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September 2009 --
Report from MESPA NAESP State Representative Jean Clark
Challenging Congress for Support:
400 Elementary and Secondary Administrators with a Common Platform
Dick Oscarson and I attended the 2009 NAESP-NAESP National Leaders’ Conference in Washington, D.C., in July along with 400 other elementary and secondary administrators from across the nation. The purpose of this visit was for us to call upon Congress with a common platform of key issues regarding the positive and negative effects of No Child Left Behind, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Dick and I left Capitol Hill with our secondary association principal counterparts (MASSP) energized and exuberant, feeling like this was one of our most successful trips ever. We spoke with Senator Amy Klobuchar, as well as Senator Al Franken’s aide, and we had an unexpected surprise. While we were meeting with Senator Franken’s aide, the senator himself stepped in briefly to say hello and gave us a moment to have our picture taken with him. We all said how thrilled we were to have him in Washington and he chuckled and said, “Me too!” What a great moment!!
Not only did we see our to senators, but we saw all eight of the Congressional leaders or their aides. We spent a great deal of time discussing our concerns over the reauthorization of the ESEA, sharing personal stories about  | | MESPA leaders raised Congressional awareness of Minnesota education issues during the NAESP/NASSP Leadership Conference, Washington D.C., July 2009: (L-R) MASSP President-Elect Pete Olson; MASSP Coordinator Mary Pat Cumming; MESPA NAESP State Representative Jean Clark; MASSP Executive Director Joann Knuth; MASSP President Don Johnson; and MESPA Past-President Dick Oscarson. |
our school districts, and discussing the three new bills we are asking Congress to support.
Below are the key issues, three new bills, and talking points that we addressed with our state representatives and senators.
KEY ISSUES IN PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP: Focusing on Instruction and the Whole Child
High-quality professional development for principals is a critical element in ensuring successful student learning and increased academic achievement. Research from the Wallace Foundation has found that the school principal is second only to instruction in raising student achievement.
- NAESP calls on Congress to provide principals access to quality professional development that addresses instruction leadership, family and community engagement, cultural competency, literacy education, and the effective use of data to inform instruction.
- NAESP strongly supports President Obama’s call for increasing the School Leadership Program by $10 million in his FY10 budget.
As reauthorization of ESEA approaches, principals call on Congress to make common sense and much-needed changes to some of the basic tenets of the underlying law:
- Allow the use of multiple assessments and growth on formative assessments to be used in gauging whole school success;
- Allow English language learners to develop English proficiency before their test scores count
 | | Minnesota education leaders meet with Senator Al Franken. |
to student or school success; - Allow students with disabilities to be assessed on the grade level recommended by the IEP team using assessments selected by that team; and
- Allow the national graduation rate to be extended to within five years of entering high school and allow for students with disabilities to complete high school before age 21 to be counted as a graduate.
KEY LEGISLATION
Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) ACT
Soon to be introduced.
The LEARN Act would support comprehensive state and local literacy programs to ensure that children from birth to grade twelve have the reading and writing skills necessary for success in school and beyond.
Success in the Middle, H.R. 3006 and S. 1362
Sponsors: Representative Raul Grijalva and Senator Jack Reed
Success in the Middle would authorize federal investments for improving the education of middle grades students in low-performing schools via formula grants authorized in Title ( and allotting funds to create and disseminate promising research on best practices to improve achievement in middle grades education in Title II.
Graduation Promise Act
Soon to be reintroduced.
Sponsors: Representative Ruben Hinojosa and Senator Jeff Bingaman.
The Graduation Promise Act would build the capacity of high schools to reduce dropout  | | Minnesota education leaders meet with Senator Klobuchar. |
rates and increase student achievement through a federal-state-local school reform partnership focused on transforming the nation’s lowest-performing high schools.
YOUR VOICE IS IMPERATIVE
With the current state of the economy and the leadership at our state level, it is imperative that you have a voice in what it happening in education at both the state and national level. As my position winds down, I challenge each of you to continue to stay informed and involved the current educational issues we are faced with so that we can be knowledgeable when discussing our concerns with our local and state representatives, as well as community members. The issues and talking points listed above will help you when you have that opportunity. We need do to all that we can as principals, to continue our quest in contacting our representatives and senators about these key issues so that a strong and clear message is sent about investing federal dollars for adequate funding in education.
As I reflect on my last trip to Washington, D. C., I want to thank you for the tremendous opportunities I have experienced over these past six years as your MESPA NAESP state representative. Not only have I lobbied hard on your behalf, but I have met many influential politicians from across our state as well as outstanding principals from across the nation.
Over the years, I “stormed the hill” with hundreds of administrators  | | Minnesota education leaders meet with Representative Bachmann. |
over and over again to visit our state representatives and senators to continue to address the key issues regarding adequate funding levels for Title I, the School Leadership Program, special education, literacy programs, professionals development for principals and share our personal experiences and frustrations within our own school districts. We fought continuously to make an impact as we told our personal stories.
Did we make a difference? I’d like to think so. General Counsel Charles P. Rose, U.S. Department of Education, spoke to our gathered principal leaders – and it appears that Congress has listened. All the priorities we have worked for over years should become effective. Outstanding politicians like Senator Amy Klobuchar and retired Congressman Jim Ramstad took the time to not only listen to what we had to say, but actually “hear” what we are telling them. Rep. Ramstad received MESPA’s Champion for Children award in 2004-05. And now we have another great senator, Al Franken to support the tremendous work that Senator Amy Klobuchar has already done.
I wish only the best to the next Minnesota NAESP representative as I pass on the privilege to “storm” Capitol Hill.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” -- Barack Obama
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