If it's about public education, Obama wins

I've been working with some large high schools on the east coast all week and haven't had time to blog. But here's some things that have caught my attention:

According to the 40th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll on the subject, if ppeople were voting "solely on the basis of a desire to strengthen the public schools," they'd choose Barack Obama over John McCain by a margin of 46 percent to 29 percent. Four years ago, in a similar poll, President Bush and the Democratic nominee, John Kerry, each polled 41 percent. The latest poll, based on telephone interviews this past June with a national sample of 1,002 people, includes these other findings:

People trust Obama to do a better job on closing the achievement gap (59 percent,
compared with 18 percent for McCain) and on funding education (48 percent to 28
percent).

People are dissatisfied with the No Child Left Behind Act, with 42 percent wanting to change the law significantly and another 25 per cent saying it should be allowed to expire.

Read the rest of the Kappan/Gallup survey here.


Save Our Schools

While I've been gone from Chitown, my brother Fred has kept us posted on the latest developments around Rev. Meeks' call for a 1st-day-of-school boycott.

Meeks and the Save Our Schools Movement are calling a meeting this Sunday for educator volunteers interested in helping out during the boycott. Freedom School classes will be held in the churches that day and help is needed from teachers and other volunteers. The meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at: House of Hope 752 East 114th Place (Baptistry Room, located near Gate 4).

Contact Kenya Jackson (KJACKSON@sbcoc.org) for more details.