GETTING THE WORD OUT
This is an information and action based area to address Environmental Alerts and other Environmental Education based issues.
Attached, please find the Advocacy Update for November 7, 2011 and a 1 page document on the Case for an Executive Order on Environmental Literacy. Please act on the action items, share them with others, and help us build an EE advocacy network in NJ.
Pat SkellyEE Advocate
EE.advocacy@gmail.com
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ESEA Blueprint For Reform
NAAEE Blueprint Memo
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Environmental Literacy included in Obama's new Education Budget: Historic First
We just logged a major victory for No Child Left Inside, perhaps our most significant. President Obama’s budget that was released yesterday includes environmental literacy in the U.S. Department of Education budget for the very first time. We now have the Obama administration officially on our side, and better yet, in their budget.
President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made innovation and student achievement a major platform of the Obama Administration and as a result have included environmental literacy in a new program. The proposed budget includes a new $1.0 billion for Effective Teaching and Learning for a Complete Education program designed to improve instruction to support college- and career readiness standards, in part through the use of technology to deliver high-quality content. The new program includes 3 components:
- Literacy: $450 million, an increase of $36.7 million, to consolidate 7 existing Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs into a new program that would help States and local education authorities improve literacy skills by supporting professional development and improved instructional materials.
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): $300 million, an increase of $119.5 million, or 66 percent, to expand the Federal investment in improved teaching and learning of STEM disciplines, especially in high-need schools and school systems, and prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers.
- A Well-Rounded Education: $265 million, an increase of $38.9 million, or 17 percent, to consolidate 7 current authorities and expand support for the subjects important to a complete curriculum, including: history, the arts, foreign languages, environmental literacy, and economic and financial literacy.
What does it mean? In the short term, it means that we can expect President Obama’s education bill (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, formerly known as No Child Left Behind) to include language from the No Child Left Inside Act, which will help force the hand of Congress, where we already have 87 House cosponsors and 17 Senate cosponsors.
We still have a great deal of work to do, and we will continue to count on you to take action and stay involved. In the meantime, congratulations to all of you—you made this happen!
While this is a only one step in the process, it is a big one. Thank YOU!
To become involved with NJ efforts to advance environmental education policies and laws, sign up to receive regular e-mail from from Pat Skelly, NJ EE Advocacy Coordinator, at ee_advocacy@yahoo.com.
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Guidelines for Excellence
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No Child Left Inside Coalition Adds its 1000th Member!
The NCLI Coalition recently passed a major milestone as we welcomed our 1,000th member. We reached this remarkable accomplishment as part of an amazing Chicago wave of support for NCLI. In recent weeks, a dozen organizations from the Chicago area have joined and today the Coalition has 46 member groups from the state of Illinois .
Indeed, it has been a remarkable year. In December 2007, the Coalition’s membership totaled just over 100 organizations. Since then, we have grown ten-fold as more and more people hear about our mission.
Today our membership reflects the involvement of groups interested in the environment, education, conservation, outdoor recreation and public health, as well as many businesses and faith-based groups.
In all, our member organizations represent a whopping 47.5 million Americans!
It is that broad representation that has propelled our success. Thanks to all of you, we won passage in the House of Representatives for the No Child Left Inside Act this fall. This victory gives us critical momentum toward winning final passage of the Act in the next Congress.
As always, we thank Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland , our lead Senate and House sponsors, for their tireless work to improve environmental education in America .
"The No Child Left Inside Coalition has brought together a diverse group of individuals and organizations from across the country to help us strengthen and expand environmental education in America 's classrooms," said Senator Reed. "I am pleased the coalition continues to grow and build support for passing the No Child Left Inside Act. In a tough economy and an even tougher appropriations process, we'll need a strong effort from coalition members nationwide."
Congressman Sarbanes also added his congratulations: “I would like to congratulate the No Child Left Inside Coalition on achieving this extraordinary milestone. You were the driving force behind all of our progress this year. With one thousand members and growing, we will have an army of advocates to sustain our momentum during the 111th Congress. I look forward to working with the coalition to see No Child Left Inside Act through to law.”
With the leadership of our sponsors and the support of more than 1,000 committed organizations, we are confident that our message will continue to be heard loud and clear.
Grassroots Coordinator
No Child Left Inside Coalition
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A Grassroots Victory in Washington for Environmental Education
We are pleased to report that environmental education won a major boost today when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008.
The bill received bipartisan support and was approved by a vote of 293 to 109.
This is only one step in the process, but it is a major one and gives us enormous momentum to keep working to pass the bill in the months ahead. And the vote represents a victory for all of us who care about environmental education.
We know from our work on Capitol Hill that we passed this bill because of the grassroots interest and energy of our members across the country. Those calls, visits, emails and letters made an enormous difference.
So thank you for everything you and your organizations have done in support of No Child Left Inside! You have turned this Coalition into a powerhouse.
Please take a minute to send an email to thank those members in the House who supported the NCLI Act.
Our Coalition, formed only a year and a half ago, is growing every day. Today we have more than 745 member organizations, with more than one in every state in the country, representing well over 40 million people who understand the value of environmental education.
We’ll be in touch soon with information about next steps. For now, enjoy a victory that will one day pay great dividends for our kids and our environment. And continue to spread the word about No Child Left Inside.
For more information about the NCLI Act and our Coalition, visit www.NLCLICoalition.org.
Abby Ybarra, Grassroots Coordinator
No Child Left Inside Coalition
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The No Child Left Inside Act of 2008 is now on the schedule for Thursday September 11. They are adjourning for much of today for a memorial service for the late Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones.
The House session starts at 11 am that day with consideration of a resolution in memory of those who served on September 11, 2001, which may go quickly to a vote, OR may go on for the full time possible so that every member of the House can have the opportunity to have a speech in the Congressional Record-I have no idea! HR 3036 is the next bill after that.
You can get updates of the agenda from http://fednet.net, and watch the proceedings live at http://c-span.org; click on "Live TV/Video" on bar, top right.
Please circulate this news to others who might be interested. If you have not yet contacted your Representative, please call or e-mail now! If you know of others who have not contacted their Representative, let them know that they now have the time, and encourage them to do so!!
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UPDATE: House Vote on NCLI Act Scheduled for Next Week
We have news that the House of Representatives will vote on the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008 either Tuesday September 9 or Wednesday September 10.
As we prepare for the House vote, we want members of Congress to hear from their constituents about the importance of environmental education.
We urge you to send the attached Action Alert to all of your members.
Thank you for your support! For more information about the NCLI Act, visit www.NCLICoalition.org.
Abby Ybarra, Grassroots Coordinator
No Child Left Inside Coalition
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Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:57:26
Dear NCLI Coalition Members:
We received big news: the full House of Representatives is planning to vote on H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008 in September. This gives us several weeks to make our support known to all members of Congress.
We are asking all NCLI Coalition members to take two steps:
Have your organization request a meeting with your member of the House – or a key staff person – in the district office during the August recess, which begins August 4th. The goal of these meetings is to let members of Congress know that their constituents care about the NCLI Act, educate them about the benefits of the legislation and ask for them to vote “Yes” for NCLI when it comes to the House floor in September. We are also asking that you send feedback and intelligence from your meetings to Abby Ybarra so we know where your Representative stands on NCLI.
Please let us know if you need help or advice in reaching out to a congressional office. At our website are some documents that might be helpful for your meeting, including a one-pager on the legislation and talking points for your meeting. Please also consider bringing local articles about NCLI and connecting kids to nature to the meeting. Visit our wiki to find articles, or contact us for recommendations.
Help us to build the NCLI Coalition. Today, we have more than 546 member organizations, representing over 42 million people. But we know there are other groups that support environmental education. In particular, we would like your help soliciting sportsmen’s groups, faith-based communities, recreation organizations, and businesses that understand the value of teaching kids about the natural world.
We will keep you posted as we come nearer to the vote in September. And we will send out an Action Alert to help mobilize our ever-growing network – to make sure our message is heard in the fall. For more information, visit www.NCLICoalition.org.
With your help, we can take advantage of the next several weeks to educate Congress and build support for improving environmental education.
As always, thank you for everything you do!
Abby Ybarra & Lucas Johnson
Grassroots Coordinators
No Child Left Inside Coalition
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The Federal House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee YESTERDAY, APPROVED the release to the full House H.R. 3036 the "No Child Left Inside" Act. All 3 NJ members of the Committee (Holt, Payne, and Andrews) voted YES on the Bill. It now goes to the floor of the House for a vote. The Bill has bi-partisan support from 62 co-sponsors, including 7 from New Jersey: Andrews-(D) 1st District, LoBiondo-(R) 2nd District, Saxton-(R) 3rd District, Rothman-(D) 9th District, Payne-(D) 10th, Holt-(D) 12th District, Sires-(D) 13th District. A statement from Committee Chairman Miller is below.
SOURCE: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel061808ncli.html
Chairman Miller Statement at Committee Mark-Up of H.R. 3036, the "No Child Left Inside Act"
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC -- Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, for a committee mark-up of H.R. 3036, the "No Child Left Inside Act."
The Committee will now consider H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act, sponsored by Congressman Sarbanes.
Environmental education has been with us for a long time. Outdoor education, such as field trips to local nature reserves, has provided countless children with their first exposure to the splendor and fragility of nature, and the impact people have on it.
Now we need to make environmental education an even more important part of students' school years.
In addition to getting kids outdoors, we must teach them about the environment as if our society and our local communities depended on it – because the fact is, they do depend on it.
When we teach students about critical environmental issues like climate change, energy conservation, air pollution, and habitat conservation, we are clearly preparing them to be better stewards of the earth.
And as more and more businesses 'go green,' environmental education will prepare new generations of students to be environmental innovators – developing products and processes that are crucial to the future health of the environment and the economy.
Just as importantly, studies in the last several years from the National Environmental Education Foundation and other organizations offer encouraging evidence that environmental education improves teaching and learning in a number of other ways.
For example, according to the foundation, environmental education can help improve students' motivation to learn, reduce disciplinary problems in the classroom, build students' critical thinking and social skills, and boost student achievement in other areas of the curriculum, including math and science.
I'm proud to say that California has been a leader in environmental education. The state is in the process of developing an Environmental Education Initiative to integrate the subject into the classroom.
H.R. 3036 will help states across the country make environmental education an integrated part of their schools' curricula.
The bill and the substitute that will be offered later extend the National Environmental Education Act.
The bill and the substitute create opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional development in environmental education. They bring teachers into contact with working professionals in environmental fields and encourage mid-career environmental professionals to pursue careers in environmental education.
The bill and the substitute also add a new program to help develop capacity for environmental education. They authorize funds to expand environmental education, develop state environmental literacy plans, and disseminate information on proven environmental education programs.
I'd like to thank Congressman Sarbanes for his leadership on this issue.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Thank you.
ANJEE was one of the early members of this Coalition, which now has over 350 member organizations.
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The Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) promotes excellence in the field of environmental education.
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In support of this, the ANJEE Executive Board voted unanimously at the March Executive Board Meeting to adopt the national environmental education guidelines that have been established for the field of environmental education. |
The environmental education guidelines are designed for use by environmental education (EE) providers; that is, non-formal and formal educators who develop or deliver EE materials, programs, classes or training programs while working with students in grades K – 12, teachers and teachers in training, or other EE professionals.
Beginning in 1993, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) developed a series of guidelines that set the standards for high-quality environmental education (EE) and NAAEE is encouraging the use of these guidelines by EE providers in each state.
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According to NAAEE, the use of these guidelines by EE professionals nationwide will help ensure the development of balanced, scientifically accurate, consistent and comprehensive environmental education programs, services and resources.
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The guidelines can be examined or downloaded online for free by going to NAAEE’s web site at www.naaee.org/programs-and-initiatives/guidelines-for-excellence.
To learn more about how ANJEE will introduce, promote and use these guidelines contact Mr. Jerry Schierloh, Director of ANJEE’s Environmental Education Advancement Group, at jts4green@optonline.net.
Now is also an excellent time to make the formal decision to adopt these guidelines for your own use. Our commitment to developing an environmentally literate citizenry can best be done by environmental education programs that meet the professionalism and credibility that these guidelines promote. To learn more about the guidelines, contact Dr. Bora Simmons, Director of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, at boras@niu.edu.
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Urge Your Representative to Co-Sponsor the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007
On July 12th, Maryland Congressman John P. Sarbanes introduced the standalone "No Child Left Inside Act of 2007". The bill was assigned number H.R. 3036 and was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor for possible action. This bill urges Congress to include critical environmental education measures in the No Child Left Behind law. Please encourage your Representative to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation!
With the nation facing complicated environmental issues that will challenge us for years to come, it is critical that schools provide students with a solid grounding in environmental education. But because of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), many schools are scaling back or eliminating environmental education programs. Congress has the opportunity to change this with the reauthorization of NCLB.
The language in the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 recommends including environmental education in NCLB in these ways:
Help us guarantee that no student is left inside when it comes to the learning about their environment.
1. Urge your Representative to co-sponsor the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 and support inclusion of environmental education in NCLB. Send an e-mail now. (Letters are subject to security checks that delay them considerably and may be too late to be effective.) You can use a web based form to contact your legislator at: secure2.convio.net/cbf/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=435&JServSessionIdr011=yxp5q0w5a5.app20a
2. After sending your email or fax, call your Representative's office and ask to speak to the education staff person. Tell him or her how important it is that your Representative co-sponsor the No Child Left Inside Act. You can find "Talking Points" on the web at: www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_sub_actioncenter_federal_nclb_points
3. If you'd like to continue to receive updates on this bill send a message to ee_advocacy@yahoo.com Tell your friends, family, and colleagues by forwarding this alert to them. Ask them to contact their Representatives. By making a few changes to the NCLB education bill, we can dramatically improve our schools' ability to prepare children for real-world challenges and careers and ensure an environmentally sustainable future.
Source-ANJEE: The Alliance for New Jersey Environmental EducationFor additional information on ANJEE visit www.anjee.org
For additional information on the bill visit www.eenclb.org
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