NEWSSCHOOL FUNDING

Earlier this year, Kelley Williams-Bolar spent 9 days in jail because she sent her kids to a safer school district. Now, her future is in the hands of Ohio Governor John Kasich.

More than 180,000 Change.org members have signed a petition asking Governor Kasich to pardon Kelley, who chose to send her kids to a safer school in her father's neighboring district, instead of the neighborhood where she lived. Governor Kasich responded positively to the petition and international media coverage around the story, asking the Ohio Parole Board to hear Kelley's case.

But inexplicably, last Friday afternoon, the Parole Board recommended against pardoning Kelley. But it's not too late, because Governor Kasich can make his own decision to issue a full pardon.

Can you please take one minute today, Tuesday, September 6, to call Gov. John Kasich's office and ask that he issue a full pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar?

For 48 years, thousands of North Carolina's brightest students have come from all around the state to gather for the summer - to devote themselves to their studies and to learn from each other - for six weeks on college campuses. But if the state budget doesn't change soon, this program - the North Carolina Governor's School - will end after this year.

"If the North Carolina General Assembly shuts down the Governor's School on its 50th year of existence, with it dies the beauty of quality education. With it dies the ability to foster a student's desire to become a life-long learner," says Joseph DeChristina, 16, a former Governor's school attendee who started a petition on Change.org to save the program.

Some stories are a straightforward trajectory. A problem is identified. People gather around that problem and strive to change it. The change is made, and the people rejoice.

Others are a roller-coaster-like slog. And that's how it's been for Charlotte Mecklenburg's preschool program, Bright Beginnings. From the time that the school superintendent proposed cutting two-thirds of the slots for vulnerable preschool aged children to the district back in January, the ride has been bumpy. At certain points, the program seemed as good as saved, when the very next, it seemed doomed.

But victory has been declared! The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board announced that all Bright Beginnings classrooms will be saved. Local teachers, students and families are rejoicing.

Earlier this year, students on college campuses around the world demonstrated against a spate of hefty tuition hikes, from the University of California to the University of London.

But a new 230 percent tuition hike for some Arizona community college students comes with a new, disturbing twist: xenophobia.

The Maricopa County Community College system - the largest in Arizona - announced in March a 230% tuition hike for out-of-state students. The kicker? Unlike some college tuition increases, this one isn't about tighter budgets - it's a veiled attempt to shut out undocumented students from college classes.

[This guest post comes from Christine George, who has worked as a teacher in Virginina and Arizona. She has six children. --Eds]

I am a mom.  If you ask me who I am or what I do, that will always be my first answer, because “Mom” is my most important job.  I am also a Cub Scout volunteer and a former teacher and school administrator. But first and foremost, I am a mom of six wonderful boys ages one to eighteen.  Part of my job as their mother is to ensure their safety, security, health, and happiness.  So when I learn that a company that we, as parents and educators, have trusted for decades is willingly selling their impressionable little minds to the highest bidder, I get angry.  And so should you.

Scholastic is the world’s largest distributor and publisher of children’s books and an industry leader in educational technology and children’s media. Their corporate philosophy starts with “Kids love us, parents trust us, teachers depend on us...”  And they’re right, with good reason. Scholastic does a great deal to promote literacy and education worldwide.  They are the leading operator of school-based book fairs and clubs in the United States.  They provide books, magazines, reference materials, educational technology and curriculum materials to schools and libraries across the country.  Having been a teacher, I really do appreciate all they do to provide reading materials to students and schools alike.  As a result of the good work they do, they enjoy a unique position of trust in our schools.  But they are abusing that trust to surreptitiously influence the minds of our children.

Tuesday, May 10th is an important day for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district. It's the day where the school board will decide whether or not to ask for an additional $45 million from the county - money that would keep the school district from shutting down one of it's most successful early learning programs - Bright Beginnings.

Three months ago, Bright Beginnings teacher Michelle O'Reilly bravely stood up and asked her school district to save the program, despite budget cuts. Bright Beginnings serves thousands of Charlotte's most vulnerable students - kids who live in poverty, have learning disabilities and speak English as a second language.

"Without this program, these children are not going to become responsible citizens because they're going to be struggling," said O'Reilly.

She didn't stop there. O'Reilly gathered over 900 online signatures at Change.org and even more in her community. She's asked local groups and churches to come together on the issue and even stood up at a recent school board meeting to talk about how much the community needs Bright Beginnings.

UPDATE: 7:24 p.m., Tuesday, April 26: Kelley Williams-Bolar has just released a statement through her attorney, David Singleton of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center:

Original Post: Most nights, Tanya McDowell sleeps in a minivan. Other nights, she sleeps at a shelter or at a friend's house. So when it was time for her 5-year-old son, A.J., to go to school, she wrote down her babysitter's address to sign him up for kindergarten.

Little did she know, sending A.J. to kindergarten at Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Connecticut could mean 20 years in jail and a $15,000 penalty for the unemployed single mom. Tanya was arrested this month and charged with first-degree larceny for allegedly "stealing her son's education." Norwalk authorities say that since A.J. doesn't live within district limits, it's illegal for him to attend kindergarten in the district - and his mom is a criminal for enrolling him there. A local activist has created a petition on Change.org, urging Norwalk officials to drop the charges and stop punishing a mother who wanted what was best for her child.

"I'm still in shock," Tanya said in an interview with the Norwalk Patch this week. "What did I do wrong? I just want the best for my kid. It's like any mom or any dad out there."

The fact that a parent could do jail time simply for sending her child to public school is reminiscent of the story of Kelley Williams-Bolar of Ohio. Nearly 100,000 Change.org members signed a petition started on the site early this year, demanding that Ohio Governor John Kasich pardon Williams-Bolar, who was convicted of a felony for sending her children to a neighboring school district. Her case became a national story, used by advocates and politicians to argue for school choice and against criminalizing parents. Gov. Kasich referred her case to the state's Parole Board; a decision is expected this summer.

After a month of organizing, Michelle O'Reilly stood up in front of the Charlotte Mecklenberg Board of Commissioners last night, telling them why they need to save, rather than axe, the early childhood education program she teaches for.

"When a society invests wisely in children and families, the next generation will pay that back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship," said O'Reilly "I want to live in a world- class Charlotte that truly showcases the best of American living for all of its citizens."

She brought with her 1,671 signatures, gathered online and by hand, from community members, showing their support for Bright Beginnings - a preschool program that serves Charlotte-Mecklenberg's neediest students and will lose 1,800 seats if a $10 million dollar proposed budget cuts moves forward. You can watch the video from the April 5 meeting here - O'Reilly speaks at 43:21.

On April 5th, Michelle O'Reilly will make her final plea for the children of Charlotte-Mecklenberg schools. She'll ask the County Commission to reconsider its massive proposed cuts to Bright Beginnings, a preschool program that helps struggling children get ready for kindergarten.

At the meeting, she'll present the hundreds of signatures gathered online at Change.org and by hand by community supporters. She'll let the Commissioners know that without Bright Beginnings, the community will suffer.

"Reading confidence and reading success is a very big predictor of high school graduation. And graduation rates have a direct correlation with incarceration," says O'Reilly, a Bright Beginnings teacher. "We can make children prepared to be strong readers and confident learners, as opposed to leading a life of crime."

After hearing that class sizes in Detroit Public Schools could be raised to 62 students a class, voices around the nation were outraged.

The next proposal? Close half the city's schools. That didn't get any more support.

Severe budget cuts and mandates from the state meant Robert Bobb, emergency manager of the Detroit Public Schools, has been forced to make some drastic decisions.

But now he's proposing another idea that may mean schools stay open, but many teachers could still lose their jobs - massive charter conversion.