Friday, April 15, 2011

WASHINGTON - In anticipation of the upcoming debate to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known in its current form as No Child Left Behind, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania introduced legislation last night which would make sure that federal education policy no longer overlooks the needs of high-ability students.

The new proposal is called the TALENT Act, or the To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation's Teachers Act.

The senators said the provisions in their bill, S.857, are designed to correct the lack of focus on high-ability students, especially those students in underserved settings, including rural communities, by including them in the school, district, and state planning process that already exists under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  The bill would raise the expectation that teachers have the skills to address the special learning needs of various populations of students, including gifted and high-ability learners.  It would provide for professional development grants to help general education teachers and other school personnel better understand how to recognize and respond to the needs of high-ability students.

The legislation also retools and builds upon the goals and purpose of the existing Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act so that education policy makers would continue to explore and test strategies to identify and serve high-ability students from underserved groups.  The senators said that these strategies should then be put into the hands of teachers across the country.

"America can no longer afford to ignore the needs of our brightest students and, by doing so, squander their potential.  Our legislation would make the modifications needed to federal education policy to develop and encourage the high achievement that's possible for so many gifted and talented students and, in turn, enhance the future prosperity of our nation," Grassley said.

"We must train our teachers to identify and encourage gifted and high-ability learners, particularly in underserved communities," said Casey.  "The potential of our children must be maximized for their sake and for the sake of our long-term economic growth."

Casey serves on the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, which is currently working through a bipartisan committee process to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Grassley has been a leading advocate in Congress for gifted and talented children.  Among other efforts, he sponsored legislation that became part of the original No Child Left Behind Act to expand the availability of gifted education services.

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2011 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Shenandoah, Iowa, today where he spoke about building a cleaner, safer, and more secure energy future - one that ultimately breaks our dependence on foreign oil and moves our nation toward a clean energy economy that creates jobs and keeps America competitive.

At the grand opening of the BioProcess Algae Bioreactor Project - a facility owned by Green Plains Renewable Energy - Vilsack said USDA was focused on stimulating growth, creating jobs, and setting in place a framework for a robust future for the rural economy, which includes support of next-generation renewable energy, such as alternative feedstocks.

"USDA is helping our nation develop the next generation of biofuels to grow jobs and generate energy from new, homegrown sources," said Vilsack. "In the past two years, USDA has worked to help our nation develop a national biofuels economy and make that vision a reality. This cutting-edge facility here in Iowa, and others like it across rural America, is using waste heat, water and carbon dioxide from ethanol production and looking at advanced technologies which could eventually be used as energy. It is the kind of innovation we need to build an economy that continues to grow and out-compete the rest of the world."

President Obama is committed to reducing our net imports of oil by one-third by 2025. The United States holds only 2 percent of proven oil resources, and we consume about 25 percent of world's supply. The production of cleaner and more efficient fuels, produced domestically, will help to make America's energy supply more secure by permanently reducing our dependence on oil. USDA is doing research into new biofuel production methods and has established five regional research centers working on the science necessary to ensure biofuels can be produced profitably from a diverse range of feedstocks. And USDA is offering support to build the infrastructure needed to deliver the fuel to consumers at the gas station.

In Shenandoah, Vilsack also spoke at the Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association's Annual Meeting, where shared rural America's vision for a strong economic future that relies on home-grown energy to power America's cars and trucks. The domestic biofuels industry, said Vilsack, has produced hundreds of refineries, pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the American economy and created hundreds of thousands of jobs in our rural communities.

ROCK ISLAND, IL (04/15/2011)(readMedia)-- The Augustana Department of Theatre Arts, which includes several students from the local area, will end its 2010-11 theater season with a performance of Thorton Wilder's classic American play, Our Town. The play will run two consecutive weekends beginning Friday, April 29 and ending Sunday, May 8. All performances are in the Potter Theatre at the Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave.)

Our Town is set in the fictional town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, in the early 1900s and follows the everyday joys and trials of the town's citizens. The main character of the stage manager, who serves as the narrator, makes comments on the action and plays roles as needed within the town. The play was first performed in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama that year.

Jacqui Schmidt, a theatre arts and English writing major, is excited to play the role of the stage manager. The character is interesting because he-or she, in the case of Augustana's production-directly interacts with the audience and the characters onstage. "I sometimes have to present a male character," Schmidt said. "This allows a contemporary take on what the gender roles would have been during the early 1900s in a small town like Grover's Corners."

Students from the local area who will perform in the play include :

Greg Donley, a sophomore from Silvis, IL majoring in general studies. Donley will play the role of townsperson in the production.

Kayla McKay, a first-year from Moline, IL majoring in general studies. McKay will play the role of townsperson in the production.

Augustana's production presents some new twists to the timeless play. Whereas the stage manager is usually a contemporary of the play's characters, the Augustana stage manager will be observing the play from a modern perspective. "The narrator's commentary is not just nostalgic reflection," said Jeff Coussens, the play's director and the chair of the theatre arts department. "We ask the audience to look at the past through a contemporary lens."

Our Town is the last production in Augustana's 2010-11 theater season, Reflections. In keeping with the season's theme, the production will invite the audience to reflect on how times change, yet how much remains the same. Simple lighting, minimal scenery and timeless costumes will emphasize this theme. Members of the 1989 cast of Our Town at Augustana also will return for the April 30 performance to discuss the changes in the production since they performed it more than 20 years ago.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 29, Saturday, April 30, Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7; and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 1 and Sunday, May 8. Tickets are $11 for the general public and $9 for senior citizens (age 60+), students and children. For ticket information, please call (309) 794-7306 or visit www.augustana.edu/tickets.

All bills must pass the House and Senate with the exact same language before it is sent to the governor.  Thus far, the House and Senate have passed separate versions on all budget bills except two.  The two which made it through to the Governor's desk were vetoed.  Think of running bills through the Legislature like running the Bix 7; the House has reached the finish line but can't cross until it joins hands with the Senate and receives permission from the Governor.  In a scenario like this, joining hands and gaining permission to take the last step may be more difficult than running the previous seven miles.

The main issue in the Senate is making sure enough runners stay on the track to find the finish line.  Over the last two years when the Senate was divided at 32-18 with Democrats in control, Majority Leader Gronstal could move forward even when some members deviated.  This year with the Senate Democrats having a 26-24 majority, any one member has the same power as the Majority Leader.  If one person walks on any issue, 25 votes does not make a majority.  Delays in the Senate are not due to partisan politics.  In fact, it is the exact opposite.  Senate Republicans are more than willing to help Senate Democrats end this session as soon as Senate Democrats finalize what bills they want to run.

One issue that no politician can shy away from is the budget.  Picture the General Fund as a bucket which only so much money can flow into.  When the bucket overflows, money falls into the Cash Reserve Fund and when that bucket overflows money ends in the Economic Emergency Fund.  The real debate between the House and Senate right now is over how many items can be stuffed into the General Fund and whether or not some items should be paid out of the Economic Emergency Fund and Cash Reserve Funds.  At the core of this debate is whether or not additional ongoing expenditures for items like education should be funded out of one-time money from accounts like the Economic Emergency Fund.  Here is a bigger question, if we do this, how do you pay for emergencies when the Mississippi and Wapsi flood?

Throw redistricting into this marathon we're running and let's hope some don't just walk off the track.  The redistricting plan, which passed the Senate on Thursday, immediately put thirty-one Senators up for re-election.  Attitudes and personalities change when politicians are thrown into the same district and are facing a new campaign season.  This is becoming the opposite of the "not in my back yard effect."  Nearly everyone has shopped at least one time at Wal-Mart, yet not very many people want Wal-Mart in their backyard.  In this scenario politicians are asking themselves, "What do I get in my back yard?"  At the end of the day, there will be districts and a representative form of government and politicians should stop worrying.

Thank you for letting me represent you at the Capitol.

Shawn Hamerlinck
State Senate District 42