Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/371467
September 2014 isea.org • ISEA Communiqué bRiefS NEWS 2 Changes at the National Education Association lily eskelsen García, a 20-year educator and former utah teacher of the Year, was elected national education Association president at the neA's Representative Assembly in denver. García is an outspoken critic of high-stakes testing and promotes policies aimed at closing the education inequality gap present in many public schools. the neA is in the midst of a campaign to end toxic testing across the country. You can find information and links to sign petitions on the iSeA social media accounts and nea.org Democrats for Public Education democrats for public education is a new 527 group formed by former ohio Gov. ted Strickland and political consultant donna brazile whose mission is "supporting and promoting public education." A 527 group can raise money to influence the selection and election of public office candidates, but cannot coordinate its efforts with any campaign or candidate. educational policy analyst diane Ravitch noted the name is "a swipe at democrats for education Reform, which is dominated by hedge fund managers, and which funds candidates who support charter schools, teach for America, and any other group that is antagonistic to public education." to find out more about the group, visit its website at: democratsforpubliceducation.com. Teacher Tenure Lawsuit former news personality campbell brown has made the rounds on cable and radio talk shows on behalf of a group backing lawsuits to gut tenure protections for teachers. brown has refused to say who is backing the group, called partnership for educational Justice, which has filed a lawsuit in new York against the state's teacher tenure laws. the washington post's Valerie Strauss has written extensively about the group on her "Answer Sheet" blog. one such post, which can be found here, http://wapo.st/1nhFcfu, fact checks the statements brown delivered on an episode of comedy central's "the colbert Report." Iowa Pulls Out of Smarter Balanced Consortium iowa will no longer be a governing member of the Smarter balanced testing consortium saying the state's continued inclusion in the consortium could taint the work of a state taskforce currently reviewing assessment plans. "iowa's goal is to have a state assessment that is the right fit for iowa," Gov. terry branstad wrote in a letter to the director of the testing consortium. "it should reflect our high state academic standards. we want educators, students and parents to have confidence in the state assessment as a measure of complex thinking and problem solving." the letter also was signed by iowa department of education director brad buck. Smarter balanced is a test being developed by a consortium of states which is attuned to the standards in the common core. iowa took a larger role in the consortium under former department of education director Jason Glass. the state taskforce charged with recommending a statewide test is expected to make a recommendation to the iowa legislature on Jan. 1, 2015. it includes iowa State education Association president tammy wawro. New National Board Certification the governing body which oversees national board for professional teaching Standards certification has initiated several changes for educators who want to become national board certified teachers. to help prospective candidates, the board has produced a series of short videos and fAQ sheets to help folks through the process. links to all the materials can be found on the iowa State education Association website at isea.org under the "teaching and learning" tab. national board certification is an extra step educators can take to show additional efforts in content area mastery beyond state certification. certification is available in 25 content areas, from pre-K through 12th grade. StudentsFirst Out of Iowa Studentsfirst, the political organization founded by Michele Rhee, has apparently closed its iowa operation. Studentsfirst often found itself at odds with the goals of the iowa State education Association, especially when it came to policy surrounding teacher roles and evaluations.the organization was the single largest donor to iowa legislative races two years ago and its local chapter director was appointed to a state panel on educator development. but the iowa affiliate's website has not been updated since July and messages left with organization officials from the iowa State education Association were not returned. education week reported the iowa chapter was one of five Studentfirst state affiliates shut down this summer. florida, indiana, Maine and Minnesota also lost affiliates, according to the publication. news of the closures came in advance of news that Rhee is stepping down from her leadership role in the organization. in an email posted on the group's website, Rhee wrote she was stepping down as ceo of the organization. "while i remain 100 percent committed to the success of Studentsfirst, it's time for a shift in the day-to-day management of the team and our advocacy work. we'll be sharing more of the nuts-and-bolts details about that in the coming weeks," she wrote. "it's also time for my next step in life, which will be focused on my family and supporting my husband in the tremendous work he is doing as his he continues to move forward with his career."