Coalition Building Activities
Like many Washington-based education organizations, NASSP participates in multiple coalitions and there is much overlap with respect to organizational representation in each of these coalitions. The primary purpose of these coalitions is to share information and promote common messages and agendas, where possible. Activities such as joint Capitol Hill visits and “sign on” letters are examples of activities that evolve from coalition participation.
Following is a list of most of the coalitions in which NASSP participates, along with a brief description for each. In addition to the organizations listed below, there are coalition-building activities that emerge through the natural course of our daily work with these organizations.
Committee for Education Funding
A formal coalition with permanent staff and an office founded in 1969 with the goal of achieving adequate federal financial support for our nation’s educational system. The coalition is voluntary, nonprofit and nonpartisan. CEF members include educational associations, institutions, agencies, and organizations whose interests range from preschool to postgraduate education in both public and private systems. NASSP participates in a number of CEF activities including an e-mail list-serve, weekly meetings, joint letters, advocacy on Capitol Hill, and an annual Gala dinner and legislative conference.
Elementary and Secondary Education Organizations Working Group (El/Sec)
A very loose working group made up of approximately 50 elementary and secondary organizations. The general mission of this working group is to compare notes and find consensus on legislative and regulatory matters that we might jointly or separately address through common messages. The group has monthly meetings, and an El/Sec e-mail list-serve provides a forum to accomplish much of the work outside of the group’s formal meetings.
Adolescent Literacy Working Group, National Adolescent Literacy Coalition, and Partnership to Advance Adolescent Literacy
The premise of these three coalitions is to advance awareness and funding for adolescent literacy initiatives. NASSP and the International Reading Association established the Adolescent Literacy Working Group, which is very informal and operates similarly to the El/Sec Working Group (see above). The National Adolescent Literacy Coalition is a formal coalition that meets on a quarterly basis and includes participants, including researchers, from outside of Washington, DC. The Partnership to Advance Adolescent Literacy meets on a regular basis and includes publishing companies. There are roughly 50-100 participating organizations between the three coalitions. Currently NASSP, the International Reading Association, the Alliance for Excellent Education, and a number of other groups are working in tandem to support the Striving Readers Act, a bill to create a national adolescent literacy initiative for middle level and high school students. This effort evolved as a result of these working groups and coalitions.
National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE)
NCPE is a formal coalition without permanent staff that is active in fighting movements that divert funding from the public education system. The group has been active in neutralizing many voucher initiatives that have cropped up at both the federal and state levels, and includes members representing educational, civil rights, and religious constituencies.
Middle Grades Coalition on NCLB
As part of this informal coalition, NASSP meets regularly with the National Middle School Association, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, and other education groups on the common agenda of improving middle level education. In 2007, the coalition sent a joint statement to Congress outlining our legislative priorities and recommendations for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act. We have also drafted legislation to assist the nation’s lowest-performing middle schools, which we hope will be included in the NCLB reauthorization bill.
IDEA Full Funding Coalition
This coalition supports mandatory “full funding” of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). “Full funding” refers to the federal government’s commitment to pay 40% of the Average Per Pupil Expenditure (APPE) costs of educating special education students. Check out the coalition’s formalized plan to reach full funding.