PAYINGTRIBUTE - Operation Respect

and objectives of UVE. Also at this meeting, Randi
Weingarten, President of the United Federation
of Teachers, addressed the membership regarding
the “Tribute to the Teachers of America” and
the national initiative being launched to elevate
the priority of education by honoring the teachers
of America for their remarkable commitment and
service to our children. UVE members expressed
their unanimous support for this initiative.
On October 31, 2007, the UVE leadership met
with Senator Edward Kennedy’s Senior Education
Policy Advisor, Roberto Rodriguez, and his staff
to discuss how UVE members may support Senator
Kennedy’s legislative agenda that intersects
with UVE’s objectives, and to create an avenue for
ongoing communication between the Senator and
the UVE Steering Committee. Roberto Rodriguez
and his colleagues were extremely open to working
with UVE and expressed interest in supporting the
Tribute to Teachers initiative as well.
As the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) will likely be postponed until after the next
national election, UVE has an extended opportunity
to influence amendments to the legislation
that will reformulate the United States education
policy. The UVE leadership is planning to reach out
to policy makers in 2008 in an effort to combat the
unintended consequences of NCLB including the
narrowing of the curriculum to exclude the arts,
the humanities, and the development of skills that
lead to the emotional and social well-being and
health of students and to shift the focus of NCLB
to reflect multiple measures of accountability beyond
literacy and numeracy.
In the Fall of 2007, Jared Polis, long-time supporter
of Operation Respect and Founder of the
Jared Polis Foundation in Boulder, Colorado,
provided funding for the licensing and adaptation
of the award winning Operation Respect Newspaper
in Education (NIE) materials to be utilized by
thousands of schools in the state of Colorado. The
Operation Respect NIE materials, developed in collaboration
with the News for Students Foundation
and The McClatchy Company, include a newspaper
supplement, student take-home materials
and a teacher guide designed to add richness to
the social and emotional development of children
in the areas of ethical awareness, independent
decision-making and civic engagement. The NIE
materials also aid in the development of literacy
skills, both in reading and writing.