 |
  |
 |
|
||
|
On June 6-7, 2011, Immediate Past President and TESOL Liaison Dr. Constance Dziombak joined over 40 other TESOL members representing more than 25 U.S.-based affiliates in Washington, DC for TESOL Advocacy Day 2011. Responding to recent action in Congress and from the White House, this year’s TESOL Advocacy Day was focused on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This was the sixth consecutive annual TESOL Advocacy Day, and it featured a new format, along with an opportunity for general TESOL membership to participate. The event was expanded to include a full day of issue briefings and activities related to education legislation and advocacy, followed by a full day of visits to Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. By the end of the event, TESOL members had visited the offices of more than 100 Representatives and Senators. TESOL Advocacy Day started with welcomes from TESOL Past President Brock Brady and TESOL Executive Director Rosa Aronson. John Segota, Director of Advocacy, Standards, and Professional Relations, and Ellen Fern of Washington Partners, LLC, TESOL’s legislative consultants, chaired the event. The first session featured a briefing from Congressional staff on Capitol Hill’s view of ESEA reauthorization and the key issues under debate, as well as a similar briefing by representatives from the National Education Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. In addition, Dr. Rosalinda Barrera, Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the US Department of Education, provided an update from OELA and discussed the Obama Administration’s proposal for reauthorizing ESEA. On June 7, Past President Dziombak met with senior legislative assistants from the offices of Senators Gillibrand and Schumer and Representatives Bishop, Hayworth, Lowey, and Mc McCarthy to discuss TESOL’s recommendations for ESEA reauthorization and the impact of the current law upon the 300,000 English language learners in New York. Unfortunately, it appears that once again ESEA will not be reauthorized this year. However, smaller educational bills may be passed through the legislature during this Congress. Here is a link to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s latest remarks on ESEA: Sec. Duncan: Revamp No Child Left Behind – Now As NCLB Renewal Stalls, Duncan Vows Flexibility Additional information about TESOL Advocacy Day will be available on the TESOL web site at http://www.tesol.org. If you are interested in learning more about your Congressional representatives and the legislative issues TESOL is tracking, go the TESOL U.S. Advocacy Action Center at http://capwiz.com/tesol.
 |
NYS TESOL Professional Concerns
