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Show 1 Educators ask for $1.2 billion to educate kids Home and School: Vital Links by LILY ESKELSEN President, Utah Education Association All the kids thought he was weird He always gave his birthday treat away. Even in kindergarten, he wouldnt glue on the piece of cotton for the Eater Bunnys tail. He stayed home every Halloween. There was no doubt about it, the kids thought, he was weird. After the first day of class in my 5th grade, he stayed behind to ask, Are you going to be saying the Pledge of Allegiance this year? I cant say the Pledge of Allegiance. He was looking at his shoes. Instead of the Pledge that year we began each day with current events, and we would pick out ones that related to the Bill of Rights and imagine if we were Supreme Court Justices how we would have to rule on different issues. One issue that came up often was religious freedom. Using examples from the Pilgrims to pioneers, Native American rituals to Holocaust, we talked about what our country stood for. We talked about respect. We talked about the fact that it wasnt necessary to believe or even understand anothers religion in order to respect that person and believe its his right to express his faith. And I dont think it was just my imagination that after a while, he didnt seem so very weird. He seemed more confident. He would talk to me as a friend who understood. And it was also more than my imagination that the friends he chose and who chose him were my students who were a bit more mature. A bit more able to understand thatour differences are what makes us interesting. They are what makes us question our own comfortable conclusions so that we cast off untruths and strengthen our own convictions. Teaching our children respect for our differences is to also teach them respect for the common humanity that holds us all together. J I k tlL ,':' f I f J 3 4 I'- - zf .. . Miles Phillips, age 7 Miles Phillips, age 7, won First Place in the State of the First Grade "Water Essential to Life" Poster competition, sponsored by the Division of Water Resources. Honors include: An awards banquet dinner with Governor Bangerter at the University of Utah Olpin Union building; a photo session, reception, interview with Dr. Donald Daugs, state trophy, trophy from Salina Elementary and a picture of the poster featured on a month of a calendar put out for the schools by the Department of Natural Resources Water Division, and tickets to The Festival of the American West, in Logan. A yt Tts Angela Freeman Salina Elementary boy wins state poster honors r i5; m. North Sevier High School News a dance for a fund raiser. Basketball tryouts are this week! The Sadie Hawkins dance will be this Friday. You still have time, girls, to get your dates. The first trimester ends November 21st. This still gives you time to catch up. 4 - - k nr . 'T Things have really gotten slower lately at North Sevier High since there are no sports going on right now. Group pictures were taken Monday, for the year book. The next day the Forest Service talked to some Junior and Seniors about summer jobs. On Friday the 8th, the boys basketball team sponsored jl'V -- t ? CHANGES are in store for children as they begin their journey through school. Schools and education are changing rapidly, and new programs, methods, and new goals and programs are being put into action. Public school officials in Utah are asking for $1.2 billion in state tax funds next year to educate the states 476,000 school children. This is an 11 increase over this years funding, and if the legislature approves, it will give a 6 compensation increase to Utahs teachers, and $5 million will go towards reducing the size of all second grade classes - by two students each. The plan also includes $15.5 million that would help ensure that all Utah school kids receive equal education funding. The proposal was presented to Governor Norman Bangerter on November 6, by State Supt. of Schools Jay Taggart and members of his staff. The Governor made no promises. The State Office of Education says there will be about 7,500 more students next year, and asks for the $14.5 million to cover the cost of the increase. Officials also want $24 million more to give public school teachers a pay raise and cover increases in health insurance. Phone News Items 529-783- 9 528-311- 1 many other states). Twenty nine percent of American students who enter the ninth grad fail to graduate from high school; at some of our worst schools, half the dropout rate exceeds of our high school seniors cant identify Robert E. Lee; cannot locate France on a map; and cannot identify the century in which the first world war occurred. The number of high school seniors sewing above 750 on the combined verbal and math sections of the SATs is lower than it was 10 years ago. On international math and science tests, American students score twelfth best in the world. In my own state, we have succeeded in increasing the ability of our children to learn. We have spent our resources and our children have fallen further and further behind. Why? There are two major reasons, I 50. Time change for School Board meeting The Sevier School District Board of Education meeting which had been setfor November 14, 1991, at Wave of change sweeping through Sevier School District A new wave of change is sweeping over the Sevier School District area as officials work on plans to bring changes called for by the AmcricaSevier 2000 project. The goal of the strategy is a set of six national educational goals planned to be in action by the year 2000. Sevier county educators are trying to incorporate a strategic plan with dramatic changes in the way education is carried out compatible with the America 2000 program. Exccutiveandsteeringcommit-tee- that restructured schools have very positive outcomes AFTER an upheaval in the community and among the staff. It causes a lot of pain, but it worth it, he said. Supt. Rock added that 20 of the people will fight change; 60 will be indifferent; and 20 will be totally supportive and enthusiastic. He said a Gallup Poll surveyed people on the need for changes in their schools: 65 to 707e of the college and business leaders polled said there is a critical need for change; 65 to 707c of parents and students said schools are fine the way they are and dont need any changes. Rock noted that parents often judge schools by what they experi s are already working to bring these changes about. Supt. Brent Rock noted that such proposals are often met with resistance, as many people do not want to see changes. He said however, Monroe Elementary School has been changed from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. enced during their own school years. The Committee plans to do an extensive informative program to see that the public is well informed about what is planned for Sevier District Schools. Attending the November 5, meeting in Richfield were Randy Brown, Boyd Keisel, Kirk Rasmussen, Karen Turpin, Betty Johnson, David Christensen, Noel Bailey, Brent Rock and Jackie Butt. Carol Terwilligcr was absent. Pam Williams, public relations director for the District has been invited to become secretary to the committee so she can keep abreast of actions taken and make regular reports to the local media. Family night at Santa's Shop Family Night at Santa's Secret Shop will be held at the Salina Elmemcntary Media Center, December 2nd, from 5 to 8 p.m. Santa will visit and pictures can be taken for $3 or two for $5. Refreshments will be served. Santas Secret shop will be open during school hours on December -6th in the school library. The Salina Elementary PTA thanks you for your SupporE'T Facts Education would improve if choice entered picture Pierre S. Du Pont, IV During my eight years as Governor of Delaware, I spent a great deal of time working to improve our education system. An explosion of new programs was begun; student testing, teacher testing, gifted and talented programs, special programs for disabled or students with special needs - the list was long. Experts said decrease class size, sowedid.by 11 since 1982. The experts said increase teachers salaries, so we did. They said, increase the number of math and science courses students must take. We did. Experts said spend more money and my, oh my, did we spend money. In Delaware, we spend an average of $5,900 educating each student, compared with the national average of $4 ,900. (Delaware also has less students to educate than If approved, state funds going to educate each public school student would increase from $1,408 to $1,493 - or $85 each. However, when local tax dollars are added to state funds, Utah still spends less per student than any other state. This is due to the fact that Utah has so many children to educate. Utah is actually in the number one position when it comes to the amount going to education. Another change would go to equalize funding in all of the states 40 school districts. $15.5 million would be distributed only to those districts which collect less than the state average of $234 per student from property taxes. Governor Bangerter is skeptical the of plan, fearing that some districts could receive windfalls. He said that before getting the money districts must meet some requirement showing they get maximum use from the buildings they already schedules have through year-roun- d or other measures. The 1991 Utah Legislature will have the task of approving or disapproving all or part of the Educators demands. think. One is that the world has changed dramatically in the past ten years. It seems like only yesterday when the world superpowers could measure their economic influence by sheer numbers, number of factories, amount of copper mined, power generated, steel forged, capital controlled. Inthatcra.theU.S. was on top. Todays world is a different place. The 1980s brought the technology of the information age, and today information is capital instead of wealth and power coming from material resources, it now comes from information. Competition is the key word. Do you think General Motors would ever have attempted to improve its automobiles without Japanese price you can afford if there were only one source of supply? Yet we have but one source of supply in education. We should have dozens, of different kinds of schools which offer choices to our children. We should have schools which specialize in math; schools which specialize in English and Grammar; schools which specialize in discipline, in the arts and sciences,; schools which meet in the evenings, and summer. Allowing parents to choose which schools their child attends would make all the difference in the world. Parents would chose the school best suited to each child - the same way we choose our houses, our jobs, our churches, and our leaders. Choice forces all schools to improve to survive the competition . Parents would have one of three choices to make: send their child to a government school in the district in which they live; send their children to a government school in another district which would accept the child; send the child to a private school of the familys choice, using the scholarship to cover the cost of tuition. Now is the time to end the gov- ernment stranglehold on the education of our children to bring excellence, opportunity and a world class education into every classroom, and place the power of choice on the kitchen table of every family. Our future and the future of the next generation depends upon it. competition? Do you think you would be able to get the kind of food, clothing, etc., you desire at a about teens Teach your children well. On an average day in the United States, 2,795 teenagers become pregnant; 372 teens have a miscarriage; 1,106 teens have abortions; 1,295 teenagers give birth; 689 babies are bom to women who have had inadequate prenatal care; 719 babies are born at low birthweight (less than 3 pounds 5 ounces); 135,000 kids take a gun to school; six teens commit suicide; 211 kids are arrested for drug use; 437 teenagers are arrested for drunken driving; 1 ,512 teenagers drop out of school. Multiply these totals by the 365 days in the year, and the statistics become unbelievable! (From Health & Benefit Notes, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah, November, 1991). Local youth named to 'Who's Who' - 'Who's Who among American High School students is a distinguished achievement. Jesse Nielsen was one of those chosen for this honor for the 1990-- 9 1 school year. Jesse has been active in F.F.A., football, and now will start his 4th year in Wrestling. He plans to attend Utah Valley Community College this fall. The Sevier Education Association thanks local businesses for their support of education! Thank You! iv jk ' Thank yf 4a i? those in Salina for their vote of Confidence during the last election. All Jesse Nielsen mai&d Sondrup Counseling Center Richfield Gunnison 896-600- 0 528-720- 9 All 1 Dr types of Counseling Services Marriage Family Hypnotherapy Depression Adolescent, Adult, Children's Evaluations Crist, Psychiatrist Consultant, works in Center on regular basis 195 N. 100 E- - Richfield 69 E. Center Gunnison would Like to I The Private Practice of: Theron B. Sondrup L.C.S.W. n s27-2- 4 Thank You! Kim Robinson & A4 |