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Learning First Alliance Supports President’s Bold Plan to Invest in Education
09/09/2011

President’s plan would improve education infrastructure and bring teachers back to classrooms

Washington, D.C. –  September 9, 2011 – The Learning First Alliance (LFA), a partnership of 16 leading education associations representing more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools, applauds the President’s call last night to invest in schools and teachers.  LFA supports the President’s focus on putting teachers back to work and investing in education infrastructure to make schools more efficient and innovative.

“We support the President’s initiative,” said Dan Domenech, LFA Board Chair and AASA executive director. “Placing teachers back in the classroom is essential to the educational needs of our students; putting people to work and making much needed repairs to our schools is a win-win situation.”

LFA supports strong public education. Currently, with education budgets continuing to be cut at the state and local level, public schools are facing very difficult challenges that ultimately hurt students, such as growing class sizes, crumbling buildings, and lack of support services. The President’s plan addresses these issues to improve public education for all children.

“The Learning First Alliance agrees with President Obama that every child deserves a great school and that we have a responsibility to one another to act as one nation and one people in support of ensuring a great education for all our students,” said Cheryl Williams, executive director of the LFA. “We urge Congress to support the President’s plan to modernize aging school buildings and put teachers back to work on behalf of America’s students.”

View the complete press release here.

American Association of School Administrators Executive Director Named Learning First Alliance Chair
07/21/2011

Washington, D.C. – July 21, 2011 –The Learning First Alliance (LFA), a partnership of 16 national education associations representing more than ten million parents, educators and policymakers, has announced that American Association of School Administrators (AASA) executive director, Dan Domenech, will serve as the chair of their Board of Directors. Domenech has served as the executive director of AASA since July 2008 and has more than 36 years of experience in public education, twenty-seven of those years serving as a school superintendent.

Read the full press release here.

The Learning First Alliance Announces Partnership with Hot Chalk for Weekly Guest Blog
06/27/2011

The Learning First Alliance Announces Partnership with Hot Chalk for Weekly Guest Blog
Washington, D.C. – June 23, 2011 – Learning First Alliance (LFA), a partnership of 17 national education associations representing more than ten million parents, educators and policymakers, has signed on to provide HotChalk readers with a weekly guest blog from the organization. LFA’s guest blog will touch on a myriad of subjects surrounding the challenges and triumphs of America’s classrooms.

The blog will provide a platform for the collective voices of the organization to reach new audiences, echoing its goal of leading cultural change to ensure that high academic standards are held for all students. LFA is dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools. It is their hope that, through their blog, LFA can help motivate HotChalk’s readers to strive for better education nationwide by sharing examples of success, encouraging collaboration at every level and pushing other educators to work toward the continual and long-term improvement of public education.

“We are thrilled to bring the collective message of 17 of the nation’s most influential and forward-thinking education organizations to HotChalk’s readers each week through our guest blog series,” said Cheryl Williams, Executive Director of the Learning First Alliance.

The Learning First Alliance Urges U.S. Secretary of Education to Provide Regulatory Relief in the Absence of Swift Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

05/24/2011

Tired of waiting, sixteen education organizations come together to ask for swift ESEA reauthorization or immediate regulatory relief around No Child Left Behind

Washington, D.C. –  May 24, 2011 – Sixteen member organizations of the Learning First Alliance (LFA), a partnership of national education associations representing more than ten million parents, educators and policymakers, community and state leaders, sent a formal letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan asking the Department of Education, in the absence of reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) prior to the start of the 2011-12 school year, to offer regulatory relief to schools who struggle with the demands of No Child Left Behind.

The Alliance has urged Secretary Duncan to exercise his authority and address the act’s current flaws that tie up scarce resources with unnecessary regulatory compliance, counterproductive sanctions, and reporting that does little to contribute to student success.

LFA believes the intent of ESEA is to ensure that all students are held to high achievement standards and there is accountability for every student’s success. The letter to Secretary Duncan suggests improvements in support of educators, student learning and local public school reform, while relieving districts and states from overly burdensome regulations. 

“As a coalition, we are dedicated to ensuring high-quality public education for every student,” said Cheryl Williams, Executive Director of the Learning First Alliance.  “This request for regulatory relief is predicated on the Alliance’s desire to help schools to teach and students to learn more effectively.”

Read the letter here.

About the Learning First Alliance:

The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of 17 leading education associations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools. Alliance members who signed on to this letter are: the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Association of School Personnel Administrators, American School Counselor Association, Association of School Business Officials International, International Society for Technology in Education, Learning Forward (formerly National Staff Development Council), National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association, National Middle School Association, National School Public Relations Association, National PTA, National School Boards Association and Phi Delta Kappa International. The Alliance maintains www.learningfirst.org, a website that features what’s working in public schools and districts across the country.