Testimony Too Profound to Ignore

Through the words of a teacher and in-depth research, NEA exposes lawmakers to the urgent need for school modernization.

Brick by brick, NEA's campaign to modernize America's public schools is helping build a new consciousness on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are learning that unmet infrastructure and technology needs are greater than they ever imagined.

A modernization campaign update:

• In testimony this March before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, California NEA member Jeffrey Chin pointed out that, even in schools where technology is available, "software, hardware, and Internet connections often go unused because teachers lack the skills and knowledge necessary to integrate them into daily classroom activities."

  Chin, a computer literacy teacher at the Elliott Alternative Education Center in Modesto, noted that many of his colleagues must still teach themselves how to run a computer.

  "It's like teaching yourself how to drive," he lamented.

  "We must ensure," Chin told Con-gress, "that all students have access to the latest technology and that all teachers receive training that enables an effective integration of technology into the curriculum."

  The stakes for learning, concluded Chin, are too high to do otherwise.

  "I have seen how technology has enhanced the educational experience for students, introducing them to new ideas, and spurring their creativity and enthusiasm in new and different ways," he said.

• NEA has examined teacher technology training and technical support in a comprehensive, state-by-state assessment of unmet school modernization needs. The results from that assessment have been shown to members of Congress and White House staff and are opening eyes--very, very wide.

  Total unmet modernization needs, for everything from school renovations to technology maintenance and repair, amount to $307.6 billion. Of that sum, $253.9 billion is needed for infrastructure and $53.7 billion for technology.

  "Nobody doubts these numbers," says NEA researcher Faith Crampton.

  That's because the NEA researchers who collaborated on this study worked with NEA state affiliates to unearth state-by-state data.

  "We asked our affiliates not to come up with their own data," Crampton stresses. "They had to work with state agencies to find comprehensive, timely, and accurate information on infrastructure and technology needs."

  Where state data yielded insufficient information, the NEA researchers consulted independent sources, including policy literature, government Web sites, and online databases of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments.

  Dig this deeply, and you'll find some surprises.

  "We learned that the enrollment-related cost of constructing new buildings and deferring maintenance is far greater than previously documented," notes NEA staffer Jan Hagey. "The need is huge."

  "And we discovered that three-quarters of the state technology plans have no cost estimates!" adds NEA researcher Crampton.

• NEA's school modernization assessment, which began in March 1999, is part of the three-year NEA Legislative Change Project. The goal of this groundbreaking initiative: Help NEA affiliates in states with the greatest infrastructure and technology needs develop school modernization action plans.

  "At an initial meeting this summer," says Crampton, "we hope to match state affiliates that need legislation with states that have passed meaningful school modernization legislation within the last two years--and are now experienced in the implementation of those new laws."

  "The goal," she explains, "is for 'mentor' and 'target' NEA state affiliates to develop an ongoing relationship of networking and assistance, through face-to-face meetings and electronic networking."

  The NEA assessment data will be an invaluable lobbying tool in these "target" states.

  "This is information that was not previously available," notes Hagey. "Legislators crave state-by-state information to make comparisons--and now no state policymaker can say, 'School modernization doesn't concern us.'"

• At the federal level, NEA's school modernization data "really makes our point that the scope of the problem is so great that the federal government needs to form a partnership with states and local school districts to help subsidize some of these costs," says NEA lobbyist Joel Packer.

  The NEA data, Packer adds, have "already been been pretty widely used on Capitol Hill"--from a Democratic lawmaker press conference on a proposed $1.3 billion loan and grant program for emergency school repairs in high-needs districts (H.R. 3705, S. 2124) to a Republican briefing for co-sponsors of zero-interest school modernization bond legislation (H.R. 4094 and S. 1454).

  "Having this information on both the national and state-by-state level really helps hammer NEA's point home," concludes Packer, "and really helps crystallize the stakes for each member of Congress. Our schools and kids need help now."

For more information on NEA's school modernization campaign, go to www.nea.org/lac/modern.

Fifteen-Minute Activist

• The goal: Build support in Congress for legislation to modernize America's public schools.

• Your assignments: Urge your senators and your representative to co-sponsor bills that would make interest-free school modernization bonds available to states and school districts (H.R. 4094 and S. 1454) and make $1.3 billion in grants and loans available for emergency school repairs in high-needs districts (H.R. 3705 and S. 2124).

• Here's how to get started: Go to www.nea.org/lac/modern.