Contact Your Member of Congress Via Email
  on April 16 and 17 with a Message from NCTE

Contacting your Member of Congress is easy and you can do so at any time. Each email will take less than fifteen minutes!

To begin, copy one of the messages listed below to your clipboard. There are messages on English language learners, well-qualified teachers, research about education, assessment, adolescent literacy, and 21st century literacy.

Then while leaving this Web page open, open another browser window and access the website of your Representative by going to http://www.house.gov or of your Senator by going to http://www.senate.gov and using the zip code or state search.

Once on the website of your Member of Congress:

• Open the Contact the Member form,
• Paste your chosen message in the box,
• Edit it if you wish,
• Add the proper salutation (Dear Senator ____ or Dear Representative ______),
• Fill out the email form,
• Do a quick reread of your message, and
• Send it.

Please make sure to send your messages on April 16 and 17.

Send one of the following email messages:

English Language Learners
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I’m writing today to ask for your support for two changes in the No Child Left Behind Act regarding English language learners (ELLs). 

First, English language learners need assessments that recognize that their content knowledge may be much greater than their command of the English language. NCTE advocates that a variety of assessments, including ones in the students’ first language, be used to ensure an ethical and reliable measure of ELLs’ learning. 

Second, NCTE advocates for professional development for teachers with ELL students in their classrooms. Only 13% of teachers have received professional development in teaching ELL students, yet most teachers have ELL students in their regular classrooms. Dedicated funds for the purpose of professional development are sorely needed.

My personal experience as a teacher and the research that exists about ELL students have convinced me that NCLB needs to be explicit about a variety of assessments for ELL students and about dedicated funding for professional development for teachers.

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide you with additional information as you work on the reauthorization of NCLB in the months ahead, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email


Well-Qualified Teachers
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I’m writing today to ask for your support for two changes in the No Child Left Behind Act regarding teachers’ ability to serve all students, but especially high-need students who deserve superior instruction.

First, teachers and literacy coaches need effective, sustained professional development to continue to learn about how to serve the broad diversity of students in today’s classrooms. This professional development needs to be scheduled during the school day and must address the needs of the local population of students.

Second, to prepare students for the 21st century, especially students with limited access to technology in their homes, federal funding is needed for access to technology in all schools, especially those in poor neighborhoods and rural settings. In addition, teachers need high quality instructional materials.

My personal experience as a teacher and the research that exists about teacher quality and technology needs have convinced me that NCLB needs to be explicit about authorizing and recommending funding for professional development and for technology so that teachers can serve all students as they move toward the workplace and toward active citizenship.

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide you with additional information as you work on the reauthorization of NCLB in the months ahead, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email


Research about Education
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I’m writing today to ask for your support for two changes in the No Child Left Behind Act. The first change regards the use of the phrase scientifically valid research instead of the phrase scientifically based research, and the second change regards practices used to select peer review panels for federal grants for literacy education.

First, the phrase scientifically based research should be replaced in the law with scientifically valid research, as it is defined in the Head Start Act. Scientifically valid research includes investigation using a variety of methodological approaches to answer the range of questions and issues involved in a line of inquiry. It requires a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning, and it encourages careful scrutiny, informed critique, and replication of research findings.

Second, federal grants for literacy education should be awarded through an objective peer review system. Panel members, both practitioners and scholars, should be nominated by organizations with differing perspectives, such as professional and scholarly associations, postsecondary institutions, and state departments of education.

My personal experience as a teacher tells me that all well designed research needs to be brought to bear on educational issues and policy and that peer review panels must be comprised of both scholars and practitioners with a deep knowledge of a range of relevant literacy research methodologies, pedagogy, and content knowledge

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide you with additional information as you work on the reauthorization of NCLB in the months ahead, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email


Assessment
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I am writing about NCLB to ask that you support assessments of student progress that are fair and valid. We know that single tests do not accurately represent student achievement. Two changes would improve the current version of NCLB.

First, a well-chosen variety of measures can tell teachers and schools what they need to know to help students progress in their learning. Combinations of such measures as writing samples, problem-solving projects, and portfolios would provide essential information for teachers in choosing appropriate curricula and pedagogies to help all students prosper.

Second, measures over time track progress and provide timely information for teachers to modify their teaching according to documented student needs. Ongoing formative assessment is essential for student progress toward goals.

My personal experience as a teacher and the abundant research about assessment have convinced me that NCLB needs major revisions regarding assessment measures and funding devoted to assessment of various kinds over time.

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide you with additional information as you work on the reauthorization of NCLB in the months, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email


Adolescent Literacy
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I am writing about the Striving Readers bill that has support across the aisle in the House and the Senate. I know that adolescent literacy must be a priority to increase graduation rates and improve student success.

The Striving Readers bills (S. 958 and H.R. 2289) extend across fourth to twelfth grades to include the kind of support that teachers need to help students develop literacies that are central first for high school graduation and then to succeed in further education and in the workplace. I ask you to encourage your legislative colleagues to support the bill and for you to support Striving Readers when it comes to the floor as a separate bill or as a part of the NCLB reauthorization. Either way, it is important that Striving Readers becomes law.

My personal experience as a teacher and the range of research about literacy have convinced me that it is time to concentrate national attention on adolescent literacy through Striving Readers legislation.

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide further information about adolescent literacy, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email


21st Century Literacy
Dear Senator _____________   OR Dear Representative _______________:

I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, which represents over 52,000 teachers of English K-college. I am writing about what must become a central focus for educators and policymakers in the United States today. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of our lives, a literate person in the 21st century must possess a wide range of abilities and competencies. We have to develop proficiency with tools of technology, to design and share information, to manage and analyze multiple streams of simultaneous information, and to create and evaluate multimedia texts.

To help teachers help students with these proficiencies, I ask you to recognize the importance of professional development for teachers in the full range of 21st century literacies. Professional development sections in Title II of the Higher Education Act recently passed by Congress and in Title II of NCLB, up for reauthorization, begin to address these needs. I ask you to support Title II of NCLB that honors the essential need for professional development of teachers in 21st century literacies.

My personal experience as a teacher and the range of research about 21st century literacies have convinced me that teachers must stay current with technology and issues related to 21st century literacies through ongoing professional development. You may want to consult a definition developed by the National Council of Teachers of English that can undergird decision making about the topic.

Thanks for reading my requests. I would be glad to provide further information about 21st century literacies, and I hope that you will contact me.

Sincerely,

Name, address, phone number, and email