Today and Tomorrow Education Foundation

According to the Missouri Political News Service, the Today and Tomorrow Foundation had a successful reception. This organization provides scholarships to children to attend private or parochial schools of their choice. When children have better options for schooling, windows are opened for them that may have remained closed otherwise. All children deserve not just an average eduation, but a great one; and organizations like the TTEF make it possible. Now...if only states would allow this to happen freely and for every child.

Children from St. Frances Cabrini Academy in St. Louis delighted guests with their musical presentation at a recent reception held for the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation (TTEF).
The event was hosted by Rex and. Jeanne Sinquefield, and welcomed members of the TTEF board of directors as well as other supporters and friends. The Sinquefields oversee the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, which earlier this year donated $500,000 to TTEF.
Since 1990 TTEF has raised more than $20 million for tuition assistance in the form of grants and scholarships for children to attend the private or parochial school of their choice. More than 1,100 children benefit from this support annually.
Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is most grateful to Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield for their generosity and commitment to the education of children,” said TTEF chairman Jack Pohrer. “The Sinquefields’ partnership with Today and Tomorrow is vital to the success of the Help for Today-Hope for Tomorrow Kindergarten through 4th Grade scholarship program.”
“Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated that students receiving private school scholarships progress by more than a full grade level in reading and math over their peers in public schools after only one year,” said Sharon Stopke, TTEF executive director. “Our goal is to provide opportunities for low-income families to enable their children to receive a sound, quality education.”
The Sinquefields are strong proponents of the work done by TTEF. “All children deserve the opportunity to obtain a thorough education so that they can work to realize their full potential,” said Rex Sinquefield. “Jeanne and I are honored to help this excellent organization achieve its noble goals that benefit our entire society.”
The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization for the purpose of seeking financial support to provide partial scholarship assistance to low-income children in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. St. Frances Cabrini Academy is one of more than 50 participating schools in the St. Louis School Choice Scholarship Fund.
For more information on the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, call 314-792-7622, visit www.archstl.org/ttef or link to http://blip.tv/file/1395921?filename=Tjrenovates-TodayTomorrow520.flv.

School Choice Movement Goes National!

The School Choice movement is gaining national momentum and we all need to join in. Missouri's movement is making headways as well...thought I would share the national scope for those interested.
LetParentsChoose.org

School Choice Movement Launches Major National Campaign to Recruit 10,000 Activists“School Choice Works” campaign is the first national outreach effort for voucher and tax credit proponents.(Washington, D.C.) November 11, 2008—The national school choice movement today launched an aggressive campaign to recruit 10,000 new activists. Coordinated by the nonprofit Alliance for School Choice, the School Choice Works campaign will promote the benefits of school vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs. The effort will coincide with the start of 2009 state legislative sessions. (Visit www.LetParentsChoose.org for details.)The Alliance, which is the nation’s largest organization promoting school vouchers and tax credit scholarships, will launch a blitz of online advertising and radio promotions to spread the word about the recruitment effort. According to the Alliance, School Choice Works is the movement’s first national outreach campaign. The Alliance estimates that it will meet its goal of recruiting 10,000 new supporters by as early as January 2009.The campaign’s Web site, www.LetParentsChoose.org, encourages supporters to sign up for free information kits, subscriptions to magazines, advocacy guides, bumper stickers, and e-mail updates.“America's hardworking families should have the right to choose the schools that work best for their children," said School Choice Works Campaign Director Andrew Campanella. “Special interests have long dominated the public debate over vouchers, but our campaign will present the true life-changing stories of the families who have benefited from school choice programs. We also look forward to providing new ways for our supporters to help advance this important cause.”More than 152,000 children participate in 18 school choice programs operating in 10 states and the District of Columbia. The bipartisan base of support for school choice is growing every year, with public opinion polls showing stronger support among Democrats, African-Americans, Latinos, and Hispanics than ever before. The School Choice Works campaign will shine a spotlight on the failures of many public schools in America. Despite the best efforts of many educators, roughly 4 million children attend failing or underperforming schools. More than 1 million kids drop out of school each year. Every 26 seconds, another child drops out of school.“Despite what defenders of the status quo have told us for decades, more money alone will not solve this problem,” said Alliance President Charles R. Hokanson. “How to improve schools is not a mystery. It simply requires the will to make the necessary changes. Wherever school choice has been tried, it has worked for participating children and parents. If we are truly serious about improving graduation rates and preparing our children to compete in the 21st century global economy—expanded parental choice must be a readily available option.”

Charter Schools Gaining Ground

The education reform battle, (or movement if you prefer) has been gaining momentum, even when the hardest legislation to pass has yet to come. There are several aspects to the education reform movement, which include school choice, merit pay for teachers, transparency, charter schools, and alternative teacher certification. Missouri managed to pass the alternative certification bill...this is a huge victory, although some may not see the significance.
Another instrumental portion is charter schools. Currently, only Kansas City and St. Louis allow these schools.
A recent article in Springfield's News Leader illustrates the energy charter schools are maintaining. More people are placing their children in charter schools, thereby pulling them out of traditional public schools.
This academic year, about 23 percent of schoolchildren in the Kansas City public school district are now getting their education at one of the city's 18 public charter schools.
Kansas City has more than 7,000 students in those schools.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks the city sixth among U.S. communities in the percentage of public school students at charter schools.

Nationally, more than 1.4 million students are enrolled in more than 4,600 public charter schools.
The Kansas City schools are down about 800 students this year. State officials say the enrollment growth might be due to new schools and existing charters opening new campuses.
Charter schools are public schools run by independent boards and supported by the state.

What does it say about the public schools?
Another interesting story...I know a mother in Kansas City, who also happens to be a teacher in public schools. She is largely in favor of school choice, but in fear of the teacher unions, does not want to make this public (which is a shame). Nevertheless, she cannot afford the private school much longer but wants to place her child in a charter school (the name currently escapes me).

More and more parents are putting their children in charter schools or moving to better districts. How bright does the red flag need to be before people realize parents want choice?

Around the state, the races are heating up and people are pulling out everything to win their race. According to the Maneater:

Ed Robb, the Republican incumbent running in the 24th House District, said it is the state's role to provide students with a quality education, and drew criticism from Democrats at the event when he said he would support a scholarship that allows students in failing schools to attend private school.
"We need to offer the parents another option," Robb said.

Opponents say “vouchers” are not good because it takes money away from the public schools. Herein is where the problem lies. Robb, or others in support of educational choices in Missouri, are not and have not been promoting vouchers, which are unconstitutional in Missouri. They are supporting scholarships. In the past several legislative sessions, these scholarships discussed would be funded by private or corporate donations. These people/corporations would then get tax credits. However, when the child uses the scholarships to attend a different school, be it private or public, it does not take money away from the original school of attendance. It is new money added to the pot…how can people have a problem with that?!
There is something disturbing by people using the same “voucher” fear-creating word to deter people from the idea. Everyone wants improvements, right?

Teachers Union Supporting Gay Rights?

Teachers unions have been strong fighters for goals they represent. They have millions of members, millions of dollars, and millions of believers. Recently, the California Teachers Association donated $1 million last week to help defeat a ballot initiative which would ban same-sex marriage. They claim it is a civil rights issue and feel others should not be treated differently. To be clear, I am not taking a stance on this issue…I don’t even live in California.
According to the LA Times:
"I think the California Teachers Assn. is well-known to be a political group, and it's not the first time it has not represented the true voice of its members," said Sonja Eddings Brown, spokeswoman for Protect Marriage California, the measure's backer. She said she agreed that the issue is civil rights -- not those of gay couples, but rather those of children to be raised by a mother and a father.
Parents in states where gay marriage is legal were angered when gay marriage was taught in school, and they could not pull their children out of those lessons.
My question…. teachers unions claim to be protecting themselves as teachers, right? Some even claim they are working together for the students. How does working for gay marriage do either one of these? Now this brings me to my point, the unions are obviously not working for the children and I think that is an important message to parents, students, politicians, and citizens. Many people will buy into whatever propaganda the teachers unions are putting out there. It is no wonder the unions are always the main frontrunners of those fighting against school choice or other education reforms. Are they really doing this for the kids? Doubtful! It is clearly a self-serving act...or possibly a position all teachers represented do not agree with.

Did You Know?

This morning I came across a rather well-produced video that considers the changes that have occurred in the past few centuries regarding the growth of the number of words in the English language. It presents statistics regarding technological advances and population growth. Changing careers, economics, education, and more are packed into about a minute that leaves one drop-jawed with wonder, if not also dizzy with vertigo. The video is entitled Did You Know? and ends asking the viewer "So What Does It All Mean?"

Check out the video. What does this mean to education? Should we not be changing the way we educate in a way that relates to the world around us?

Get Out of the Political Gutter

How far will we let failing schools lurk in the gutter with our children before we reach in and pull them out? In both Saint Louis and Kansas City, charter schools have proven to be a lifeline for those children sinking in the mire created by irresponsible educators and politicians. Unfortunately some politicians are out to cut even this lifeline.

Sometimes it's the Republicans, this time it's the Democrats. Claiming Replubican gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof has "traded the future of Missouri kids in urban public schools for $100,000 in campaign cash from a special-interest front group," Democratic party spokesman Zac Wright, along with the Nixon campaign, tried to shift the focus of this important election from things that really matter, like what we are going to do to create a better education system for our children in this state, to things like campaign contributions.

Let's face it: Both campaigns have a lot of money. Nixon is ahead in the polls and has received huge donations from attorneys and the teachers' unions. Hulshof received a large donation from entrepreneur Rex Sinquefield. OK. We know now.

So back to the things that matter. Last week, Hulshof laid out a specific 5-point plan, giving more choice to parents in where to send their child to school by encouraging the formation of more charter schools. It would also allow for the creation of a fund to which citizens could donate and receive a tax credit. The money would create scholarships for city children whose families can't afford to send them to private schools the option to do just that.

These sound like good things to me. Nixon's only response was that he has the support of school adminstrators. Where is his plan? Would it work?

Get out of the gutter.