Who we are
Original statement co-signers' biographies
New co-signers
Background
In late 2006, as the reauthorization date for the federal No Child Left Behind law approached, policy makers began to consider changes in the law to remedy its obvious shortcomings. Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, convened a task force to consider the broader context of the law in the nation's approach to education and youth development policy. Helen Ladd, a Duke University economist; Pedro Noguera, a noted education policy expert and New York University professor; and Tom Payzant, former Boston schools superintendent and U.S. assistant secretary of education, agreed to serve as co-chairs.
The task force, with writers Ted Fiske and Bella Rosenberg, proceeded to draft a statement to articulate the theme that the nation's education and youth development policy has erred by attempting to rely on school improvement alone to raise the achievement of disadvantaged children. Rather, school improvement, to be fully effective, must be complemented by a broader definition of schooling and by improvements in the social and economic circumstances of disadvantaged youth. Several task force members agreed to prepare background papers providing the research evidence for key items in the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education statement.
The statement was unanimously adopted by the task force in December, 2007. Following its adoption, the statement was presented to a wide variety of national experts, with diverse backgrounds, religious, and political affiliations, in public policy fields including education, social welfare, health, housing, and civil rights.
In the spring of 2008, a short version of the statement was produced, to appear in newspaper advertisements and other publicity. The short version was unanimously adopted by the task force and additional signatories and it was released on June 10th, 2008. Widmeyer Communications handled the release and the dissemination effort.
Support
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (www.nmefdn.org) provided support for this effort. The Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality and effectiveness of education. Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has distributed more than $86 million in grants. In January 2008, it realigned its strategic priorities in order to focus on affecting the profound change and improvement necessary in education.
"We are pleased to support the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education campaign," said Nicholas C. Donohue, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, New England's largest philanthropy that focuses exclusively on education. "The Task Force reminds us that proper health care and a safe and nurturing environment are keys to learning. We are hopeful their initiative will promote a new conversation about the next stage of education reform."
The task force also received support from an anonymous donor whose philanthropy focuses on the well-being of disadvantaged children. In addition, the task force received support from the Economic Policy Institute's education research program.
Original statement co-signers' biographies
New co-signers
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