Blog

The House and Senate bills on innovative districts passed, and we are seeing a familiar lineup of votes. Voting in favor of the bills: Sens DENNING, MELCHER, PILCHER-COOK, and SMITH and Reps BRUCHMAN, ESAU, GROSSERODE, HILDABRAND, KINZER, MEIGS, RUBIN and TODD. They need to hear from parents, teachers and other concerned citizens. Thank Senator Wolf and Representatives Bollier, Clayton, Lusk, Perry and Rooker for voting against another bill that looks good until you see what it actually does....

Why do we have another assault on certified teachers? Why is that given as the big example of onerous requirements of public schools? Is that the big innovation we think is going to lead to greater achievment in our schools? Or is this a pretext for something else? See the SMAC PTA Action Alert on the House and Senate bills on “innovative districts” and contact your Senator and Representative....

 From a political perspective, we are at serious risk of losing our most vocal allies in working for strong schools for Kansas children. Have you seen those tv ads about the importance of strong schools for strong communities? Grassroots organizations like ours can’t afford tv commercials. From a morale perspective, the people working with our children on a daily basis are under assault. Many of them are dual certified and might choose to work in Park Hill, Lee’s Summit and other MO communities; others may choose to leave the classroom altogether. Tell the Kansas legislature to stop pushing...

“The failure of S.B. 169 was a success for education. We don’t need to spend $6 million on reading-instruction grants to nonprofits with potential ulterior motives. We need to spend it on the classroom. As Brownback himsel…f said, we can and we must do better by our children.” Sarah Smith Nessel, KC Star 913 Section. This excellent article explains why mandatory third grade retention is the wrong solution. Kansans beware, we have not heard the last of this bill.  http://joco913.com/news/sarah-smith-nessel-cookie-cutter-literacy-crusade-is-a-disservice-to-special-needs-kids/#storylink=cpy...