It’s time to deliver Opportunity for Every Student

The Every Student Succeeds Act mandates that the people who know students best—their educators, families, communities—can shape their future. Now it’s time to make sure lawmakers and policy leaders hear us, and help us make our schools exceptional.

Before we passed ESSA, our schools with the greatest needs couldn’t access the funding they deserved. They were punished by standardized tests results used to measure entire school systems. But we know that student success is more than a score. That’s why we fought for a law that would ensure states look at meaningful measures of school success.

Thanks to ESSA, now is the time to raise your voice to help build opportunities for all students! What does your school need to create those opportunities? Who can help meet those needs? How can your school community work towards those goals? How do you measure excellence in your school community?

We’ve created simple but effective tools to help you understand the law, determine your school community’s biggest needs, take action to meet those needs and find funding to implement your plans. Let’s make sure zip codes don’t determine the quality of education. Let’s raise our voices together to bring opportunity to every student.

As educators, we know best what will ensure our students have the opportunities they need to be successful. Now, we have to take action—we must define the changes needed to create the schools our students deserve, and insist on policymakers to deliver. Here’s what you can do today.

ESSA restores student learning to the center of everything educators do, and we intend on preparing our members to lead this transformation.

Quote by: Becky Pringle, President of NEA

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Raising Our Voices

These communities have changed how policies get made, resources get shared, and schools get funded.

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Prince William County Education Association (PWEA) hosted an ESSA Town Hall to determine how they want to take advantage of the law. More than 150 educators, students, and community members spoke out against over-testing.

NEA

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While representing his district in the Arkansas Education Association, custodian Stephone Avery brought parents and pastors together to complete the Opportunity Checklist and make their voices heard.

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Thanks to ESSA, the Illinois Education Association (IEA), with local educators, school staff, university researchers, and parents, created the Opportunity Coalition and instituted programs that have reached more than 50,000 students.

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In Aiken County, South Carolina, one conversation around ESSA led educator John Ross to take the lead on advocating for teacher pay, in his community and at the state capitol.

When we unite and speak truth to power, we can have an enormous impact. Stay up to date on the latest actions you can take to protect and improve public schools for all students.

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