#FairFundingPA Twitter Party

Last week, I discussed why Pennsylvania needs a better public education funding system. We love our public schools and are proud of their work, but have serious concerns about how they are funded. Pennsylvania has the widest funding gap between rich and poor school districts of any state in the country. Per pupil spending in PA’s poorest districts is 33 percent less than in PA’s wealthiest districts, according to the National Center on Education Statistics 2015 report.

This disparity is poignant for my family. My mother dedicated her life to being a public school teacher and ensuring a quality education for all students was very important to her. I feel so blessed to have snapped this picture of her with her grandson before her illness required her to stop working.

She taught high school math for forty years and gave endlessly of her personal time and finances to help her students succeed. She was proud of her work, and would be so disheartened to hear of the disparities affecting the quality of our children’s education.

My son only just finished Kindergarten, and generally, we’ve had an overall positive experience with the public school system. However, I have found it necessary to supplement his classroom learning at home with extra after-school attention and additional resources so he is able to keep up with the demanded fast pace.

Earlier this year, we invested in an online reading program to help my son enhance his burgeoning skills, and we’ve purchased many other items for home use, like the chalk blocks and oral stimulation tools, to help him continue to pursue set learning goals outside the classroom. Utilizing these additional tools at home requires extra energy, but my mom set a high bar for going above-and-beyond at home to promote school success. I well remember the countless late-night hours she spent one-one-one tutoring me to help me through the beast of high school math. It was as horribly fun as it sounds. She gave her all for my schooling, and I intend to do the same for my children.

We’ve invested a lot of time and personal finances to get my son to where he needs to be. I question if we struggled financially, and didn’t live in such an excellent school district, what would happen. What happens to other families living in other areas of the commonwealth where funding may be more sparse? The truth is, every student should have adequate access to all the materials they need to learn through the classroom no matter their zip codes, but they do not.

What can you do help?

• I shared how the Hear Me campaign works–what a fabulous way to contribute the individual voice of your child to the cause!
• Get involved in the Campaign for Fair Education Funding through their website; you can sign up their e-newsletter there. Also follow along with #FairFundingPA on Facebook and Twitter for important updates.
• Speak out for the cause by contacting your local legislators and attend local events, such as the Rally for Fair Funding in Harrisburg on 6/23/15.
• Another super way to lend a voice to educational funding is to hop in the #FairFundingPA Twitter party on 6/15/15 from 1-2pm ET. By joining in, you can help grow awareness of deficits and spread a positive promotion of improved funding.  I will be there, live tweeting next week, and would love to have you join me!

Find a way to get involved and let’s work together to advocate for fair funding in Pennsylvania!

****I’m teaming up with the Campaign for Fair Education Funding to speak out for students across Pennsylvania. Although I am receiving some form of compensation, all opinions remain my own. #FairFundingPA****

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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