In early February, as the hill was abuzz with negotiations on the stimulus package, Terry Kaldhusdal (WI '07) and Maddie Fennell (NE '07) were walking the Hill in DC to focus attention back on HR 2896 and S2090, the Teacher at the Table Act.
The current wisdom in DC says that NCLB will not be reauthorized until late 2009 or early 2010. It makes even more sense for us to have a group of exemplary - and practicing - classroom teachers ready to give advice!
S 2090 will be reintroduced by Senator Feingold (WI) in late February. Maddie and Terry met with staff of newly elected Senator Johanns (NE), asking him to co-sponsor the bill. It is our hope to have a stand alone bill passed (rather than waiting and having it attached to NCLB reauthorization) in both the House and the Senate.
Terry and Maddie spoke with staff of Congresswoman McCarthy (NY) and Congressman Terry (NE), to learn how we can assist passage on the House side. They also met with a Department of Education staff person who gave valuable information on how to get our proposal in front of Secretary Duncan.
It was a VERY busy day of meetings, but it was gratifying to learn that Teachers at the Table is still alive. If you would like more information on how you can assist with passage of Teachers at the Table, please contact
maddie.fennell@nsea.org
Hospital and a patient's dino workshop in the top floor playroom the next day. It was a fabulous experience! They had a 14-foot inflatable brontosaurus and a 12-foot T-Rex, models, fossils, posters, books, and puppets. Along with these they brought materials for dinosaur centers where children could create paper standing dinosaurs, stick puppets, rubbings, and their own fossils. The dinosaurs and the teachers were a hit!
They have been invited back to do more Parent and Family Nights and patient playroom activities. They were also asked to do a whole dinosaur day at Camp Cardiac this summer. Their next adventure waits for a date. The group has applied to take the dinosaurs on the road to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis.
See, great ideas and teachers are never extinct! Think about this idea for the children's hospital near you.
Ahh spring! The staff members at KDP Headquarters are ready for longer and warmer days and the new outlook that seasonal change so often brings. Fresh ideas, like a long-awaited spring breeze, revitalize everything, don't you think?
