National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition Meeting Update
Members of the National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition met in Washington, D.C. to prepare a legislative platform and to visit with representatives and senators regarding rural education matters. States represented at the meeting included Montana,California, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Maine, Arkansas, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee and Texas. Ray, Jerry and I visited with staffers from Representative Hartzler's office, Representative Sam Graves' office, Representative Billy Long's office and Senator Roy Blunt's office. During the legislative platform discussion, the group identified concerns with teacher shortages, school choice options, funding, Title programs, E-rate, ESSA, dual credit certification, and infrastructure. During a briefing on "Why Rural Matters for 2015-2016" a special presentation was made to Senator Jon Tester from Montana. He was presented the "Rural Hero Award' for his great support of rural education by NREA Executive Director, Dr. Allen Pratt, Montana Small School Alliance Executive Director, Dan Rask and NREAC Director, Dr. Ray Patrick. Special thanks to Dr. Allen Pratt, Dr. Ray Patrick and our lobbyists (Sasha, Noelle and Leslie) for organizing the various activities and events.
