57 year old Leif Skyving, stand up comedian, Caldwell School Board Trustee and candidate for State Senate has just been issued a license by the Idaho Athletic Commission to fight this Saturday April 7 at O’Connor field house in Caldwell.
Leif says he’s “excited, boxing has been a lifelong interest and I’ve always wanted to see what it is like to actually be in the ring. The fact that this event is to raise money for a good cause makes it even more exciting”. The proceeds from this event will go to help disadvantaged teenagers by purchasing equipment and space to expand the mixed martial arts programs at Open Hand Combat in Nampa and Team No Excuse in Caldwell. These are the two organizations responsible for putting this event together. Leif belongs to Team No Excuse and has been training for the past year. “I’ve finished three marathons since I turned 50” says Skyving “but the conditioning and discipline required for boxing and mixed martial arts is far beyond any I’ve experienced as a runner”. “These programs are great for kids, it teaches discipline, physical fitness and self esteem all while giving them something worthwhile to do after school and on breaks”. Skyving’s opponent is a 61 year old former police detective. “I’m sure he’s had a lot of training as an officer, but at 57 I have youth on my side” quipped Skyving.
Skyving will not be the only one fighting Saturday night, Sheily and Johnny Perez who own and coach at Caldwell’s Team No Excuse and are organizing and promoting this even along with Cosmo Zimik of Open Hand Combat in Nampa. put it this way in a recent face book post:
”T-Minus 2 days till weigh ins and 3 days till the competion begins..Dont miss out on the K1 Fights this Saturday at the OConner Field house representing ” At Risk Youth” what a way to show support to the people who help keep these kids off the street and out of trouble with a great avenue to vent and show their skills then here at the K1 Fights.. We have 6 fighters on this card.. Titus Mitchell 9 yrs old – 65lbs, Greg Litty 13yrs old- 95lbs, Annette Villegas 150lbs (title fight) Jose Montes 185lbs,Leif Skyving 205lbs and 57 yrs old and Benito Lopez our heavy weight and fighting for a belt.. you can see these fighters and all others on the posters around the area 
Tickets are $15, $25 and $50 dont miss out”
For more information contact
Leif Skyving at 208-250-6339
Promoter Johnny Perez (Team No Excuse) 208-890-4356
Cosmo Zimik Event Organizer (Open Hand Combat)
# PRESS RELEASE #
Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho
www.commonsensedemocracyfoundation.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2012
Contact: Travis Manning, Caldwell, ID
Email: Manning_Travis@hotmail.com
Cell: 801.824.8226
SERIOUS QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT RESEARCH CITED FOR THE “STUDENTS COME FIRST” EDUCATION OVERHAUL
It appears that Idaho policymakers have not actually read their own research
BOISE, ID — Idaho policymakers and the Idaho Department of Education (DOE) appear not to have read their own research cited to support the Students Come First (SCF) education reform measures.
The Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho, a collection of education experts and concerned parents centered in the Treasure Valley, has read through and analyzed the research and has come to very different conclusions about claims the DOE and others are making with SCF. (See “Luna’s Research Doesn’t Add Up” on our website, listed above, for our analysis.)
Superintendent Tom Luna and other policymakers have touted SCF as needed and necessary, but the research posted on the Idaho DOE website is ambiguous, at best, in support of the sweeping reforms. (See “Summary of Research on Students Come First”http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/studentscomefirst/research.htm )
“Essentially, the Department of Education threw everything but the kitchen sink into their reform plan,” said Travis Manning, Executive Director of Common Sense. “Students Come First is less about true education reform based on rigorously, externally peer-reviewed research and more about enforcing an ideological perspective.”
In a Jan.26, 2012, visit with the Idaho Press Tribune editorial board, Mr. Luna said, criticizing hard-selling education vendors, that, “In business, you never try to sell a product unless it has proven to have results.” Common Sense questions policymakers’ loose interpretation of the research on which they relied to base new education laws.
“The reform ideas in Students Come First are nothing new,” said Manning. “They’ve been tried in other districts and states across the country for years, but most of the ideas have been abandoned because they’re simply too costly and ineffective.”
In one SCF peer-reviewed paper cited by the DOE, “A Synthesis of New Research on K-12 Online Learning,” it mentions numerous concerns with online learning, including: the divergent data between studies when comparing online students to traditional; program effectiveness, socioeconomic status, school climate, parental involvement, teacher qualifications, learner characteristics; and, perhaps the most critical, virtual school student characteristics: intrinsic motivation, independent learning skills, reading and writing at grade level, consistent parent support and guidance, self direction, and the ability to work well in their own time frame. It was noted that students who lack such skills will find the online environment difficult and un-engaging. Lastly, other major concerns were lack of teacher training, lack of release time, no extra funding, little acknowledgment of teacher efforts, and teachers feeling overwhelmed.
Online learning in particular should be an optional opportunity for students, not a mandated one. Mandated choice forces many students to take classes in a format they simply will not do well in and do not enjoy.
Yet, Superintendent Luna continues to pressure lawmakers into funding online learning, despite numerous concerns from every conceivable direction. On Feb. 2, The Idaho Statesman’s Dan Popkey and Kevin Richer both wrote about the recent lawsuit by shareholders against K-12, Inc., the countries largest online provider based in Herndon, VA.
K-12 CEO Ron Packard, a personal friend of Luna’s, along with K-12 CFO Harry Hawks, are accused of making false statements to investors about students’ poor test scores, and boosting its enrollment and revenue by practicing “deceptive recruiting practices.”
In Idaho, K-12, Inc. runs the Idaho Virtual Academy and iSucceed Virtual High School.
In a damming expose on K-12, Inc. by New York Times reporter Stephanie Saul on Dec. 13, 2011, she notes that “a portrait emerges of a company that tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload and lowering standards.”
Common Sense questions the practice of turning over schools to Education Management Organizations (EMO’s) like K-12 because they use their massive, tax-payer funded profits for marketing efforts, call centers for aggressive recruiting purposes and exorbitant CEO salaries instead of adequately paying teachers.
If the DOE’s own research doesn’t support SCF, if Idaho’s largest online course provider is being sued by its own shareholders because of substandard test scores, and if we fire more educators and increase class size each year to support the SCF laws—what is Idaho gaining from Students Come First?
We encourage citizens to research this issue at our website listed above, to contact their legislators with their concerns, and to vote these laws down Nov. 6, 2012.
The Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho is an Idaho citizen think tank formed in May 2011. They advocate for Idaho parents, teachers and students in governmental affairs.
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