentality feeds into rape culture, giving way to victim blaming. The code is heteronormative, and disproportionately will harm LGBTQ+ students for not conforming to its standards. From the students: 1) As a student who has been told by a teacher that I was "trying too hard to get a boyfriend" because of my outfit, I am appalled by not only the idea that every action by my gender is catered to the desires of a man, but also by the culture of self hatred and blame that this terminology creates. (Hillary) 2) At an assembly, an assistant principal posed this question to us, “How are boys supposed to learn when their classmates are sexier than their teachers?” To this I ask firstly, why is every action taken by someone who is not male catered to what will please a male? And secondly, if this logic is true, why are LGBTQ women's quality of education not hampered by the way other girls dress? Why are LGBTQ men not overly distracted to the point of academic failure by boys wearing tanktops, shorts, or football leotards? (Maddy) 3) This culture of persecution of LGBTQ/gay students at Churchill HAS to stop. The internalization of my own desire to be feminine (and perhaps wear a dress) which was enflamed by administrative policy eventually led me to have panic attacks and a hospitalization later in life. (Mario) Please sign this petition so our school will hear our voices, and work with us to make our learning environment safer.
    465 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Hillary
  • University of the Cumberlands
    To ensure that the damaged reputation of University of the Cumberlands is restored and action is taken.
    89 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Concerned
  • Keep Our Service Dogs at LVE
    My children attend Liberty View Elementary School which is about to lose the privilege of having Service Dogs. I am starting this petition because I believe the Service Dogs we have had the opportunity to share our school with are an important part of the educational experience our children have at Liberty View Elementary. I think removing these dogs from our school will have a negative impact on our children. I believe these dogs provide the kids with a sense of warmth which enhances their learning experience.
    531 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Terri Hatch
  • Board of Education of the Farmingdale School District: Adopt a Resolution Against High-Stakes, St...
    My daughter is a student in the Farmingdale School District. Over the last few years, I have watched her well-rounded education transform into one that focuses primarily on test-prep. This misguided focus has resulted in curriculum changes that are developmentally inappropriate and limit critical thinking skills. This petition is the first step for our community to tell NYSED that their policies are hurting our children and schools. Our children are more than test scores, and their education should not be standardized!
    234 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Camille Toma
  • Governor Abercrombie - Release Our School Funds
    The Volcano School of Arts and Sciences (VSAS) is a 188 student, decade old, tuition free, state financed, State of Hawaii Charter Public School, opens to all. The VSAS receives about ½ the annual State funding per student as do surrounding ‘regular’ public schools. Yet the students at VSAS consistently academically score higher than those students in surrounding public schools. VSAS students learn in rotting tents and WWII Quonset huts reached by a rutted dirt and cinder road. The school auditorium is a sheet of Vinyl on large hoops, open to the rainforest weather on both ends. The playground is a former plantation equipment dump. Shards of metal continually work their way up underfoot where the children exercise and play at recess. The school is on leased land with high, annually increasing rent. The school’s burgeoning lease rent is the second highest line item in the school budget. As the rent increases, the school is forced to decrease enrollment to make ends meet. Almost a century ago citizens of Volcano gave another plot of land, designated as for school use, to the state (via the Territory). The state now leases that land back to the VSAS. The VSAS community has cobbled up enough money (in addition to paying their taxes to support State public schools) to pay for a new school plan done by an AIA registered architect, and to generate the required environmental assessment, archeological study, road traffic analysis, zoning and land use documents, flora and fauna analysis, flood insurance zone map and studies of available water, telephone electricity and sewage disposal resources for the new school. All are required by either the county or state. Thousands of hours of citizen volunteer efforts have been expended. Meanwhile, the kids trudge the dirt road to their rotting tents to leaking Quonset huts. With constant pleading by volcano citizens, the elected State Legislature has twice appropriated $618,000 of State construction and improvement funds specifically directed to the VSAS. The Governor of the State Hawaii, exercising virtual line item veto, has for two years, arbitrarily withheld these funds. Repeated pleas for their release have been ignored. Meanwhile, in August of this year the governor ‘released’ $1.8 million in construction funds almost exclusively directed for ‘regular’ public school athletic facilities, including a new ‘press booth’ for school athletic events. More ‘administrative’ offices and salaries and fringe benefits for more state employees were also added. The Hawaii County Fire Marshal has warned that the present VSAS facilities are unsafe for use by Volcano’s children. We are struggling to educate our children in one of the fastest growing areas in the state. We have given to the state land on which to build a decent new school. Our present ‘Third World’ school is already producing better educated children than nearby public schools. We have cobbled up $156,000 to contribute to our ‘bootstrap’ building effort. We have been successful in having our legislature re appropriate funds for a decent, safe school only to have the effort arbitrarily strangled by our Governor.
    253 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Ross Rammelmeyer
  • STOP THE CLOSURE OF THE CITY OF NEWARK (NJ) PUBLIC SCHOOL
    ACTIONS WERE TAKEN WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE RESIDENTS OF NEWARK...THE EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN IS OUR TOP PRIORITY AND THE CLOSURE OF THESE SCHOOLS WILL PLACE OUR CHILDREN AT A HIGHER DISADVANTAGE...THE PROCESS SHOULD ALLOW PARENTS, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, COMMUNITY AND TAXPAYERS TO BE PART OF THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS.
    628 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Shirley J. Johnson
  • Seattle MAP test boycott
    The MAP tests are useless and do not accomplish anything. The teachers are judged on tests that are not acurate and are not in the curriculum.
    13 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Andrew Nelson
  • Speaking Peace: part of the solution
    I believe that the solution to violence is compassion and connection, which can be taught through the Nonviolent Communication system of Marshall B. Rosenberg, which teaches us to explore our feelings and needs. When we have human needs that are not being met this leads to hurt feelings which, if not understood and accepted, can lead to conflict. I know that through mandatory classes that teach empathy and empathic listening skills, nonviolent solutions that acknowledge feelings, provide acceptance, and satisfy our joint needs can be discovered. I know from personal experience that this form of communication is powerful and transformative - it is an avenue that will lead to peace - personal, national, and global.
    39 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Thomas Ferrari
  • Board of Education: Millburn Residents Should Be Allowed to Celebrate Their Religious Diversity
    Dear Board members: America thrives on diversity and is a synthesis of varied races, religions, and cultures. The fusion of cultures here is so exceptional that citizens can be just as proud of their original cultural heritage as they are to be an American. In our own town of Millburn, the escalating influx of Indian Americans in the last five years has dramatically changed the demographics. There are thousands of Indian Americans in town. Hindu students are a significant presence in our township schools. It is thus critical to recognize this religious and cultural diversity. Hinduism is a major religion in the world, next only to Christianity and Islam. And Diwali is the biggest festival for Hindus – it is the Hindu version of Christmas and Hanukkah. But it also has significance for other religious groups such as Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. Diwali is a celebration of good over evil, a value that has such universal appeal that even the White House has been celebrating it for the past five years. Observing one day school holiday for Diwali, a festival which is in fact celebrated over five days, would make a meaningful difference to the scores of people celebrating it in town. It would allow them time to celebrate as the holiday is meant to be celebrated: by going to the temple, exchanging gifts, calling relatives in India or simply celebrating with immediate family and friends throughout the day. It would impress upon children, who soak up values from the surrounding culture, that different heritages are celebrated by all. Creating awareness about other religions and cultures would make Millburn students well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow. This request to recognize one of the major festivals celebrated in town is neither radical nor unreasonable. It is going to take all of us, working together, to embrace, enrich and celebrate the American diversity in our own community. Please support the movement and declare Diwali a school holiday in Millburn. Sincerely, Padmaja Chinta Millburn, New Jersey December 18, 2013.
    325 of 400 Signatures
    Created by Padmaja