It's Time to Get Involved
by Elizabeth Ahlgren, NEA Director, Morse HS

I just finished my first NEA board meeting. It was a great experience and the highlight was lobbying our members of Congress. Going to "the hill", whether speaking with legislative aides or an actual member of Congress, my only message was that NCLB is very flawed and we need the next reauthorization of ESEA to look very different.

The message carried by all of the NEA board members is to use multiple measures of growth instead of a single test score, look at growth models and not just whether or not our students have reached proficiency, and let's reduce class reduction. When each of these topics is mentioned, we would hear, "We've gotten a few calls on this."

Here's where we all can help. Write, call or e-mail your own member of Congress and have someone from your school/program, draft a letter for the member of Congress who represents your school community and have your staff sign it. It only costs the price of a postage stamp and a little time, but it is imperative that our policy makers in Washington understand just how widespread our concerns are.

When you write, send your letter/post card to the local office as it gets there faster. Why is speed important? There's a move to get ESEA reauthorized this fall. Many legislators do not want to run campaigns while this issue is still open. We would rather they slow the pace and get it right than hurry up and we get another flawed piece of legislation.

To help you out, here are the addresses:

Susan Davis
4305 University Avenue, Suite 515
San Diego, CA 92105
Phone: 619-280-5353

Bob Filner
333 F St.
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Phone: 619-422-5963

Brian Bilbray
462 Stevens Ave., Suite 107
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Phone 858-350-1150

Duncan Hunter
1870 Cordell Ct., Suite 206
El Cajon, CA 92020-4136
Phone: 619-448-5201

Darrell Issa
1800 Thibodo Road, Suite 310
Vista, CA 92083
Phone: 760-599-5000