On January 23, 2014, thirty-four Chief State School Officers, including our Dr. Melody Schopp, sent a letter to United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, regarding students’ personally identifiable data being shared with the federal government. This was done to try to assure the public that their childrens’ information is safe. You can read that…

2014 Legislative Cracker Barrel – Coffee Sessions Not everyone can make a trip to Pierre to have a conversation with your legislator. Legislative Coffees and Cracker Barrels are opportunities to visit with your area legislators face to face and close to home. Along with letters, phone calls, and emails, this is another tool to ask…

Jenny Downey has written a great summary of the House session in Pierre yesterday. From The Accidental Activist Report card from Pierre:  Vote on a Resolution in Pierre yesterday to phase out Common Core in SD.  Green votes line up with my stance.  Red is either PRO-Common Core or not opposed.  More thoughts below on…

On January 29, 2014, the House of Representatives in Pierre voted on HCR 1008. Here is the vote record. This resolution may have failed on the House floor, but now we know where our Representatives stand on the issue of Common Core. Time to get busy. Be sure to send those representatives a thank-you for…

Your action is required today! Representative Jim Bolin has filed HCR 1008,  a resolution to get the Common Core and all related activites out of South Dakota. It will he heard, discussed and voted on in the House of Representatives at 2:00 pm today. There are several things you can do to help get this…

South Dakota parent, Ann Holman, has penned this letter to all South Dakota Legislators. She has given permission to publish it here.  January 26, 2014  Dear Legislator: I am once again writing to share my concerns with Common Core. I am not able to make it to Pierre for legislative session as planned, due to…

An open letter from a parent expressing the feelings of so many of us. From the Chillico the Gazette: Dear Public School, I’m sorry for what you’ve been turned into. I’m sure if you could speak, you would talk about the good old days — days when kids were allowed to learn and teachers were…

There is a South Dakota Board of Education meeting on Monday, January 27, 2014, at 9:00 am CT, in Pierre. I know many are planning on attending the day in the legislature in Pierre on January 29, and therefore will not be making the trip to Pierre on Monday. You are able to listen to…

Representative Jim Bolin was one of the first in South Dakota to expose this leviathan called Common Core. He, along with other legislators have worked tirelessly to educate the public and remove this beast from our state and schools. He has requested our presence in the South Dakota Legislature on January 29, 2014.   We will spend the…

Well, on the education front, the legislature is hopping. And we need you now! Please email your senator before 1 pm. SB 62, SB 63 and SB 64 will be heard and voted on in the Senate on Thursday afternoon, 1/23/2014. Senators need to hear from you now. Please put how you are asking them to…