This afternoon, when I opened the mailbox, I found an envelope from my school--one of those standard "To the parents of" deals that I was sure was my first semester report card or some other sort of mundane business. However, when I opened it, I was greeted with a brightly colored brochure with "Revolution Prep" stamped across it, as well as a typed message on my school's official letterhead.

I've been getting these mailers a lot, recently--today's is probably the fifth or so of its kind. My school appears to have partnered with a private test preparation company, Revolution Prep, to offer SAT prep classes and mock tests on our campus, while sending home aggravating promotional brochures. I'm not quite sure what our school is getting out of this, but judging from the California budget crisis, I'm pretty sure they're receiving some sort of cut from the company.

I don't agree with the SAT, especially the manic obsession my school already has with preparing for and "acing" it. Furthermore, judging from the amount of pressure I've seen kids face when it comes to this Test of all tests, I don't think that my school's stated goal of just trying to help us do better is going to be met by sending us ads for prep companies.

However, what really bothers me is that my school--a public school in a more affluent part of Southern California--is resorting to private endorsements masked as feigned concern for the well-being of its students. Either our school's individual priorities need sorting out, or we seriously need to get some money towards education at the state level, so that public institutions can stay public.

Do any of you guys have advertising or endorsements at your school? How do you feel about them?