8 NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Water, from page 1
NLC also supports additional options
for long-term, alternative financing
mechanisms for water infrastructure,
such as mechanisms that lower the cost
of borrowing that will help leverage
local funding, offer direct loans and loan
guarantees from the federal government
to cities or remove the federal volume
cap on tax-exempt bonds for water and
wastewater infrastructure projects.
Additionally, last week, Gaithersburg,
Md., Council Member Mike Sesma
participated in a dialogue with Nancy
Stoner, acting assistant administrator
for the Office of Water, Cynthia Giles,
assistant administrator for the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
and other key officials from the EPA pol-
icy and enforcement offices on the inte-
grated planning framework. Convened
by the National Association of Clean
Water Agencies, the meeting offered
key stakeholders, including NLC, clean
water utility leaders, state water program
administrators and environmental orga-
nizations, an opportunity to hear from
EPA on the draft framework and provide
the Agency with feedback and additional
perspectives.
but it should be both cost-effective and
sustainable.”
EPA will hold workshops and listen-
ing sessions early next year to gather
additional input and feedback from
stakeholders on the integrated planning
framework. NLC encourages cities to
participate in these meetings. The work-
shops will take place in Atlanta (Jan.
31), New York City (Feb. 6), Seattle
(Feb. 13), Kansas City, Mo., (Feb. 15)
and Chicago (Feb. 17). Details will be
published on the EPA website and in the
Federal Register soon.
Details: To read NLC’s full testimo-
ny, visit www.nlc.org/influence-federal-
policy.
Mayors, from page 1
by ensuring they are reading at
grade level by the end of third
grade.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino
welcomed his peers to Boston
and discussed why he believes
early literacy should be a top pri-
ority for all levels of government.
“We’re aiming our resources at
the wrong place,” said Menino
at a December 13 opening ses-
sion. “We need to focus on
young families, intervening early
when children are born. When
kids get off to a good start, the
later issues take care of them-
selves.”
Mayors Segarra and Taveras
presented detailed case state-
ments of the specific problems
related to early education that
they are trying to solve, the local
context shaping their efforts, and
questions for Mayors’ Institute
session participants on how to
achieve their goals. After each
mayor presented his case state-
ment, leading practitioners, city
staff and academic experts from
as nearby as Springfield, Mass.,
and as far away as Jacksonville,
Fla., responded with practical
suggestions during a set of inter-
active, problem-solving discus-
sions.
Focus on Young
Children
With new research showing
that third-grade reading profi-
ciency is a critical educational
milestone and predictor of high
school graduation rates, city and
philanthropic leaders are sup-
porting a national Campaign for
Grade-Level Reading. NLC is
a major campaign partner and
will provide assistance to cities
that apply for the National Civic
League’s 2012 All-America City
Grade-Level Reading Award.
More than 150 communities
have expressed intent to apply.
However, raising reading
proficiency levels and strength-
ening this critical segment of
the educational pipeline will
require a high-level, citywide
commitment. In Hartford,
Mayor Segarra has made that
commitment by supporting a
Blueprint for Young Children
and a Kindergarten Readiness
Initiative to align early education
across pre-K and elementary
school systems. Currently, there
are weak connections between
preschool providers and public
school kindergarten teachers and
administrators, and little align-
ment of standards and curricula.
Engaging the Business
Community
Calling all proud nlC members!
You’re already an NLC ambassador. Why not make it official?
NLC recently launched the nlC ambassador Team and is welcoming volunteers to join this
new program. Ambassadors will encourage others to join and volunteer
with NLC, help staff develop new ideas, and engage with new and
prospective members of the organization.
The commitment is limited and is as YOU choose. Ambassadors
may volunteer in different areas of NLC’s annual conferences,
assist NLC efforts at state league conferences, or engage with
new and prospective members throughout the year – in person,
by email, or by telephone.
Like Hartford, Providence
struggles with high child pov-
erty rates. Eighty-four percent
of the city’s students are eli-
gible for free or reduced-price
school lunches. Mayor Taveras,
who appoints the school board
with approval from the city
council, has made education a
centerpiece of his agenda. He
plans to leverage greater support
from the business community
for Providence’s Community
Solutions Action Plan, which
will be submitted with the city’s
application for the All-America
City Grade-Level Reading
Award.
With the city in the midst
of a “category five fiscal hur-
ricane” that has led to closures
of five schools and other major
budget cuts, businesses could
provide volunteers, donations,
leadership training and techni-
cal assistance that would sig-
nificantly boost schools’ pursuit
of student learning goals. The
Mayor’s Education Opportunity
Working Group, a committee
of the Mayor’s Children and
Youth Cabinet, seeks to estab-
lish a mechanism for more sys-
tematic business engagement in
early education. For instance,
the city hopes to pair every
third-grade classroom with at
least one external community
partner focused on reading pro-
ficiency.
The only requirement is that you are a proud member of nlC!
An application can be found at www.nlc.org/member-center.
Please apply by December 31, 2011.
For more information, please contact us at memberservices@nlc.org or
(202) 626-3100. We look forward to working with you!
Details: To learn more
about the Mayors’ Institute on
Children and Families, visit
www.nlc.org/iyef or contact
Julie Bosland at (202) 626-
3144 or bosland@nlc.org. To
learn more about the Campaign
for Grade-Level Reading, visit
www.gradelevelreading.net or
contact Tonja Rucker at (202)
626-3004 or rucker@nlc.org.
