N E T w o r k                     march  2007  vol. 1, no.3

Hello, NET Members!
As you probably know, the Aspen Institute, in the company of a number of House and Senate members (on the steps of the Capitol, no less) recently released a warm, wet kiss of an assessment of the No Child Left Behind Act. A few days later, Senator Ted Kennedy stated that he would release a “marked up” version in April. A few days after that, ten members of the Senate released a statement harshly critical of the Act. So the conversation has started. The NET, a voice of teachers for children, needs to be part of it. Jacqueline Kenneally, our tireless secretary, is working through Speaker Pelosi’s office to secure our executive board a meeting with the House Education Committee.

One thing this means is that now is the time to turn our attention to funding. Texas Tech appears willing to provide the NET with office space and to fund my personal expenses (although the official approval has yet to happen). For matters beyond that, we must look elsewhere. Several of you responded to my call for funding source suggestions. I asked that you suggest entities that you felt comfortable approaching. Now is the time to approach them. Will those of you who contributed names of funding sources please send me, by March 15, a brief report of your initial contact with them?

Our next big task
The Executive Board is prepared to present hard research on the effects of NCLB to the House Education Committee—but that is only half of our job. The Committee’s first question might be, “What should be done about it?” We then need to apprise them of what current research suggests should replace NCLB.

Committee chairs, please start gathering and summarizing research-driven data from your members that answers this profoundly important question. Our final document must be a good deal more detailed than the bulleted NCLB critiques were. Make your reports as lengthy as necessary. Now that the discussion has begun, every day without the NET’s input places us a day behind, so will you please send me something by March 20? Even a mere beginning, if that’s all you have. More can come later. Some of our committees included the beginnings of such proposals at the ends of their bulleted critiques. Those were an excellent start. Now flesh them out until you feel that they are complete.

Belonging to the NET isn’t necessarily easy. Belonging to the NET is important—to tens of millions of children. Thanks to each of you who participates in the monumental mission of creating A FAIR AND ACCURATE MEASURE 0F WHAT OUR CHILDREN KNOW.

Committee update
1) Get to know the people on your committee.
The great organizer Sol Alinsky said that organizations are most successful if they are built on relationships rather than shared goals. His argument was that relationships endure while goals can change. So committee chairs and members, please contact each other and get acquainted. Lend your human dimension to that faceless email address.

2) Volunteers needed to chair three committees.
We have filled all of our committee chair slots except for Math/science, English/reading and surprisingly, Gender. Please recommend yourself, or someone you have full confidence in (whether they’re in the NET or not), to assume these responsibilities. We want the NET to continue growing. We now have fifty members from fifteen states (and one rogue Canadian). That is satisfying after only four months of existence, but we want representation in every state (and the six U. S. territories, for that matter).

Contacting our Congressional representatives
How is your relationship with your district representative developing? Each NET member needs not only to initiate this relationship, but also to maintain it with periodic contact. The NET’s argument on the testing question is going to be quite powerful and you could be the means by which a resistant representative changes his or her vote. One of the most important tasks you can perform for public education is to build a relationship with your elected representative. Right now is a difficult time because our Reps are in D. C. squabbling about Iraq, but their staffs can tell you when they will be in their home districts, and they usually are very willing to set up appointments. Best wishes on this.

Until next time
Committee chairs, please send me:

1) The beginnings of your research-supported materials for replacing NCLB by March 20.

2) Your new committee members’ highest degrees, institutional affiliations, professional titles, emails, phone numbers, and if applicable, their website URLs.

Members who suggested funding sources, please send me:

1) A brief report on your initial contact with your source by March 15.

Everyone, please send me ASAP:

1)     Names of people you recommend to serve on our Math/science, English/reading, and Gender committees.

And . . .

1) Let’s get to know our fellow NET members.

2) Let’s all work on our relationships with our individual House representatives.

Let’s catch all those children left behind!

Warm regards,

Dennis