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In his keynote address, Van Roekel urged educators to take the lead in creating sound education policies and take charge of the teaching profession. He announced that NEA will create a new commission on effective teaching that will bring together accomplished teachers, Association leaders, researchers, and policymakers from across the country to offer recommendations on how teachers can take greater authority over their profession, the quality of teaching, and the quality of public education. According to Van Roekel, accountants, nurses, doctors and lawyers all have a say in the professional standards, processes and procedures that govern their practice, and he says that educators should have that same influence over their own profession.
On the political front, Van Roekel criticized the Department of Education’s focus on grant competitions that reward just a handful of states or districts. He specifically mentioned Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. “While we applaud the administration for its commitment to fund education, our members are frustrated by the disconnect between what they need each day to support their students and schools and the federal policies that hold up struggling students as products to be tested,” Van Roekel said.
Delegates stepped up and took action this week to influence their members of Congress. At the Representative Assembly’s Legislative Action Center, delegates sent 13,000 email messages to federal lawmakers on education-related topics. More than 840 educators videotaped messages to their senators and representatives in Washington, D.C. Thousands also wrote down on postcards the specific provisions they want to see when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind, comes up for reauthorization this fall. Those messages will be delivered to Education Secretary Arne Duncan before the debate heats up in Congress.
Throughout the week, delegates learned more about NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign where NEA affiliates and educators are already making a difference. At Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City, Okla., for example, graduation rates for Hispanic students are up by nearly 70 percent because of a combination of targeted academic programs, parental involvement and professional development. In Evansville, Ind., administrators and union officials launched an equity schools project to transform schools through professional development for teachers and extended learning time for students. In Denver, Colo., teachers, the union and parents have teamed up to build the Math and Science Leadership Academy, where teachers emphasize collaboration that focuses on student learning.
linkThe debate isn't all or nothing. Teachers want their voices heard, but the focus is still on reforming the system. The goal is to come to a consensus on what works.