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Show Ross Poore, Central Davis Junior High School, and Bruce Barnson, Silver Mesa Elementary School, meet with U.S. Representative James V. Hansen (center) to discuss legislative issues facing education edu-cation during the 1 1 th annual Federal Relations Conference sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Davis County principal discusses educational improvement issues representatives to discuss specific concepts for educational educa-tional reform. They especially focused on the national goals. "Everyone wants (he national goals to be achieved, but for that to happen, the federal government must play a significant role," Dyer said. "Whether these goals are achieved nationally will to a great extent depend de-pend upon the success of those students who are served by federal programs. "Yet, only 25 percent of young people eligible to participate in Head Start services actually receive them because of inadequate federal funding. This does not make financial or educational sense." The key individuals in achieving the goals are the teachers and principals in school buildings throughout the U.S., according to Dyer. "We need to invest in these people," Dyer urged. "The corporate world provides high quality, frequent training for its personnel. Education is an evolving field, and state-of-the-art professional development must be provided to the people who'll make a difference differ-ence in the lives of students." The school leaders delivered the message to their congressmen that they will strive for reform but cannot do the job alone. "We need partners in this journey toward excellence," Dyer said. "Federal and state leaders are key partners. They cannot just deliver goals and mandates. man-dates. They must also deliver resources and support to where education reform will happen in the school house." Principal Ross Poore, Central Davis Junior High School, Layton, was one of 90 school leaders from throughout the United States who met with Congressional Congres-sional representatives in Washington last week to discuss educational improvement issues. Poore attended meetings in the White House and discussed key issues with U.S. Senators and Representatives. Represen-tatives. The 11th annual Federal Relations Conference was sponsored by the National Association of Secondary Secon-dary School Principals (NASSP) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). During the four-day conference, Poore participated in meetings on the national education goals developed by President Bush and the governors, the need for quality professional development for teachers and principals, prin-cipals, and the federal investment in education. Speakers included Rep. William H. Natcher, (D-Ky.); Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton; Rep. William D. Ford, (D-Mo.), chairman, House Education and Labor Committee; U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, (D-Ill.); and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, (D-N.M.). "Elected leaders throughout the nation are taking on education," points out Timothy J. Dyer, NASSP executive ex-ecutive director. "This ranges from President Bush declaring that he wants to be remembered as the 'Education President, to the nation's governors establishing estab-lishing ambitious goals for our schools. Principals and other educators must build bridges with elected officials offi-cials to assure that the best learning opportunities are provided all students." The 90 school leaders met with their senators and |