Letters to the Next President

This 2008 election edition reopens the discussion on today’s critical issues in public education. Once again speaking to the next president, this stellar collection of more than thirty letters addresses 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.

Reviews & Blurbs for Glickman, 1E:

“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

“How did we get into this education mess? The power of these letters deeply underscores the urgency of the clean-up mission to save our public schools.” —Bill Cosby

“Although the problems are complex, many of the solutions are straightforward for a president who understands what is going on and is committed to doing the right thing.” —Linda Darling-Hammond, Educator

“We ask the next president...to expand the definition of achievement... and make an explicit commitment to the civic purpose of education.” —U.S. Senator John Glenn and Leslie Hergert

“You have to be given the opportunity to succeed. No one is born knowing. Everyone has something to teach and something to learn.” —Rosa Fernández, Student

Carl Glickman is Scholar-in-Residence in the Educational Administration and Policy Program at The University of Georgia.

“This book makes it plain that a quality public education system, joined with an educated citizenry, is the bedrock of our democratic way of life. It lets the next president know that public education is the critical link between individual advancement and a citizenry loyal to the nation’s democratic ideals and values.”
—Wendy D. Puriefoy, President, Public Education Network

“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