The LWVUS supports federal policies that provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12. Committed to racial integration of schools as a necessary condition for equal access to education, LWVUS in its 1974-76 Program included the phrase "equal access to quality education," reflecting League recognition that "equality" and "quality" are inseparable. The League supports many federal education programs, some designed to meet the special educational needs of the poor and minorities and others to give women and minorities equal education opportunities. Many state and local Leagues have identified inequities in education financing during the course of their own program studies and have worked for reforms. Action on school financing equity takes place predominantly at the state level where school financing laws are made.
For more information on LWVUS and education positions, see page 121 of the Impact on Issues document.
The LWVHC Education Team is focused on four areas of action as summarized below. The team meets monthly primarily by Zoom.
Contact team leaders from the links on the Committees and Teams page of our website
Created by the League of Women Voters of Henderson County, The Students Voting For Democracy (SVFD) civics program has been maintained and produced during every presidential and midterm election cycle since 2014 with the League's partner and host, the Henderson County Public Schools (HCPS). Each school has an SVFD teacher-liaison who, working with an SVFD District Facilitator, is responsible for coordinating the program with the school’s faculty to hold the mock election. Thousands of K-12 students have voted in these mock elections
Goals of the Program:
PREPARING FOR 2022 ELECTION
In January 2022, the SVFD steering committee (composed of LWVHC members, HCPS administrators and HCPS teacher-facilitators) hired district teacher-facilitators for the elementary, middle, and high schools as well as a digital district facilitator to oversee the 2022 SVFD program in the schools. The stipends for the five facilitators come from a dedicated funding source for SVFD held at the HC Community Foundation.
Power Point Election Units are prepared for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 to introduce the candidates and issues to the students to help them be informed voters when they vote during the early voting period.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We need volunteers to help maintain, implement, and update the Students Voting For Democracy Civics Mini-Program. Contact the Chairs for more information.
The Student Engagement Team, following LWVUS, is pursuing a long-term goal of increasing League membership for high school and college students. To that end, the League offers free memberships to any full time student over the age of 16.
Since 2019, we have awarded an annual $500 scholarship, the Francee Sherman Student Award, to a Henderson County graduating high school senior student. We have also held a student video competition since 2020 for high school and middle school students. Students have participated in voter registration events, candidate forums, and virtual meetings. We have been using social media to promote League activities and have created a digital flyer that can be texted to students who might be interested in joining the League. We will continue to seek ways to engage students in League activities.
The Education Team Director also serves on the North Carolina League State Education Task Force. In that capacity, she passes along Legislative Action Alerts from the state league and actions and activities from leagues around the state that might be of interest to the Hendersonville League. We also draft letters to the editor for our president to send to local papers on educational issues.
