Letter Carriers continue proud tradition of service to Quad Citians

Quad Cities, USA–On Saturday May 10th, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers from all across the country will be collecting sturdy bags of non-perishable food from front porches and mail boxes during the largest single day food drive in the world. In 2013, collections peaked over 74 million pounds. Locally, the haul was over 60,000lbs.

For 2014, the Quad City Federation of Labor, the United Way of the Quad Cities Area,  Loffredo Fresh Produce, Teamsters Local 371, Quad City letters carriers and postal workers, and countless volunteers will be working together to bring in a record haul of 100,000lbs of food. All of the food collected on Saturday will be donated to the River Bend Food Bank and subsequently distributed to thousands of families in need throughout the Quad Cities.

Congressman Dave Loebsack and Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba will be doing their part by joining with volunteers at the Downtown Davenport Post Office located at 933 W. 2nd St at 11:00am. Quad Citians are encouraged to follow in their example and volunteer a few hours of their time for this worthwhile cause, in addition to leaving a sturdy bag of non-perishable goods near their mailboxes on the morning of Saturday May 10th.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison, Joshua Schipp, at 309-738-6536. Volunteer information is listed below.

Volunteer Time Slots:

12-3pm

3pm-6pm

(or any amount of time between 12-6pm)

Locations:

Moline Post Office - 514 17^th Street

Rock Island Post Office - 2633 11^th Street

Davenport Post Offices - 933 W 2^nd St & 4018 Marquette St

NORTHFIELD, MN (05/08/2014)(readMedia)-- Laura Beck was among more than 1000 St. Olaf College students who were recognized for achievement at the college's annual Honors Day convocation on May 2. Beck, from Bettendorf, is an Individual Major and Computer Science major. She was awarded membership in Alpha Psi Omega . Beck is the daughter of Timothy and Martha Beck.

Honors Day recognizes students who have been awarded scholarships and fellowships, including Fulbright scholars, Goldwater scholars, and senior members of leadership and academic honor societies. It also recognizes academic achievement.

The ceremony began with a colorful academic procession led by St. Olaf President David R. Anderson '74, and the address to students was given by Religion Professor Eric Lund. The ceremony was followed by a reception for students, parents, friends of the college, faculty and staff.

One of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf College offers a distinctive education grounded in academic rigor, residential learning, global engagement, and a vibrant Lutheran faith tradition. St. Olaf provides an uncommon educational experience that fully prepares students to make a meaningful difference in our changing world.

BATON ROUGE, LA (05/07/2014)(readMedia)-- The following local residents recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines:

Stephanie Kilmer of Davenport initiated at Elon University

Joseph Erwin of Davenport initiated at Western Illinois University

Rebecca Ludin of Rock Island initiated at Western Illinois University

Mark Heeren of Sterling initiated at Eastern Kentucky University

Alex McWhorter of Taylor Ridge initiated at Fort Lewis College

These residents are among approximately 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society. The Society has chapters on more than 300 college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines. Its mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others."

More About Phi Kappa Phi

Since its founding, more than 1.25 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist David Baldacci and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $15 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, $1 million is awarded each biennium to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards and grants for local and national literacy initiatives.

By Kara Kerwin

Americans are fans of fantasy and myth - the resounding success of franchises like Twilight and Harry Potter offer strong evidence to support this claim. But when it comes to our education system, Americans must learn to distinguish fact from fiction.

This is especially true of our nation's charter schools. Despite the fact that over 2.5 million children are served by over 6,500 charter schools across the country, the majority of Americans have been swayed by tall tales and misinformation about the role of charter schools in our public education system.

One of the most common misconceptions is that charter schools are privately funded institutions. A recent survey from the Center for Education Reform (CER) found that only 20 percent of Americans correctly identified charter schools as public schools. Charter schools are in fact independent public schools that are held accountable for student results.

Another myth asserts that charter schools take money and resources away from the public school system. This could not be further from the truth. Like district public schools, they are funded according to enrollment and receive funding from the district and the state according to the number of students attending. In fact, charter schools actually do more with less, receiving 36% less revenue on average than traditional public schools.

When a student's family relocates and moves from one public school system to another, the public school system itself does not lose any money. The same can be said of a student moving from a conventional public school to a charter school. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations.

Additionally, research shows that charter schools have a positive impact, or "ripple effect," on neighboring public schools. A Harvard University study found that in Arizona, public schools neighboring charter schools scored increases in math achievement of more than three times that of schools with no charter schools in their communities. As the focus continues to shift from the needs of the system to the needs of children and parents, our children are better served.

Critics are quick to claim that because charter schools operate independently, they have lower teaching standards and less accountability than conventional public schools. This is pure fantasy. Charter schools design and deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and community needs. Because they are schools of choice, charter schools are held to the highest level of accountability - consumer demand. If they fail to deliver, they are closed.

Another common myth is that charter schools "cream" more advantaged students from traditional public schools. The reality, however, is that a majority of charter school students are non-white, or minority students. Only 45 percent of charter students are white, while 52.5 percent of public school students are white. Additionally, 61 percent of charter schools serve a student population where over 60 percent qualify for Free & Reduced Lunch.

Seventy-three percent of Americans support the concept of charter schools. The short story is that charter schools work, and are an asset to a public educaiton system that is slow to embrace innovation despite an ever-changing and increasingly global world. As the nation marks the achievements of the charter school movement during National Charter Schools Week, it is important for parents, teachers, students and all of those involved with charter schools to share their successes so that all Americans can learn more about institutions committed to accountability and choice in education, and for lawmakers to take note so they can improve charter school laws, and in turn improve public education, in their state.

Kara Kerwin is President of The Center for Education Reform, a K-12 education policy and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.