This cropped up yesterday, in part from discussions about our accents changing when we are emotional.
Kipling wrote this over a hundred years ago, yet it will remain eternally relevant.

We've tried literally hundreds of learning apps on the iTunes store. We've delved into Khan with abandon.  But TedEd leaves iTunes U in the dust and even Khan will be hard pressed to keep up.  BrainPop overcharges (as do many sites).  So if you are looking to expand, tutor, prevent summer drain, or if you are just curious, check out Ted Ed!

Congratulations to NCPSO and all of our successes across the nation!  The era of healthy choices has been fully reignited.
March 14th - April 4th

The cry for expanded school choice options could be heard across the country this past month as families rallied in Tennessee, California, Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Ohio in support of their schools. Thousands of parents, students, and teachers met with legislators to tell their stories and called on decisionmakers to protect – or expand – their right to choose and education that works. Below is a snapshot of the four recent coalition-sponsored events:

Tennessee  California  Wisconsin  South Carolina  Ohio

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Speaker Beth Harwell meeting with a group of attendees  
400 Tennessee parents, students, and teachers gathered at the state house in Nashville at the first annual Capitol Day event, sponsored by the Tennessee Chapter of the NCPSO. The message of the event was to call on legislators to continue their support for public online school. Attendees honored Senate Education Chair Dolores Gresham, House Education Chair Richard Montgomery, and House Education Committee members Lois DeBerry and Harry Brooks with "Golden Apple" awards for their efforts to support online learning. In addition to the speeches given by the Golden Apple awardees, attendees also met with House Speaker Beth Harwell, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, Senator Mike Faulk and Representative Dennis Powers. In addition to the speeches and meetings, attendees observed a mock legislative session in the House Chamber, completed a scavenger hunt at the state museum, and received a Civil War history lesson.

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Attendees in front of the California State House  
On Wednesday, March 26th, 36 parents and students joined together in Sacramento to deliver socialization and survey findings and individual student success stories to legislators. The day began with an advocacy training session, where attendees learned how to speak with legislators and effectively deliver their message. Families applied their newfound skills in meetings with legislators and policy staff for the Assembly and Senate Education Committees, and Vice Chairs of the Assembly and Senate Budget Subcommittees for Education. In addition to these meetings, attendees also heard from Jack O'Connell, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The event, sponsored by California Parents for Public Virtual Education, received coverage by the Capitol Television News Services (representing 16 Southern California and 12 Northern California) broadcast news stations and was featured in the Capitol Morning Report.

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Governor Scott Walker with a group of attendees  

On March 28th, approximately 200 attendees gathered for the 2012 Capitol Day event in Madison, sponsored by the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families. Governor Scott Walker was the keynote speaker at the event and received the "Rock Star of Education Reform" award. "Shining Star" awards were presented to legislative champions Senators Luther Olsen, Mary Lazich, Leah and Alberta Darling; and State Representatives Andre Jacque and Jeremy Theisfeld. Following this winter's legislative session, attendees had much to celebrate as school reform advocates eliminated the cap and expanded the enrollment period.

Coverage of the event can be found on YouTube, Publicschoolspending.com, andProgressive.org.

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Superintendent Mick Zais and the crowd  
Despite the scorching 90 degree temperatures, 1,000 parents, students, and teachers gathered on the steps of the South Carolina State House on March 29th in support of school choice and equitable funding. Students from both online and brick-and-mortar charter schools rallied in support of their school, and their ability to choose the education that works best for them. The schools represented were South Carolina Virtual Charter School, South Carolina Connections Academy, Calvert Academy, Whitmore Community School, Provost Academy South Carolina, South Carolina School of Inquiry, MLD Higher Learning Academy, Charleston Charter School for Math and Science, and East Point Academy.

The coalition honored State Superintendent Dr. Mick Zais, State Representative Phil Owens, and State Senators Wes Hayes and Nikki Setzler with "Golden Apple" awards for their efforts to promote school choice initiatives. The honorees addressed the crowd, issuing their continued support for public school options. Governor Nikki Haley, State Senator Tom Davis, and State Representative Rick Quinn were also honored.

Families delivered letters to their legislators after the rally concluded. The event received coverage by NBC 10 Columbia.

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Students and families gather outside of the Ohio State House   Over 100 online public school families joined together on the lawn of the Ohio State House on April 4th for the Ohio eSchool Families & Friends Coalition 2012 Capitol Day. Attendees rallied to bring attention to proposed changes to the public school grading system. Everyone agrees that Ohio children deserve the right an excellent education. However, the proposed change would treat charter schools differently – forcing some students to leave the school they've chosen and return to a traditional public school that could be worse academically, and maybe more dangers such as bullying

The Coalition presented a "Golden Apple" award to Representative Michael Henne in recognition of his support for school options.  In addition to the awards presentation, attendees also had the opportunity to meet with their legislators and take a tour of the statehouse.  The event was covered by The Columbus Dispatch, the Capitol Blog, Ohio Public Radio, and The Alliance Review/ The Ashland Times Gazette.