The news that a group of concerned parents is suing the state of Florida for its failure to provide a high quality education system has met one important goal already — people are talking about what’s wrong in Florida, and how we can fix it. Here’s a sampling of what a few of Florida’s opinion leaders are saying:
The Gainesville Sun: “Something is wrong when our best and our brightest young people are receiving high school diplomas yet are not ready for college. What an indictment of our political leadership and of the FCAT culture they created.” And more: “The action has been a long time coming. Maybe we missed it, but we don’t think Florida has a constitutional mandate requiring lawmakers to keep taxes as low as possible at the expense of our children.”
The Tallahassee Democrat: “Students drop out in frustration before they even enter high school; minority students are too often on the down side of the achievement gap, entering school unprepared to learn, and the digital divide exacerbates economic and social inequities that are irrefutable despite data manipulated to win political gold stars.”
The Daytona Beach News-Journal: “Florida’s poor performance on other key measures — such as graduation rate — demonstrate the folly of depending on standardized tests for definitive assessments of schools.”
More than JUST Florida, it’s a NATIONAL problem!
Surely we all realize that the lack of adequate funds is not just a Florida thing, but plagues schools across our great country. I feel we’re all witnessing the demise of AMERICA’s system of public schools, one that has nurtured our future, kept us strong, and has insured the continuance of many viewing us as a world leader. The question is whether ALL of America will realize the value of our public schools and be willing to UNITEDLY stand up for what we all know is right!?!?!
As each day passes, my dream of “E Cubed Alliance (Expecting Educational Excellence)” spreads a bit further across our country, be it a letter to DC, to a talk show, or to a news program. I’d greatly appreciate it if our two powers could unite in achieving what’s BEST for OUR CHILDREN!!!!!
PLEASE commit to your memory the name: “E Cubed Alliance”. Since we the people provide the tax funds that our government manages, the members of this alliance are EXPECTING our officials to adequately fund public education so that our local school boards can again focus on providing our youth with the EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE required to brighten America’s future.
Our children, our schools, and our future NEED us to become a WILDFIRE like our country’s yet seen!!!!! Won’t you please help a dream take flight?