Sunday, March 22, 2015

Teacher Leadership and Tech Advocacy Links

- Teach to Lead helps drive push for teacher leadership
Teacher-leadership programs are taking off in the U.S., among them the Teach to Lead initiative, led in part by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. "What separates [Teach to Lead] is, if you have the backing of the U.S. Department of Education, which has connections and ties to different districts and states, that gives it some authority," said Genevieve DeBose, a National Board Certified Teacher in New York City who helped develop Teach to Lead. Education Week (tiered subscription model) (2/18)
+ http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_ahead/2015/02/honing-the-tools-of-teacher-leadership-teamwork-creativity.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
- Write your U.S. senators to support a stand-alone digital learning program.


The U.S. Senate is moving quickly to revamp the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as the No Child Left Behind Act for the past 13 years. Unfortunately, as drafted, the current Senate bill does not include language for a dedicated digital learning program. We strongly encourage you to write to your senators before Feb. 2 to help them better understand the importance of reinstating a dedicated program for learning with technology.

ISTE believes that all students should have an opportunity to learn in a connected classroom. If we hope to achieve this vision, we must make bold investments and take decisive action to address the growing needs of educators as they transition to digital age learning. Overlooking the importance of a program focused on advancing digital learning for all would be a major misstep for the next iteration of our nation’s K-12 law.

When No Child Left Behind was enacted 13 years ago, it contained a stand-alone ed tech component — the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. Until 2010, when funding was eliminated, EETT provided states, districts and schools with funding for technology professional learning, digital tools and content, and technology leadership capacity.

ISTE believes it is critical that the federal government invest in digital learning, as schools cannot afford to make these significant investments alone. A separate ed tech program will ensure that the federal government prioritizes support for digital education and that all of our nation’s students, regardless of where they live, are engaged in digital age learning.

ISTE has drafted a letter that you can personalize and send to your two U.S. senators with the click of a button. We have less than one week to share with Sen. Lamar Alexander, chair of the Senate education committee, your thoughts about how a separate ed tech program will help meet the needs of students. Don’t delay, please write your senators today! Together, our voices carry!

Send letter

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