We are poised for victory in 2010, but WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The U.S. Department of Education is working RIGHT NOW on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (aka No Child Left Behind), and they need to hear from you about the need to include provisions for pre-K through grade 12 environmental and outdoor education as outlined in the No Child Left Inside Act, sponsored by Senator Reed and Congressman Sarbanes.

It is essential that DOE hear from every one of us about the value of environmental and outdoor education to student success and teacher quality. Use the address, ESEA.comments@ed.gov and let Secretary Duncan and the Obama Administration know that you support the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized ESEA.  If you choose, you may cut and paste from the template below.

At this very moment, we are faced with an exciting and very rare opportunity to gain the support of the Department of Education and the Obama Administration—it is a moment that may not come again. Please join us in calling for the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act today.

Please send your comments to ESEA.comments@ed.gov today, and ask your members to do the same by sending them the attached alert.

Thank you, and Happy 2010!

The template message below may be of use to you in crafting your email. Remember to personalize it with information about why you are a member of the NCLI Coalition.

Dear Secretary Duncan,

As you consider strategies to strengthen and amend ESEA, we urge you to consider the provisions laid out in the No Child Left Inside Act, which would expand opportunities for environmental and outdoor education in America’s schools. Comprehensive environmental education has been shown to improve student achievement across core subject areas and increase engagement in learning. Environmental education is critical to providing our students with the knowledge and skills to tackle complex problems, and succeed in a green economy. Increasing environmental literacy is a proven way to expand the academic pipeline for STEM subjects and is increasingly seen as an innovative way to give students the sense of wonder and excitement so essential to encouraging scientific inquiry. What’s more, getting children outside and active promotes a healthy lifestyle that is essential to fighting obesity and reducing symptoms associated with attention deficit disorder, depression, and stress.

Leaving environmental education out of ESEA would be a missed opportunity to improve education while helping to systemically address the Obama administration’s other priorities of energy independence, a strengthened economy, and a healthier nation. We support the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized ESEA.

Sincerely,