The Wall Street Journal and countless media outlets reported Education Week’s best and worst school systems by state in the United States last month, and the report on Yahoo.com is below:

Top 10

1. Maryland ranked at the top for the fifth straight year
2. Massachusetts
3. New York
   
4. Virginia
5. Arkansas
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. New Jersey
9. West Virginia
10. Kentucky
    

Bottom 10:

1. South Dakota
2. Nevada
3. Idaho
4. Alaska
5. Mississppi
6. Nebraska
7. Montana
8. Arizona
9. Oregon
10. Missouri

But it’s not the only study. Michelle Rhee, has her own report, according to Huffington Post. She is the former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor and chair of StudentsFirst. Click on that link for a map of the U.S. with grades per state. Pennsylvania gets a D.

Frankly, I am way more interested in education reports than in daily national media coverage of Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te’o's creation of a virtual girlfriend debacle and whether or not Beyonce lip synced the national anthem. It’s time we all made education a priority.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.  

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and I grew up loving football with my dad Walt Strosser, a legendary high school football coach. My hubby is an assistant football coach and all five boys in this blended family played the game.

My oldest has been a San Francisco 49er fan since he was a tot. We’ve been to San Diego — but not San Francsco, and today our hearts are close to San Francisco — hoping for a win over the Baltimore Ravens.

My son has had a 49ers baseball cap every year that I can remember. They aren’t easy to find around here. He started as a fan in the glory years of Jerry Rice and Steve Young.  He lives in Virginia, and I know his girlfriend has already taken care of the hat for this year.

One of my daughter’s friends loves the team too. It’s kind of in the family — except for my youngest’s love of Green Bay Packers — but even he is rooting for San Francisco today.

I don’t know much about the players for either team in today’s game. But I do know the coaches are brothers. That in itself is an interesting story.

Tony Bennett, will hopefully sing “I left my heart in San Francisco” at some point during today’s festivities. If not, watch the video of a 1960s version here. And here’s his 1982 version on Johnny Carson. It’s associated more with the San Francisco Giants than the Niners, but who doesn’t love Tony Bennett? He first sang the song in 1961.

Good luck to both teams, and Go Niners!

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.  Her oldest son has been a San Francisco 49er fan for more than 20 years.