New school law includes crucial student support

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act represents a breakthrough.

It follows years of debate about the right balance of federal vs. local influence in public education. This new legislation will give our local schools more flexibility to decide what works best for our students. 

And it came about because of something we rarely see in Washington these days — bipartisan agreement.   

Equally important is new language, tucked into the law, about a program known as Title 1. It’s a program that invests critical resources to educate the poorest children in our community.  ESSA specifically allows Title I funding for “integrated student supports” that seek to remove the educational barriers that low-income students so often endure: hunger, homelessness and the lack of caring adult in their lives.

Communities In Schools of Rowan County has been providing this kind of support for nearly 17 years, and our 90 percent promotion rate leaves no doubt that all students can flourish when their social, emotional and physical needs are being met.

Congress has sent a clear message that K-12 education ought to be one priority we all can agree on—especially when it comes to educational opportunities for our most vulnerable young people.

— Scott Bannister

Salisbury

Bannister is executive director of Communities In Schools of Rowan County.

Partisan obfuscation

Upon meritorious graduation from Chapel Hill in 1955, I took away among others, the permanent fact that the Raleigh News & Observer (N&O) was (and is) a 99 & 44/100 percent pure daily dose of myopic partisan obfuscation. With that in mind, by the 12th word of today’s N&O editorial in the Post, I was again alert-to and re-mindful of that fact. As this is the fourth or fifth recent dose of the N&O and this is Christmas season: Enough already!

— Bob Trundle

Salisbury

Animals need homes

We have a large number of cats, kittens, dogs and puppies that have to be adopted within the next few days or they will be euthanized. If you are thinking of adopting in the near future, please do it now and allow one of these pets a home for the holidays.

The adoption fee is $80, but this includes a $70 voucher to be used toward a spay or neuter procedure, a microchip and all their shots.

Rowan County Animal Shelter is located at 1465 Julian Road in Salisbury. Shelter adoption hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

— Connie Ray

Salisbury