Reports Developed to Reposition Geography in the Post-NCLB Landscape

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the most recent authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It was signed into law by President Bush in January 2001. The key reforms of NCLB have serious implications for geography education. GENIP authorized and supported a detailed study of the legislation in order to better understand the law and the role of geography in it. The resulting documents, available here, were prepared by Ryan Daley, the GENIP intern at the National Geographic Society, in spring 2003, under the supervision of GENIP's NGS representatives, Barbara Chow and Chris Shearer. Major findings include:

• Geography remains listed as a core academic discipline
• Schools will be required to have "highly qualified" geography teachers by the 2005/2006 school year
• No funds are directly allocated for geography programs despite the presence of earmarked funding for every other core academic discipline
• Many existing funding programs offer opportunities to the Alliances
  

The reports listed below reveal the status of geography within the law, identify local funding opportunties, and suggest a policy agenda for the future.

• NO GEOGRAPHER LEFT BEHIND: A Policy Guide to Geography Education and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
  • This report aimed at policy makers and other stakeholders contains a brief overview of the NCLB legislation and the standing of geography within it. The major programs of NCLB offer opportunities for support of geography education. These programs present a unique opportunity for geography to fit into the NCLB framework. The report analyzes 10 NCLB programs areas appropriate for geography.
  • Assessments. Appendix C of the Policy Guide summarizes the status of geography vis-a-vis high stakes assessments on a state by state basis in a spreadsheet format.
• NO GEOGRAPHER LEFT BEHIND: An Educator's Guide to Geography Education and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
  • This report aimed at educators contains a brief overview of the NCLB legislation and the standing of geography within it. In spite of the relative lack of attention to geography in the legislation, there are significant opportunities for geography within some programs authorized by NCLB. Eleven such programs are outlined.
• GRANT COMPETITIONS INFORMATION
  • A number of NCLB programs offer resources of potential benefit to geography educators. This is a listing of key opportunities. Additional information is available on the accompanying spreadsheet.
  • Grant Opportunities Spreadsheet

The GENIP steering committee believes that this information will be of crucial value to the members of each constituent organization as well as social studies educators nationwide.