K-12 public education advocacy

^{Focus on the Square is a nonprofit created in 2010 to advocate for improvements in American K-12 public education. Despite being one of the most expensive bureaucracies in the world (estimated by the U.S. Department of Education to be about $664 billion from all sources in 2009), American public education is one of the least effective bureaucracies in the world. Most of our education time, money, and resources are wasted on personnel, products, and policies that do not have an direct nor positive impact on student learning.}

<sup>American public education is failing because it does not focus on the Square of Effective Learning. This "square" - a concept developed by author and researcher Laurie H. Rogers - contains four elements having a critical and dramatic effect on student learning. The Square of Effective Learning contains the following four elements:

* Teacher's Ability to Teach
* Student's Ability to Learn
* Curriculum
* Learning Environment</sup>

^{If public education is to be improved, any changes must have a direct and positive impact on one or more of these four elements.}

^{For more, please see "Betrayed" - Laurie H. Rogers' blog on public education: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com}

^{Please contact the author with questions at wlroge@comcast.net or lrogers@focusonthesquare.com.}