Thursday, August 23, 2007

NCLB hearing in Tampa: Opportunity to Give Input to Congress on NCLB!!

Opportunity to Give Input to Congress on NCLB!!
Meet with Congresswoman Kathy Castor and the Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman George Miller.

Monday, August 27, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association
4505 North Rome Avenue
Tampa, FL 33603
(813) 238-7902

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

New Bill Strives for Success in the Middle

Source: http://p8.hostingprod.com/@www.principalspolicyblog.org/blog/2007/08/new_bill_strives_for_success_in_the_middle.html

 

New Bill Strives for Success in the Middle

Middle level reform is finally receiving national attention now that Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) has introduced the Success in the Middle Act (H.R. 3406). The bill, which would create a Middle Schools Improvement Fund, will likely be incorporated into the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

“Middle schools are a forgotten area in this whole NCLB reauthorization process,” Grijalva said in a press release announcing the bill’s introduction. “We need to invest in the most crucial years of the education pipeline to ensure our students succeed.”


The Success in the Middle Act was drafted by NASSP in collaboration with National Middle School Association, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, and a number of other education organizations. The groups joined forces earlier this year to promote joint recommendations for NCLB reauthorization, and the Grijalva bill is a key piece of the agenda to improve middle level education. Specifically, the bill would:

  • Authorize $1 billion for the Middle Schools Improvement Fund to help local school districts improve low-performing schools that contain middle grades
  • Require states receiving a grant to implement a statewide plan for improving student achievement in the middle grades
  • Ensure that statewide plans describe what students are required to know to successfully complete the middle grades and succeed in an academically rigorous high school that prepares students for postsecondary education and the workplace
  • Require states and districts to develop an early-warning data system to identify those students most at risk of dropping out and implement interventions that will help those students succeed
  • Ensure that states and districts invest in proven intervention strategies such as providing professional development and coaching for school leaders, teachers, and other school personnel to address the needs of diverse learners and use challenging and relevant research-based best practices and curricula; and developing and implementing comprehensive, schoolwide improvement efforts in the nation's lowest-performing schools; and implementing student supports such as personal academic plans, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time, which help all students to stay on the path to graduation
  • Authorize an additional $100 million dollars to facilitate the generation, dissemination, and application of research to identify and implement effective practices that lead to continual student learning and high academic achievement at the middle level.

The future success of NCLB rests largely on the shoulders of middle level leaders, teachers, and students. Students in grades 5 through 8 represent 57% (14 million) of the nation’s annual test takers, but students are leaving middle level schools underprepared for the rigorous academic and social demands of successful high school participation and completion. NASSP firmly believes that the Success in the Middle Act will ensure greater academic achievement in high school, lower dropout rates, higher graduation rates, and more students attending college in the future.

Take action! The House Education and Labor Committee is moving quickly on NCLB reauthorization and plans to mark up a bill when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. As a school leader, you are in a prime position to educate your members of Congress about the needs of middle level schools and their students. Visit the Principal's Legislative Action Center (www.principals.org/PLAC) and urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Success in the Middle Act. 

 

Friday, August 03, 2007

Legislative Alert .. Contact Your Representatives Today!

Contact Your Representatives Today!

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) has sent out a Dear Colleague letter to members of Congress asking for original co-sponsors for the Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act. ASCA has worked closely with her office to help write the legislative language that would increase secondary school counselors in high-need Title I Schools.

Now we need YOUR help. Contact your representatives today and ask them to sign on as original co-sponsors of this important legislation. Co-sponsors are needed TODAY.

Following is the text of the Dear Colleague letter:

Want to Increase High School Graduation Rates In Your District?
Put More School Counselors Where They're Needed!

Dear Colleague,
As we move closer to the reauthorization of the landmark No Child Left Behind law, we must examine and address our national drop-out problem. That's why I invite you to join me as an original co-sponsor of the "Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act."

Professional secondary school counselors are an integral part of the effort to increase graduation rates. School counselors can identify potential problems early in a student's school career and make sure that they are addressed before students become overwhelmed and drop out.

The average counselor-to-student ratio in America's public schools is one to 479, a ratio that hardly allows for individual attention and intensive support. The American School Counselor Association and the American Counseling Association recommend a ratio of one school counselor to 250 students and a lower ratio for counselors working primarily with students at risk.

If we are serious about leaving no child behind, we must admit that schools are not factories and children are not widgets. We must place more counselors where there are more students at risk.

The Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act would do just that. This bill would authorize a limited demonstration program, placing additional professional secondary school counselors in schools with drop-out rates of 40% or more. These additional counselors will work intensively with students at risk of dropping out and will collaborate with parents, teachers, and others to create a comprehensive plan to get these students back on the right track. Moreover, similarly situated schools around the nation could benefit from the lessons learned by participating schools. This legislation is supported by the National PTA, the American School Counselor Association and the American Counseling Association.

Please become an original co-sponsor of the Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act. To learn more about this important legislation, or to become an original co-sponsor, please contact Celeste Drake (x5-6676) in my office today.
Sincerely,
LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ
Member of Congress