NAPE Partners
with Million Women Mentors
In recognition of National Mentoring Month, NAPE
has joined with Million Women Mentors in launching a
new national campaign to attract 1 million mentors to link with 1
million girls and young professionals for their STEM careers. The MWM
initiative is a collective effort of more than 40 nonprofit, media,
education, government, and industry partners and 9 corporate
sponsors, supporting the engagement of 1 million STEM mentors--men
and women--to increase the interest and confidence of girls and young
women to pursue and succeed in STEM degrees and careers.
As part of the initiative, on January 16, NAPE COO Claudia Morrell
hosted a webinar titled Building
Trust, during which she discussed the importance the
importance of paying attention to the use of subtle but powerful
micromessages in building trust in mentor/mentee relationships.
Because STEM is a bipartisan issue, it is imperative that
congressional policymakers support the initiative and recognize the
growing importance of the need to increase the number of girls and
women in STEM education and career pathways. The kick-off event held
at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, included the debut of
the website,
to be developed in phases. The first phase of the initiative includes
a nationwide call to action by individuals, organizations, and
companies that have an interest in mentoring. Please visit the
website and demonstrate the power of MWM's collaboration community!
Coming up! MWM's International Women's Day Reception events
takes place on March 5th!
CONGRESS
Omnibus
Appropriations Bill Breathes New Financial Life into CTE
On January 16, 2014, the Omnibus appropriations bill known as the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 passed the Senate on a vote of 72-26.
The deal set overall spending levels for the next 2 years and
provided $63 billion of relief from the harmful spending reductions
known as sequestration, split evenly between defense and non-defense
discretionary (NDD) spending through FY14 and FY15. However, this
agreement merely sets the framework for the federal budget.
Congressional appropriators would determine the level of funding each
of the departments, agencies, and programs would receive under the new
$1.012 trillion overall spending level established under the deal.
For the past month appropriators have been in negotiations to craft
12 individual spending bills as part of a larger omnibus spending
package that incorporates each into a single piece of legislation.
Earlier this week, details of the omnibus appropriations bill were
announced and an additional $53 million was appropriated for the Carl
D. Perkins Act (Perkins). This increase, best understood in
comparison to the previously lower levels mandated by sequestration,
will provide additional funding for the basic state grant program
under Perkins, which will help alleviate some of the fiscal pressures
placed on states over the past few years due to austerity measures at
the national level.
The bill also changes the name of the Office of Vocational and Adult
Education (OVAE) to the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult
Education (OCTAE) among other general provisions included in the
legislation.
WIA
Reauthorization
Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) has been
stalled since its enactment in 1998. However, this past year has seen
more activity from both sides of Congress than in recent years, with
Floor movement expected in the Senate in early 2014. The House
Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the Strengthening
Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act (H.R. 803).
Largely identical to the SKILLS Act passed by the Committee in 2012,
the proposed bill would drastically alter the workforce system by
consolidating 35 workforce training programs into a single block
grant. Despite extreme opposition by House Democrats, the SKILLS Act
passed both the committee and the full House.
Later in the year, the Senate HELP Committee introduced the
bipartisan Workforce Investment Act of 2013 (S. 1356), which would
update rather than dramatically restructure current law. The bill
would make a number of positive changes to the system, but it
includes a provision that could siphon up to $17 million from the
Perkins Act to pay for WIA infrastructure costs. The bill has passed
the HELP Committee and is now waiting to be scheduled for a vote on
the Senate floor.
Leadership
Changes in the House Education & Workforce Committee with the
Announcement of Ranking Member George Miller's Retirement
Congressman George Miller (D-CA) has announced that he will not seek
a 21st term in Congress. Elected in 1974 at the age of 29, Miller's
40 years of congressional service includes his past chairmanship of
the House Committee on Education & Workforce. He currently serves
as the Committee's Ranking Member. Miller has been a major force in
education legislation, particularly the reauthorization of Perkins
and WIA. His efforts include working with now-Speaker John Boehner
and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the initial legislation for
No Child Left Behind. One of his most lasting legacies will be his
part in the 2010 Affordable Healthcare Act. In addition to Perkins
reauthorization, Miller has made it clear that extending long-term
unemployment insurance benefits and increasing the minimum wage are
high on his "get it done" list. The 68-year-old legislator
also has been influential in energy and environmental legislation.
Another House
Education & Workforce Committee Member Preps for His Exit
Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) has announced this
week that he will not be seeking reelection. A former businessman,
banker, municipal official, and father of six, McKeon returned to
college at the age of 47 to earn his bachelor's degree alongside his
daughter. A member and former Chairman of the House Education and
Workforce Committee (HEW) and the current Chair of the Armed Services
Committee, McKeon has had long a distinguished career in the House of
Representatives, championing both education and military issues.
ADMINISTRATION
Portia
Wu Nominated to Lead DOL's Employment and Training Administration
Just before the December holiday, President Obama announced the
nomination of Portia Wu as the next Assistant Secretary of the
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department
of Labor. Wu currently serves as Special Assistant to the President
for labor and workforce policy at the White House Domestic Policy
Council. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, she served as
Vice President for the National Partnership for Women and Families,
overseeing work-family and workplace fairness policy. Wu also served
as the Labor Policy Director and General Counsel for the Senate
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee under the leadership
of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. Prior to working in the
U.S. Senate, Wu was an attorney at Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, and
clerked for Judge Richard A. Paez in the U.S. District Court for the
Central District of California. Wu received a BA from Yale College,
an MA from Cornell University, and a JD from Yale Law School. NAPE
joins our many coalition partners in applauding President Obama in
his nomination of Portia Wu. We look forward to her Senate
confirmation and to the opportunity to work with her and ETA on CTE
and workforce training issues.
English-Language
Learner Clearinghouse to Be Revamped
The U.S. Department of Education has chosen Leed Management
Consulting, a small Silver Spring, Maryland, company, to become the
new manager of its $2 million contract for the clearinghouse better
known as NCELA. NCELA was created by Congress more than 40 years ago
to be the go-to source of information for educators on research,
instructional practices, and data on English-language learners.
Researchers and consultants in the education school at George
Washington University have managed NCELA for years, but the
clearinghouse in recent years has lost some of its clout as a
critical resource for the ELL field. Learn
More
School
Discipline Guidance
On January 8, the Departments of Education and Justice released a school
discipline guidance package that will assist states,
school districts, and schools in developing strategies to enhance
school climate and ensure discipline policies and practices comply
with federal law and are effective. Although incidents of school
violence have decreased overall, many schools are struggling to
create positive, safe environments. Every year, significant numbers
of students miss class due to suspensions and expulsions -- even for
minor infractions of school rules- and both students of color and
students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted. Schools
can improve safety by making sure climates are welcoming and that
responses to misbehavior are fair, non-discriminatory, and effective.
The package provides resources for creating positive, safe
environments, which are essential for boosting student academic
success and closing achievement gaps.
Department of
Education's SIG Awards
Secretary Duncan recently announced that seven states will receive
$43.4 million to continue efforts to turn around their persistently
lowest-achieving schools through the Department's School
Improvement Grants (SIG) Program. These grants are
awarded to states that then make sub-grants to school districts that
demonstrate the greatest need for the funds and the strongest
commitment to provide adequate resources to substantially raise
student achievement in their lowest-performing schools. Two of the
states--Arkansas and Kentucky--will receive funds to run a new
competition for previously unfunded schools. The other five states--
Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and
Wisconsin--will receive continuation funds for the third year of
implementing a SIG model. Under the Obama Administration, the SIG
program has invested up to $2 million per school at more than 1,500
of the country's persistently lowest-achieving schools. Early
findings show positive momentum and progress for many SIG schools.
Promise Zones
Launched in Five Communities
On January 8, reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the War on
Poverty, President Obama announced the first "Promise
Zones," where the federal government will partner
with local communities and businesses as they work to create jobs,
increase economic security, expand educational opportunities,
increase quality, affordable housing, and improve public
safety. These first five zones--Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San
Antonio, southeastern Kentucky, and the Choctaw Nation of
Oklahoma--put forward plans that demonstrated a strong local
commitment--an evidence-based strategy for revitalization and high
need. In three of the zones, the Department's Promise Neighborhoods
will play an important role in the revitalization efforts. For
example, in Los Angeles, the Promise Neighborhoods initiative will be
instrumental in expanding a full-service community model from seven
schools to all 45 Promise Zone schools by 2019. The other Promise
Neighborhoods are in San Antonio and southeastern Kentucky. Over the
next 3 years, the President will announce 15 more Promise Zones.
State and
National Civil Rights Data
At the start of the New Year, the Department of Education's Office
for Civil Rights (OCR) released new information from the 2009-10
Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), estimating state
and national data based on a sample collection of school- and
district-level data. The 2009-10 CRDC surveyed about 7,000 districts
and 72,000 schools, representing 85% of the country's public school
students. Technical notes provide some caveats and considerations
that users should take into account when using the state and national
data, particularly for items collected for the first time in the
2009-10 school year.
Last March, OCR released the school- and district-level data and a
document analyzing some of the 2009-10 sample data. The CRDC reveals where
schools and districts are lagging and where they are making great
progress and leading in closing the achievement gap. With this
information, the public can find and learn from schools and districts
defying myths about achievement and opportunity.
OCR continues to refine its technical assistance to help districts
provide data that are accurate and sufficient for meaningful
analysis. The 2011-12 CRDC--which collected data from every public
school--is complete, and OCR expects to release that data in the
first quarter of 2014. Planning is already under way for the
2013-14 CRDC.
OTHER NATIONAL NEWS
Parent
Leadership
On January 13, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) hosted
an Education
Summit for Parent Leaders, presenting on the urgent
need to improve student achievement and close persistent achievement
gaps. "Parents have the power to challenge educational
complacency here at home," Secretary Duncan said in his keynote
address. "Parents have the power to ask more of their
leaders--and to ask more of their kids and themselves. And all of
those will be vital in a time when we are losing ground [on national
and international assessments]." The summit's web site offers a
variety of materials, such as speaker slide decks and videos, videos
of students discussing pressing issues in education, and an extensive
resources page.
STATE NEWS
National
Governors Association Sets Out 2014 Agenda
On Wednesday the National Governors Association (NGA) held its annual
State
of the States Address. NGA Chair and Oklahoma Governor
Mary Fallin along with NGA's Vice Chair and Colorado Governor John
Hickenlooper both offered remarks that laid out the association's
agenda for the coming year. Although the association expressed
frustration with recent Congressional gridlock, it outlined the
contours of a partnership between the federal government and the
states, which they termed "flexible federalism"--something
that they argued would give states greater flexibility in determining
how best to implement and administer programs and policies to better
fit their unique needs.
Among the many priority areas outlined in the address, NGA urged
Congressional action on a number of education and workforce
development legislation including the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) and certain provisions of WIA. Governor Fallin
stressed the importance of aligning education and workforce programs
to the needs of businesses and labor markets, while also calling for
wider adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Although
there was no direct mention of the Perkins Act in the address,
many of the themes contained in the Governors' remarks touched on the
importance of CTE and highlighted the need for some form of
postsecondary education as a "new minimum" for entry into
"America's 21st Century workforce."
A Proactive
Agenda for Women
In late December 2013, the Pennsylvania Legislature's Women's Health
Caucus, whose chairs include State Rep. Dan Frankel and State Sen.
Judy Schwank, made waves by unveiling a women's
health agenda that represents a cross-section of
issues and concerns facing women today. As part of this agenda, State
Reps. Erin Molchany and Brian Sims recently introduced pay equity
legislation. As Rep. Molchany said, "It's about economic
justice, support for families, and making Pennsylvania a national
leader in supporting all of its citizens with the tools to
succeed."
PUBLICATIONS
The
Shriver Report Catches National Buzz
Nationally recognized journalist Maria Shriver has released her
latest Shriver
Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink.
The report documents the high prevalence of poverty and near-poverty
in America today, with practical solutions from the public and
private sectors. Based on analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy
Research and produced in partnership with the Center for American
Progress, the Shriver Report explains how paying women equally for
the same work as men would benefit men and women--and strengthen the
financial security of American families around the country. In fact,
it would cut the poverty rate for women in half. The report covers
other public policies that would also boost women's potential as
breadwinners, such as paid leave--a workplace policy that 96% of
single mothers said would help them the most.
