Right To Learn Storytellers meet with State Education Board

R-L Thomas, Eric, Helen, Sarah, Jean.

Right To Learn has recently just sent their five winning story tellers to Saramento to meet with the State Board of Education. Thomas Bruce from Fresno, Eric Seidman from Granite Bay, Helen Weng and Sarah Mojabi from San Diego and Jean Teodoro from San Francisco all came to Sacramento on July 9th and spent the day getting to know each other, discussing their different experiences with the education system, and writing out exactly what they wanted to tell the State Board.

The students got up bright and early the next morning and presented to the Board at 9am. They dicussed topics such as more aids in remedial classes, implementing block scheduling in high schools statewide, more culturally conscious education, focusing on main standard ideas instead of having very specific standards for kids to learn by, and including student input on decisions that effect them directly.

The Board was very impressed with the students and listened very intentely. They also invited the students back to talk about more topics!

If you are in the Sacramento area and want to speak your mind to the State Board, they openly call for more students to come and share their experiences. Their next meeting is September 10-11.

Check out more of our pictures here.

The part 1 of the presentation.

Clinton Global Initiative University

Former President Bill Clinton has launched Clinton Global Initiative University. “CGI U, a new project of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), challenges college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions. At CGI U, young people and universities do more than simply discuss the world’s challenges – they take real, concrete steps towards solving them.”

They are also offering Outstanding Commitments Awards, a potential source of funding for student service and activism projects. Applications will be accepted through July 28, 2008. Later this year, we will distribute 35 awards totaling $150,000. Students can apply for a grant of up to $10,000 for each project.

This could be a great addition to any one who is applying for RTL grants or anyone who is interested.

Al Gore records web video against budget cuts

Today, former Vice President Al Gore released a video questioning why the State of California would consider cutting school funding:

With the world quickly moving to a knowledge economy, where those who receive better schooling fare substantially better in the workplace, it is absolutely critical that high school and college students, teachers, parents and the public stand together all summer to oppose any cuts to public schools.

Check out the video and the hundreds of responses already posted to it. Add your own take on California’s budget crisis if you feel inspired. And be sure to keep up with the Right To Learn Blog all summer for the latest.

Governor’s lottery plan dangerous for schools, LAO says

Counting on the California Lottery to drastically increase its sales so that the state can sell bonds against it future earnings risks costing public schools in the state much of the $1.2 billion per year they currently receive from the lottery’s proceeds, a report issued today by the Legislative Analyst’s Office said.

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said education funding would be protected if the state borrowed far less money from future lottery sales, which are likely to grow at a slower rate than the governor assumed, the report said. Hill also reiterates the point she made in earlier analyses about the Governor’s across-the-board proposals not setting priorities for the state.

“The across-the-board approach fails to determine which state programs provide essential services or are most critical to California’s future,” she writes.

The work by the LAO serves as a reminder to all supporters of public education that the 2008-09 budget battle is just getting started. Only by continuing to make our views known to elected officials can we ensure that schools get the funding they need to successfully educate their students.

For more on the cuts, look at the San Francisco Chronicle or Sacramento Bee.

Students rally in Sacramento

On Thursday in Sacramento, more than 2,000 students rallied against budget cuts in front of the State Capitol.

Despite a few water fights in the 100 degree heat, students came together to listen to legislators, student leaders and even a few musical artists at the rally, organized by the Campaign for Quality Education.

While Gov. Schwarzenegger’s May budget revision restored some of the proposed funding cuts to education, there remains much work to be done this summer to protect the money schools need.

Keep an eye on the Right To Learn Web site for updates on student budget action all summer long!

Schwarzenegger to maintain Prop 98

Gov. Schwarzenegger announced the May Revision to the state budget Wednesday, the last step before the legislature begins to debate his proposals.

Schwarzenegger’s budget reveals that the state’s revenue (money coming in) is still declining, and the state is facing its worst financial crisis in recent memory — a $15.2 billion deficit.

The revision restores some of the funding that was originally slated to be cut from education, bringing overall spending back up to the minimum amount guaranteed by Proposition 98, cutting funding by $3.9 billion.

To address the rest of the deficit, Schwarzenegger proposes expanding and borrowing against the future earnings of the California lottery and deep cuts to health and other social services. The lottery proposal, however, caps the amount of money the lottery sends to education at $1.2 billion per year (instead of 34 percent).

More information will begin to be released from budget watchdogs like the California Budget Project and the Legislative Analyst’s Office in coming days, so keep an eye out for more news and detail. The threat to California education has not passed; the budget won’t be approved until sometime at the end of the summer.

Schwarzenegger pegs deficit at $20 billion

Governor Schwarzenegger said this week that the state’s estimated budget deficit has ballooned to more than $20 billion — a figure that would mean more stringent cuts to education and other state programs.

As the governor prepares to release his updated budget, called the May Revision, on May 14, it is clear that the budget situation in the state is getting substantially worse, not better. The $20 billion is almost $6 billion more than he first announced in January and twice what the Legislative Analyst’s Office projected in November.

With this announcement, it’s clear that the fight against the budget cuts will continue throughout the summer, beginning with a rally on May 15 in Sacramento. Get involved today and make your voice heard!

A look at April 18

Last Friday, thousands of students throughout California took action against more than $5 billion in proposed budget cuts. From sit-ins to walkouts to rallies and teach-ins, student actions were creatively diverse, yet focused on stopping these potentially disastrous cuts.

Forty schools participated in the Day of Action from as far north as Humboldt County and as far south as San Diego. Nearly 1,000 students signed up on the Right To Learn Web site and an estimated 2,500 other students joined in on April 18.

Here’s a quick look at some of the actions held by students throughout the state:

	Cerritos High (Cerritos) Students at Cerritos High integrated Right To Learn budget advocacy into their spirit week, on Nerd Dress Up Day, informing students about the budget cuts and encouraging them to get involved in the campaign.

Galileo High & O’Connell High (San Francisco) These two schools led a march of more than 500 students from Galileo’s campus to City Hall downtown. Led by the marching band, students passed out fliers with facts about the budget to shopkeepers and the public. At City Hall, a variety of students read speeches and performed poetry and music.

	Grove High (Redlands) Letter writing to the Governor and members of the California Legislators was the order of the day at this charter school in Redlands. Students then organized a school photo–with everyone wearing red– to send with their letters.

New Technology High (Napa) Even though there was no school on April 18 for this group, students gathered in downtown Napa to spread the word about the budget cuts and rally their community.

	Oak Ridge High (El Dorado Hills) Although it wasn’t on school campus, about 30 students from Oak Ridge High School showed up at the Capitol in Sacramento with signs to help demonstrate the need for a better education on April 18.

San Diego SCPA (San Diego) More than 100 students held a sit-in outside their school at lunch-time at this sunny San Diego school.

	Scripps Ranch High (El Dorado Hills) These students set up a table at lunch where students could learn more about the budget cuts, sign up for a budget advocacy club, and sign a petition protesting the cuts.

Thurgood Marshall Academic High (San Francisco) Students held a unity rally with other youth organizations focused on building relationships among their school community through activities such as Right To Learn.

	Ventura Community (Buena Vista High School) Students, state and local politicians, and educators spoke to more than 500 people who attended this community-wide rally.

A special group of little activists… While most Right To Learn actions took place at high schools, one kindergarten class took it upon themselves to participate. After discussing the important services that governmental money is needed to support, each student chose their favorite thing about school–teachers, books, the library, science supplies, etc.–and made signs or hats with drawings of that favorite thing.

If you want to learn more about Right To Learn, check out this list of newspaper stories and television reports about the Day of Action.

Congratulations to all of those who participated in this historic and awe-inspiring day.

There’s a lot more in store for Right To Learn and the fight against these cuts will continue into the fall, so stay tuned!

Send in your pictures, stories and videos

The Day of Action has finally arrived. Today, students across California will rally against more than $5 billion in proposed budget cuts to public schools.

As your school holds it action, please remember to send in photos and videos of yourselves collecting petitions, holding signs, speaking at rallies and doing everything else you do. You can submit photos and videos in one of two ways:

1. From your cell phone – Log into the Right To Learn site and look on your school’s page for your special “@veeker.com” e-mail address. Then follow these instructions to send us picture and video messages directly from your cell phone.
2. By e-mail – Log into the Right To Learn site and look on your school’s page for your special “@veeker.com” e-mail address. Just attach your photos or videos to an e-mail and send them to that e-mail address. (Only one photo or video per message, please!)

Please make sure to send in your pictures and video as soon as possible after (or even during) your event. All of the media submitted will be displayed in a slide show on the Right To Learn home page.

Good luck today!

In less than 24 hours…

Less than 24 hours from now, thousands of students will have stood up to demand that the state full fund its public schools and reject more than $5 billion in proposed budget cuts. This time tomorrow, you will have walked out, sat in, rallied, taught, signed petitions, slammed poetry and truly started a movement among your peers.

The commitment we have seen in each of you leading up to tomorrow’s Day of Action has been astounding. You have shown that students do care about their education, do pay attention to the news and do think their actions can make a difference. Those of us who have worked full-time on this campaign are impressed and humbled by the dedication of each and every one of you to this cause.

As you head out to school tomorrow, speak loudly and stand proudly behind the collective voice of more than 6 million students statewide. We are with you and support you every step of the way.