A Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA
We, the administrators of United Opt Out National, in order to preserve a free and equitable system of public education in the United States, do solemnly issue an invitation to the leadership, members and ultimately Dennis Van Roekel to take direct and concerted action in the fight to terminate immediately the patterns of negotiation and capitulation leading to policies destructive of public education, of children’s lives, both of which are representative of a derogation of educational professions. We see the most damaging policies as follows: implementation of an untested set of national common standards, punitive high-stakes standardized testing, and the unreasonable evaluation and remuneration of professional educators based on these policies.We expect the NEA leadership to step forward and live up to its mission ofpreparing all children to succeed by officially denouncing any policy that undermines public education and ignores the uniqueness of each student and the value of a rich, diverse and dynamic curriculum. While the nation’s eyes and ears are focused on the largest gathering of educational professionals in
