July 31, 2006 7:00 PM EST
It appears that the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) is doing something right with regard to its advocacy work concerning Indian Education and NCLB. The report issued by NIEA “Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country” has caught the attention of “The Education Sector” an Independent Washington based think tank. The report Echo Chamber: The National Education Association’s Campaign against NCLB by Joe Williams July 2006. The report mentions that the National Indian Education Association was one of the “Civil Rights” groups that have criticized NCLB and received funding from NEA a $5000 contribution on April 6 2005. The suggestion is that The National Indian Education Association (NEA) wrote the critical report after it had received funding from NEA.
Nothing could be further from the truth since NIEA began the process of holding hearings which were all transcribed verbatim prior to NEA contribution to the organization. Those hearings were held in 11 Native American Communities across the United States and were initiated because the manner where by the US Department of Education was holding its hearings on NCLB and the Education of American Indian and Alaska Natives required under President Bush's Executive Order on American Indian and Alaska Native Education (EO 13336). The hearing held in The Twin Cities had an invitational list of witnesses that didn’t cooperate with the department official holding the hearing who repeatedly told witnesses that she didn’t want to hear information related to the topic of the testimony being given by the witness related to NCLB. That the testimony happened to be negative in tone didn’t deter the witnesses who had been invited for speaking their mind. Other individuals who attended were reportedly very concerned for not being allowed to speak and for the manner the Department of education attempted to control the answers being given.
That event alone was the single most important event for causing NIEA to hold its own hearings on NCLB. As an Independent advocacy organization I don’t suppose it could allow the federal government to tell NIEA what its own constituency was thinking. There in lay the reason why NIEA decided to hold hearings and that was long before a contribution. Indeed, the cost of the hearings and of the report was born by revenue from members of NIEA.
Senator Pat Murphy of Washington State is quoted as saying, “I’ve seen your preliminary report on "No Child Left Behind in Indian Country." I think it's an excellent start to educating Congress on the impact of this law. It is critical that you take the time over the next year to not only educate the House and Senate but to also develop specific proposals for reauthorization. Over the next year, the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate HELP Committee will be holding hearings on NCLB, and we need to hear from you.” http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=251610. It is more then likely this is the real reason why NIEA is getting noticed because NIEA is becoming more effective in getting the message of its constituency across.
Senator Murphy’s February 15, 2006 news release in part discusses his ideas related to NCLB and the education of Indian students.
“And the President’s budget also shortchanges Indian education. He freezes funding for Impact Aid and Title VII. He eliminates the Johnson O’Malley program. And despite a $1 billion backlog for new facilities and critical repairs, he cuts Indian school construction by $50 million.
We cannot expect any schools, including tribal schools, to improve without providing appropriate funding. So I'm very concerned about the priorities in the President's budget. They don't reflect my priorities. In the coming weeks, I'm going to be using my position on the Budget Committee to try and put the investments where they're needed most.
All of us here today know that schools throughout the country are struggling to meet the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act. For Indian Country, one of the real challenges of No Child Left Behind is – How can we improve Indian education while respecting and promoting tribal culture and language? Title VII of the Act lays out one strategy, and the President issued an executive order two years ago to provide some more proposals.
But I'm very concerned that the way the law is being implemented does not allow for a culturally-based education. The key ingredients must be curriculum, teaching, parents and community involvement. Unfortunately, NCLB stifles those roles. I've got other concerns with NCLB – especially with how this Administration is implementing it. This Administration has focused solely on rigid testing that may not be appropriate for all kids. That rigid test is based on curriculum that ignores programs such as music, art, and language which are not just critical to an Indian child’s education but all children.
I'm also concerned that children could be blamed if their schools don't perform well. As you know, the law requires schools to look at how all children are doing in a school. However, the law intended schools to use that information to provide support for so-called low-performing students, not blame those children causing the school to not meet AYP. Children should not be blamed as individuals or as a group for a school’s lack of success under the law. It is also important that we explore ways of looking at students’ gains over time as opposed to the snapshot method currently used under NCLB.
So we've got a lot of things to fix – and as you know, we are supposed to reauthorize NCLB in the next Congress. I've seen your preliminary report on "No Child Left Behind in Indian Country." I think it's an excellent start to educating Congress on the impact of this law. It is critical that you take the time over the next year to not only educate the House and Senate but to also develop specific proposals for reauthorization. Over the next year, the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate HELP Committee will be holding hearings on NCLB, and we need to hear from you.”
So NIEA is starting to have an positive effect by actively seeking out what its constituency believes about the issues of NCLB and has begun to effectively advocate for that constituency. USA Today, July 10 2006 in reporting on the Education Sector Report states, “For the new report, Education Sector senior fellow Joe Williams examined federal tax forms filed by the NEA. He does not charge that the union broke or evaded the law. But "at the very least, it appears the NEA has actively pursued partnerships" with groups fighting the law, he says. In the effort to effectively advocate for it constituency NIEA appears to have found a kindred spirit in NEA.”
Relevant Documents
Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country National Indian Education Association and the Center for Indian Education
http://www.niea.org/sa/uploads/policyissues/29.23.NIEANCLBreport_final2.pdf
Echo Chamber: The National Education Association’s Campaign against NCLB, The Education Sector
http://www.educationsector.org/analysis/analysis_show.htm?doc_id=382069
USA Today July 10, 2006
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-07-10-nea-no-child_x.htm
Links
NIEA
http://www.niea.org/issues/
NEA
http://www.nea.org/index.html
The Education Sector
http://www.educationsector.org/
©Big River Man News July 31, 2006 7:00 EST
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