skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Maryland Called a Leader in Parental Involvement

play audio
Play

Monday, June 13, 2016   

BALTIMORE – A group that's been working for more than two decades to get parents more involved in their children's education says Maryland is a leader in the movement.

Project Appleseed is made up of mostly volunteers who try to get parents, grandparents and guardians involved in the classroom.

The group’s president, Kevin Walker, says there's a huge communication gap between schools and parents but Maryland is in the forefront.

"Maryland, Kentucky, Massachusetts, California –– these are all the most progressive states in parental involvement in the country,” he states. “They are aggressive in that state laws have been changed to make sure that parents are engaged, that local laws – like in Baltimore schools – to make sure parents are engaged."

Project Appleseed asks parents and guardians to sign a pledge to volunteer in their child's school and to read to their child for a minimum number of hours per week.

Walker says many parents never have any communication with their child's teacher outside of the parent-teacher conference, and some don't attend those either.

He backs plans to have all schools send texts and emails.

"What parents want is important information from schools sent to them on a regular basis, but they don't want it sent home in the child's backpack or by mail,” he states. “They want it conveniently in email. They want to be able to go online and look at it when it suits their time."

Walker's group also is pushing for legislation to make Internet access available for families. He says some will argue that affordable broadband just allows people to surf the web or watch videos.

"We're worried about when they do use it right,” he says. “Even if they only use the Internet for 20 percent of their time to use it right, that would mean they'd be checking on school, checking on their kids, looking for a job, engaging themselves in the larger community."

Walker wants the federal government to expand the Lifeline program, which was set up by in the '80s to make telephone service affordable. It also would give those below the federal poverty level a subsidy to pay for Internet connection.






get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021