Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Eisenhower prof.dev. funds



I got the message below from the NSTA today. Every school district has
Eisenhower funds, apparently, and these funds are used to provide
professional growth for science and math teachers. They can be used to pay
teachers' expenses when they attend NSTA meetings or AAPT meetings. Summer
workshops for science and math teachers are usually funded with Eisenhower
funds, too, in grants given to universities that compete for them. For many
teachers, Eisenhower funds are the ONLY professional development funds that
they ever benefit from, so they are very important.
Cheers,
Jane
----------------------

FY 1998 Budget Still Undecided

The atmosphere of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill
following last year's election has evaporated.
Republicans have serious concerns about the President's
plan to balance the budget and about funding for some
education programs, such as volunteer testing for
fourth grade reading and eighth grade math; the America
Reads Initiative, which proposes to help every student
to read by the third grade; proposals to provide tax
breaks for students pursuing higher education; and
federal funding of school construction.

President Clinton submitted his federal budget request
for FY 1998 in mid-February, proposing an 11 percent
increase for the Department of Education. The
Eisenhower Professional Development Program is targeted
to receive $360 million, an increase of $50 million
from 1997.

After days of testimony by Department of Education
officials on funding for fiscal year 1998 before the
House and Senate Appropriations Committees, both
legislative bodies have yet to produce their spending
proposals (By law Congress is required to prepare a
budget resolution by April 15.)

So NOW IS THE TIME for all members of the NSTA
Legislative Network and their colleagues to write to their
Congressperson and Senators and ask for their full
support of education funding. In particular, ask your
legislators to match the President's proposal to fund
the Eisenhower Professional Development program.

In your letter be sure to include a personal
experience of how these funds have helped you (and
your students). If you have not yet used Eisenhower
funding, convey to legislators how important
professional development is to you and why continued
funding to support teacher training is critical.

Write to your representative at
Honorable (firstname lastname)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510

Write to your senators at
Honorable (firstname lastname)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515

Although we saw an increase in education appropriations
last year, many education initiatives, including the
Eisenhower program, could be in jeopardy this year.

Your representatives need to know your opinion on
these issues. They need to know that they have the
vocal support of educators like yourself as they
develop spending priorities and balance the budget. A
simple note (1 -2 paragraphs) on your school letterhead
is all you need to send. We urge you to write today,
and ask your colleagues to do the same!

Jane Jackson, Prof. of Physics, Scottsdale Comm.College (on leave)
Box 871504, Dept. of Physics, Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ 85287-1504.
phone:(602) 965-8438 fax: 965-7331 e-mail: jane.jackson@asu.edu
Modeling Workshop Project: http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html