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A Practical Guide to Talking With Your Community About No Child Left Behind and Schools in Need of Improvement

Terry Ryan
10.22.2003

Learning First Alliance
2003

The Learning First Alliance, a collection of education organizations that represent about 10 million individuals, produced this guide to NCLB, intended to be used by local education leaders. It encourages them to discuss the law with the public and enlist their support in meeting its goals. Guidance offered include strategies school leaders can use when talking to parents, students, and citizens; explanation of key NCLB provisions and the timeline for meeting the law's requirements; and talking points for school district leaders to use with the media. The guide also provides general items for educators and parent advocate groups, including a two-pager entitled "35 Things you Can Do to Help Your Children Succeed in School." There are also links to other organizations with useful information on NCLB and ways to support it. This is a handy tool for school leaders who want to better understand and garner support for NCLB, though it's not likely to calm the critics. To check it out for yourself surf to: http://www.learningfirst.org/publications/nclbguide/.

Tags: No Child Left Behind Act

Terry Ryan was Vice-President for Ohio Programs and Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and a Research Fellow at the Hoover Research Institution.

He is the author, with Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Michael Lafferty of Ohio’s Education Reform Challenges: Lessons from the Frontlines (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

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