RESOLUTION # 09-01-1 NCSS TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Sponsored by: OHIO CSS Co-sponsored by: Georgia CSS, New Mexico CSS, Kansas CSS, Tennessee CSS, ATSS/UFT, North Carolina CSS, South Carolina CSS, New York CSS, Alabama CSS, Mississippi, California, Missouri

RATIONALE:The National Council for the Social Studies sponsored the Summer Leadership Institute for many years. This allowed member organizations to meet, network with each other, and to meet members of Congress to discuss issues pertaining to social studies education.

WHEREAS, NCSS and state social studies organizations have valued the Summer Leadership Institute for the development of state leadership, collaboration on a national level, experiential training in lobbying the legislature, and the development and writing of resolutions submitted to the House of Delegates,

WHEREAS, the need for training leaders is a significant one and the skills to be an advocate still need to be nourished for the social studies to survive,

WHEREAS, the need for face-to-face networking opportunities is paramount in order to develop leadership and advocacy skills,

WHEREAS, the Summer Leadership Institute is in the best interest of NCSS because it provides a training ground for NCSS leadership development,

BE IT RESOLVED, NCSS should reinstitute the Summer Leadership Institute utilizing an optimal time commitment capitalizing on technology and face to face networking, including the direct lobbying of our elected officials.

HOD DEFEATED: 45% in favor, 53% against

RESOLUTION # 09-01-02

NCSS WEBINARS

Sponsored by: New Mexico CSS, Colorado CSS Co-Sponsored by: New York CSS, ATSS/UFT, Mississippi CSS, Alabama CSS, California CSS, South Carolina CSS, Tennessee CSS

WHEREAS, The use of a NCSS Webinar for the purpose of giving information and exchanging ideas worked successfully on July 30, 2009

WHEREAS, Those who participated voiced a need to continue this process

WHEREAS, NCSS is interested in a more efficient method for national communication

BE IT RESOLVED, that NCSS will continue to use this webinar process with a goal of at least four times a year or as needed.

HOD PASSED: 77% in favor, 22% against

BOD Approved

The board approved this resolution, because it was determined that the resolution was not financially binding nor an unrealistic task for the NCSS staff.

RESOLUTION # 09-01-03

CENSUS 2010

Sponsored by: New York State CSS, ATSS/UFT NYC, Colorado CSS Co-Sponsored by: Georgia CSS, Tennessee CSS, South Carolina CSS, Mississippi CSS, Alabama CSS

WHEREAS, the constitutional requirement of taking the census of the United States population every 10 years is a significant event, and

WHEREAS, 2010 is a census year, and

WHEREAS, census information is used for apportioning seats in Congress as well as apportioning services to local communities, and

WHEREAS, undercounting is a major problem in taking the census, be it

BE IT RESOLVED, that NCSS devote an issue of “Social Education” on the importance of the census, including lesson plans, and be it further

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCSS maintain a resource list of and links to partnerships with the census bureau in each state for school districts and teachers post these lists and links on the NCSS website.

HOD PASSED: 57% in favor, 41% against

BOD Defeated

_During the board meeting NCSS Director of Publications, Michael Simpson, informed the board that it would be impossible to devote an issue of Social Education to the importance of the census due to the publication’s timeline. He explained that planning for what to include in each issue of Social Education occurs a year in advance. It was also determined by the board that what NCSS depicted the importance of the census in recent publications and on the NCSS website was. NCSS 2010 Census resources and articles can be found on our website at: http://www.socialstudies.org/census_2010._

RESOLUTION # 09-02-02

TEACHING ABOUT AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY, CULTURE & CURRENT EVENTS

Supported by: Teaching American Indian History, Culture & Current Events Community Co-Sponsored by: Georgia CSS, South Carolina CSS, Tennessee CSS, ATSS/UFT, Canadian Community

WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Education’s Elementary & Secondary Education Title 7, Part A – Indian Education Sec. 7101. Statement of Policy states: ”It is the policy of the United States to fulfill the Federal Government’s unique and continuing trust relationship with and responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. The Federal Government will continue to work with local education agencies, Indian tribes, and organizations, postsecondary institutions, and other entities toward the goal of ensuring that programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs, but also the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of these children;” and WHEREAS, Sec. 7102. Purpose states: “It is the purpose … to support the efforts of local educational agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions, and other entities to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native students, that such students can meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards as all other students are expected to meet;” and

WHEREAS, an increasing number of Native children are living off the reservations and attending school in the urban/suburban areas of this nation; and

WHEREAS, increasing public school efforts focus on the requirements of No Child Left Behind and the pursuit of greater success on standardized academic testing causing the amount of classroom time spent in teaching students about the important concepts contained in the various content areas to dwindle; and

WHEREAS, textbook publishers place their greatest efforts on those areas of the curriculum that are tested which excludes most history and cultures of Native people;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Council for the Social Studies call for a renewed commitment to the tenets of Title 7 by schools across the nation and encourage the producers of teaching materials related to the History, Culture and Current Events of American Indians, Alaskan Natives and, including Native Hawaiians, to enable classroom teachers to fulfill their obligation to the unique cultural challenges facing these students.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCSS issue a strongly worded position statement endorsing the tenets of Title 7 and recognizing the increased urbanization of Native people whose children are often being educated in the public schools of this nation

HOD PASSED: 88% in favor, 9% against

BOD APPROVED

The board will be seeking out volunteers to draft this position statement.

RESOLUTION # 09-02-03

NCSS SUPPORTS COMMON CORE [STATE] STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES

Supported by: California Council for the Social Studies Co-Sponsored by: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Mexico

WHEREAS, NCSS defines social studies as the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence and achieve the levels of civic efficacy that the nation requires of its citizens, and

WHEREAS, NCSS believes that civic efficacy can best be achieved through powerful, rigorous social studies curriculum and effective teaching that engages students with significant ideas to connect what they are learning to their prior knowledge and to current issues, to think critically and creatively about what they are learning, and to apply that learning to authentic situations to address the challenges facing our diverse nation in an increasingly interdependent world, and

WHEREAS, all students across our nation, grades K-16, deserve a high quality social studies education to acquire and learn to use the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives, and

WHEREAS, currently, the criteria for effective teaching and learning of social studies varies greatly from state to state as do the mechanisms for measuring student achievement, and

WHEREAS, prior federal initiatives, most notably No Child Left Behind, while intended to improve student achievement for all students, have caused social studies to be marginalized in many schools across our nation, and

WHEREAS, The “Common Core State Standards” Initiative is spearheaded by the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The Initiative process dedicated to the development of a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12, is supported by 48 states and 3 territories

BE IT RESOLVED, that NCSS urge the President of the United States, the leadership of the United States Department of Education, the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to support development and establishment of Common Core Standards for Social Studies that will: bring together social studies experts from the National Council for the Social Studies, its affiliate organizations and other professional organizations to develop and review common core social studies standards that underscore the critical importance of social studies as an indispensable aspect of every child’s educational experience, and demonstrate the need for social studies to be adopted by the U.S. Department of Education and individual states and territories as an essential part of any core curriculum, and be framed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills to include critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills in the context of civic literacy, economic/financial literacy, and global awareness, and thereby advance the cause of student success in the social studies in order that they become competent, responsible citizens and productive working members in domestic and international society.

HOD PASSED: 85% in favor, 15% against

BOD APPROVED

NCSS has been working on what this resolution outlines. In January 2010 NCSS and the Civic Mission of Schools convened leaders of the other social studies disciplines to work together to build a coalition of organizations whose members will be integral to the state led effort (National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers) to create common core state standards in Social Studies. NCSS is currently completing the development of research-based proposals, with the hope that supporters will fund the work of this group.

_Board of Director’s added the word “State” into the title of this resolution to reflect the correct name of the initiative_

2009 Courtesy resolutions were also passed in recognition of the service to the social studies community of NCSS President Syd Golston and NCSS Conference Committee Chair Eddie Bennett.