5 Cures & Commentary for Your Post-Election Recovery
Hint: It’s all about the kids
1. WATCH The STOP for Education Summit
Whether it was Charting a Course for the Future of the Workforce, What State Lawmakers Want from the New Administration, a lively fireside chat with the one and only Pastor Josh Robertson and Kellyanne Conway, or two vastly different Governors aligning on the future of education in the nation, you’re sure to feel great when you witness the expansive diversity of people who agree that transforming education and the workforce with freedom, flexibility and fair and full-funding is the only way to go.
C-SPAN covered the event in full, or you can watch individual panels and clips on STOP for Education’s YouTube channel.
2. POP These Prescriptions for the New Administration
First pill: More than 70,000 readers engaged with my recent commentary in Forbes on what it really takes to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Whether that’s your jive or not, knowing what’s at stake is critical.
Second pill: Parents need power, students need choices, and teachers need freedom. The Feds can’t do much, but they can amend program rules and allocations to boost what the states have already codified into law. The President can take executive action on Day One to do just that!
3. CHEER for the North Carolina Legislature
God Bless the lawmakers who squashed a North Carolina veto that would have halted expanded funding for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, a lifeline for so many students and families who aren’t served in the traditional public school system. The legislature had voted to expand the program by $463 million to clear a waitlist of approximately 55,000 students. But while it is supposed to be available to all students and hence the term universal, its use is actually dependent on the legislature designating more of the state funds for each student’s education to the program. It shouldn’t take another act of legislative power, a veto and an override to create equitable education opportunities for kids. Kudos to bold legislators in the Tarheel state, which may boost their 5th-in-the-nation status on the Parent Power Index!
4. VISIT Education Innovators On Whom Policymakers Should Rely To Do the Right Things
Hundreds await your arrival or inquiries! From innovative public schools to microschools to youth-focused career training and so much more. Here's a directory to get you started!
5. Finally, READ my statement on Linda McMahon, Trump Ed Sec Nominee…
…and let’s all agree to be civil as she goes through the process.
Hopefully after these medicinal aids you’re feeling strong and ready to help us all get to work to build on what works, change what doesn’t and create what has yet to exist.
Grateful to my friends, readers and associates who work at it every day!
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving! - Jeanne