Learning Forward Advocacy
Thank you for standing up for professional learning!
On December 5, 2023, more than 3300 people stood up for professional learning on advocacy day at the Learning Forward annual conference. This is a stand we must all make every day. Remember to collect and share stories of the impact of professional learning in your school or learning environment. Learning Forward wants to hear from you.
Call to Action - Save Title II-A
Members of Congress will return after Labor Day and appropriations and continued funding to keep the government open are going to be the issues front and center for every member of Congress. Now is not the time to be complacent. We need to remain vigilant in our efforts to save Title II-A. On July 18, Fred Brown issued a call to action to all educators to help save Title II-A. If you are reading this message, please take a moment to send a message to your members of Congress. Press the blue button below to get started.
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National Harbor, Maryland, December 8 — Learning Forward’s 2023 Annual Conference wrapped up just a few hours ago, but educators’ enthusiasm will live on as they apply new learning about best practices for evidence-based professional learning that leads to improved student outcomes.
Over 3,300 educators, professional learning experts, and policy makers participated in four days of interactive learning about how to respond to the growing and changing needs of students.
On Tuesday, December 5, professional learning for educators took center stage, with conference goers’ massive show of support: most of the 3,300 conference attendees wore blue t-shirts with the message that “Professional Learning IS… stronger schools, it IS teacher retention, and it IS student success.”
“This is a great moment for us all to stand up for professional learning,” Frederick Brown, Learning Forward President & CEO, announced from the stage, calling on educators to show their communities and representatives how coaching, collaboration with colleagues, and other forms of high-quality professional learning are making a difference in their schools. Brown and Melinda George, Learning Forward’s chief policy officer, then asked that auditorium lights be brought up to showcase the T-shirt Tuesday rally.
“When the house lights came on and I could see a beautiful sea of blue t-shirts, it touched my heart and strengthened my resolve. Our movement to expand high-quality educator professional learning worldwide now has deeper roots than ever before, and students will be the beneficiaries,” George said. “Funding for professional learning, especially Title II-A in the United States, has never been more critical.”
“Educators know that high-quality professional learning is essential, but we need everyone to know this and hear about how it works in schools as an accelerant for equitable school improvement and student achievement,” George said. “We are ready to tell this story on a much bigger stage.”
Learning Forward captured numerous stories of impact from district, school, and professional learning leaders at its recent Annual Conference. Look for these stories from the field as we publish them on our blog and in The Learning Professional, in upcoming months. If you have a story to share, please contact us.
Media Contact: Gail Paul, gail.paul@learningforward.org, (513) 379-8153
About Learning Forward
Learning Forward leads the field in making clear connections between high-quality professional learning and student success. As a champion for highly effective professional learning and a catalyst for change, Learning Forward demonstrates evidence and research that inform professional learning decisions. We produce, synthesize, and curate key research and reports that inform best practices. A membership association, Learning Forward provides a combination of publicly available and members-only content and professional services that assist classroom, school, and system leaders in solving their unique problems of practice. Information about the organization, including Standards for Professional Learning, membership, services, and products, is available at www.learningforward.org.
Both the House and Senate are continuing their fitful efforts to complete action on their versions of the 12 fiscal year 2024 Appropriations bills. The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education spending bill, which contains funding for all federal education programs including Title II-A, has not yet been brought to the floor in either chamber, but new House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, is aiming to have the House version of that bill debated and passed the week of November 13. A recently released House draft of that bill shows that the House continues to push for the elimination of Title II-A.
This week, Speaker Johnson is developing a plan to keep the government operating past November 17, when the current temporary budget expires. Reports indicate that he is considering three options:
- Passing a temporary budget that continues all program funding at last year’s levels until January 15, 2024;
- Passing a temporary budget until January 15 which would include a 1% across-the-board cut for all programs except U.S. Department of Defense programs; and
- Passing a temporary budget that establishes different expiration dates for each of the 12 spending bills. Both the 1% across-the-board cut and the varying deadlines proposals are likely non-starters for the Senate and the administration.
Even if Congress manages to prevent a government shutdown later this month, it still seems no closer to agreeing on final spending for fiscal year 2024. The House and Senate versions of the 12 spending bills remain light years apart in terms of funding levels. Additionally, many of the House bills contain poison pill provisions on hot-button topics like abortion and immigration that the Senate and the administration will not accept. For example, the latest version of the House’s Labor HHS Education bill included a provision that requires all K-12 schools to ban transgender student participation on sports teams that do not match their gender, with the penalty being the termination of their federal education funding.
Learning Forward continues to work to bolster support for continued federal education investments in professional learning. Please stop by our advocacy booth at our 2023 Annual Conference, Dec. 3-6, Washington, D.C., to learn how you can contribute to our efforts.
Learning Forward’s Powered by Title II campaign website puts all of the information, tools, and advocacy tutorials in one easy to access online location to enable educator advocates reach their Members of Congress and help convince them to support more Title II funding. On this site, advocates will find:
- The latest news on Title II
- Background facts, stories, research, and data on Title II
- A storytelling tool to assist you in researching and explaining how Title II supports your school district
- Sample letters, talking points, tweets and more to support your advocacy
Evidence, evidence, evidence
Evidence of impact is not optional. From your ESSA plans to Title II to talking with your district superintendent, everyone wants to know when professional development is making an impact and how you know. Learning Forward is here to help. We invite you to join your peers from across the U.S. to share your successes here.
Tell us what Title II funds in your school or district, and most important, what outcomes you see as a result. Outcomes might include improved graduation rates or assessment scores, improvements for specific populations of students, or other indicators that students are experiencing more meaningful learning.
ESSA Toolkits
A New Vision For Professional Learning: A Toolkit to Help
States Use ESSA to Advance Learning and ImprovementSystems. This toolkit helps leaders leverage professional learning as
an essential tool in overcoming systemic inequities and guaranteeing
excellence for all.
Agents for Learning Toolkit: A Guide to Amplifying Teacher
Voice and Stakeholder Engagement. This toolkit suggests ways to cultivate teacher voice and agency in policy decisions and the implementation of professional learning.
This webinar, originally created for our Virtual Advocacy Day, includes advocacy strategies and tips that are applicable to any advocacy effort. Watch to hone your skills, build confidence, and get excited about being an advocate.