NET members visit Capitol Hill. Photos included

Dennis meets the Speaker

Physical education committee NCLB proposal and legislative language

NET members at work, with photos

Hello, NET Members!
Welcome to the August NETwork. NET colleagues Jim Crawford, Kara  Mitchell, and Gail Sunderman joined me in Washington D.C. on July 10-12 to discuss the No Child Left Behind Act with members of Congress and their staffs. Jim, who is president of the Institute for Language and Education Policy, initiated this undertaking and we were joined by several members of that organization. We felt that key players in the reauthorization process listened to reason, for the most part. See the details at the link at left, including my conjecture about what the "new" NCLB would look like if the vote were held today.

     During my stay in D.C., Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi invited me to meet with her. Read all about it.

     The NET's Physical Education Committee demonstrated that it pays to do good work. Its NCLB proposal impressed the staffs of both Congressman George Miller (Chair of the House NCLB effort) and Senator Ted Kennedy (Chair of the Senate effort). The committee wisely followed up their scholarly report with a version written in legislative language—all that staffers need to do now is copy and paste it into the new NCLB law. Let's hope they do, because our nation is eating and couch-potatoing itself to death. The PE Committee's original proposal and their legislative language are this month's committee feature. 

     What have other NET members been up to? Gary Orfield and new member Ana Celia Zentella: Writing eloquent editorials. George Wood: Writing a letter to the editor. Patty Bode: Teaching art deep in the Amazon. Details at left.

Warm regards,  

Dennis