Ultimate Character Education Network

From: Tom Wolfgram [twolfgram@wcprinting.com]

Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 6:30 AM

To: Tina Ashton (tashton@rosenhotels.com); Mr. Harris Rosen (Hrosen@RosenHotels.com)

Subject: Private Public leverage and why 80% will support it!

USA VALUES - CDP Phone 507-452-2658 or 763-550-0769
Character Development Program Fax 507-452-2202
102 Walnut Street http://www.usavalues-character.org/
Winona, Minnesota 55987 twolfgram@wcprinting.com
(A 501 (c) (3) company)

June 3, 2007

Dear Mr. Harris Rosen: This private / public effort.

A base premise would guide us (say 100 words) to agree on collaborations worthy of combined giving and delivery efforts. Lets draft this premise from the following start:

The Truth Without the gift of Early Reading Skills all children are behind before they even start kindergarten.
The Gift Only an individual gift delivers early reading skills at age 3, 4 and 5. This gift is the key to opportunity. It is society’s best (effective and lowest cost) approach to preparing the bottom half of the bottom half (most at risk, poorest of the poor) to want the opportunities, choices and engagement.
The Focus When 100% of the children start kindergarten ready to read English the urban school has the resources to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress Requirement of No Child Left Behind. The principal is vested in 100% of the children starting kindergarten ready-to-read.

Discussion of the 100 words Many important citizen league issues are addressed when the community commits to giving the gift of early literacy, one-size-fits-one, to its collective self. The gift is ethical, moral, proven economic, and better than an expansion of government.
Pre-K Child Development (ready-to-read)
Fewer Special Education Needs
School Performance and Accountability
Urban Race Relations, and Segregated School Populations
Urban Generational Poverty
Urban Economic Development (make a 16% internal rate of return investment)

Who will pay! Who is paying now? Taxed effective citizens are paying now. Often they are paying to a system that fails the most at risk children so the money does nothing for the future. Today’s children, Tomorrow’s Future™

80% support is expected because it is so basic; it deals with delivering to children age 3-6 that which is ethical and important; with seed giving of designated money for direct local efforts; supported by a match of federal and state money that already exists but is not reaching age 3-6 children. Effective citizens have the seed money. Effective citizens are paying now with, taxes, remediation, safety, and security. Any effective citizen will pay to do it right the first time. Again, this is the question of if not me, who?; if not now, when?

Space The space is available, It is everywhere between the hours of 8-11:30 and 1:30 to 4:30. Look at McDonalds, libraries, churches, Social Service Networks (YMCA), the apartments that many children live within. Cities, police and fire already have their eyes on the apartments with the most at-risk children.

Time 2 hours per week 100 hours per year for 2 years (200 hours) is more time than the task of delivering early reading skills is given in a Montessori classroom. Mobility of the hand based materials is solved so the process can proceed anywhere that 2 adults and one child can be comfortable and attentive to each other.

Money Generally it is a good time to be effective in the USA. We prove time and again that 20 billion dollars at the federal level and a prorata portion of that at the state level based on population is affordable. Start by seeding 2/3rds of that with 1/3 giving. (1=3)
1. Tax Free Repatriated Earnings for investing in high quality jobs
2. Manufacturing Producer tax credits
3. Removal, with S-corps and LLC’s most of the
double taxation of smaller business earnings.
4. Lowest corporate rates, ever
5. Lowest dividend and capital gains rates, ever
6. Lowest estate tax rates, ever
7. Public service jobs now pay as well or more than private sector jobs.
I believe the road to the middle class is the best in the world, and we invest in ourselves when we help people travel this road. Our most effective citizens know we have the discretionary money to make these investments in age 3-6 children. The focus on the age 3-6 child is critical to the 80% support. If we can have private public efforts on airport development we can also have this metro development. It is the 21st century for the next 92.5 years. This proposed model would leverage what you have demonstrated and represent with authority and expectation of success.

Talent
1. Friends Families and neighbors
2. Childcare improvement to be ready to read
3. Part time jobs for mothers
4. College Nannies, and Childcare Servers
5. Curriculum, needs only 8-12 hours of introduction and then experience
6. Many adults are already delivering early reading skills to the children.
(50% done before we start)
7. Mom or the significant adult is always with the child. (Always)

Private Public Funding is strictly a local effort (much like yours) but calls on the state and federal to match and boost the effective citizens giving. Accountability rests with the effective citizen groups. The result is the schools performance takes off and the community knows they did it for themselves. They raised new money, and channeled old money to a new focus and purpose.

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Wolfgram
Executive Director