This is a rather long letter from me. I hope you take the time to read through it because what is happening to our children today really requires your attention.
Our nation is in trouble. Families are losing their homes, food is scarce for many, and the financial picture isn't looking too rosy.
Remember the Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"? We must make sure people can make it through these tough economic times, so it makes sense to focus our energies on "giving people fish" for the moment.
What about our children's futures? Even though we're grappling with the issues of today, we still need to remember that for a strong economy, we urgently need more highly skilled young people with the ability to think critically and work collaboratively. We need leaders, problem-solvers, skilled workers, innovators, educators and professionals in a variety of fields.
For our economy to fully recover and progress, we need every young mind prepared to move our families forward into the future. To do that, we need a quality public education system.
The public school system educates 90% of our children. It must provide all our children with the critical resources they need to graduate on time and be ready for college.
