Happy Fourth of July everyone!!! It is my favorite holiday because it is the day we get to celebrate our nation's accomplishments. To think in just 200 short years this nation went from a band of ragtag states to our present status is quite remarkable. While it is certainly key to remember the important documents in our history, the wars we fought and won, and the individuals that made that all possible, let's not forget education's central role in this republic. Public schools were operating 150 years before the nation was founded and the U.S. (by its associated states) was the first country to establish mass schooling through the use of common, public schools. On this national holiday, as you reflect on the U.S. and its oldest serving constitution in the world, also think about the United States' oldest system of public schools. It somehow seems, at least to me, that there is a signifigant correlation there. I am not totally sure one could exist without the other. Happy 4th of July.