Introduction by Carl Glickman

“I wish we did not need another edition of Letters to the Next President but, with a new president and administration coming into office in 2008, it is time for more citizens to connect to their schools and assist in fulfilling the promise of a better education for all.”
—Carl Glickman

This 2008 election edition reopens today’s critical issues in public education. Once again speaking to the next president, this stellar collection of more than thirty letters speaks to the future of American students and the need for an educated and engaged citizenry. Top education experts, elected officials, business and community leaders, teachers, principals, students, and parents discuss the dangerous shortcomings of current state and federal policies and offer suggestions for what can be done about it. Read these poignant, inspiring, and often provocative letters and make your voice heard!

This 2008 Election Edition features:

• A new Introduction explaining what has happened since the last presidential election and what still needs to be done.
• A new letter by Elizabeth Debray-Pelot explaining how legislators consciously excluded educators from the planning of No Child Left Behind.
• A list of suggested policy and activist organizations to keep educators, parents, and concerned citizens informed.
• A joint organizational statement signed by 120 organizations committed to changing and improving current federal legislation, including recommended changes to NCLB.

Acclaim for the First Edition

“A refreshing antidote to the spin from government and media sources whose messages often ‘obscure the real crisis in our schools.’”
—Publishers Weekly

“Illuminating insights about the problems facing public schools today.”
—The Times Argus

“Is at times funny and other times poignant, but always personal.”
—Edutopia

“Touches the hearts and minds of people interested in preserving American public education.”
—Journal of Educational Change

“These letters are powerful testament to the complex issues that the next president . . . will face.”
—Educational Leadership

“Leaders—and particularly our next president—should hear these voices and carry away the mandate to act to support our schools.”—Horace

“Provides an excellent and necessary springboard for conversations among teachers, within school districts, and within communities." —VOYA

“This book should be read by anyone who has an interest in improving public education.”
—TC Record

Contributors: Sylvia Bruni • Louis Casagrande • Bill Cosby • Linda Darling-Hammond • Elizabeth Debray-Pelot • Lisa Delpit • Rosa Fernández • Michelle Fine, April Burns, & María Elena Torre • U.S. Senator John Glenn & Leslie F. Hergert • John I. Goodlad • Maxine Greene • Karen Hale Hankins • Asa G. Hilliard III • Richard Ingersoll • Jacqueline Jordan Irvine • former U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords • Lilian Katz • Reynold Levy • William J. Mathis • Deborah Meier • Edward C. Montgomery • Navajo Students (Derrick Attakai, Evalena Joey, Britta Mitchell, Melody Riggs, & Manuel Thompson) with Mark Sorensen • Pedro Noguera • Jeannie Oakes & Martin Lipton • Arturo Pacheco • W. James Popham • Vance Rawles • Ken Rolling & Sandra Halladey • Jane Ross • Sophie Sa • Ted Sizer •Thomas Sobol • Pam Solo • Rachel Tompkins • George Wood

Carl Glickman is President of the Institute for Schools, Education, and Democracy, and a former University Professor at The University of Georgia-Athens. He is also the editor of Letters to the Next President: What We Can Do About the Real Crisis in Public Education, 2008 Election Edition.