NEA President Shares Thoughts on NCLB With Washington Post

By Dennis Van Roekel first appeared in Valerie Strauss’ The Answer Sheet Nine years ago this week President George Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act that: a. Stunted the creativity and critical thinking skills of American public school children b. Prevented teachers from tapping into the full potential of their students [...]

NEA Says Ed Reform Must Include Languages

By Amanda Litvinov World languages and international education are crucial to the future success of America’s students — and that’s why NEA is part of a coalition working to increase our schools’ capacity to teach them. “Our students deserve an education that prepares them to be global citizens,” said NEA Executive Director John I. Wilson [...]

NCLB: The Next Generation

By Alain Jehlen More focus on standardized test scores and new ways to punish educators. That’s what the Obama Administration has proposed in a “Blueprint” for revising No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Firing entire staffs over low test scores, as happened in Rhode Island and other states, is one of the strategies endorsed by the [...]

NEA Delegates Celebrate Nation’s History, Future of Education

By Amy Buffenbarger  NEW ORLEANS – On the second day of the 89th Representative Assembly – Independence Day – patriotic delegates form the National Education Association turned the convention hall red, white, and blue, honored the legacy of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and pledged to further his vision of quality public schools for all children.  The July 4th tribute [...]

Questions the Media Should Be Asking About Education

What happens when Lily Eskelsen,  the Utah teacher who serves as vice-president of the NEA, heads to the set of Fox News to discuss real education reform? Not a lot of discussion about real education reform, unfortunately. Here’s her behind-the-scenes look, taken from her blog, LilysBlackboard.org: I knew what was coming. I knew from the [...]

Digging Into the Alphabet Soup of Education Policy

By Will Potter Can’t tell your RTTT from your AYP? Here is a quick primer to help decipher the alphabet soup of education policy. ESEA The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 was one of the key pillars of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. It created the Title I federal aid program [...]

Race to the Top Wins Send Mixed Signals

By Cynthia McCabe March 31, 2010 — When the Obama Administration this week awarded $600 million in Race to the Top grants to Delaware and Tennessee it sent a strong signal about the power of collaboration with educators for school districts hoping to achieve real education reform. But even as the Administration was indicating it [...]