About The Star News Education Foundation
The Star News Education Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded in December 2019 by the management team of Star News Digital Media, Inc.
Our mission is to strengthen the United States of America by improving public understanding of and support for key constitutional principles through education and journalism programs delivered to K-12 students and schools, college students, and the public at large.
We accomplish this through:
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- The Star News Education Foundation National Constitution Bee program for students in grades 8 through 12, which culminates in The National Constitution Bee, held annually in Tennessee since 2017. All questions asked of students in the National Constitution Bee are based on The Star News Digital Media Guide to the Constitution and Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students, which is available for purchase here.
- The publication and distribution of textbooks and related educational materials for students in grades 8 through 12.
- Conducting training courses and informational events for parents, teachers, public school board members, public school administrators, private school administrators, and the public at large.
The foundation focuses on 7 areas, key elements of which were first identified in the Star News Digital Media Statement of Principles on K-12 Education published in October 2019.
1. Civics and the United States Constitution should be required learning for every K-12 student.
2. Critical thinking skills should be developed in all Americans at every stage in life – beginning in K-12, and continuing through college and adulthood – and enhanced by access to quality investigative journalism, because only an informed citizenry can remain free.
3. Direct Instruction is the most effective way to teach the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic to K-5 Students, and it should become the preferred teaching methodology in all elementary schools in America.
4. Individual and local sovereignty and accountability should become the required standard for public school governance. School choice must be available to all citizens respecting the right of parents to make the best decisions for their children.
5. The objective of every high school in America should be to equip every student with skills that make them capable of economic self-sufficiency by the day they receive their high school diploma.
6. Practical life skills, including Shop Class (learning how to make things, build things and fix things) and Home Economics (Consumer Sciences) should be required for everyone, because economic empowerment and self-sufficiency is the foundation to building the American Dream.
7. Classical Curriculum, which instructs students based on the values and ideas of Western civilization, is the most effective way to develop thinkers and virtuous leaders in grades 6-12, and should be the preferred standard in all secondary schools. Character formation and the respect for human dignity nurtured in students through this curriculum provides the backbone for a civil society.
The Foundation owns distribution rights to two secondary school textbooks, whose first editions were published by Star News Digital Media, Inc.
– The Star News Digital Media Guide to the Constitution and Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students
– The Star News Digital Media Guide to Shop and Engineering: A Guide to the Industrial Arts
The 2023 National Constitution Bee will be held in Brentwood, Tennessee on October 21, 2023.
The first-place winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship
The second place winner will receive a $5,000 college scholarship
The third place winner will receive a $2,500 college scholarship
All secondary students in America in grades 8 to 12 are eligible to participate in The National Constitution Bee, however, there are a limited number of spots available – 50 in total – for students who wish to compete in the 2023 National Constitution Bee.
There are two steps necessary to secure your spot:
1. Pay a $30 entry fee. Upon receipt of your fee, your spot is reserved and a copy of the The Star News Digital Media Guide to the Constitution and Bill of Rights will be mailed to you. (Waived for 2022)
2. Subsequent to September 1, 2023, but before October 21, 2023 email your confirmed intention to attend in person and compete in the 2023 National Constitution Bee in Brentwood, TN.
The Star News Digital Media Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary Students is a supplementary text that discusses the people and events leading up to the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. Students learn the personalities, policies, and some of the politics the framers dealt with as they designed what was as the time, a unique form of government. The story then continues through the first ten amendments, known as The Bill of Rights. The soft-cover book also contains chapter-end discussion topics, a robust appendix containing the complete text of the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, the remaining Amendments 11 – 27, a glossary, and sourced endnotes.
The Guide to Shop and Engineering for Secondary Students Volume One: Shop Basics, Drawing, and CAD – as the subtitle says – is an introduction to the Industrial Arts. In addition to teaching the foundational skills every young engineer needs to know, the Guide also features profiles of key American inventors and groundbreaking Shop and Engineering educational programs across America. The text includes a robust Glossary, useful templates, and a list of projects and plans with a unique digital dimension.
Star News Education Foundation Senior Management Team
Chairman and Founder
Michael Patrick Leahy
mleahy@starnewseducationfoundation.org
Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Board Member
Christina Botteri
cbotteri@starnewseducationfoundation.org
5016 Spedale Court, Number 184 – Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174