Skip to main content

A Call to Action on Gun Control From Education Leaders

By
The Superintendent of Florida's Broward County is a friend of my wife's. He, along with other leaders of public schools, charter schools, school networks, education foundations, policy organizations, nonprofit ventures, curriculum publishers, and parent-engagement organizations has written a call to action to enact Connecticut-style gun laws following the school shooting in Parkland, FL. I thought it worth sharing with the Ross Valley community.

From the Commentary piece that appeared in Education Week:

The "response of the young people of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has shown us that they are ready to become our leaders."

Their "actions have already won important changes from retail giants like Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, who are changing the way they do business in response to these brave young people who have discovered their voices." REI also announced similar changes today.

Give it a read and take action: call your federal and state representatives and demand Connecticut-style gun laws today. Call again next week and every week after that until they pass sensible laws. You can also attend Jared Huffman's March 12th (5-6:30pm) town hall meeting, which will include a discussion on gun violence and prevention, at the Corte Madera Community Center - more info.

Key talking points on "Connecticut-style gun laws":
  1. ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition cartridges
  2. create permits to carry firearms that require the approval of the town’s chief of police
  3. introduce "red flag" laws—methods for law enforcement to remove guns from those who present an imminent risk
State Assembly (District 10)
  • Marc Levine 415-479-4920
State Senate (District 2)
  • Mike McGuire 415-479-6612
US Representative (California's 2nd congressional district):
  • Jared Huffman 202-225-5161
US Senators: 
  • Dianne Feinstein 202-224-3841
  • Kamala Harris 202-224-3553

Popular posts from this blog

Proposition 39 & RVC

By
There is some debate in the community about whether Ross Valley Charter School (RVC) is “taking” space from District students by being at White Hill. The reality is that the law does not give District public school students any greater right to publicly-funded school facilities than charter public school students. In fact, the law requires that all such facilities be made equally available by Districts to charter schools so they may have a place to operate. How much space should RVC receive? The math is simple. RVC’s projected enrollment of 144 in-district students for 2018-19, which is 45% or roughly half of the average  RVSD enrollment of 319 students per school (projected). Under Proposition 39, this means that RVC should receive nearly half the amount of space a typical K-5 RVSD elementary school provides to its students. All four elementary schools in the district have at least 22 classrooms each, so RVC should be provided 10 rooms at a minimum. The actual calculations are m...
Read more

Let’s work together to apply for state and federal funds to upgrade Red Hill

By
Red Hill is the best long-term home for Ross Valley Charter School (RVC), the new, free TK-5 public school in Fairfax. Under the Prop 39 law, the district gets to choose where RVC is located, but finding a facility for RVC doesn’t have to be hard. Allowing RVC to lease the Red Hill campus would have the least impact on other families in the district because that building is not currently being used as a district school. RVC has offered to pay for the entire renovation cost to make it usable for the charter school. About $400,000 is needed to bring the facility up to minimum standards for public charter schools. (RVC leadership commissioned this cost estimate from architects and engineers who walked the site carefully). If the district wants the Red Hill property to be fully upgraded to meet the additional Field Act requirements and to address traffic impacts, then the cost of the renovation will likely be $1-2 million. These numbers are not out of reach. With funds availa...
Read more

We believe

By
All children want to learn. Not all children learn the same way at the same pace. All parents do their best to provide their children with the best possible educational opportunities. There are many kinds of learning environments suited to many kinds of learners. Every child should have access to free, public education where they thrive as learners. All citizens share the responsibility for making this education available to all. If children have what they need, it is better for everyone. We do not have to compete for resources. When we work together, we are stronger. When adults model how to collaborate using conversation, children learn how to collaborate using conversation. All children deserve to feel included, welcome and safe in all schools and neighborhoods. We are all on the same side, the side of all children. - from a few local parents whose children attend Ross Valley Charter School
Read more