A Parent's Voice and ESEA

ESEA? What’s that?

Ever heard of “No Child Left behind”? This legislation is officially known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and it’s up for re-authorization in Congress; a valuable opportunity for parents, teachers, administrators and communities to share their thoughts and concerns with members of Congress in an effort to improve student achievement through innovation and policy improvement.

Now, re-authorization does not simply mean re-approving the existing law(s). Under the NCLB title this legislation was given a massive facelift during its last re-authorization, changes that caused concerns with school districts and parents nationwide.

PTA is working with members of Congress to strengthen ESEA, not to rubber stamp it. As a local school board trustee in South Carolina, I have seen, first hand, how the current legislation calls for a series of mandated policies or programs with little to no funding. PTA is working to address not only funding concerns, but issues around parent involvement, teacher recruitment and overall accountability.

Today, we’re asking that you get involved. We will not have the opportunity to have an open and meaningful discussion on excessive testing; narrowing funding; teacher support; and parent involvement unless our members of Congress hear from us, the voters! Please join PTA in making sure that our children have the tools to succeed, that our teachers have the support they need to be innovative and that our administrators have the funding to guarantee all of our expectations are met.

All of this requires your voice, and the voices of your friends, families and neighbors.

Please help us help our schools. Join the conversation!

Until next time,
Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors- president, National PTA