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March 15, 2010
Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues:
Today, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released their blueprint for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to the U.S. Congress. This is the first step in renewing the federal education law since it was amended by the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, and serves to motivate Congress to act on the development of new policies that will shift how we educate our children.
The cornerstone of the administration's ESEA blueprint focuses on raising achievement in the nation's lowest-performing schools by demanding dramatic and expedient improvement. The Secretary aims to do this by being "Tight on the goals, and loose on the means." The proposal sets high expectations for states and school districts, and provides changes in policy such as removing the requirement that low-performing schools institute public school choice options before providing other supplemental education services to improve student achievement. Most importantly, it requires states and districts to place a high priority on supporting principals and teachers, and requires educators to have access to quality, on-going, and job-embedded professional development. We are particularly pleased to see this recognition and emphasis on induction and mentoring for aspiring principals and those new to the profession. We know that student achievement depends on both outstanding teachers and strong school leaders - second only to teaching, school leadership is the most important factor that leads to improved student academic performance.
While the proposal gives a solid overview of the goals, with which we wholeheartedly agree, it is troubling to see only a glimpse of the means. In some instances, the proposed plan points out how the programs might be implemented. In many of these cases, the implications are downright disturbing. You may remember that Secretary Duncan proposed changes to the School Improvement Grants program last year that were later codified in federal regulation. These changes-applied to the lowest-performing schools across the nation-require schools to implement one of four school reform models. Each of these models results in the replacement of the current principal while providing new principals greater authority and autonomy over their schools and staffs along with enhanced support and resources. NAESP adamantly opposes the faulty assumption that the replacement of the existing principal would result in immediate school reform and we are dismayed to see its inclusion in the administration's proposal. We know that all principals require the necessary time, authority, and autonomy to make sustainable changes to improve schools.
The ESEA blueprint also requires states to develop their own definitions for effective and highly effective principals and teachers, and districts to develop their own plans to evaluate principals. While NAESP does not support the label "effective" and "highly effective" principals as determined by the federal government, we're concerned that the proposal would require states to rely too heavily on student assessment scores and not enough on multiple measures of performance when creating the definitions. Further, we believe issues relating to principal evaluation are the prerogative of state and local agencies.
As Congress moves forward with legislation that may include many of the policy priorities presented in the blueprint, we look forward to hearing from you so that we can incorporate your views. Principals are encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns with NAESP by sending an e-mail to: advocacy@naesp.org. Your input is critical to our efforts.
We will continue to share the latest proposals as we obtain them and provide updates and information from Washington, D.C. In return, we ask that you keep us informed with your honest thoughts and feedback on the issues that you care about the most in terms of the potential impact on our schools and the education of our nation's children. NAESP serves you best when we accurately represent the collective voice of our members on Capitol Hill and before the administration.
Thank you in advance for your attention and response. We look forward to representing you as the legislative process to reauthorize the ESEA proceeds. We are proud to advance the profession on behalf of elementary and middle-level principals in service to all children.
Sincerely,
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