Education has always been a focus in my family's life. Not only has this been a means for my family to provide for themselves but also a means to enjoy the full richness of life. We need a national conversation and movement towards making our populace proud of their knowledge and encourage literacy to ensure our citizens' ability to participate fully in our democracy.

My son attends Hearst Elementary School which it has been stated may be closed. Our children's education should be our first and top priority and the stated cuts shuold be stopped.

Public education

My grand-daughters live in Essex CO VA and are currently enrolled in Virginia Virtual Academy (VAVA) - an online public home school option. The elder granddaughter has an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Public online home schooling is an optimal and viable educational option enabling her to learn in a free and safe educational environment. Since the current Virginia Virtual Academy program only extends to the 8th grade, she will not be afforded this excellent online public homeschooling opportunity next year when she enters high school. This petition is a request for your support to increase Virginia Virtual Academy to include High School. It is also a request to support expanding Virginia Virtual Academy by increasing VA Counties enrolling students in this public school option. The VAVA online homeschool program provides increased educational opportunities for all children - especially those with IEPs who are often bullied in school..

Missouri Politians want to take tenure from teachers and have them to be at will workers. Educators should be concern about a career choice that should not be politically power by elective officials. If any concerns it should be more funding for schools and teachers. There is a SENATE Bill requesting the termination of teacher tenure in this state. As an educator for 20 plus years, I advocate for teachers who will follow and deserve the few benefits of becoming a teacher. In urban areas teacher consistence in the classroom is a must.

Our present education system is very outdated compared to most first-world countries. We have simply fallen behind. We need a fresh start.

All the children included my two sons attend Lowell Elementary School, funding for activities like chess club, music, etc. Our children's education should be our top priority, and these cuts should be stopped.

The cost of textbooks is exorbitant. Recently my stepson was told he needed to pay over $200 for an elementary algebra textbook at a community college. This is more than the cost of the course itself. I support a nationwide effort to lower textbook costs modeled on California's SB 1052 and SB 1053. For details see http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/free-digital-textbooks-to-be-made-available-after-gov-jerry-brown-signs-bills.html

This information was brought to me by Fox News. Why should we be paying teachers for not teaching our children.

As a Teacher and Parent of children in public schools, I have watched class sizes steadily increase while the quality of education declines. Quite frankly, we should be embarrassed by the state of our schools. You were elected for a reason. It's time to fix our broken school system with permanent, stable funding. Please act now!

I have personally been effected by student loans I cannot afford to pay back. The interest just keeps mounting up and there seems to be no way out. I got my BS degree thinking I would be making a good salary when I finished college, but was suprised to see the jobs I qualified for only paid a little more than mimimum wage. I wish I would never went to college and kept the job I had for 10 years.

I have had personal experience with the issue of the expense of higher education. My children have had college loans that seem never ending and they are soon going to have their own children with theses problems.