What Would YOUR School Do With $25,000 to Improve Youth Fitness?

Georgia's own Spring Hill Elementary in Chatsworth is in the top 10 finalists.  Can we make them number 1?

/PRNewswire/ -- Parents, teachers and community members from across the country have nominated their local schools to win $25,000 in fitness cash in an effort to address the urgent health and fitness crisis among our nation's youth. The entry period is now over, and the top ten finalists have been chosen for the 2010 Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit Contest—now it's up to YOU to decide which school will win the $25,000 prize!

Henkel, the company behind some of the nation's leading consumer brands such as Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergent, Renuzit® air freshener, Right Guard® antiperspirant, and Soft Scrub® household cleaners, in cooperation, the American Council on Exercise (ACE), have chosen the top 10 finalists in the Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit contest. Parents, teachers and community members were encouraged to visit www.HenkelHelps.com to nominate their local school by answering a fundamental question: "What Would Your School Do with $25,000 to Improve Youth Fitness?"

The TEN FINALISTS (alphabetically by last name), with excerpts from their essay submissions, include:

* Tracy Carey from Maricopa, AZ nominated Santa Cruz Elementary School – "Adding a climbing wall to our multipurpose room brings an activity that promotes self-esteem, contributes to cardiovascular and muscular endurance, enhances the skills of cooperation and team-building and is super fun!"


* Ryan Koslovsky from Saint Charles, IL nominated East Aurora High School – "Our school is located in a poverty level district and is filled with students of all ages that are determined to look past the negative influences around them and succeed here at East."


* Amy Kriveloff from Bronx, NY nominated P754X – "95% of our population lives below the poverty level and qualifies for the federally funded in school breakfast/lunch program. 1/3 of our students reside in foster care or in Group Homes."


* Ashley Langford from Chatsworth, GA nominated Spring Place Elementary School – "Spring Place Elementary has a lot of heart to say the least. Walk the tattered halls of this school, and you will not see the dilapidated building, you will see hundreds of smiling faces- both on the children and adults as they grow and learn."


* Julie Maguder from Meriden, CT nominated Washington Middle School – "Despite all of the facts we know about the direct correlation between regular exercise and academic success, we have no ability to incorporate regular exercise into our students' lives. Last year's budget was $220.00 and this year…NO MONEY was allotted to buy any equipment for our PE program."


* Terri Mills from Memphis, TN nominated Knight Road Elementary School – "[B]ecause of the fact that our children are being raised in poverty, our school attempts to meet the needs of the children right where they are now. We struggle continually because of a lack of funding to provide even necessities. Our children are wonderful and deserve the very best."


* Darci Nice from Polson, MT nominated Pablo Elementary School – "After watching your videos I chuckled to myself thinking how fortunate the majority of schools are just to receive an average pay of $764.00. Our physical education program here has received for the past two years, $300.00 each year."


* Mary Kathryn Rains from Tampa, FL nominated Freedom High School – "If Freedom High School receives the grand prize, not one penny would go to waste. For starters, the Physical Education department works with a budget of $750 each year. For small schools, this amount may be substantial, but in a school of 2300 students, this amount fails to provide students with fitness resources."


* Brenda Tarquinio from Frederick, MD nominated Orchard Grove Elementary School – "Schools at the elementary level are often left out of advantages such as a paved track and we are left to figure out where to have our students run. Yet…students who love to move their body in elementary school will be on the road to learning about life long fitness."


* Erin Zajac from Stillwater, OK nominated Will Rogers Elementary School – "If awarded the $25,000 grant money from Henkel Helps, Will Rogers will have the opportunity to create a safer, more durable walking path on the playground."


The top 10 finalists will receive a free Flip™ video camera to create a brief video that brings to life the health and fitness issues facing their school and their idea for making the most of the $25,000 prize. Starting November 15, consumers will vote online at http://www.HenkelHelps.com to select the school they feel deserves to win the $25,000 to help improve youth fitness.

"In the last three years, Henkel Helps has worked to give back to the communities across North America," said Natalie Violi, Director-Corporate Communications – Henkel. "Our 2010 campaign, Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit, hopes to inspire communities around their schools' fitness programs and make a meaningful difference in the lives of kids, families and neighborhoods nationwide."

For more information please visit http://www.HenkelHelps.com.

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Voters Want Federal Action on High School Reform, According to New National Poll

/PRNewswire/ -- Improving the quality of public high schools through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is a voting issue for over eight in ten voters, according to a new national poll released today by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Additionally, over half of voters say that their decision to vote for a current elected official in the 2010 congressional elections will be affected if Congress takes no action to reform the law currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act.

"The Alliance commissioned this bipartisan poll to gain insight into Americans' views of the public education system," said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. "The overwhelming takeaway from the poll is that Americans are concerned about the growing problems with the nation's high schools and they want President Obama and the Congress to act--this year--to improve them."

According to the poll, voters see a clear connection between the nation's ability to educate its students and its ability to compete, but believe that the nation's public high schools currently do a poor job of preparing students for success. For example, two thirds of voters believe that a high dropout rate has a lot of impact on the nation's economy (69 percent) and America's ability to compete in the global economy (65 percent). However, nearly seven in ten voters (69 percent) say that a diploma from America's public high schools does not prepare graduates to get a good-paying job, while less than half of voters believe that a high school diploma prepares graduates to succeed in college.

"The poor state of the economy has gotten most of the headlines going into the congressional election cycle, but, as our poll shows, voters are keenly aware of how a poor education system hampers the economy's ability to operate at full speed," said Wise.

According to the poll, voters want President Obama, the U.S. Congress, and the nation's governors to pay more attention to the nation's public high schools. Nearly half of voters (49 percent) think President Obama is not paying enough attention to public high schools while majorities of voters say that Republicans in Congress (62 percent) and Democrats in Congress (58 percent) are not paying enough attention to the state of public high schools in the United States.

"The belief that the president and the Congress are not paying enough attention to the nation's public high schools crosses party lines," said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, one of the firms that conducted the poll. "This finding is significant during a time when large segments of the voting public are polarized going into the congressional elections."

One way the federal government could act to improve high schools is through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Overall, more than half (52 percent) of the nation's voters believe NCLB has done a fair or poor job for public schools in their community. The demand for change to NCLB is much clearer, with over three quarters of voters wanting Congress to change NCLB to improve the quality of public high schools this year. Only 11 percent believe it should stay the way it is now.

"NCLB was groundbreaking when it was signed into law," said Wise. "But almost ten years later it's a compact disc in an iPod world--useful but in desperate need of an upgrade. By reauthorizing ESEA, the Congress can address the aspects of NCLB that time, experience, and research have shown need to be significantly improved or updated while doing more to help ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared for college and a career."

According to the poll, voters overwhelmingly agree, with nearly eight in ten saying it is personally important to them that Congress change ESEA to improve the quality of public high schools and three quarters (74 percent) saying that it is important for Congress to act this year.

"Incumbents and challengers alike have been looking for an issue that speaks to both Republicans and Democrats in the upcoming congressional elections," said Christine Matthews, president of Bellwether Research and Consulting. "This poll finds that solid majorities of Democrats (86 percent), Republicans (70 percent), and Independents (69 percent) say it is personally important to them for Congress to change ESEA to improve public high schools."

Voters are clear that bipartisanship is important but should not hold up ESEA reauthorization. In fact, two thirds of voters (66 percent) would be more likely to support a candidate who calls for Democrats and Republicans to work together, but add that passage of ESEA should not be delayed if both parties cannot reach agreement.

"As congressional incumbents head into the final months of their session as well as heated elections, this poll shows that the public will reward them for action while many will punish them for inaction," said Wise.

Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and Consulting designed and administered this survey in a bipartisan manner for the Alliance for Excellent Education. The survey was conducted via telephone by professional interviewers and reached a total of one thousand likely voters nationwide. The survey was conducted June 15-23, 2010.

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Poll: Voters Value College Quality, Access

Voters give high marks to Georgia’s four-year colleges and universities, and they believe higher education budget cuts should be minimized even in difficult economic times, according to a public opinion poll released today by ARCHE, the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education.

The poll documents that Georgia voters recognize the importance of public and private colleges and universities to economic development and to Georgia’s national reputation. They also recognize the importance of scientific research to the state. And they support funding – even from their own pockets – for enhanced quality of education and financial aid for students who need it.

The online poll of 600 registered Georgia voters was conducted in late November and early December 2008. At the 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error is +/- 4.0 percent for questions reporting the full sample. The poll is available in full on the ARCHE Web site at http://www.atlantahighered.org/Portals/12/UploadFiles/ARCHEpoll09web.pdf.

“Voters value great colleges and universities in Georgia, they want them to be even better, and they’re willing to pay for increased quality and access,” said ARCHE President Michael A. Gerber. “They want Georgia to be a national higher ed leader, although they’re not quite sure we’re there yet.”

Quality: Almost eight out of 10 Georgia voters rate the quality of the state’s four-year public and private colleges and universities as excellent or good (79 percent for the public institutions and 78 percent for the private institutions).

Leadership: Ninety-three percent say it is very or somewhat important for Georgia to be a national leader in the quality of its colleges. Forty-nine percent agree that Georgia is currently a national leader; 37 percent disagree; and 14 percent don’t know.

Importance to Georgians: Nearly all voters think higher education is important in shaping individual success, economic growth and quality of life in Georgia. For example, 96 percent rate Georgia’s colleges and universities very or somewhat important to economic growth in the state.

Funding quality: Eighty percent of voters believe that state budget cuts to public colleges and universities should be minimized, even during today’s economic downturn. Almost two thirds (65 percent) are willing to pay $1 more a week in taxes if the money goes to enhance the quality of education for college students.

Tuition: A majority (56 percent) favor increasing tuition at public institutions if it supports academic programs and need-based student financial aid. About half (49 percent) would suspend the state’s “fixed for four” tuition program for public colleges to avoid cutting programs and lowering quality.

Financial aid and college cost: Nearly eight in 10 Georgia voters support using lottery surplus funds for new financial aid for students who need it (78 percent support such a program). More than half (56 percent) would pay $1 more per week in taxes to fund additional low- and middle-income student aid in the state.

More than half (59 percent) say a college education is somewhat or very unaffordable without a HOPE scholarship.

Plans for college: Ninety-five percent of parents believe it’s very or somewhat likely that their school-age child will enroll in a four-year college. Of these, 94 percent say it is very or somewhat likely their child would attend a college or university in Georgia.

Research: A large majority (88 percent) think research is very or somewhat important to the state’s economy. Eighty-nine percent believe it very or somewhat important that the state invest in research to create new jobs, and 79 percent agree the state should offer financial incentives to attract new scientific research labs and companies.

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