NEWS: Students rally for education reform at Indiana statehouse
Posted on Thursday February 16, 2012 | Indiana
From The Courier-Journal:
INDIANAPOLIS — More than 1,000 students, educators and policymakers flooded into an “Ed Reform Rocks” rally Wednesday to advocate for more freedom for students and more opportunities for Indiana schools.
The south atrium of the Statehouse filled with children of all ages. Although they came from different schools and backgrounds, they all sported the same shirt — in a rainbow of colors — with the message, “Ed Reform Rocks!”
“This rally is really important for our students to see that lawmakers are on their side and supporting their education,” said Cindy Chance, a mother of four from Indianapolis.
Kevin Chavous, a co-founder and chairman of Democrats for Education Reform and the Black Alliance for Educational Options, played host for the event and fired up the crowd by suggesting they “get this party started.”
The kids responded. They became so loud in fact, that many of the speakers had to employ different techniques to quiet them. Gov. Mitch Daniels even tried shushing, to no avail.
The governor made opening remarks at the rally, citing programs he and the General Assembly have approved. Among the most significant: A voucher program that lets low-income students use state money for private school tuition, rules that let students choose to attend public schools outside their home area, a law meant to expand the number of charter schools in the state, and new restrictions on collective bargaining for teachers.
“We spend a lot of money on a lot of things,” Daniels said. “We haven’t been putting kids and education first when it comes to spending, and that needs to change.”
Daniels also said that just because the education bills passed, it doesn’t mean supporters can relax.
“Bills passed in this building are just words on paper,” Daniels said. “Everything from here relies on execution.”
Read more here: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120215/NEWS02/302150093/Indiana-education-reform-rally-students