DID YOU KNOW?

-          Only 17% of our high school graduations get into a 4-year college without remediation

-          That  52% of Washington high school graduates take remedial classes to get into Community Colleges and Technical schools

-          That Washington state only pays for 5 periods a day of high school, while the national average is 7 – which is why our kids don’t have enough credits for higher education

-          That increasing graduation rates by 10% will reduce crime by 20%

-          Our kids shouldn’t have to choose between PE, music and foreign language in middle school, they should be able to have them all

-          Our current education is not working for our kids in this information based economy. To quote Mark Emmert, President of the UW, “We lead the country  in science and engineering jobs, but we are one of the states at the bottom in the production of scientists and engineers”

-          WA State is at risk to lose out on receiving some Federal Economic Stimulus Education dollars

IF YOU WANT:

-          Federal  Stimulus Education dollars to help offset the budget deficit and improve education

-          Smaller class sizes, which means more teachers

-          Graduation requirements that get our kids into colleges and technical schools

-          Six paid periods for high and middle schools

-          More of your child’s friends graduating from high school

-          Our school system to be one of the best in the country

IT’S TIME TO:

-          Redefine basic education and eliminate unfunded mandates

-          Change the way we fund schools

-          Have our legislators make education a priority

-          Contact our legislators  to hear from parents (THEY say WE don’t care because WE don’t write or call)

Support the Basic Ed Bill

The Ed Reform bills (HB 2261) and Senate (SB 6048) are moving through the session but we parents need to ensure these bills are robust and include the Basic Ed Task Force recommendations, that we don’t end up with watered down efforts.

Sign the Petition and Go Viral

We are asking our legislators “to honor their constitutional obligation to prioritize and fund public education so our 1 million public school children and their educators can succeed in the 21^st century”

To sign the petition you do not have to be a legal voter or over 18 but you must live in WA State; encourage your middle and high schoolers to sign.  Please include a comment and distribute this to as many folks as you can.

http://gopetition.com/online/25946.html

Contact your Legislators

Let them know that you support education reform. Let them know what you like and don’t like. Go to: http://capwiz.com/npta2/wa/home/ or call the legislative hotline 800-562-6000.

Thanks for all you do and keep talking about education.

Advocacy starts with a conversation and leads to change.