Will you make a difference?
With yesterday’s events in DC, I didn’t have a chance to post this article in the Washington Times from Dan Lips at the Heritage Foundation: “A back-to-school wake-up call.“
In the article, Mr. Lips examines the cost of public education in this country, but also points out that we don’t always get the bang-for-our-bucks that we should expect (and even demand) from our investment.
The typical child entering first grade this year can expect taxpayers to spend more than $100,000 on his or her education through high school. (The Department of Education reports the average annual per-pupil expenditure in U.S. public schools is now more than $10,000.) But the data show that, all too often, our six-figure investment in every child’s future doesn’t guarantee a quality education.
What we particularly liked about this article is that Mr. Lips gives parents a homework assignment: get involved. Parents cannot expect special interests (like teacher’s unions) to fight for what is best for their kids. Instead, of hoping that elected leaders and education bureaucrats will “do the right thing,” parents must themselves become educated- and make sure their voice is heard- if they really want education reforms that will make a real difference in our children’s education and our future.
As kids go back to school, here’s some homework for adults for the upcoming school year. Become informed and make your voice heard in debates about education. Learn about what we’re spending on our public schools and what we’re seeing in terms of student performance. Follow what is happening in the state legislature and on the local school board.
Write a letter to the editor and make your opinions known. Challenge your elected representatives and demand that they put the interests of kids ahead of the special interest groups.
It will take hard work. But if enough people get involved and demand serious reform, we can fix the chronic problems that plague our nation’s public schools. The future of millions of children — indeed, of the nation itself — depends on it.
We invited you to get involved today. Help make a difference for your children- and for all our children. They are counting on us.
Virginia Prepares for 2009 Legislative Session
With the 2008 elections behind us, we are already preparing for the fast-approaching 2009 Virginia legislative session that begins in January.
As such, we wanted to repost some tips we had shared earlier this year for how you can get involved with School Choice Virginia and our efforts here in the Commonwealth. As we get closer to the start of sesison, we will be sharing more information and more ways you can help bring about education changes in Virginia.
1. Sign up today for our email newsletters. Also encourage your friends and family to sign up on our website: www.schoolchoiceva.com. We will send out periodic email updates with action alerts, news and school choice event notices, as well as other ways in which you can get involved in helping to bring affordable and available educational options to Virginia.
2. Write letters to the editor of your local paper. Getting the message to the media from parents and families who support educational choice is an important step. Lawmakers and education leaders read the editorial pages. Seeing letters supporting educational choice written by neighbors from in their communities can be a strong influence. Letters should generally be 200-300 words, though papers vary on their requirements. School Choice Virginia can help you find contact information for submitting your letters.
3. Write a letter to your state delegate and senator sharing your support for school choice. You can contact us at School Choice Virginia, or look up your legislator’s contact information online here. Personal stories about how educational choices have affected your child or your family can be very powerful for lawmakers.
4. Let us know about educational news making headlines in your area. Every day we try and read the headlines from around the Commonwealth, but sometimes you may catch a story that we miss. We encourage you to share these stories with us so we can share them with others or respond to them in a timely manner.
5. Stay up to date on school choice news and information via our website: www.schoolchoiceva.com. We have just recently launched our site, but in the coming weeks and months, we will be adding lots more links and information on how individuals can help make a difference for educational choice in Virginia.
What you can do to support School Choice Virginia
We have received a number of emails from people in the past few weeks asking how they can get involved in School Choice Virginia and support efforts to bring afforable and available educational options to the Commonwealth.
First, we would like to thank everyone for their support and interest! We appreciate your willingness to join us in this effort.
To help get started, we have added a “Get Involved!” page to the website with some basic steps you can take to help make a difference.
As we continue to develop the site, we will be adding more tips and ways to get involved. And as always, please feel free to contact us if you have questions or suggestions.
