Home » High School Articles » OUR EDUCATION LAUNCHES NATIONAL CAMPAIGN AND URGES ALL STUDENTS TO ACT NOW TO IMPROVE AMERICA'S SCHOOLS
OUR EDUCATION LAUNCHES NATIONAL CAMPAIGN AND URGES ALL STUDENTS TO ACT NOW TO IMPROVE AMERICA'S SCHOOLS
More Than 2,000 Students Have Signed The Petition To Make High Quality Education An American Right In First Month Of The Campaign
/High School PR News/ - March 15, 2006 - The year-long petition campaign, run through Our Education's website (www.OurEd.org), is the first step of the organization's efforts to revitalize public discourse about our schools and make quality education a national priority.
"The strength of our nation - or of any nation - rests in the hands, heads and hearts of its future leaders," said Doug Smith, renowned author of On Value and Values, Make Success Measurable, and The Wisdom of Teams, and Our Education Board member. "Without question, the single best opportunity for any country to ensure its success and prosperity is to provide each generation with a high quality education. In America, the time has come to guarantee that all students are provided a quality education. Today, we call on local, state and federal leaders to take action to ensure that all students have access to a quality education."
Over the next twelve months, Our Education will gather one million petition signatures from youth ages 13 to 24, which will be presented to national leaders at the first-ever national Student Bill of Rights conference scheduled for 2007. During this conference, high school student leaders will gather in Washington, DC to create a national Students' Bill of Rights—a document that will spark important national debate about high quality public education and what it ought to mean for every American child. The conference will provide students, education reformers, and policymakers with an opportunity to work together to set a clear, actionable agenda towards dramatic improvement in our nation's schools.
"School reform efforts have too often overlooked a powerful constituency for school change - the students themselves," said Wendy Puriefoy, President, Public Education Network and Our Education Board member. "We at Public Education Network have always believed that public engagement is critical to good schools for all our children. Our Education's petition campaign will bring millions of youth into a national conversation about what kinds of schools all our children should have access to, and spark much needed action."
More than one thousand students have already signed Our Education's petition, which reads:
and#61656; Whereas education is the foundation of a healthy democracy;
and#61656; Whereas the future of our nation will depend on our commitment to educate all youth to their fullest capacity;
and#61656; And whereas the United States Constitution is the guarantor of the rights and responsibilities most fundamental to the wellbeing of our society;
and#61656; We the undersigned declare our support for a constitutional amendment to guarantee all American children the right to a high quality public education.
Jessica Cope, student at Miami University (Ohio) said she signed the petition because, "Education is the single most important thing in the world. If we could only have one right, it should be the right to a high quality education." Tom Besade, a Connecticut High School junior, added, "To deny a child a quality education is to deny them the chance at becoming the best person that they can be. By giving all American children a high quality education, we give them all the chance to realize their full potential."
In addition to the petition campaign and conference, Our Education runs the Student Voice Project (SVP), a program designed to create avenues for student representation on local school boards. The SVP also trains young leaders to become effective resources to their local school boards, engaging students in conversations about youth experiences and priorities.
"Students today applaud the efforts of dedicated public educators across the country, but they also recognize the need to improve the quality of their schools and the schools around the country," said Our Education Co-Executive Director Aaron Tang. Fellow co-Executive Director Ethan Hutt added, "Our message to America's youth is that now is the time to act: visit www.OurEd.org and join your peers from around the country in signing this petition. We also ask parents and teachers to talk with their children and students about joining this important cause."
More information about the Our Education campaign can be found online at: www.OurEd.org. The interactive web site enables students to sign the petition, and provides real-life examples about their education experience via spotlight articles on current students, the Our Education Blog, and many other communication tools.
In addition to Tang, Hutt and Smith, Our Education's Board of Directors includes Wendy Puriefoy, president, The Public Education Network. Our Ed's National Advisory Panel includes retired Proctor and Gamble CEO John Pepper; Yale University President Richard Levin; Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp; United States Congressmen Chaka Fattah (PA-2) and Tim Ryan (OH-17); as well as retired founder of Education Week and Teacher Magazine, Ron Wolk.
About Our Education
Our Education, founded in 2004, is the voice of young people across the country who believe all American students should have access to high quality education. Our Education's mission is to improve K-12 education by engaging and empowering America's youth in a national movement for better schools. Co-Executive Directors Ethan Hutt and Aaron Tang, both 2005 graduates of Yale University, began Our Education with support from a two-year grant from Echoing Green, the nation's premier social entrepreneurship seed funder. Currently headquartered in Washington, DC, Our Education has received additional support from American Eagle Outfitters, the Ben and Jerry's Foundation, the Xerox Foundation, and others.
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