Forbes ranks "Best & Worst Public Schools for the Buck"

A new article published in Forbes magazine is stirring up buzz among parents nationwide - not to mention public school officials, teachers, and education watchdogs.

These rankings reveal how wide the gaps are in the performance of public schools in different communities across the country. Granted, the demographic realities faced by some public school districts make for extra challenges. But with shifting demographics nationwide, it's getting harder and harder for local officials to excuse their failure by blaming such trends. (For example, looking up the census data for myself on Alexandria vs. our neighbors made me realize how lame and inaccurate claims are that we have a disproportionate burden of foreign-born and non-English-speaking children, compared to better-performing Arlington schools.) And it's shocking to see how pitifully some districts manage tax dollars, with failing schools, high dropout rates, and low test scores to show for the community's investment.

I take this quite personally, since my family and I are currently living in the Washington, DC suburb of Alexandria, VA - which happens to come in dead-last in the nation in the Forbes ranking. Our community's return-on-investment is even worse than the historically troubled District of Columbia! And it's our kids who will suffer the fallout. Sad and scary. Especially since I have a preschooler who will be ready for kindergarten in two years. And even more exasperating because our cost of living here is so high.

On the bright side, there are other districts across the country that are doing a much better job. Best management of public schools in the country, according to the Forbes ranking? Marin County, CA, outside San Francisco.

These are just the kind of things that really matter to us as mothers, and change absolutely depends on our political involvement. We need to get active at both the local and federal levels - advocating for better management and higher standards in our local districts, as well as speaking up for federal policy initiatives that will help narrow the disparities in the quality of schools nationwide.

U.S. ranks 26th in quality of life for mothers & children

Sad. Because we can and should do better.

Save the Children's Eighth Annual Mothers’ Index has been released, ranking the living conditions and wellbeing of mothers and their children in 140 countries around the world (41 developed nations and 99 developing nations).

The rankings are determined by common markers of maternal and child health and wellbeing, including maternal and infant mortality mortality, healthcare access, births attended by skilled health personnel, child weight, access to clean water, political status, economic status, and educational opportunity.

The top 10 best places for mothers and children are (in order from first to 10th): Sweden, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Spain and Germany. The worst ranking nations at the bottom of the list include Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Yemen, Sierra Leone and Niger.

The United States falls somewhere between the best and the worst, at number 26. A bit pitiful, considering we're the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. All the more reason to do something NOW about a complete overhaul of our broken privatized health insurance "system."

To view and download the 2007 Mothers' Index, click here.  

Thomas the Toxic Tank Engine

In response to last week’s warning from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), advising consumers to immediately stop using Thomas the Tank Engine toys recalled due to toxic paint, the grassroots advocacy organization MomsRising is mobilizing parents and grandparents to say "Enough!"

Not surprisingly, moms don't like finding out that their children have been unknowingly exposed toxic Thomas toys at home, at preschool, at childcare for months - maybe years? - before this discovery was made and the recall issued. (And for the record, is there a kid anywhere in America who has NOT been in contact with the hottest toy on the market today??) Folks signing the MomsRising petition are simply urging members of Congress and CPSC make testing of children’s products for toxic chemicals more of a priority.

To sign the petition, click here.

For the CPSC’s current recall notice of the toxic Thomas toys, click here.

Celebrity politics could make the difference for The MOTHERS Act

Politico columnist Helena Andrews has posted a piece about leveraging celebrity visibility in the service of politics - a topic that particularly interests me as I continue to marvel at the good things accomplished by actress Brooke Shields and former New Jersey first lady Mary Jo Codey on behalf of women's and children's health. Both of these high-profilers have given a great deal of their time - not to mention their good names - to work for legislation and programs at the state and federal levels that will address postpartum depression (PPD) as the health crisis it is.

It's a long time coming - and Shields and Codey turning out recently to support The MOTHERS Act (and companion Melanie Blocker-Stokes Act) on the Hill drew more public attention to the issue than has been achieved in several years of earnest grassroots lobbying by activist mothers and NGOs.

If passed, The MOTHERS Act would provide education and screening on PPD that can lead to early identification and treatment. The bill includes two grants to help healthcare providers educate, identify, and treat perinatal mood disorders: Grants to states, to be allocated to materials and programs for local healthcare providers who work directly with women, and grants to states and local governments, public and nonprofit hospitals, and community-based organizations who deliver essential services to women with PPD and their families (including better outpatient support and home-based care, support services, and inpatient care when needed). The bill would also extend research funding to improve treatments, diagnostic tools and educaitonal materials for providers. The MOTHERS Act incorporates and is a companion bill to Congressman Rush's House bill, the Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, which would expend and intensify NIH's research on PPD and related conditions.Postpartum Support International (PSI) - for whom I volunteer in Washington, DC - continues to be the leader in policy advocacy, working to push the MOTHERS Act through Congress and to educate all Americans about this problem - THE most common complication of childbirth, affecting up to 20 percent of new mothers.

One mother = A Powerful Grassroots Movement: The Protest Easy Guns phenomenon

I love Little-Engines-That-Could success stories. It's inspiring to see what one committed person can get started! And here's proof: The Protest Easy Guns grassroots movement launched by my friend and neighbor Dr. Abby Spangler in Old Town Alexandria, VA, is mobilizing moms, dads, and other concerned citizens across the country.

The first demonstration by the "Alexandria 32," (of which I was one!) was held the weekend following the tragedy at Virginia Tech University. Days after the massacre, Abby found herself getting angrier and angrier about the many loopholes in gun laws that played a significant role in the killings. And she wasn't alone. She started talking to other moms - her neighbors, her children's preschool directors and parents - and found others had the same despair. We were all angry, saddened, and feeling helpless about the seemingly stagnant issue of gun accesss loopholes.

But Abby went one step behond venting and commiserating. She started networking, called the DC-area press, and organized a simple but powerful demonstration in our city square. Thirty-two moms from all backgrounds and political persuasions, myself included, wore black, lay down silently on the sidewalk for the short period of time it took the Virginia Tech killer to buy his weapons, and then went about our day feeling as if we had at least helped to spark meaningful conversation and debate amongst our neighbors.

Our little gathering made the local news...and then the national news. My husband, Noah, worked with Abby to host and develop a simple but effective website, and Abby put together a "protest in a box." Before you knew it, Abby had NYC Mayor Michael Bloomnburg joining her and 32+ New Yorkers in Times Square to stage their own protest. Additional protests have been held throughout Northern Virginia and in Maryland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn... Within the next week there are additional Protest Easy Guns "lie-ins" scheduled by local residents in Chicago, Dallas, and the Bronx.

If you would like to talk with Abby about covering this grassroots movement as a member of the press/blogosphere, or better yet - if you'd like to find out how to organize a Protest Easy Guns action in your community, click here.

Maloney steps up to the plate - again - for federal Breastfeeding Promotion Act

Last month U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), along with Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), hosted another successful "Nurse-In" on Capitol Hill to re-introduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act [HR 2236] to Congress. In one of the smartest, most widely visible bipartisan advocacy moves for America's women, children, and families, the event brought together 100+moms and babies on the terrace of the Cannon Office Building near the capitol.

By all accounts, it was a rollicking good moment in the sun for mothers, engaging them directly in the policy efforts that affect their daily lives. And it got widespread publicity among NGOs and grassroots advocates in the maternal-child health and breastfeeding realms. So maybe this will be the session the BPA breaks through?

The proposed legislation would protect the rights of nursing mothers who return to the workplace after having a baby, amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with a new clause. The bill would also provide tax incentives for businesses that establish private lactation areas in the workplace, allow families to deduct breastfeeding pumps and equipment from their taxes, and provide a performance standard for breast pumps. (Can you believe how long in coming this is?)

Currently, 38 states and Puerto Rico have laws on their books protecting the rights of women to breastfeed. But the federal initiative would provide important national protections, regardless of where a mother lives and works. For more on the Breastfeeding Promotion Act from La Leche League International, click here.

Kudos to Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Hays for their support of this legislation! Rep. Maloney, who has a strong track record of looking out for American women, children, and families, first passed breastfeeding legislation in the 106th Congress, when her right-to-breastfeed amendment passed for the FY 2000 budget. It protected a woman's right to breastfeed on federal property where the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be. Then in the 105th Congress, Rep. Maloney included a reauthorization bill allowing state agencies to use WIC program funds to share educational materials on breast pumps and to purchase breast pumps for WIC recipients.

Be sure to let the other original co-sponsors of Maloney's Breastfeeding Promotion Act know you appreciate their efforts: Keith Ellison (D-MN); Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX); Barbara Lee (D-CA); Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY); John Olver (D-MA); Bobby Rush (D-IL); Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH); Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA).

The Act is now awaiting committee considerations, and has been referred to House Education and Labor. To let your representatives in Congress know you want them to push the Act forward - to protect women's rights, children's health, and family wellbeing - click here and look them up.

Wooing women voters

Check out this story in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, headlined "Women's vote is a big factor in 2008."

The reporter hones in on the crucial demographic findings affecting upcoming elections, including:

Women make up more than half the U.S. population.
More women register and vote than men.
Married women living in suburbs are historically more likely to vote than are younger, single, urban women.
Most women voters don't select their candidate until close to election day.
Healthcare and education are typically at the top of women's policy priorities.
Since 9/11, a large segment labeled by strategists as "security moms" are also very concerned about policy affecting the safety of their children and families.

There's a lot of power to be leveraged! According to Rebeca Deen of the political science faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington, quoted in the story, "Women could be the deciding vote in the 2008 election."

However, anyone paying attention knows that "the women's vote" is hardly monolithic. Look at issues like reproductive politics and you realize that there is no one "women's platform." That means no one woman can take for granted the power and importance of her vote - and of joining with like-minded others to be heard.