Through a variety of events where I live and actions taking place in our public education system, I’ve found myself in the middle of quite a dramatic series of political actions and lawsuits with regards to public education.
Due to this newly sensitive issue in my life, I’m beginning to pay even more attention to public education events and news that come across my computer screen. Today, it’s an effort called the “Pledge to America’s School Children” that I believe is a grassroots campaign started by the National School Board Association.
The efforts appear to be getting all congress members to sign the pledge and show their support for continued improvement of public education in America. Reading the pledge itself gives you an idea of the efforts they’re undertaking.
This pledge represents my commitment to ensure America’s schoolchildren receive the highest quality public education and make certain that my schools continue to fulfill their essential role in our communities. Through my efforts in Congress, I pledge to actively support and collaborate with my local school boards to promote excellence and equity in raising student achievement.
As a Member of Congress, I pledge to work and vote to:
- Improve the No Child Left Behind Act to give my school district(s) better measures for student and school performance, and the support needed to close the achievement gap.
- Help my school district(s) meet the needs of students with disabilities by supporting the funding goals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA).
- Support school readiness programs for children entering kindergarten in my school district(s).
- Help my school district(s) to attract, train and retain highly qualified and effective teachers.
- Help my school district(s) to provide all students with 21st Century skills and knowledge, including math, science and technology.Signed: _______________________________________________
You can visit the website to see who’s signed the pledge for your state. I can tell you right now, that nobody in Indiana has signed it yet. That doesn’t make me feel very good and I’ve already started doing what I can to bring that to my neighbor’s attention.