NCTE to Establish Washington DC Office in July
by Kent Williamson, NCTE Executive Director
May 2005 Council-Grams

In November 2004, the NCTE Executive Committee approved establishment of a program office in Washington, D.C., during fiscal year 2006. After months of investigating alternative sites and a national search for a new Program Officer to advance Pre-K-12 initiatives, the office is on track to open in July. It will be housed in a suite of rented offices owned by the Association for Career and Technical Education located at 1410 King Street in Alexandria, Virginia, and will be staffed by Washington Office Director Bill Subick, Senior Program Officer for Federal Relations Sandra Gibbs, Senior Program Officer for Higher Education Paul Bodmer, and our newest staff member, Senior Program Officer for PreK-12 Education Barbara Cambridge.

NCTE’s headquarters office will remain in Urbana, Illinois, and activity at both the DC office and NCTE West will continue to be coordinated by Executive Director Kent Williamson. Before reviewing how staff will expand services to NCTE through this new structure, it’s useful to examine the roots of the decision to open a DC office.

Why Washington, Why Now?

For many years, NCTE has been unique among the subject-matter associations in having neither a headquarters office nor a satellite office in Washington, D.C. There were many reasons for this -- traditionally, most education policy is made at state and district/departmental levels, and NCTE has not sustained efforts to influence national education policy for extended periods of time. But over the past three years, three trends have converged to make a compelling case for a Washington, D.C., office:

1. The nationalization of education policymaking. Ironically, a conservative administration has used the tools of federal policy and assistance to attempt to reshape both K-12 education (through the No Child Left Behind Act) and postsecondary education (through reauthorization of the Higher Education Act). By attaching conditions to state and local education funding, pushing a narrow research agenda, and challenging the roots of teacher education, policymakers have “federalized” education policy to an unprecedented extent. While we have little reason to expect that we can “win over” a majority of lawmakers to NCTE positions in the short term, the planning and conversations about where literacy education policy is headed is centered in the nation’s capitol, so we must participate if we hope to influence change in the long-term.

2. Growing interest in literacy education policy among an eclectic mix of non-governmental organizations centered in Washington, D.C. Gone are the days when NCTE, IRA, and MLA were the main organizations researching, debating, and seeking to influence policy regarding how students best learn to use and understand language to learn and reach their full potential. Today, there are numerous foundations, publishers, policy organizations, professional development groups, and think tanks devoted to these topics. While they can be found in other cities across the country, they are concentrated in Washington, D.C. It is from them that ideas and trends emerge that influence grant availability, key programmatic developments, and campaigns to influence public opinion. If we fail to be a very visible participant in these discussions, a convener of groups with overlapping agendas, we will be marginalized when decisions are made that affect the conditions of teaching and learning English language arts.

3. NCTE leaders have adopted a strategic governance leadership model that helps us focus on rapid development of policy, research, and programs relevant to the most important issues our members face. By shifting the time it spends from administrative concerns and internal management to issues that are rapidly transforming our field, the NCTE Executive Committee has picked up the pace of policymaking to such an extent that we can begin to start shaping policy discussions outside of our organization rather than just responding after the fact. But to do this effectively, we need the sustained efforts of well-informed staff and volunteer leaders at the venues where national policy decisions are made.

What Will the Washington, D.C., Staff Do?

Our staff in Washington, D.C., will cultivate close working relationships with allied organizations to advance official NCTE policy, to win grant support and contracts to extend NCTE initiatives, and to inform the membership about the latest developments in literacy education policy. While they will not serve as the principal liaisons to our Sections and constituent organizations (this role will be undertaken by administrative liaison staff at the Headquarters office), they will be “resource people” who can share information and expertise across NCTE Conferences, Sections, and other constituencies. Members can count on regular informational updates on the Web site and through e-mails from the DC and West office staff, all designed to support a more vigorous level of grassroots action. The Washington, D.C., staff will also be able to provide assistance to members who are visiting the DC area and need information or supporting pieces to use when visiting a legislator or policymaker. Any general questions for NCTE staff should still be directed to the Executive Director’s office, or to the administrative liaison for your Section, Conference, or other group.

How Will the NCTE Staff and Volunteer Leaders Work Together to Advance Teaching and Learning?

In any complex organization, teamwork is essential. To better understand roles and responsibilities of our restructured staff and volunteers, consider how newly adopted NCTE positions on Multimodal Literacy may be transformed into programs and policies in the months ahead. This link provides an overview of actions taken on Multimodal Literacy at the February NCTE Executive Committee meeting (http://www.ncte.org/about/gov/cgrams/120705.htm).  Since passing these actions:

• The NCTE West Office Director has been in contact with numerous organizations and local initiatives based on both coasts to compile a Web site of model multimodal learning and assessment activities. This will be reviewed by expert volunteers and published as a resource for members and policymakers by mid-summer.
  
  
• As the Washington, D.C., office staff settles in, they will use our policies on multimodal learning in their work with influential groups like the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the International Society for Technology and Education, and others.

o The Federal Relations Officer will be prepared to share what NCTE knows about multimodal learning as legislative staffers seek information regarding technology use in schools and the value of interdisciplinary studies.

o The PreK-12 and Higher Education Program Officers will make our positions known to carefully selected allies, all in an effort to expand teacher access to technology, to showcase successful programs, and to protect teachers’ freedom to use the methods and materials they select.

o The Executive Director and Washington Office Director will be alert to grant opportunities to extend the work we have done in creating the English Language Arts Literacy Map, or could do to help bridge the digital divide.

• The Headquarters-based publications and professional development teams are designing online courses and resource kits to assist teachers who want to use our online treasury of lessons and interactive programs to advance student learning (see http://www.readwritethink.org). As we learn of challenges or proposed legislative changes that may abridge teachers’ access to technology for instructional purposes or dismiss media education as superfluous, the Communications and Affiliate Services Division staff will send alerts to state and local activists so that our positions and views can provide support.
  
  
• The NCTE President has turned back to the Executive Committee Multimodal Literacy Issue Management Group to examine the range of NCTE policies related to multimodal literacies to see if they are up-to-date with rapidly evolving trends and practices. New guidelines or policy proposals may be advanced at the August or November Executive Committee meetings.

Summary
Establishing a Washington, D.C., office does have historical significance for the Council, but it will only prove useful if its work is carefully integrated with a plan for pursuing the strategic directions established by the membership through the Executive Committee. At the core of this plan is member activism -- if we are going to become more influential, we must coordinate our efforts to make a difference in literacy teaching and policy development at local, state, and national levels. Watch for and respond to invitations to get involved by sending e-mails, visiting policymakers, or serving in key spokesperson or coordinating roles as we gear up to pursue this activist, grassroots plan.