The public education system in California is broken! Educate Our State

Educate Our State

The public education system in California is broken! Educate Our State is a parent-led, statewide campaign to unite the voices of Californians in support of high-quality K-12 Public Education and demand real change. Watch us talking about the Educate Our State campaign here. What are you doing May 24th? Want to help "Wake Up California!"click here. Join the statewide, multi-city day of action to support California public schools WITH YOUR HELP WE SENT OVER 60,000 LETTERS, ASKING TO "LET US VOTE!": Governor Brown's proposed budget for California assumes a combination of cuts and revenue extensions to close the over $25 billion plus budget gap. Without the revenue extension, we may see an "all cuts" budget that will potentially mean massive cuts to K-12 public education. In February, Educate Our State launched a letter writing campaign, sending over 60,000 letters to 100% of the legislature asking to "Let Us Vote!" to save public education funding. Still want to send a letter, click here. NBC Bay Area News (channel 3) covered the "Let Us Vote!" campaign as we hit our first milestone: 10,000 letters to California legislators. Also featured on their news website. February 20, 2011 Educate Our State and Support California Kidshave joined forces to increase awareness on the issues facing Public Education in California. Want to learn more about this partnership? Read here. Skeptical that we can make change? Well, how about if every grassroots parent group, school PTA and PTO, and non-profit with a focus on education from one end of the state to the other joined together in a loose-knit network and took action as one? Then Sacramento would have to listen right? There would be too many of us and we'd be too loud to ignore. This is Educate Our State, a campaign of like-minded people who believe in Public Education and are willing to fight for it. Don't believe it's possible? Just watch us. We're parents fighting for our kids' futures. Come join us, as we raise the volume on the issue and force the political will for change. Still don't believe it's possible? Watch the video clip below. ___________________________________ The Problem: We are Failing Our Children We are failing our children in California and in doing so jeopardizing our nation and our future public welfare. We educate more than 1 in 8 children in the nation, 6.3 million children, and yet: 30% of California high school students do not graduate; over 175,000 students dropped out of school in 2009. Some ethnic groups have dropout rates over 50%. Of those who do graduate, almost 70% of children are not ready for college (Kidsdata.org, 2008). National educational surveys show California at the bottom of achievement levels in 4th and 8th grade reading and are lower than those in 43 states. (nces.ed.gov, 2010). California has dropped to the bottom of per pupil spending in the U.S., estimates range from 45th in the nation (non-cost adjusted) to dead last with cost adjusted rankings. By almost every measure, California is failing our students. We are creating a far-reaching social problem with implications in all areas of our community, state and nation including economic decline, increased joblessness, and higher crime rates. The Solution: Parents Need to Stand Up and Demand Change This is more than an education issue. It is a civil rights issue. We need California to provide its children with high-quality and appropriately-funded public education. ___________________________________ We are building our network of like-minded parents, non-profits and organizations. Let us know if we can add you to our list. California State PTA, www.capta.org Great Oakland Public Schools, www.gopublicschools.org Families In Schools, www.familiesinschools.org Invest in PUSD Kids (Pasadena Unified School District)www.InvestInPUSDkids.org Bay Area Council, www.bayareacouncil.org PICO, www.piconetwork.org Educacy, www.educacy.org SFOP, www.sfop.org Parents for Great Education, www.parentsforgreateducation.org Parents for Public Schools, San Francisco, www.ppssf.org CAUSE (California Advocates United Saving California),www.cause4education.org Saving California Communities, www.savingca.org Say No To Cuts (Wonderland PTA), www.saynotocuts.com Campaign for Quality Eudcation, www.quality-education.org Public Advocates, www.publicadvocates.org Children Now, www.childrennow.org Citizen Hope, www.citizenhope.org Support California Kids, www.supportcakids.com We're adding more friends everyday. Check back soon.