[Ecoed] Fwd: [NCSE] Environmental Education and the No Child Left Behind Act- ACTION ALERT

[David Kirschtel]

> From: "NCSE" <ncse at ncseonline.org>
> Date: 27 June 2007 4:19:54 PM EDT
> To: <ncse at list.ncseonline.org>
> Subject: [NCSE] Environmental Education and the No Child Left  
> Behind Act- ACTION ALERT
>
> Environmental Education and the No Child Left Behind Act
>
> ACTION ALERT
>
> Urge Congress to Authorize Environmental Education in the "No Child  
> Left Behind Act"
> As a member of the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, the  
> National Council for Science and the Environment, encourages you to  
> speak out on this opportunity. The federal No Child Left Behind Act  
> (NCLB) is up for reauthorization.  This presents a golden  
> opportunity for Congress to include environmental education (EE) in  
> the new version of this far-reaching education legislation that  
> impacts schools nationwide.
>
> We urge you to take action now!  The House Committee on Education  
> and Labor is considering language that supports EE in the latest  
> proposed bill, expected to be voted on during the week of July 9.
>
> With the nation facing complicated environmental issues like  
> climate change that will challenge us for years to come, it is  
> critical that schools provide our young people with a solid  
> grounding in environmental education. Unfortunately, environmental  
> education is being left behind as an unintended consequence of the  
> federal education law called No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Right  
> now, Congress is rewriting NCLB and has the opportunity to include  
> environmental education in the new version. Please contact your  
> legislators today and to let them know how important environmental  
> education is in preparing today's students for the challenges of  
> tomorrow. Go to www.fundee.org/campaigns/nclb/ for more information  
> on this issue.
>
> The Problem
> Environmental education is facing a national crisis. Many schools  
> are being forced to scale back or eliminate environmental education  
> programs. Fewer and fewer students are able to take part in related  
> classroom instruction and field investigations, however effective  
> or popular. State and local administrators and teachers point to  
> two factors behind this recent and disturbing shift:
> (1) the emphasis on high-stakes math and reading tests that has  
> discouraged interdisciplinary instruction, and (2) a lack of  
> funding for these critical programs.
>
> The Solution
> Now is the time to tell your legislators that environmental  
> education should be a priority for inclusion in the NCLB and can be  
> included in these ways:
> -- Provide funding to help states develop rigorous environmental  
> education standards, as well as to improve teacher training in  
> environmental education.
> -- Require state educational agencies to create plans for  
> integrating environmental education into their K-12 curriculum to  
> ensure that graduates are environmentally literate.
>
> What You Can Do
> 1. Write an email urging your Senators and Congressmembers to  
> support inclusion of environmental education in NCLB. Go to  
> www.fundee.org/campaigns/nclb/ and click on "Take Action" for a  
> sample email that you can easily send in 15 seconds.
> 2. Call your Senators and Congressmember's office and ask to speak  
> to the education staff person. Let him or her know how important it  
> is to you that environmental education be included in NCLB and  
> mention the talking points above. Go to  www.congress.org/ 
> congressorg/directory/congdir.tt to find your legislator's phone  
> number.
>
> By making a few changes to NCLB, we can dramatically improve our  
> schools' ability to prepare children for real-world challenges and  
> careers – and ensure an environmentally sustainable future.
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a  
> non-profit organization working to improve the scientific basis for  
> environmental decisionmaking.  NCSE is supported by nearly 500  
> academic, scientific, environmental, government and business  
> organizations.
>
> If you no longer wish to receive emails from NCSE, please follow  
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