School board members are not listening to the citizens that elected them.  The only time to speak to those board members, other than emailing them (and they don't respond), is during the public comments section of their meetings.  Two whole minutes to get your point across.  One Momma Bear had an idea.  She told another Momma Bear.  The idea grew and took off.  Here is her story:

I'm a frugal Mom who is frustrated with all of the changes going on in my children's school district.  It is overwhelming seeing the glowing articles in the local newspaper about school reform, but knowing it is just more twisted data, with cute pictures of children, published to make politicians look good.  The truth is: Our schools are starved of funding while profiteers are getting rich.  I follow many education blogs and news across the country, so I read what is really happening across the nation to public school districts.  I see what is heading our way to Memphis, TN.  Will we end up bankrupt like Philadelphia?  Will we close 50 neighborhood schools like Chicago?  Will 70% of our students fail the PARCC like in New York?  Will charter vultures take over our district like New Orleans, Los Angeles, & in Florida?  Memphis is high poverty and ripe for the picking. Infuse it with money from out-of-touch-with-reality billionaires, and our school district is prime for profiting everyone but the children. 

I've talked to my elected school board member for my area.  He listens and understands.  He is a great guy, but he is just 1 of 7 on the school board, and he has other issues to deal with.  Ugh, I hate politics.  These are children, and they shouldn't be used as negotiation!  How can get my point across to the 6 other members on the School Board?  I'm just a Mom.

Diane Ravitch has a powerful voice.  If only she were here... If only I could talk like her...  She just published her brand new book, Reign of Error.  She says everything I want to say.  There's no way I can read it aloud in the 2 minutes I'm allowed to speak at their meeting.  I get a crazy idea... What if I got Diane Ravitch's book for each of the school board members?  

I had a birthday a few weeks ago, and I got a little birthday money to spend however I want.  I was going to buy myself a new purse since my old one is getting worn out, but instead, I go to a local bookstore.  They have Diane Ravitch's new book in stock, but they are nearly $30 each. Gulp. My birthday wasn't that profitable.  I can afford to buy 3 books if I also take a little out of our grocery envelope (We're loyal Dave Ramsey followers in our household.  I can make our groceries stretch a little farther this month.)  

I mentioned my idea to a few friends, and before I know it, they've each gone to bookstores in their area of town and purchased books, too.  One friend used a gift certificate that her fellow PTA board members gave her as a gift of appreciation; she said she couldn't imagine a better use for it!  Another friend's husband spent his lunch break going to 2 different bookstores to get more copies; bless him, he's a Daddy Bear!!!  Together, we Momma & Daddy Bears had 8 books: enough for the 7 school board members + the Superintendent, too.

I worried all afternoon about what to say during my 2 minutes at the School Board Meeting that night.  Here is what I said:

Surveys show that parents and citizens want excellent NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC schools.  We want our elected school board to represent our students… not business interests.  We have elected YOU to govern our schools, not charter operators who seek to profit, not charter operators who seek to recruit the brightest and best students, and exclude those with disabilities or low test scores.  Our public schools should always be public. 

We teach our children not to bully and not to tolerate bullying.  Do not let those who were appointed to their position in Nashville bully you into approving charter schools.  We did not elect them, we elected you.  The appointed TN BOE, the appointed Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, and Governor Haslam who appointed them all, clearly do not have our students’ best interest at heart.  Do not let them, or the businesses that fund and profit from them, make decisions that are not in the best interest of our children.

I'm not too proud to admit that I then played the guilt card.  I told them how I sacrificed my birthday money on these books, and how other parents pitched in to get copies for them, too.  I tell them that his book expresses what we, as parents, want them, as our elected school board, to know.  I beg them to please read the books, and I stress how important it is to us.  

My 2 minutes are up.  I take a seat in the audience and stay for the next few hours.  The meeting drags on, and they take a crucial vote regarding a charter school moratorium.  I want to cry because it fails.  Did they hear what I said one bit?!?!?  I shouldn't be surprised, the majority of the board members are funded by Stand for Children (Note: Stand For Children is a non-profit lobbying group funded by corporations & Bill Gates.  They stand ON children, not for them.  Anywhere money can be made in education, you'll find greedy Stand for Children there in the midst of it, along with an equally greedy group called "Students First" that just came into our town last year).  Money speaks louder than parents and students.  Parents are going to have to scream at the top of our lungs to be heard, and even then, I'm not sure that it will outweigh the dollar signs stuck in their ears.  

I am a wishful optimist.  I have hope that the board members will read the books we gave them...  Maybe Diane will get it past their pocketbooks and through their thick skulls?  That is my birthday wish.  Every child, rich or poor, black or white, should be able to attend their their neighborhood school that is well-funded and well-staffed. They should have excellent music, art, sports, & extra-curricular programs.  Librarians and guidance counselors are a must.  Students, especially those who are academically behind, should have small class sizes taught by certified, experienced teachers.  Testing should be a minimum, and not full of stress and anxiety as it is now for students.  Our children's test scores shouldn't be used to hurt teachers and close schools in poor, starving areas.  Those with profit motives should be banned from our schools.  I could go on and on, but Diane Ravitch says it better than I do.  Read her book and you'll know exactly what I mean.

[This checklist was originally published by Sue Peters in a blog entitled, "How to tell if your School District is infected by the Broad Virus" (April 2011) on Seattle Education.


1). Schools in your district are suddenly closed because they are "under-utilized," but smaller charter schools pop up in their place?
YES, has happened quite a bit, especially in poor areas of Memphis despite parents loudly protesting.

2). Even top-performing schools, alternative and schools for the gifted, are inexplicably and suddenly targeted for closure or mergers?
Yes, in fact, we've had the largest school merger in history!!!

3). Repetition of the phrases “the achievement gap” and “closing the achievement gap” in district documents and public statements. Repeated use of the terms “excellence” and “best practices” and “data-driven decisions.” (Coupled with a noted absence of any proof.)  The production of “data” that is false or cherry-picked, and then used to justify reforms.
Good grief, the whole state of Tennessee is being fed those key words and given skewed facts daily in the media!  "Cherry-picked" is right about the false data, especially by the politicians who are up for re-election next year.  

4). Power is centralized. Decision-making is top down. 
Yes, both locally and state-wide.  The TN Commissioner of Education and the TN Board of Education are all appointed positions by the Governor of TN.  Decisions being made on public schools do not reflect the will of the public.  

5. Local autonomy of schools is taken away.  Principals are treated like pawns by the superintendent, relocated, rewarded and punished at will.  Culture of fear of reprisal develops in which teachers, principals, staff, even parents feel afraid to speak up against the policies of the district or the superintendent.
Oh, Lordy, YES!  But you won't find news about it because they are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs like their fellow staff members already have.

6. Sudden increase in number of paid outside consultants.
Hello, Boston Consulting Group, Parthenon Group, and Proact Search Company (all affiliated with Gates, Broad, & Walton).  Goodbye, millions of education dollars and our local control, to these wealthy consultants.

7. Teachers are no longer referred to as people, educators, colleagues, staff, or even “human resources,” but as “human capital.”  Instead of "firing", new words are used such as "excessing" or "surplussing".
Oh, YES.  They are treated like pawns around here, too, so much so that we Momma Bears wonder if they will rename the Department of Human Capital to the "Department of Human Cattle."  It is that bad for teachers here.

8. The district leadership declares that the single most significant problem in the district is suddenly: teachers!
Yes.  Evil tenured teachers who are really vampires in disguise.  Which is totally ironic, because teachers don't make diddly-squat.  Many teachers have to take on part-time jobs to support their families.  Most of them spend out of their own paychecks for classroom supplies for their students. Teachers are hard-working and caring.  We've yet to meet a rich teacher, have you?  The REAL money-suckers are those who are demanding "accountability" and blaming teachers while cashing their 6-figure paychecks.  

9. Teachers are no longer expected to be creative, passionate, inspired, but merely “effective.”  
Yep.  All that matters anymore is the student test scores.  That expensive test that nobody ever gets to see the questions on.  THAT is what determines if a teacher is good or not.  Our children have been turned into little data points used to hurt teachers and schools.  Sad, huh?

10. Excessive amounts of testing introduced and imposed on your kids.
YES!!!  Except they don't call it testing.  They call it fun names like:  STAR Probes, DISCOVERY Education, Think Link, iStation, Compass Learning, CRAs, Accelerated Reader tests, etc.  Our kids certainly weren't fooled.  One child explained those tests as, "the tests everyone had to take to determine who the smart and dumb kids are for Intervention groups."  The district says these are pre-tests to prepare them for the State TCAP (and PARCC next year) in TN.  Whatever you call them, they take time away from real learning time.  They take time away from recess.  They take money away from important areas that have been cut, especially support staff and more teachers.   Our student to teacher ratios have increased drastically as these expensive tests have been implemented.  Coincidence?  We think not.  
Even worse, parents had to send in $15 to buy TCAP workbooks last year.  Students did these practice tests in class for 45 minutes every day for a month.  The whole book.  Bubbling in answers to trick questions.  We Momma Bears would rather them be reading for pleasure, and enjoying learning, than bubbling in answers for proficiency.   

11. Teach for America, Inc., novices are suddenly brought into the district, despite no shortage of fully qualified teachers.
YES!  There are hundreds of excessed teachers, and some are fired based on test scores, but we're paying for 350 unqualified college babies with zero experience teaching students!  And there are plans to hire 250 more novices each year thereafter?!??  The Achievement School District thinks so highly of these unqualified, inexperienced teachers that they host Happy Hours with free alcohol on a school night at a local bar, courtesy of our tax money.  Only 2nd year TFA & alumni are invited to the event for the free drinks, free appetizers, and a photobooth.  (Note: I bet they won't advertise their future Happy Hours.  Their original video went viral, and they removed it.  Thank goodness some Momma Bears posted it on Youtube so we can all see the craziness.) 

12. Strange data appears that seems to contradict what you know (gut level) to be true about your own district.  There is a strange sense of sabotage going on.  You start to feel you are trapped in the nightmarish Book Five of the Harry Potter series and the evilly vindictive Dolores Umbridge is running your school district. (Seek centaurs and Forbidden Forest immediately!)
Yes, and our TN Commissioner of Education is Lord Voldemort.  Everyone in our state is terrified of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because he punishes those who do not follow him.  All the new policies and laws forced on us are just like the Decrees hung on the walls at Hogwarts.  The new grading system at the Achievement District schools (schools that have been taken over by TN BOE) reek of dark magic to fool muggles. And one Charter School (who just happened to contribute to the Governor's campaign) gets preferential treatment by not having their TCAP scores count toward their grades, even though their school is failing.  Not only that, they are being given another ASD to operate, too.  How is that for accountability and democracy?  (How's that for reading in-depth to a text?)

13. A rash of Astroturf groups appear claiming to represent “the community” or “parents” and all advocate for the exact same corporate ed reforms that your superintendent supports — merit pay, standardized testing, charter schools, alternative credentialing for teachers. Of course, none of these are genuine grassroots community organizations.  
But, the names of the groups sound so lovely... Don't you want to put "Students First" or "Stand for Children"?  Education "Reform" sounds so noble, doesn't it?  Doesn't every human "Expect More, Achieve More" for students?  Anyone who does not agree is labeled as a crazy extremist who kicks puppies.  Even plain-jane Moms like us.  We've never kicked any puppies.  

14.  Or, existing groups suddenly become fervidly in favor of teacher-bashing, merit pay or charter schools. Don’t be surprised to find that these groups may have received grant money from the corporate ed reform foundations like Gates or Broad.
Yes.  Even our beloved PTA even drank the Gates kool-aid when it took Gates' money.  The NEA chugged it down, too.  The lure of money enticed some pretty powerful leaders, and now those leaders are ignoring the children and teachers they were elected to serve.   

15. The superintendent receives the highest salary ever paid to a superintendent in your town’s history (plus benefits and car allowance) – possibly more than your mayor or governor — and the community is told “that is the national, competitive rate for a city of this size.”
Well, not the highest, but pretty darn close for a lawyer who has never taught before.  It could be worse.  Apparently, the Proact Search Firm couldn't find ANY candidates willing to work for our district because of this tumultuous merger that we did not want.  (Actually, Momma Bear parents were so informed and vocal at the community forums, there was no way that Proact could put one of those Broad Academy Superintendents in that spot.)  That didn't stop the lawyer-Superintendent from stacking his cabinet with Stand on Children & Teach for America's $$$ cronies.

16. Your school board starts to show signs of Stockholm Syndrome. They vote in lockstep with the superintendent. Apparently lobotomized by periodic “school board retreat/Broad training” sessions headed by someone from Broad, your school board stops listening to parents and starts to treat them as the enemy. (If you still have a school board, that is — Broad ideally prefers no pesky democratically elected representatives to get in the way of their supts and agendas.)
We Momma Bears have a feeling that this is coming soon, most likely after the suburban municipalities form their own school districts in 2014.  It is rumored that Gates is dishing out more money, and there are even more strings attached to it than before.  Our locally-elected school boards are losing their authority and control with the ASD and charter school vultures swarming. Unfortunately, the students are left vulnerable because a majority of our locally-elected school board members are generously supported by Stand For Children.  These board members don't vote on issues without first consulting their sugar-daddies.  

17. Annual superintendent evaluation is overseen by a fellow named Tom Payzant.
Honestly, we haven't had a superintendent around long enough for a yearly evaluation.  We'll see...

18.  Stand for Children appears in town and claims to be grassroots. (It is actually based in Portland, Ore., and is funded by the Gates Foundation.) It may invite superintendent to be keynote speaker at a political fundraising event. It will likely lobby your state government for corporate ed reform laws.
Honey, Stand on Children has been here for years.  Stand on Children hires gullible parents to wear free t-shirts at school board meetings and political events.  They've chartered buses and taken groups of brand-new-T-shirt-wearing people and adorable kids-in-new-t-shirts (who had no clue that they were props for a political agenda) to Nashville during the legislative session.  However, Stand on Children was getting stale, and people were losing trust.  Now, we have the vultures of "Students First" (or as we call them, "Stockholders First").  And we also have the vultures from Teach For America, The New Teacher Project, New Leaders for New Schools, DFER, etc.  They just keep coming, smelling the fresh meat and Bill Gates' money-pit.

19.  The Gates Foundation gives your district grants for technical things related to STEM and/or teacher “effectiveness” or studies on charter schools.
Yep.  Lots of strings attached to his money.  The school board has teachers & administrators jumping through hoops like trained dogs.  Teachers & staff in the former (smaller school district) used to TRUST the leadership, and they were always treated fairly with respect.  Now after the largest-school-merger-in-history, it is a much different world in our public schools in West TN.  And now Gates has given a chunk of money to a school district in East TN.  Another Momma Bear called it a "Teacher Holocaust" in Tennessee.  Sad, but true.

20. Local newspaper fails to report on much of this.
Yep.  They all think Gates is the bomb-diggity.  Pass the pitcher of kool-aid.

21.  Local newspaper never mentions the words “Broad Foundation.”
Nope.  I had to connect the dots myself by using good-old google to find out that Broad Foundation has connections with all these consultants that we hired to make huge decisions about staffing, school mergers, school closures, charter schools, etc.  (see above links)

22. Broad and Gates Foundations give money to local public radio stations which in turn become strangely silent about the presence and influence of the Broad and Gates Foundation in your school district.
Who hasn't heard this NPR tagline:  "Support for NPR comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation."  It is national.  Since most of our media is owned by larger national conglomerates that are owned by or funded by Gates & friends, unbiased reporting is impossible.  Thank goodness for social media and fellow Momma Bears who share the truth! 


THE CURE for Parasitic Virus:

Parents.

Blogs.

Sharing information.

Vote your school board out of office.

Vote your mayor out of office if he is complicit.

Boycott or opt out of tests.

Go national.

Follow the money.

Question the data – especially if it’s produced by someone affiliated with the Broad or Gates Foundations or their favored consultants (McKinsey, Strategies 360, NCTQ, or their own strategically placed Broad Residents).

Alert the media again and again (they will ignore you at first).

Protest, stage rallies, circulate petitions.

Connect and daylight the dots.


Thank goodness there is a cure, but the treatment isn't easy.  It will take many, many Momma Bears and Daddy Bears to fight this illness.  Please, join us to protect our children and their education.  We're on facebook.  Join our Momma Bears group.  Network together.  Together, we can rid these toxic parasites from our children's schools!

On Thursday, some Momma Bears left our husbands and children, and we drove several hours to Nashville for the Common Core hearings.  We found an overpriced parking garage a few blocks away, figured out how on earth to get into Legislative Plaza (the entrance is underground), and finally found room #12.  An hour before the hearings were set to begin, room #12 was crowded with people in suits wearing glossy stickers that said, "Expect more, achieve more."  There were no seats left.  So, we sat on a bench in the hallway and tried to watch the proceedings on the TV mounted on the wall.  It was difficult to hear with all the hallway commotion.  The legal terms and lawyer-talk both confused and bored us.  We left that day with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.
 
We considered not even returning on Friday for the hearings.  Was it even worth the cost to park our car again? Plus, it was supposed to be pouring rain that afternoon.  We decided to give it a try for our children, and were determined to get a seat in the room this time.  Since we were staying with a friend who lived 40 minutes away from the capitol, we left at 6am thinking we would make the commute in plenty of time.  An hour and a half later (Nashville's rush hour traffic is crazy!), we were positive that we would not get seats in the room.  We almost went straight back to our homes.  But we didn't.  We parked our car like a pro, dashed to room #12, and found lots of empty seats all being reserved by those glossy-sticker folks.  But wait, there were 3 seats on the very last row!  We sat down feeling triumphant and exhausted, and waited another hour for the hearings to begin.  I wish the Senators had been able to walk out into the hallways during the hearings to see the many Momma Bears and Daddy Bears and their children who were watching the hearings in 2 different areas of Legislative Plaza.  They would have certainly been in the room if there had been enough seats.  There sure were a lot of people there concerned about education.
 
After listening to Kevin Huffman for talk well past his 20 minutes, we realized we'd never even had any breakfast.  Dare we leave and give up our seats?  We decided to stay to hear some of the speakers, but were sure that it would be more of the same discouraging stuff we'd heard the day before.  Then, the Senators began asking questions... Oh, my gosh!  The Senator's questions were excellent!!! 
 
Next, Jane Robbins spoke.  We literally had tears in our eyes because she was saying what we, as Moms, had been fearing about our children's privacy!  And the Senators were listening up there!  Not only that, they were asking lots of fantastic, in-depth questions!!  As the glossy-stickered people played on their ipads, and snickered under their breath at the speakers opposed to common core, we did not sense any disrespect from the Senators.  They listened attentively to every speaker and asked relevant questions all day long!  The hearings lasted all day from 9am until after 4pm, with no lunch or breaks.  Senators would quietly go to a back room to get food, but apparently there is a TV back there and they were watching the whole hearing the entire time.  (Click HERE for the video archive of the Hearing.  It is over 7 hours long, but you'll learn a LOT.)  Joy Pullman's testimony was amazing (it starts at 3:27)  She nailed it.  Joy Pullman is a powerful Momma Bear!  Senator Ligon from Georgia was also quite compelling (starting at 4:14).  Georgia is in the midst of battling common core, and has already decided not to give students the PARCC test.  The option of TN collaborating with GA on testing looks like a possibility.  Dr. Peg Luksik was fantastically articulate as a teacher, especially regarding testing (starts at 5:08).  She knows her stuff!  Ms. Audrey Buffington was feisty and shook her finger at the Senators like they were school-children.  We bet she has eyes in the back of her head, as most teachers do.  

Senator Rusty Crowe and Senator Campfield win gold stars from us for having the BEST questions.  They must have heard from the upset Momma Bears in their districts.  Those Senators were relentless!  We get the sense that they are fed up with what the TN BOE and TN Commissioner have been doing.  It is interesting to note that Senator Gresham asked the Senate Education Committee attorney, Helen James, to speak (starts at 1:46) regarding the authority of the TN BOE and TN Commissioner (they're appointed by the Governor, not elected).  She quoted the law that says the authority of the TN BOE & TN Commish can be changed by the legislature.  If Kevin Huffman isn't gone by the next legislative session in January, we bet our bearskins that the legislature will remove their power.  Kevin Huffman has been brutal against teachers, Superintendents, School Districts, and special needs students with disabilities in TN.  He is a bully... but that's a whole other blog for a different day, perhaps.  Google it if you have all day.  You'll be appalled, too.

There was a table outside the hearing room that had more information about the glossy-sticker organization.  They had coffee, too, but we've been warned not to drink the kool-aid, so we did not try the coffee (that's a joke).  Actually, one Momma Bear did have a cup of that coffee, and she did not get sick. Yet.  Anyway, the glossy-sticker people were handing out glossy pamphlets and thick color packets that had hundreds of businesses and organizations listed on it that belonged to their "Expect more, Achieve more" coalition.  Strangely, we noticed that an Elementary PTA in our district was on their list of members.  Now, the PTA President of that school is a friend of ours, and we know for a fact that she is opposed to common core.  Why on earth would their name be on the list?  We called her and asked.  She had no idea.  She said she had contacted the organization to find out more information, but she had never given them permission to use her PTA's name.  Furthermore, her PTA membership had never voted on joining such a coalition.  

Even stranger, we also talked to someone in the hallway who worked for TEA, which is the TN Education Association union for teachers.  That person was surprised to see their name on the coalition list because their huge organization had voted not to take a side regarding common core.  Hmmmm...

Later that day, one of us got the courage to ask the TN PTA President (who was wearing one of those glossy stickers), "When did the PTA members or state PTA Board vote on being a part of this coalition to support common core?"  She blamed it on a previous PTA President and a previous board 4 years ago.  We Momma Bears are pretty involved in our children's PTA's and know that one year's board cannot obligate future PTA boards to contracts, so we question the legality of the TN PTA involvement in this organization.  It does not represent the "P's" like us who question common core, high-stakes testing, or allowing our children's data to be shared with the government or corporations contracted with the government (the FERPA laws were changed to allow it, as Jane Robbins explained in her testimony at 1:21).  The PTA's motto is "Every Child, One Voice" so we guess that means they get to decide which voice is heard, especially when Bill Gates gives millions of dollars to the National PTA.  His voice gets to be the one.  Despite that, PTA still does great things and we Momma Bears are still involved with our local PTAs.  For now.
 
That glossy-stickered "Expect more, achieve more" coalition is clearly misleading and misrepresenting.  Who doesn't want students to achieve more?  What parent doesn't expect high standards for their child's education?  None, of course!  We all want high standards for students and we all expect great things from our students.  However, we wonder if the organizations listed as a part of this coalition really know what they are agreeing to? or that they are even on the list in the first place?? 
 
A worried mother does better research than the FBI.  In this day and age, it is easy for Momma Bears to find out things online and also network with other concerned parents.  Tax records and campaign contributions are telling, and we can find it with just a few clicks on the internet.  The money funneled from Bill Gates into implementing the common core is huge.  The profits he and his business friends stand to make from it are enormous.  The money trail runs into Tennessee's pockets of organizations such as SCORE, Stand for Children, Students First, PTA, and generously into campaigns for elections, including many TN Senators.  That bothers us as frugal Moms.  We cannot battle their glossy stickers, paid lobbyists, tax lawyers, professional marketing staffs, and deep pockets.  We have children to raise.  We need to be able to trust that our elected officials are not bought and paid for by special interest groups, especially when it comes to our children.   
 
We noticed that many of the pro-common core speakers and advocates have chosen (as is their American freedom to do) to put their own children in private schools that are not adopting common core, not administering any state mandated testing, and not sharing their children's personal data with the government.  As our grandparents would say, "what is good for the goose, is good for the gander."  Thus, if Pitt Hyde truly believed what he said, his own children would be doing what he wants our children in public schools to do.  If Bill Gates, President Obama, Arne Duncan, & Governor Haslam were to do that with their children, perhaps our motherly instincts would not be sending off such blaring warning signals.  The warning signals get louder the more research we do, specifically, in following the money trail and connecting the dots.  We clearly see this:  Those who are the most passionate about forcing our children to do common core are those who receive large monetary donations and/or paychecks from Bill Gates.  That makes the fur of Momma Bear necks stand up.  We sense their true intentions with our children, and we don't like it.
 
If the Gates Foundation money-pit were to dry up today, those people would suddenly shut up.  It is a shame that money speaks so loudly and holds such power.  

After hearing the Senators grill the speakers on both sides, we feel more confident that they will make the right decision for TN students.  For now, the Senate Education Committee is compiling a report.  There will most likely be some proposed laws introduced in January, followed by power struggles between parties, heavily infused by lobbyists who are there to influence legislators and remind them of how much money their benefactors donated to their campaigns to get them elected, and the Governor will try to push his voucher/charter bills again because there's lots of money to be made with our tax dollars in education.  Pretty overwhelming, but it is our American system.  For now.  Momma Bears are learning how to advocate for their children's future.  We can change the world.