The View Inside The Beltway

The View Inside the Beltway

Seattle teacher trades in her chalk for a chance to be a legislative fellow

By Kristina Peterson

Categories: Change management, Learning systems/planning

National education reform happens with or without teacher input, but teachers are increasingly finding ways to enter the policy dialogue. In addition to traditional union representation and direct contact with elected representatives, emerging web 2.0 tools have created a new level of interaction between teachers and policy makers. I am a classroom teacher who sat squarely at the nexus of these interactions for 11 months as a legislative fellow with the Education and Labor Committee in the House of Representatives. In that role, I listened and responded to groups and individuals who came to our office to discuss federal education legislation. Throughout the year, I learned a variety of ways current and former teachers engage in policy. Many citizens — teachers included — find it easy to identify problems with education. Policy often offers solutions to these problems. Policy is

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Authors

Kristina Peterson

Kristina Peterson ([email protected]) is a 5th-grade math and science teacher at Lakeside School in Seattle, Wash. She was a 2009-10 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow.

When Speaking with Education Policy Staffers …

Be clear in your appointment request so you meet with the most appropriate staff member.
Know current legislative proposals and be prepared to weigh in with specific recommendations.
Come to the staffer with consensus already built around your recommendations.
Keep it short.
Leave a one-page summary of your recommendations.
Remember, the person you speak with may know very little or more than you about any given issue.

The Albert Einstein Fellowship selects practicing K-12 classroom science, math, and technology teachers and places them in Washington, D.C., working with federal agencies and Congress. Find applications and further information at www.trianglecoalition.org/ein.htm.

Organizations That Offer Briefings and Policy Information:

Center for American Progress

www.americanprogress.org/events

The Education Trust

www.edtrust.org

The Alliance for Excellent Education

www.all4ed.org

The Wallace Foundation

www.wallacefoundation.org/Pages/default.aspx

References

Accomplished California Teachers. (2010). A quality teacher in every classroom: Creating a teacher evaluation system that works for California. Stanford, CA: National Board Resource Center. Available at https://nbrc.stanford.edu/act/reports/a-quality-teacher-in-every-classroom.html.

College Board & Phi Delta Kappa. (2009). Teachers are the center of education: Profiles of eight teachers. New York: College Board. Available at https://advocacy.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/2009-cb-advocacy-teachers-are-center.pdf.

Cross, C.T. (2003). Political education: National policy comes of age. New York: Teachers College Press.

Leonhardt, D. (2010, July 27). The case for $320,000 kindergarten teachers. The New York Times. Available at www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/business/economy/28leonhardt.html.

Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education. (n.d.). Einstein fellows. Available at www.trianglecoalition.org/ein.htm.