America Forward Education Coalition Releases Statement on the Senate HELP Committee Mark-up of the ESEA Reauthorization

America Forward Executive Director Deborah Smolover released the following statement today on the Senate HELP Committee’s passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization:

“The America Forward Education Coalition is pleased with the Senate HELP Committee’s decision to vote a bipartisan education bill out of committee.  This bill is a critical first step in moving education reform forward.  We are grateful to Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and HELP Committee Senators who voted in favor of passage for their leadership in the effort to ensure all of our nation’s children receive a quality education.

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America Forward Education Coalition Continues to Gain Momentum

The America Forward Education Coalition continues to gain momentum as the U.S. Senate prepares for the markup of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming).

The Coalition – which represents 25 of the nation’s leading innovators in the education sector in an unprecedented partnership – sent a letter to Sen. Harkin and Sen. Enzi this week thanking them for their bipartisan leadership on reauthorizing ESEA. This letter comes on the heels of months of work around ESEA reauthorization by the Coalition.

For a recap of America Forward’s work on ESEA, please click on the links below.

 

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America Forward Releases Statement on New CEO for Corporation for National and Community Service

Deborah Smolover, Executive Director of America Forward, released the following statement in response to the announcement of Wendy Spencer as the new CEO for the Corporation for National and Community Service:

“America Forward is thrilled with President Obama’s announcement of intent to nominate Wendy Spencer as the Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Ms. Spencer has demonstrated a career-long dedication to providing solutions to local challenges in communities across the country through her work in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.  It is this broad base of experience that make Ms. Spencer uniquely qualified to lead the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Her work on President George W. Bush’s Council on Service and Civic Participation as well as her leadership of Volunteer Florida, the Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, are proof positive that Ms. Spencer has the executive experience necessary to successfully champion the numerous bipartisan initiatives at the Corporation for National and Community Service, including the Social Innovation Fund.

“Ms. Spencer’s capable leadership is welcomed by the America Forward coalition as we continue to work to demonstrate the importance of investing in the proven solutions of results-driven nonprofit organizations across the country to more effectively and efficiently address local challenges.  We look forward to working with Ms. Spencer in her new role as the head of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Jonathan Greenblatt, the Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation, and the Administration to identify further opportunities to grow the impact of effective nonprofit organizations.”

 

America Forward Education Coalition Submits Letter of Support for ESEA Reauthorization

The America Forward Education Coalition — which represents 25 of the nation’s leading innovators in the education sector in an unprecedented partnership — released a letter today to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), thanking them for their bipartisan support for pushing forward the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The text of the letter appears below in full.

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America Forward Issues Statement on Proposed House Budget Cuts

The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed eliminating all funding in FY12 for the Social Innovation Fund and vital national service programs such as AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve America.  In response to the announcement, America Forward’s Executive Director, Deborah Smolover, issued the following statement:

“The Social Innovation Fund is an example of effective and efficient investment of taxpayer dollars.  By supporting local organizations that have identified effective and innovative solutions to community challenges, the two year old fund has demonstrated an ability to create new partnerships across the private, public and nonprofit sectors, leveraging public funding 3 to 1.  America Forward is extremely disappointed that the House has eliminated funding for this groundbreaking initiative as well as national service programs including AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve America, initiatives which are integral to providing the human capital necessary to implement the innovative methods of effective organizations across the country.  We will work with our diverse coalition members to continue to educate our nation’s policymakers, particularly Republican leadership, on the alignment between the principles embedded in the Social Innovation Fund and those cited as central to the Republican view of the role of government.  Continued support for the Social Innovation Fund and Corporation for National and Community Service as a whole is central to effective local problem solving.”

America Forward Welcomes Jonathan Greenblatt as Director of the Office of Social Innovation

Deborah Smolover, Executive Director of America Forward, released the following statement in response to the announcement of Jonathan Greenblatt as the new Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation:

America Forward was pleased to see President Obama’s announcement of Jonathan Greenblatt as the new Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation.  Mr. Greenblatt joins the White House with a strong history in both government and social entrepreneurship.  We believe this dual experience will help him to highlight the important contributions the social innovation community has to make in the Administration’s efforts to strengthen our nation.  We are deeply appreciative of the work of the inaugural Director of the office, Sonal Shah, and feel confident that Mr. Greenblatt will build on the strong foundation she created.

We are hopeful that in his new role, Mr. Greenblatt will work with the social innovation community to both expand existing innovative initiatives at the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of Education, as well as establish new innovative efforts in other agencies within government.  The social innovation community welcomes this bright and capable new leader.  We look forward to working with him to greater utilize the experience and collective learning from the field at the national level.