| The following vacancies on the NREA Executive Committee will occur in November. The nominations period will be through October 31st, 2021.
- President-Elect Designate
- NREA State Affiliate Rep (Director)
- Rural Educator/Teacher (retired/active)
The nominees will be introduced during the Annual Business Meeting of the Annual NREA Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11th, 2021.
The criteria for nominating an NREA member as a candidate for these positions include:
- The nominee must currently be an active paid-up member.
- The nominee must give their consent to be nominated.
Would you please click see more to nominate a current member? |
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2021 Annual Membership Meeting Thursday, November 11th, 2021 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM White River Room
The nominees will be introduced during the Annual Business Meeting of the Annual NREA Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11th, 2021. |
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| On behalf of East Carolina University's College of Education, I am pleased to share the job posting for COE's first Endowed Professor in Rural Education. Screening can begin November 25, 2021, so please share broadly with your networks |
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| BISMARCK, N.D. (Prairie Public Radio) – A rural sociologist who is with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality says rural communities should be more welcoming to a younger generation that’s interested in moving to those areas. |
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Nearly 70% of Wisconsin school districts are considered “rural.” These districts service 44% of the state’s 860,000 public school students. With so many members of Wisconsin’s next-generation learning in rural schools, it’s vital that we prioritize the unique needs of these educators and students.
But step back for a moment and consider this: ALL Wisconsin schools are facing significant challenges. These include growing poverty, lack of predictable funding increases, insufficient special education funding, increasing numbers of English Language Learners, limited access to mental health services, escalating staff shortages, and much more.
So while challenges differ from district to district, we are all united by a common goal to provide the best possible education for Wisconsin students. We need to identify, clarify, and support good education policies for public schools. And we need to guarantee equal access to opportunities and resources for all Wisconsin students, setting them up for bright futures. |
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| Today, the President is delivering on these promises. After hearing input from all sides and negotiating in good faith with Senators Manchin and Sinema, Congressional Leadership, and a broad swath of Members of Congress, President Biden is announcing a framework for the Build Back Better Act. President Biden is confident this is a framework that can pass both houses of Congress, and he looks forward to signing it into law. He calls on Congress to take up this historic bill – in addition to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – as quickly as possible. |
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- White House releases pared-back framework for a $1.75 trillion Build Back Better agenda – This morning the White House released an updated framework and fact sheet for the Build Back Better Act that includes a total of $1.75 trillion in spending over ten years to “guide the drafting of legislative language.” (The new spending would be more than offset by tax increases on corporations and the very wealthy.) The President’s revised framework is half the total size of the original target, and it does not include many of the originally proposed education investments that the House committees put in their reconciliation bills this fall (the attached CEF comparison table from September shows the President’s original proposals and what House committees included in their reconciliation bill). This pared-back agenda is not necessarily what all congressional Democrats have agreed to, and I expect there will still be some additions and deletions. We’ll have more analysis and advocacy information later, but I wanted to share what we have now.
- Education investments still in the President’s new framework – The Administration’s slimmed-down education agenda includes funding for universal pre-K, child care, and higher education. It lays out the following amounts:
- $400 billion over six years for universal preschool and child care. The funding ends after six years. The original proposal included $450 billion over ten years, including $25 billion for child care facilities.
- $40 billion for higher education and workforce development. This total includes funding to increase the maximum Pell grant by $550 (it doesn’t say whether just for one year or for more than one year) and expand Pell grant access to DREAMers. It includes an unspecified amount to invest in HBCUs, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Servicing Institutions. It invests in workforce development programs, including coordination with community colleges and businesses and registered apprenticeships. The President’s original proposal included $100 billion for workforce development and over $200 billion for higher education programs.
- Education investments still in the President’s new framework – The Administration’s slimmed-down education agenda includes funding for universal pre-K, child care, and higher education. It lays out the following amounts:
- $400 billion over six years for universal preschool and child care. The funding ends after six years. The original proposal included $450 billion over ten years, including $25 billion for child care facilities.
- $40 billion for higher education and workforce development. This total includes funding to increase the maximum Pell grant by $550 (it doesn’t say whether just for one year or for more than one year) and expand Pell grant access to DREAMers. It includes an unspecified amount to invest in HBCUs, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Servicing Institutions. It invests in workforce development programs, including coordination with community colleges and businesses and registered apprenticeships. The President’s original proposal included $100 billion for workforce development and over $200 billion for higher education programs.
- Education investments that do not appear in the President’s revised framework – The new framework from the White House no longer includes a lot of education investments that the President originally proposed for the Build Back Better agenda. The items not included in today’s framework include:
- Education infrastructure – The President’s American Jobs Plan included $12 billion for community college infrastructure, $100 billion for new schools, and $25 billion for child care facilities. The House reconciliation proposal included $82 billion for K-12 school construction and $15 billion for child care facilities and provider payments.
- Educator training - The President’s American Families Plan included $9 billion to train more educators, and the House bill included $1.1 billion for a variety of educator development programs.
- Free community college - The President’s American Families Plan included $109 billion to offer free community college, and the House bill included an unspecified amount for a pared-down version.
- College affordability and completion – The President originally proposed to increase the maximum Pell grant by up to $1400; this new proposal has a $550 increase (the FY 2022 appropriations bill has a separate discretionary-funded increase of $400 for next year). The President also originally proposed a large program to strengthen student retention, as well as a $39 billion investment in HBCUs, MSIs, and TCUs, and $5 billion for institutional aid for them along with $2 billion for graduate programs for skilled health workers. The House bill had a total of $12.5 billion for these types of programs.
- Adult and career technical education – The President’s American Jobs Plan included about $9 billion to expand career pathways for middle and high school students and $870 million for adult education. The House bill had $7.6 billion for these types of programs.
- Broadband – The President’s American Jobs Plan included $100 billion to expand broadband access, and the House proposal included $4 billion.
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