Arts education is important in K-12, schools, yet it is always the first thing to be cut. Arts education is a top priority that helps kids express themselves, spark creative thinking, aid problem solving skills, and so much more. The proportion of 18-year-olds who had arts education as children has declined with each wave of SPPA, reaching a low of less than half in the most recent survey. 93% agree the arts are vital to providing a well rounded education for children. 86% agree an arts education encourages and assists in the improvement of a child's attitudes toward school. 83% believes that arts education helps teach children to communicate effectively with adults and peers. 79% agree incorporation the arts into education is a first step in adding back what's missing in public education today. 54% rated the importance of arts education a "ten" on a scale of one to ten. nea.gov/research/2008-SPPA-ArtsLearning.pdf www.nasaa-arts.org/Publications/critical-evidence.pdf

Improving Education

The Archdiocese of New York plans on shutting 27 Archdiocesan Schools. The selling of just one painting that the Catholic Church owns would save our schools. Closing the schools will impact 5,000 students who for the most part are nonwhite and below the poverty level.

Yes, because they are very small shools and no sports for girls and in highschool not many choice of subjects. Also not as many qualified teachers.

Black African History taught in education system in the United States of America indept!

As a parent with children in public school, I've watched my town struggle to balance its budget to cope with rising enrollment, health insurance, energy and special education costs. The only options are to cut other services or raise property taxes. Congress passed legislation to mandate special education but never appropriated enough funds to pay the 40% federal share, pushing the cost down to the state and local levels.

I am a little concern because after every Election members are sometimes cut whether it is Hours or Losing their jobs .

Full day kindergarten has become the norm in Early childhood education in the United States. It is a fact, that half day kindergarten deprives our children of the necessary, fundamental education that they deserve and we expect.

Being a librarian for going on 30 years, I have witnessed the demise of the library in the public school setting. With drastic cuts in state education budgets, libraries were hit hard and resulted in over half the schools in America without functioning libraries. Libraries have always been the heart of a learning institution. Literacy rates soar with a good library and we need a literate future society.

In Pennsylvania families like mine pay 40% of net income for their children's early education. Single parents receive help, people with extremely low income receive help. But those people who decide to marry and work full time jobs receive absolutely no help. My family would be better off financially if i left the house. The family would be showered with benefits including subsidized daycare. Many families choose to live separately, or never marry because they would rather not worry about picking what bills to skip out on paying because they spent $1400 on daycare for the month, more than the rent, car payment, insurance, food combined.

Every year our teachers struggle at home to pay their bills, while still being expected to make it work on time in order to teach our children and sometimes even expected to come out of pocket to pay for classroom activities necessary for our children's development and success. I know this is happening because I was a first hand witness; my mother was a teacher and educator for over two decades.

Creation Theory is best taught in the home and Church, not in Public Schools. Science and Geology are subjects for academic study, not religious dogma! However well intentioned,"creationism" is not a suitable school subject. Diversity of religion is a basic foundation of American liberty. Let the parents decide religious views for their children, not the government of Indiana.