weekly report on education news & commentary from the nation's leading voice on education innovation and opportunity
SECRETARY DEVOS received lots of advice about what to say on her latest visit to Capitol Hill—some suggested she revisit past statements or criticisms, others that she steel herself against renewed blows over the budget—but all seemed to miss the point: that federal funding should be a means to an end, not simply a funding stream for previously sanctioned programs that the feds have codified into law to support one interest group or another. Federal funding should follow the priorities of state-level efforts and effective national entities, many of which are carving new paths for personalized learning, for innovations in education technology, for efforts to eradicate zoning by zip code and free up students and families to find the best fit for their child. The best advice for everyone involved: let’s stop focusing on budgetary line items and start talking about how to redefine Washington’s role in creating paths that lead to education innovation.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT there was rare light moment during today's Senate subcommittee hearing on education funding when Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about her likability. "You're aware, I'm sure, that some people don't like you because you support vouchers and charter schools," Kennedy said in an exchange with DeVos about wasteful Education Department spending that she's been trying to root out. "I'm peripherally aware of that, yes," DeVos said with a smile—a response that generated some welcome laughter in the committee room.
DESPITE OPPOSITION BY SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS educational choice and opportunity are still not only mainstream but very much growing in the states:
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE a bill that allows certain school districts to send students to private schools using taxpayer dollars heads back to the New Hampshire Senate. The bill impacts a group of small towns which do not operate middle or high schools and must send their children to nearby schools.
IN NEBRASKA parents celebrate the state’s lawmakers’ advancement of LB295, the Opportunity Scholarship bill which fosters an environment where students can access the highest quality education available and tax dollars are spent more effectively.
AND IN ALABAMA where even a poorly constructed charter school law creates strong demand for Alabama's first charter school, open seats at the ACCEL Day and Evening Academy are rapidly disappearing as parents amplify the call to be able to send their children to schools as good as the ones Members of Congress send their kids to!
O. HENRY WOULD BE PROUD. Purdue president and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has sent his university’s Brahmins into a foot-stomping snit by, a) pursuing a deal to buy Kaplan and, b) not asking them first. Daniels says the purchase is a way for Purdue to build up a robust online presence overnight and to reach older, nontraditional students. Of course, such decisive acts run counter to college traditions, which, Daniels told the Education Writers Assn. are often slow to change due to a “culture of committees [where] everybody has to have a say.” Meanwhile, Purdue's faculty senate (a type of committee) stressed the need for shared governance (i.e. governance by committee) and said the deal should be rescinded because it didn’t show “respect for the Purdue faculty" (which we’ll call “the committee of the whole”). Yes, as Daniels pointed out, “ironies abound.” “Places that are supposed to be the havens of free inquiry too often are places where conformity of thought is enforced. Places that teach... creative disruption... can't imagine that it would happen here. The places that are the seedbeds of innovation in so many ways don't innovate institutionally very often.”
TEACHERS OF TOMORROW TODAY. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has signed two laws that specifically approve Teachers of Tomorrow (TOT) as a route to full teacher certification in the state. The new rules have already been approved by the State Board of Education which means TOT can begin immediately to address the state’s teacher shortage. (Since 2005, TOT has placed over 42,000 teachers in schools across the country.)
For more, check out the Media Bullpen.
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Bank of Utah Invites the Public to Shower New Moms in Need With Love
Donate cash, diapers, clothes and formula at Bank of Utah locations in June
OGDEN, Utah, June 6, 2017 – Bank of Utah is launching its annual Shower Them with Love project on June 5 to seek donations of cash, diapers, car seats, and other baby items for ten local family support organizations throughout Utah. The community bank is accepting donations at its 14 branches and four loan offices from Tremonton to St. George, June 5 through 23.
“There are many new mothers in our community who lack the financial means to properly care for their new babies,” said Doug DeFries, Bank of Utah President. “Please join us in making life a little more comfortable for Utah’s most vulnerable families. We invite individuals, businesses, churches and community groups, to help us collect baby items, and we’ll donate them to a wonderful group of non-profit organizations that assist families.”
Items most requested by partnering charities include:
· Diapers and diaper bags
· New and clean, gently-used baby clothes
· Baby foods (not in glass jars)
· Formula and bottles
· Baby blankets
· Car Seats
· Pack-n-plays
· Infant over-the-counter cold medicine
· Baby laundry soap
· Baby lotion, powder and wipes
· Pajamas
· Socks, shoes, t-shirts
· Pacifiers
· Diaper bags
· Paper towels and toilet paper
The charitable organizations to receive the contributions include:
· Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank - Ogden
· The Family Place - Logan
· Tremonton Community Pantry - Tremonton
· The Family Support Center - Brigham City
· Tabitha's Way - Spanish Fork
· Crossroads Urban Center - Salt Lake City
· Pregnancy Resource Center - Salt Lake City
· Bountiful Community Pantry - Bountiful
· The Children's Justice Center - Price
· Hope Pregnancy Center - St. George
For more information and a list of bank locations visit https://www.bankofutah.com/events/shower-them-with-love or BankofUtah on Facebook.
About Bank of Utah
Beautiful evergreen trees are admired for their ability to thrive in all kinds of conditions, symbolizing strength, protection, growth and knowledge. Like the sturdy pine in its logo, Bank of Utah has thrived for nearly 65 years to become one of the strongest banks in the country. Its roots were firmly planted in 1952 by the Frank M. Browning family of Ogden, and the bank has grown to more than 300 employees and more than one billion in assets. Bank of Utah has 13 full-service branches along the Wasatch Front, mortgage offices in St. George, South Towne, Price, Logan and Sandy, and corporate trust teams in Ogden and Salt Lake City. Bank of Utah offers personal and business banking, mortgage and commercial lending and trust and investment services. When you see a durable evergreen tree, remember Bank of Utah and its commitment to serve its thousands of customers for many years to come. For more information call 1-800-516-5559 or visit bankofutah.com.
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27 - 1LB BAG FLOOR DISPLAY
OUR PLEDGE: TO OUR BLUE SHEPHERDS WHO ALWAYS WATCH OVER US AND KEEP US SAFE, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO SERVE AND PROTECT US. HERE'S TO YOUR SAFETY, STRENGTH, AND COURAGE. WE PLEDGE THAT $1.00 FROM EACH BOTTLE AND $.50 FROM EACH BAG OF COFFEE SOLD WILL BE DONATED TO SUPPORT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITIES, AND THEIR FAMILIES. GOD BLESS THEM ALL.
USE THE PRINT ME SHEET BELOW, AND CONTACT YOUR STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD TO LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT TO SPECIAL ORDER BLUE SHEPHERD VODKA. HONOR OUR BLUE SHEPHERDS BY CARRYING BLUE VODKA AND COFFEE TODAY!
CONTROL STATE CONTACT PRINT ME SHEET
BLUE SHEPHERD BEVERAGES IS AN EARLY STAGE PROGRESSIVE BEVERAGE COMPANY THAT IS MARKETING IT'S SECOND PRODUCT LINE, GOURMET COFFEE, DIRECTLY TO THE PRO-LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY. THE COMPANY EXPECTS THAT A LARGE AMOUNT OF REVENUE WILL BE GENERATED FOR DONATION TO OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY AND THEIR FAMILIES.
THE BLUE SHEPHERD BEVERAGE'S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH THE DONATION OF PROCEEDS RECEIVED FROM THE SALES OF THE PROPRIETARY PRODUCT LINES. THESE PROCEEDS WILL BE USED AS CASH DONATIONS TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES AND TACTICAL GEAR, TO PAY FOR MEDICAL BILLS, AS WELL AS OTHER ISSUES THE COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS FROM TIME TO TIME.
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Raising Taxes is Not the Answer
Group will launch robust effort to educate Utahns to defeat tax hike
Salt Lake City, UT – Americans for Prosperity-Utah is taking a strong stand against a proposal to increase taxes by $750 million dollars.
Americans for Prosperity-Utah state director, Evelyn Everton released the following statement:
"Raising taxes on the backs of hardworking Utahns is not the answer to funding a misconceived education plan. If this plan goes through, it will make our state less attractive to new business and hurt our chances at creating new jobs. Utah is held up as the gold standard across the country because we understand that keeping taxes low and doing more with our tax dollars is how the success we’ve achieved is reached. Other states are trying to emulate what we have, and this goes against the strong principled and foundation we’re built on.”
“Americans for Prosperity, along with our 20k activists will be educating Utahns on why raising their taxes isn't the right answer. There are better alternatives to allocate our tax dollars more effectively."
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 35 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.AmericansForProsperity.org
===========================weekly report on education news & commentary from the nation's leading voice on education innovation and opportunity
SECRETARY DEVOS received lots of advice about what to say on her latest visit to Capitol Hill—some suggested she revisit past statements or criticisms, others that she steel herself against renewed blows over the budget—but all seemed to miss the point: that federal funding should be a means to an end, not simply a funding stream for previously sanctioned programs that the feds have codified into law to support one interest group or another. Federal funding should follow the priorities of state-level efforts and effective national entities, many of which are carving new paths for personalized learning, for innovations in education technology, for efforts to eradicate zoning by zip code and free up students and families to find the best fit for their child. The best advice for everyone involved: let’s stop focusing on budgetary line items and start talking about how to redefine Washington’s role in creating paths that lead to education innovation.
AND IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…The HELP Committee cracked up when Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about her likability. You're aware, I'm sure, that some people don't like you because you support vouchers and charter schools," Kennedy said in an exchange with DeVos about wasteful Education Department spending that she's been trying to root out. "I'm peripherally aware of that, yes.”
DESPITE OPPOSITION BY SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS educational choice and opportunity are still not only mainstream but very much growing in the states:
In New Hampshire… a bill that allows certain school districts to send students to private schools using taxpayer dollars heads back to the New Hampshire Senate. The bill impacts a group of small towns which do not operate middle or high schools must send their children to schools in nearby high schools.
In Nebraska… parents celebrate the state’s lawmakers’ advancement of LB295, the Opportunity Scholarship bill which fosters an environment where students can access the highest quality education available and tax dollars are spent more effectively.
In Nevada… while the governor seemed to cast a blind eye to the demands of families wanting ESAs wanting to avoid a government shut down, we will take the consolation prize of $20 million more for tax credits for opportunity scholarships.
And in Alabama… where exists a very poorly constructed charter law, open seats at Alabama’s first charter school, The ACCEL Day and Evening Academy are rapidly disappearing. Showing the demand by parents to be able to send their children to schools as good as the ones Members of Congress send their kids to!
O. HENRY WOULD BE PROUD. Purdue president and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has sent his university’s Brahmins into a foot-stomping snit by, a) pursuing a deal to buy Kaplan and, b) not asking them first. Daniels says the purchase is a way for Purdue to build up a robust online presence overnight and to reach older, nontraditional students. Of course, such decisive acts run counter to college traditions, which, Daniels told the Education Writers Assn. are often slow to change due to a “culture of committees [where] everybody has to have a say.” Meanwhile, Purdue's faculty senate (a type of committee) stressed the need for shared governance (i.e. governance by committee) and said the deal should be rescinded because it didn’t show “respect for the Purdue faculty" (which we’ll call “the committee of the whole”). Yes, as Daniels pointed out, “ironies abound.” “Places that are supposed to be the havens of free inquiry too often are places where conformity of thought is enforced. Places that teach... creative disruption... can't imagine that it would happen here. The places that are the seedbeds of innovation in so many ways don't innovate institutionally very often.”
For more, check out the Media Bullpen.
