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1). Kirby Lee
2). The Reform I am advocating for Is for parents to have school choice.
3). I believe that instead of children getting assigned to random schools and school districts,
that parents have the ability to choose where their children receive their education form. I would like to take this reform to the state level because it should be a state by state issue. "The idea of school choice is spreading like wildfire around some parts of the country, because its the one education reform that puts real choices and real opportunities in the hands of families who desperately need them" (P. 202).

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1) Ashley Cole
2) I'm trying to come up with a better way to word the title of my reform, but for now I've labeled it as "Real World" Class Requirement. Summarily I believe that every high schooler should be required to take a course that goes over real world situations, such as taxes, insurance, and 401K's.  Information like this was never even offered at my school, and I really wish that it had been because I feel that having formal knowledge of this information would be a tremendous help for students as they enter the "adult world".
3) I would take this reform to the National Legislature because I feel that this is something every high school student should learn, not just students in one state. To succeed I would need the Secretary of Education to manage and enforce the requirement, as is part of their job. "The secretary of education has widespread visibility and influence. Besides advising the president, managing educational policies, and promoting programs to carry out those policies, the secretary can exert persuasion and pressure in political and educational circles." (P. 218)

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1) Jake Mason

2) The amount of standardized tests should be deceased.

3) I believe that standardized tests should be reduced because not every student is good at taking standardized tests.  Therefore, I would take it to the U.S. Department of Education."The federal agencies that promote educational policies and programs." (pg. 217).   Some of the smartest students are unable to score the test requirements just because they are not good at standardized tests.

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1) George Johnson

2)  Schools across the nation should teach various life skills/ home economics classes at the high school level and make it a requirement for graduation.

3) This reform is something I would address on the national level. Students graduating high school and moving away to various colleges and universities are leaving home without life science skills needed to become more freestanding and productive members of society.

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1) Taylor Skinner
2) Having a positive school climate raises academic success and graduation rates, while it lowers bullying and even suicide.
3) I would take this reform to the US Department of Education. Chapter 11 mentions research on a students social class and how it relates to the students success in school. As mentioned in the book in chapter 11, "Students with well-educated parents score much higher than students whose parents have less education". (page 317) Although i do believe that students could receive more help from their parents at home if their parents were well educated, I think that schools should offer the help necessary to ensure that all students could receive the help that they need to succeed in all areas of school, regardless of the social status or home life.

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Enforcing Sexual Health Education Curriculum 

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Enforcing Sexual Health Education Curriculum 

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1. Brooke Chapin
2. Schools across the United States should enforce a Sexual Health Education class beginning in 8th grade of middle school leading up to Freshman or Sophomore year of high school.
3. "Office of Education assumed responsibilities of administering grant funds and contracting with state departments of education and school districts; engaging in education innovation and research; and providing leadership, consultative, and clearinghouse services related to education" (pg. 218). I would take this reform to the US  Department of Education because I believe that sexual health education should have the same curriculum nationwide. I want it to be taken to the US Department of Education because I don't want the state departments of education and/or school boards to alter or disregard the curriculum of 🤬 education and health.

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1.Natalyia Story
2. Schools in the United States should allow students to be able to afford school without being in extreme debt.
3. With this reform, many more people would have a chance at education. I feel like with the increase of students being able to afford school, would increase candidates for jobs and more work opportunity's would be available. I believe this would be a game changer for the work and education world.

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1. Edward Callahan
2. Schools in the United States should lower the amount of standardized tests taken by students.
3. I would take this reform idea to the US Department of Education. "The federal agencies that promote educational policies and programs." (pg. 217).  Personally I feel that there are far too many standardized tests that take place in the educational system, which I believe takes away from the actual learning that would occur due to students stressing over fears of poor performance on said test.

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1. Savannah Rogers
2. US schools should require students to take a personal finance course.
3. I would take my reform to the US Department of Education. All students should be required to take a Personal Finance course in high school. Students should take this course because the course teaches students basic financial knowledge that they need. I think this requirement would benefit all high school students for preparing for their of financial experiences.

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1. Stroud Winstead
2. Teachers should have greater responsibility in how schools are operating nationwide
3. The responsibility of running a school is usually up to the principal and assistant principal but it is difficult to get a good understanding of the classroom setting from the front office. Sure the principals come in and observe classes every once in a while but, in my experience, the teacher is always warned and tells their kids days in advance to be on their best behavior. Most of the time the only parts of classes the principals see is what the teachers want them to see. I think the teachers should have a lot more to do with the governance of the school because they know the students and their needs. "Customarily, authority concerning school polices flows from the top down, from the school board through the superintendent and central office staff to the principal" (p. 207). Most of these People have not been in a classroom in years but they continue to make decisions about what happens in the classrooms. I think the teachers have potential to change the schools for the better.

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1-      Aaron Snyder

2-      North Carolina High school should include a required course on civil rights history

3-      I would take this reform to the State board of education and State Legislator because the state board of education shares a responsibility to “setting state curriculum standards” and “Establishing high school graduation requirements” (pg. 216) and since I am advocating to have a required course to be added then it would need the Boards approval.

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Students learning life skill classes in school including learning how to budget and do taxes. 

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Students learning life skill classes in school including learning how to budget and do taxes. 

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1. Alyssa Rightmyer
2. The requirement of life skill classes into the high school classrooms.
3. I would take my reform to the U.S. Department of Education. I believe that all mature students in high school should be able to learn how to do these life skills for the future. Being in college now it would have been great to know these life skills before hand to help me with things like how to budget my money and how to do taxes. "The security of education has widespread visibility and influence. Besides advising the president, making educational policies, and promoting programs to carry out these policies..." (p. 218). The U.S. Department of Education can make this reform a policy and get students to know how to do these subjects that every adult needs to know how to do.

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Fine Arts being required from grades K-12

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Fine Arts being required from grades K-12

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1. Brianna Galstad
2. I believe that fine arts should be required from grades K-12.
3. I believe that the fine arts program is essential for every children's education. Whether it be choir, broadway, band or art, these curriculums allow students to flourish outside of the "normal" classroom setting. I would take this reform to the US Department of Education because there needs to be more funding towards these programs. Fine arts programs allow students to explore other talents they may not know that they have. Personally, without taking art all throughout my elementary and high school years, I would not find what I am passionate about. The art programs that my schools offered allowed me to be creative, think outside the box and allowed me to take my mind off of things in my regular core classes. I believe that the US Department of Education should be able to make this decision because as it states in the textbook: "In fact, certain distinctions between public and private schools are becoming blurred" (p.220). If the US Department of Education was in charge of making this decision, fine arts would be required in each school around the United States.

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2. I am advocating for the importance of nature exploration in learning. For lessened class time and more time spent outdoors developing fine/gross motor skills, observation skills, and problem solving skills. Education focused more on the personal growth of the student.
3. I would take this to the U.S Department of Education because I believe this is a reform that should be implemented nationally, as all children should have the opportunity to benefit from this. While many educators do not like the influence the federal government has in our schools, it is said that "...it is evident that for the foreseeable future, the federal government will be influencing education policy that impacts local schools." (pg. 219)

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Incorporating Fine Arts into core curriculum

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Incorporating Fine Arts into core curriculum

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1. Jessica Luna
2. All core curriculum courses should be required to incorporate one of the fine arts into the classes. i.e. Literature classes can use in class theater productions to present the works to students for easier understanding.
3. I would take this reform to the district level because every district has a different demographic of students and which Fine Art is implemented would need to be determined by the demographic of students in the district. For example, if you are in school district with poor English testing scores, you may need to implement a visual art program into the classes to give the students a new way to express their ideas as they are working on the English skill deficiencies. If they are already struggling, giving them Shakespeare to perform could cause frustration. It is also beneficial for the students who can not speak up for themselves and need the outlet that fine arts can provide. According to Touro University Worldwide, "Creativity inspires employees to work with each other. As they have new ideas, they seek out colleagues for their feedback. By design, the creative process encourages collaboration, and this is the most important benefit of offering a workplace where creative thinking can occur." If we teach students to be creative through all subjects we set them up for better success in the workforce after graduation. As stated in our textbook, Foundations of Education, "Policy: School boards set the general rules about what is done in the schools, who does it, and how. " (pg. 203)

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Arts being required in a students education up until they graduate. 

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Arts being required in a students education up until they graduate. 

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1. Katelyn Chavis
2. Every student will have to take some sort of arts education classes wether thats choir, band, art, and theatre from K-12.
3. I would take this to the U.S. Department of Education for a couple of reasons, but the main reason is to get the fundings schools would need to implement arts programs. The U.S. Department of Education is responsible for granting funds and looking at the next best things for schools and i believe that the arts should be just that. Not to mention the secretary of education has major influence and can "exert persuasion and pressure in political and educational circles" (p.219) which would be much needed for a new program such as this.

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1. Elizabeth Browning
2. Allowing students to base their needs in a certain subject by what they need more/less help on rather than placing them in the class that aligns with their grade level.
3. I would take my reform to the national level because I believe that all students all over the nation need to have their needs met in class. Student's brains are not always going to match up with their age or grade level. The student may need more help in a subject but less in the other. I think the student should still be in an assigned grade level but should be put into a class that is higher or lower if they need it. "..research has provided enough information to justify minimum standards and to allow for the creation of more valid exams." (p. 15)

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1. Anna Byrnes
2. eliminating standardized testing
3. I would like to take this reform to the national level because I believe this reform could help students in every state not just one. Many students are knowledgeable in classroom but struggle when it comes to testing. Some students also may struggle with paying for testing. If you want to do well on standardized testing chances are you have to take it more than once and that is adding on to the cost of it. "Many Opponents believe that existing tests are biased against minorities and other candidates not from the cultural mainstream." ( P. 15).

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1. Rachel Brown
2. Incorporating Pre-Assessments into every middle school/high school classroom.
3. I would take this reform to the State Legislator and the State Board of Education. They deal with determining the basic parameters of teaching and its instructions as well as overseeing testing and assessment procedures. I think talking with the Board of Education first would work best since they, "are the voice of the citizens in overseeing the operation of public schools within a state" and "serves as an advisory function for the legislature" (p. 216).

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1.     Cassidie Edwards

2.     I’m advocating that class sizes in North Carolina are too large.

3.     With this reform, students would maximize their education. With smaller class sizes teachers can get to know their student better and have a better understanding of how each student learns. With the inclusion of children with special needs within the regular classroom, it is imperative that teachers can provide individual instruction and modifications that will meet the needs of students in their least restrictive environment. its also been proven with data that "students achievement level and growth in their performance to class size and classroom behavior" (pg. 80)