Thursday, November 5, 2009

Politics K-12: Tribal Leaders Voice ESEA Renewal Ideas


Politics K-12: Tribal Leaders Voice ESEA Renewal Ideas:

"The U.S. Department of Education has taken its Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization tour all the way across the street: to the National Museum of the American Indian, literally across Independence Avenue from department headquarters in Washington.

An event today gave tribal leaders, in town anyway for a White House conference on Native American issues, a chance to share their ideas for renewing ESEA, of which the No Child Left Behind Act is the current version.

As you probably remember, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said recently that the NCLB 'Listening and Learning Tour' has reached a new phase. Instead of just touring the country, Ed Department officials are reaching out to specific stakeholders to find out what they think needs to be in the new version of the law. Two assistant secretaries, Carmel Martin (planning, evaluation, and policy development) and Thelma Melendez (elementary and secondary education), spoke at the event, but they kept their comments brief and mostly listened."