Persuasive Letter To Teachers

Words: 3311
Pages: 14

August 1, 2014
The Honorable Tim Huelskamp
129 Cannon
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Huelskamp:

"My firm belief is that Kansans made better education policy decisions than bureaucrats or politicians in Washington. Parents, as well as community leaders and local school district officials, are best equipped to make decisions about their children's' educational needs." Huelskamp, Tim. Issues. huelskamp.house.gov (2013)

As one of your supportive constituents from the First District of Kansas, let me begin by saying that I could not agree with you more. My name is Dustin Vest and I reside in Meade County. Not only am I the parent of two daughters in USD 226, I am also an active member of
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Since that time, we have continued to realize the great importance for providing equal opportunities for everyone in the nation and to require documented accountability from students, teachers and schools. I can appreciate that the purpose of NCLB was to raise academic scores and student achievement, but in hindsight, we saw this legislation frustrating teachers and school districts all over the country. Several years into NCLB, we were hearing from the National Education Association that we needed to empower our teachers and to provide options and flexibility in the assessment of student performance and progress. As more years passed under NCLB legislation, it was also NEA's opinion that the act was not effective in improving student achievement in public education, as the evidence was showing in using standardized test scores alone to access academic achievement and progress. Even more of a detriment was that now a greater percentage of teachers were leaving the workforce, being frustrated with flawed accountability and adding to the nationwide teacher shortage. NEA's Brian Williams stated, "It is high time that Congress ends its obsession with high stakes, poor quality standardized tests." Williams, Brian. (July 2013) The Education Voter, National Education …show more content…
Building Report Cards. Summary Profile USD 226. ( 2009-10). www.ksde.org <http://www.ksde.org/> .

CHALLENGES

Our Building Report Card is something USD 226 takes great pride in, but it is a challenge to maintain these test scores. As you can see from our student demographics, over one half of our students, typical of the hundreds of small rural schools throughout Kansas, come from economically disadvantaged homes. Due to this, those students are often dealing with hunger and poor health.

Kansas Dept. of Education. ( 2009-10) Building Report Card for USD 226. Topeka, Ks. Retrieved from: www.ksde.org <http://www.ksde.org/> .

The Kansas legislature set a state wide mill levy at 20.000 mills for the General Fund of Kansas state schools. Just like a great percentage of school districts in Kansas, USD 226 saw a reduction of $215,000 in the General Fund Budget due to state budget cuts as a shortfall in state revenue.

Federal funds have also severely been reduced since 2008. Federal funds provide the operating expenses for At-Risk students, Bilingual students, Driver's Education, Special Education, Vocational Education, Professional Development and the Free and Reduced Lunch and Breakfast programs. The total State Aid has been reduced by $562 per pupil. This severely handicaps the very programs that we rely on for academic progress and